CharlieN

Hi TPM. I have. A number of questions regarding Chessie's entrances and opening. I will be visiting for the 3rd time, only that on my 2 prior visits, I travelled by train - so I entered through the Lodge entrance.This time we are driving so there's just a few things I'd like to know: 1. How far is the explorer car park from the explorer gate? (I have no idea, I'm afraid) 2. Does the explorer gate allow you to enter the park early and be held behind a holding point somewhere in the park? (I really like being able to enter the park early and have a quick look around trail of the kings before taking my place at the holding point outside Transylvania - so I can take a brisk walk to Vampire!) 3. Quite bizarre question, but is it possible to walk from the explorer gate car park around the park to the Lodge gate. And if so, how long does it take? (As above really, Id really like to avoid the explorer gate if the procedure is to hold us all at the entrance and then prepare for Thorpe-esque havoc in trying to get into the park. In addition, I'm just a big fan of the first impressions you get upon entering Lodge gate) Thanks, to anyone who answers - particularly questions 2 and 3!

Thanks for finding this. I've put it on record!

Absolutely. A screen based pre show would do nothing but disappoint me. (just like #whatsintheshed seems to). A truly spectacular pre show with pyrotechnics and effects could be the saving grace of this ride - at least I can hope.

I do believe so. ?

I'm really happy with it! It seems like a doable away fixture for me living in London and all that. At least I get to say hello to my old friend Sergi...

New signage up on site, courtesy of ThemeparkWorldwide.

Alton Towers have announced hat their 4th maze will be called The Welcoming: be chosen. From the brief description, it does seem like an SW8 link is very plausible...Cults in the woods and all that.

Ladies and gentleman, Time Traveler will be the name of SDC's new coaster. It'll be a spinning coaster, with 2 launches, 3 inversions and a 90 degree drop. Insanity!

Oooh an SW8 linked maze could be fab!

True. However, the new Mack rides Xtreme spinning coaster prototype has the ability to run spinning or winged trains. So perhaps we can't predict the style of train from the track, as Mack may have the potential to run either spinners or Big Dipper style trains.

Mack big dipper perhaps, the track looks Lost Gravity-esque.

Urghhh. Silly mistake, will edit that.

Interestingly, In Italy, the number 17 is seen as unlucky. This is because the numerals XVII can be anagrammatically changed to VIXI. This, as previously mentioned means 'I have lived' in Latin. Hence why the number 17 is associated with death in Italy. If VIXI were to have a Roman/Venetian theme throughout, then we'd have a very interesting maze on our hands...

I went on a school trip to Thorpe 2 Monday's ago, and thought I'd share some stuff.. Firstly, operations were awful. I've never seen slower dispatches in a theme park. The Swarm staff had no urgency and were chatting to colleagues all the time - so much so that on one occasion it took 2 minutes for new guests to board the ride after the train entered the station. Secondly, I began to queue for flying fish, but didn't get to ride, because the queue moved so slowly. Bizarrely, quests would only be allowed onto the train once departing riders had completely left the exit path. This was made worse as no one was stationed in the loading bay. What's the point in a loading bay/point if we are held behind a holding point and only allowed to progress when previous riders have completely left the exit? The most inefficient loading procedure I've ever seen on a ride (Although, I'm not a regular Fish rider, so this may just be the protocol.) Finally, KFC. As you can imagine, the amount of school trips correlates with the busyness of KFC - which on this case, was heaving. KFC seemed terribly over staffed, yet understaffed of people who actually new what they were doing. There was one guy who was just standing around, getting in people's way, hindering everything. Too many cooks spoil the broth, eh?! Furthermore, The woman who served me gave me a notably grumpy look when I have her £10 for a meal that cost £5.79. Her grumpiness was presumably because of her apparent inability to work out my change, which I ended up helping her calculate. Bloomin' heck! It wouldn't take a lot for operations and service to be made significantly better. A bit of training is all that's needed, incentives for staff and numbers to reach. No staff member I had contact with seemed to want to get things done quickly - there was no sense that the park were pushing the staff to do this either. Really appalling.

I suppose I ought to add The Great Movie Ride to my list now. Its a great shame how short term WDW confirmed its closure but it just seems/ed like such a me ride. Dang.

Yep, I've seen them and they are gorgeous. Especially the treasure tour, which looks so magical. Also, I had no idea the vehicles had an interactive element to them... blown away. One of the three tours...

Just please don't change the soundtrack...

An exciting World's first attraction... why does this statement completely unexcite me? Answer: The world first crappy celebrity jungle maze.

Here's the direct link to the video on YouTube:

Thorpe are 'heartbroken' about closing a ride that could have easily been repared/improved/maintained? Whatever its replacement will be, better be good - and that's not a second hand children's flat ride with blue fences, Thorpe. (a second hand children's flat ride with with any other colour fences however, would be sufficient )

Yes, true. But the park will also not want to disappoint the enthusiast contingent. It's far from the top of their priorities but I'm sure that they won't lose enthusiasts trust at the sake of a small marketing claim - because, let's face it, the 'SW' branding really only has an affect on enthusiasts. I highly doubt any GP will think 'I really want to come to Alton Towers because the new ride is a secret weapon.' Therefore, judging by the small influence 'SW' has on the marketing of Alton's ride, the park surely wouldn't falsely brand the ride just to get enthusiast hype. Also, I doubt that the ride development process focuses on the 'ground breaking' gimmick and then the SW gets plonked on afterwards. (To me, the mentality engraved into AT is that the new big scale rides are going to have an innovative aspect to them. Teams of designers present rides knowing that they will be unique. I always imagine it's not a 'we'll have a mack mega here', 'a GCI here' but more of a ' we'll create a roller coaster with a track drop' and then manufacturer comes later. Like John Wardley always said, Merlin wanted a killer image and all that other shiz when a ride gets proposed. I imagine it's still somewhat sinilar.)

Boring SW8 construction update: The station's wooden framework's gone up, beams can be seen under where the lifthill will be and there's some track in place in the station. I must admit I'm actually quite excited for this, it does seem that for it live up to its SW8 status, there must be more to meet the eye. https://mobile.twitter.com/TowersStreet/status/871419544245555200

Sounds good and all that, but that means they're losing that ejector airtime! Wasn't it the largest negative g's on a coaster anywhere? crazy tophat>big loop anyday.

Voletarium opened today, and whilst it may not be particularly exciting or innovative, the ride looks stunning and will aid the park's line up. All reviews I've seen have been positive and the queue really does seem fab! Fun, explanatory and incredibly immersive.