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Hey Chessington Zoo was on 'Michaela's Zoo Babies' on Channel 5 today (15/4/2009). They did the Zoo justice making it look really good, maybe they could do this more. If Longleat can do it Chessington definitely can. If you have some time or are just really bored the episode is here sadly if like me you have a Mac you can't watch! http://demand.five.tv/Episode.aspx?episode...ame=C5141000003

The stickers on the back of the seats are a little tacky but by the end of the day most of them had been ripped off. On the positive side though the stickers are tiny and only visible if your actually in the seat. Thank god the car hasn't been repainted blue etc. A Yorkie Stealth would really suck

Sad about Boris but he had a very good and long life - he was by no means starved either that's probably why so many guests liked him. Chessington Zoo is really looking great it was kinda deprived pre Tussauds Thorpe when Chessington was the Thrill Capital but it looks great now. The Monkey and Bird Gardens are unique and have little additions that the kids really love. The Animals seem to be happy judging by the birth rate over the last few years. However they could still improve the Gorilla pen, it might meet regulations but it has the appearance of a 'cage' rather than an enclosure that other animals have.

Hey, I don't hate Saw but am not the rides biggest fan. I think the 'world's scariest' is a little over the top but I understand the difficulty in design as not everyone is scared by the same things. In a space as short as the indoor section it's difficult to get an effective scare. The first drop is great no complaints their but the second section (don't want to spoil it so will give vague description) with a stop and air effects could be allot better. It's easy to criticize so I'm gonna suggest cheap scares like hooded pig head mannequins jumping out of gap on each side as is done effectively with the Mummies at Chessington (tomb blaster) and Duel with ghouls at Alton. The longevity of these scares will not be great but they will make people jump (since the average person will only visit 1-3 times a year it could be effective). The third section (water feature) could just be improved by having sound effects on route to seeing the water feature > Shouting who is that? What do you want? then the current effects as if you have actually hurt someone. Thing is it's an OK ride and the area/ island is understandably very under grown in regards to plants and there are allot of empty spaces (as it's new) when they decide what to put in these spaces it will change the feel of the ride > like Nemesis it will get better in time.

If the advert doesn't attract the family audience I don't know what will.

Went to Thorpe Yesterday and as said previously it was walk on's all day. Interesting that some of you seem to think a que is needed to build the atmosphere, maybe that was what was missing. Can't help but feel really disappointing with the end product. There were no actors today understandably considering the numbers at the park but the station and indoor que is tiny. I don't want to spoil it for others but after the first drop the ride just didn't delivery anything special. I don't know what the reactions that you have seen were but on the 7 rides I took each car was laughing at the second indoor section (the brief stop) although the 'water feature' was good at the final section. After that the ride was bland and uneventful sadly. The positive is definitely the island they have done a great in reclaiming that land, it seems allot closer to water level then say the lost city land/ Canada Creek. Going on Saw really made me appreciate how good Colossus, Nemesis and Stealth (even though it was closed) are. Is it a case of these are really amazing coasters or was Saw - well average. Maybe it's because there was no que/ actors but Saw felt exactly like it's shop - not something you'd particularly remember but it does the job. For those who have been on it and think it's great I'd be interested in knowing what made it great for you - So maybe I can approach/ look at it in a different way on the next visit. Oh lastly - The staff on Saw today were asking to see everyone's hands before trains were dispatched (to prevent POV filming) - Gotta say well done to them it's only a matter of time until someone gets hurt. I honestly believe they did this for safety reasons rather then to boost (future?) DVD sales for those syncs out there.

I got my ticket for the Saturday SO excited. I wouldn't worry if you didn't get them there are a further 10 dates on the site (not for sale yet) which will probably be announced after the original dates have almost sold out. It's sad though that some (I don't wanna swear) people are already selling them on ebay for stupid prices. Especially when there are genuine people waiting for them. Hope you get some in the end

I had my 11th Bday at thorpe in 1996 (off the top of my head). Just gave away my age too. Anyway NO way out was new, this was before people actually knew what it did and the staff at the enterance wouldn't give away anything I.e. going upside down? remained unanswered.Anyway it was october so freezeing went with family and two friends from school. The park was empty so we had the run of the place. Went on the fish, Rapids, ferry to the farm - train back (remember those days) Depth charge, stampede, the haunt, river cruise, monkey boat, Dragon boats & model village. Went on all of the rangers rides. Met the rangers (loved the Giraffe) saw the ranger show got pic's & hugs. Lasting memory was the extremely long walk to the actual train on No way out. Used to be like a maze with rubber wheels making door ways tight - maybe it was longer because I was younger who knows? Cares?Remeber being petrified by No way out shocked at the backwards launch! sounds sad now when some of you think Stealth is tame - NO WAY OUT was extreme back in the day. I gonna show my age again I'm entitled to my rants!> you kids are spoilt these days no apreciation > lol. Loggers leap was the highlight of the day > SO HIGH folks this was before tidal wave. Loggers leap in todays terms appeared the size of stealth to me as an 11 year old it was HUGE. Got totally soaked bought the pic then stupidly dived into the water on the Beaches. Then went to Windsor for a meal.Dam that was a great day > I hope the exclusivity of thrill rides doesn't prevent other families from having memories like mine. Then again its a new age better memories to come

I love the new version and the 2007 season in general so far everything seems so clean and updated maby its just the break between seasons but Thorpe seems to be better.However the lights on the lift hill for X are a bit much and ruin the ride when busy as when another train is on the hill the ride is no longer in the dark as everyone can see where the lift hill is!Still can't complain looks great

Just like the chessington hotel it will be outsouced to the BMI group (Holiday inn chain). Hence why chessington website doesn't advertise the jobs for this year

It was a really cool ride, I was a kid so loved it. Similar to the old haunted house at Towers but not as grand looking.If you look at the carousel you will see a big black seat that you can sit on near the flying fish. They were the cars and they spun to revealm more ghostOne of my favourites

Maby they will keep the train, and use it at christmas as a grotto and ice rink, gotta do somthing special for the kids right?

After reading the news on TPM that the farm will not be returning I've got mixed feelings.1st, Great new rides / new zone, even thou they will seriously have to improve access to the new area. But will there be a new area, there is a residential area right behind it, seems like Thorpe maby looking at doing an Alton Towers I.e. a car park where the farm is and a shuttle service into the park as some of the current car park is to be used as a hotel. Still shows that somthing big is happening and change and progress are a good thing.but 2nd, quite sad, I remember going to the farm as a kid used to love it especially when you used to go on the train and come back on the ferry (remember that). Hope the animals do go to Chessington and not to the butchers, as Thorpe had some of the biggest cows id ever seen. Then again it was the kind of attraction you visited once a season like Pirates 4D and probably cost a bit more to maintain.What is everybody elses opinion?

Agreed but that song, Horray for Captain Lucky is damn addictive, couldn't stop humming it for ages longer than it normally takes to get the Amity Cove songs out of me.The ride can be summarised as good family fun, a once in a life time expperience, any more and you will get very bored

Ha Liverpool, your funny dudeMAn thats good, believe me we are in a far better position than you are and ever will be in.If only we had Crouch! - what a jokeLiverpool?!

Now you see I liked Reyes, thought he could have given alot especially with the extra width at Emirates. Still the Beast is one hell of a player and with Wengers guidance we might see a superstar.And finally Ca$hley COle has Gone with Gallas coming our way, what a buy.I was alittle down about our squad this year but with Rosicky, The beast and GAllas the glory days might just be coming back.Come on the Gunners - You see there is more to life than Theme parks

Hey people Arsenal have offloaded Cygan for 2Mill, and got the BEast in exchange for Reyes and it looks like Gallas is on his way.Its good to be a gooner

Same with me, I got fast track for any other ride. But there were no ques over 10 minutes for any other ride - takes longer to get to thorpe farm

I queued for 2 & 1/2 hours for stealth got to the front seat and the ride Broke, closing for the rest of the day.

Slammer is cool but very slow loading, similar to the old ferry at thorpe, takes 10 minutes to load for a 4 minute trip!

Friday 25th,Only went for the late session from 6pm onwards since there is no way I'm goind on Bank holiday.They had run out of single rider passes so had to que!Went onSlammer - 4 (very slow loading today)Log Flume - 1 Detonator - 1Nemesis - 3Colossus - 2Vortex - 3Rush - 1Zodiac - 1Suprise people Stealth was out though it did manage to run for a total of an hour before breaking (Scrap metal for 2007? just kidding)Ok day had more fun last week as stealth and samauri was working and park was quieter. Still can't complainSeeing the park at night makes you itch for Fright Nights.

Stealth is ok in the Dark but is quite well lit, My favourite have to be (in no particualr order) Samauri, the way its lit and it seems to go much faster (is much faster if you go on one of the last rides). Fantastic rideNemesis (front seat) Coming out of the came into darkness is unbelieveable, and you lose track of where you actually are - great rideFinally Slammer simply as it is a favourite of mineBut its worth noteing that the log flume and the rapids look awesome when the water ways are lit up creates a weird spooky feeling