THORPE PARK Resort Avis 555

staff were cool
ghost train actors were very scary and interacted with us when we gave them train tickets
flying fish staff were PEAK
shoutout to Elyse thats our queen!!
also shoutout to the guy who gave us a discount at the shop for guessing his age

Unsafe overcrowding, hours of queuing, and no response from management

We recently visited Thorpe Park (7–8 April 2026) and Chessington World of Adventures (4 April 2026), and the experience was extremely disappointing and, at times, genuinely unsafe.

At Thorpe Park, we spent over an hour just trying to enter the park, followed by queue times of 100–180 minutes per ride. Despite spending most of the day in queues, we only managed two rides on the first day. Multiple rides broke down after long waits, with little to no clear communication from staff.

The most concerning issue was the dangerous overcrowding at park entry on the second day. Crowds were pushing forward to the point where I had to physically shield my nine-year-old child, who was crying and frightened. At that moment, I was genuinely concerned about our safety. This level of crowd management is completely unacceptable.

We also experienced issues with Fast Track being unusable despite prior contact, and even when it worked, it still involved significant waiting. Food service was slow and disorganised, and overall the day felt like poor value for money.

Our earlier visit to Chessington showed similar problems—long queues, repeated ride breakdowns, and overcrowding to the point where even the zoo was difficult to navigate.

What is most frustrating is that after raising these issues directly with Merlin Entertainments, we have received no response.

This does not feel like a one-off bad day—it feels like a systemic issue with overcrowding and poor operations. Until this is addressed, I would strongly caution families, particularly those with young children, before visiting.

Terrible if you are looking for a nice family day out don't go here..Staff untrained and rude go elsewhere !!!!!!

Waiting time for rides was around 90-100 minutes. So for your money expect just around 4 rides. No water rides at all for some reason. And then at the end they charge a small fortune for parking. The ghost train awful.

Read the small print
I bought 3 x Bronze Fast Passes what a total waste of money
I understood this was 3 x rides but it’s only crap flat rides
Not only that but were closed in the day
I didn’t use the pass at all and asked for a refund and they don’t want to know
What a rip off

It seems that history is reapeating itself. Lik two years ago i come to thorpe park near easter. I need 35-40 min only to get in to the park passing to the security, just to see that some rides closed and others with a huge waiting time up to 120 min at hyperya. Dissapointing.

It’s a shame UK theme parks dont take a leaf out of Orlando’s theme parks. UK long queues for very short rides. Mainly all rollercoasters, no interactive rides like Harry Potter or Star Wars (like America). Park wasn’t the cleanest, staff just going through the motions and the food absolutely rubbish and total rip off (nothing I didn’t expect sadly!). Fingers crossed that when universal arrives in the UK they emulate what they have achieved in America and else where. Thorpe park and the Merlin group really need to up their game!

Overcrowded but such a good experience and so fun, great rollercoasters. Idk about that burger king thoughhh..

I am a proud thorpe park anual pass holder and i visited 39 times last season its kinda my home but i love it

Corporate greed at its finest. If you like queuing then you'll love thorpe park. 1 hour and 35 minutes to queue for a 1 minute long ride - that ended up being rubbish. And that's the standard across rides. The park is only open 8 hours, so that is four rides a day... you do the math. Not worth it. They oversell tickets by FAR too much, terrible experience. Do not reccomend. Mental torture queuing for such a ridiculous amount of time.

Thorpe park as part of Merlin entertainments are now discriminating against Autism ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions. This is no longer a safe space for people with hidden disabilities. As RAP pass holders we are extremely disappointed with this unfair treatment. We will not renew our passes again , or use any of Merlin parks again

Why have you deemed it acceptable to exclude my autistic daughter from your park by removing the ride access pass for her? Have you checked with lawyers and they’ve told you it is now allowable to discriminate against neurodivergent disabilities but not ok to discriminate against physical disabilities?

I went into the saw maze thinking it was going to be another fun ride/ attraction. it certainly wasn't. I was so frightened my partner had to guide me through and sing me lullabies

We essentially got scammed by Thorpe Park. When using the e-gates, accidentally I scanned two codes at once. Upon informing a member of staff since only one of us could go through at one time, we were abruptly informed ‘it’s already been used’ and nothing can be done. Honestly helpful customer service, and a complete waste of money. Please don’t give this scamming institution your money, they don’t trust anyone and it’s not worth it.

Our experience is the same as the majority of reviewers here. The overcrowding is ridiculous, especially as they can’t manage to keep all the major rides open (two were closed when we went, at the beginning of November). Most queues are well over 2 hours. It is made worse by poor organisation and bored staff. Merlin pretty much have a UK monopoly on these parks, and have no incentive to improve the experience.

Overcrowded and over priced, dont bother with photo package as you have to pay when you get the photos anyway. Have to pay for entry and then have to pay for ride once inside. Over sell tickets so the park is so packet everyone is arguing and fighting. Ques are 3 hours so if you spend a 9 hour day with wee breaks and food breaks you get to go on 2 maybe 3 rides with one being a baby ride that noone wants to go on just go on it to make you feel a little bit better about spending 9 hours standing in ques. Food is disgusting. Staff are aggressive but how can you blame them when they have 3million angry visitors seathinh from standing in ques for 3hours and then the ride closes!! Worst place in England!! Never again.

We had a fantastic VIP experience with Anna as our guide for Fright Night! I took three teenage boys who were absolutely thrilled with how the day went. In fact on the way home they told me it was “the best day ever!” This is the highest praise a 13 year old can bestow 😃

Anna steered us through a busy park, helped us go on everything we wanted to ride (some twice) and made sure we had everything we needed. I felt unwell and Anna was amazing making sure I got a sit down while she continued to take the boys around. It was like having another Mum to help (sorry, Anna!) We’ll definitely be doing it all again next year.

It’s now £12 to park, 90 minute for the new Hyperia, as great as it was it’s was, the time queuing ruined the day. Also two of the main rides were closed.

Just terrible! Toilet dirty in cabin, facilities in the park very dirty. 2 hour waits for rides, rude staff. Overpriced, no customer service...save your money people, this just ain't worth it

Fast track system is designed to scam their customers…. Hidden away in the massive T&C’s they say they won’t refund you if the ride closes…. Awful customer experience.

Thrope Park was great growing up, coming back as an adult has shown me why I’ve not been in years!

£12 for parking is joke also. Clearly not many people are enjoying the park by the look of your reviews.