UK Theme Parks Tips
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The attractions in the Traffic area of the park (Boating School, Driving School and Fire Academy) are hugely popular. To avoid a long wait, try and hit them early - it will take other guests a while to work their way through the park to reach them. All three will be swamped by lunchtime on busy days.
On busy days, it's essential to arrive early at Thorpe Park - ideally, 45-60 minutes before the park opens. This is particularly true if you need to buy tickets on the gate (e.g. if you are using a 2-for-1 deal). If you arrive later than this, you risk not being in the park when the gates open, by which time attractions such as SAW - The Ride (which processes queues very slowly) will already have a long wait.
If you're hungry, the Pizza Hut buffet offers decent value for money at Thorpe Park. It may not be ultra-healthy, and it won't win any quality awards, but it will fuel you for a busy afternoon at minimal cost.
If you can't afford to stay in the Alton Towers or Splash Landing hotels, there is a fantastic alternative.
The Chained Oak Farm B&B is located almost next to the park, so close that at the end of the b&b's drive way you can hear screams from Oblivion! This B&B is particularly good for a couple of reasons:
1) price and location (£65 for a double, including a really hearty breakfast in the morning) the proximity of the b&b means you can walk to the park (avoiding parking fees). If you ask the ownners (who are very friendly!) they'll give you directions to the security entrance to the park who will wave you through to the main entrance, saving you a good 30mins walk!
2) If you've been to the park before and have been on Hex, you'll know of the legend of the great Chained Oak. The Chained Oak Farm is named after this very tree and it is situated in their vast grounds!!! There are a couple of small sign posts off their drive way which direct you to the tree, it isn't advertised by the park at all and we only came across it by chance, but it's pretty creepy and is obviously not just something put in place to endorse Hex.
If you're interested in booking at the Chained Oak, I recommend booking in advance as they've only got a few rooms. Definately recommend the B&B, particularly for couples as it's a bit quieter and more mature than staying in either of the Alton Towers hotels.
Google chained oak farm for contact details!
If you're looking for a good meal while visiting Thorpe Park, head back towards the main enterance and into Port Atlantis (The large dome structure before the bridge). Inside you will find GlassHouse Kitchen and Bar. This resturant serves up great food at prices which cannot be beat. Look out for their two meals for £10 deal, which can be find all year round.
Avoid booths, such as game testing experences. My experience of the kinect booth was that, despite a seemingly small queue, i waited as long as the longest queue for a roller coaster.
When visiting Drayton in summer, visit the Zoo area during the peak heat time of day as the area is lovely and shady and cool - itll give you all a chance to cool off a little and recharge your batteries.
The best time to ride Spinball Whizzer without a long wait is to join the queue just before the park's scheduled closing time. It's the queue, not the ride, that closes - so you can take advantage of the extra time and avoid the long queues that Spinball has for most of the rest of the day.
