Sheepie

Ahh see I think Experiment 10 will continue to entertain me- I'm a bit of a depth/ detail geek and I loved how some of the characters in the maze seemed to be trying to help us and some of them part of the sinister experiment. The story also seemed tovary judging by various reviews of the attraction- which turns out is deliberate from accounts of those who attended the behind the scenes tour they held for ScareTour. It may not appeal to everyone, but things like that I find really enjoyable because it does vary things each time you go through- directly appealing to the fans. I do see where you're coming from regarding the whole "shock" factor though. I don't think I'd like to see the actors become any more "intense" I think Ex-10 was already pushing those boundaries and I'm not sure I'd like to see it go any further. Regarding the event as a whole, I am excited about the direction it's going in, both as a fan of these sorts of attractions and events and as a bit of a scare attraction geek as well. However, I can totally understand comments that suggest that Thorpe is offering less for their guests this year. Reduced ride line up, reduced maze throughput which potentially means less people experiencing the add on attractions Thorpe has to offer. I do agree that Thorpe need to address having a show to take pressure off of the walkthroughs and rides. I feel we may be seeing a lean into it this year with more street entertainment, following on from last year's clowns which seemed to be testing the waters for future events.

Have I missed something here? Isn't one of the reasons why they're charging extra for this attraction is because you're expected to go through in very small groups/ alone? This would make sense and also bring it in line with other attractions of its type across the world. Either that or I've totally missed the mark. Thorpe have gone for a slightly less mainstream option here. Good on them for trying something new for the theme park world. I'm sure I'll give it a go but I'm undecided whether this is just a little too far for me. I can see this maze borrowing aspects from Tulley's Hell-Ements. I think I'm more excited about a potential Experiment 10 tweak. That could be the perfect attraction if that latter half received some attention. I'm liking the whole "prison break" theme for the park as well, with the guests being prisoners.

How disappointing. Like Benin said- it'd actually be pretty cool if it was integrated into the loop to reflect a proper television channel. It wouldn't surprise me if this was to end up being the case. I'm holding onto hope.

Going back a step- turning in your grave.... a hint at claustrophobia?

I guess it depends on what you want from a theme park. For me, Alton remains one of my all time favourites due to its location and history which really gets my imagination going. Mix this in with genuinely unique rides and attractions that stretch from a wide variety of experiences. It truly has something for everyone; you can take anybody there and they'll find something they enjoy. It captures the best of Britain in a nutshell and every single time I visit I feel like I've escaped everyday life. You can say what you like about Alton... they're not scared to take risks. Thirteen and Sub-Terra were both a huge risk and at this stage in the game, those risks seem to have largely paid off. If any park in the UK is going to push the boundaries of "experience" and theatricality in their attractions and overall delivery, it's Alton Towers.

With SRQ's- I kinda see why Thorpe removed them. From an operational standpoint, removing them makes things run more smoothly. You say it would fill empty seats BBJ- but surely that's only of any good when it actually comes from the stand-by queueline as it increases the rides actual throughput. Having a SRQ can increase queue-times and create more faff all for the sake of filling a seat which probably would have been quicker and easier to just send empty. It was a nice bonus for people who loved re-riding but that's as far as I can say really. I'd also scrap swarm's front row queue as well. Just let people go where they want to go but if one side is running low, direct people to that side. I think people over-complicate things (not on purpose of course) thinking that it will increase throughputs and make things easier but sometimes, for some occasional things, it's better to leave the guests to sort it out for themselves.

This is something that has been blown out of proportion I feel. I believe the engineers have used this time to get ahead of winter maintainence. The "themeing and effects" team (one dedicated woman with help from the onsite engineers) have continued their ongoing refresh of the park's scenic elements with Tomb Blaster. However, rumours that they've had a large sum of money is purely untrue. What I love about Chessington is the genuine passion that the staff members have about their theme park. A lot of time has been dedicated to improving what they can with the limited funds that they have. This is more akin to the way Duel's refresh came about- just pure passion from a team of people who love what they do.

Great news, impressive effect. It just needs to stay operational now. It's great. "In your face" effects are what I feel Thorpe should be going for to suit their target market. Just look at the reactions from the people in that photo.

On the whole I really enjoyed the opening ceremony. I'd highly recommend downloading the soundtrack if you have the time. My favourite parts were the drums and olympic rings, the children's literature part with all the villains and then at the end of that sequence when all the hospital bed lights gradually went out one by one. I felt at points some of the really good parts were overshadowed by the more "what the hell" parts. I really didn't enjoy the opening sequence with the hillside. However, there were some fantastic creativity, fun humour and some pretty moving, touching moments that I think showcases only what Britain is best at. Only Britain could have an opening ceremony like that and I hope that we did ourselves proud.

Plus, when Nemesis first opened didn't the track have painted effects on? Ie- it wasn't just a block colour but it had some kind of paint effect which looked cool. I'd like to see the exterior of the station given a proper refurb; painting is all well and good but you can see the fibreglass resin coming through on some parts of the station.

So did you see the show then? Or are you just commenting on how it looks? It's a vast improvement on what was there before IMO. Looks really cool and adds a great atmosphere to the centre of the park. Guests seem to love it from looking at their reactions and just asking them. It's about time Chessington got more live entertainment. Just sort Jumbos out along with the new ride next year and we're on to a winner with the completion of "Africa".

It's a real shame that one of the park's headlining attractions is running in such a sub-standard condition. Obviously everything listed above has a valid reason for not being operational but it gets to the point where you have to beg the question whether it's worth having the ride open at all until they're at least able to get the ride running to an acceptable capacity and throughput again. I've heard horror stories from the past week of it running one train and then that train running with seats unavailable, then adding fastrack into the midst and you get queues which should be 30 minutes, turning into 2 hour waits. This is beyond frustrating and I would imagine having the ride open at the moment is making more of a negative impression on their guests than it would be to close the ride. I really hope that making sure the ride, at the very minimum can run at the capacity and throughput the ride is capable of is at the top of the park's priorities and are pushing for it to get sorted. Also, with a ride where "extreme special effects" became part of its spiel, I hope getting the fire and water skims back up and running remain next on the list. I'm surprised to hear such a primitive set-up for the water is in place, I would have thought having a sensor nearer to the actual effect would be a more effective way of ensuring the effect works every single time. Hmm, we'll see in due course I guess.

I feel as though my last comments contradict a major ethos and the way I experience attractions. I'm usually about the small details; the level of depth that not just singular attractions have but also their context and the way they exist in relation to others in the same themed area. What I'm getting at is... we all know that we are experiencing a fictional environment and in actuality we're in a theme park in the middle of the English countryside.... or in the middle of Surrey... or whatever... but it's a common ground that an audience have: to suspend their belief and allow the environment to take over. Of course, we all do this to differing levels and we take whatever we want to take away from an environment. However, we have to have realistic boundaries- budgets aren't endless. When I'm on Splash Mountain and I see other attractions from other themed areas I don't feel as though I'm in any way distracted from the experience- it's just the logistical nature of the theme park which designers entrust that we suspend our belief in. Being able to see backstage areas from rides though.... that's a whole different story and spoils the illusion.

I can see what people are saying, but I actually feel as though SW7 has been designed in such a way to not impact the visual importance of Oblivion- especially when walking into X Sector- Oblivion will still very much be the main spectacle and it's not until you actually walk a little into the area will you see the majority of the track for the new ride. Maybe it's just me, but when I'm on Oblivion, hanging on the edge of that drop, the last thing I'm worried about is the surrounding attractions, I'm thinking, "how the hell is this shuttle supposed to fit into that hole?!", I'm cacking myself. You could also say similar things about the hospitality tent near to Swarm.... this is nit picking a little too much.

Agree with Pluk- the way staff are affected is not the concern of the guest and the experience they receive is above all other issues. That issue is something for the park to sort out behind the scenes.

The woodland walk opens at 10am.

Two foreign European guests today: "what an absolutely beautiful park.. so much detail and we're very impressed.". Just thought I'd share because it actually made my day.

Fantastic atmosphere on park yesterday. Chessington still has it.

This decision has an absolute minimum affect on guests. It is not uncommon for these areas to not see guests until 11am anyway when they soon discover that they're unable to go on the majority of the rides due to 1.2m height restrictions. On days like these it is the smaller rides such as Sea Dragons and Tiny Truckers that are popular, not the bigger rides. It's not until 12pm that things start to "pick up", when people have made their way to the back of the park. Once local school finish their working days then things get busier then, too. It is practically public knowledge that the theme park division of Merlin are having to make cut-backs this year in our double dip recession. It is Merlin wide. Chessington have gone for an option that has little, to no affect on the most important people, their guests.

Please be aware that on off-peak days, Mystic East and Wild Asia will open at 11:30am until further notice.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2657407 For your best answer.

Apparently all Merlin theme parks use the same system now which has been CWoA's for the past few seasons. As others have explained, the policy exists for guests who are unable to queue due to a disability. It is very ignorant to suggest that someone isn't disabled if there isn't a visible, obvious impairment. The operations system is in place on top of the entitlement process. They have to become registered with each park's Guest Services (though I believe the new system coming into play is that once you've registered with one park, you're into the Merlin-wide system so you don't have to waste time at another attraction) and all rules and guidelines are explained to them when they register. Someone with a broken arm or leg are likely not to be entitled as it is only temporary and also are unlikely to be able to experience many attractions due to ride restrictions on being able to brace yourself. It's been explained by others, but the standard restriction is max 3 companions to one disabled guest, however, on some attractions such as Dragon Falls and Tomb Blaster, 4 companions are entitled to ride as the ride vehicle enables 5 people to ride in one car/boat. The top 10 rides have a virtual queueing system (RAP rides). This means that the length of the queue is added onto the current time and that is the time they are entitled to return to any of the other top 10 RAP rides. When the parks are busy some guests can misinterpret the rules of the policy and on a small number of occasions the information they are provided is incorrect. On the whole though, the idea is to allow people who are not as fortunate as others to have the same experience. EDIT: Not really related to the rules, but I just wanted to post this video about Ben. Merlin's Magic Wand made this day out for him possible. A very touching video. http://katapult-studios.com/our-work/merlins-magic-wand

Fantastic news. Been having a thorough look through all of the documents; if you haven't done so, I highly recommend; there are some cool mood boards and visualisations (some we haven't seen before) in some of the files, do some digging if you have the time. I wasn't too excited about this project before but after having a proper read and look, this can only be good news for the park.

Sadly, it is the nature of the industry. An actor will constantly be in an out of work; not that it makes things like this any easier.

Liking the style of that image and on the 2013 page on altontowers.com. Very X Sectorish. Even the little detail like the "thank you" written in the orange X sector font when you enter your details. Very cold, secretive and I'm already getting a sinister vibe from the attraction.