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@Matt Creek,unfortunately due to the Coronavirus restrictions Chessington Buzz nor Theme Park Guide could ride Tomb Blaster today. Chessington Buzz said too me via Facebook that no external changes have taken place to Tomb Blaster. Of course this does not guarantee that Forbidden Tomb has returned in all but name. Obviously the Forbidden Tomb sign is still above the entrance so the canvas sign saying Tomb Blaster could be taken away at the last minute to expose the Forbidden Tomb one.

2021 Edition Part two. The other day, someone said Steel Vengeance was over-rated. I'm going to stand out here, shout to the world that if you decide to refer to something as over-rated then you have no critical discourse whatsoever and you need to pick up a thesaurus and learn some new descriptive language. Saying something is over-rated is the laziest critique anyone can possibly muster up because it requires no explanation and only looks to disregard peoples opinion. It says to others, 'sure you like a ride but thats only because you're following the crowd. No, I am the only tru

Hey! I thought Id just tell some stories of what I gathered from things friends and employees used to say about the reason it closed. I really have no idea how much truth is in this (its probably very little so take it with a grain of salt) and I assume a lot of you are quite a bit more knowledgeable about this than me. Essentially, in the early to mid 2010s legislation in regards to the operation of water rides and attractions were updated, something to the effect that water rides at parks needed to guarantee a level of quality in the water used. I think it was along the lines of if g

Narrator: it will

So for anyone interested, one can make out what is said on the signage at the entrance to attraction thanks to Jack Silkstone's video (around 25min mark), and gives a sense of what we could expect: (forgive the rubbish quality) For those who can't make it out: [quote] 1. Move forward when called 2. Your photo will be taken 3. Move to a touch screen 4. Click your photo and enter details 5. Accept the terms & conditions 6. Step aside for the next Participants Misuse will not be tolerated, including inappropri

We will get Bouncezilla and Gamefx back if we are lucky If Loggers came back, I'd be a dutchman's uncle. They are probably waiting for it to just collapse to save on the good old demolition costs knowing them.

I dont think there anything to say that hasnt already been said... I would say the state of the park is embarrassing but I dont think Merlin have enough shame to be embarrassed by anything. 🥴 I guess the glimmer of hope is that this season (and maybe the next few ones) will be setting the park up for some much needed overhauls and cleanin up. Especially seeing as Merlin are going to have to start competing with that London Resort soon but then again... 😞

Can anyone confirm if the 5th green light has been fixed on Stealth to celebrate it's 15th birthday please.

@Matt Creek I cannot believe that Forbidden Tomb has returned!! I am delighted in fact ecstatic.I told you all to believe me and that Abdab would resurrect. From now on can you ALL take my word. Roll on the 17th of May when hopefully someone will vlog from inside Forbidden Tomb and we’ll see Abdab again.

It's a various combination of things. Easiest step is to bring the staff up to scratch on it. Start writing down times properly (they rarely do at Towers), and ensure the rules are being followed (saw mention of people not having the wristband holder with them? Like no guys you can go away). I remember explaining to guests clearly the rules (GS didn't tend to) and most were fairly happy, even if they arrived early and they had to wait. In terms of limitations it's variable. Whilst the 3 carer rule is fairly useful for groups (we use this to fair affect for example), Bl

Looks like the parks speaker system has had yet another overhaul! Swarm island and saws speakers have all been replaced with rcf p series and monitor Q series which sound amazing apart from saws station which has no bass but I think its due to saws speaker system still not being finnished leaving some areas without audio (by the way hello zepp it now played on dispatch!) and that they have left the old bose subs remianing making me think they are still keeping them but they have not be turned on yet. Infernos old soundtrack is back with them new rcf subs that are pumping out the sountrack

Maybe Forbidden Tomb will be the name of the top-spin going in Tomb Blaster's building?

Perhaps they are just doing a pay it backward scheme. To pay for all the wasted pizza MAP holders left on their plates in previous years.

Jack Silkstone has released his pre-season behind the scenes video, where he's shown round by the park's Commercial Director, Russ: If videos aren't your thing (though tbf, it's a nice video), here's a fairly comprehensive overview of the changes for 2021... Changes to the Drop Off system in the car park. There's now a barrier and you have 30 minutes after entering before you're charged (thanks to number plate recognition) Thorpe Perk Express, the rethemed car from Stealth's plaza, will serve breakfast food, hot dogs and Costa drinks The D

Thought I might as well introduce myself as I’ve been sort of a lurker on the site for years and now thought I should try and be a bit more of an active member. - so hello! I’m Jordan from Dorset, I used to live in Addlestone, just down the road from Thorpe Park and have been to there countless amounts of times. For 18 years in a row I held a MAP so have spent most of my time going to Merlin theme parks. A couple of years ago I decided not to renew it and try out some different places, since then I’ve been to Europa Park, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Paultons Park and plan on going to

Sourced via Theme Park Guide's Facebook... A freshly painted monkey

I hear Efteling has this entrances pictures all over the guest services!!

I get the point you're trying to make, but the way your posts read here is that because the park are failing to deliver a suitable accessible system, it should be removed for non-wheelchair users who do need it. Which...isn't right.

It's great I think if more people are being diagnosed correctly, however, I feel that the current RAP queueing situation is worse for everyone. One fast moving queue would surely be better for those whom currently use RAP, as well as guests using the main queues.

All jokes aside this could well be a possibility. They have tested some of the painting on Tuk Tuk Turmoil. Taken only yesterday...

Professor Burps Bubbleworks is also due to open in time for the summer months you will be glad to know. Then next year Hocus Pocus Hall will return along with Beanoland

Was a nice day overall and whilst it was far too busy it was still a good day. Throughputs were not great but it is only four days in so fair enough. Availability was good with only Dragons Fury really going down for a couple of hours. Audio is a bit messy in places. Dragons Fury and Rattlesnake has no music, though the latter only ever had music in a couple of spots anyway. Scorpion Express was playing station announcments in queue instead of he station and Carousel was blasting out of the entire adventure point area. There's new Mexicana and Blue Barnacle audio is d

Right. So Wisey & myself took a little trip to Chessington today, which would be our first trip and park visit of the year. To Sum Up: Park is the best it’s looked in years, from areas such as Mexicana and Land Of The Dragons receiving noticeable touch ups Park Audio was rather messy and untidy in several places, maybe there’s issue All key eating places were open, although the surprise lack of outdoor seating was a little disappointing Majority of staff were friendly enough, although there were some issues with one or two Blue Barnacle is alrigh

😱😱😱 The plot thickens, just like an unbranded nitrogen ice cream cookie sandwich.

It still doesn't work.

Forbidden Tomb is not returning, in name, nature or anything outside dreams.

Oh no absolutely not, just saying that I wouldn't have minded if the park had followed a very different direction. Upon rereading I can see it may have come across like that. I just would have liked the old model of a new coaster every x number of years to have continued and would have preferred that system.

It’s almost like he saw this forum with the “areas on signage” question! Areas- I kinda get his answer to that, most people won’t care about the areas, they just want to get on the ride they want. It’s not like the areas are themed either! Should just drop the areas now in my opinion. Branding - I personally love the new branding. More modern and futuristic and associable with Thorpe park rather then the previous standard blue cladding thing... or even the tacky font thing years back.. Tidal Wave- At first the removal of the rusty ball made me confused as i

The park are clearly trying and beginning to take more pride in the park which is nice to see. I am more looking forward to getting back to the park seeing some of these updates than I otherwise was so looking forward to it. Seems all Merlin parks have put in a bit more effort this closed season, with general stuff. Hope this is something that will become the norm going forwards.

It looks nice. Those arches have needed work for some time. The front of the PB with all the frontages repainted in the last couple of years should look a lot more appealing now.

Pleasure Beach being adored by some enthusiasts and disliked by others does make sense though, since I feel the same about Thorpe. It's put on a pedestal by enthusiasts but I personally find it pretty awful, the only coaster I really like there is Inferno and in terms of other rides besides the headliners, there's naff all. Blackpool is in my view a much better park than the others in the UK, the ride offering is much more complete and almost all the coasters are thrilling, plus there's the retro rides too. It's also important to remember the nostalgia for lots of people goes tow

You can view the Wayback Machine's archive of Minds Wanted here: https://web.archive.org/web/20151127043531/https://mindswanted.co.uk/ Agreed, the Smiler hype and campaign was very well orchestrated - especially considering it was Merlin's own IP. I think it speaks volumes still that it's popularity hasn't waned since the unfortunate accident either. The Swarm's campaign I also loved, but it's interesting how that just didn't seem to strike a chord so much with people vs Smiler... maybe because people are/were sick of the "end of the world" and destruction rhetoric

Yes that is interesting. In the one sense, I don't mind that as it is helpful for getting people to understand where certain things are. It does signify a potential to move away from themed lands again, which would be a shame. Also, it makes me wonder how often they would change the signs - every time an attraction is added (or taken away), some signs immediately become obsolete. Seems awkward in the long run compared to just pointing towards areas. Ultimately, I don't care whether Thorpe decide to go down the themed area route or just themed attractions and no coheren

If only they had a family enclosed Vekoma coaster.. It would do wonders for the park's younger audience. I actually agree with the actual entrance not being the problem, but the area around it needs improvement IMO.

Quantum closed early at the end of last season so was removed off the app and hasn’t been on there throughout Winter. I’m guessing that they have just forgotten to add it back on there so far!

I think what doesn't help Thorpe is the way the entrance plaza has often evolved into a mess of temporary fences and queues. The plaza itself needs fixing more than the entrance itself (beyond a clean and repaint). It's not really the worst in terms of building and gates, just standard compared to other similar sized regional parks.

10/10 entrance. Gatekeeper's keyholes have nothing on this

@MarkC I cannot wait to see what the collaboration between Chessington and Blackpool Pleasure Beach looks like when it it opens. Bradley Beaver may be the jewel theif. This will truly be a world’s first for Merlin as I have neaver known another Theme Park to have theming in a ride!! Roll on the 2021 season

Fright Nights has received 5 SCAR nominations for this year's ScareCON: Fearstival Arena - Best Costume and Make Up All scare zones - Best Original Concept and Design All scare zones - Best Roaming Characters Best Theme Park Halloween Event Best Adjustments to COVID Last year was obviously a very different, depleted line up for the scare industry in general, but I do think in general the park made the best out of a bad situation last year. It might not have been the best event out there last year, but genuinely think they did a decent job and deserve

I’ve heard that they’re going to be in terror tomb when it reopens at chessington this year!

3 weeks can be a long time, but remember that during those 3 weeks the ride will be testing regularly for staff training. Whilst something could still be done, it takes away time from training whilst it's installed, checked for safety, etc. And I believe that the ride has been running for training lately. And in any case, here's an image from early 2019 (lifted from Google Maps of course): Compare with the image EpicSmatty posted: We can see the new theming has already been installed. Maybe there's more to add to it though. As I say, at this sta

This hasn't aged well, has it. Both of these things seemed better before 😐

Just goes to show how much better a bit of cleaning makes it look! Wish they applied this to the rest of the park.

Narrator - "They hadn't."

Basically.

Depends what the local funfairs are willing to loan out I suppose.

Short answer: No Long answer: Nope.

Are we still in the medium term will we get that flat ride by Stealth any time soon?

I actually think Camelot looks in better condition. Deadly serious

Do you think the 2021 Tomb Blaster refurbishment will be as good as the rumoured 2022 one? I dont want to see them break the tradition