dk3

Why not bring back the Magic Carpet?

Marvellous!

Rattlesnake continues to remain closed since the accident at AT. Does anyone know if they're planning on having running again this season?

It's SO shoestring.

Visited again yesterday - fountains still not working.

I just went on http://www.hosepipeban.org.uk/and it says there are currently no bans in place.

Did you ride the Bubbleworks? Were the fountains on in the finale?

Moving on from the smell.....I was there last Wednesday and the fountains weren't working. I was back again yesterday and guess what? The fountains weren't working. I think we can safely assume that they've been down for the whole week. The ride's so 'lacking' that it's only worth riding for the finale so it was such a bore. There should be a sign up warning you not to bother! Without the fountains you can really see just how dreadful that back room is (and still no strobes or mirrors).

Yes I am complaining. I want Chessington to be great, but it's been suffering quite badly so far this year. And besides, when I posted I didn't know Bubbleworks would be down for such a short period. It being down was just adding to the fact that they're running on a very tight ship which I wish could be eased somewhat.

End up killing them more than likely:) I see Bubbleworks is down now too. Come on Merlin, spend some decent money and give the engineers something to work with.

If all rides are operating and if they employ a few extra staff so that all rides have a minimum of two ops then I think they could just about manage it, but with two rides down (like Rameses & Kobra today) and some others with just one op (Black Buc) the whole park appears to descend into chaos. I blame The Sun free tickets!

Black Buccaneer = 55 mins, Monkey Swinger = 60 mins - I'm gutted I can't be there today... Does anyone know if the Vampire's operating on three trains again (as reported by Riderater last month)?

I visited last Thursday/Friday (stayed over in the Safari Hotel) and on the whole had a great time. Thursday was completely dead - walk on/stay on on every ride and we had great weather too. Friday was noticeably busier. Anyway, here are some points we made note of: Black Buccaneer New wooden fence surrounding the whole ride. Bubbleworks The ride took quite a bit longer to complete the circuit (due to the low water levels). Feather duster still missing in the toe tickle test. Various bulbs not working. Left-hand coaster not working. The back black wall looked really terrible and seemed to be more noticeable as I think the finale lighting in general was brighter. Get some [proper] mirrors back. Now! No strobes. Smell of bleach throughout. I thought [dreamt?] that the fruit smell had returned last year. If it had then it was absent again. No lighting at all in the bit after the finale before re-entering the station. [What did they do all winter?] Dragon Falls The water was completely clear (not green coloured). Not sure if this is a new thing but it appeared different to me compared with last year. The laundry clothes line theming before the main hill was still absent. They've removed the dreadful advert banners (that were above Tomb on the big curve before the main drop) meaning we now have a great view of the countryside for miles around! The elephant looks beyond fixing and needs to be replaced (or removed). Dragon's Fury Some track/posts are now so pink they're in danger of becoming white. I'd never realised that two riders get a different ride experience depending if they sit next two or behind each other - we had some fun experimenting with this! Monkey Swinger The length of time on the ride seemed quite a bit longer that previously - which was good! Most water jets working too. Rameses Revenge Improved fountains - great! Second cycle - excellent! Rattlesnake The broken animatronic man climbing the rope was in such a state - one of his arms looked like he'd been savaged by wolves. Nearly half the flickering bulbs in the queue line were out. Safari Skyway It seemed to be running on very few trains. We could see a couple in the holding area next to the station... No speaker working on our train although I heard it on another while it went over our table in the Chicken Shack garden while I was having a pint. Tomb Blaster The big rolling boulder was out of sequence, resulting in us catching a quick glimpse of it right at the bottom just as we started the ascent. The middle rotating tunnel wall section was broken [not turning] which completely ruined the rotating effect of the other two sections. Vampire No chandeliers meant that the station was too dark. Bizarrely, the organist was working in the morning but was still as a statue by the afternoon. The new announcement isn't clear [or loud] enough, and ruins the musical soundtrack. Either make it clearer or ditch it. So summarise - a great visit but the park seemed more 'ready' on my first visit in April last year compared to this year.

Vampire was unavailable all day yesterday and again today. I hope this means they're adding back/testing the other two trains.

Does anyone know when the last time three train operation operated successfully? (Will it ever return?)

Hopefully they've been taken down just for maintenance or a clean. I'd be gutted if they've gone for good. What a joke the Vampire's become. And has anyone heard any news regarding the delayed spare parts?

What? The chandeliers have gone!? All of them?

The old mirrors pre 2006 never used to steam up - I think last year they must have used poor quality plastic mirrors instead. It's such a shame that they don't bring the proper mirrors back as they much improved the finale.

That's better than no train at all. Let's hope these delayed parts won't be too much longer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is it running normally? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So bad it's almost amusing.

But Kobra is now down...

Dragon's Fury & Rameses Revenge are now open!

You mean the Vampire? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've been keeping an eye on the queue times and the Bubbleworks hasn't been open for the last three weeks (now it's just Amazu & Hocus PH that are open). Normally it's open throughout the winter. Hopefully this could indicate that they're working on the ride in some way.