Paul

Sounds like you both had great days! Now I'm literally sitting here kicking myself. My friend said, do you want to go on Sunday? And I said, no, I think I'd prefer to go on Saturday. How stupid I was!

Seriously, think before you post.

I guessed that it wasn't a POV from the fact that the website is called smouch.net/lol/, and that the ride hasn't been built yet!Please don't go around publishing viruses etc on this forum.

Even though the exit pass queue was long on Vampire yesterday, it wasn't a problem for me. Regardless of why they are there, it doesn't make any difference to my day, and like James said, it doesn't make any difference to the main queue waiting time as the system has been used for as long as I can remember.

Oh yes! I forgot that part! !

Yes.

Are you talking about the same dispatch announcement I am talking about?"Please keep arms and regs inside boat at all times."

Does anyone have the Dragon Falls dispatch announcement?"Please keep arms and regs inside boat at all time!" (In a strong chinese accent)

That's not true.

I agree, I think it's two types of "I Love You". The one used in this case is just something quickly said to make the girl happy. Usually though, it's just the same the other way round. The girl from one relationship is usually with another boy within the space of a few days. I've been building up the "foundations" if you like of a good, trusting friendship with someone for about a year now, before I have the courage to tell them that I actually love them. If you compare the time spans, it really does show you how 'the guy at school' and I have very different meanings of the phrase "I Love You", and how important they are when said.

Oh My! I am sure there is one of these guys in every single form! I have someone exactly the same as how you described in my form and every other form that I know well, does. It must be a part of life. :)They really make me angry, do they even think about what they're doing? Fare enough, it's their life, and if they want to have a new partner every week, then that's fine with me. It just angers me when they say "I Love You" to one person, and then "I Love You" a week later to someone different. It's a serious thing to say. I haven't said "I Love You" to anyone in that way. I'm waiting for the perfect moment, and when I know it's right. Because when it's right, you'll know.

Every winter, we see the 4 month closure of THORPE PARK and Chessington & Zoo, not to mention many other Merlin attractions. This topic can be for anyone, but especially for the people that visit theme parks a lot of the time.What do you do to replace going to theme parks?Does the closed period go quickly for you? What do you do to speed up the time?These ones are easy for me. As many people have mentioned in other topics, going to theme parks is more of a social thing for me - just somewhere fun to go with friends (although I do LOVE them ). So when the parks are closed, I just find other activities to do with my friends to replace my theme park trips. The closed period actually seems to go really quickly for me. I think the reason is for Christmas being slap bang in the middle of the closed period. After November has kicked in, we all start getting excited about Christmas, and I forget all about going to theme parks. Christmas is such an enjoyable time, with many fun and exciting things to do, which for me, completely takes my mind off visiting parks. To be honest, I only really start thinking about visiting theme parks again in February, and by then it's only a month or so away! I only joined TPM earlier this year, so I will be staying on here just as much as I do now, even though the parks are closed. Talking about theme parks is a really great thing for me, and something which I struggle to do with other non-'TPM'ers! It's great to have loads of people that I can talk theme parks with, as it is a great interest of mine, and really passes the time. The fact that you're all lovely people helps as well .

I agree, the line of people with exit passes just seemed to be never ending.

Yes! I was thinking that Merlin have purchased the licensing to play the SAW soundtracks, not just THORPE PARK. Therefore, the tracks are likely to be used in other parks. Just in case anyone is interested, other tracks played parkwide throughout the day were Monster Mash, Purple People Eater and The Scooby Doo Theme.

Another thing from my trip today, I was quite surprised to hear the SAW soundtrack blaring out in the Dragon Falls queue around lunchtime! I forgot that I was in Chessington and not Thorpe for a minute!

Thanks for that! Have a great time tomorrow! :PAnother thing that everyone may be happy to hear: The station music on Vampire was incredibly loud today, actually the bass was so loud that it was vibrating the floor!

My trip report from today:Overall: 10/10. Just excellent in every single aspect. So it's Halloween, I'm expecting the park to be heaving with people. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. Although it was very busy, it wasn't as uncomfortably busy as I was expecting. Knowing that it would be busy throughout the day, I purchased 2 X Express Passes on entering the park. These proved incredibly helpful, and I don't have a single regret in spending the extra money on them. Although it was busy walking around the park, the ride queues weren't unbearable, and were much smaller than first anticipated. The theming around the park was faultless and very well executed. Although I didn't manage to see the park at night, the placement of lighting around the park was very consistent, and I could just imagine how spectacular the park was going to be at night. The staff were as always, faultless on the whole in their attitude towards making every visitor's day that little bit more special. I usually compliment individual staff members that really stood out, but today I really believe that the whole staff community did a great job. Now for the juicy stuff: Queue times. Based on what I saw/experienced, the average queue times for attractions during the day were:Dragon's Fury: 60 minutesDragon Falls: 40 minutesVampire: 70 MinutesBubbleworks: 50 minutesTomb Blaster: 80 minutesRunaway Train: 45 minutesRameses Revenge: 20 minutesRattlesnake: 30 minutesBlack Buccaneer: 30 minutesSeastorm: 10 minutesPeeking Heights: 10 minutesRide Count: (I used 2 x Express Passes)Dragon's Fury: 2Dragon Falls: 2Vampire: 2Bubbleworks: 2Runaway Train: 2Rattlesnake: 3Rameses Revenge: 3Black Buccaneer: 1Tomb Blaster: 0 ( I know! I had two express slots to go on this, but I literally didn't have enough time to do them!)One thing I must add. On my last Chessington trip report, I commented that Dragon's Fury wasn't really as good as I thought it was going to be, and that I didn't really think much of it. How wrong I was! Today, both rides were fantastic, and I was really shown that it can be an intense ride when it wants to be! Some of the drops had my stomach churning! Today, it really was a fantastic ride, easily in my top 3 now. Overall, a really fantastic day! No queues, lots of rides, lots of soakings (On Rameses! ), lots of fun had. Top stuff Chessington! One of the best ways I've ever spent my Halloween day. Hope you enjoyed reading! ______________________________________________________Aside from the trip report, there is one thing that I have a quick question about. On the 2009 Calendar on the park map, it says that on the 5th/6th/12th/13th/14th-31st December (Except Christmas Day), the park is open as usual from 10am-3pm. But on the Chessington Website, it says that these dates are for SEA LIFE & Zoo days only. Can anyone working at the park clear this up for me? I am guessing that the website would be more accurate, but I'd appreciate some help. Thanks .

Hopefully! I'm going on the last day of season, and a day without a ride on Stealth just wouldn't be complete!

I'm going tomorrow with a friend. Only staying until 4pm, but 6 hours of Chessington is better than no Chessington!

Fare enough, what about the water effect?

I will do! Thanks.

I will!I still think the Ultimate Express Pass is really good value, especially compared to THORPE PARK anyway.

I'm going for 2 reasons: 1. I've been working pretty much all week on coursework, and I just need to get away and have a day of fun!2. I want to get loads of rides done!I'd really love to try the rides at night, but I have to leave at 4pm, so really it's a case of going to get on loads of rides!I think you're right, I think I'll be just about right with 2 Express Passes. That way, like you said I can get on the biggies in the first hour with small queues, and then use the Express Passes after 12pm to get another 12 rides in. :)Thanks James.

I agree. Although it's not heaving with people, it's still more than busy enough to provide THORPE PARK with a pretty hefty profit margin. It's a win-win situation for THORPE PARK really, less people complaining because of over-crowding, yet still making a nice profit. Also, if more people are happy with their visit, then they are more likely to return again in the future.