Details about Thorpe Park’s Sparkle Project for the 2024 season

Revealed in the park’s Christmas 2023 video, Thorpe Park are undertaking a series of improvements for and throughout the 2024 season to improve the look and feel of the park. In effect, they are making it sparkle again!

What is being done?

During a normal closed season, the park would do winter maintenance on all rides, as well as touch ups and deep cleans of parts of the park. For the 2023/24 closed season, the park are doing the following on top of that:

• A Colossus repaint (initially half of the ride, closer to park). On top of this, the control system will be upgraded, a dispatch screen added, and theming repairs/upgrades.
• Stealth’s station and photo kiosk will be repainted with a new colour scheme, with further refurbs to entrance, plaza & queue.
• Rush & Vortex to be repainted, in their original colours.
• Samurai to be repainted in red/black (its original Chessington colour scheme)
• Refurbished toilets in Amity Cove, Big Easy Boulevard & Swarm Island, included refreshed interior looks and new sinks.
• A complete interior rebuild of Old Town toilets, including Gender neutral toilets, baby change and a second “changing places” toilet.
• Tidal Wave to receive a new exit bridge and ramp, with its original theming, and more open view of lagoon.
• KFC to receive an interior refresh, although none of the existing theming will be removed.
• New digital screens, park wide audio enhancements, further new food outlets, shade cover in some queue lines

 

Will all of this be done during closed season?

The park are aiming to do all of this alongside their regular winter maintenance schedule. However, it is possible that some bits will remain unfinished at the start of season, with finishing touches done throughout the season.

Will the Sparkle Project continue in future years?

The park haven’t officially confirmed if this is a one off, something happening over a couple of years or something that will become a part of their closed season maintenance part regularly. However, the park have said they want to completely repaint Colossus, for example, as well as replace track which is nearing the end of its life. On top of this, there are some parts of the park which aren’t being given any ‘sparkle’ this year, that the park do acknowledge could do with some attention. So it does seem like there is an opportunity for it to carry on in future years!