MikeyT

I personally think they missed a trick with the two Saw attractions. Wouldn't it have been awesome to have had the Maze as part of the queueing experience? Literally conjoined with the ride, having separate queues for people that want to bypass the scare attraction, in a similar way to how Manta at Sea World Orlando works.Obviously would have taken a bit more thought and some changes to the design but I think that would have literally been a world class experience.

Not sure about Fright Nights, but there is the opportunity to add to the attraction if they want to.

Oh Mark I do agree with you, really I do. Especially a park like Alton which has so much going for it. I suppose the suggestion is that the story could be about anything, but the fact that it is associated with Alton Towers will keep the name floating around. Again, it's not a marketing technique I'm the biggest fan of, like you say, the park should be swinging for the fences and shouting about the brilliant experience Alton has on offer.

Oh my God!Welcome back Charlie!

I think as enthusiasts, who see all of these publicity stunts, we will obviously have a strong opinion on them as it's just one thing after another. Yet the general public will probably see perhaps one or two of these stunts a year via the tabloids (which eat up stuff like this). It creates media coverage and gets the park out there into mainstream pop culture.Whatever our opinions, we cannot deny that it works! Personally I don't mind them as much, I can see the tongue- in- cheek factor behind it all. The only Merlin stunt I haven't liked as much is Thorpe's summer one from last year.

I've watched it quite a few times now. I just can't get my head round the amount of love, effort and care that the Imagineers put into their attractions; it's simply wonderful. Joe Rhode is also a complete legend! Animal Kingdom is one of the most beautiful parks out there in Orlando and is something he should be really proud of. $100M though, whoah!

Any park in the world will market their rides in a way that evokes the most interest to the general public. More people through the gates= more profit which then leads to further investment. I don't personally mind which way a park decides to market their new ride, as long as the experience is good. What I wouldn't like would be a park, say Thorpe, to compromise a ride's overall experience in favour of getting another record breaker.

I've not seen these at the parks unfortunately, though they were absolutely hilarious when I saw them back in February at the Britain's Got Talent auditions! Highlight of the day for me!

I agree, we know that various people from the parks read the forums, it's a great feeling to give positive feedback about the level of service a staff member has given you, and I feel is something that should be encouraged. Plus it's great PR for the parks as well.

Been looking around Youtube for Behind the Scenes Disney stuff and found an awesome channel containing many, many gems. :blink:Probably the best one for me was the making of Expedition Everest, such an awesome insight to this phenomenal experience, hope they eventually get round to fixing that Yeti, it seriously is an engineering Marvel.The special is in 5 parts, first one is here:Making of Expedition Everest.Here is a link to the Main Channel- the Imagineer Special is also really interesting!

Glad you liked it Dreamkitty. Next stop for you is the Vampire!

Good news about the interior ambience track. It fits in very well there I'm not too fussed about the exterior queue music though, it gets annoying after an hour spent listening to it as it's literally one note that's played for the entire time with badly acted speech over the top.

Blimey that's one hell of a trek though isn't it? Depends on where you live I suppose. If you live within the London Travelcard Zones then it's pretty quick and cheap to get to the park. I live in Zone 6 in the South East of London, Costs me £5 return with my 16-25 Railcard and takes about 90 minutes. If you have an Annual Pass I just get a Travelcard for also £5 and do the London Eye after the park.

Prepare to queue. School trip season can be just as bad as the height of the summer holidays, I'd expect many coaches worth of children. Someone may be able to give you a rough figure, but for now, just know that it'll be pretty busy- though bear in mind that a lot of the crowds are gone by half three.I'd say roughly an hour for the main rides, then perhaps 20- 30 minutes for rides such as Runaway Train. Though queues can be so unpredictable during the school trips as a lot of the time they go round in groups. Take advantage of the quieter periods such as before 11 and after 3. That'll be the time to do Kobra.I'd definitely say that North (or Lodge as they like to now call it ) car park will be a lot easier to be dropped off and picked up, though someone who's been there more this season should be able to help a bit more as I can't remember how the improvements have affected the flow of traffic around there.

It's almost impossible to get lost on your way to Chessington. If you're able to get to the M25 easily then it's literally Junction 9 and follow the signs. I would say though, after a couple of experiences of being in a car in Wimbledon, it's a nightmare!It may be easier and save you both a lot of problems if you go by train. Either get a train from Wimbledon to Chessington South, and take the 10 minute walk, or get a train to Surbiton and take the 71 right outside the main entrance.Hope this helps

Bringing this topic back to life.... *blows off cobwebs*Wish a member a happy birthday...Happy birthday James B ;)Let's try and keep this going, check out our calendar...

It's good that they've fixed this again, it does look great working as it should. Things like this will always be done if there is enough money and resources for it, which thankfully there seems to be. I do feel a bit embarrassed that we're commenting on a few lights that they've managed to get working- is that what the theme park industry has come to?Though it's very easy to single out our parks, Islands of Adventure before its recent parkwide rehab looked absolutely shocking, even Disney have their fair share of problems (broken Yeti anyone?).

This makes me really pretty jealous! It's possibly still my favourite ride in the world, phenomenal ride. Glad you had fun today James