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So me and my other half have just got back from a 4 day trip - one day at Chessington and three at Thorpe. Very mixed trip which I’ll summarise in bullet points. - Operations at Thorpe were (for the most part) very, very good. Two trains on all the major coasters (and TWD) every day and rapid dispatches. Chessington really needs work in that area though! - Our ride on DBGT wasn’t bad, pretty much all of the effects were working well and it had hardly any downtime whilst we were on park. Only reason we went on though is because we had an hour of fast track for it included with the hotel stay, otherwise we wouldn’t have bothered. It’s bad that, for a ride that was supposed to be so re-rideable, we see pretty much absolutely no reason to go back on anymore. It needs to go. - BounceZilla is a complete and utter monstrosity and we thought it looked mortifying for all involved. I’d imagine it’s probably quite fun, yes, but this should not be at Thorpe Park imo. - Jungle Escape has flopped harder than anyone could have expected. We didn’t see anyone queuing or going in, or even glancing at it, whilst at the park. Considered giving it a go, but didn’t think it was worth the £10pp upcharge for what seems to more or less be IAC in sheep’s clothing. - Went in GameFX for 45 mins or so when it was raining yesterday and was moderately impressed. Good variety of consoles and games, and plenty of them to go around. The VR experience also looked good fun. It was pretty quiet though, on a busy day when it was pouring down outside. Evidence that maybe people don’t want to go to a theme park and play video games? ? - TWD:TR has improved since last year imo. Not sure why or how, but I enjoyed it a lot more this year. Much better experience with live actors than without for me personally as well. - Quantum still looks a week or two away from finally opening this year to me. We watched it being worked on and it was tested a few times (that we saw), but it isn’t making a great sound when sent on it’s full cycle ? - Best ride on Vortex that I’ve ever had, it’s running so well this year. - Old Town looks as sorry as ever. I’m not going to even bring up SBNO rides as everyone already knows the situation! - I’ve always had a soft spot for Thorpe Shark, however after this visit I think the park desperately needs a proper hotel. We stayed in a tiny Travelodge room after Chessington and it felt so, so, so spacious compared to the shipping containers. - I’ve not been to Chessington before but I think I preferred it to Thorpe, which I didn’t think would happen considering the target markets (not that anyone, including Merlin, knows what Thorpe’s really is). Better theming, better atmosphere, better maintenance. However Thorpe definitely wins on the operations front. - Impressed with the 40th anniversary merch on offer. They should be doing more to commemorate it than selling new stuff though. - We left 2 hours early today due to the queue times. Our fault for (mistakenly) booking during half term but there you go! Apologies for the long post! Just some thoughts on what will probably be my only visit this year. My second to worst visit that I’ve ever had unfortunately.

Jeez guys, this is one echo chamber full of negativity - talk about "love us, hate Merlin" sometimes. So, no. Bouncezilla isn't a multi-million pound rollercoaster or flat ride. No it isn't an immersive dark ride. No it isn't long term. It is as every bit garish, loud and obnoxious as it suggests. It actually does what it does well and although the location isn't perfect, it's something different to do in the park (along with GameFX and the Lunar cinema too). At the moment, there are lots of rides and games stalls, but very few attractions or experiences. So, it's nice that Thorpe are exploring the possibility of things outside of rides. It's just a shame that some people interpret this as cheap, low effort and poorly thought out. Ultimately, this seems to be popular with the public and I guess that matters more to Thorpe than some die-hard forum keyboard warriors out to criticise every aspect of the park and Merlin. People seem too willing to pick them apart for every tiny detail not to their taste, but seem to be unwilling to recognise when they do well or congratulate them for at least trying something new. Given that DBGT and The Swarm didn't generate the ROI they had hoped for, allowing Thorpe to explore other aspects of their park and guest profile is actually wise. But of course, Thorpe could build an RMC to rival Steel Vengeance or a Hyper that would challenge Hyperion and they would still rubbish it "because it is Thorpe".

Why? This isn't TST...

Out of curiousity, do any of you have any copies of any tracks used in the mix created for angry birds land? Also, since my last visit on tuesday, I have noticed some good things regarding audio. Zodiac is now playing its start theme again and Saw's queueline audio has been turned up and now has sound effects/announcements mixed with it.

I think this is ultimately the point at the bottom of it all. Although people would happily argue that it breaks the Lost City emersion, it isn't taking a ride or attraction away to be there. Slammer and Loggers were already gone and who knows, this could be an experiment or future investments to see what works with the GP outside of expensive hardware - which some people seem to forget that Merlin don't OWN the land and so have to first seek permission from the owners to install. Yes, something big and shiny will be coming along soon - the Loggers / Slammer site can't stay as it is forever; nor can the island behind Swarm. But, just throwing new rides and coasters at the park doesn't work in 2019 - it did back in the early 2000s because that was the worldwide theme park culture back then, but not now. It's no longer about parks being ride / coaster count heavy, it's becoming more about park-wide experiences. Ask yourself - outside the community, was Steel Vengeance or Valravn a success for Cedar Point - did it engage visitors and increase their numbers massively? The 2018 TEA report would suggest not, whereas Gardaland added Peppa Pig and increased their visitors by around 10% (the exact figure escapes me) - it's nothing new or shiny. It's a well done retheme with a successful IP. And let's be honest, the park this year is operating on a much higher level than previous years. It seems to be slicker, more care put into appearance (look at the park last weekend for the birthday - the only effect not working on any ride were the skimmers on Swarm) and actually more professional. All of this seems to go unnoticed by any-one quick to criticise. They literally can't win.

Well Said. Merlin is a business, as much as there are die-hard enthusiasts you need mass market appeal to make the park turn a profit. All of the annual passes in the world wont really generate profit when you look at the running costs of the staff, electric etc... so they need mass appeal and to offer something different. SBNO rides are probably there for a reason - it would cost to disassemble, remove and store - so why spend the cost unless you are going to put something there - probably why Slammer is still in place. Got to look at the cost of activities of the park and the time it takes and if its worth doing from a financial point of view. I think that GameFX probably cost Thorpe almost nothing, as it was in partnership with HYPD - so they probably paid most of the cost of the event. BounceZilla would have been relatively cheap, but is a good experience over summer - yes its not a coaster but not everyone wants coaster after coaster (Amity Beach shows this, its often packed during the hight of summer and some people go there just for that with the family) so BounceZilla will bring in more people who don't just want Thrill ride after thrill ride or those with families. I admit it would be good to get a new coaster - which no doubt will happen eventually - ultimately don't like BounceZilla, GameFX and the like - then just don't go on it! Its not removing anything from the park they are empty sites/events venues which are not usually used during main season anyway.

Was just having a bit of fun! ?

Cedar Point also have two Snoopy themed areas so the giant themed inflatable themed to Snoopy probably comes pretty natural.. Cedar Point's blends in with the park, Bouncezilla doesn't. Pretty big difference. Cedar Point doesn't really even have much of themed areas and they still get the memo.

Got a quick shot of it testing today. Still looks a week or so away from opening I think, and it was making a horrible rattling sound when sent on it’s full cycle ?

**Trigger warning** ??

Quantum is one of the best rides on the park, genuinely miss it when it's not there.