StealthFan Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 So yesterday my original plan for the day got cancelled so I thought I might as well take a trip to Thorpe Park to check out the newly opened Angry Birds land. Not being planned I only had my new iPhone 5S with me to take pictures. That all being said I really don’t quite know what to make of Angry Birds land. I mean don’t get me wrong the area serves its purpose and really does shove the product in your face. There is nothing subtle about it at all, but to me everything seemed to temporary. Now this could actually be done on purpose so that when the contract does end they could remove all product placements out in a long weekend without any problem. I don’t personally think this will draw huge crowds to the park but I will not deny that the area was cleaned up very nicely and I always welcome that. Here is my break down on all the attraction in Angry Birds land. Angry Birds 4D Experience *SPOILERS!* Okay so this attraction basically violated me sexually. For those of you that don’t know the seats in the cinema are known as "catapult seats", which basically means they get pulled back violently when a bird on screen gets into the catapult then bolts forward when they get launched. The seats are not in any way subtle, they beat the crap out of me and made multiple children cry and want to leave almost immediately. They really need to be taken down a few notches especially considering it’s a family based attraction. The movie itself isn’t anything special and I’m assuming it’s very much the same as the Angry Birds Toons they showed on TV it’s just birds trying to get their eggs back from some pigs in various locations. It’s not something I will make a habit of seeing unlike Pirates 4D which I loved! Overall if the seats got toned down it would be a perfect 4D attraction for families to enjoy. Detonator: Bombs Away It’s Detonator with a black bomb bird next to it. The ride itself is exactly the same all the way down to the music and countdown. King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems While I didn’t ride this due to me not wanting to damage my knee any further before Scandi I will say that this ride felt very out of place to me. It looks so much like a fair ride (which it is!). I can’t understand why the park got themselves such a capacity nightmare which isn’t going to be helped with the location either. The cars just look horribly taking and the operator has to make all PA announcements which adds to the fairground vibe the ride gives out. I’m sure people will disagree with me but I don’t think this was actually needed. A new attraction is always nice but I really feel this was a bad choice. So overall Angry Bird Land is nothing special and I just don’t believe it will be a big draw to get people to the park. As the area has just opened it may not be complete yet so we will have to see how it develops but my recommendation is try it once and see what you think for yourself but sticking to Stealth is a much better use of your time in my opinion. Anyway time to head on to the part I know you all wanted to see and that’s the photos. Welcome To Angry Birds Land! This almost reminds me of Beanoland! First stop Pirates 4D.......Oh wait! Hey Larry! Plenty more of these to come! The quality of the screen is very good but it was a little off near the end of the film. A poor bird all alone at the back of the theater. Yeah I look damn sexy in my 4D glasses! I wonder what they did with Leslie Nielsen The entrance to the NEW for 2014 attraction. Close up for you Larry OMG this ride never closes! I think this is the best they could have done theming wise. Its not the sort of ride that is easy to theme. Its all new and shiny! Am I think only one who thinks this is tacky? Another entrance sign. This one is located next to Nemesis Inferno. It really looks like no effort was made with this sign And this one was in the queue line for some reason, not at the main entrance. This is one big bird with a metal pole up his bottom. Here is a light reaction wall thing. I didnt see a single person use it. It was my understanding that everyone had heard.......... This is what replaced the old Fish & Chips outlet. Some more random theming. And finally the last entrance sign located near Stealth. This was one of my highlights of the day. I LOVE Roast and Relish. It is hands down my favourite theme park food outlet. Its a baguette stuffed with meat. Nothing more, nothing less. So simple and so tasty. Merlin needs to put this in all parks! More importantly than Angry Birds is Slammer. Is it open? HELL YEAH IT IS! I love this ride and was very happy that it has re opened. Nemesis Inferno's mist is also working! Am I at the right Thorpe Park? Of course I am because all audio was screwed up in the station. But when it did work and the bass line was going I did see a guy erotically thrusting the queue line fencing in time with it. Yeah the standard of guests is a great as ever! Yeah everyone loves the interlocking corkscrews. No one anywhere has this picture. I am the innovator of this picture........... No birds were harmed in the taking of this photo. "IT'S SO FLUFFY!" I really dont know how I managed to cope with these queues. Where has all the water gone? Oh yeah the back of the park had a power cut which shut down X, Storm Surge, Slammer, Loggers, Saw, Samurai, Rush and Colossus. Honestly the park staff didn’t seem to know what to do. They were just all confused. The engineers took it in their stride as they normally do but ride host were all panicky and couldn’t handle turning guests away very well. After the power cut the engineers had some trouble with Samurai (shocker I know!) and had it in manual for some time but it did re open. I dont understand why this is here. It seems to be a derelict and forgotten part of the park now. Canada Creek Railway will not be opening again unless its then called the train to no where! Here is a random Colossus support. Or is it? The shark is almost finished. Is it Dave approved? And I leave you with Thorpe Park's new entrance. Its a giant TV that basically shows adverts and poorly filmed video of the park. I will say it does look quite nice though. Hope you all enjoyed my trip report and I hope if you do visit Thorpe Park you enjoy Angry Birds Land more than I did. -Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Yeah, I don't think Angry Birds has much in the way of staying power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Well it is not easy to theme dodgems but this is another lame theme park dodgem. You can do something with the light-package on the inside - and as its well shaded due to the roof it also works in the day. Like putting in some rotating red and yellow lights - the primary colors of the Angry Birds. Or put some LED art on the inside of the tent. Maybe parks should look at German carnival dodgems to see what can be done making a colorful one. Often when I hear "oh it is not easy to theme a flat" I mostly think these poeple have not much imagination... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Thanks for the report! I don't get the Angry Birds land - but at least they tried, right?? That sandwich looked Delicious - and now I am hungry David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Great report! I'd love to get to this park one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthFan Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Yeah, I don't think Angry Birds has much in the way of staying power. I think thats why all the theming is easily removable and wont cause any damage to the buildings etc. Even Thorpe Park realise its not a long term thing. Well it is not easy to theme dodgems but this is another lame theme park dodgem. You can do something with the light-package on the inside - and as its well shaded due to the roof it also works in the day. Like putting in some rotating red and yellow lights - the primary colors of the Angry Birds. Or put some LED art on the inside of the tent. Maybe parks should look at German carnival dodgems to see what can be done making a colorful one. Often when I hear "oh it is not easy to theme a flat" I mostly think these poeple have not much imagination... And LED package would be a huge waste of time and money for the park. Things like that only really work when the park is open in the evening/night and that only happens for 2 weeks a year at Thorpe. Its needed something in the queue line like more Angry Birds/Pig models or some interactive catapult thing. Something like that could have made a huge difference. As it stand right now it just looks like a ride was dumped there as a last minute thought. -Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medoman Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 still hoping for anger birds: catapult - the world's first wooden launch coaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Good to see the SFMM of the UK is still delivering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthFan Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 Good to see the SFMM of the UK is still delivering. Oh the quality is most definitely there still. Their clientele are also at its highest peak in years. I think I only saw about 15 beached whales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarlaKoaster Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Good to see the SFMM of the UK is still delivering. I agree, I always think Thorpe Park has a very Six Flags feel about it. I visited Angry Birds Land today and it's pretty woeful. I thought Angry Birds was already a bit out of date, and like everyone here says, everything feels so temporary. If they are trying to get more kids into the park, then they'll definitely not be returning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I was there over the weekend and the 4D thing seemed to be going down quite well with the guests. The chairs are certainly a bit "energetic" but there were some kids around us that seems to really get in with the story and have fun. You've got to remember that the park has positioned itself very well to get a certain type of customer in droves and this land caters to exactly what they want. I thought the land was nicely presented but not something I'd rush to go and see again, that said I think it'll do pretty well for the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshuadrooney Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 It's nice to see that area repainted after all these years, hopefully it will stay that way when they remove the Angry Birds theming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warnerza Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Angry birds are taking over the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 It's nice to see that area repainted after all these years, hopefully it will stay that way when they remove the Angry Birds theming. That said the surrounding are is supposed to be a town that's been decimated by a tidal wave so falling into disrepair could be considered "theming". It's one of those genius themes that rewards the place for looking beaten up. A bit like the SAW queue line I noticed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshuadrooney Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 It's nice to see that area repainted after all these years, hopefully it will stay that way when they remove the Angry Birds theming. That said the surrounding are is supposed to be a town that's been decimated by a tidal wave so falling into disrepair could be considered "theming". It's one of those genius themes that rewards the place for looking beaten up. A bit like the SAW queue line I noticed! I see what you mean. It's a shame they never built more on that theme when they first created it, still it is a really good area and Tidal wave is still awesome to watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 ^ Yeah, I don't think I've ridden it in 10 years! Adds a nice element to the area though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodie Warrior Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 The Angry Bird themeing does look very temporary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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