Oktoberfest is back again for 2023 at Thorpe Park Resort!
Get your stein ready and prepare to drink and dance the day away at Thorpe Park! But don’t forget to drink lots of water and to drink responsibly of course. The event is back for its 3rd year running and continues to be a big hit. The location of Oktoberfest has remained unchanged since the event began but this year's entertainment has been refined and mostly contracted out to external dancers and musicians.
The stage for this year's event has been rotated to face Ghost Train and the stage is a bit smaller but apart from that the event remains the same. The backdrop of the stage has been given an Oktoberfest makeover with some of the rollercoaster of the park making an appearance in the fake windows of the cabin. There’s no temporary bar for this year's event, with the addition of the Camden junction bar for this year, you can buy Spartan, Erdinger and Steins from the Camden bar.
Starting at midday each day the event kicks off with the tapping of the keg which kickstarts the event and begins the day's festivities. However, not everything goes to plan when the major forgets to bring the keg and the locals sing and dance it off.
There are 3 acts in total throughout different times of the day, Danger Goat, Bavarian Dancers and The Battling Yodellers.
Starting off with Danger Goat who play a few songs with little audience interaction. It’s a different vibe when compared to last year but we still really enjoyed it. Especially when we got an oomph version of Disney’s It’s a Small World! Playing lots of classics along with your normal German Oktoberfest music there’s something for everyone to sit back to and drink to. And if you don’t want to drink there’s lots of good food located down towards Trailers to enjoy!
The Bavarian Dancers are back for 2023, back with their traditional dancing and music this set will get you up and dancing in no time! We really enjoyed having the Bavarian dancers back for this year. Although the set remains the same, we really enjoyed it. Great costumes, impressive dance moves and great audience interaction. It's slowly becoming a staple of Oktoberfest at Thorpe Park!
New for 2023, The Battling Yodellers! Pick your team, the left or right side of the stage then battle it out to see who can be louder. We really enjoyed this new addition to Oktoberfest 2023, something very different and not seen at Thorpe Park or Alton Towers before. Of course, if the microphone comes to you they expect you to give it your all and give them a yodel!
Of course, an event at Thorpe Park wouldn’t be complete without special food! Located at selected outlets around the area you can get Oktoberfest special foods. Extra food points have been reopened for Oktoberfest, down towards Trailers you can buy curly fries and the world's best chocolate brownies are back!
We thoroughly loved Oktoberfest at Thorpe Park this year. However, we feel like it’s a great shame that the roaming entertainment team for the event has been scaled back. We miss the Mr. and Mrs. Euro show that we’ve seen for the past 2 years. It's always good to shake up an event but we think the talent of the local Thorpe Park employed staff has been lost at this year's event. Around 5 or 6 Oktoberfest “locals” still roam the area, dancing and singing along to what’s going on around them. But apart from the opening show that’s all they used for. Understandably the closer we get to Fright Nights some of them will be required for rehearsals and costume fittings.
A good year for Oktoberfest but maybe not its strongest.
