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Kobra was closed all day today...Not sure what was wrong!? General Park looked good, doing well, still Vampire really needs Queueline TLC. Music was good round the park. Some staff were lovely today, however there were certainly a few miserable ones today, and generally that's unusual for Chessington from my experiences. What is going on with Tomb Blaster, why does it operate so slowly at the moment, the Queue moves painfully slowly. Why does it wait so long? Is there a problem, missing a train or is this now the speed it goes at?

Its the same on a Saturday the First 2 weekends, however I usually go twice, and the second with friends in the Half Term period when its busy. So you have to weigh up those choices. However that is a different debate, Fastrack and Experience are two separate things, personally I see nothing wrong with a Fastrack for special attractions such as Mazes because they are there for literally one visit, and you want to make sure you get on all of them. But as I still say, management should take a leaf out of Alton Towers book.

I would say the ride was a great experience, a little disappointing in comparison to the Runaway Mine Train, but an improvement on the decayed ride that was there before. I agree the queue is...poor...and tight, all a little odd ball. However generally suits the target market, serves its purpose as a family friendly attractions, and as long as the fireball and water effects keep working its a great ride...when they stop working...yeah its just going to be a Western Flying Fish. The Kids loved the ride, and that's the important thing, Chessington is not Disneyland nor does it pretend to be Disneyland, it serves its purpose well. And it was much needed. So we should not be too quick to be critical, its a lovely little ride and I was happy enough with it, apart from the now botch job of transitional areas, such as the odd tight area of the Entrance to the ride, or the odd ball area of the Jumbo's and the Zufari walkway.

Talking about Fastrack...I hate them especially at Thorpe Park, because they are over sold and unfairly distributed. However I do pay the extra for Fright Night's for the Mazes because I want to enjoy them without having to queue 3 hours for a Maze. I always feel like if I was going to Alton Towers I would have to pay for the Mazes anyway so its not skin of my back to pay around £20 for 4-5 mazes. However generally I think they are wrong at Thorpe Park, but in general they seem to get it right at Alton Towers. However this is the brand of Thorpe Park, the idea is to get Teenagers to part with their cash as fast as possible. What must also be remembered is Fastrack has been getting worse over the past 2-3 years for TWO reasons, One they over sell them by a mile (or do not get their figures right...all the time), TWO - A lot of the Medium Flat Rides have been closed for many years, for example, the Railway, Cinema, Kid's rides, etc, etc. And this of course puts greater stress on the main rides who have a greater number of guests than otherwise in previous years would have experienced, hence hopefully through the introduction of Angry Birds and hopefully a few more Medium Development attractions, Fastrack may be slightly restored, but its still no excuse for over selling beyond their means.

My next major investment would be a budget of similar scale to a new Roller Coaster £12-20 Million, however rather than put any new ride in, I would re-brand, market and advertise a brand new Theme Park, the park would get its much needed TLC. To make a business successful you need to have the right target market and your product needs to be up to scratch, therefore Thorpe Park would need a whole overhaul. Queue lines would be repaired, rides repainted, all theme and scenery restored to its former glory. I would not have a single ride added. All rides would have their speakers updated, Staff uniforms radically overhauled, a better car park system, and an Entrance that is appropriate for a UK Leading Theme Park not a temporary barrier. I would wish to bring the Exclusive brand back, and the EXPERIENCE, not just to the new Multi Million pound ride but to the Whole park. All useless queue line's would be destroyed, Vegetation would be organised, areas such as the Showcase would be revamped (as well as that awful fence along the side). That is what I would do, and it would be marketed as BRAND NEW...'New for 2016...the Whole Park - All Updated, Everything Working, Back to the Good Old Days...Only At Thorpe Park!' The Events such as Ministry of Sound, Summer Nights and Fright Night would be heavily advertised and Marketed. The Image would drastically improve, if all areas could be updated to New Status, the parks lease of life would last far longer than a New Roller Coaster that's popularity lasts for 2-3 years. It would be what the fans want, and the Customers would love to see the effects of Brand New Queues, shopping areas, the Fireball return to Tidal Wave and a Concert/Festival beating experience, through the use of LED Screens, promotional Videos and even greater VIP Packages, including a Merlin Annual Pass Holder Exclusive Lounge/Bar. Add Early Ride Time for Hotel Guests, Annual Pass Holders and Advance Tickets. Roll out 'Thorpe Park Live' in a greater variety. Instead of wasting money on minor attractions I would invest in Camera Crew's and invest heavily in brand advertising by showing our customers our rides in the best possible light. I have already said on a previous post about end of year videos. This would be my 4-5 year plan, if I was to take over with no strings attached, I would allow the next Major Roller Coaster then wait 2-3 years before investing instead in revamping the park rather than a Major Coaster. Long Term Future success.

At the end of the day...the next coaster Thorpe build why not just have a giant zigzag queue inside a mega merchandise store, and we can have the best of both worlds! haha But as I said, at the moment...who cares...unless you have complete proof its a flop or a success, we should just really wait and see what happens!

Why can't people just be happy!? I have no opinion on this system, but things take time, they take a very long...although I would prefer the 'old fashioned' Disney Fast Pass way of doing it if they were to do it...that does make it easier for someone like myself who hates technology...but we have all got to move with the times. So lets not rule it out yet, Thorpe Park probably know a lot more than we do, they are not just doing this because they have nothing better to do, and it obviously has caught some attention in the ranks of Merlin!

Ah, just from my experience having worked in the supermarkets they expect you to work anything up to 15 - 20 minuets unpaid at the end of your shift if there are still customers when the store has closed! I always wondered however, so that means if you are contracted a 6 hour day and the queue is an extra hour, you will get paid for 7 hours, or something like that anyway. Thank you for clearing that up. And I am interested in the later and earlier shifts, thinking future wise it would be beneficial to be on a later shift, I have no clue however how easy/these come by!

Because its fine when the queue is only 15 minuets when you close, and that's fine, but if the queue is an hour and a half, how on earth does that work?

Another question. Can staff get shifts that don't start at 9/10 instead maybe 11/12? Or is the general shift always from opening to closing? I am guessing most shifts are the full day of the park plus the extra before and after? Also how does it work for staff after hours if say the staff are running one of the new rides, and the queue is long and the park closes at 5 does it work like Supermarket shifts where your just expected to keep working until all customers are gone and you are not paid, or are most shifts pre arranged for an extra hour after hours, etc?

Dr Who...Spinning Coaster...Tardis...Dr Who Intro...Get with the picture guys...Cue the Dr Who Theme Music! haha

I still by my thoughts it will either be a spinning coaster to go along with the other 2 Dragons Fury and Sonic Spinball, or it will be a ride like Inferno at Terra Mitica or finally a launched Flying Coaster. If its family route they are going down the spinning coaster is not a bad investment, throughput is horrible, but you can make some unique elements, I.e. John Wardley's tilting section, or launch Spinning Coaster, or a little more extreme have a ride like Inferno, on a bigger/better scale.

Ouch!! How do people afford it? With travel expenses etc?

I am thinking of getting my foot in the door so to speak but I will potentially be at Surrey University, so I won't exactly be a short bus ride away, but it is possible via a short train ride then a short cycle ride...is it worth it for experience or not? It would take about 45mins to an hour each way, plus I am open to the elements on the 15 min bike ride...This is all in the air at the moment, but desperately want to work for someone I really want rather than half hearted part time work.

Who actually works at Thorpe Park, Students? If its students, which Universities do they go to? And whatever Uni they go to do they car share, does Thorpe or Chessington for that matter offer Car Share, because I just see transport to and from Thorpe as horrible unless you have a car yourself?

Its concerning looking at the size of queue they have built!

It is an excellent site. It looks corporate, it looks sleek, its professional, it now has an 'Exclusive' feel, as a site for normal customers it looks far more reliable. Everyone hates change but it is a fantastic site, and the marketing is going in the best direction possible, it needs to regain its THEME PARK image rather than its CHAV/THRILL Park image that is achieved over the past few years (before people moan at me for that one, its my own opinion and if you want to argue with it, please don't make it an argument on here) So all in all, this is a brilliant direction for the park to be going in, and now it suits being a RESORT! Which it now is! It needs this, and now its a perfect site to now promote events, concerts, summer nights, Ministry of Sound, etc, before it looked like an after thought! This image will spread across the park pretty soon, as and when they keep refurbishing the park, ideally I would rather see a bulk of money go into the image of the park, keep the branding exclusive and make guests feel ultra special that they are going to Thorpe Park, its all about image these days, just look at any Business Studies course! I will finally say, just look at the branding of F1 and or Surrey University, they have spent a lot of time and effort creating their brand, and it works!

Its a much needed marketing tool, and its paramount for a theme park of such caliber (ie the teen, up to date brand) to get with the picture. These giant screens are used for Sporting and Concert Events, go to the O2 Outside they have the name of the artist revolving round their signs, adverts, etc, and far from looking 'tacky' it actually enhances the EXPERIENCE, its all part of the build up. It honestly will work, if you don't believe me go to the O2 or a Football mathc, and you tell me it does not work, it does. Just image the potential such signs have, they are needed, and whether you like it or not, Thorpe Park is the type of park that needs to invest in such items, whereas Alton and Chessington are perhaps more involved on the THEME EXPERIENCE, not the RIDE EXPERIENCE (by that I mean Thorpe Park is all about the ride, whereas Alton, etc, are about the story line...generally, not all of the time however) So Bring it On!

Flying Coaster, Perhaps a launch flying coaster! But to be honest we speculate but almost always get it wrong, haha.

A Hotel has to have the option of both Dinner and Breakfast facilities. That is literally the only specification for it to be classed as a hotel. B&B's say it in the name Guesthouses are a variable It technically is a hotel, just the bottom end of a Hotel (in terms) if they were to get an AA Approved star rating, it would probably be rather low because of its amenities, nevertheless the hotel is not really aimed at anything much more than to be promoted as a hotel IN Thorpe Park, its the convenience that is its biggest selling point.

That was also my inspiration, I kept thinking, if they used it as a genuine marketing tool, there is nothing more thrilling than seeing an end of year video, a proper one which shows the park in its ultimate light, it is incredible marketing, and encouraged people to see the next installment and makes them want to come and visit again! I understand budget issues, but it could easily go into the 'advertising' aspect of the business! But I am glad some of you enjoy the idea!

I couldn't find a relevant post beforehand so here goes, and this was meant to be for Alton Towers, but easily transferable to Thorpe, Chessington, Legoland, etc. After I got back from the Fireworks I realised how upsetting it was that the season has come to an end, and it got me thinking, for most people the end of the season is just the end of the season and that's it, nothing is ever celebrated about the achievements of the year, and I saw this last year from BBC F1, and I thought, Alton Towers could easily do the equivalent for the season. Here is the BBC F1 Season take about a minuet to watch it; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQgE4PpXAMs Imagine if Alton Towers did this at the end of their season, but imagine the park empty, staff closing/shutting down the rides and queue lines, and perhaps following one member of staff who looks back towards the towers/General Park before he/she walks out leaving the season..."see you in 2014". However the video could incorporate everything from the year from the snow/Christmas, Concerts, Fireworks, Scarefest the open season and all the new rides, attractions and shops/restaurants. This could also be done throughout the year for each individual event ie Christmas/Ministry Club Nights, Scarefest/Fright Nights, Fireworks, Concert and general season. What does this do? Its an excellent marketing tool, promotes the park, advertises the park, and gives you that lump in your throat thinking, "I don't want the season to have ended, I can't wait for 2014", and I think this is what the video would do, and imagine this video on the websites homepage. Hope you enjoy, and ponder on the idea.

I always felt mazes like The Asylum could have larger groups than they currently do which is about 10-12...I feel for Fastrack they could do a single group of Fastrack every 3-4 normal queue groups (of normal size) and put the Fastrack in a group of about 15-17

Well todays Fright Night was different...what with all the late openings, storms, and general differences haha I like the changes done to MBV made since the preview night

I get this horrible feeling that Fright Nights even on the next few 'storm' days is going to be very busy because everyone has the same thoughts, add Fright Night Masses and fewer attractions open...Jesus!!!