Cal

Unpopular opinion but I'm a big fan of the backwards row facing the other way. Kids love a front row and this will essentially provide 2 very different front row experiences with it being a shuttle coaster Think there was a drive at Chessington for more flats for throughput reasons, hence why they got Thorpes Rockin tug even though they've already got one. We all know Chessington can't cope on busy days. With that logic though it really doesn't make a lot of sense they've gone for this coaster when there are loads of different family coasters which would've provided a much better throughput...

Sad news, its back on the app

Its been confirmed via the pass holder group that the single rider queue trial on SAW last year was successful and they're looking at what other rides they can expand it to this season which is great to hear. I can't see this working well on any other coaster apart from Stealth, but having this even on SAW and Stealth and maybe a couple of flats would be great to see! They've also confirmed a lot of work is currently being carried out in the Swarm queue line, including replacing the damaged queue line and station panels, removing graffiti and replacing and repairing the queue line TVs.

Was Swarms fire effect on at all last year? Its probably best they try and get 1 working reliably before they try and get 2 on the go ...

Little update after a trip to energylandias winter kingdom event, I'll likely write a little report up 1) Kondaa 2) Nemesis 3) Zadra 4) Taron 5) Hyperion 6) Wodan 7) Kumba 8) Silver Star 9) Stealth 10) Oblivion

It closed midday on the end of season annual pass day and didn't re-open for the rest of the day, so I imagine something happened that day causing it to be down for a while

I ended up last minute going on the last Friday of the event. Just had the standard ticket this year. It was surprisingly quiet (they had less than 2k people there) which meant with the new ticketing system we got on things multiple times, including Electrick circus and Doom town 4 times. I'll just be getting the standard ticket from now on, and go on one of the first Thursday/Sundays for low crowds. They were selling them on the night for £30, on the blackfriday sale they're £37 (£2 fee) so its definitely worth buying the bouncebacks if you're there the year before. I won't repeat what everyone has already said but I really liked the changes they've made to Electrick circus although its a little on the shorter side. I was blown away by doom town. I was a little worried that with reports of it not being very intense I wouldn't enjoy it, but it really is an incredible immersive experience and a solo run through at the end of the night on this was definitely the highlight of the night for me. From what I've heard, there won't be any new haunts for the next couple years but they are planning some BIG changes for the hayride. Whether or not that happens next year is all dependent on how well they did this year, but yeah I believe that is the next focus.

Never really done one of these so here goes. I'm also potentially going to go to energylandia next month so will likely change then. 1) Kondaa 2) Nemesis 3) Taron 4) Wodan 5) Kumba 6) Silver Star 7) Stealth 8 Oblivion 9) Revenge of the mummy 10) Manta

Nice topic idea! I liked Loggers. The indoor drop/tunnel was fun (before they butchered it) and the double drop was good fun too Mine is Fright Nights is a shadow of its former self

I can't help but feel sad about Nemesis closing either, even though its reopening. To me everything about the ride/area is perfect. It runs the best it ever has and is the consistently the biggest queue eater on park. I'm glad merlin have invested in its future, I just hope too much isn't changed and it runs as intensely as it does, the hulk retrack does give me hope. Sad I couldn't make it over there for one final night ride on Sunday, but I'm glad Towers made a decent effort to give it a good send off and so many people turned up. The atmosphere looked amazing.

I personally quite like their logo and wouldn't want them to change it. Don't fix what isn't broken

Nothing confirmed yet, apparently there were 3 different locations they were looking at. I imagine we'll find out the location on the 16th at the consultation

I'm pretty sure they looked at completely removing X (the coaster and the pyramid) but the cost was so huge they went for the walking dead ride instead. I can't see it ever going back to X or X no way out, I imagine it'll be a complete removal of the building along with Slammer to create space for something new.

The consultation website has now been updated to show this is will be an indoor waterpark https://www.cwoa-consultation.com/

Ride availability this year at Towers has been shocking. Think they will need a few more funfair rides next year...

Its great to see Chessington getting more investment. Chessington buzz put a post on facebook saying 'We really think they’re going to make a splash with this! ' Chessington buzz have a good relationship with Chessington so are likely in the know, so looks like this will be a new water ride or waterpark

I don't think it means much as the photos in the queue haven't been used in a good 2-3 years so would make sense to remove it all

Same with me, this is the first Fright Nights I've missed in a long time. As much as Survival games is tempting, I just simply don't think its worth it anymore for 1 run through

I imagine they expect the newer the maze, the more popular they will be for behind the scene tours, and therefore price them accordingly I do agree though £55 seems a bit excessive

So the B&M surf coaster is essentially a stand up coaster with seats that move up and down? Really interested to see how this works/rides but can't say I'm particularly excited about it...

A nice behind the scenes tour of Survival games

Back in the day I would always have said Fright Nights, hands down used to be my favourite UK scare event. But I think Fright Nights is a shadow of its former self. Shorter opening hours, poorer quality mazes, less mazes on offer and upcharge for the mazes. Part of the fun of Fright Nights was being able to have multiple run throughs the mazes which I can't justify doing at the prices they're charging. They also put no effort into parkwide lighting or sound anymore which makes a huge difference to the atmosphere. I think Fright Nights trys to appeal more family friendly than it used to. I used to go to Fright Nights for the intense scares and watching things like the Amity show and Birthday Bash really doesn't interest me. I would say Scarefest is the better event now. Although they have an upcharge for the mazes, it works better as you rarely have to queue anything and the mazes are more consistent. I would still like to see some investment with scarefest though, the mazes are getting stale now and need a refresh. Would love to see a sub-species type maze return again.

I personally think the Attic is the strongest out of the existing ones if you're just doing the one. Definitely worth checking out reviews from this year though

For me its: 1) Stealth - Never used to be my favourite Thorpe coaster but loved it more and more in recent years. Easily the most re rideable on park and is just as enjoyable every time. 2) Inferno - I often overlook Inferno as I compare it to Nemesis. It gets better and better every year, Its always one of my favourite coasters at the park to ride in the dark it absolutely flies round in the evenings at Fright nights. 3) Colossus - I have a soft spot for Colossus. In my teenage years it was always my favourite coaster at the park. Always loved its soundtrack and the way the area and queue interacts with the ride. Its a good layout and although its a little rough, I really don't find it as rough as others say. 4) Swarm - Surprisingly for most, this was always my least favourite out of the 5 in its early years, I found it forceless and the layout too short. As times gone on I've liked it more and more. Its super re rideable and its got much more forceful over the years, love the helix by the helicopter. I find the vest restraints incredibly uncomfortable, not sure about anyone else but have found them to be even tighter in recent years and when I hit the breakrun I can't wait to get out of my seat. This massively hinders the overall enjoyment for me. 5) SAW - To be honest I've never been the biggest fan of Saw. Find it rougher and more uncomfortable than Colossus which is the main reason I'd rank it lower. I do love its theme though and there are few good elements I enjoy. Although its my least favourite out of the 5 I still tend to ride it on most of my visits if it doesn't have much of a queue. 6) Walking dead - Preferred what they did with X and will never understand why they changed it to this after the reasons they rethemed to X. Its once again a 1.4m restriction on a non thrilling ride. 7) Fish - Good for what it is.

Was at Towers over the weekend for the first time this year and my first time doing Towers Oktoberfest so thought I'd write up some thoughts. The only negatives over the weekend was the Rectrosquad and X Sector so I'll get the negatives out the way first. I'm a big fan of flats and liked the idea at first but can't help but feel they all look so out of place at Towers. As much as I enjoyed Spinjam and it was my favourite out of the flats, it looks really out of place at towers. The waltzer looks dreadful and the only one that looks alright is Funk N Fly. Hearing the music and funfair jingles played at towers just doesn't seem right. They all seem fairly popular so would love to see them invest in some permanent flats which Alton are desperately crying out for. X Sector was an absolute mess. The whole area of the 2 coasters look dirty and need a proper clean up. There was a period of around 2 hours on Saturday when Oblivion and Smiler were down. So obviously without Enterprise, the only open attraction was a temporary fairground ride. Did make me laugh. Both coasters were running reduced capacity. Smiler ranged from running 2-3 trains over the weekend and Oblivion had 2 seats permanently closed on every shuttle and only running 1 station. Its a shame as I normally love getting a few re rides on Oblivion, its capable of being one of the highest throughput rides on the park and its being run awfully. I know it can't be helped sometimes but having the coasters on reduced capacity completely defeats the purpose of the extra flats they have in. Would love to see them give the area a decent clean up, 1 or 2 permanent flats and sort out the capacity on the coasters. The Smiler was running pretty rough. It was nice having the Single rider open for this and it worked really well, would love to see them open a few more of these up on the rides it works well on. It was also nice to see the bagdrop open, glad they've seen sense there as it makes a huge difference to throughput and always has one of the biggest queues on park. Had plenty of rides on Nemesis which will probably be my last in its current form unless I get there on its last day. By far my favourite UK coaster, I can't help but think its a shame its closing as it still runs so well but I'm all for them investing in its future! I love how they effortlessly run Nemesis so well, it never stacks and the queue moves so quick. Wickerman, Galactica, Thirteen were also all running really well and the trains were flying out with no stacking. No bag drop open on Thirteen but were still sending the trains out quick. Oktoberfest was great, much prefer it to Thorpes. Entertainment carries on for an hour after park close, the lawns had a great atmosphere and was busy till 8pm on the Saturday. No cringey German accents, a proper band, everyone enjoying themselves and having a laugh. Will probably not bother with Towers next year with Nemesis closed, its always my main reason for going but looking forward to seeing what they have done with it in 2024. Hopefully the flat ride situation will be sorted out by then too.