Thorpe Park – An Honest Family Review 2026

As a family with teenagers, finding a day out that’s fun, entertaining, and exciting is getting trickier every year. Thankfully, Thorpe Park ticked all those boxes for us! We visited during Fright Nights and here’s our honest family review, from two families of two adults, and four teens.

Arrival & First Impressions of Thorpe Park

We arrived at Thorpe Park around 9:50am and were met with a huge, snaking queue for security. It took about 40 minutes to get through bag searches and body scans, which wasn’t the best start, but once we were inside, things picked up quickly.

We collected our park tickets, coaster FastTrack passes, and disability access pass, and the staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more helpful. We wanted to add the scare mazes to our day but found out this could only be done through the app.

As you walk up the hill, you can see The Shark Hotel, Thorpe Park’s on-site accommodation, which even has a private entrance into the park. The main dome area has Coffee Shack, Vibes Bar & Kitchen, a gift shop, a digital photo store, and an arcade-a great place to start your day.

We rented a jumbo locker (£10, online payment only) to store coats, knowing rain was forecast for 3pm (and yes, there’s always one teen who insists they won’t need theirs!). The lockers easily fit five coats, and the toilets in this area were spotless both morning and evening which is always a good sign!

Let the Fun Begin

We headed straight to Lost City, starting the day with Rush, Zodiac, and Vortex with no queues at all since most people dash to the big coasters first thing.

Next up were Colossus and Saw The Ride. While the teens queued (I did Saw two years ago and hated every terrifying second!), I noticed how clean the park was with staff were constantly tidying and litter-picking.

A tip: have breakfast before you arrive. At opening, only a few coffee stations were serving, and most food stands didn’t open until later in the day.

Feeding Hungry Teens

If there’s one thing Thorpe Park does well, it’s food and you’ll never go hungry here!

Not everything opens by lunchtime, but by the evening, every stall and restaurant was up and running. We first tried Burger King by Hyperia, but it was still closed at 12, so we walked to the one near Rumba Rapids instead.

Our order was 2 Chicken Royale meals and 1 Bacon Double Cheeseburger meal with the total £31.67. It was a bit chaotic collecting orders (they didn’t come out in order), but the food was hot and tasty, and we had great views of Stealth while eating.

Onto the Thorpe Park Rollercoasters!

Next up were Nemesis Inferno and Stealth which were both big hits with the teens thanks to their speed and adrenaline factor.

We wandered through the park to check out the Fright Night scare zones and were handed Chupa Chups lollies by the friendly team at Stranger House-small touch, big smiles!

My son met up with some friends, and they decided the brilliant idea of riding Tidal Wave was worth the soaking. The girls discovered you could pay £1 to spray water at riders and gleefully took advantage of it-socks were wrung out shortly after! They followed it up with High Striker, then 1 of the group’s favourite coaster of the day: The Swarm.

Games, Snacks & Shows

By 5pm, the rain started, so we grabbed our coats from the lockers. The queue times for Rush, Zodiac, and Vortex were still short, so the teens went back on a few more times.

Tempted by all the giant teddies people were carrying, we tried our luck at the basketball stall-several times, in fact but no wins (though we were so close!).

We then stopped for a crepe from Sinners Street near Ghost Train. We ordered a white chocolate & kinder bueno crepe and a nutella one (£10 each, plus £3 for a Diet Coke). They were freshly made, delicious, and huge- most definitely sharable.

While eating, we caught parts of the Fire Show, Hell’s Angels, and Lucifer’s Lair performances from a distance. It was busy but full of atmosphere.

Thorpe Park at Night

Once darkness fell, the park looked incredible-neon lights reflecting off the rain, music pumping, and teens buzzing with excitement.

They finally got to ride Hyperia in the dark (the moment they’d been waiting for all day!) and immediately went straight back on.

We saw some scare actors roaming around. Their costumes were impressive, and they stayed perfectly in character. Unfortunately, when the rain really started coming down, the atmosphere quietened, and the scare actors disappeared, which disappointed the teens.

We’d booked one maze, Dead Beat – reviews were mixed: three loved it, one vowed “never again!”. My eldest then went into Stitches scare maze but sadly it got evacuated half way through with no compensation. He then popped into a gift shop to get a Saw-The Ride hoodie for £60.

After another go on Nemesis Inferno, they decided that riding coasters in the rain hurts! so we warmed up with a kids chicken nugget, chips and a drink with a side of onion rings (£11.78)  from Burger King and some tasty sausage and chips (£12) from Cape Cod before heading toward the exit. 

Fast Track & Accessibility

We were lucky to have the Coaster Fast Track Pass, giving us access to five rides (Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, Stealth, Saw, and The Swarm). These were brilliant to use in the evening when queues got longer.

As a parent of children with autism, the Disability Access Pass at Thorpe Park is an amazing support that really helps us enjoy the day stress-free. Once you’ve gone through security, head to the windows on the right to collect your pre-booked accessibility pass.

To use it, you’ll need to pre-register with Merlin (the great thing is, it works at all Merlin attractions) and pre-book your accessibility space online before your visit. When collecting your pass, just show the team your booking confirmation and your Merlin Accessibility Card-if you don’t have one yet, you can actually collect it here too.

You’ll then be given a paper queuing card, which you’ll need to keep with you for the day. It’s important to have your accessibility card on you at all times, as staff might ask to see it when you access rides.

At each ride, simply use the accessibility queue or the Fast Track lane. When you reach the front, hand your queuing card to a team member. They’ll write down the ride name and the time you can go on your next ride- this system basically “queues” for you, so you don’t have to wait in long lines.

You can use the pass throughout the park and on all rides, and honestly, without it, I don’t think we’d be able to visit. The staff at Thorpe Park are always so understanding and kind when handling the cards and speaking with the teens. Their compassion really makes such a difference to our experience, and we’re so grateful for that.

Food, Facilities & Final Thoughts on Thorpe Park

We arrived just before opening (9:50am) and stayed until 8:30pm, with the park closing at 9pm. Queue times averaged 30–60 minutes, which was surprisingly reasonable for Fright Nights and half term.

Food-wise, there’s everything-restaurants, cafes, kiosks, and big chains like Burger King and KFC. You can also buy a refillable drinks cup (£18), and there are plenty of refill and water stations if you bring your own bottles.

Toilets were plentiful, spotless, and inclusive — with accessible, non-binary, and baby-changing options.

The park itself was immaculate all day, and staff were consistently friendly and helpful.

If I had one small critique, it’s that there’s not much shelter-either from sun or rain-apart from restaurants or the dome area.

Overall, we managed to ride everything (except the younger kids’ rides). Each teen came away with a different “favourite” and, despite the rain cutting Fright Night short, they’re already planning a return trip next year!

Do note: scare actors do roam freely around the park-something I wasn’t expecting-so if you’re a jumpy person like me, be prepared!

Thorpe Park is definitely best suited to older kids, teens, and adults, though there are a few rides and a play area for smaller ones.

Travel Mum Verdict

Our day at Thorpe Park was a whirlwind of thrills, laughs, and soaked socks! The teens loved every moment, bouncing from one coaster to the next, each time declaring the latest their new favourite.

The park was clean, the staff were brilliant, and the food options were endless (if pricey-as expected for theme parks). Despite the rain dampening Fright Night, we had an unforgettable day and can not wait to return next year!

If you’ve got thrill-seeking, rollercoaster-loving teens, Thorpe Park is a must-visit!

Travel Mum Score: 4.5 / 5

Check out or review of LEGOLAND here!

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