THORPE PARK Resort #MyFirstCoaster Day reviewer thread NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This is a thread for the 50 Mumsnetters who attended the #MyFirstCoaster at THORPE PARK Resort. Thanks for going, and we hope that you and your family had great day!

Here's what THORPE PARK Resort say: "We see so many excited kids every year who have just reached 1.4m and are now tall enough to have the ride of their lives. At THORPE PARK Resort we're championing this achievement with our #MyFirstCoaster day, and celebrating the moment these kids experience a whole new world of thrills!"

Below are some questions for you to answer, but do feel free to add any other comments you or your family may have.

Please remember to also write a review of your day on the MN review area here

• Who was in your group and how old are the children?
• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?
• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day?
• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?
• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Please also upload any photos of your family enjoying their day out THORPE PARK Resort to this thread. Please note photos may be used by THORPE PARK Resort on Facebook, their website and possibly on other marketing material.

Thanks,
MNHQ

I was very lucky to have the opportunity to take my boys, 7 and 10, to THORPE PARK on Sat.
It was totally magical and wonderful. We had never been to THORPE PARK before. I usually like classical stuff, Prom, the Opera and Museums, more than Theme Parks. However the experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day might start a new era for me!
Not only did my children have a great time and were totally excited the whole day, I also came face to face with my fears and had to go on a few rides. Although some of them I would still consider to be more like “self torture” but, surprisingly, I really enjoyed them at the same time. I even went onto the water slide three times! In Angry birds land, my kids were impressed by how much I knew and could do …. My highlight of the day was certainly the X experience. I was the only one that was not scared at all in the darkness but enjoyed the marvellous light show.

Totally recommend THORPE PARK Resort to everyone and anyone. It sets people free. There are so many challenges that you can do and you can conquer your fears. If I can do this and win some brownie points from my kids, any one can!

Thank you Mumsnet for the tickets - we had a great day! Our group consisted of my 2 sons, age 6&10, my son's friend (10) and me (mum). We had not been before as usually go to Legoland. We tried lots of rides - my youngest liked Zodiac best so we went on twice. We also really liked the water slide (went 5 times) and the Flying Fish. The older 2 tried the Drench ride and did get very drenched - I had brought spare clothes which were definitely needed as it was a chilly day. They also tried Collosus which scared me even to look at - but they came off smiling. There were a good mix of older/younger rides and queues weren't too bad (except for Collosus). I would definitely come again but would probably avoid school hols as I think it would be too busy. I would recommend Thorpe Park to friends with kids. Thanks again for the opportunity :)

• Who was in your group and how old are the children?

Me and my two sons, aged 6 and 9. Daughter was away and my wife had flu so was a boys only day trip!

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

I went years ago, when I was still at school.

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day?

Overall I thought the day was great. We arrived at about 9.45am and whilst the car park looked about half full already we got our free tickets and walked straight in, no queuing at all!

Eldest was tall enough to go on the big rides (Saw, Stealth, Nememis etc) but didn’t like the look of them which didn’t really matter as there was plenty of smaller but still exciting rides to go on.

The first ride we went on the staff member measured our youngest and said he was just under 1.3m but borderine so recommended we go to guest services when they have a proper height thing like you get at a doctors. They measured him again and he was just (and only just!) 1.3m so got a red wristband to show throughout the day. I recommend doing this if you kids aren’t obviously big enough as saved a lot of hastle and upset.

Rides that we went on:

Angry Birds 4D film – Short 3D angry birds film with shaky seats, bubbles, water squirting at you. Kids thought it was brilliant.

Dodgems – Does exactly what says on tin. Angry birds themed bumper cars, we went on a few times. Bigger kids can drive them solo. I though there were a few too many cars packed in as all got jammed up a few times.

Detonator:Bombs Away – You sit in a seat and go up very, very high. Just as you’re thinking “ooh what a nice view” you suddenly drop very fast straight back down again!

Loggers leap – Old school log flume. Got very wet, kids loved it. (leave till later in day unless you want to walk about soaked!)

Quantum – Magic carpet ride. Eldest liked it, youngest really didn’t and went very green and quiet for the whole ride

Flying Fish – A fairly small and gentle (in comparison to others!) roller coaster, good for smaller kids. Did this a couple of times

Depth Charge – This was great. A very tall water ride, that you go down in little rubber dingies.

Mr Monkey Banana Ride – Looks a bit babyish but went on this first and eased the more nervous amongst us into the day.

Tidal Wave – It’s like the last bit of a log flume (the wet part!) on a bigger scale. The sign says you will get very wet and I can’t emphasise this enough! Do what we did and leave till last, it’s hilarious but you will get utterly soaked! Would recommend save £2 for the walk in dryers. They look a bit of a waste of money until you’re so wet you feel like you need to wring your socks our!

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

The most popular rides were the wet ones, log flume etc. Although the dodgems were good too. It was fun just wandering around as there was plenty to see.

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Would def recommend it although no way would pay full price as expensive and always lots of vouchers/deals around. We didn’t have to pay so cant really complain but I though charging £5 for parking was a bit of a cheek.

We were in by 10am and didn’t leave till around 5 so its certainly possible to get your money’s worth and do a whole day. I recommend a few sitting quietly stops to get you breath back and let the kids a rest as it can seem a little overwhelming rushing from one ride to the next!

We barely had to queue for anything but the biggest queues were for the more grown up rides which we avoided.

Unlike Chessington there is far less for very little kids/toddlers to do but it is billed more for bigger kids and teens so to be expected. I’d certainly leave it till your kids are 1.3m and over.

Food

We took a packed lunch and topped up on some snacks every now and then but there were loads of different places to eat – KFC, Burger King, pizzas, BBQ, fish and chips etc as well as doughnut stands, sweet shops etc. Some of them look like proper (ish) restaurants where you could sit down for a while, but I imagine not cheap.

They could have done with a few more benches/tables dotted about just to be able to sit down without going into a shop etc, or even a grassed picnic area?

Shops

Lots of tat on offer as expected but some half decent looking stuff too. Not loads in the pocket money range but there were angry birds pencils/stickers/pen sets etc for under a £5, then the prices shot up. I bought the bots a massive jelly snake thing for 95p which kept them happy (and stayed down!)

Arcade

There were a couple of these which we spent a few quid in (grabbers, air hockey etc) but best avoided if you don’t want to be nagged!

All in all it was a really fun day and everyone is very keen to go again

- Who was in your group and how old are the children?

I went with my DDs (19 & 9). I'm disabled and unable to use the rides so DH or one of the older ones come with me to take the youngest on them. I have to say it was lovely to have a girly day out for a change! :)

- Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

We had Merlin passes for many years but stopped getting them last year as they had started to work out very expensive for 5 of us. Also, the older two seemed to have had too much of a good thing and the youngest wasn't quite tall enough for the rides at Thorpe Park. This is the closest park to us so it makes sense to be able to use this one more.

- What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day?

We had a great day! The girls ran ahead to grab all the info and free picture voucher from the marquee, then when we got to the dome I parked myself in Fins Bar & Grill to have a rest and a coffee while they shot off to make the most of their time. I met them and after a couple of other roller coasters we went to KFC for lunch then they did a few more rides (with a pit stop at the chocolate fountain stand!) before we collected our picture and a few souvenirs on our way through the dome to the car.
On the way home I asked about queues etc., and they were quite pleased by the queue times, considering the park was officially open and had also given 1000 tickets away for the #MyFirstCoaster event.
I too didn't have a problem wandering round - I certainly wasn't jostled by crowds which has been the case previously when it's been very busy.
All in all it was a really enjoyable day out for all of us.

- What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

The highlight for them both was definitely Swarm. My youngest DD keeps ON about how helicopters/ambulances etc., were exploding into flames! I'm sure, had I suggested we stay at the new hotel they'd have been checked in like a shot, despite only living 20 mins away.

- Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes I would recommend it to friends and family, especially now I know my youngest is big enough to go on the rides.

The only negative I can think of was the charge to park. I understand that a day ticket bought online will cost £24.99, which is HALF the walk in cost of £49.99. (which has only been increased to encourage more people to buy Annual Passes) For people who just go on the spur of the moment that's a lot of money, and then to be charged £5 on top to park is an insult.
I also thought to charge disabled drivers to park was disgraceful. I can only get there by car as I can't use buses, yet still have to pay to park.

Sorry, we forgot to take any photos - we were so busy shivering that we were distracted and didn't really think of doing so. Did get an official photo but seem to have lost the accompaying paper info. needed to upload it - last seen in DD's hands!

DS also wanted me to tell you that he saw three 'famous' (I use the term loosely!) YouTube 'vloggers', surrounded by a big group of teens, as we were about to leave! That made his day! Did anyone else spot them???

Hi

We had a fantastic day! I went with DS (12) - he's very short for his age and so is only just 1.4m so he was delighted to finally be able to go on all the big rides his friends from school have gone on. It was our 1st visit to Thorpe Park

We didn't manage to get there until 1pm but we had plenty of time to do all the rides we wanted to. The only ride we had to queue more than 5 mins for was Collosal. We queued about 45 mins the 1st time then about 15 mins towards the end of the day. DS said that this was his fave ride - I was less keen and felt decidedly unwell when we came off! We went on Nemesis and Swarm a few times which DS loved. And also on the 2 water rides (which I preferred despite getting very wet!). The bumper cars were really fun as was the 4D Angry Birds experience.

The park was much smaller than I thought and it didn't take long to get around and we seemed to be very lucky with queues. The staff were really friendly and the food looked better than other theme parks i've experienced. From my point of view it could have done with a few more 'relaxed' areas where you could sit for 10 mins and have a drink as I felt very sick and lightheaded coming off some of the rides (the things we do for our kids!). But DS thought it was amazing and he is very very keen to come back.

I would recommend it to families with kids over 1.4m if they liked really scary rides. If you don't like those sort of rides then I think you'd get better value at somewhere like Chessington.
Thanks so much for the tickets - DS had a fantastic day!!

Who was in your group and how old are the children?

I went with DD1 (9), DS1 (9), DD2 (7).

Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

I am the only person in our family that has been to Thorpe park and that was in 1994. This was the fir ever theme park any of the others had attended.

What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day?

When we arrived I was really pleased to see that the parking was so well organised. We were there early but I got the impression it would have been easy even when busy. I was directed straight to the disabled parking and parked right at the entrance.

We sat in the car until the gates opened at 10am and then went in, we went straight to guest services and got all 3 children measured, the two 9yr olds were over 1.4 and the 7yr old was over 1.3, we got told wrists bands weren't needed as there heights were clear but rather annoyingly like others have said this was constantly questioned as we went round the park.

I also asked for a fast track queue ticket as I am unable to stand for long periods of time and I had been assured when I rang that this wouldn't be a problem as long as I bought my DLA letter. However, this was refused even though I had my blue badge as well, and I was advised I would need a letter from my Dr or specialist detailing my health needs before a queue pass would be issued!!!

This ruined all of our plans as it meant the bigger rides were all off limits as I couldn't queue and the children couldn't queue for 90mins on their own. The children particularly DS1 were incredibly upset and a few tears were shed. So #Myfirstcoasterday didn't happen and I didn't tweet or post on facebook for this very reason. However, we ploughed on and made the most of a free day out, and despite all their disappointment they all left incredibly exhausted and happy (me not so much).

What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

They all loved tidal wave, the doughnut boat water ride (I could sit on a bench and watch them queue for this one 40mins) and the giant swing ride (Rush I think). They also loved that I let them buy a bucket of sweets each before we left to make up for their disappointment about the rides.

Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

I wouldn't recommend Thorpe Park to friends and family with children the same age as mine. Even though it was cold and pretty quiet the queues for the big rides were well over an hour, we couldn't queue because of my mobility issues, but even if I had paid for another adult to come and queue with them, I think the queues would have been too much for them.

For children 12yrs+ I think this is the perfect day out and I will be recommending it to friends and families with older children. The big rides look amazing and the park is laid out really well, with lots of resting spots, refreshment stands and clean, accessible toilets.

Due to our experience DD1 & DS1 have decided to spend all of their savings (birthday, Christmas, and pocket money) on another day to Thorpe Park with fast track tickets (£80 each on top of the £25 entry fee) so they can go on the rides they missed out on because of me. I'm sure they will have a blast but we won't go again on standard tickets until they are a good few years older (or until Thorpe Park change their access policy as I am not paying for a Drs letter that gives them no more info than my dla letter).

Thank you for the opportunity to experience Thorpe Park the children will be back I'm sure.

Gazza - we we were wondering who those lads were??!! Seemed to be surrounded by 1000s of other teens.

Wow! Well done

Brilliant, well done MoFo!

Hey, that's excellent - and well deserved mofo - I think you fave a lot if people a lot of pleasure in your onesies :-)

Aargh! Just written a lengthy review and pressed post and it's disappeared! Suffice to say, thanks for a great family day out with our two children aged 7 &9 (so one over 1.4m and one under). Lots of positives- helpful & friendly staff, good parking, easy to get around, some great junior rides- X was a big hit plus Depth Charge, Log ride and Angry Birds cinema. However, lots of groups of teenagers and not much of a family feel- just think it is better suited to older children. Some of the thrill rides looked amazing, but our tall, just 9 yo, who is normally up for anything, chickened out- it would have been great to have more junior rides/ rides which bridge the gap between the tamer under 1.4 rides and the big thrill rides. Also more play areas. It was a really cold day though and as the site is rather exposed it did affect our enjoyment (heater lamps in the outside eating areas would have been fab!). Would visit on a warmer day next time and I know my teenage niece and nephew would love it. Thanks again! x

MoFo that's brilliant - I saw you and DD in the pizza place and you looked fab.

Anyway:-

Who was in your group and how old are the children? there was DH, me, DD aged 8 and her best boy friend who is also 8 but v tall.

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when? We haven't been since late 90's / early 00s.

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day? we had a fabulous time. We went to the 4D Angry Birds experience first then dodgems followed by lunch in the buffet pizza place. I went off to Nemesis Inferno (which was amazing) while my coaster avoiding family went off to Depth Charge. The children did that a couple of times then off to Flying Fish, Storm Surge (where we saw the crowd of people with the vloggers), back to Depth Charge and we split up again so I could go to Swarm and they went on Tidal Wave (DD twice and friend 3 times). Back to Depth Charge and home via the photo booth to collect our free pic (nice touch - the 1st coaster mount). Children were sad to leave and would love to go back - we felt able to let the children go off in front of us to the rides as we ambled along at our pace - I wouldn't feel able to do that in the height of the season and I don't think there is enough there apart from rides so it's unlikely we would go back anytime soon.

Downsides - Various delays - Nemesis had issues while I was in the queue and Tidal Wave stopped for over 10 minutes when friend was on it (and freezing!!). The pizza place was nice but I'd hate to go in there in the height of the season as I found the noise was unbearable. Paying for the car park just sticks in my throat tbh too.

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day? DD & friend - Tidal Wave and Depth Charge. Mine - Nemesis Inferno and no queues. DH - not being dragged on any rides and being able to walk around without falling over loads of other people.

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not? If they have children of an appropriate age, then yes but I would advise going out of season if possible. I would also suggest taking a picnic. Even though we had the free tickets, they day cost over £40 for lunch and parking.

We did love it though and thank you for the tickets. We used to have Legoland passes and have been thinking about Merlin passes. The jury is still out.

Some pics from our day - dodgems, Tidal Wave (2nd go - 1st time round they were the only ones in the boat) and finally our best Daily Mail sad faces at home time.

• Who was in your group and how old are the children?

I went with my husband, 8year old daughter, 5 year old son & 2 year old daughter

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

We had never been to Thorpe Park before as we were under the impression that it was more for teenagers

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day?

We had a great day out there was more to do for my eldest daughter really and as much as we enjoyed the day i think it is still a little bit too grown up for us as a family as we have younger children! I would however go back with my eldest daughter and my niece who is 14

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

My daughter loved the Vortex she is far too brave for an 8 year old and was by far the smallest on the ride but she loved it and tried to talk me into going on again!!!

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would recommend Thorpe Park for older kids it's really good fun and there is loads to do! I would say though that maybe taking a packed lunch with you as we paid £40 for burgers even though they were lovely it is expensive!

• Who was in your group and how old are the children?

Me, dh, and dc 13, 7, 3, 6m.

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

No, none of us.

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day?

Mostly ok; the weather was a bit cold for standing around waiting for the others on the rides. There was nothing I could do with ds3 and dd6m on my own. I knew the baby couldn't go on coasters, but I thought there would be something where she could sit on my lap. We did Angry Birds 4d in shifts as she was asleep and didn't want to disturb her, but couldn't see where the pushchair would have been left if we had taken her in and I felt the seats were a little too rough for me, let alone her as well. The day was good overall but there needed to be a few more rides for the 1.3-1.4m high kids as my 7yo was slightly too short according to the park and couldn't do the big rides in the end. We went to the pizza/pasta place which was good, but the noise was awful and annoyed me (asd). The other food places seemed awfully expensive. We felt there needed to be some signposts, as we got confused several times and couldn't quite work out where we were on the map. Car parking charge seemed excessive. We wouldn't pay to go again as a family, but enjoyed the opportunity to visit the park. It seemed more suited to school/Guide trips to us.

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

dh & dd12 - nemesis me - seeing ds3 enjoying the rides he went on (looks like a coaster fan when he's bigger.) ds7 - Detonator (He and dd were able to ride this on their own several times with no wait which was good).

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Only to those with older/taller children and probably out of season as I think the queue times could be awful when it's really busy.

Who was in your group and how old are the children?
There was 6 of us. Myself my husband. Ds10 dd3 dd16months and ds 6 weeks.

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

No never. Always thought it was for teens.

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day?

Fabulous, weather was cold but the facilities were ok. Baby changing etc.
Ds was so excited and Thorpe Park Lived up to his expectations! I was worried that dd would not have a lot to do there but was surprised. It was a shame the beach was closed though.

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day? Ds loved cloussous he thought it was fab, and the water rides he went on over and over again.

He went on stealth but I think that it scared him a bit as after that he was only wanted to do the smaller rides. Dd loved the yellow submarine ride as she called a water slide. It's all she talks about still 5 days after. She loved the train ride and the banana but wouldn't stay on the flying fish, she didn't like the way the bar came over her. she also had her face painted and loved the inside amusement arcade. Husband loved going on the rides with the children. (I had csection so was unable to do anything other than the little rides.) but that was 2 rides! So I was pleased.

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not? Yes definitely.

We had a fab family day. Facilities were great, the prices were good for the shops and places to eat. Staff were really friendly too!

Thank you so much.

Forgot to add images! Before stealth!

Hoping this works! it should be Dd and friend with myself and my friend gossiping behind them on Flying Fish! which we went on about 6 times in all before demanding we alight before hurling!!

thanks for the chance to try thorpe park out....hadnt been in a very long time and ds never

• Who was in your group and how old are the children?

Me, my boy age 9 my bf and her daughter 10-shall call dc2 ! for speed

• Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

Yes possibly 20yrs ago???

• What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day?

First impression it was a bit grubby....we didnt get there until 12ish due to rugby traffic at Twickenham so had to all go to the loo and whilst they were clean the floors/rails/walls all looked like they could do with a scrub... I assumed thats what they did in the winter!
Also as last experience of theme park was legoland it did look a bit tired compared to that ....but the big rides looked amazing so guess thats where the money goes...

Bad start with the second ride breaking down/someone getting in the water that required an engineer to come and reset while we sat getting v wet feet in the freezing wind whilst this happened as we were at the top of the ride ....my hands actually turned blue and dc2 got v upset and wanted to get off which wasn't allowed....really put her off......however once we eventually got off and went back to the cafe to fill the children with hot chocolate we started again...

Staff all very friendly....

Angry birds 4d was fab as were dodgems (cant go wrong really)

Due to the breakdown the dc were scared to go on the big rides in case they broke down....not helped by getting to X ride which had also broken down/waiting for engineer....however it got fixed quickly and we loved that as a ride did it a couple of times....think its a bit old now as queues weren't too bad for it..

lots of other rides shut/broken as well - we couldn't find away to get photo

• What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

X and angry birds 4d

• Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

Probably not - feeling was place for teenagers...even well over 140cm my 2 were not up for going on the rides on their own- its all about the big rides there was little variety - which is fine - so I would recommend it for that as not seen rides like that elsewhere but was surprised at length of q's on a cold march day - the length of q vs length of ride not great...

Finished well as did X again at end but probably not going back - DC may return when they are teenagers

MoFo We all saw you in the pizza place too! Congrats on winning the passes

Mumsnet Thank you so much for the tickets. We would never have been able to afford Thorpe Park ourselves, so we really do appreciate being given them.

Who was in your group and how old are the children?

Me, my husband, my husband's 15yr old son and my 8yr old son.

Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?

I went a very long time ago when I was a 'tween', and I honestly don't remember a thing from that visit.

What was your, and your family's, overall experience of #MyFirstCoaster Day?

I have to admit that the cold definitely detracted from the enjoyment of the day, but that's not Thorpe Park's fault, so I'd say it was an ok experience for me, and a good experience for my husband and the boys, for the most part.

Unfortunately we discovered that my DS, who is now tall enough to go on all the rides, is a bit scared of heights (this was discovered whilst on Quantum!), so he didn't want to go on any of the rollercoasters. We almost went on the Flying Fish, but at the last minute DS changed his mind.

We were disappointed that a few of the rides were closed to begin with, and then when the water ones were open later in the day, we were just too cold to go on them. It would be great if there were halogen heaters at various places along the queuing area, and definitely at the outdoor eating areas, for cold days. Having said that, we didn't have to queue too long, although one ride said there was a 35 minute wait and it was actually closer to 60 minutes. Generally though, we only waited 10 mins max. Mostly because we only went on the less exciting rides!

One or two of the rides closed whilst we were waiting, due to technical difficulties, which was a shame. But the staff were friendly and helpful.

It's nice that it's a fairly small park, so you can do everything easily in a day.

It could do with a bit of a freshen up, some of the rides looked a bit old and tired, but you get that in a lot of places. I don't think they had quite enough resources available for the amount of visitors, despite it not being full to capacity. A couple of the food places closed their kitchens or advised us there would be a relatively long wait for food, but we were directed to other places where we could get the same food which we were impressed with.

What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?

I enjoyed 'X', my DS liked the Angry Birds 4D Experience and my husband and DSS liked Vortex. Oh, and DS loved the gift shop, but that's always the highlight of his day, wherever we go!

Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would, but only for those whose children are tall enough and old enough to go on and enjoy the coasters. There isn't a lot for shorter/younger children to do, especially at this time of year when quite a few of the rides and attractions were closed. I think it's great for groups of teens (of which we saw many), and adventurous pre-teens.

There were 7 of us in total, hubby and me then the kids 12, 10, 9, 7 and 4 months.

Rides wise the kids hAd a fab time, queues were fairly quick
And they love their #myfirstcoaster. Have a fab pic courtesy of Thorpe park to remember the day.

However I have to say it's not the place to take babies, I asked guest services to direct me to a changing and feeding area and they were horrified. I was taken to a disabled loo which had no lid so had to sit on that to breastfeed my baby!

I also saw another mum changing her baby in her buggy as there were no changing facilities in the normal loos, the staff member present did not direct her to a more suitable place where she could have changed baby in more comfort. The loos were filthy, and the cleaners area was dank, mildewy, plaster falling off...filthy! The door was wide open for all to see. It was a real shame.

Most of the staff were friendly. Our highlight was seeing my 13 year old riding stealth with his dad.

Despite living so close we had never been before, and to be honest not sure we will again.

Myself, hubby, son 10 and daughter 12 went with the free tickets but my other daughter 16 didn't want to miss out so we bought an extra ticket for her. Luckily I checked online for prices first as I was going to buy it on the day which would have cost £60 but booking online is half the price!

I have been to Thorpe park with the girls before but my son was a bit younger and I wasn't sure if there was much for him so he was glad to be able to qualify for the #myfirstcoaster event and enjoy the 'big boy' rides for a change.

Overall we all enjoyed ourselves but probably would have had more fun if it was a bit warmer, but then I suppose the warmer it is the busier it will get and we were quite lucky to not have to queue for too long.

The park itself was very clean although I think there should be more seating areas for people waiting for others on rides (usually me as I'm too scared to go on most of them) and I didn't notice any places to eat for those that choose to bring their own food.

We chose to eat in the Pizza and Pasta buffet restaurant as it is the only food that all my kids would agree on (fussy eaters) and also we needed somewhere that would warm us up and this place was pretty busy. The food was nice and hot but they do give small plates so you have to keep going back up to refill it which was annoying. At £11 for adults and £8 for kids I thought it was a bit pricey for what it was, unless you tend to eat a lot, but it made a change from a packed lunch.

We didn't want to start with a big ride so we went to the Angry birds 4D cinema experience, we are not all fans but we did thoroughly enjoy it!
We tried a few of the rides with only 5 minute queues and although not as busy as the popular rides they were no less thrilling! The Rush ride actually gave me nightmares that night as it was so scary but didn't seem to faze the kids!

The kids favourites were Swarm and Nemesis inferno but my sons highlight of the day was having his picture taken with The Sidemen (Youtube vloggers) although they were not part of the theme park they were very popular with the young boys (and i'm sure a few of the girls) and as they vlog to millions of subscribers im sure they do promote Thorpe park pretty well!

I would definitely recommend Thorpe Park to others, it's a great day out but would recommend going on a warm day to be able to enjoy the water rides. They are usually my favourite but the thought of getting wet made me even colder than I actually was so we gave them a miss. I didn't notice many things for younger children but it was very popular with teens and my older son 17 has been there with a group of friends and loved it.

We had a great time at Thorpe Park!

Myself and my DP went with our DS (12) our DD (11) and also bought an extra ticket for our youngest DD (6).

We have taken our DS to Thorpe park last year, as he was big enough to go on all of the big rides and he had a great time. Since then my eldest DD has been eager to go, but we have been waiting for her to be tall enough, and this season she was! She was keen to prove herself to be braver than her older brother.

We all had a really great experience of #MyFirstCoaster day. My DD proved she really was brave and wanted to go on all of the biggest rides. In the end she selected Stealth as her first big one. At the end of the ride she was literally buzzing with excitement and so proud of herself. She has kept her special #MyFirstCoaster day picture (on colossus) and shows everyone proudly. We were a little concerned that there would not be enough for our youngest DD (6 yrs and 111cm tall) to do, and thought she might get board, but we were pleasantly surprised. There was a good selection of rides she could go on, and as they had very small queues for the smaller rides she was able to get loads of goes on them (and the older ones still enjoyed the smaller rides). What worked well for our family was being able to split up, I love the big rides, like my two eldest. However my DP does not and is much happier on the smaller ones. We ended up splitting up and meeting back again throughout the day, which worked well as no one got bored and we all got on more rides in the end.

My highlight was seeing how proud my DD was of going on all the big rides. The children .. well they loved the whole day. Particularly the Dodgems! Great for a bit of healthy family competition.

I would definitely recommend Thorpe park to others, it was a fun family day out, with loads for everyone to do. We have found a great balance between big and small rides and it is so near to us, that we will be making is a much more regular trip.