JoshC.

I guess if we were to be pedantic, we're not seeing "more cuts to the line up", just a different reduced offering - two attractions are (re)opening, and two attractions are not running instead. So it's the same level of offering as 2016. What other IPs have closed soon after opening? I wouldn't count CATCF as a 10 year stint (which was the rumour contracted length) is a reasonable time frame in my opinion, and I can't think of any others?

Not the worst line up they could have produced to be fair. Good to see them just opening rides for the event again to be honest!

Colour me surprised they haven't milked the return of Hex and Driving School with 'BACK FOR 2017' or 'REFURBISHED FOR 2017' slogans plastered over them. Not that I'm complaining! The loss of Toadstool is actually reasonably major though given how few rides there are for the market it targets.

Really Old Train Design?

+1 for the Magic Valley soundtrack being fab. I've heard the 'IMAScore music sounds very similar' point raised a few times, but it doesn't really bother me. All of their stuff works with the attractions they've been designed for, and with little knowledge of audio tech, I (and I guess the majority of people) don't really pick up on all the niggles that some do.

If Towers Fireworks is a definite, could I perhaps even be daring enough to suggest the possibility of replacing the Towers weekender altogether? Drayton is meant to maybe get a big-ish thing in 2018, so might be worth missing it this year. And there's loads of other places that could be done!

According to the park's Facebook, Colossos will be closed for the 2017 season because they work required is more expensive and takes longer than initially expected. Sad times.

I've studied maths at university level for 5 years and memorised pi to 4 decimal places. I'd suggest knocking those numbers out of your head and learn something; anything. It'll be more useful.

Towers really has enthusiasts wrapped around their little finger. Post a picture of a set of stairs being repainted on Twitter, get 100+ interactions, multiple fansites positively comment on it on their social media and pages of discussion across many forums. Means that hundreds, possibly thousands, of people become aware of something that otherwise would have gone unnoticed by the large majority and many enthusiasts wouldn't have commented on. I might not like the idea of the Twitter account, but it's easy to see why they'll continue using it.

Parks in the UK have been subject to much scrutiny over the past couple of years. In fairness, a lot of the scrutiny and negativity that the parks receive is justified; there are things which do happen which shouldn't happen. And when we compare to our European cousins or American brothers, it does seem like UK parks aren't up to scratch. But at the same time, there is an awful lot of nitpicking that goes on at times. However, despite this overwhelming negativity, a large majority of us continue to visit our home parks multiple times year-in-year-out. Why that is will no doubt vary for every person. But one thing is almost certain - if we're visiting so often, they've got to be doing something right, surely? So if you end up making multiple visits to a park this year, maybe even finding yourself in a rut, set yourself a little challenge: Try and notice some new-to-you positive each time you visit. I'm not saying this positive has to be a new thing the park have done, like painting or fixing something (though it can be!), but just a new thing you've personally noticed. Maybe you hear a piece of audio you never noticed before, see a subtle piece of theming tucked away, try something new to eat, some new foliage that's been planted. It could be the tiniest of things. But just try and notice something. Then maybe, just maybe, you might find yourself enjoying the parks a bit more. You might realise that everything isn't as bad as you originally thought. You might remember what it was like to visit for the first time, and just how awesome some things are. And then you won't be blindly visiting the same park over and over again, but actually visiting because you want to go, want to explore and want to immerse yourself. And that might give the extra incentive to visit a new park, go exploring, go on an adventure, to truly recapture that buzz. Of course, don't overlook the negatives. Don't be afraid to think 'This is naff' or 'Why have that changed this?' as well. Not everything is going to be perfect. Just don't forget to look out for the positives too, and if you really can't find any, then maybe you've finished exploring that park, and you truly have to wonder why you're visiting at all.

Echoing what others have said, prepare for it to be busy since it will be the middle of the Easter break for kids. Being a Sunday though, it might be a bit quieter than other days. As others have said, in terms of the coasters, your best bet is to head towards Colossus and Saw first, then make your way towards Nemesis Inferno and Stealth afterwards. Swarm is best done in the early afternoon (2-3pm). In terms of flat rides, the likes of Slammer, Samurai, Rush and Detonator are always well received. Slammer usually opens later in the day, and during 2016 was closed between 3-3:30pm most days. Ghost Train should be done - it's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but it's worth experiencing it to at least understand what it's all about! It's hard to say when is best to do it since 2016 was so temperamental - maybe check back after the park opens and see how it's been doing for the first couple weeks?

This article was shared by IAAPA via Twitter: http://www.travelpulse.com/news/features/travel-trends-2017-what-can-we-expect-from-amusement-parks.html The following might be of interest... Of course, should be taken with a pinch of salt, since there's been no word of this from Plopsa and this 2017 oriented article talks of Mackpool18, but who knows...

The three year thing shouldn't be taken so literally either. Major attractions will always take a long time to develop behind the scenes. It'd be interesting to find out any more details about the timeline of the attraction's development tbh; when was Derren contacted, how long he took to get on board, when they decided to go for a dark ride, when they decided to go for VR, etc. etc. I imagine after the perceived-failure of Swarm, 2013 was around the time they started to consider a non-coaster major investment, and there were first rumours of a Derren Brown attraction in 2014, so that gives a vague timeline, but nothing specific. Certainly whatever happened, VR must have been later on in the process. It seems plausible to say that the core idea was always going to be a 'ghost train', with the idea of moving scenes without you noticing, and as time went on, VR became a more viable solution to consider as a way to distract you from the movement. So the time spent designed the VR is only a fraction of the 3-year time frame.

Looks to be a £10 increase from last year across the board. Agree with Ryan that it still represents good value for money, especially if you're planning 4+ trips a year.

The Gruffalo begrudgingly heads over to Chessington, to see what his fate is...

That was the most popular name in a poll last year, though partly because it appeared twice... https://uk.toluna.com/polls/5098013/A-UK-theme-park-is-considering-opening-a-ride-based-on-the None of those names seem particularly appealing, though I'd have preferred The Gruffalo Riverboat.

Just out of interest, how many dark rides have you done that involve screens? I completely get your opinion and stance; theme parks are one of the few mediums that can put you in a 'real' place with real things, and get you to interact with them, be that by zooming past them on a roller coaster, slowly moving through them as things happen all around you or whatever. However, that doesn't mean screens (and in turn, VR) have no place in parks. For me personally, I love Maus au Chocolat at Phantasia, at the use of screens allows it to do what it does - there's no way you can create hundreds of mice-shaped targets running around a chocolate factory causing havoc with real theming and make it look believable. And look at rides like Spiderman and Forbidden Journey at IOA; screen based rides which are almost universally adored. Yes, screens might be everyday things, but that doesn't mean you can't do extraordinary things with them. I only ask if you've done screen-based dark rides because I'm curious as to whether you just aren't keen on the idea, or if you've just not liked any you've experienced, or what. I know in the past I was somewhat unsure of the idea of the idea. Whichever it is, I hope you get the chance to experience one which could show you that not everything has to be real.

I'd say it has a place. With VR becoming more widely available, I reckon the fad of chucking cheap VR on roller coasters (see Six Flags' attempts) will die away very quickly and lose all appeal. And I don't see VR roller coasters have too much of a long term future - having them as optional add-ons seems like an okay idea, or having them in special events, but that's still an awful lot of work for what it is and that effort probably could be spent elsewhere in most cases. However, high-quality VR used in an appropriate manner certainly has a place. It could be the new-age simulator attractions. It could be used as a way to disguise unsightly ride systems. It could be used as a way to distract people from movements (such as how DBGT does - you think the train movements are all to do with the VR, and forget / don't realise you're actually moving until you leave). So yeah, tl;dr - VR has a place in theme parks, just not on coasters, thrill rides, etc

A couple of pictures of the Old Town area courtesy of 'UK Theme Parks' Facebook...

The animal motive is working well for Chessington though. Incorporating animals or real-world areas into attractions has worked well for the park - Scorpion Express, despite my personal opinions, seems to have gone down well. Wild Asia is probably the second-best investment Chessington have made this century. Zufari further integrated the park and zoo and has been received alright. The zoo itself is still a big draw for people to visit the place. etc Yeah, they've gone a bit mad on the Africa-side of things, but the animal theme and integration between zoo and theme park is one of the few good things Chessington had/has going for it. So I don't see an issue with having a carousel whose aim is to try and show that off. It's basically what the old one did - show off everything good about Chessington!

I must say I wasn't hoping, expecting or really wanting a new facade / exterior. Might be in the minority, I don't really see what it could achieve or what they could do, aside from further distancing itself from Bubbleworks? Like don't get me wrong, I'm all for little details and everything, so maybe I'm just not thinking creatively enough to see what it could achieve. Totally agree however about a paint job which fits with its surroundings. So no investment and letting things literally rot away is better than a complete redo of a dark and a new carousel after the old one needed replacing? k

I imagine most people (even non-enthusiasts) have put 2 and 2 together by now, so it'll be interesting to see just how much they announce. I'd hope for a bit more than a name reveal, but that's all I see them doing unfortunately.

Clearly you don't remember the likes of 2009 and 2011, and their investments... Hint: There was none.

Just for the sake of posting some awesome shots of the coaster, a bit of an update on the Goliath repaint, courtesy of Laurens Van Heerde...

Though no great surprise, got an email today saying that the traditional MAP sale will be starting on January 1st. No word yet of how good a deal they're doing yet however...