Han30

I think Merlin will only close the UK parks if they are told they have to - would be surprised if they did it voluntarily though I’d be happy to be proved wrong

On more than one occasion (guessing must happen a lot during busy times) they’ve filled the Vampire with RAP users/carers - dread to think what would happen if an evac was needed

Just read that Disneyland Paris will be closing 15th March until the end of the month.

Absolutely agree with you (especially the bit about sink fast tracks - don’t give them ideas!). Thing is I, and probably most people inadvertently touch their face without even realising it - also the bogs at Chessie are bloody disgusting at the best of times - there are certain ones I just won’t venture into because they are that bad. Just thinking about queuing to get to the sinks kind of makes my stomach turn a little

Since the coronavirus numbers have gone up in the country it is something that has concerned me - I have health anxiety on top of crippling anxiety and I should keep away from reading click bait scare mongering articles. However, it is something none of us can ignore especially at the stage it’s at now. I have tickets to preview day at Chessington and am possibly not going to go now. I know it’s possible to catch it anywhere (had a woman sat next to me coughing away happily in the docs waiting room without covering her mouth). My main point of concern is that at parks you have no choice but to touch restraints - even if you’re someone that doesn’t hold on on rides. Maybe I’m being daft or over reacting - the problem is you could be excellent at hand washing but many people aren’t - especially the ones who use the toilet and walk straight out 🤢🤢.

I’d buy a Saw Alive smelly thing - always loved the smell of it in there - reminded me of bacon 😂

Jeez this has spiralled a bit. Whilst it’s not ideal to cut yourself at a theme park and for me it did hurt a fair bit, not once did I think “oh I’ll pop into guest services and make a complaint” - at the end of the day, the medic cleaned up the cut and said she would flag it up so hopefully someone had a look in that tunnel. Accidents happen and yeah it’s not fun to walk around with blood on your trousers, it’s not like my leg was hanging off. There are many ways that guests can injure themselves at a theme park - mostly due to the guests pratting about. That said when you are following the rules and hurt yourself through no fault of your own it’s not great. With the amount of people who have gone through that tunnel it’s inevitable that it would endure wear and tear as would any maze so I’m assuming a nail must have come loose at some point. For me I was just grateful that the cut was cleaned up to avoid infection. In hindsight I should probably have alerted staff at the maze however at the time I just assumed I’d bashed my knee awkwardly owing to the fact that the people I was with were fine (I once grazed my knee quite badly and it bled on IACGMOOH because I don’t crawl well). Anyway...... Went to Thorpe again today and it was pretty busy but ended up having probably the best day there for a long while. Quantum opened (whoop) so had 2 rides on that and it felt pretty intense maybe because I’ve not ridden it since I can’t remember. Stealth front row - once in daylight and once in the dark was brill. Staff were really friendly and the actors today I thought were brilliant. The Amity High guys are so good and I love the way they interact with guests as well as their dancing. We didn’t do Blair Witch as I thought it was a bit naff 2 weeks ago and I’ve not even tried P15 yet. Creek Freak was fab - the actors in there have such energy it makes me feel really old. Thankfully avoided the tunnel on both goes - on our second go I was finding the smells and smoke in there quite overpowering so put my scarf across my face as I felt I couldn’t breath (that plus anxiety). We were at the back of the group and the first chainsaw guy had already scared the people in front but could see my niece and I were ok - he then gestured at me to pull the scarf down and I thought he was going to rev his chainsaw or chase us but he asked if I didn’t like the smell and I explained that it was affecting my breathing so he let us past which I thought was nice. We ended up with a teenager attached to us in the strobe section as she’d got split up from her friends and was bricking it so my niece and I lead her through the strobes and to the exit. Guy with the chainsaw at the end was brilliant and full on chasing people out. Living Nightmare - oh dear. Got a couple of jumps but it’s literally like a walk through unlike when it was Cabin in the Woods and you were in there for a decent amount of time. Just feels rushed and a bit of a waste of time - we did have Negan at the beginning which was the best bit as the actor was pretty good. Do Or Die - never been a massive fan of this maze however I prefer it over Living Nightmare. Tonight was the best run through ever - my niece and I screamed so much and the actors in there was pretty intense. In the first shipping container thing, my niece and I got split up from the rest of the group and went in this weird side corridor thing and in this kind of tiny side room where 2 actors were talking to us and telling me I was in the wrong place while pointing at my hoodie (was wearing a Galactica one) - after a couple of minutes they let us past and shouted at me that “it’s not even a good ride” which made us laugh. By this point the rest of the group were no where to be seen so for the rest of the maze we had actors jumping out at us from all angles - I came out actually shaking and my voice was sore from screaming so much - very very impressed with the guys in there tonight. So yeah whilst it’s not the best fright nights it definitely beats last years event - I do miss Saw Alive though but I think Creek Freak is brilliant. For me, Blair Witch and Living Nightmare are pretty boring and a bit meh. I’ve not yet tried Platform 15 this year and that Fanta thing wasn’t open. Would love to see a maze return where Jungle Escape is - I loved Asylum and Studio 13 and it would be nice to have another indoor maze. Impressed that Thorpe have also opened Quantum although it did break down towards the end of the evening. Loads of guests wearing Halloween costumes today - saw several nuns, a few Billy puppets and a Chucky amongst others. The park just seemed to have quite a positive vibe today which was really nice

It’s not conked out.....yet

That is pretty much what happened to my leg - I’ll insert a pic but apologies as my legs are awful. With me it hurt as soon as I felt something hit it but I didn’t think it was that bad until exiting the maze - at that point my leg felt wet and the blood was coming through my (thankfully black) trousers. I had some plasters on me as I tend to carry plasters/headache tablets and various stuff with me to cover nearly all eventualities but was worried about it getting infected so I went to the medical centre who were fab and cleaned it up and whacked a decent sized plaster on it - I told the lady who was cleaning my leg up that it happened in the tunnel part of Creek Freak so she said she would flag it up. I’m assuming they did an incident report as I had to write my details on a form. That pic I took the day after it happened (went on the 5th Oct). Still can’t put pressure on my knees and got a lumpy bruise below where the cut is but it’s not even been 2 weeks yet so needs some time to heal. The 2 people I went with were fine and didn’t hurt themselves so I think there is/was maybe a small ridge which I was unfortunate to whack - probably not helped by the fact I was trying to get through the tunnel as fast as possible thinking a chainsaw might be behind us!

@Platform15fan in Creek Freak there is a section where a few people in each group have to crawl through - did this the other week and somehow managed to cut my knee at the end where the tunnel finishes - just a heads up - second time I purposely stayed at the back of the group and avoided having to crawl

It is frustrating that they spent so much money on it and lets face it, it’s awful. First time I rode it in 2016 I really enjoyed it even though the storyline made little sense - after a couple of rides it quickly became boring. When they updated it in 2017 the story made more sense and the ending hugely improved the experience but that middle section which used to have lights on a stick used to be so good - now it’s just bizarre and pointless. Now the demon has gone at the end (which these days is my fave part - the exit) it’s actually laughable - some guy coming out coughing and walking like he has soiled his pants isn’t scary. I wish they’d just kept the arena - at least they had a decent space for mazes in there

And he’ll say “oh my god” at least 50 times

There are plenty of people who prefer Inferno over Nemesis. I personally prefer Nemesis - I enjoy the layout more and the fairly compact layout of Inferno often makes me dizzy (it’s the only coaster at Thorpe that has made me sick). That said, last Monday I rode Inferno front row and enjoyed it SO much more. Anything pretty much that moves quick or spins gives me terrible motion sickness so I sympathise however I always take motion sickness tablets which definitely help (stugeron - you can get it over the counter). On the subject of forces - that’s something that has affected me in the past couple of years - I often struggle to breath and occasionally grey out on The Swarm and the only thing that stops it happening on Inferno and Nemesis is keeping my legs out straight all the way round (weird but it helps) I absolutely love Black Mamba - after my first ride on it I said “that’s better than Nemesis” however after my second ride it got relegated to just under nemmie purely because the first part of Mamba is brilliant but towards the end it just loses a lot of its force - Nemesis for me is brilliant from start to finish. The station turning on Black Mamba though is amazing.

What a shower of s#%t. Thorpe is getting worse - honestly had better days at Chessie this year - and last year I found Howloween far better than Fright Nights. While Fright Nights *might* be decent this year, having a preview between 3-5pm is an absolute joke - it’s almost like they are going out of their way to annoy pass holders. A lot of people will be at work or school/college so if they could only muster to a crummy 2 hour preview I don’t understand why they didn’t chose a weekend to do it. Plus there is the issue of non pass holders being there and will inevitably get frustrated that the mazes will open but they won’t be able to go in them.

Went on DBGTROTDWTF on Monday purely because my friend hadn’t ridden it since 2016. The batching was so slow it was painful - I still wish they used the 2 holding areas differently - one for people who want to see the pre show and one for people who don’t - the pre show for me is tedious and too long though it was amusing because I couldn’t see Derren Browns feet so he was sort of floating. The bit before you enter the train room - we were right at the back and there was an actor telling us that there is a train suspended and swinging by chains and that we are all going to hell. No offence to the guy but his acting was terrible - I also suspect he was slightly drunk as he was WAY too happy. Typically my sodding phone went off - had the volume up to the maximum as I had been expecting a phone call earlier and forgot to turn the volume down - cue everyone turning round and me frantically trying to find my phone in my abyss of a bag - the actor the yells “turn off your phone - this is Victorian London, there are no cell phones” - that was the highlight of the entire experience to be honest. First VR was fine but agree with others about the awkwardness of the headsets - I really struggle to get it to sit on my head properly and inevitably end up just holding it in place. The middle section - awful - no actors just a guy in the London Underground get up frantically pressing buttons on the door to get us out - didn’t even say anything. 2nd VR - had a dodgy headset - sound kept cutting off every few seconds and they’ve cut out a part of it (where the passenger says she want to get off) - VR just went dark then into the pit of fire. Left the train thinking I could have spent my time better sat drinking a coffee in the Inferno smoking area but at least the best part of the ride - the exit was to come. What a crock - no projection on the floor - the other effects were working - stood right next to the mini stage thing as I like to get nice and close to Mr Demon - well Mr Demon was clearly on vacation or decided himself that this attraction is a pile of poop and got the first bus out of the resort. We had a guy come out, dressed normally but walking around like he had soiled himself and had drunk one too many bottles of wine, coughing like he’d been chain smoking since the last group had gone through. Very odd and nowhere near as good as the demon who I swear once spat at me. So yeah - honestly I loved the ghost train the first time I rode it, with the exception of the initial strange 2nd VR which made little sense to the story. The new ending and 2nd VR they added in 2017 was a big improvement but the middle section where you get off the train is now naff and I much preferred the lights on a stick thing!

My unpopular opinion - Timber Turd Boat is intense. Sit in the middle of that bad boy and you are pretty much just spinning in a circle - not ashamed to say I almost barfed my guts up on one occasion - that said I get horrendous motion sickness and one up chucked after Quantum and came pretty close on the Flying Jumbos. Re Swarm - I used to love it and it was by far my favourite coaster at Thorpe until recent years - it used to affect my breathing/asthma badly but that’s improved a little (Inferno does the same but not so bad) - I used to love the vest restraints but I now hate them with a passion as they get so damn tight. I think the whole Swarm area is themed well when you look at the sheer scale of it (helicopter/plane/ambulance etc) but the station looks pretty bad now. Definitely agree that the ride is short, and for me my favourite part is the drop off the lift hill - probably not a great sign - a bit like my opinion that the best part of DBGT is the ending when you are not even on the train (though I’m guessing there are other that have a similar opinion given how naff it is). Went off on a tangent there - yeah Timber Tug boat - that’s where the thrills are at - ride it straight after eating and succumb to the adrenaline of anxiously praying whatever you devoured for lunch doesn’t make a second appearance.....on a kids ride

Was at the park today and having a nosey round Creek Freak thing - you can clearly see strobes and metal fence type things - they also did an audio run but literally lasted about 15 seconds before being switched off. Audio sounds great and I think chainsaws and strobes will be enough to scare the poop out of some people - being disorientated and chased by a chainsaw wielding maniac = fab!

Jumbos used to be in the area where Gruffalo arena now is so if it does move it will be it’s 3rd location. I always think Jumbos are quite hidden away in its current location and wonder how many people don’t realise it’s there - if you don’t know the park or look at the map it’s easy to miss I imagine. Back on topic - I’ll be gutted to see Rameses go - I remember the year it opened.....magical time waiting 2+ hours from my older sister and her friend to ride whilst my then wuss self and (still) wuss younger sister held the bags. I first rode it in 2008 and it’s definitely one of my fave rides at Chessie but I agree that it is ending it’s time. I’m surprised it has lasted as long as it has given that it is 2 years older than Ripsaw and that left Towers end of 2015? Ive noticed over the summer holidays that Rameses was attracting fairly decent sized queues - also worth noting it’s had a lot of technical issues but I think it is still popular with lots of people. I would personally prefer a like for like swap - something similar to Talocan would be nice and would have a significantly higher throughput than the proposed drop tower.

I persuaded my sister to join my niece and I on Saw Alive when it was open last summer - it was the funniest thing - she got told to press the button and the beginning and didn’t want to and the actor screamed at her - she’d never done a horror maze before and her reaction was priceless

What?!!! I was waiting to go in Saw Alive (think it was last year) and a woman rocks up with a very young baby in a pushchair - she wanted to take the baby in with her and got really angry when she was explained why she couldn’t. I was stood there with my mouth wide open - who in their right mind would want to take a young baby into a horror maze?!

Love it!

So the new maze will be the scariest yet? This coming from the people who said that Fright Nights last year was going to be the best one to date - and that was a shower of s%#^ Honestly not hyped in the slightest for Fright Nights - my pass expires in 3 weeks and it’s doubtful I will renew this year. As for chainsaws being scary - I used to love them - would walk slowly towards the end of Asylum but then a couple of years later I ran into some crazed actor with a chainsaw on Big Top and it’s scarred me for life. I literally screamed my way through Chop Shop last year and the year before that at Scare Fest I ran out of Sub Species, burst into tears then had an asthma attack followed by a panic attack 🤣 - I can laugh about it now but it scared the poop out of me at the time

This thread is comedy gold - I’ve just snorted coffee out of my nostrils

Anyone have any idea why the hell Thorpe are currently selling Friends merch (t shirts and mugs) - noticed it in the Inferno shop then later on in the Island Shop. Bit random or are we going to get Friends: The Ride in future 😐.....or Friends Inferno. Nothing would surprise me at this point!

Definitely agree about lack of fun/relaxing rides - when I’m at Thorpe after I’ve eaten I’m very limited as to what I can go on due to pretty bad motion sickness (which I take meds for). Chessington have the animals and sea life and more gentle rides which are perfect when digesting food! I know this is a post about Thorpe but going back to Chessie I recently took my younger sister and my 3 eldest nephews over the course of the past 3 weekends and they loved it - yes it helped that they are 8, 7 and 5 years old but even my niece and I enjoyed it - and we usually just do the coasters/Rameses/log flume. One day we did Toadies Crazy Cars 3 times and still had a fab time. Chessie is just more relaxed and for me at this point in time, a nicer atmosphere than Thorpe. Heck I even enjoyed Howloween last year more than Fright Nights. @Mer I’ll go with you if you want!