Matt 236

Here’s a POV for the ride if anyone’s interested. Watch if you dare, or avoid if you don’t want spoilers. Ride looks ok, maybe better than expected. It’s better than Charlie, especially when you consider how small it is but obviously not blockbuster level. New area looks alright, but areas come across as looking flat or perhaps unimaginative. It’s better than the last few years, but still looked the best during its early Cloud Cuckoo years.

I think there’s a lot of family thrill coasters that would actually suit the park. Including (but not limited to the following): 1/ Gerst family launch similar to Pegasus/Fire Chaser Express 2/ GCI woodie, more akin to Heidi the ride (maybe Wickerman) 3/ Vekoma “next gen” so like Lech/Aqualantis but maybe less intense 4/ Mack launch like Slinky Dog Dash 5/ That “family focused” RMC concept We will just have to see I guess.

So if this area is going to Amazon themed, does that mean I’m going to have to subscribe to prime?

I’m honestly glad the park is developing a new area and coaster, but I’m not gonna lie it would be concerning and even disappointing if the selected model was just a junior boomerang. Chessington seriously need a people mover (not Disney) in terms of throughput. Once upon a time, several rides could reach or surpass 1000 PPH whereas nowadays they are lucky to reach 500. And that’s before half of that is given to fastrack and RAP pass.

This might still be in the testing phase, but the pacing so far seems a very mixed bag.

Wow! This topic has 69 pages! The video didn’t give away anything.

Still looks awesome. Intawin!

So last weekend, I got round to my first Towers trip this year. Here’s how it went: Park was pretty busy, so 8pm closures are definitely warranted, even if numbers trickle down from mid afternoon. With queues exceeding over an hour often. presentation was a mixed bag, with some areas such as Towers Street looking great but others needing work. A jetwash would help. Operations were a mixed bag (likely due to restrictions). Wickermans we’re amongst the best with Nemy perhaps being the worst. However they were batching outside the station building. Indoor attractions were closed as expected. The Retrosquad rides definitely give Towers much needed support attractions, even if they look a little out of place. They are certainly fun additions to the lineup. Mixtape was probably my favourite, although I really liked Funk N Fly too. I didn’t get chance to try Roller Disco. Social distancing around the park was ok, with staff wardens etc. But still some room for improvement I guess. Just a few pics. Don’t Stop Believing!

I like the look of that new coaster, and I really like the name. So glad they are theming their new additions more though!

Chessingtons intentions of adding another coaster is excellent and welcoming news. Here’s hoping it goes ahead. The addition is definitely critical at this park now as it’s ageing headliners are starting to struggle with reliability and also they are falling behind the awesome Paultons Park in many ways. So they must compete. Something like Pegasus Express at Parc Asterix, De Vlieglande Hollander at Efteling or even a small wooden coaster would be appropriate additions IMO. Also something with a throughput of 1000+ PPH would be much welcomed, given how of leading rides are lucky to reach half of that. Let alone surpass.

Ouch, that looks horrifying! Waiting that long is more painful than the ride.

Thought I might chip in: 1/ Magma is better than Croc Drop, because I consider it to have better theming and a more thrilling cycle 2/ Veloceraptor is the best junior boomerang (having done Raik & Accelerator) 3/ Flight Of The Pterosaur is the best coaster at Paultons park.

Today, myself and others made our way to the park to check out the new area. Here’s just some of my thoughts. Tornado Springs is a lovely area and really adds another dimension to an already great park. It’s must be amongst the best areas I’ve seen in recent years. Storm Chaser is a lovely fun coaster with a very reasonable throughput, Cyclonator is surprisingly thrilling, the drop towers are fun and the tractor ride pleasant. Rest of the area further compliments this. Rest of the park still great and surprisingly busy. The comparison of newer areas to the likes of where Cobra and the Flume are located is remarkable. Hopefully they’ll sort those next. All in all great park to see if you can. And worth the longer drive compared to say Chessington. A few photos.

**David Attenborough has entered the thread**

So me and others went to the island today for a little early season park trip. Like a number of parks, there’s been a noticeable amount of TLC around numerous park areas, from the truck at the front, Dome and Tidal Wave changes. Most of which is a noticeable improvement. park operations were generally positive especially for early season, although the park were “Swarmed” (pun intended) with a certain clientele known to break the rules a little! The B&Ms and Stealth were great as always, Saw was rideable and Colossus was poor. Thorpe has a lot of creases to iron out, but it was just lovely to be back at another park. Especially with the lovely weather. To add, audio at the park was the best it’s been in years too!

That is indeed a great problem that must be managed and has only continued to spiral out of control. In many cases like yesterday, the RAP queue has been equal or greater than the main queue. I do think the U.K culture has (further) mutated into one where there is an expectation or entitlement. When seeing the guest services queue, almost all were queuing for a RAP Pass. And this precisely why it’s become such an “ albatross around their neck” situation where they are doomed if they do and doomed if they don’t! If they don’t do anything this will probably continue for the forseable future. However if they do, there will obviously be hefty backlash and “certain” newspapers really milking this cow with headlines like “Theme Park Eliminates disabled queuing”. All just to push the stir and of course, click bait! Someone once criticised the system on a social media post and was verbally pulled apart like a pack of wolves. That same part of society who “WANT TO SPEAK WITH THE MANAGER” when they’ve been overcharged by 10p are responsible for this. Now let’s get to this. Not every disability is visible. And some may look fine until such circumstances. The issue isn’t with this, but putting in a system where something like RAP must be seen as an option for people who are can’t use the main queue, as opposed to won’t! The latter seems increasingly common with people taking advantage and essentially using this as some sort of “free fastrack”. It is also these people that will likely scream the loudest if the system ever had a significant shake up.

Right. So Wisey & myself took a little trip to Chessington today, which would be our first trip and park visit of the year. To Sum Up: Park is the best it’s looked in years, from areas such as Mexicana and Land Of The Dragons receiving noticeable touch ups Park Audio was rather messy and untidy in several places, maybe there’s issue All key eating places were open, although the surprise lack of outdoor seating was a little disappointing Majority of staff were friendly enough, although there were some issues with one or two Blue Barnacle is alright, least they replaced Buccaneer Zufari has interesting amendments Park operations left room for improvement, with rides stacking and breaking down often. Maybe these are start of season glitches but they still need addressing. RAP needs sorting because it’s getting a bit out of hand now! The park definitely warrants 7pm close, was very busy today! Finally tried Croc Drop too. It’s a nice enough addition and looks visually pleasing (from the front). Nothing ground breaking but fun all round.

We’re clearly forgetting all the things that the park is planning on adding in the next 5-10 years here! As well aware Top Scan, we have: A Topple Tower A multi-launch coaster opposite Fury A Rapids near Zufari The rebuild of Skyway The source is Ketchup Fans. I will see myself out!

Based on the given images, the area looks absolutely phenomenal and one of (if not the best) themed areas within the U.K. I hope we see more additions on this level in years to come! Very soon too (hopefully) I’ll be chasing down the M3 (pun intended) to see this place!

Great improvement there, Funshine really adds some character back to these otherwise adequate arch signs. Also yay to more PMBO re-tracking!

Nothing controversial really about the first point. It seems in the early years Nemy was by far the favoured of the two, but nowadays it seems almost 50/50. I think Nemy will probably always have the higher vote, but nothing controversial at all. There’s some similarities between preferring Taron or Helix. I think it’s natural to still like a park even if the area it’s located is unfavourable. I’ve certainly heard of many who like BPB but hate the town! I guess this whole “Southerners hate Blackpool” thing must be relating with the North/South divide. I personally don’t mind Blackpool due to it’s Sea Side location and array of attractions. It’s got a lot of rough edges but otherwise it’s ok. Maybe that’s an unpopular opinion on its own. Aside from it’s historical content and “Spoons”, I guess the overall appeal about Blackpool is all within the variety of rides. Coasters, dark rides, etc. Plus it features some of the highest and biggest rides in the country. Don’t get me wrong, it has imperfections like everywhere, but it’s all a question of what one likes or expects from the park. There seems to typically be three types of enthusiasts as BPB is concerned. Those who love and adore the place, those who like it (but say it’s not as good as it was) and those who don’t really like the place.

I’m currently halfway through reading the History Of Thorpe Park book which somewhat clarifies the rides closure. I believe it was down to a number of things, rising safety requirements, lack of available funds and also sadly neglect. Merlin spent the essential safety upgrades for Tiger Rock (then Dragon Falls) but were not in a position to do so for Loggers.

I mean, Towers has the benefit of having several large open space areas such as the lawn near the lake and that square near Hex. And also unlike Thorpe, it doesn’t seem to be a graveyard for derelict attractions “glares at most of Old Town”. This is where the Arena would’ve been handy for Thorpe.

Now that’s absolutely bananas! Model looks better though.

(Spoken in a Coasterbot style dialogue) “What makes a decent theme park entrance?” Right! Here’s the basic fundamentals that should result in a decent theme park entrance: Clear and straightforward navigational layout Visually welcoming presentation A hub/point which can handle a moderate amount of guest volume At this point of time, Thorpe’s entrance fails to achieve any of these. You park up or leave the bus only to find a mess of corrugated steel fences and a confusing queue to park checks. You are greeted by the further view of chipped buildings and ageing features, leaving no form of excitement buildup. Ok, let’s settle this! Not every theme park entrance is going to feature some stunning thematic street or centre-piece, at or beyond the turnstiles. Thorpe is one of these parks. The ideal thing would be extensively strip back or completely flatten the existing entrance area for a hugely renovated or brand new entrance. Something like Paultons park wouldn’t be too unreasonable IMO. Security (and even temperature) are inevitable in this shaky world, so permanent fixtures must apply. The bridge section (post-turnstiles) is perfectly suitable and shouldn’t need too much work. But don’t get me started on the dome!