Kerfuffle

Just as good as other events, who hang signs on the ceilings...
 

 
Or make small, bland signs with a basic logo stuck on...
 

 
Moral of the story - everywhere does the occasional bad entrance.  And, mostly, it's what's inside that counts.

Its a decent entrance.. Unlike certain events its not just a banner on the back of a building of a lacklustre ride..

Creepy Caves entrance really isn't bad..

Had a really great trip, thanks all that attended! Please do post your trip photos below  
 
 

Some of this post is dreadful...
 
I don't think there is any park in the entire world which had the budget Animal Kingdom had when built (it quite possibly still is the most expensive park ever built)... Given that Chessie was the first real attempt at a theme park in the UK, and has spent particularly the last decade being butchered to bits, it's astounding how much of the place still stands across many of the areas... 
 
Original Bubbles being a half baked idea is honestly the worst thing I've ever read on this forum... I suggest watching the Dark Ride Archive video on it, because I'm just astounded by the ignorance of it... Half baked? Bubbles is perhaps THE ride that captured the minds and hearts of every single UK enthusiast...
 
The park is almost definitely trading on nostalgia, but surely that shows that when people were growing up, it struck an immense chord to the visiting public? Unfortunately it never truly left the 90s...

Random thought but every time I hear the main melody from the entrance music, I can't help that IMAscore had a little inspiration from another project of theirs. Does sound very similar
(Nothing wrong with it though. Seriously this is my favourite track from IMA)

The way Chessington are going with removing stuff from the station, it'll be no organist eventually...

Chessington are just laughable sometimes.
 
Post on their FB page to celebrate national rollercoaster day says: "did you know in 2002 Vampire became the WORLD’s first floorless rollercoaster?!" 
 

I think to add in some extra line about the new gates or a new rule theyve introduced.
 
Instead of the hissy internet download they're playing now, the station music used to have the organ part (solo) playing from the actual organ, in sync with the rest the music (the original mix) coming in for the chorus through the rest the station. All that setup is gone now. Today the downloaded station music is now played all through the queue from cheap speakers too, so you are long since bored of it before you even reach the station anyway!
 
When guests are paying this much, this completely amateaur approach to themed audio takes a very jaded & clueless attitude, same with what happened to Tomb Blaster in 2016. It's criminal how pathetic Vampire is now when it used to be brilliant. Terribly lit, stripped back scenery, wobbly organist and the once cool music now feels token and lame. But they will never spend the money to professionally restore the ride, even thought 80% of it is there and Merlin can easily afford it. So it'll carry on feeling DIY, homemade props in the queue here and flashing LEDs on demo mode there.

Who remembers this. I used to be obsessed with this as a kid in the 90s.
 
 

Yeah, 2010 was a great year I guess...

 

I'll start off by saying I'm reserving full judgement until hearing the extended version of Lost City's audio playing on Colossus now, BUT...

Out of all the attractions that should receive an audio makeover this year, Colossus should be right at the very bottom of that list along with Nemesis Inferno. I understand they are trying to merge Colossus better with the rest of the other rides in Lost City by playing the same audio, but to take away what many would regard the defining music of Thorpe Park as a whole and to give the ride less of a unique, dominant and intimidating feel to what it was before? That does not sit right by me.

That's like taking away The Smiler's theme and replacing the whole ride with The Sanctuary's theme instead, or worse, Nemesis being changed for good (not temporarily like in 2007) if that day ever dares to arrive.

As I said, full judgement will be reserved until I hear it, but it's sad to know Alton's Corkscrew of Thorpe Park; the ride which started it all; the ride which put Thorpe on the map; the ride which Thorpe said they wouldn't change back in March is now likely never going to sound the same again.

Amazing graphic design work lads, 9/10 - only way it could be improved is if they used Comic Sans.

I am no longer attending.
 
Soz

That sounds both pretty terrible and much better than the previous dispatch sound.
Because the world wants to be Disney so much

Amazing to see what some people are doing with this game - really good work!

This hunk o' iron's been busy, busy, busy...in the middle of Egypt apparently! Here, take a gander.










 
Anyway onto the real star of the show. A behemoth of a coaster which handles throughput well, interacts with scenery and terrain and most importantly tells a story...and yes it's a huge inspiration off Taron in case you haven't worked out already.
 
Horus (below) tells a rather sophisticated story;
 
In the Egyptian desert not far from civilization, early archaeologists spent days digging in the burning sun...until a mere few grains of sand gave way and revealed an ancient tomb buried under mountains of sand and rock for centuries. This is no ordinary tomb however. It in fact holds a rather troubling history; Thousands of years ago, a ferocious battle raged between Horus, god of sky and justice, and Oziris, god of the damned. The fray abruptly ended however when a mysterious artifact, known to many as the Eye of Horus, was brought into the chaos by the pharaoh Rameses, locked away in an ancient tomb. This legendary emerald has the power...and beauty to keep the two gods apart and civil...as long as it remained untouched, undisturbed...and very well hidden away. Over the centuries, this legendary tale will become entombed within the burning Egyptian sands...until today - the day the tomb was uncovered once again. And within it...the legendary Eye of Horus itself.
 
Tourism was a rapidly growing industry within the Forbidden Dunes so within months after the tomb's rediscovery, people were flocking in vast numbers to venture inside this harrowing realm. Using specially designed transit, tourists would dive deeper into the depths of the unknown...and unknown indeed, to all, is a glowing shrine locked away...and it's chilling purpose. With great curiosity comes great exploration - could a battle of a thousand years be about to resurface?







 

This hunk o' iron's been busy, busy, busy...in the middle of Egypt apparently! Here, take a gander.










 
Anyway onto the real star of the show. A behemoth of a coaster which handles throughput well, interacts with scenery and terrain and most importantly tells a story...and yes it's a huge inspiration off Taron in case you haven't worked out already.
 
Horus (below) tells a rather sophisticated story;
 
In the Egyptian desert not far from civilization, early archaeologists spent days digging in the burning sun...until a mere few grains of sand gave way and revealed an ancient tomb buried under mountains of sand and rock for centuries. This is no ordinary tomb however. It in fact holds a rather troubling history; Thousands of years ago, a ferocious battle raged between Horus, god of sky and justice, and Oziris, god of the damned. The fray abruptly ended however when a mysterious artifact, known to many as the Eye of Horus, was brought into the chaos by the pharaoh Rameses, locked away in an ancient tomb. This legendary emerald has the power...and beauty to keep the two gods apart and civil...as long as it remained untouched, undisturbed...and very well hidden away. Over the centuries, this legendary tale will become entombed within the burning Egyptian sands...until today - the day the tomb was uncovered once again. And within it...the legendary Eye of Horus itself.
 
Tourism was a rapidly growing industry within the Forbidden Dunes so within months after the tomb's rediscovery, people were flocking in vast numbers to venture inside this harrowing realm. Using specially designed transit, tourists would dive deeper into the depths of the unknown...and unknown indeed, to all, is a glowing shrine locked away...and it's chilling purpose. With great curiosity comes great exploration - could a battle of a thousand years be about to resurface?







 

Thought X Factor filming wrapped up last Monday? Have no clue what Sharon Osbourne's still doing there.
 

The new for 2017 attraction is open. It is the return of Thorpe farm and it's world's first is that it is the world's smallest farm...
 

Managed to hear it playing inside the building from outside the Colossus shop the other day...so "very" is probably an underestimate.

There was a power cut this morning, which affected a large part of park and stopped engineers doing their morning checks.  This was why many rides opened late, but rides in the centre of the park (ie Inferno and Ghost Train) were fine.