James6

Sorry, but it is going to be insanely busy on the Thursday 19th. On the Thorpe site... " Advance Park Tickets for Thursday 19th July have now sold out!" I'd expect 90 minute queues for the major coasters.

Duel and Skyride I sort of get, but Air and Thirteen?!

The message on the Chessington site is now... "Tomb Blaster will not be operating until further notice." :/

Just received my Merlin annual pass Magazine thing for the first time and there is quite a good section on Chessington over the years. Although it does say "The resort has changed beyond all recognition" which I think is at odds with what we think, that the park has stayed pretty much the exact same. It does also state that it has received "huge investment" have to say I haven't seen any... Still it is a nice article with some great pictures, and it states that the finale of the Safari Tour next year will be "one of the most spectacular you're ever likely to witness at a theme park." Nemesis also gets a mention as the "coaster king"

Wow, pretty impressive they will open a ride less than an hour before the park closes. Also thought I'd mention, on my trip earlier in the week, was my first trip ever without a single breakdown!

^ Alton won't be removing theirs any time soon.

Very disappointed with that. Theming looks poor and seems to be just "metal" sheds making it mostly look bare, and the drop section looks dire!

^^^ Yes, I have been on Swarm. ^^ And ahh, I understand your point then, glad I'm not the only one.

Is it just me who can't believe that Swarm has been put in to the same group as Mamba/Oz Iris/ Crystal Wings?? Swarms theming is brilliant for the UK, but other than the big set pieces, it's a bit limited. I wouldn't say it is a patch on any of them.

For those moaning about X Flight's lack of covers... Look pretty awesome to me, especially as there is one red train and one black train. Also, sad to hear about that Verbolten news!

^^^ That's good to hear, but then how do they know that? There was no feedback monitors at all on Friday? ^^ Fair enough, but then you shouldn't have to be sat "perfectly" to experience the effects. ^ I agree completely, but that's what was so disappointing. It had all the makings of a ride I would love!

^^ Sadly, my experience on Friday was vastly different. Didn't hear a positive, or even average opinion of it. Everyone was extremely disappointed and I overheard countless numbers of conversations such as... "What was that rubbish one called again?" "The Sub Terra, that was awful" To be quite honest, I also found it very poor. And out of a group of 7, only one of our seats had a functional back poker, and that person said that it was just extremely painful and complained about it the rest of the day. Much more work needs to be done.

Having been on Talocan last week, I can say even then I don't want one at Thorpe. Yes it's awesome and looks awesome, but the actual ride experience was only slightly improved over our older ones, the effects and theming are what made the ride. Whilst Thorpe's theming has improved I think we all know that they are still a LONG way off building something as immersive as Talocan... Also the effects were barely visible when on the ride anyway (especially when facing away), again making it much more of a spectator ride. It was a walk on all day and still many more people were watching than on the ride.

To be honest, I thought even from opening day the majority of people loved the ride. It was only many enthusiasts who didn't. Although I do agree every train seems to be laughing hysterically by the end! It's great to see and I agree it makes the ride. Going on it in a group with people who are none the wiser is one of the best/funniest moments of any day out

Also £20 per launch on Stealth can't be right? Rita started off around that but I remember hearing they have got that down to £1.50 or something similar