Some areas of Storm Surge have been fully-landscaped, and if viewed front-on it makes for a visually interesting addition to Thorpe Park’s skyline. We hope the park eventually completes the rest of the area to the same standard.<\/p>\n

Queuing with the hillbillies<\/h3>\n

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Let’s hope the fire service remembered to buy a \u00a32 parking token.<\/div>\n

Storm Surge features a “hillbilly” theme, although in reality most of the queue and surrounding area is quite bland. There is at least the hint of a natural disaster backstory, with a fire service car parked close to the entrance. On peak days, actors playing hillbillies will also circulate through the queue line.<\/p>\n

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Empying Storm Surge’s rafts holds the queue up for several minutes.<\/div>\n

Queue times for Storm Surge during Thorpe Park’s opening weekend extended to over an hour at times, although this should subside as the novelty factor of the new ride wears off. However, the length of the lines was not helped by the ride’s slow loading times and occasional stops to empty water out of its fleet of rafts.<\/p>\n

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Guests can indulge their sadistic streak using Storm Surge’s water cannons.<\/div>\n

If there are long queues, at least there is the option during the early part of the queue of using one of the handily-placed water cannons to soak other riders. This is a fun addition, although we did see two groups of teenagers come close to blows when one gave the other a particularly harsh blasting from the cannons.<\/p>\n

Spiralling downwards<\/h3>\n

Storm Surge sees groups of up to 6 riders clambering into rubber rafts, which are then carried by a conveyor belt to the top of a 64-feet-tall lift hill. Much of the ride’s relatively short duration is spent climbing to the top, although its central location does offer some fantastic views of the rest of Thorpe Park.<\/p>\n

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Much of riders’ time on Storm Surge is spent on the lifthill.<\/div>\n

On cresting the top of the hill, the rafts enter a spiralling downhill section. Although the gentle slope means that the descent is not particularly fast, panels embedded in the slide cause the rafts to spin rapidly. This is a fun effect, and most riders will be laughing (as well as feeling slightly dizzy) for much of the way down.<\/p>\n

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The spiral section is the best part of Storm Surge’s circuit.<\/div>\n

The duration of Storm Surge is fairly short, though, and many riders will feel disappointed by how quickly they reach the final splashdown section. This, again, is fairly tame and the ride ends with the raft gently skimming onto the water rather than creating a huge impact.<\/p>\n

You can view a full video of Storm Surge in action below:<\/p>\n