JoshC.

D'oh; edited to please the pendants.. ;)I must admit, going through the monkey and bird bit made me realise why I hadn't been through it in so long...

A new year, but my same old PTRs! :PNow, this was my first Zoo Day at Chessington ever, as far as I remember at least. The whole reason for it was to take advantage of the half price MAP deal, and it was felt it would turn out as a better family day out than a trip to London. It also made for a better chance to take videos with my new pocket camcorder, which hopefully will lead to some videos in the next week or so (when I have more time to sort them out; as mentioned later on, there's one currently on Facebook..)After arriving just before 10, all three of us were sorted out be about 10 past which, considering there was a bit of a queue, isn't bad at all. One thing I noted was how one group tried to get half price MAPs, but didn't know that it had ended early, and they weren't impressed as you can imagine.. For the most part, however, anyone who tried to purchase a MAP either had an email to warrant it or were prepared to pay full price, perhaps oblivious to the fact they could've got it half price with a bit of pro-activity!My new AP! I'm not blue, unlike last season, but I have a nice white line through my head...The weather for the day. It was a bit chilly, but there was no rain at least!Our day started off by trying to watch the otters being feed, as the show was just starting. However, with a crowd of people round, we opted against it and made our way to the Trail of the Kings instead...With the gorillas seemingly asleep, we moved straight to the lion and tiger enclosures. They weren't too active either, really, but were in plain sight, which was nice!Lion.Sleepy tiger.The lioness was quite active.I can't remember the last time I saw the leopard at Chessington, but today I saw it! It was quite active, perhaps waiting for a feed or something, but I genuinely was glad to have finally seen it. XD I took a video, but no photos. So, like with many things throughout this PTR, it will be a case of 'watch this space' I'm afraid!We made our way to Sealion Bay, and a show was due in 10ish minutes, so we decided to wait around. I got some epic video footage, but for now you'll have to deal with a few poor-ish photos...Swimming..More swimming.*More photos of sealions coming soon*After a quick hot chocolate break, we decided to go to Bubbleworks, see how opening it over Zoo Days was doing. I must confess myself impressed at the fact that most of the scenes were actually working well, but not perfectly, and that it felt just like it was the middle of open season when it should be at it's best.Whilst we're in Transylvania, may as well chuck in a couple of Vampire-related pictures...Never noticed this fake tree thing, so decided to take a photo of it all special like...A quick stop in the Chessington Shop, and...Chessington will have more than 1 new thing in 2012 - they've got new TOYS!!!!Seagull Skyway anyone?So, after a bit more wandering round, we decided on lunch. The Chicken Shack was open, despite it not being advertised to on the website / map, which I guess is a good thing, and that is where we decided on. After just sneaking in a table, it was obvious that it was a busy; every table was full. The staff were, however, working fast, which I guess is a good thing. However, I feel that the speed of service compromised the quality. The food we ordered was not good; the beef burger was greasy to death, and the chicken was very dry. The chips much to rave about either. We complained, about were given one of the meals refunded. As glad as we were that we were given some compensation, service should never come to this point, and this was certainly the sour note of the day.After an uneventful walk through the Monkey Bird and Garden for the first time in a good couple of years (probably since 2008), we made our way to Wanyama Village and Reserve, for my second visit since it had opened. I liked the place when I first visited, shortly after it had opened, but it was always something which was put lower down on the list of 'things to do', when taking into consideration the theme park as well. This is indeed a shame, as my visit today realised just how much I like the atmosphere and the general area. Will definitely try to fit it in on future visits!The central water piece.Ostriches. I took a photo of one of these shy little things, but the picture didn't come out well. Ah well, here's the factfile..Meerkat adoptions! My name is here! (Also, you can play spot the other TPM member..)I love the meerkat enclosure at Chessington; so many photo opportunities.From the tunnel.All standing up straight.The king of the mountain?This is where Wanyama stuff ends. As a side note, anyone who has me on Facebook, there is a short video at the 'peak' of Wanyama uploaded if you want to have a look. I hope to upload to Youtube or something too.I don't care how old I am, I have always wanted to have an arm-span as long as a vulture's Condor's wingspan.. ;)There was also a visit to the good ol' Sealife centre, but unfortunately most pictures didn't turn out alright. There will most definitely be more pictures and videos to come from my trip, but there'll be uploaded later during the week (I still have one more exam, you see...), so as said, it's a case of watch this space!I'll leave you with some photos of the AP / ticket queue as we left at about half 2 (with a 3pm close..) :oFor now, that's all..

Officially, it was one carer if the disabled guest could walk unaided, 2 if they cannot.However, if it was a party of 3 with a disabled guest who could walk unaided, customer services usually allow 2 carers.

Dunno why, but in a Harry Potter mood this evening...

I must agree that the process can be quite demoralising, especially with people who receive multiple rejections with little reason. In a way, I think that the process needs a serious rethink, as people are judged too much without reasons behind the creiteria thought of. The new proposals of applying after results are got is a good idea, but no good in practice - but that's a whole different argument.. My college do not stop anyone from applying to Oxbrideg if they want to, as they have the mindset of 'If you don't apply, then you don't know if you'll get in', if you will, probably because they've have students that would seem weaker still get a place. The thing is, Cambridge 'say' that GCSEs aren't of much importance, and they're taken into consideration with the secondary school (so, in a sense, 'good' GCSEs from a 'bad' school could be seen as the same as 'great' GCSEs from a 'good' school, and better than 'good' GCSEs from a 'good' school, if that makes sense).; based on the feedback I recieved, this seems a bit of a stretch of the truth. I'd be interested, if you don't mind me asking, whether you go to a college, or stayed on at your secondary school for sixth form there, as I know that it's a case that some sixth forms are quite strict about GCSE grades and applying to Oxbridge, because of the taking GCSEs in context with the school idea.. In a way, I do see where they are coming from, you're right. However, it is more a case of two dodgy module grades, which both have explanations behind them, stopped me from even getting an interview. I was more hoping that they'd make some sort of leeway, and allow for the odd bad day, which happens to everyone, which annoys me more. To be honest, I'm more disappointed about the fact I didn't get an interview than an offer, as, simply put, I feel the reasons aren't a reflection of how things really are. Goes back to Sidders point of demoralisation a bit I guess..And, of course, it's not like I've ended up with nothing - I'd already got an offer from my second choice uni before the rejection, which I was more than delighted with. Furthermore, it usually gets ranked higher than Oxford when it comes to my subject, so as you say, Oxbridge isn't everything!I completely agree with your last point (well, in a gneral sense as opposed to your school, as that would seem slightly stalkerish ). Some B grades, for example, are totally underated and people see them more as a burden to their application as opposed to a success of their studies. I know many a people who seem like people from your school, and treat B (and some A) grades as 'failure'.. For the record, I never felt that Cambridge was the only uni to go to, but it was of course my first choice. Anyone who's ever been rejected by the first choice will know the disappointment, and slight upset, that it causes the. It's not different when it comes to Cambridge. And the thing with social lives at Oxbridge is, I'd say, completely blown out of proportion. I know people who have successfully got a place, and people who are currently there, and none of them are this 'snobby, uptight, posh' people that are well known to Oxbridge. I don't deny that there are a lot of 'that type' of people there, but there are plenty of other people who are much more 'normal' if you will. When I was fortunate enough to stay at Cambridge for 3 days during term time, it certainly gives a clear picture of what students are like - and I'd say that, for the most part, they're just like any other university students. And of course there's people who hate it and don't 'fit in', but I'd say that that happens at all universities.

^Agreed, not a big fan of those trains. They 'look' too much like trains, where it shows the body of the train so much (wow, that sounds very dim..), and not enough like an eagle.Swarm and Raptor seemingly cover the body much better..

Okay, perhaps a rant-that's-not-really-a-rant rant coming up, which some people may find pathetic / whatever, but something I need to get off my chest...Much like many thousands of teenagers my age, I applied to university this year. As I believe I've said on this forum, I applied to - and got rejected by - Cambridge. Now, before I carry on, I'm not ranting about being rejected from Cambridge - after all, I applied for one of the most competitive courses at one of best universities in the world; I in no way expected to be able to walk in. However, I was rejected before interview, which obviously disappointed and slightly upset me. Now, this rejection was back in mid-November, and I immediately applied for feedback on my application - I thought that there was a very very good chance of me getting interview (as the college I applied for interview at least 90% for each subject), so I was somewhat confused as to where my application had gone wrong.Two months later, and contact with my Tutor had finally be made. So, there was one main reason highlighted as to why I wasn't even given an interview, which was that my grades 'didn't show potential in getting A*AA at A-Level' (their standard offer). In reality, Cambridge only really cared about three of my subjects, and they even said that (to a lesser or greater extent) when they sent feedback, and they were Maths, Further Maths and Physics. I've already got an A* in Maths (a bloody good achievement which I'm proud of, for the record), so it means they don't see the potential in getting 2 A grades in Further Maths and Physics. The reason was because my 'Statistics grades in Maths weren't close enough to 90%' (I got an A and a C, the C I've resat after a bad day. Stats is my weakest part of Maths, and their least desired Maths Modules..) and 'because I got an E in my Physics practicals' (which was explained in my application, due to poor teaching of them, as admitted by my teacher. For what it's worth, everyone else in my class got a U in the practicals...). So in other words, they're main reason for rejecting me was because of one bad day which happened to have 2 exams, and having a weak module score in one unit. According to my college, this is the first time they've heard 'module grades weren't close enough to 90%' as a contributing factor to rejection.What the real rick in teeth was with the feedback was they said that they 'would've liked to have seen more A*s at GCSE'; though it wasn't a big deal, I get the impression it was a nail in coffin. Okay, I only got a full A* at GCSE, which is below the average of a Cambridge applicant. However, I came from a below-average school and my particular year only scored 33% 5 A*-C, so to come out with the GCSEs I got surely shows that I have some potential? Okay, so this probably sounds really whinny and pathetic to some people, but basically what I'm getting at is simply I'm just a bit annoyed that out of all the possible reasons for not even getting an interview was that they couldn't see any potential in me, even though it was a couple of modules which looked a bit 'concerning'...

The picture has not been flipped horizontally.

Oh, that's quite cheap actually... :$I thought extra costs though, like the need for having to stay at one of the park hotels bumping up the cost or something? I do remember the sole reason for me not going was the cost, then to hear about people getting money back was a right kick in the teeth!Still, Thorpe could make a whole lot more charging a hundred odd quid pp for a tour-like event, than turning it into an AP day like event..

It sounds a little bit like the planned Th13teen event, which was meant to cost, what, £300?Thorpe wouldn't give a tour like that for a small cost when they can do £300pp

Rush gets this 'major attention', if you will, on a three yearly basis. I believe they've received some new parts from S&S this closed season as well. As for something else that isn't Swarm related...maintenance is ahead of schedule this year, mainly due to the fact that there hasn't been large amounts of adverse weather (ie snow) this year, when compared to previous seasons.

It's 'apparently' still registered to fly. From what I'm aware, it will be bashed up a little. Whether the blades are smashed up is a different matter.As a fun fact of the day, one of Thorpe's engineers is a fan of planes, which helped in the finding / building of plane parts. Also, the plane wing that you dive under is a mock one, as using a plane wing with the engine shells would not have been long enough. The engine shells, however, are real.

I think we can say that there won't be any repaints going on this closed season, at least for major rides. Surely they would've started by now?A Colossus repaints isn't really something that I feel is essential, but nonetheless would be good. I'd prefer them to sort it out in a couple of years time, maybe the 2013/14 closed season, and then not add any new rides for 2014. Then, in general, repaint / retheme / rename a couple of rides and bring some life back into older rides, rather than always focusing on something new. As for improving Thorpe this closed season, I'd really just like to see them sort out ride effects and audio. Give Canada Creek a little redesign, open it up a bit perhaps now CCR is gone, and just make sure the rides and their effects have the ability to last all season relatively smoothly.

Oblvion is a good, all round ride, but I can't call it world class, for one reason...As soon as you reach the end of the ride, and are waiting to go back in the station, hearing the Lord of Darkness say there is no escape, etc etc completely ruins everything - the build up from the area, the queue, the station, everything. A world class ride, for me, cannot end by ruining the story..

I find it pretty poor to be honest.The launch is about all there is to the ride. Okay, I 'get' that that's the point, but it just doesn't do 'it' for me - it's not the comfiest or most re-ridable of rides. There's slight quirkiness in the theming, and the audio is okay, but Stealth is a ride I can go without doing on a Thorpe visit, and it is for those reasons which is why I, perhaps slightly harshly, rated it 'poor'.

Probably look at 1.96m as a max. restriction, like with many other rides. Not too sure though..

Not strictly true.. ;)A locus is a collection of points that share the same property. A circle is a locus of points that share a constant, fixed distance from the same point. So, technically, the body of mass travels along the course of a locus, not around it. (At least, that's what I've always been taught )[/end pendent]

As nice as it is that it's testing now, I'm not really overly excited at seeing a couple of pictures of it at a couple of points on the track if I'm honest. Heck, even seeing a video from Monk's Walk won't get that much more excited than I already am for this - nothing really beats hearing the lift hill, the sound of the wheels and such. Sorry if it seems like I'm party-pooping, but seeing a couple of pictures showing trains round a circuit isn't really something 'exciting' for me..But anyways... WOO TESTING!!

Just to throw this out here...Looking at the plans, after the vertical section of track, there's just a small dip in the track and then a turn, I believe? If so, that doesn't seem like the best of ideas to go into after a launch, whatever the speed - would feel very uncomfortable / neck-braking in my view.Just a point to make about this vertical launch section, which I hope doesn't happen if I'm honest..

Which I believe is the same time for the Ride it First competition?Loads of UK Merlin attractions have these VIP launch things, so doubt Swarm will be any different..

With the trains looking almost exactly like that concept art, I think some people who were saying that 'Swarm won't have fire effects just because the concept art says so' might be reconsidering their views now..

I don't think we'll being seeing any sort of launch on the lift hill at all. I get the feeling that the point of the first inversion is to go through it slowly and steadily, create suspense and tension; build up the scare factor if you will.After all, loads of rides can through inversions quickly, but few can go through them slowly and use it as a form of suspense.

Liam quoted this on the previous page, and I'm quoting this on this page too, taken from the noise report.If nothing else, this gives us a very strong suggestion that SW7 is by Gerstlauer. To be quite frank, I'm getting slightly annoyed by loads of different forums arguing what manufacturer it is. There is one line in one of the more important reports that gives us a strong indication to the manufacturer, so where's all this argument of 'Oh, it will manufacturer x, y or z?' coming from!? I'm all for looking through the plans and working out things from them, but when we're more or less told something from the plans, where's all the 'Oh, the plans are wrong!!!!' coming from.

SFTW is one of those shows that, for some reason, I just like. I don't know what it is, but I find myself every Sunday watching it and enjoying it. One of the few times I'm actually prepared to join one of these pointless Facebook groups tbh..

It won't be the used audio.On a different note, I've heard rumours that testing could be happening as early as next week..! Exciting times..