Inferno

I'd rather see one or the other: All backwards facing or all forwards facing. I don't care which. Swarm has proved that Thorpe can't handle having a 2 option train. I would rather they didn't try it again on X!

I've got a feeling they'll be playing musical chairs with those trains for a while before we see all 5 in action at the same time tbh. It's good that 5 can be run at once though Yeah it's real, it was in New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy last year.

1) Open 2) 120mins 3) 4 trains. 4) Is that right? Is it supposed to run with 5 trains?

Much better! I like the emphasis on Thorpe Park

Outside of the UK I've been to Six Flags Georgia a few years ago and most of the Orlando parks. So I am a bit more limited compared with some of you! 1 - Sheikra. Perfect dive coaster tbh. 2 - Montu is probably the best invert I've been on. I don't know why, but I just like it. 3 - Hulk...... dat launch. 4 - The Swarm... Yep, better than Nemesis. *hides* This will probably slip further down the list as the years go on though tbh. But the ride I had on this at Fright Nights last year was spectacular - in the dark, fire went off! was walk-on... Perfection. 5 - Dueling Dragons before they were RUINED by Harry Potter... These coasters were legendary when they duelled and were under their own theme. sitting on the front row flying towards another train and missing it by just a few inches was amazing. 6 - Nemesis because it is Nemesis... I honestly think this is a bit over-rated... *hides* 7 - Goliath at Six Flags over Georgia is a really great ride. No theming (it's a SF park after all) but it's still a good'n. Went when it was new (2006/7ish?). Superman Ultimate Flight was closed that day so that explains why that isn't up here as well... 8 - Stealth because the launch is king. 9 - Air (possibly?) Although I've gone off it a bit now tbh... It's the only flying coaster I've been on though! Need to go and ride Manta one day. 10 - Kraken at SeaWorld. Sneaky number 11 - Revenge of the Mummy (I couldn't leave it off the list!) I have yet to ride the Smiler and Manta, I'm hoping these 2 will join this list soon!

^ To be fair it is just the odd few staff who seem useless... I would still say the majority of them are fantastic. It also seems to vary from one day to another unfortunately.

It's such a massive shame. It makes me mad that the effects are so inconsistent! The fireball, mist, and water splashes are supposed to be part of the experience, but they never bother to switch them on! I agree about the poorly managed back row queue as well. It all seems such a mess! It's a brand new ride so why the hell wasn't a proper, foolproof system put in to place when it was built. The card system was doomed to fail from the beginning to be honest. The Swarm isn't faring too badly at the moment though to be fair, well not compared to Saw at least... that overgrown and silent queueline is a disgrace.

Meanwhile, in India..... *_*

Is low capacity an issue as well? I don't know the exact throughputs of the mazes, but it seems to me like the queues for conga line mazes (so Asylum and Curse) move a lot quicker than the others. Experiment's 10's queue was totally ridiculous last year, I guess because the maze is constantly stop/start, wheras people keep moving through the conga lines at all times without stopping to stand in a cupboard for 2 minutes. What I'm trying to say is, their new mazes don't get through people as fast as the old ones. Or that's what it feels like anyway.

^ oh dear Was it really them who did this in previous years? it's shouldn't be the ride staff's responsibility to theme the rides really. (!) Things like this should be happening as part of the event tbh. But I expect Merlin's attitude now would be "why would we give you a Halloween theming budget when you have managed to do it for free in the past?"

So they don't bother theming the park for the biggest event of the year to work around a 'problem' that they have manufactured themselves... Right. I would much rather it if they opened a couple of hours later on the quiet days, meaning Fright Nights ran solidly for 3 weeks or so without 'gaps' in the middle of the event. Although to be honest what's the problem with leaving lighting / extra theming in place during the non-fright-night weekdays?

^ Totally agree, Asylum is such a great maze, there is really no need to mess about with it. It would be a shame to loose all of the conga line mazes. I actually think they're better in a way. This year I'd like to see some effort put in to theming the rest of the park. They have pretty much nailed the mazes, but the rest of the park (especially before it gets dark) doesn't have any reference to Halloween at all! Last year they had the graveyard, and that was it! I thought the "on lockdown" idea was cool last year, but it was a massive opportunity missed for theming the entire park. I've been a bit disappointed with Fright Nights recently because of the lack of any Halloween atmosphere. The event should be about more than just the mazes and change in music imo. Here's some pics from TotalThorpePark... Why can't they do this any more? ^ inferno's "Hell frozen over" theme was so basic, but it made all the difference. ^ Again Colossus just had a few fake cobwebs and some cheapo bits and bobs from Wilkinsons. ^ Even just some orange lights around the place would be great! These looked fantastic on the bridge! I would love to see these lights across the entire park. ^ Even CCR was in on the action! There were more, but I could go on for ages. Yeah ok some of it was a bit tacky, but surely that extra theming is FAR better than having nothing at all? All images from Total Thorpe Park - http://www.totalthorpepark.co.uk/features/events.shtml

I can't see them changing their brand too much after all they've put in to it. I can see them becoming a little more like Alton Towers, which can only be a good thing. I like their brand at the minute, but we all have to admit that over the last 3 or so years Thorpe's branding was clearly being pushed by old men in suits, trying desperately to be 'cool' and 'dwn wiv da kidz lolz'. Me and my friends are basically the definition of Thorpe's target market, but some of what they do makes us (or me anyway) cringe. a lot of it is very tacky, and it doesn't appeal to us at all.

The return of themed areas is a popular one on here!! I agree too! I like what Thorpe have done with the park, they've got some fantastic rides now and the place is so much better than it was a few years ago. I think they've put a bit too much thought in to being a thrill capital though, forgetting that they are essentially still a 'theme park'. They've not done themselves any favours recently with the chart music and lack of family rides. 'Thrill capital' or not, it's still a theme park, and themed areas (with proper themed music!) should be essential imo. I would like to see Canada Creek completely re-done, and extended to include Saw the Ride (rethemed as a saw mill). Logger's Leap would be totally refurbished, Canada Creek Railway would return, and Samurai would be removed to make way for a similar intense flat ride. Saw Alive's area would be ripped out and would become a really nice lakeside Woodcutter's restaraunt (same as Alton's). They could have a great little themed area down there! Apart from the chart music creeping out in to the park, I actually love Thorpe's current brand I actually like that they do the club nights, etc... It's something different. It wouldn't do them any harm to reign it in just a little bit though... I'd be happy if they kept their brand as it is, but focussed on themed areas and 'up for it families' a bit more.

I get what you're saying, but from all the evidence I've seen the Smiler was still a building site on Thursday morning when it was supposed to open. I know the rides are "subject to availability", but It doesn't matter how you look at it, they were selling tickets, selling hotel stays and advertising for an attraction that realistically had no chance of opening on time. Not trying to have a rant, I'm just looking at it from Watchdog's POV (assuming that's even what their article will be about It will probably end up being about prices or something now!)

Oh dear... I guess this can only be about the Smiler. I imagine it will be exactly the same story again, about selling customers a product even though they knew it was impossible to deliver. Maybe they should have been a bit more pro-active on telling everyone about the second delay, rather than leaving it until the day before opening!

All very exciting! I am a bit dubious about it though... They can't be 100% sure about it, otherwise wouldn't they have announced it on Twitter etc?

Sorry to dig this back up (and for the double post ) The Chessington sale pass problems have now been resolved - the premium passes now work at the other park's gates and the car park barriers

Is anyone able to tell me if the issue with passes issued by Chessington in January has now been resolved?

To be fair, Inferno had its dispatch theme reinstated this season, new ambient lighting in the station, and improved mist in the tunnel. I agree that they should never have been left to break in the first place, but it's not as if they've let it get to the same state as Loggers, RMT at Chessington, or Rita. Some of Merlin's rides are quite literally falling apart. Inferno is actually in pretty good shape in my opinion!

Inkeeping with Th13teen or not, this looks absolutely awful... What were they thinking!

True that you probably should wear shoes, but people always leave them on the platform, especially on Inferno, Vortex, Samurai, etc. I wouldn't worry about it. If you discreetly pop them in the bag shelf then it's unlikely that anyone is going to stop you!

When they had it at Thorpe I seem to remember it was generally ok, but it depended on the member of staff who was supposed to be organising it... Stealth always sticks in my mind as being a nightmare because it's just a free-for-all at the top of the stairs, and if the staff didn't have a good grip of it then it was awful. The baggage drop was the thing that slowed it down the most - you couldn't get a single rider to quickly dash over and fill a gap because they would need time to drop off their bag and fight their way through the busy gates. To be honest it was worse than useless because it took so long just to fill one seat! If bags are dropped off a long way before the station (like Th13teen) then it could work. If the baggage hut is right on the station platform though (Saw, Stealth, Rita) it is a nightmare.

I’m sorry if I have brought this off topic it is quite interesting though. I’m not trying to stir things up (honest ), I’m just surprised how lenient the theme parks are towards their staff compared with the places I have worked. Yes, you are correct, I have never worked at a theme park… I have however worked in a supermarket, restaurant and a (sort of) call centre, and in all of these jobs my hours were / are constantly changed to suit what was/is needed, and all of it is legit and above board because it’s in the contract. Christmas for example, I worked for Morrisons part time when I was at college, but my contract stated I had to be available for up to 2 weeks prior to Christmas day to work full-time if required. I actually ended up doing full-time nights, plus extra daytime hours. This was considered 'normal', and everyone working at the store was cool with it because of the extra cash (and because it's hard to say no because you'd be royally screwing your colleagues over by leaving them extremely short-staffed). They were obviously cool with being flexible, but generally (in all the jobs I've had anyway) you’re expected to pretty much do whatever is required to make the business more profitable. So in terms of theme park staff contracts, I would have thought it would be reasonable to ask the staff to be prepared to work unsociable hours for up to 3 weeks during October/November because that is what is required by the business. Just a thought, sorry if this has rattled some cages Please don't think I am holding some grudge against theme park staff - they (on the most part) work bloody hard in all weathers with all sorts of difficult customers. I'm just surprised that staffing is an issue with opening late for a couple of weeks, that's all.

Oh my heart bleeds for them. Other businesses manage it. Supermarkets employ staff to be in the store 24hrs a day, call centres / shops / petrol stations / restaurants / you name it, loads of places employ staff (including students) who work shifts. That's the staff's job at the end of the day! It would simply be written in to all the contracts when they are renewed every season. If the business decides it's changing its hours then surely that's not up for debate among the staff?! I get what you're saying about transport for guests though. Could be an issue.