JoshC.

Just checked Chessington website and standard close does seem to be 6pm for rest of summer now. Reason I thought it was extended is because I overheard a staff member being asked when the park closed and they responded "5pm...oh wait no, we've changed it to 6pm now". Way it was said sounded like it was an extension made on the day. Serves me right for eavesdropping I suppose! :')

I don't see how it is fallen behind the market, but I guess that's just a differing opinion. I think one thing which you're missing though is that, regardless of your personal opinion, Fright Nights is still loved by thousands of people. Yes, the queues can be long and difficult, and yes the length of the mazes isn't the best. But mazes are still well received and general adored by the vast majority of the public, and the fact still stands that it is the largest theme park Halloween event in the country, and one of the largest in general. I'm not saying that any of this an excuse to be mediocre or anything, but it's something to keep in mind when enthusiasts are being so hyper-critical of the event. Totally agree about the rose tinted glasses. Everyone seems to forget that Experiment 10 had a poor second half, a lazy ending (and an even lazier one in its second year) and suffered with terrible throughputs, meaning that people eventually had to share the isolation rooms, losing their effect. And it was very short. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but it would only ever have been a short term attraction. The isolation stuff would have worn off and become a burden in the long run. And with more mazes doing similar tactics, and Face it Alone about too, it just would have lost its appeal. Though I haven't done it, part of me wonders how long Sub Species at Towers will last, especially if that style of attractions becomes more popular. I don't exactly see much difference between a maze and a walkthrough for Thorpe. They're all marketed as the same, all operate the same (well, presumably Platform 15 will) and all appeal the same. The only real difference is that what you're calling a maze is indoors, and what you're calling a walkthrough is outdoors. They have similar throughputs and similar styles, so I don't particularly see why it matters in the grand scheme of things? Also, let's not forget about Containment, even if it is an upcharge attraction. Thorpe did do some 'street entertainment' in some sense last year. The roamers would set up in certain areas of the park and invite guests to compete in games, for the chance to win Lionsgate DVDs. They were always fun to watch too, so that helped. And in the past few seasons, they did have small scale shows in the dome. I totally agree its something which would help massively in so many ways, but I guess space is the big issue at the moment.

Both an unfortunate yet humorous typo there.

Went to Chessington yesterday, since family wanted a go on Bubbleworks before it gets its retheme. As ever, I don't really have much positive to say, so I'll keep it short.. -Tried the Smokehouse. Food wasn't very nice, overpriced and the service wasn't great either. Bring back Greedy Goblin. -Queue times seemed quite over-exaggerated. -Painfully slow operations. Kobra being the worst offender - had a queue which should have taken 15 minutes, took 40. That wasn't helped by staff stopping the ride mid-cycle because someone was screaming, and they thought she wanted to get off... -Fair few staff (a minority of staff I stress, but still enough for it to be noticeable) seemed quite low in mood, and in general not very pleasant to be around. Yeah, it's the height of summer and it's busy and stressful, but that doesn't excuse not smiling and deliver basic customer service.. -Pandamonium was naff, and didn't seem well received by the audience in general. A couple of positives though... -Park close time has been extended till 6pm for the rest of summer it seems, which is good. -Lorikeet Lagoon is still fab. -We left early. If it wasn't for Bubbleworks going, don't think family would have gone, and I certainly wouldn't have initiated any sort of visit any time soon. But the problems in and around the park are still plain to see, and it doesn't feel like they're going to be sorted any time soon.

I went on Bubbleworks yesterday and the whole experience seemed very...quick. I haven't been on it for a few years, so I'm not sure if memory is serving me poorly, but does anyone know if the ride has been sped up in any way (by, say, making the flow of the water faster)? Another reason for me thinking this is that they seemed to struggle to fill every boat because ride staff couldn't organise people quickly enough, and an overflowing queue only took 25 minutes ish, despite being advertised as 55. As for the ride itself, it was dreadful and depressing. I'm so glad they've decided to give it a lot of attention, since it's actually pretty embarrassing in it's current state.

Which rides have you experienced on low capacity out of interest? When I've been there, major coasters have opened on full capacity all but one time. X is the main offender with its 2 trains for so long, but that's on 3 now, which is seemingly the mot we get now. And any other multi-car rides have been on high / full capacity for me. Also, to be fair to the park, until recently, the only ride which was suffering any sort of problems / closures was Ghost Train. Everything else was going good. But then Stealth died and things seemed to go downhill and the worst possible time. It's all very frustrating and unfortunate, but the park have handled it very well in terms of compensating people. Handing out free tickets to return this season might not always be the answer, but people are very happy to get that it seems.

I think people are being a bit harsh on Fright Nights as a whole here. Yes, Big Top last year wasn't great theming-wise (though I believe that was more down to Scruffy Dog than Thorpe, but that's neither here nor there when it comes to the experience). And I think Thorpe will know and accept that, and take action to improve upon it. Let's also not forget that Big Top is the only example of Thorpe not 'finishing' a maze to a high enough standard. However, from a creative standpoint, Thorpe have been pretty out there. Since Experiment 10 (a maze which, whilst brilliant, was something which would only ever have had a short life span anyway in my opinion), we've seen... -The Passing. Cheap, but effective and reasonably well received once the flaws were ironed out. -Cabin in the Woods. An award winning maze which gained a lot of attention within the industry. Did something that wasn't really done in the past. -Blair Witch Project. Not great in its first year, but massively improved in 2014/15 and a very different maze. -My Bloody Valentine. Nothing special in all honesty, but the claustrophobia thing seemed to work for many people. -Studio 13. Bog standard maze. -Containment. Catching on with the escape room craze, hopefully sees some improvements / adjustments this year. Okay, they weren't perfect and had their flaws (some more than others), but they all showed flairs of orignaility, an attempt to push the boundary or just try and do something really well. On top of that, there's been a massive increase in roaming actors, Face it Alone and overnight experiences. So as a whole, Fright Nights has really grown recently, and really does have potential to be something special, with the right push. Platform 15 is also again something original, something which will seemingly mix indoor and outdoor elements, and has the chance for a good in-maze story and length. In honesty, I haven't noticed much difference in terms of quality between the Lionsgate mazes and original mazes. They've always had suitable theming, similar-ish lengths and used the same tactics. I prefer the themes of the original mazes, but that's about it. Clown mazes are done a lot, yes, but that's because they're well received by the public. If there's a demand for something, why not play to it? The copious power cuts last season were very frustrating, but I don't think it's anything that we can blame Thorpe for given it was problems externally. Towers did step their game up last year, but every other year, Scarefest was just a standard, unremarkable event, which ticked along. Yes, it had decent attractions, but they were always very safe and just did things well. Hopefully it does give Thorpe a push to up their game a bit though!

New for 2017 - What's in a Number? Thorpe Park presents this new, free, interactive show, explaining in great, enormous, detail the reasons behind adding numbers to some of their Fright Nights attractions. Show length: 30 seconds

Thorpe did do an afternoon-evening ticket thing last Summer Nights (or it might have been the 2014 one, can't remember), but it made next to no difference on the popularity. They also tried summer fireworks in 2006, but cancelled them due to lack of demand. I know I'm probably coming across as somewhat dismissive, but I honestly do think it's a case of there's not enough demand for late summer openings in the UK. Halloween events work because of the ever growing scare market (which mostly only works on a large scale in October anyway). I'd love to see it happen, but I can't see any way of it substantially happening in the UK.

As said above, AI benefits greatly from being a seaside park. And if you exclude the seaside parks, Thorpe have the second-best summer opening hours in the UK (with the oh-so-popular Oakwood having the best...). So in context of the UK, Thorpe's opening times are very decent, and aren't really the ones which need sorting out. I honestly do think it's a cultural thing. People in the UK like to start early so they can leave early it seems. The parks are always so busy in the morning, with a huge rush of people coming in at the start of the day. And between 5-6pm, Thorpe, for example, are quite quiet. And I don't think it's a case of 'leaving early to beat the closing rush', as that doesn't happen with parks that have a 5pm close. So it just seems like a larger majority of people naturally leave by 5pm-ish anyway. And even with things to entice them to stay late (Summer Nights, concerts, fireworks, etc.), there doesn't seem to be that many people willing to stay late during summer. That's why late closes seem to work so much better in European parks in my opinion. Different culture, with people more willing to stay later (and maybe even arrive later). Obviously there might be other reasons and I might be completely off the mark, but it just seems like late openings at UK theme parks don't really work during the summer.

This is a good point, and one which always left me concerned from a marketing perspective. Can Thorpe continue to grow and bring people in with no new coasters for an 8 year period (assuming 2020 is the next big investment and is a coaster)? Without good medium sized investments, I'm not sure. As I've said 100 times, I'd love to see the park invest in racing/duelling Vekoma junior boomerangs. Great family investment, but fun for everyone, a legitimate and easy-to-market world first, visually stunning, decent enough throughput and come at a good price. The only issue would be space; even by removing a flat ride, it wouldn't be easy to achieve.

Here's the official line: https://www.thorpepark.com/faqs/

Not necessarily. The UK theme park industry only really got into swing in the early 90s, so UK theme park enthusiasm really only started in the mid-to-late 90s. Very few people would be "enthusiasts" in the way we're talking, then move onto being park management. Of course, the people who run many of the theme parks do enjoy theme parks and are enthusiastic about them, but there's a different between being enthusiastic, and being an enthusiast. Seems a bit of a needless dig at him when he's the one who's openly agreed with many enthusiast comments (love of woodies being a notable one), and was also one of the (marketing?) driving forces behind Nemesis, an enthusiasts dream ride...

It'd be funnier if it said 'When the ocean bed is full' to be honest, but points for originality.

UK enthusiasts taking over the UK theme parks?

I believe the spooky shed was used for access to underneath Loggers' first lift hill. Was just themed for the sake of theming! Aside from the train theme, Platform 15 and DBGT are no way related though. My biggest concern about using the old CCR loop for a FN maze (which seems almost certain now) is the proximity to Saw. Even if you enclose the sections that are close to Saw, there's still going to be a lot of loud, distracting noises nearby. Could potentially spoil the atmosphere. No doubt it's something that's been considered and they've got a way round it, but it seems like one of those things you can't be 100% certain about until it goes live.

Seems a shame to chuck a ride into that nice big open space to be honest. The area worked nicely as just a plaza with no ride in my opinion. Then again, if it's done right, then I'm sure it could be a nice focal point for the park. Not to dissimilar to the chairswing at Phantasialand really. But it comes down to if they do it right, which given recent investments, feels like a big if.

Oh definitely. I suppose it was a poor choice of words, but I agree; 2 major rides out is enough for anyone to want to at least consider asking for a free return ticket.

Crust has indeed closed. The only time it was ever busy was the 2011 fireworks event, because it was right next to the viewing area. And even then, it wasn't exactly popular because of the prices and lack of quality. One can only assume they were locked into a contract, which was why they didn't leave sooner.

Completely forgot this meet was a thing. Alas, won't be attending due to working.

They're now also serving sirloin steak (cooked to order) and Bratwurst hot dogs!

It's all well and good saying things need to improve operationally, but when their headline coaster is closed (due to unfortunate, unseen circumstances) and their big new ride is suffering teething problems, it already backs them into a very difficult position. Even if all other rides ran flawlessly, there would likely be plenty of people who would be clambering for a free return ticket.

NB: Capacity - Number of people in one train at any one time Throughput - Number of people through the ride per hour

I'm sure the ride will be fixed. I don't think they're planning on just leaving the ride there broken forever. Unfortunately, machines do break and some breaks can take a long time to fix.

For all the geeks out there, Phantasialand have announced that Taron is 1320m long (making it the 9th longest coaster in Europe, and "the longest multi-launch coaster in the world without an inversion"), and 117 kmph / ~73mph, making it the 7th fastest in Europe.