On the 8th July 2010, Thorpe Park submitted a planning application for its new 2011 water ride. This ride will come from the (now closed) Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, USA. Merlin Entertainments, Thorpe Park's parent company, purchased Cypress Gardens with a view to using the land to build Legoland Florida. Consequently, Merlin have to decide what to do with all of the old Cypress Gardens attractions - and Storm Surge is coming to Thorpe Park for 2011!

To the right is an image of Storm Surge when it was operating at Cypress Gardens, and below is the description of the ride on the Cypress Gardens website:

The ride is 19.8m high, which is about two thirds of the height of Colossus. It will sit in the Octopus Gardens area of the Park, which will be demolished at the end of the 2010 season. The ride will almost completely obscure the front of the X:\ No Way Out building, as well as the front of the Thorpe Mega Store. The bright colour scheme and grey metal structure will certainly make an impact on guests as they walk out of the Dome and into the Park - you won't fail to notice it.

WhiteWaterWest, the manufacturers of the ride, claim that its Spinning Rapids Ride is the first totally new water ride in the amusement park industry since 1979: "it's an intense, thrilling and safe adventure for the whole family generating laughter & screams alike". The rafts slide down the course and hit intentionally rough sections along the way, which make the rafts spin. Sometimes the spinning can get quite dizzying, but riders generally do not get wet. Read more about it on the WhiteWaterWest website here.

No word has been received on whether the ride will be re-painted and re-themed, or whether it will retain its original Storm Surge name. There are rumours that it will be tied in with the Amity Cove theme.

Planning Application Images

To view the 2011 plans, you can find them at Runnymede Borough Council here.