Thorpe Park – an island filled with rollercoasters and rides – it’s a scary enough place as it is, but there are a few weirdly specific things that are just scarier than they aught to be.

1 – The ridiculously fast closing restraints on Vortex

Vortex, a spinning pendulum ride, takes riders for a whirl 22 meters in to the air. But before the ride starts, there’s a startling and unexpected surprise to deal with – the restraints.

Once you’ve taken your seat, the staff instruct you to stretch your arms out to the front while the restraints lower, which happens extremely quickly! It always makes me jump whenever I ride Vortex.

2 – Being shot at in Saw the Ride’s queue

Saw the Ride has quite a mundane queue for the most part – queueing outdoors behind the ride building is actually quite calm and even peaceful. The later, indoor, part of the queue however is much more interesting, including the extremely loud and startling shotguns pointing down from the ceiling as you queue through the first corridor! The sudden loud shots never fail to make people jump!

3 – Quantum

Quantum is one of those rides that most will walk straight past. It’s quite small, and certainly isn’t one of the headliners at Thorpe Park. However I would recommend giving Quantum a ride – it’s a LOT more intense than it looks and really can turn your stomach!

4 – Detonator’s delay

Detonator. Probably the only ride at Thorpe Park that still breaks me in to a cold sweat…

It isn’t the tallest drop tower out there, and isn’t even up there with the tallest rides at Thorpe Park, but sitting on those seats with your legs dangling 100ft up is a sure way to give you that “what the hell am I doing here” feeling…

To make matters worse, there’s a horrifying ‘hold’ at the top of the tower, meaning you’re left dangling there for what feels like 6-8 business days…

The drop is controlled by the operator, meaning they can leave you up there for as long as they want…. Horrible!

5 – The minimal restraints on Rush

Rush, the giant playground swing, is intimidating. Swinging riders up to beyond horizontal each way, your bum really does ‘fall out of the seat’ somewhat at the top of each swing! What makes matters worse is the very minimal restraints on this ride – it’s just a lap bar, which opens and folds out from the side when it’s unlocked.

Flying through the air up to the top and looking straight down to the ground is made even more terrifying (and more fun) thanks to the fact your arms and legs are totally free, as you’re only held in by your waist!

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So there we have it – 5 scarier-than-necessary things at Thorpe Park, at least until they open Hyperia, the tallest and fastest rollercoaster in the UK, next month!