SteveJ

Hi all, Some pics from today.
Arrived on park to find them adding a piece to the main lift hill. Look they're adding a support

Yay look it fits

And this is what it looks like from the other side

The station is looking more themed and look, the pipes all fit.

Usual overview shot.

Top of the vertical lift

Ohh look, they're also adding the inverted drop.

Hammer that bolt in, Hammer it.

Drill that connector Drill it.

Paint that track, paint it

Yes work was going at a full pace so we went and had a look to see what we can see inside the station., this is through the entrance hole for the trains.

Inside the shop

What about the games unit, I hear you ask.

Marmaliser leg footer and template. Its all technical stuff.

Back at the top of the site we were drawn by the sound of a ratchet... They had added the linking bit between the bottom of the inverted drop and the top... one min.. .. That's not right. aren't these meant to MEET?

They were using that ratchet to pull the 2 pieces of track together but that's quite a large discrepancy . So they started using these things at the bases of the supports. I think they are mini rams.

and more ratchets on other supports

We stood there for about 40 minutes watching them try in vein to get the track to meet and this is how it was when we left.

Well I think tomorrow is going be a stressful day for the construction team.

And I just stumbled across this image. I have been looking for a picture of the original logo on that backwall for years, it looks great! I love the way it matches the wall texture/colours and has a totally different character to the redesigned one. Today you can clearly see a darker patch where it used to be, both on the back wall and entrance arch.
Strange because my first visit was when Rameses Revenge received its new design, and I remember it having quite an impression, but I was always confused at how it fit with Egypt. I think there were even some TV adverts boasting the change? I used to like the idea of an Egyptian machine, but now the novelty has worn away (and the paint certainly has too!)
If they plan to refurbish Rameses Revenge in the future, they should repaint the ride one last time with a suitable colour scheme, give it its old logo back and then let it ride another decade or so into the grave.
Here's an example of that on-ride photo...

After having my expectations suitably lowered by people here I actually quite enjoyed it.
-Quite why they've built all that MASSIVE and no doubt expensive fencing I do not know. Maybe to make it feel secluded? Puts it in an awful setting anyway.
-The photo op is harmless, don't want it, don't buy it.
-The photo, preshow and boarding area are stupidly cramped up and a mess. They could have put everything wherever they wanted, so why put it all on top of each other? Makes me think the pre show itself might have been an afterthought.
-The pre show is a bit confused, but the kids seemed to get the idea and really got into the roaring / monkeying. The animation of whatever that animal is is shocking though, looks really really amatuer and cheapens the whole thing.
-I know it is not the parks fault that people are morons, but they should be used to that being fact by now and plan for them. The gates you are batched to don't line up with the rows on the truck, not even close to doing so (why?! You've designed it from scratch for goodness sake) so as soon as you are let through everyone just walks to whatever is their nearest row and all the batching goes out the window. Needs lines on the floor or something.
-I don't get why people struggle with the seatbelts, they seemed simple enough to me.
-The safari itself is alright if a bit short, we got decent views of all the animals apart from the flamingos which seem really strangely placed set back away from the ride. Clearly needs time to grow in but some of the shed concealing is half arsed which breaks the illusion of being transported to Africa somewhat, don't think that will change much however much the plants grow.
-The danger cave is poorly executed. You just sort of trundle in with no fanfare or theatrical flare to build it up, the people on the left are blasted unpleasantly in the face with too close misters and a waterfall happens on a similar scale to the constantly flowing Vampire entrance one. The exit through the waterfall itself is the highlight of this part. Then the ride just ends with no attempt to account for whatever it was that just happened.
Sounds a bit negative, but I did enjoy it and everyone in our truck seemed happy enough. The problem isn't really that what they have done isn't OK, it is that with a bit of thought and a bit more money it could have been immeasurably better. It is stuffed full of missed opportunities throughout, you have to wonder whether the people who have produced this have even been to existing attractions of a similar type to see what works and what doesn't. I fear it is another case of 'good enough' syndrome which is the mindset of Merlin a lot of the time, it could be spectacular but what they've done is good enough to get people to turn up and not actually complain. From that point of view I guess it will be a success.

Do you work for Imperial Leather or something?

I don't think there is any arguably about it. Every time they have changed something on that ride they have made it a bit lot worse. Fifth Dimension was a stunning ride, all it needed was to be run and marketed correctly.
For other examples of the same thing happening see every ride at Chessington (maybe except Wild Asia).

It was for a few years. Then it wasn't for another few years. Now it is somewhere in the middle.
But there is no such thing as "the thrill market" really. And I imagine the majority of visitors at Chessington are over 1.4m so there will always be people who can/want to ride it. Not all children are under 1.4m anyway.
And Chessington aren't trying to appeal to "the RideAddict market" so they shouldn't care less whether they have disappointed you by fixing one of their rides.

It was for a few years. Then it wasn't for another few years. Now it is somewhere in the middle.
But there is no such thing as "the thrill market" really. And I imagine the majority of visitors at Chessington are over 1.4m so there will always be people who can/want to ride it. Not all children are under 1.4m anyway.
And Chessington aren't trying to appeal to "the RideAddict market" so they shouldn't care less whether they have disappointed you by fixing one of their rides.

Thorpe isn't aimed at the kids market. Let's get rid of Rocky, and entire of ranger county.
Chessington is aimed at families. Don't you tell me that towers doesn't get thrill-seeking 7yr olds riding ripsaw.
It's your way of thinking that chessington used mid-00s which ruined the park.

It looks even more beautiful these days.
I remember when this was seemingly a fun ride. Your day wasn't complete without a quick ride on Rumba Rapids, it had some memorable moments like the "Ribena factory" tunnel and waterfall, and the shower tower when worked. It was great before the refurbishment as well. Now I hardly notice the ride is there, it feels like it closed years ago but staff continue to operate it as a joke! It really has lost its status.

Tried the revamped X this weekend, and whilst I wasn't expecting much, I thought what the Park had done was a significant improvement. Clearly the Park hasn't had a huge budget to do this retheme with, but the new trains are comfier, the queueline smarter, and the lights, music and theme finally give the ride a purpose.
One of the things I disliked about X:\ No Way Out was the random and incoherent nature of the ride - the little backstory there was wasn't conveyed at all to the rider. It was just a series of stops and starts in the dark, and then you walk out. At least now with the "rave" theme, the Park is giving the ride a point and firmly repositioning it for the family/younger thrill seeker market. A good move IMO.
I think that more self contained/innovative lighting effects would have been better (especially on the brake runs), and the music definitely needs upping in volume a notch or three - it currently sounds a bit distant. But overall, the project gets a thumbs up from me.
As ever, photos and a more detailed review is over at Total Thorpe Park.

Actually there has been. And you can batch properly. I worked on vampire for 3 years, and the issues relating to the previous way of doing things were:
People all queued up in the same lanes or near each other, leading to them either trying to push through and fill a train, having to go on seperate rides, or having a queueing time way more than some other rows. Rows would become empty, as people wished to wait for their friends in other rows to align up with them Back rows would be empty if disabled riders weren't there, and noone was willing to fill them There was no good estimate of queue time. It could be 0mins, it could be 20mins in that station. It looked a mess, was claustrophic and did not set a good example of what Chessington could achieve Batching should eliminate those problems - people will ride on same train, people will not be trying to get into each others seats, people will all have an equal queueing time from merge point.
Batching works on every other sodding coaster and ride in the world, it's only Chessington which manages to cock it up so much that people believe the old system worked when it plainly didn't.
When I worked there, you would get 750pph on 2 trains (thats a train dispatched just under every 2mins), and we were hitting 1100pph on 3 if we had an efficient team. It's awful that they don't even strive to achieve anywhere near that now. Bet fastrack allowances haven't been changed to accomodate that either.

Just got back from a morning at Chessie so I shall review Zufari (this post may contain spoilers).
It opened about 30 minutes after park opening which was a bit annoying. We got over to it at around 10:50 to see it had a one hour queue so we decided to queue as this was the main reason we went. The main bridge over to the area is very bland with tall, wooden fencing but I'm sure over time it will look better. The queue is a massive cattle pen but moves quite quickly. The queue offers you a nice view of the Flamingos at the beginning and further on you can just make out the Rhinos through the fencing. Before you reach the batch point for the pre-show you encounter a photo point. It is by far the worst positioning ever and can severely hold up the queue. My favourite comments I herd about it were: 'I'm not putting on that hat, people could have head lice' and 'I haven't queued for my photo to be taken'. Once through this there is another little cattle pen before the pre-show where both the Fastrack and disabled queue join (it's not fair that they get to skip the photo point. The area behind the doors to the pre-show are not large enough for people to wait behind so instead you are mainly fed in through one door regularly being stopped to let in Fastrackers/disabled queue. Once the pre-show is full and doors shut it begins.
The pre-show starts very professionally with your expedition leader, Chase Van-Driver, explaining this new area they have found called 'Zufari'. His lemur friend then pops up on screen and you are introduced to her. He then has to leave so the lemur interacts with the audience. The younger kids seem to enjoy it but not so much the adults who have just queued an hour, especially when they are picked upon to make monkey noises. The lemur then warns you about the cave, makes you promise not to go in there and then you leave to the ride itself. However, you will find yet another queue after this to board your vehicles so move as far down to the other side when entering the pre-show (and back row if possible) so you can be the first out and not have to long a wait for the ride. Once behind your gate you wait for your truck, then push (Chessington don't do air gates anymore, they are to main stream for them) your gate and board. The signs on the truck tell you to place your bag in a metal, mesh wire cage under your seat, however, it may get wet down there so you can keep it on your lap, the staff didn't seem fussed. All buckled up and ready to go, your adventure begins.
It is a very bumpy ride which is great fun as it makes it seem much more like a safari. Each ride will vary but on my ride we got great views of all the animals, especially a Giraffe who stood in front of the truck stopping us from going anywhere. This was great though as it gave us more time to take in our surroundings and the other animals. You then arrive at the fallen branch (with for us Rhinos right next to it) and are told you have to go another way. Of course, the only other way is the cave. Some younger kids on our truck started screaming saying 'go back, go back, we can't go in the cave.' It's nice to see that the target audience are understanding the story line. The cave is better than I was expecting. Lots of loud noises and lights going out scaring a few children. The sudden burst of water is very effective and even spills into the truck through gaps in the door (the reason not to have your bag down there) and the only way out of the cave is through the waterfall. Again very effective and will get the people on the edge seats a bit wet. You then return to the station having completed your expedition.
Overall I was very impressed with the ride and know that overtime it will get better. The only real negatives about it are all with the queuing which does need to be looked at but I'm not sure what can be done. Having been lucky enough to ride Rhino Rally and Kilimanjaro Safari I thought Zufari did quite well and is a great addition to Chessington offering that crucial link between the zoo and theme park.

The current Transylvania music was put on to create a 'happier' environment and also to create a longer loop for the offices in that part of the park. Also to align with the brand values of establishing the themed lands more coherently.
The area down by the waterfall/Vampire entrance used to be on a seperate loop, but were then not operational for a while and have since been connected to the system for the rest of Transylvania.

I can't quite get my head around people not thinking the world inversion record is a very big thing. It simply is, and it pushes the ride and part back onto the world stage in a huge way with something which will get noticed everywhere.
That's not to say there's not surprises to come from it and I'm glad they are promoting it based on theme primarily, but going along the lines of 'worlds first self dueling coaster' is the sort of tortuous nonsense they come out with when the ride doesn't have anything real going for it. In this case it does.

So, I went on X today, and well...I'm a bit disappointed.
First thing first - my expectations. I wasn't expecting anything amazing, but some loud music, some nice lights in different sections and for it to be a bit of fun. In turning it forwards, I knew it wouldn't be a great coaster by itself, just something that was a bit random. As a note, anyone wishing to have the experience unspoiled should stop reading now...
When the ride first starts and you go up the lift hill, my first thought was 'Wow, this looks good'. You can hear the music in the distance and see the lights - this should be quite fun. You then start, and you realise the 'music in the distance' isn't really in the distance, it's as loud as it's gonna get. The light show is nice, but after a short while, the impressive of them wears of and I quickly began to feel they weren't there to wow you, but to light everything up in a slightly more creative way than turning the lights on. The breaks don't feel random any more; they feel like you've broken down. I think their effect is only suited to the ride being in the dark in honesty. As said, the wow factor of everything wears off quickly and the ride begins to bore you, instead of intrigue you (as the ride did as you continued previously).
I feel quite biased in reviewing this, having a weird soft spot for X:\NWO, and I almost instinctively think to myself 'well, when it went backwards, it was like this...', which I guess is only natural. But I feel they've almost done too much. Personally, I think adding the lights and such and turning it forwards was too big a change - the ride is now a bit of bore and doesn't give you any sort of buzz. I guess the thinking was 'Turn it round for the kids and add rave-esque stuff for the adults'. Whilst I can't comment on how kids find it, the rave stuff just isn't any cop for the older target market - this is coming from someone who hates nightclubs too. The music isn't loud enough (or memorable enough...), and the lighting effects are only nice. I think it would have been better to just make the trains go forward OR add in the extra lights (and get new trains with individual lap bars if it would lower the height restriction). As I say, both changes just makes it too weak of a ride in my opinion.
I guess it hasn't even been open a week though. Hopefully the sound and lighting will be tweaked as time goes on until they've found something right. Just a case of playing the waiting game...
X - 5/10

It is worth mentioning that the piece of theming from Vampire (with the horse) has now been placed near to where the train stops to head up the second lift hill.

God they abused the hell out of that Halloween music didn't they? Was so sick of it after like, a year of it being used across half the park...
The oompa music suits the whole Bavaria realism vibe they're going for now anyways... It didn't affect me over Zoo Days, I doubt it'll affect me Sunday (indeed, it seems that the area music is the least of the worries in that area right now)...
Dunno what this toning down thing is though, more getting these areas into a more realistic/down to earth (ish, purple building was silly in that regard, though dunno how it looks in real life) look and feel... Hence why Burger Kitchen is no longer another castle on the outside (and extremely bland on the inside it seems)...

And I just stumbled across this image. I have been looking for a picture of the original logo on that backwall for years, it looks great! I love the way it matches the wall texture/colours and has a totally different character to the redesigned one. Today you can clearly see a darker patch where it used to be, both on the back wall and entrance arch.
Strange because my first visit was when Rameses Revenge received its new design, and I remember it having quite an impression, but I was always confused at how it fit with Egypt. I think there were even some TV adverts boasting the change? I used to like the idea of an Egyptian machine, but now the novelty has worn away (and the paint certainly has too!)
If they plan to refurbish Rameses Revenge in the future, they should repaint the ride one last time with a suitable colour scheme, give it its old logo back and then let it ride another decade or so into the grave.
Here's an example of that on-ride photo...

The ORP was not back then but quite late on (mid 2000's some time) and very short lived (as it was crap).
The old colour scheme just feels right to me. I don't know if that is purely because it is my first memory of the ride or because I actually preferred it, but although the colours are a bit garish in themselves they are quite pastel and work well avoiding the more illuminous palette of the fairground. The snakes were awesome, should ever have been allowed to go. Just shows disappearing theming is no modern phenomenon!

Although it might sound good in your head, really riders would just be aimlessly wandering through mirrors while low-wage actors snarl or pull your hair (see how awful the actors in Saw Alive were when it was a year-round attraction), and your plan for the coaster itself sounds like Dragon's Fury in the dark. And a 'torture' theme is too grim and unsuited to such a boring ride, it wouldn't even appeal to sadists. I once made up my own elaborate plan for X as well, including a 'scary' run-through pre show; but then I realised it would never work because X is too physically boring to carry off any theme convincingly - that's down to its poor design.
That's why I think removing all traces of theme and just sticking a load of flashing lights in was actually a good idea. X should be treated like the weird anomaly it is!
Although I think fixing the false lifts would have suited the ride somewhat, I guess those will never be back.

Well X... hmmm
Went this evening, everything in the park had 5 min queues or less so we decided to do X. This was the biggest mistake and I will not be repeating this again.
we waited outside in the cold for 15 mins, then we were let in. I was impressed with the lighting in the corridor the new speakers were great. Then we got to the ramp, and waited and waited, then moved slowly then waited and waited, 25 mins later I got to the baggage drop. By this time I had waited so long my blood was boiling. I entered the building all optimistic and I had not even put my bag in I had waited sooooo long that all I wanted to do was get out, but I was stuck inside with screaming teenagers.
I spoke to the baggage attendant and asked why the throughput of the ride was so poor, I was told:
"We only have two of the four trains as the others are still in the Nederlands" If I had known this, I would not have queued for 45 mins..... At this point it didn't matter what they had done to X I didn't want to go on it and I wasn't going to enjoy it.
After leaving X I managed to get Stealth in twice, Swarm Twice and Saw in just 30 mins.... Not an effective use of time, hence my frustration and anger
Now I have had time to calm down...
The place looks nicer with a good paint job The speakers as you walk down are the right volume and create a good atmosphere, but only half the corridor had been fitted out with speakers, so when you get to the end of the corridor where it zig zags and the poor lighting is, there is no sound Still the signs needs updating Good to see the old TVs and Power plant which didn't work removed All new new LEDs look fantastic Going forwards, didn't really improve the ride experience IMO The 1M height restriction is fantastic for younger ones The cars are comfortable and the new lap bars work ok The smoke totally works The central light column looks good Love the lasers too Music works Music should have been louder IMO The lights need a little work some of the effects are wow, others are disapointing Strobe lighting might be a good addition There are moments where there isn't much music Now there is light inside you see the supports and just how tight the ride is, so you get a few near misses The brake sections, brake section 1 worked well, the second brake section where it went back then stopped, this jolted us badly, it would be better is the ride just stopped rather than trying to go backwards then forwards In Summary:
I would not queue more than 10 mins for this, it is good to get out of the rain, there has been an improvement, but not enough to make me wanna go back on in every visit.
For a low investment year and for a ride which has been badly neglected, they have done a good job.
Quote from somebody else collecting their bag "Its just like the flying fish, but in a nightclub."

Going through some old photos and came across a few of Rameses in its glory days that I thought I'd scan in. They aren't the greatest pictures but give a good idea of how it looked, I think they are from opening year - 1995

We've been to chessington today to check out the area. The tunnel and the dragon are still in tact ! Just to add Zufari was great! Really impressed!

I was lucky enough to be on the first public ride today. Worth noting first of all that it was only open for 3 hours due to animals getting cold.
The entrance to the ride is pretty standard as per the current theme of the area...think bamboo etc.
The queue line is a typical merlin cattle pen made from bamboo. Half way through the queue line you stop for a picture against a lion king type green screen.
You are then shown into a room where you are seated and watch the per ride video about ACRE etc. A cartoon character then appears on screen (can't remember what animal it is) and this is voiced by a member of staff watching the room on a camera. The member of staff then picks people out and gets them to do monkey impressions etc, calling them by their name.
The ride itself is basically a dirt track through the animals with no real landscaping but you do get quite close to some of them. The cave finale is a case that you get told in the video not to go into the cave and when you get to the rhinos there is a tree down so you have to go via the cave and at this point you lose contact with ACRE.
In the cave, I think it tries to simulate a flood, I can see what they've tried here but don't really get it, you then exit the cave by literally going through a waterfall which makes for a cool finale.
I can see what they've tried to do here but the area needs more vegetation and the animals need to be integrated with the ride more. Families seemed to enjoy the ride but its nowhere near a high standard.
All in all its a nice edition but not great, I think it suits the audience it's aimed at, I do think the 1.1m restriction cuts out a lot of potential riders though.
Can't link to the pictures on my Facebook but if you search Graeme Donaldson there are a few in my mobile uploads

Because theme parks always choose to close popular rides during the open season for random rethemes. Rumour has it Runaway MineTrain and Dragon River are going become part of Corrugated Metal World.