As attractions across the UK slowly reopen after months of being moth-balled due to coronavirus thrill seekers across the south will no doubt be keen to visit Thorpe Park.
The Staines theme park, has been entertaining visitors for more than 40 years on "an island like no other" and is well-known for its roller coasters and rides.
Anyone planning a trip will no doubt want to know how social distancing is impacting the customers experience at the park especially as queues can often be long at the best of times.
Luckily for you Qasim Peracha, a reporter at our sister title My London has already visited the park.
Here's what happened:
Social distancing rules had to be introduced alongside a requirement to wear masks in queues and on rides and some of the popular rides and attractions where social distancing isn't possible had to be closed, including Saw, Storm Surge and Tidal Wave as well as the indoor attractions Derren Brown's Ghost Train and The Walking Dead: The Ride.
Some of the food stands have also been closed at the park, however none of these covid-restrictions were the reason we left Thorpe Park feeling somewhat cheated out of my entry fee. As a coaster-enthusiast I love visiting at least once every Summer, preferably before the school holidays and on a weekday to make sure I get the shortest queue times possible.
Thrifty Londoners will also know that paying full price for tickets is for chumps. A full price ticket for an adult for one day is around £50 usually but using any number of 2 for 1 offers or online discounts and voucher codes, it is possible to go for much less.
However all voucher and discount schemes this year have been cancelled due to the huge financial hit the park received by being closed for three months during their season. Thorpe Park have chosen to split the difference in ticket prices, with all tickets available online for £39.
But that price applies to all park visitors over the age 3, not just adults. This means taking a family or group of friends to the park now costs significantly more.
Tickets have to be bought online before arriving at the park and are scanned at entry gates, but opening times at Thorpe Park still remain the same. Despite sunlight until around 9pm and other Merlin-owned parks like Alton Towers closing at 6pm, rides are switched off at Thorpe Park at 5pm.
This has not changed during the current phase of reopening despite the fact that every ride we went on, from the huge coasters to Quantumn, the flying carpet ride, needed to be closed for sometimes lengthy periods of time to be cleaned and disinfected.
If you are unlucky enough to be in the queue when a cleaning break is needed, it can add up to 30 minutes to your wait per ride in some cases.
Despite the number of tickets sold being limited, another coronavirus regulation, social distancing means that fewer people can go on the ride each time in most cases, with notable exceptions being rides like Swarm. Because the ride is never full, like usual, the queue can move more slowly.
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However these problems are all minor in comparison to the biggest hurdle you face - getting in. Thanks to delays on the way there, we arrived around 20 minutes after opening time - usually not a disaster if a bit disappointing. On this occasion it left me towards the back of a security queue which resulted in us not entering the park itself until 12pm.
For more than one and a half hours we were forced to snake through barriers with little information about why. Although yellow dots on the floor indicated where groups should stand to ensure social distancing, this was not enforced either here or inside the park.
During the entire wait to enter the park, which culminated in an anticlimactic 15-second bag check and wave of a handheld metal detector, only two announcements were made to remind people to socially distance and to wear masks in the queue. Both rules were being repeatedly flouted around the park.
Staff were polite and helpful throughout the park, hand sanitiser was readily available and replacement masks were freely offered to people who had damaged or misplaced their own.
The rides themselves are as great as I remembered them but at most points during the day major coasters like Colossal, Nemesis and Stealth had queue waiting times of over an hour and up to two hours.
Given the issues with having enough time to do all the rides, consider taking them up on their offer to pay the difference and upgrade to a season pass at the end of the day if you were unable to enjoy the rides as much as you would have liked.
You still have to book your tickets ahead of the day online but for £55 you can visit an unlimited number of times this season.
The hospitality and leisure industries are among the worst-affected by the coronavirus lockdown and continuing protocol around the virus which have to be followed.
While there is always room for improvement, at least Thorpe Park are making an effort to bring a smile to the faces of Londoners and people across the region.
Just like everything else, the way you visit Thorpe Park this year will be different to every other year, but it is still just about worth doing if you don't repeat our mistakes.
