JoshC.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Don't quite know what to say about this one. I read the book a while back now, and it was one of my favourites of the series (tied with the first one - the 3rd one onwards felt like a bit of a nose-dive...). But the film, well, I dunno. One of the problems with the films in general is the fact the characters are a fair bit older than in the book, which creates a different tone. It worked well in the first film, but the second one, it doesn't feel as right. As for the plots, from what I remember, it sticks reasonably well to the book actually, with obvious differences due to how the first film was made. A couple of 'fan' gripes, if you will. -I hate the new actor playing Chiron. Pierce Brosnan suited the role so much better and this new guy, who I can't even be bothered to look up the name of, just didn't suit the role in my yes. -Mr D. felt very toned down and mundane, and more a comical character. He didn't 'feel' that way in the books. -Clarisse was much less bratty, and just a bit stuck up. I guess that could be down to the age thing, but she was always the very definition of a brat in the books, especially the first couple, whereas in this film, she was just your generic stuck up character that needed to see the light a bit. Anyway, let's forget about comparing it to the book and judge the film.. I watched it in 2D, and I cringed so many times at the effects and scenes that were obviously chucked in for 3D only. Absolutely hated that, as always. There doesn't feel like there's much danger going on either bar the odd bit here and there. It feels very set out and that everything's just worked out for them nicely. It doesn't seem like the characters are on a dangerous quest battling the odds and trying to save the world. It's almost like they're running a difficult errand for someone. The thing is though, the film flows nicely and everything fits together. In a way, I want to say it was a 'safe' film, in that they've kept to a very simple plot and tried to make it appeal to a younger audience. But I dunno if I like that. So yeah, I really dunno about this one. Will definitely need to see it again before I can judge it properly... 5/10

So, Chessie featured on Daybreak this morning (along with the other UK Merlin parks and Drayton in a random 2 minute theme parky slot). Guess which two rides in particular featured on the Chessie section? Runaway Mine Train and Rameses Revenge. Both rides were shown operating, and Rameses was even named as a ride you can go on. Yet there was no mention at all of Zufari, even though the new attractions at other parks were mentioned! Not Chessie's fault here, but I can imagine there'll be a fair few guests disappointed if they end up visiting after seeing that they're supposedly working...

Apart from the BBQ, isn't that basically what they're doing every night this month?

Congrats Dan! Quite happy with my 5th place finish - the Records Round and last few questions of the Picture Round killed me were my weak points - my knowledge outside of UK parks isn't that great it seems! Really do hope this can happen next year, it's been a nice bit of fun. And once again, thanks Sidders for doing this!

Glad to see people doing well! And don't forget, if the worse has happened, there are always ways to get through it. Are you doing / going to do an EPQ Luke? Whilst, admittedly, most people I knew who did one found it to be a bit of drag (because we had to do it over our Summer Holiday), it's a great way to boost your UCAS points, and also appeals to unis when applying. Just an idea! I'm glad to see that there hasn't been any nonsense in the media about exams getting easier this year (at least, I haven't seen any). It's always a kick in the teeth, regardless of the results you get, to see rubbish like that being spouted about. Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot less of that in years to come too. One final thing I want to say, which probably belongs in the Rant thread but oh wells, is a friend of mine got his results today. His first choice was Warwick to do Maths - the same course and university as me. He got higher grades than me, in the best suited subjects as well, and more than deserves a place at Warwick (at least as much as I do...probably more tbh) and got rejected as he just missed out on his offer by a few percent. Last year, I missed my offer by a grade and a bit, and got accepted. I feel really gutted for him, as had he been in my year, he would have been accepted. I don't want to say it's 'unfair', as theoretically, they don't have to take in anyone who misses their offer, but I just feel it's a shame that things like this happen. Just can't help but feel that if the university application was a bit more personal, things would be better...

Dead Silence After the speculation of a Dead Silence maze possibly making it's way to the UK this Halloween, and hearing a couple of good reviews, I decided to give it a watch. In a sentence - great film, which uses a mixture of 'tried and tested' scares, as well as a couple of nice different ones. I thought the idea was really good and well executed. Whilst there was a couple of scenes where it was obvious what was going to happen, the ending was unexpected to me and a nice twist all in all. I read in Wikipedia the writer - good ol' Leigh Whannell - wasn't actually too happy with it in some respects. But meh, I thought it was decent. 7.5/10 On the subject on horror films, I think I can say fans and haters of the Paranormal Activity series will be happy to hear that PA5 will not be making it's way to cinemas until next Halloween! Hopefully this means there can be more time put into it, it can finish off the series on a good note, tie up most / all loose ends and try and not drag on and lose all dignity. There is some random spin off coming at the beginning of next year too... (Sauce - http://screencrush.com/paranormal-activity-5-spin-off-release-dates/) And, a final film... Un Pazzo Indietro (A Mad Behind Me) http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi1227162649/ I stumbled upon this short film (only a few minutes long) whilst at uni, and everyone who watched it loved it. It's in Italian, but has English subtitles. I dunno why, but I always laugh at it, and the way it ends is great. But maybe I'm a bit weird. But meh, give it a watch... 9/10

Nice little game, and a great idea from the park! Shame the prizes are individual Fastrack, would've preferred to see something else, but ah well..

Swarm backwards kinda, sorta, maybe makes sense when you think about it. It helps draw in more people, which was the trouble with the ride, and can theoretically handle it (though, in practice, the operational side has been a bit mixed). Also, with rumours floating about that B&M are considering a 4D coaster and that this was one way of them advancing in that direction, it makes sense there. Vampire backwards though. It would be highly difficult for a good queueing system to be implemented. It won't be able to handle it throughput-wise, especially when two rows are almost always used for disabled guests. It makes sense in one respect, as changing the park's icon coaster could draw people in, but surely bringing in more new stuff would be better? Whilst I was a disbeliever of Swarm backwards, and probably said this about that as well - this 100% ain't gonna happen.

I liked Beanoland when I was a kid, but I feel the area was - like too much of Chessington these days - too orientated to the children who visit the park. It felt very worn out to me after 2004/2005 and that it had overstayed its welcome. I get why people dislike the grey, but I just can't help but think that any other colour would look cheap, nasty and work against the area. Even if it was a browny colour, it wouldn't feel the same. The only thing I can think of that I hate about Wild Asia is the voice used for onload/offload onto Kobra - complete mood killer. I'd really give Lorikeet Lagoon a go on your next visit; absolutely amazing place! Speaking of Wild Asia, does anyone know if Bayun Maximus (or however you spell his name; the elephant in the tree) still being 'used' to his proper potential? :

Looks like another wing-over inversion/drop on a wingrider then. Yay?

The £20 deal mixed in with the Thorpe AP deal is an amazing idea by the park. They can coax people in to 'try' the park out for £20, spend a bit of money on park, hang out at the park till late (I think Bar 360 is open till midnight for everyone?), and if they liked the park, can pay £25 to come back whenever they want for the rest of the season. It's a great way to draw in the crowds, whilst the park is on good form too, and is certainly the best way to help change their target market! And there's 2 for 1 vouchers seemingly everywhere at the moment!

I'll say straight away that I don't remember Circus Land that well, as I only visited a couple of times when that area was open and was very young. However, I think that Wild Asia is quite possibly Chessington's biggest success since the turn of the century (or, if it isn't, it comes Second to LotD). The area is amazing. I know people criticise it for being a bit 'grey', but I just don't see it like that. Yes, there's a lot of grey there, but it sets a tone very nicely. There's a lot of quirky features to it as well, and everything just fits together perfectly. Lorikeet Lagoon is the definition of magnificent and is what Chessie should be all about. As I say, I don't remember the circus land, but I personally don't think anything can top Wild Asia. Sorry, just had to get my Wild Asia love in here. Anyway, the current Chessington is in a bit of a state. And when I say current, I mean this season. Previous years have been alright, but could still be improved upon. I don't remember much of 'old Chessington', so I can't compare the two. However, the Chessington of today has a good selection of rides, but needs a couple more and a lot of TLC before the park itself is in a good condition.

This is pretty much what I had in mind. Surely it's just as secure as the cupboards they have on rides like Colossus and Inferno? As for the queue system...whatever way I look at it, there's going to be issues. If you just have one single queue, then split forwards and backwards when people get into the station, it will create congestion and such. Also, people won't know how long the backwards and forwards queues are inside the station, and so will change their mind up until the last minute. The current system is okay really; not great though. The trouble I've found is that it has always had unreliable queue times - and I mean wildly unreliable, moreso than any other - and is always hit and miss with popularity. I can't think of any other way it could have worked though? So, whatever way they did / do it, it will never really be that good in my opinion. What I think needs more sorting out is directing people to each side, or at least making access to the left-hand side of the train clearer. The amount of times, especially this season, I've seen the left hand side queue pretty much empty (particularly the backwards rows) is very surprising.

A semi-accurate portrayal of the media today...

I hope we see a generic, Fright Nights teaser video, such as: http://www.youtube.com/v=EHEffRIyfiU or http://www.youtube.com/v=9LNnTMoa5ig I'd prefer it if we didn't get individual teasers for the mazes, as in recent years they've showed inside the maze, which I feel kinda spoils it. However, if they were to do ones a bit like Passing's, which sets up a story or something, I'd be happy! (EDIT: How do I embed Youtube videos? I can never get it to work?! :S )

Ooh, it is quite close at the top really, as the final round could throw up some serious twists and turns for the points. That Records Round looks to have cost me quite a bit; shoulda done me homework! Looking forward to the final result!

I'll join this again - hopefully I'll pay a bit more attention than I did last season! Following last season's last place finish, I was sacked by Project Calypso. Never fear though - I have joined 'The Resistance'.

To put it in perspective, a 2 hour queue for Storm Surge is probably equivalent to a 50 minute Swarm queue. So it's not 'busy' per se, it just attracts more people than it can handle.

Ah. Didn't explain myself properly there, and sorta said the wrong thing! What I meant to say was it's more styled than themed. Whilst there is theming there, like the queue line traps, the headchopper and the stuff indoors (the police car has now gone and I don't think returning?), it's the way they've styled it all which works much better. The way everything feels abandoned and has grown with age, how the area feels secluded and such. I've always felt that Saw was designed to create a certain feel and tone, and never to be this full out immersive experience. and the way everything feels to me is that it's been styled to be like that, as opposed to themed. Not even sure if that makes much sense to be honest. You could even say 'styling a ride' is the same as 'themeing a ride' I guess, but I think they're slightly different and that Saw is more styled than themed.

Get a feeling it's a new thing! Looks quite like an RCT3 'inline twist', so should be very interesting to experience. It looks like they kinda took inspiration from some wingriders, where an inline is the last inversion / major element, followed by a minor element to finish the ride off.

Investment-wise, Merlin are great. All the parks are getting investments - and good ones at that - and we're seeing attention to older rides too. The only park, in my eyes, that isn't as good is Chessie, for whatever reasons, but I think we're seeing improvements there all the time. Operations haven't been great, we all know that. However, I'd argue Thorpe have been improving a lot this year, with their extended opening hours, consistent ride reliability and such. The only thing which hasn't improved there, arguably, is Fastrack. The other parks haven't been doing as well, with reductions to opening hours, silly decisions (Alton specifically) and other troubles. But I genuinely do think that as time goes on, Merlin's operations will improve. Many things have improved under Merlin as well - merchandise, food outlets (bar the utter miserable failure of Burger Kitchen), attractions, themeing, entertainments (bar Thorpe in the sense that they're not constantly there, but instead just for big events. Though, the events they do pull off are good) and more. I think it goes back to what Cornflakes said - it seems Merlin sometimes value profit too much, and guest satisfaction not enough. Again though, I think that will change in time. I'd happily say Thorpe have recently prioritized guest satisfaction more than before (maybe all this is coincidental with the change in market, but who knows?), and I wouldn't be surprised if we slowly, but surely, see that happen across all parks. So, short answer, Merlin aren't that bad at all. In fact, they're rather good. But the 'wrong' decisions they have made have been big and noticeable ones, which is why they seemingly get so much criticism.

Sidders - absolute loved reading the Slender maze concept! Couple of things though - isn't the route between 2 and 4 crossing over Monk's Walk and off park property? Would mean that, in reality, there would need to be a couple of tweaks to the route. Even if you were to tweak it, maybe so you go around the building where the CCR trains are stored (ie the tankers), then I think the experience would still be pretty darn scary. The torches could possibly utilise Bluetooth technology so they 'work' and 'cut out' at different points in the maze (I believe The Passing used Bluetooth for the sounds inside the helmet, so it's more than achievable) and the maze could be a lot more theatrical than the other mazes. With an appropriate charge and explanation, I reckon it would go down a treat. Also, I think regardless of what themes the mazes have, having a couple of roaming actors around the park dressed as a character from a maze would be amazing. Imagine that, regardless of the maze, you feel like you're being tormented by a character from it all the time, not just inside the maze, and that there's no escape. It would be great.

Certainly is nice to see a new Inverter coming to the world; especially after the Wingrider binge. I quite like the look of the layout. The first drop looks decent, inversions 4 and 5 looks quite fun and the finale looks very interesting. Like others, I love that colour scheme too! The wingrider/flying restraint is any interesting idea and hopefully a norm we will see in future B&M Inverters. I really do find them the comfiest restraints around.

I wouldn't call Saw 'themed'; more styled. I can think of at least 2 rides which are better themed - both of theme are at least as well styled or better too. I genuinely don't think Saw is rough. I must admit, I did have an uncomfortable ride when I went to Summer Nights; it was my second in a row, and followed 5 goes on Swarm and Inferno, so I think it was more just needing a break than anything else. It's intense, and you can't deny that, but I think there's a fine line between intense and rough which is different for everyone.

Just came to post about that! In the article they posted, they mention about a 'ghost walk' attraction that the park held in 2005: Think this was the thing I read about ages ago and mentioned earlier in the thread. Certainly not a full blown attraction then, but it was something. XD