All around the country, universities are welcoming first year students into their establishments this week. Known as “Freshers Week”, it is widely renowned for partying, drinking and clubbing while the freshmen adjust to their new settings in towns and cities perhaps far away from home.
For students in Surrey, a great local option to let their hair down and enjoy a day out is Thorpe Park – however, with many arriving at the theme park feeling the effects of the night before, things can get a little messy. Rollercoasters can often turn the stomachs of even the most seasoned theme park visitors, so thrill seekers can find themselves stuck in queues while clean-up operations take place on the most vomit inducing rides.
Fortunately, staff at Thorpe Park have come up with a solution to the problem – during Freshers Week, all students visiting the park will be breathalysed to determine their blood alcohol level before setting foot on the rides.
However, this is by no means a method of deterring students from visiting, as any visitors with more than 35 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath will not be turned away at the gates. Rather, they will be fast tracked onto one of the park’s most terrifying rides as a means of curing their hangovers.
This may seem like a bad idea at first; after all, putting someone who already feels queasy on a ride with a steep drop can only lead to one thing, surely?
Apparently not. Research conducted by neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis indicates that the blast of oxygen experienced by riders of one of Thorpe Park’s most terrifying rides – The Swarm – improves the metabolic rate, thus boosting the speed at which the alcohol toxins lingering in the blood stream are broken down.
Therefore, crowds of hungover students are now being directed in their droves towards The Swarm upon arrival at the park. This rollercoaster hurtles riders through the air head first at over 60 miles per hour – so if nothing else, students will certainly be awake by the time the carriages have passed around the tracks!
Divisional director of Thorpe Park, Mike Vallis, says; “Thorpe Park does not condone drinking and riding, however, during this Fresher’s Week period, we realise that a number of our guests do not recognise that they are suffering from the effects of the night before.
“We felt it was our duty to ensure that all of our guests enjoy the extreme nature of our rides.
“By putting them on The Swarm, which is proven to be the ultimate hangover cure, we are confident that our guests will have a great, and hopefully vomit free, day.”
Staff at Thorpe Park felt the need to find a solution for the so-called “sick shutdowns” after witnessing a massive 250 per cent increase in the number of visitors to the park becoming sick on rides in this past week alone. The move was largely aimed at appeasing families, who paid full price for tickets and found themselves stuck in lengthy queues while rides were shut down for cleaning purposes.
So, next time you wake up on Monday morning feeling the effects of the weekend, perhaps suggest a trip to a local theme park as a means of blowing the cobwebs away. While your boss may not be too happy at first, they may change their mind given how alert everyone in the office is by lunchtime!
Would you ever consider visiting a theme park when feeling distinctly under the weather? Do you think Thorpe Park’s initiative will work, or do you believe it will backfire spectacularly?
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