ashleyrose-66

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-48461611 A boy has been airlifted to hospital after an incident at a theme park in North Yorkshire. Yorkshire Air Ambulance confirmed the boy was transported to Leeds General Infirmary from Lightwater Valley, near Ripon. His condition is not known. North Yorkshire Police said it had been called to reports of a "medical incident" at 11:30 BST and officers remained at the scene. Eyewitness have suggested the boy fell from a ride at the park. A witness on Twitter has since said the boy fell 20-30 feet from the Twister rollercoaster!

Chessington have announced that The Vampire will be open during the "Winter's Tail" Christmas events. Seems strange that they plan to run it when the temperatures could be quite low and also obviously no large maintenance planned this winter. https://www.chessington.com/christmas/

Tidal Wave broke down today, which according to the Daily Fail left "thrillseekers stuck for 20 minutes in 86c heat!" Surprisingly, there is no mention of "the Smiler incident" in the article. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5909841/Thrillseekers-stuck-Thorpe-Park-rollercoaster-ride-86F-heat.html

...Causes Daily Mail to run with an overly dramatic headline and horror stories, mostly lifted from Twitter. A power cut in the local area (not just the site) caused rides to cease at Chessington today, which led the staff to execute their well rehearsed evacuation plans. All guests were freed from rides within 30 minutes. Naturally, The Daily Fail have reported that it was almost an apocolypse and that Chessington had "no contingency plans in place". http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5795863/Chessington-World-Adventures-power-cut-leaves-parents-enraged.html It seems to me in reality, that they handled the situation very well. The power cut was outside of their control and they are offering tickets for people to return at a later date.

Anyone got any ideas when they are going to release the annual pass day tickets? They've been saying "very soon" on their website for 10 days now!!

I went to Chessington last Saturday and I have to say, I was hugely disappointed. Hocus Pocus Hall was open, but we had an announcement on the way in that the Goblins had made off with the 3D specs so we just had to walk through without any of the effects. I know it's better than closing the attraction altogether, but what reason can there be for not having the 3D specs available? We went on Zufari, and it really is shocking now. I know they'd cut the audience interaction a couple of years ago, and to be honest I don't miss the Goetze stuff in the queue, but the actual ride is so poor now. There was no sign of the Flamingoes as we first started and the truck whizzed straight past. We arrived where the Giraffe were and there were 2 Giraffe feeding, which was nice. No sign of the Zebra or Ostrich though. On we went and were able to just see a Rhino the other side of a fence, almost hidden by a tree. There were a few Blesbok to our left, but we didn't stop to take a proper look. In the cave; we just went straight through. No lightning or waterfall, just straight through and unloaded. Whilst I know you can't account for all animals being available or visable, the experience itself has become rushed and it is unattractive. I'm fortuante to have ridden it when it was better than it is now, but if I rode it for the first time on Saturday after queuing for 45 minutes, I'd wonder what the fuss was about and question where the aminals are! I used to love going to 'Chessie', but I have to say I feel quite sad when I am there these days. There is so much needed to improve the park and whilst I have only been a MAP holder for 6 years, the decline in the park in the past 3-4 years is alarming.

Went to Alton Towers at the weekend. I'm sad to say that I feel it's lost so much spark these days. Yes, we can all see "SW8" is coming along nicely, and I do feel it will be very impressive. But we wandered over to "Cloud Cuckoo Land" and there is virtually nothing left over there! Charlie and the Chocolate Factory went a couple of years ago, and this year, Ice Age 4D and the Twirling Toadstool have also gone. The loss of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Ice Age are obvioulsy down to IP deals now expring. But surely there has to be a plan by Merlin for when things like this happen? What will happen when the Gruffalo IP expires at Chessington for example? We are left with a carousel, the driving school and the frog hoppers (which have been moved and sit right outside where the Ice Age attraction used to be - which incidently has been painted in horrific bright colours) and the whole area just feels empty now. The Runaway Mine Train was also closed all day Saturday, which didn't help matters. They have a couple of new attractions in Cbeebies land which seemed very popular as wait times were 60 minutes. I went on Galatica. The VR set I was using was very blurry. I tried tightening and twisting the focus wheel but it didn't imrove matters. I realised that the viewfinders were wiped between rides with what looks like a damp cloth. This leaves the VR blurry and spoiled the experience for me. All-in-all, I felt really disappointed on Saturday. It is a 3 hour drive for me to get to Alton Towers. I used to think it was worth it, but I left feeling really disappointed on Saturday and sadly won't be rushing to get there again this year!

Photos released of the new Slinky Dog Dash rollercoaster ride at Hollywood Studios.

Just got back from a 2 week break in Orlando. The Avatar: Flight of Passage ride is superb. Naturally, the queues are horrific (they were hitting 220 minutes almost every day whilst we were there!) but most people will say it's worth the wait. Think of Soarin' upscaled 1000% and you are getting close. The ride is visually brilliant, and the attention to detail is great. Unlike Soarin' you sit on what essensially looks like a bike (similar to the seats on Kobra at Chessington for instance), and this is the "Banshee", which you fly on. Thay have installed pads on the side of the seat that give you the feeling that the Banshee you are sitting on the back of is breathing as you are flying around Pandora! All-in-all, I was hugely impressed with it.

Went Thorpe on Saturday and the maze was open. There were 2 differences that I noticed when I was there. Firsty, the bridge you cross as you first enter the attraction (just before 'Holey Moley') now vibrates. I can't remember it doing that in the past! Secondly, we were ushered from the 'Chambers of Horror' straight past the section where you have to sort out the washing and were shown straight in to Kiosk Kate's section. I thought it was a staffing issue until I realised someone was standing by the door and had given one of the guests the bag of Dingo Dollars to hand over at the Kiosk! Surely she could have managed the section where you have to sort the laundry? The queue was only 20 minutes long so it can't have been to get more people through quickly!

8 Penguins have been killed by a Fox at Chessington.. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/horror-chessington-world-adventures-fox-10866364 The park have closed Penguin Bay as they are "remodelling" the area!

When you say refurbished, do you mean most of the theming removed to be followed by an announcement of a forthcoming competition for new theming, that never actually took place?

Daily Mail (yes, not the most reliable source) reporting that Glatica got stuck for 30 minutes today, on the hottest day of the year so far! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4625830/Dozens-thrillseekers-stranded-air-Alton-Towers.html

The Facebook page - Chessington Buzz have said that Chessington have removed all details regarding a new ride for 2016 from their website. Speculation is that it's been pulled and there will be no new attraction next year!

Went along today, my review as follows: Firstly, the car parking was shambolic... There has been a bit of rain over the past 48 hours, and as we arrived and were sent to the "Leopard" field to park, there were cars slipping and skidding on the grass. Once you parked, you then faced walking along a very muddy and slippery path, just to get to the end of the car-park! The car park tracks are also very badly damaged with deep pot-holes, and it's only a matter of time before someone's car is damaged by one of them! The queue to get in (pay and collect day tickets) is HUGE... Trick or treat wood: did this twice, was lucky to get the 'trick' side first, and the 'treat' side on the second occasion! The 'trick' side was far better. The 'pixies' spent a bit of time making fun of everyone, and the whole process seemed a bit slower. The 'treat' side was rushed and felt like they were just trying to move us on! Considering how much space there is in that pen, it's a shame it was quite bunched up and we were able to hear the other groups! It is a decent attraction for the children as it didn't scare them (apart from the tree people!) so it's an 'OK' attraction. Curse of the lost Tomb: what a shame! Everything was going so well, they were building the tension nicely, and there were a good few moments which made up jump a bit, but the finale was so rushed and before we knew it we were in a gift shop in Wild Asia!! I thought on the whole, this attraction was quite good - I think it could do without the drama student over-playing the lost girl routine, and showing everyone her husband and daughter on her phone (especially as she is only about 18 years old anyway!!) I don't know where they get the 10 rooms from. From what I can gather, there were 6-7 rooms at most. And the ending is horribly rushed and you are quickly out of the attraction and in to the shop! All-in-all a decent attraction that even some kids would be OK to go in to with their parents! As mentioned above, there was far less theming this year than there has been in the past! No Market Square show at all which was a real shame! Every now-and-then, they would wheel a cart out, and kids would be given the opportunity to put their hand in to a box to try to find a (plastic) spider. Upon success, they would get a CWOA pop-badge! Hardly makes up for the lack of entertainment! On a final note, I had the privilege of being 'rescued' from The Vampire, after it stalled at the base of the second lift hill!!! We were flying along as normal, then just ground to a halt before our ascent up the second hill. After a couple of minutes an announcement was made that engineers were on their way... After about 15-20 minutes waiting, a team of staff and engineers came along and released us all manually and led us out through a gate, where we were give a handful of fast-track tickets and an apology! The fast-track tickets were valid for 2015, and as I am not going to Chessington again this season, were no use to me and my friends/family, who had also been stuck on The Vampire! So a further wait of 35 minutes at Adventurers Services ensued as we had to queue up to then request them to extend the fast-track passes. Which, to be fair, they did! Vampire was still down an hour after we were 'rescued' and were leaving the park... This led to horrific queues elsewhere in the park... Fury was 120 minutes, Kobra was 70 minutes, Scorpion was 70 minutes!! All-in-all, a mixed bag today. There are clearly areas that need improvement, but that will take time, and money! And in some respects, a bit of common sense! Was nice to get a freebie "Cadbury's Scream Egg" on the way out though! That was a bit of a highlight for some of us unfortunately!

Maybe Shrek was chosen as Merlin have some sort of agreement with DreamWorks?

I've seen a fair few adverts in London for it, so I don't think that is the reason. Firstly, it hasn't been the best August (weather-wise) so I suspect that would have had an effect on the foot-fall at the South Bank. In fact, I went to the South Bank with my family on Bank Holiday Monday (31 August) and it was pouring with rain all day. We walked straight on the London Eye, straight in the Sea Life Centre and there were no queues for Shrek or Dungeons at all. The whole area was very quiet despite being August Bank Holiday as the weather was ghastly. Secondly, you have to remember that people have to book timeslots so that won't work for everyone, especially those who are passing by to find the next available slot is in an hour or two. I know Shrek is not the same type of experience as Sealife, or the Eye, but those attractions will pick up a lot of people who decide to go in on a whim. There were a few people in the Sealife Centre on the Bank Holiday that had paid to enter because it was out of the rain! So having allocated slots will also have a knock-on for the passing trade (of which on a normal summer day on the South Bank, there is a lot of) as people simply won't want to come back later. I haven't experienced it yet. When we asked on Monday 31 August (knowing it wasn't available to MAP holders) we were refused entry, so I will try to get along in the next few weeks.

Rattlesnake is open. CWOA Twitter has confirmed it is open.

Didn't ride Bubbleworks yesterday so don't know whether they were on or not.

I was at Chessington yesterday. Zufari was bone dry in the cave, but the water effects on Rameses were working. However, Dragon Falls was closed when I arrived at about 2.30pm...

I find that very surprising to be honest. I visited Zufari many times in it's first year, and often at busy times. There were never problems with the second part of the queue emptying before the pre-show had finished. The doors usually opened just as the last group of people were making their way to the gates ready to board the next truck. All the people who watched the pre-show would then queue, and behind us the doors would open to the Expedition Centre and a batch of people would begin to shuffle in to watch the pre-show. It seemed a fairly smooth operation even on busy days, regardless of how awful the show or Gozi were. I also suspected that Gozi talking to the audience would be tailored to how quickly the final queue line was moving as it's live. The pre-show just filled that time it took for the final line to clear and for people to get boarded, lap bars down (was seat belts in the first year though) checked and then away. Now instead of Chase and Gozi, you just wait a bit longer before entering the Expedition Centre. and then just walk straight through it. I don't doubt what you are saying by the way, I am just surprised that they scrapped it because it affected through-puts as in theory it really shouldn't make much difference.

I don't understand why it causes such a blocking problem? You used to sit in a room and watch a 2 minute video of Chase van Driver and Gozi telling you why you are going on the expedition, then the doors would open and you'd join the final part of the queue. Now, instead of watching Chase and Gozi, you simply stand outside the Expedition Centre and wait for the member of staff to send you straight through! Surely, you are just standing outside for a couple of minutes longer when you could have been inside watching the briefing?

No, it doesn't NEED a plot, but Chessington decided to introduce one when theming the ride a few years ago, and have removed a large chuck of it, whilst leaving another chunk of it, which means it simply doesn't make sense any more. At least when Chase and Gotzi (and yes, I accept he was not everyone's cup of tea, but little kids DO like him!) where there, you had a sense of what you were doing there. They led you to believe you were researchers working for ACRE in Africa to make a note of how many animals are roaming in Zufari. However, there is a dark and mysterious cave that you must never enter... Whether it needed it or not, it had a story, and it sort of worked. Now it just doesn't make much sense for people who might be riding for the first time, and I can't help but feel this is systematic of Chessington giving up on things like this.

I tweeted @CWOA and asked where Chase and Gotze are - they replied saying they have "technical difficulties" and hope to have the pre-show back soon. To be honest, it doesn't matter since they changed the queuing system and removed the wooden benches for people to sit and watch the pre-show with Chase. Now they just wait for the queue line to clear the other side of the expedition centre and send people through. They simply seem to have given up on it.

I agree, the pre-show was cheesy, and a bit naff, but at least it told you what you were doing there. Chase was asking you to record what animals you see on the expedition, so when you got on the truck and he started talking, you knew who he was and why you were there. Yes Gotze was annoying, but I also know that the small children loved Gotze, especially when Gotze was being interactive and talking directly to them. Chjessington seem to have completely given up on that now, and would rather hold people outside the expedition room until the queue line has cleared the other side and simply let people charge straight through it, and miss out on what used to be an important part of the story! I know we all know what it was like when they did have the pre-show, but imagine visiting for the first time. You'd have no idea who Chase was when he pipes up with "Hello again researchers..." as you board the truck!! Imagine if Disney removed the Twilight Zone pre-show film at the Tower of Terror and just allowed people to go straight on the lift? It's poor by Chessington to simply scrap it!