markfranklin

I fully agree with your comments Matt. Quite how Merlin address the situation to restrict the volume of RAP issue is another matter - I can imagine it would be a very difficult task.

Some interesting observations about the increasing use of RAP across Merlin parks. We've been to Efteling three times over the past few years (four days per visit), and I've seen <10 people using their RAP system in all that time. I remember one chap using the exit, and being lifted from a wheelchair on to the Python ride. In the general queues, I saw lots of disabled guests. A couple of weeks ago at Chessington, having waited for a long time, we reached the Vampire gates and asked politely if we could be allocated the back row. The staff member said absolutely not - the RAP guests must use the two back rows only (for evacuation reasons), and therefore people from the main queue can only use the other rows (unless there was no-one in the RAP queue). Later that day, we went on again and were next to ride, waiting for row 7. An announcement came over the speaker to say that as the RAP queue was very long, they would be filling the next train fully with RAP guests, and sorry to those waiting for the inconvenience. So, either it's a lie about RAP customers having to use the back rows, or there was a mammoth Health & Safety infringement that day!

Does anyone know what the additional layer/s of security are, as mentioned by Nick Varney in the Sky interview? I recall he said that the extra steps had been introduced on all multi-car rides, apart from some (e.g. Fury, Rattlesnake) which would be closed for a short while until they could be implemented. So I am guessing that on others (presumably including The Dragon), these extra steps are already in force. Just wondering if anyone involved on the rides was aware what these extra steps actually are? Cheers

I have a real respect and admiration for Nick Varney having watched that. Daft interviewer, kept going round in circles and not listening to the answers. I know NV is paid handsomely, but he's a human like the rest of us, had had a week from hell, and is trying to balance the support to the injured guests and handling the HSE investigations. To keep his composure is a sign of a really gifted person. I get the feeling that among the enthusiast community, there is a general core of support, sympathy and understanding for Merlin. And a nice touch from electricBill to drop a note of support.

Very valid questions Ian.... I think this is the most plausible rationale of all the theories. I guess if the case, there maybe needs to be further system prompts. I.e. once user has pressed the block reset button, a message appears tio ask for confirmation of track clearance, etc.

Thanks for that electricBill A very informative answer. A colleague and I were pondering over the Smiler issue and wondered: Suppose test car sent out, stalls in Block 2. Passenger car sent on it's way, but computer stops it on the lift hill (correctly, because it recognises there is a car stuck within the next block). Car stays stuck on lift hill for 10 minutes (as was reported somewhere), engineer does some form of block reset, so the computer system clears its memory and believes the track is clear of obstructions, which in turn releases the passenger car?

Apologies for my lack of understanding, but I just wanted to ask a question to someone with knowledge of the technical side of things. So on Smiler - and other similar rides - the computer system ought to prevent a train from entering a 'block' if another train is already in that section. My question is, how does such a system work on rides such as Dragon's Fury and Spinball? With these, it seems that several cars are sent in a 'production line', and there aren't defined 'blocks'. So is there a risk that a car on one of these rides could stop/stall, and if so how could the system prevent the next one along from hitting it? Cheers

May I ask how busy it was in the park today? We have tickets for tomorrow and I wanted to know how full it will be.... Cheers

It's an interesting point. Thorpe seem to have been able to get pretty much all the coasters working over the last few days of extreme cold, but over at Chessington, Vampire and Dragon's Fury have not started at all.

I'm wondering how busy it will be this Saturday. One part of me thinks that all the Passholders will be showing up (following the cancellation of the preview days) along with all and sundry with it being the first weekend open. But then again, if it is well known that Zufari is not launching until next week, and also the unavailability of some key rides, will people be swayed into leaving their visit for a week or two.... I wanted to nip in early so that I could get my daughter on Vampire for the first time, and had wanted to minimise the queues. Can anyone suggest a good time to show up? I've never been there before at opening time, so I assume you need to be arriving at 9am to get parked and be near the front of the queue to get in to the park? Thanks all

That's really helpful - thank you.

Hi - I wonder if someone could help me. We have Merlin Annual Passes but I wanted to take along one of my daughter's friends (age 6) for one day to Chessington. I was trying to establish the cheapest way of getting the extra ticket. Looking online, a passholder can book to take a Young Adventurer for £23-ish, which seems to be the same rate as booking a single <12 years ticket anyway. My questions are: Is this the best way of buying the ticket? Do you have to select a particular day for the visit or is the ticket 'open ended'? Once purchased online, do you still have to queue up to collect it on the day, or can you print off and turn up at the turnstiles? Your help would be much appreciated! Many thanks

Thanks for all the info guys - I suspected this may be the case.

A quick question regarding Vampire.... If I were to take my daughter andher friend (both aged 6 and just over the 1.1m height requirement), would they be allowed to sit next to eachother with me in a seat in the row behind them? Or would an adult need to sit next to each child? If anyone knows I would be very grateful. Cheers

I've just read elsewhere about this Zoo Days business - have Chessington made some sort of announcement that they are over? Comment on a different forum is that it was a planning permission condition for Wanyama that it was to be made available to the public all year round - so would they be in infringement of that rule? We tend to go about 3 times a month during the close period / Zoo Days, and it's always a nice trip out.