I'd expect the exit to be re-located to being next to Ruma, sounds likely with the planning application for the workshop extension...

Or do the cheaper, better and more pleasing option and just remove Nemesis from the name. It has literally nothing to do with the ride!

Other than the little details. I prefer the colour scheme of the facade in its current guise. The blue (in my opinion) works just so much better.

I have no doubts that the finale was better before. But the new colouring is certainly an improvement on the post 2006 lighting.

I really struggle to see this years improvements. Toadies, Falls, Scorpion, Bubbleworks are just depressing to go on. New Market Square looks nice I guess but there's not much to it.

How is Scorpion depressing? It looks new and fresh. It's entertaining people and it has loads of little hidden touches.

Bubbleworks is looking the best it's been since 2005. As it has finally had all of the sodding logos removed, the facade is looking better than it ever did, and a hefty amount has been spent on lighting. Especially in the Fountain Finale!

Falls looks hideous for obvious reasons. But should all go well, it'll be sorted in due course.

If you don't think the park is looking good, I suggest you take a trip down to Thorpe where the Lost City, Canada Creek, Calypso Quay, Neptune's Beach, Amity Cove and Storm Surge do a fine job of looking awful. You'll soon realise Chessington is in very good condition! (Now!)

Weren't waterbuses in the proposal for the permanent hotel?

Is this the elusive flame thrower that's been rumored for years?

I hardly think X is sufficient to cope with an entire park full of people's demand for an indoor ride.

And anyway, X isn't exactly the best example of a family ride is it.

Ideally they will build another coaster, but we know merlin, so it will probably be some boring dark ride, or even worse, just another food outlet. We would already have seen the planning application if they were intending to build something big, so probably no coaster will be built by 2015.

Question, are you saying you find dark rides boring as a whole or just Merlin's? As dark ride's themselves are probably the most immersive attractions you will find at a theme park. Dark rides (as well as log flumes and mine trains) are about the only attraction that entertains virtually everyone, which after all is the point of theme parks, entertaining large spectrums of people. If you say dark rides are boring, I suggest you take a closer look. Just see how many people come off Bubbleworks or Hex laughing at each other, enjoying the experience TOGETHER.

So yeah. Dark rides are fantastic and it is just the attraction Thorpe needs, one everyone can enjoy.

The website is back to saying Valentine is by The Swarm. 

I always thought Chessington's rule was that you can stay on, but only once. Then you have to run round the queue again if you wish to do two more re-rides.

Wasn't yesterday.

Oh I know, the front few carriages are fine.. On my latest visit I got the back row for the bad train. Absolute hell.

Yes, but Thorpe's video didn't need to be fantastic. They were just trying to get a little buzz over the event, whereas Towers are aiming to make people pay £280pp. Their video needed to sell. If it didn't there would be some serious losses.

I retract my earlier statement. I had the most unbearingly rough ride on Colossus today.

^ An awful lot of what he said is lake and carpark space. The island itself I would estimate at around 90 acres.

Rather annoyingly, the flood lights were on on X today. Kinda eerie when you see it so bare.

A fair amount of the refurb budget for this year was spent on lighting.

Shame everything else about the ride is falling apart.

No, not really. He was asked to survey the park, nothing more.

Bet it was him who banned Vampire and three trains...

Afterall, how many flat rides has Merlin bought that are funfair styled (ignore the Dodgems...)?

One, Kobra...

Why not something groundbreaking in it's own right, with no IP thinly attached to it?

As rubbish as The Smiler is, the marketing behind it pulled in loads.. Didn't it? Why do they feel the future of Merlin parks can only be bright with an IP?

Actually, it didn't. They did get an increase in attendance, but a small one. only 100,000 up on the previous year. That's pretty poor when considering Thorpe got a 200,00 increase by adding... um... shipping containers.

I acctually find Rita rougher that Colossus and Saw...

My favorite part is that the survey is called '2015 Planning', nice to know were not getting anything big next year...

^ But after the lock disengages the gondola then swings directly into the front row...

Those saying they can't soak the front row. Watch the park's Ice Bucket challenge...

^ Neither do Thorpe...