Stuntman707

Usually Sundays are quieter than Saturdays so if you don't manage to get on anything on the Saturday, you should have better luck on the Sunday. Another tip I can give is don't eat lunch between 12 and 1pm. You'll waste more time in long queues to buy food and it is the perfect time to try and get on the popular rides while everyone else is eating. Usually we have lunch after 1pm when we go. Finally, if you see a ride has just re-opened after stopping for a while, run to that queue or as quickly as you can manage. Once the line fills up again, the queue time usually won't be that low again for the rest of the day. Enjoy the island!

It's great to hear Walibi Belgium investing in €100million across the park including 10 new rides and 8 themed areas. I only went when it was still Six Flags Belgium and at the time it felt a bit lack-lustre. Most recently, Pulsar grabbed my attention over this park again by how much of a popular ride it's been.

TRRR!

I wonder if it's part of the "world's first attraction" announcement Thorpe made today opening this summer. It wouldn't really take a lot of effort to improve it in my opinion, at least fix the broken lights and clean the dust & dirt away. I could still see a fright nights ticket under the track in the station.

The thing is Merlin use the term "World's First.." very loosely. Even using an IP no other park has used yet may be a "world's first'. It's unlikely to be a new ride if it opens this summer as there's been no sign of construction. Most likely is it will be a rehash of an existing ride or some kind of maze with actors that will open for a few weeks.

As part of Rita takeover week, Alton Towers have released the playlist for Thunder Rock Rally Radio which used to boom out over Ug Land back in 2005. Enjoy! https://open.spotify.com/user/altontowersresort/playlist/3S5cM4zhvXT0IPuBECREwl I have made an iTunes version too: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/playlist/thunder-rock-rally-radio/idpl.e75d7dd3360e495c9a2d7f7fde0dcc58

I guess it won't be called Paramount park now! Not good news.

Just some advice about the Smiler too, the back rows are much rougher than the front rows. If you get put on the back, don't think the ride is always that rough! Also there is no front row line on the Smiler.

I'd say Fastrack is the quickest way to get on. If you're not with anyone, single rider is usually quicker than the main queue. Unfortunately, the estimated queue times have not been accurate at all recently so I would go and have a look at how long the queues are in person.

If they can educate the public that ride stoppages are part of normal operation, this should hopefully deal with the media. It's great to have some reference materials from Alton Towers themeselves to reference to as well when people write ignorant comments.

I got an email from Merlin for a free 3 month Now TV cinema pass. The trick is to cancel it once it starts. It will ask "are you sure? A few times but just cancel and it will still work until September without charging for a renewal.

I won't be able to go to this meet now. Just realised my annual pass expires the week before and my funds are very low this month. I will renew my pass during the sale though. Have fun! I will have scraped together enough money to go, don't want to miss this meet.

Discuss the new for 2017 ride here. Signage has been spotted on park confirming the name and the fact that the other ride from Sea-Life along side the Timber Tug Boat will be coming soon.

Horrible news, I hope the media don't give Drayton Manor a hard time over it. I'm sure they are devastated over the events today and did everything they could to save her. My thoughts go out to her family. Also my deepest gratitude to the vigilant, swift acting staff at Drayton and Merlin parks whose job above all else is keeping us safe so our only worries are having a fun-filled day out, all season long. Stay vigilant, and keep giving people joy and excitement. Really, Thank You!

Aww, Just saw this has moved to the past. I'm glad I got to ride it a few times last season, during the day and in the dark. Definately was one of the best flat rides in terms of ride experience in my opinion. Also one of the worst in terms of complexity and operation! There's nothing else which slams you head first towards the ground like that! I only hope it's not replaced with an inflatable side stall Goodbye!

It's a real winner now, I've been on it last weekend with Mer and it's much better. Feels like they are running at max capacity and really getting more people through the ride with having two groups and playing the pre-show as early as possible. The story makes much more sense with the train staying underground and explaining that the demons escaped from hell due to the deep sub-core drilling. At least that's the way I see how it makes sense. When Mer put on the second VR, she said she could still see the other people and then they were snatched by the demons and she realised it was supposed to be like that! The surprise at the end was great at blurring the lines between fiction and reality again and had excellent use of Melin's tricks used at other attractions to really make that end room come alive and I'm so glad it's not just an added-on scare maze!

I could see it on my side. After so many rides I'm pretty good at spotting ride cameras.

I was pleasantly surprised how well the park was running yesterday. Max capacity, low queues, Rush and Stealth were fully repaired, pyro effect working on the Swarm, roaming entertainers and even sunny weather. Well done to park operations! Really got things back together for the bank holiday.

Fooled me, Considering Merlin do the "Abandoned" theme a lot, it was very believable!

A tug in the right direction?

It's terrible that it deliberately looks like this though. Merlin are great at the "abandoned" theme aren't they? Nicely covers up the real state of the worst areas of the park.

As it was my first time at Chessington, I thought I would write a review of my first impressions of the attractions we visited. So here goes… Ride Reviews Scorpion Express I was surprised to learn it has exactly the same layout as the Flying Fish at Thorpe. Unlike the Flying Fish, the overall theming was very good. It has a very immersive queue which goes under and over the tracks in the middle of the ride area. The pyro and water effects also worked on cue for every run. To me it shows what can be done with a standard ride layout if they are consistent with the theming and maintenance of the effects. Rattlesnake The first thing I noticed about this ride was how small the cars were. I was struggling to get in so I definitely think the they were smaller than the cars on X for comparison. The ride very much felt like a classic wild mouse and was a lot of fun. The brakes on this though are way too strong, the cars come to a very sudden stop at the end. I say stop but it felt more like a controlled crash. Rameses Revenge It instantly reminded me of the much loved and now quietly removed Ripsaw. The state of the ride does not look good, as if it’s on it’s last legs. A lot of the panelling was clearly removed underneath the seats with visible wiring and hydraulic lines. It’s all very dirty (But Merlin don’t seem to clean their flat rides in general) and the sound of grinding metal was not very reassuring. The ride was still very fun however and just like Ripsaw, still draws a crowd to watch as riders are drowned by the fountains. The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure I thought that the new theming was very well done. There aren't any signs of reused props from the old ride and it appears to have been almost gutted and redone entirely. The timing for each scene was out as each bit started just before we entered. The boats were getting stuck and bunching together, there must have been a low water level at the time we were on. It was good to see that some of the fountains were kept in the final scene and are still a great part of the ride. The mist projection at the end was a nice addition, similar to what Merlin have used before at Madame Tussaud’s. Overall it’s a great ride which with any new attraction, just needs a few tweaks. The Adventure Tree It’s a great centrepiece for Chessington and looks great. The ride is very short however so I wouldn’t recommend queuing a long time for it. Dragon Falls It’s great that Chessington still has a working log flume since the loss of two flumes within the space of a few seasons. The water on this ride was crystal clear and very clean which very much enhanced the ride for me. On the drops, being at the front I did not actually get too wet. Dragon’s Fury This is the best spinning coaster I’ve ever been on. The car I was on spun a lot! I like how the ride area is not enclosed and travels around the park. It was certainly fast and furious, definitely worth queuing for. The Vampire Definitely the best ride at Chessington by far. It felt very unusual seeing the train in-front swaying from side to side. A very unique rollercoaster in the UK. There was a great atmosphere in the station, however it was lacking more theming. This is a must go on if you visit Chessington. The Temple Restaurant Later on, we went to the Temple Restaurant for dinner... The restaurant was nice and modern looking. I think it really sets the benchmark for all of Merlin’s new hotel restaurants. There’s a very impressive show including multiple elements such as lighting, wall mounted screens, the main fountain and black lights. The show does not happen too frequently as to not get too repetitive. It’s a very immersive experience which reminded me of the immersion found in the Rainforest Café. The food was only acceptable and there was not a huge variety of choice at the buffet. There wasn't any specially themed menu despite the great theming of the restaurant itself. Overall, the food could do with improving to reach the same level as most of Merlin’s other hotel restaurants. If it had better food, then it would definitely be on par with the Rollercoaster Restaurant at Alton Towers.

Theres some lovely smooth drone footage of the rides from above too

Merlin have just posted a great video about ride operations and why rides are stopped / closed throughout the day. I know a few people on here have been speculating about ride operations so this video should help clear things up. Great to see Merlin explaining these things to the public for reassurance too.

Can you imagine if that B&M masterpiece, Nemesis no longer existed? Now that is going to give me nightmares. I'd still visit Towers for the other coasters and Hex. My next go to ride there would be The Smiler so I'd say that. It's definately unique and very disorientating which I've never exeperienced on a ride like that before. (Ground, sky, ground, sky :P) But my favourite rides of all time list would have to be re-evaluated. Stealth for being such a rush of speed, height and airtime is quite high up on my list as is The Smiler. On a side note, I was very sad when the Black Hole at Towers shut as it was my first ever rollercoaster. I liked the steampunk style station too. I did get my last ride on it in 2005 and the Black tent with a tribute notice board were still standing until The Smiler came along.