Han30

Well, the mist lasted long eh?! I went to 9 Summer Nights with my niece and each one we rode Inferno and it was only on the last one where the mist was working - it is just so much better with it Hope it get all misty again soon

Hmmm yeah I wasn't massively excited about it when I heard what the new attraction for this year was. Didn't bother going on it on my first couple of visits to Thorpe this year. Have only actually done it once because a) I didn't find it that exciting- also it was so dark in there I managed to split up from the group and then graze my leg a couple of times to the point where it bled plus - the bleeding wait times for it aren't justified in my opinion - I would rather spend that time queuing for a coaster. As for the guy walking round with a cockroach- that might have been the same geezer I saw stood outside IAC with a huge cockroach - which I stroked- yumnmnnmny

Oh fab - I'm definitely going to be face-planting quite a few mirrors Those things seriously disorientate me plus I am clumsy and have slight problem with spatial awareness #dammit

What the heck is going on with Chessie?! 2 hour queue for Bubbleworks jeez! Just had a gander on their FB page where there are some seriously unhappy people - someone claiming they spent almost 4 hours queuing for Vampire(?!!!) then went to guest services which had an hour queue! I do have a soft spot for CWOA but they really need to up their game - of course a decent amount of investment would help that - I think going by complaints I have read, they have potentially lost a lot of loyal and regular visitors - such a shame for a park that really shone in the 90's.

I queued 45mins for Flying Jumbos with my niece when she was a lot younger (she is 11 now) and she was happy to wait. I myself was bored as heck so insisted we play eye spy! It is madness the queue times at CWOA - I've only been once this year on a midweek day in April time where the place was dead. No queues for anything. Only downside was not being able to go on Rameses - every time we walked past it, it was just sat there looking lonely and at one point they just sent it on a cycle empty, probably in an attempt to entice people

that made me laff! Happy Birthday Ryan - hope you had a great day. While I'm here - happy birthday Styles aka Darce - have a good one!

To be fair it IS peak season so queues are expected - but the issues obviously gets worse with rides out of action - with 6 rides unavailable for example, that will have a hefty impact on the queues for other rides. But yes, people do moan and then do return. If I was cheesed off with a place and had an awful time I might say something but I certain wouldn't revisit multiple times. I may have dreamt it but I thought I read a complaint on FB from a woman saying her kids queues 2 hours to go on Monkey Swinger which broke down when they got to the front. TWO hours for Monkey Swinger?! Not saying she was lying but can the queue line even hold that many people to make it a 2 hour wait?!

It really is a shame that Chessington is having so many problems at the moment regarding ride availability - I've been looking at their FB page and the number of complaints about closed rides is quite alarming. My sister went yesterday to renew her family pass and for the 4-5 hours they were there, my niece got on 2 rides. Apparently they queued well over an hour for Dragons Fury and wait for it - 35mins for Griffins Galleon!!! Looking on their queue times on the CWOA website today and yesterday - Vampire queues at 2 hours?!! And Sea Storm at 35mins. As much as I have fond memories of Chessington, I have no urge to visit again soon. They could really do with a massive injection of investment to improve the place. I really hope it will be great again in the future because it really was fantastic in the 90's. They obviously can't compete with TP in terms of thrill rides or high rides but that isn't the be all and end all of a theme park - Chessie has always had a nice atmosphere but I suspect that with all the ridiculous queues and ride down times recently, many guests probably won't be too happy - and to be fair, if I paid gate price to get in to find 6 rides not working, I would be slightly gutted to say the least

Oh God that made me laugh! Do agree with the water thing - I usually drink coffee when I'm at parks because of the caffeine but have recently been drinking more water which definitely makes a difference. I've got to the point where I always take headache tablets with me just in case. I am a smoker which I know won't help with the breathlessness issue plus I have asthma as well - quitting is in the horizon Interesting how the g forces affect the body - as for the Swarm - I prefer the left hand side but tend to these days sit on the right as it is the side my niece prefers. I've had one or two occasions where I've felt a wee bit faint. Usually the breathlessness on Inferno is gone by the time it hits the break run but maybe one day I will come off of it panting like a horse!

Meant to add in my other post - does anyone ever get breathless on roller coasters? Might sound bizarre but it affects me mostly on Inferno and on the rare occasion The Swarm. It is definitely not an anxiety breathless thing - more similar to asthma (which I do have). I don't know if it is to do with the G Forces or what but there are certain parts of Inferno where I hold my breath. This has only been recent thing so not sure if it is normal? I love coasters and rides but after visiting parks it takes me at least a day to recover - that could be my age and the fact that I am unfit but I do wonder if G forces can be bad for your health? That might sound like a really stupid question but biology isn't my strongest point

Er, I would change mine to either Han35 or Han1980 Chose my username as my name is Hannah and I was 30 when I joined the forums. Not got this username on any other forums so I sometimes get confused (easily done)

The potential is there - it just seems that lack of advertisement and a relatively small gig area (plus a few naff acts in my opinions but then I'm not young!). Shame they don't have a bigger area, like the arena but then I wonder if they would shift more tickets than they have already. Will be interesting to see if they bring back Island Beats next year. It's a good way of getting people into the park - maybe people who go only to see a certain act and then try out the rides and decide to revisit just for the park. I dunno - just thinking out loud here

Inferno is the only coaster that makes me feel dizzy and sometimes nauseous. I take anti sickness tablets as I suffer quite badly with motion sickness (embarrassing but I forgot to take my second dose one day and actually threw up after riding Quantum!) I've managed to do Inferno 5 times in a row before but had to stop as I felt so ill and it has made me I'll on one occasion (luckily not whilst on the ride). I can easily re ride Saw - did it 7 times in a row last Friday evening as well as twice about an hour before Although I like Inferno, I do prefer the layout of Nemesis. I think I actually prefer Colossus to Inferno (yeah I'm a bit weird) - I do love Infernos music though

Have they put the mist on? It hasn't been working the past 2 Fridays I have visited On a side note, I have no idea why, but Inferno has managed to cripple my stomach the past 3 times I have ridden it - never happened before and I don't get it on any other coasters - its sort of like a stitch I get on either the left or ride side of my stomach - very strange

If I got stuck on Detonator (which is unlikely because, after a grand total of going on that thing 4 times I've decided my anxiety can't handle it) I genuinely think I would either a) soil myself have a panic attack c) have a heart attack I got evacuated from Rumba last year - we weren't stuck for long, but there was a mini pile up and we got nothing - not a sausage! Earlier this year I queued around 40 mins for Colossus and as we got to the station they were having technicaly issues - we were given a priority pass which covered rides such as X, Vortex, Rush etc (which none of those really had much of a queue for anyway) - I'm not one to go to Guest Services at the drop of a hat but that day I did pop in there and asked if we could get a pass for one of the other coasters which they were fine with. After spending 40 mins waiting for a coaster to break down, it seemed pointless to use a priority pass on something that had about a 5 min queue when all the other coasters were 40-60mins

I have no idea and still have no idea who Wilkinson is - I too thought of the shop I was at TP yesterday evening and we went to collect our wrist bands - we only booked for Summer Nights but the dude on admissions gave us all Island Beats wristbands(?!) Was thinking it must have been a mistake, but then when I walked past the gig area I saw what looked to be about 30ish people in there - granted it did get slightly busier in that area a little while later but did think maybe we got island beats bands because they hadn't sold many. Last Friday they had Professor Green on and when we went to collect our wrist bands the person asked if we were there for summer nights or island beats - my sister commented that she quite likes Pro Green and she was told there were spaces left, so she got 2 bands for a tenner. I struggle to see how TP are making money from Island Beats - they obviously have to pay the acts to perform there, but the area they play in doesn't look huge - plus if you have an annual pass you get discounted tickets anyway.

8/10 because.....Slammer! Plus ride count Nice

Agree totally - she said herself that rides break down all the time so she didn't feel any need to worry. So sad that she has lost a leg, she seems like a lovely young lady but hopefully with the support she will be getting she can look forward to a good future. I read an article about her and thought she was inspirational - I think if something like that happened to me, I would be extremely bitter.

Some of the conversations on this thread made me giggle - the whole "curvy" thing confuses me to be honest. I felt bad but I did laugh a little at the pic posted - only because clearly that ain't curvy - there is curvy, and then there is.....what's the word.....more rounded? Hmmm - body image isn't my greatest thing as I was bulimic between the ages of 21 - 26(ish) although it never fully goes away. I personally would have no clue what body shape I am - I'm fairly tall but have zero boobs moooooving on..... This made me laugh - I don't condone violence but I think I would have done the same in your situation. Also, a tad creepy that someone wants to see you sleep And fnally - yes, hangovers get worse the older you get, hence why I rarely drink anymore......last hangover I had took around 2 days to get rid of!

That's a long ol' queue - I don't envy you and do understand how frustrating it must be. As for the screen - all I focus on now is that flippin' black square!

Hi there! Nah that's not cliche - or maybe it is. I hate Detonator (sorry!). Just can't handle the intensity - done it 4 times and bizarrely got progressively anxious on each go. Maybe one day I will be brave enough to re ride it! Welcome to the forums!

Thank you x

I'm in agreement with MattyMoo - I remember a completely different Chessington back in the good old 90's - I hope at some point it can return to being just as good. Although they clearly don't get much ££££ invested in the park, I do always find that it has a good atmosphere. My sister, who recently visited Thorpe Park again for the first time since 2003 said she prefers the atmosphere at CWOA

When my sister went to order her premium tickets last week it said that it was sold out - she got a bit confused so I tried sending her a link from my laptop and she was able to order the tickets - not sure what happened there! I'm assuming they have limited availability for premium passes as they are free? Kinda wish I got Premium Membership as it was only an extra £3 per month but to be honest, £5 for summer nights is a bargain - seeing as one fastrack for a coaster is the same price. The first Summer Nights I went to 2 years ago I did before I got my pass (well, membership) and still reckon it is good value for money

I always thought it was long count aswell! Ah well you learn something everyday Great pics there Matt - how did you cope on the walk up (when I did it I almost had an asthma attack) - is well worth it once you get to the top though