Coaster

I know it's only small in the grand scheme of things, but the new Chiapas tower looks hideous IMO. The previous one fit perfectly into the style of the area, if you look at the overall area-shot with the new roof in it stands out like a sore thumb because it's essentially a warehouse-style material used where everything else blends so perfectly. A shame. As for turning Nighthawk into a VR attraction, why?! It had a decent throughput before and just needed some effects.

Yuck. That ride had a decent throughput, just needed a few effects.

I really like the way Paultons are marketing this, very refreshing to see clues given away in a fun, but not irritating or self-indulgent way. Fingers crossed the park can scale up the marketing successfully when the time's right and get this project in the limelight.

I can't blame people for taking hotdogs in flasks when Thorpe now charge obscene prices for them. £12 for a hotdog and chips now. In the same venue that used to sell an entire (amazing) BBQ meal for about £7.50. And they had music. A hotdog on its own was £7.00 and people wonder why they're considered a rip off. On the whole my issues with Merlin aren't the frequency of the investments, but the overall quality that goes into the parks in terms of customer experience. Also, many of the investments that have been made were (IMO) not where the priorities should have been in terms of ensuring the parks offer a well rounded day out for visitors. Wicker Man is an exception and it has clearly done very well for Alton, which is fantastic.

Yeah Swarm's station looked horrendous. No ambient audio either, just the poor announcement that was recently added. Actually I'd say that the whole Swarm area was a bit of a mess in all honesty.

Could anyone perhaps shed some light on why they were letting the same two people re-ride Stealth from the exit again and again filling empty seats? It seemed to be running as a single rider queue but only for the same two people, nobody else was using it and I didn't think they would use what is essentially the staff gate to allow riders on. If they are genuinely using it as a single rider queue then brilliant, but it seems odd to me that it was only being used repeatedly by two people, and not very functional in terms of the location - you would essentially have to walk up the exit and hang around in the offload/baggage reclaim area, as there was nowhere specific set up to queue. I'm all for re-rides but at this point the ride had a 20/30 minute queue, so it wasn't a case of allowing anyone who asked back through to fill otherwise empty trains.

Today was very good. All the coasters were running multiple trains, the park was quiet and whilst there were some breakdowns/rides closed, for a preview day it seemed very well organised and everything that was open ran like clockwork. Also it was great that Stealth opened! I mean sure, I still don't like a lot of what Thorpe is doing, but it's fantastic that they were able to have every coaster open and running more than one train on the first day of being open to guests, and that they limited numbers rather than over-filling the park. Much better than opening to 10,000 people when you're nowhere near ready. I'm really not a fan of some of the cosmetic changes, the dome looks soulless now compared to how it looked before, the removal of Tidal's bridge is a shame as is Colossus' concrete (though I appreciate the reasons for this). Only real annoyance from an operations perspective was that Derren Brown's Ghost Train had closed with the shop shutters down by 4:40.

It looks like the events are the main features of the park with how they're shown much bigger than the ride names, the Fright Nights one is fine though IMO (since it is, or was at least, a big event). The map also makes the park look much smaller than previous ones have done.

Two good pieces of news from Oakwood; 1. The park will open a Zamperla Disk-O (named Dizzy Disk) for 2019, which I believe is replacing the Clown Coaster. 2. Bounce has been re-added onto the park's website and park map, with the following text; https://www.oakwoodthemepark.co.uk/at-the-park/thrill-rides/ The park map also shows the ride as "returning in 2019". Excellent news! ?

The sights, sounds, smells and atmosphere of rides like The Dragon in Legoland's early years made a huge impression on me at a young age, and probably went a long way towards forming my fascination for parks, roller coasters and themed attractions. I can't imagine that Haunted House Monster Party would have had the same effect on me, personally. Even if the interior is brilliant, the illusion and thematic element is lost long before you enter that building.

Excellent news.

Back to the Future is the best film ever and Queen are awesome so I approve. Probably won't go though unless it's discounted for passholders (which I'm not expecting it to be, as it's an extra).

That's strange, as it's showing as open on the event page for Annual Pass day. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2019-pre-season-day-at-thorpe-park-resort-tickets-56342094722 It probably isn't a huge issue for a coaster to be down for Annual Pass day provided that it's ready when the main season kicks in. However, it's poor to false advertise that the ride can be enjoyed on Annual Pass day if that isn't the case. It's all well and good saying it's a free event, an extra that they don't have to do, but if you look further down they're actively promoting the hotel, so essentially people could be booking hotel rooms and planning to visit on the basis that it'll be open when that might not be correct. I think it's probably a bit silly to list any rides as being available on there, considering the unpredictability of season starts in recent years and the fact that they couldn't guarantee any ride being available at the time of making the booking page public.

Wow... some of their social media replies really are shocking, you'd think this was coming from a fan account with 10 followers not the official Twitter page! Then again. I suppose it's better than nothing.

Maybe if Colossus learns to drive properly it'll be smoother?

Stop moaning.

My goodness that warehouse looks absolutely abysmal. Completely destroys the illusion the ride is supposed to create before you even enter the building!

It's a shame Chessington seem to only be capable of putting quality into rehashed IP attractions, and not general standards of maintenance around the park. Like, they did a decent job with Gruffalo and this looks okay (interior) but they have their signature ride with a poorly maintained station and everything feels disjointed and bland now.

Blimey. *Books visit to Phantasialand*

Yeah but is the rest of Disney falling apart and removing rides left right and centre? (Genuine question as I've never been).

I remember at the end of a rainy Fright Nights day last year, the car park being waterlogged and having to retrieve my car from a huge puddle (meaning wet shoes were the only option). Horrendous that they charge £15 for a car park that can't even drain properly.

How long before they remove the perk of free parking for the premium MAPs?

Storm Surge would be fine if; 1. The theming had been finished and a better attempt made at hiding the ugly parts 2. The ride was in a better location The current location of the ride ruins the skyline of the park, it used to flow perfectly when you looked from the exit of the dome but Storm Surge now sticks out like a sore thumb.

Ah okay, thanks for clarifying - not sure why I remembered seeing it closed!

Wait so £15 if you pay on the day or £15 if you pay at the barriers?