Han30

The meet was really good and I had a great time, lots of laughs and lots of getting wet on various rides. Great to see people again and meet 2 new people! And I can't believe I won the game - I never win anything, I nearly cried! Will attempt to type up a proper trip report but just want to say thank you to everyone for makin the day fun and for Peaj for organising it (and getting me there)

Looks amazing - and omg Milka bars!!!

I can't get no sleep....

£139????!!!! Are they having a laugh?? Besides the cost, things like that freak me out.....

Fred - I agree that the park really is a 2 day thing - even though it is far from massive, aside from the rides, there is sealife, zoo, shows plus you have to squeeze in lunch - this is a reason why I love the park so much - because the variety of things to do. I missed a lot on my last visit - due to the park being quite busy. Maybe I might do a 2 day-er and try out the hotel - sounds like a good reason to do so. That would be amazing if they did something with the Vampire queue line - and even better if the original entrance is back in use. To be honest, I didnt really notice the flakey paint in the station - but I am not massively observant to be honest. I still love the station and the atmosphere of it, although I did prefer those coffin things they used to have to space out the queue for the trains. Vamps is my favourite coaster (probably only because I have ridden just 14 coasters, most of which were very tame) followed closely by space mountain at DLP. I think they should look after Vamps a bit better because it is still so popular even after 22 years - and would definitely provide improve guest experience. But I sometimes wonder if the general public notice things that you and I have noticed? For me, personally I never paid much attention to "theming", just rides. However, when I went to another "theme park" 2 years ago (mentioning no names) it really hit me how much theming improves ride experience and general atmosphere. As regards Tomb Blaster - I like to spend as little time in there (queueing) as possible - as I mentioned before that damn smell (or maybe it is me?!) - as for the height sticks - weird why they would get them out if you are blatantly well over the height limit - maybe some ride ops/attendants just enjoy playing with their sticks?! Joe - how was your trip to Chessington?

Loving the green track!

I wouldn't say that you are awful at trip reports. Can pretty much agree with almost everything you pointed out (apart from the sexiness of the toilets/hotel etc!) I absolutely detest the queue line for Vampire - that horrible purple gating with bits flaking off just isnt a great look, however I still think the station has fantastic theming - overall I preferred the good old days with the bat cars but the new cars add a different dimension I guess. Completely agree about the Bubbleworks - it is a shadow of its former self and I was a tad bored when I went on it last month - I don't know what it needs other than some serious work/retheming. Maybe it is my age but I remember when it was Proff Burps bubbleworks and I just found it amazing. Oh, and is it just me or do they not do the strobe lighning thing near the end of the ride? That became the best part of later years - which is saying something. Tomb blaster I hadnt been on for about 4 years and I found the queue to be a bit irritating - I dont know if it is the smell in there (anyone else noticed this?), the fact that there was tonnes of kids queuing aswell or having to constantly watch where I was walking due to uneven flooring - I wonder how many times people trip up in there! Did you get many rides in? And was the park busy or fairly quiet. The hotel sounds great but I cant see that I would ever stay as I only live 25 miles from Chessie. I didnt get to visit sealife last month so will have to check it out on next visit.

£4?!! cheeky swines - I went to CWOA 2 weeks ago for the first time in a few years and the car park charge was £2 and I thought that was taking the pee - do Merlin not squeeze enough money out of visitors as it is?

Banned for remembering more Steps songs than me!

Banned for being a Silly Sleepy Head

3 words......PRE MENSTRUAL TENSION. That is all

Banned for talking about Milka chocolate when I was having a bad choc craving!

Banned for not liking the name Tango.....or the drink!!

Banned for not embracing the joy of talking about bowel movements in chat

Banned for not being in chat.....

First visit to CWOA today since May 2009 (not counting a zoo day visit in 2010). Was told that it could be quite busy but didnt realise how much - perhaps in other peoples terms it wasnt too busy but I am not a huge fan of queuing ages for rides and assumed that as Easter hols were over, it wouldnt be so bad - guess a LOT of schools had inset days. I love Chessington and always have, since my first visit in 1990. Despite the queuing I had a great day - I love the atmosphere of the place and the staff members were all very friendly. Unfortunately, due to my sister taking a wrong turn on the way, we were a little late getting there and then had to queue to get in. I also wasnt able to get on many of the rides as I was with my niece and she was too short for Ramesis and Rattlesnake and didnt want to go on Fury. I was freezing cold the whole day so we didnt do Dragon Falls either which was a shame. No time to visit the zoo or sealife but we did sit and watch the sealions for a while which was lovely - they are amazing funny animals and entertained us while we sat for a rest. My ride count was: Peeking Heights x 1 Tomb Blaster x 1 Vampire x 2 Griffins Galleon x 1 Bubbleworks x 1 Jungle Bouncers x 1 Sea Storm x 1 I am not a huge fan of Peeking Heights as, well I hate heights but went on it (have been on before) - the ride op was very friendly and chatted with us while we were waiting - once we reached the top and the thing started swinging I can extremely close to vomiting - yeah I am a lightweight! Only had to wait about 10 mins for this ride which wasn't too bad Havent been on Tomb Blaster for a good few years - am I right in thinking they have changed the snake thing (I'm sure it used to pop up out of nowhere?) - my score on Blaster was terrible but I blame it on my gun and I am pretty sure I have given myself RSI (if that is possible). We queued for about 20mins for this which wasn't too bad. Sea Storm - 10 min queue - love the ride but dont particularly enjoy going backwards - but the contents of my stomach stayed intact Griffins Galleon was a walk on - I really like this ride and think it is underrated - I wouldnt go on my own but having an 8 year old with me is good as it may look a bit odd for a 31 year old to ride it alone?! Onto Vampire (my favourite ride) - first ride the queue was about 25mins - got quite bored in the queue line with no-one to talk to but the queue did seem to move quite quick which was good. Got on near the back and a lady came and sat next to me - had an interesting convo on the lift hill which was nice - she is a rollercoaster enthusiast so we were chatting about all sorts of things - she said she wanted to go to TP but her kids wouldnt go on the coasters there! Second Vampire ride and I managed to persuade my niece to come on with me - last time she rode she was 5 and ended up in tears but 3 years on, she has grown a lot so I figured that she would tolerate it better. Longer queue line then we reached the gate where you walk through to enter the station and were stopped - technical prob with the ride but it gave us a chance to chat with a lovely ride assistant which passed the time. Waited about 10 mins and was hoping we would get on as we had already queued for about 40mins - ride prob was sorted so in we went. We joined a queue behind a group of people who, well I am not sure what planet they were on but they just didnt move for ages. Eventually they realised that you actually have to get ON the ride duh. Eventually we got on - my niece was panicking slightly so I held her hand and she was fine and loved it - afterwards I parted with £7 - £7!!!! for a ride photo, I must be mad! Having not been to the park for 3 years there have obviously been some changes - this might sound a bit sad but I kinda miss Beanoland (I think maninly the music for the dodgems!) - Wild asia seems to be very gray but I guess that is the colour scheme they have gone for which is fair enough (not that I am picky ) Kobra looked fun but we didnt ride owing to the fact that after trying out "The Edge" at Paultons it was a miracle I wasnt sick and my sister was taking wagers with her partner if I would up chuck or not - nice. I think Kobra is a good addition to the park - and fits in well with the area. Rameses looked like it was on a pretty intense setting at one point - I wanted to ride especially as there was no queue (I remember the days when the queues were backed right up over the bridge and beyond) - didnt ride this as my niece was too short. Flying Jumbos.....ummmm......we went to queue for it but the queue was quite hefty so we gave it a miss - I know they had to move it to make way for the Madagascar Live show but it is so hidden away I'm surprised there was a queue at all because you can barely see the ride, I'm surprised anyone knew it was there! Bubbleworks was ok - my niece enjoyed it but I still prefered it with good ol' Professor Burp - bring him back is what I say! Am gutted that I didnt get to explore areas of the park such as the zoo, sealife, a ride on safari skyway and other rides - if I had an annual pass I guess it wouldnt matter so much but we used BOGOFs so paid £20 each - despite the low ride count, I do enjoy just being at a theme park and not necessarily constantly going on rides - there were SO many children there - not that I hate children, I just couldnt eat a whole one. The kids behind us in the queue for the Vampire were highly irritating, not only because they sounded like a bunch of teenagers but because they were shouting at the ride assistant and constantly asking questions as to when the ride would reopen - if my niece has spoken like that I would not have been too pleased - I always make sure that she says thank you to the ride assistants when we exit rides we have been on. What really stood out for me was the staff - extremely friendly and I didnt come across a single staff member who looked bored, cheesed off or tired - I have always wanted to work at a theme park (mainly chessington) but since I got application forms back in 2000 I developed bad anxiety and was unable to complete the forms. I have a lot of respect for people working in the theme park industry - visiting a theme park is obviously hugely different to working at one, and dealing with the public I guess at times is probably quite challenging. I am usually extremely shy and hate talking to people that I dont know but actually chatted to lots of different people today - staff and visitors - not sure why, I kinda feel more confidant in that environment. Am a bit gutted about the smoking areas but totally understand why these have been implemented - despite being a smoker I can see how smoking is not pleasant for people around you and lets face it, its a nasty habit! - it meant that my smoking intake for the day was a lot less than usual which can only be a good thing. The plus side of the smoking areas is that you get the chance to talk to other social lepers(!), sorry I meant to say fellow smokers - was talking to a lady who told me it was her first visit and she was asking me about the log flume - we chatted for a while and then she left and I said "enjoy the rest of your day" - I do genuinely love watching people having fun and enjoying themselves, part of the reason why I would love to work in the theme park industry. So yes I am waffling - I am hopefully going to go back to CWOA again this year but also really want to visit TP as I havent been in 10 years. Am on a mission to persuade a friend to come with me - said friend has never been to a theme park or ridden a rollercoaster and she is almost 33 All in all a good day out, tiring after walking for what seemed like ages and not eating anything for the whole day but still enjoyable and I like the fact that they have staff at the gates when you leave asking if you have had a good day and saying goodbye.

Loved the trip report - made me laff esp the bit about the manky water on rapids/loggers - Ive noticed that the water on dragon falls TASTES revolting - note to self: must keep mouth closed when entering drop

That guy from being human was a creepy git....

Looking at this thread is not helping with my chest infection or asthma.....cant......breath

Nice pics and good quality - with my camera things have to be totally still to get a decent shot! Looks like you all had a fab day

Just looking through these recent pics and (I have a cold) accidentally snotted everywhere.....classic

Cool - look forward to seeing the pics - was thinking of you all today in between sleeping and gulping down cough medicine!

Hey Stuz - sounds like you had a great time - got any pics?

Saw the TV ad today with that annoying kid in it - bring back Dr Chessington or whatever his name was!

Must go to specsavers - Mer I read your type as the animals of FARTING wood. OMG used to LOVE fun house - Pat Sharpe and his barnet lol. I recently went to a soft play area with my nephew and the place reminded me of fun house so I decided to challenge myself to see how long it would take me to complete the course. Unfortunately they had no go karts though!!