Motion sickness at Thorpe Park: what's rough and how to cope

Chertsey, Surrey, United Kingdom · Merlin Entertainments · ~1.62M visitors (2023, industry estimate)

The rides most likely to set you off

Colossus is the hardest ride here for a stomach rather than for nerves. Ten inversions is punishing on its own, but the quadruple heartline roll at the end is the part that does the damage: four consecutive rolls around the length of your body, taken when your inner ear has already been working overtime for a full lap. Plenty of riders handle the first two thirds comfortably and remember only the finale.

• Colossus: ten inversions finishing with a quadruple heartline roll, one of the most disorienting endings anywhere.

• Samurai: top scan flat ride whose arms pitch and flip the seat pods at up to 5G.

• Hyperia: the UK's tallest coaster at 236 ft, with outer-banked airtime hills.

• SAW - The Ride: beyond-vertical 100 degree drop pulling up to 4.7G.

• Stealth: hydraulic launch from 0 to 80 mph in about 1.9 seconds.

• Nemesis Inferno: inverted coaster taken with your legs dangling through multiple inversions.

Where to reset between rides

When your stomach needs a break, head for Flying Fish (19 mph starter coaster), Mr Monkey's Banana Ride (small swinging ship) or High Striker (small kids tower). Slow visuals, a fixed horizon and a seat that is not spinning give your inner ear time to settle before the next big ride.

Going on Thorpe Park? Set it up first

Queue time is the good time to sort this out. The ten minutes after a ride is not. Dizzout is a drug-free app that plays precisely calibrated audio through any headphones you already own, wired or Bluetooth, with relief in about 90 seconds. Free to try.

Before you need it: find out how prone you are

Take the free 2-minute test

Two minutes, no sign-up, and it ends with a drug-free plan to prepare.

Put it on your phone before you go

Try it free

Free to try, no card needed. Or go straight to the App Store or Google Play.

Try 15 seconds in your browser first

Scan to open on your phone

On a computer? Dizzout installs on your phone. Scan the code, or open dizzout.com/get on your phone and it'll take you straight to the right store.

Copy dizzout.com/get

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Your survival plan for Thorpe Park

1. 1

   Accept that there is no middle gear and plan for it. Pick two big coasters for the day rather than assuming you will work your way up to them.

2. 2

   Ride Colossus early or skip it. The heartline rolls at the end are the day's biggest disorientation, and they are far worse on a full stomach.

3. 3

   Treat Samurai as separate from the coasters. Flat rides that pitch and flip catch people who are fine with speed and inversions.

4. 4

   Take Stealth if you want the smallest time commitment. The launch is over in seconds and the ride is short, which makes it easier to recover from than a long inverting layout.

5. 5

   Space Nemesis Inferno and SAW - The Ride apart. Both keep sustained force on you, and back to back they compound.

6. 6

   The park sits on islands with a lot of walking and water. Keep headphones on you and run a Dizzout session at the first wobble: drug-free, and most people feel better in about 90 seconds.

Before you pack the wristbands or the ginger chews, see which remedies hold up under testing. Anything you take before a park day is a question for a pharmacist or doctor.

Going with kids

This is the weakest park on the list for young children and for anyone who wants a middle gear. The gentle rides are aimed at small kids, so a nervous adult has little to graduate onto between them and the big coasters.

Common questions