Paul

I was being served at the Resort Box Office a few weeks ago, getting my annual pass printed. Quite a large queue formed behind us, with lots of people clearly queuing for fastracks. Somehow the box office computer systems became jammed while I was at the kiosk being served, and the staff announced to the queue that there would be some wait before the system would be up and running again. For us this wasn't a problem, as we were on our way out of the park anyway and were in no rush. It just amazed me how the vast majority of people in the queue waiting to buy fastracks decided to continue to wait in this queue. I couldn't help but think - You're waiting in a queue to spend money on something that will help you skip a ride queue... why not just save your money and go and wait in the ride queue?

I'm hoping this hotel will reduce the amount of children in Splash Landings. If it does, it'll be a winner for me!

Nice collection of photos of the Tomb Blaster works I just saw from Chessington Buzz on Facebook: http://www.chessingtonbuzz.co.uk/news/tomb-blaster-back-from-the-dead/

I'd think that would be the only realistic option, to have multiple sets. If they did have to clean the same headsets for each ride cycle it would either take forever or they would end up doing a rushed 'clean' to speed up time, meaning they would still end up in a pretty disgusting state.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how it affects the general wait time / time between dispatches.

I'm a complete novice to the whole VR thing. What happens in terms of cleaning the goggles? Surely a lot of people will be sweaty and the goggles could get in a pretty disgusting condition?

Just booked a break to Alton Towers for June this year. A pretty awesome price - £300 for 4 nights B&B (2 people).

I'm very excited to see this - for me it would have been a disappointment if it was a coaster. This looks like it could be something very different and I'm looking forward to it!

It had a 5 minute queue, it's on the way out of the park, and we enjoyed it the first time...

When we tried to ride the second time, the queue was 5 minutes, at most!

I was surprised to find when visiting Alton this year that this ride seems to have a height/age restriction? I rode it first thing at 9.30am without a problem with my friend, both aged early 20s, and then when trying to join the queue later in the day we were told that we were too tall/old to ride? There seemed to be some confusion here?

Has there been any more news as to when the Smiler will be reopening?

Of course it's the same rollercoaster track, but with the VR headsets and new theming, it will be a completely new experience. I think it's perfectly justified marketing it as a new ride.

Gill Riley, the park's marketing director, said it represented a "multi-million pound investment". (BBC News) Would this just be for the VR technology? If not, I wonder what else they've spent the money on!

I'm so glad they've allowed the option for riding the coaster without VR. For me Air was a great ride, and I'm not good with the whole motion simulator type-thing, so If you had to wear the headset, it would completely put me off the ride. I may try it one day, but it's nice that I still have the option. As for the Galactica re-theme, this can only be a good thing, as for me Air was always one of least themed coasters we have.

The restaurant is taking bookings on the Alton Towers website right through the evening up until 9.30pm. It'll be interesting to see how this works - whether diners can access the restaurant via Woodland Walk or whether they will make a new entrance?

That's what I thought! I called them up earlier and they didn't seem to know! Off-peak is cheap anyway with the 35% so that's great. Thanks

Does anyone know if a merlin annual pass will get you a further 20% discount off the hotel, on top of the 35% off in their January sale?

Completely agreed. My head hurt afterwards and I didn't get any buzz of excitement whilst or after riding it. Some of the inversions would have been good if you had time between each one to think about it!

Oblivion. Such a simple coaster, but the anticipation of the slow lift hill and that drop, for me, packs the biggest punch of any coaster in the park. Plus, the view as the car slowly moves round to the drop is the best view from any ride in the park.

Stayed in this hotel this year, having previously only ever stayed in Splash Landings. I thought it was great - definitely a better hotel for me in terms of feeling more relaxed and calm. Of course you still get noisy kids running around now and then, but nothing like Splash Landings which can be more like a kids club at times. Having said that, I do prefer the more quirky theming of Splash Landings, and it does seem to have a bit more excitement about it. We also went to the spa, which was amazing, as we were the only couple in there for the entirety of our 3 hour session - we couldn't believe our luck! We had a walk over to the Enchanted Village accommodation too... the Crooked Spoon was lovely, but the accommodation just looked a bit random. Lovely looking buildings but I think they needed to be nestled deep in a thick forest in order to work. It just looked quite bizarre having these lovely little lodges with almost no theming whatsoever. When going back to Alton I'll be more than happy to stay in the Alton Towers Hotel or Splash Landings, whichever is cheaper really. From having walked around the Enchanted Village, I had no desire to stay there unfortunately - especially as the price seems to be the highest of all the accommodation! The only complaint I would have for the resort, and I know I'm echoing previous posts, is that there was really nothing to do in the evenings. The theme park, waterpark and golf all shut, so after dinner there's nothing to do other than have a drink in the bar. I know there are obviously reasons why the water park, golf and spa aren't open late, but if they were, I wouldn't have a single complaint about my trips to Alton. After having a brilliant day on park and having a great dinner, the experience would be perfect if we could finish the evening with a round of crazy golf, or a nighttime swim.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I was an active member on here about 3 years ago but university work and general life took over - I've been so focussed on work and everything else that I seemed to completely shut off one of my favourite interests - theme parks! Anyway this year I am going to make more of an effort to make time for relaxing and having fun... I've learnt the hard way over the last few months that too much working is not a healthy thing. So for those that remember me, it's nice to be back, and for those who don't, see you around!

Apart from one great trip to Alton this year I've been out of the UK theme park loop for a while; I think the last time I went to Thorpe and Chessington was 2013. I'm considering getting an annual pass in the sale and making it my new years resolution to try to go to more attractions! Just looking at prices, I'd pretty much pay off the £120 annual pass with the savings from one 3-day trip to Alton, by the time you add in 20% hotel discount, free park entry, discounted entry for people I'm with, discount on food etc.

Or just get the one line from St Pancras to Stoke-on-trent. Around 25 min cab ride from there.