SteveJ

To be fair I got into enough trouble with Mr Sanbrooke for making that video, so why not pass the blame to another fansite? And as I'm here...

The epilogue scene (one of my favourite moment in Terror Tomb) currently consists of some black walls and gaps where actual effects used to be. But have fun anyway .

Looking at the plans, it seems the swampland was n two distinct levels (whereas now there is only one open space), with one part on the upper level and one between the lower level heading towards the gorg cavern (which would have included the dropped floor). Reviewing the photos I can now see the set lower than train level, although not right down to the lower storey like today, so perhaps they were taken in the first part before heading down to the "swamp spiders". Photos published on ReRide.net... Slight perspective illusion in these photos making the set look smaller, but there is a drop as you can see where one of the trees is potted on the floor. Although the drop looks much shallower than today in this section of the ride. Here it is under show lighting: This is a different viewpoint of roughly same area, during construction of Terror Tomb. You can see the epilogue track through the missing wall at the bottom of the pit. It's visibly deeper and more open than the swampland scene in The 5th Dimension interestingly. It could be a combination of lowering the floor, removing the wall partition between levels and using forced perspective in the set design.

Unfortunately I can only come the weekend after now, so you'll have to make do without this Coaster Dude:

I think from what I've seen of the swampland scene (I never rode The 5th Dimension), the sets are all roughly at train level, rather than there being about a 10ft drop like in the Tomb fire pit. Also the epilogue scene where Zappomatic waves goodbye from his crashed rocket has a tall wide set. Such a space just does not exist in Tomb because the three-storey fire pit set takes up most of the room in that part of the building. The floor plans I posted above show black lines indicating a "hollow partition" during the downwards slope (which would be easy to remove) and the walls currently separating the epilogue scene in Tomb from the bottom of the fire pit are not shown on the plans. I could be wrong as I never knew the ride pre-90s but I'm pretty sure. Do tell about the swamp scene because I'd like to find out more!

Preshow videos on a loop are the worst kinds of preshows and usually add nothing to the ride. It was great when I went in the "Optical Procedure" room I didn't have some naff ministry backstory rubbish forced on me. Almost every ride project built in the last 10 years has had a poorly produced preshow video, in an attempt to make a ride "themed". Instead with The Smiler we have flashy lights! Hooray! The current preshow room is far from amazing, but it's something different and adds to the sense of disorientation before you start the ride.

Found out I'll be at Thorpe Park that evening with other friends, so probably can't join the group but will say hello when I can!

Except Merlin probably didn't knew mirrors were put up this year in the first place, since they are located miles away and aren't directly in charge of the park's every move. In fact mostly just the operational and financial decisions are made by Merlin.

Because the mirrors were cheap and looked bad after immediately warping in the moisture. Misted-over, bent plastic is not at all what the original fountain finale looked like. It's good they have been removed... as long as they get replaced with a better mirror wall this time!

I do remember when it sounded more like a Viking soldier calling out the slogans, but now it's just embarassing/funny. Strange that it had a separate device to distort the audio, even for 1994 that's quite primitive. It must have been done really cheaply.

The track layout has always been the same, the only modifications were to cut some chunks out of the supports to clear the new trains. The new trains have a smaller swing to them because their centre of gravity is a lot higher up than the old trains, as a result they don't get thrown around as much on the corners. Except for that last bend through the tunnel! So the ride's intensity definitely reduced. The cave was also shortened to clear the new trains.

Sorry I meant the facades and false exterior walls were added for the Terror Tomb redesign (so that the building looks a completely different shape to how it actually is). The warehouse itself has always been the same shape with the two 'wings' either side. The track layout has always been the same. However, I believe some interior walls/floors were removed to create the large space for the fire pit set, as there is no such space indicated on the original 5th Dimension plans. These old graphics will help you visualise the track layout: As for animatronics being removed from Terror Tomb... yes they removed a lot unfortunately! The axe corridor has always had shadow illusions, bar the one mummy waving an axe which is still there today (albeit no longer giggling like a maniac). Some of the Terror Tomb props are scattered throughout the ride as they were salvaged from storage a few seasons ago. Spot them if you can! The actual characters have all vanished though. Interesting that you bring up the Executioner animatronic from the Traitor boat ride - as it was by the same company that produced Terror Tomb!

I'm not sure where the show control plant is but there will definitely be one separate from the op box, since the scenes have to run in sequence rather than being individually triggered by the train (as with the Haunted House for example). It will all be computer based, although highly unlikely to be the same technology that ran 5th Dimension/Terror Tomb! Someone please correct me if they know the ride better, I'm interested in knowing myself! The 5D show building comprises of one large double-storey warehouse, containing the majority of the ride. The spike room and axe corridor are on the top levels (below the spike scene is the maintenance bay), then both levels are used for the fire pit to give that grand sense of scale. On the lower floor is the station, revolving tunnel and epilogue corridor only. The warehouse also has two additional "wings" on either side, which is hidden by the extensive facadery added in the Terror Tomb redesign. The right wing contains the preshow queueline and the snake pit scene overhead, which the train enters immediately after ascending the ramp. The building's left wing is dedicated entirely to the finale scene, hence the only point in the ride where you can see the building's floor and roof at the same (the track is elevated about half way up). There is not actually that much room below the track at its lowest points. I don't know what's down there, probably maintenance areas, I'm sure somebody else will know for sure! Something fun to do... If you look up just before coming into the offload station, you can see the back of the anubis statue through a missing ceiling panel. This is because at this point the track is actually on three levels and the epilogue set (most of which is now gone anyway) is squashed into the small space available behind the fire pit set.

Well Graham did release this completely on his own accord... (perhaps with a little prompting!) But I am doing a lot of research at the moment for a new project of mine. Watch this space...

Graham Smart has released an album called "Doom And Gloom", featuring the true scores for The Vampire and Terror Tomb (as well as The Haunted House, Black Hole and Nemesis). This is a massive revelation and I hope everybody who wishes to hear this great music in full contributes some money towards it. You can listen for free but purchase it for £7. Particularly brilliant is the full Terror Tomb score, much of which has never been heard before publicly as only excerpts were used on the ride. Enjoy the synth brilliance and be prepared for a surprise!

They wouldn't have "lied" as such. Adventurer Services is a completely different department to Rides, they can't be expected to know where all the cameras are located in areas they don't actually work. The person you asked would have assumed the queue was monitored by CCTV because that's the norm with most rides. However queue jumping is something the park will act on if problems arise.

No that was added around 2011. Before then it was just the "UTILITY VEHICLES APPROACHING" guy speaking really loudly over the top of himself. They'll probably change it again when they realise the newer announcement is recruiting innocent civilians to be attacked and destroyed.

Somebody telling you to hold on tight for a bumpy ride can never be boring.

Yes, they have removed all the dodgy animations bar the exploding dynamite shack and (what remains of) the rope climbing man. HOWEVER, the man that used to sit at the top on a barrel has returned completely refurbished and in a new position, now looking even more frightening in a stack of dynamite. The legs in the barrel have also returned in a new position. Perhaps the sleeping Mexicans will come back soon as well.

I'm thinking the brass would pack way more of a punch (and sound more metallic/brassy) if those parts in the entrance suite were being played by real instruments. They seem too chirpy and clean. It's also supposed to sound like an enormous brass section is playing on the track, which is highly unlikely that Thorpe Park would be able to afford without synths. You'd need to have a large number of players to create a similar effect with real instruments. It would be a pretty poor orchestra if they didn't know how to play in time! No, multitrack recording in a studio is more expensive and difficult but the norm for getting the best production. Or, as Thorpe Park did (if they even wrote this music - it might just be a library track after all!), just play it with synths. I agree that the entrance suite hardly suits Thorpe Park (overblown orchestral music never did suit a small British amusement park in Chertsey) but good on them for bringing it back - they may as well use it and brings back a few memories.

As somebody who uses synth instruments and plays in an orchestra very occasionally I can tell you the brass is very false on the track, in fact that and the strings are what gives it away completely. And that it doesn't actually "sound" at all like an orchestra would actually sound if playing altogether. Definitely synthesised (but feel free to prove me wrong if somebody is in the know). Well yes, but that's how most music has been recorded for the last 5 decades. And that's one of the most expensive ways of doing it!

It is so obviously synthesised, as with 90% of theme park music. Unless you are fancy pants and have the money to record a real orchestra, it's usually much easier for to synth it (even with the most professional composers).

Hooray! Just visit and you realise the excessive internet negativity (not just on this website, oh no) is mostly misguided, cheap to post and pointless to read. It's actually so easy to have a good time at Chessington. Very glad you enjoyed it. Of course the park isn't perfect and, very concerningly, has suffered visibly in some areas, but that doesn't mean it's got no life in it. Please don't assume I'm only optimistic because I havn't had the same exposure as you. As the place that really inspired me to take up most of what I do with my life and where a lot of early memories were built, Chessington is a place I'm passionate about and I haven't seen this much new life in it for a decade. (And I'm not talking about recent rides like Zufari, which is poor. But with a reshuffled management team I'm more hopeful that disappointments like that won't repeat!) Anyway, that's the last I'll be posting on here for a while. Time to turn off my computer and go outside. You can all cheer if you like.

I'm not surprised about the queue if you visited last Wednesday, it was exceptionally packed. There are reports that last week had the highest visitor numbers in a good few years, and it is unlikely to get as busy for the rest of the year. It's unfortunate but these problems are more caused by the lack of high capacity rides, another thing that is looking to be resolved in the future. Don't worry, it wasn't your BubbleWorks comment that irked me (I can imagine how disappointing it was with the ride's only redeeming feature not working!), it was the general whining/jibes about Chessington all over the internet that I think is misinformed.

Alright, but you'll still slag it off before you see it? (I don't mean to target just you) I rode Vampire the other day during one of the park's busiest weeks so far, and the queue was a comfortable 30 minutes with quick dispatches. It's not always terrible, just because that's what you hear on the internet. Of course operations can be improved, which is exactly what rides management are trying hard to do (although the seasonal nature of staff means this isn't always consistent, especially towards the start of the year). Even then, staff at Chessington are generally some of the best regarded out of all Merlin parks in terms of friendliness and helpfulness. Still, there's a big difference between the park's daily operations and their medium-term plans.