Mark9

Not to sure whats going on with the glut of B&M's at the moment but if this turns out to be true then Europe is about to get its 6th B&M inverter at Parc Asterix.If this turns out to be true this will be the fourth B&M in two years which considering before Monster, the last B&M in Europe was Daemonen six years ago, was quite a long time ago.Still, I love B&M so I feel rather content :excl:In other news..EPIC WOODIE

I can't see Vortex getting 350 either..

Guests get scared sitting down on Tiny Truckers, are we really using "fear" as a basis on how good a ride is. Same question to Benin.

Last ride was front row on Nemesis Inferno.And then they asked us all if we wanted to go again and we were all very much obliged.So really a nice way to end the season, three front row rides on Nemesis Inferno, cause really if you want to end the season on a high, you always go B&M

Just to clarfiy; in no way do I want Vampire togo. I'd like another rollercoaster in the park to compliment Vampire while it's still there as Fury and Rattlesnake with their increasingly terrible restrictions don't do the job anymore. When your second highest throughput rollercoaster is Runaway Train, you can sort of see there is a capacity problem at the park.Will, I don't mind your ideas but you just seem to think scrapping something and starting again is the way forward. For instance replacing Dragon Falls with a Mack log flume. Well for a start it already is a Mack log flume and I don't quite think the cost of replacing something like for like is worth it. Falls is practically perfect anyway, it just needs something to disguise the dragon tunnel section just being a tin shed and (never gonna happen) the rocks to come back around lift two.As Electricbill has already pointed out, the park has never been one to just throw attractions at a park. It goes through little bursts of installations before returning to small refurbs and touch ups. Even during Tussauds darkest days where they were adding as many flat rides to Thorpe as they could possibly fit, I believe Chessington got the best attraction of that period in Land of the Dragons and luckily the park wasn't effected by throwing a ride at a park syndrome like Rita at Alton.

So with the season down... what did Chessington improve and more importantly, how can it go on from here?Last time I posted in this topic I thought it needed a Skyway refurb, new main entrance, new signage and improved toilets. And one did actually happen with park signage much more up to scratch. With Wild Asia the park puts its feet firmly on the floor and showed that Merlin can do things incredibly well.Well with a whole closed season here is what I would do (although I have an unlimited imagination which I don't think a Merlin budget could ever get close to).1. With WIld Asia, the park has showed it clearly cares about the look and theme of attractions and their upkeep. With this in mind I really do think Safari Skyway needs to get a look in. Every year that goes by the ride looks more and more aged and dilapidated. More importantly it doesn't actually go anywhere near 50% of the Zoo these days. I would actually go as far as scrapping the old vehicles and getting a new fleet of trains, upgrade the entire ride system and do a complete redesign of the ride. Have the ride somehow go over the animal and bird garden and closer to Wanyama Village before turning back and continuing on towards the North entrance. They did this at Europa Park so there is no reason why Chessies version can't do the same. Skyway is far more important to Chessington then they ever seem to realise. Alton made amazing pushes with the Monorail and the Skyride and I really kind of hope Skyway gets the same kind of love.2. During my last trip I mentioned how frustrating Fury and Rattlesnake are especially in the rain. These rides need to either change or go completely because it is incredibly embarressing for a major theme park to have two of its main rides on reduced capacity whenever the sun puts his hat on and Mr rain cloud emerges. (a) Fury they need to sort out that three adult rule. I know its bull because sister ride Spinball doesn't have the same restriction and neither do the Winja twins at Phantasialand and Tarantula in Madrid. Guaranteed Salama doesn't in Italy or Twister at Harbour Land.I have no issues with queueing hours for attractions. What I take issue with is a ride being run so poorly and embarressingly.( I would like Rattlesnake to get some new cars. It's supposed to be a 1.2 metre attraction and rides like Cobra at Paultons show-up just how old fashioned Rattlesnake's ride set up is.3. Vampire, no matter how much we like it and appreciate it as ride geeks, is coming to the end of its life. The ride type itself is dying out very quickly and it's only a matter of time before Vampire succumbs to the same fate. I'm worried that Chessington has no replacement, especially with the issues on Rattlesnake and Fury. The park may have problems with the locals in respect to noise made at the park, however a new modern day, high capacity rollercoaster is needed to take the weight of when vampire is eventually laid to rest. I wouldn't even begin to suggest what kind of rollercoaster the park needs because who knows what kind of rides will be coming in the next four years, however the park would really benefit from a coastery addition.Just a few ideas, I could go on for a long time about what I would do to Chessington. For now that will do.

B&M seem to add them as precautions, Air has them for example in the tunnel (however they are turned off) and all B&M's mega coasters seem to have them on inclines.

My thoughts exactly...

Yes.

What are you talking about, shes a great singer.

Well done =).Just in time for the xmas rush as well What store are you working in>

Mikey, your love for rides is so infectious.

The phrase "damning with faint praise" never felt so apt.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/11/01/ugandan-newspaper-publishes-new-list-of-gay-men/We're such a sad race. We are so intelligent, so world changing and yet we live in a world where socieites hunt down homosexuals to hang them or put them in life time inprisoment. Really makes me think how lucky I am to live in a country where it is becoming more and more acceptable. So horrible and gut wrenching to read stories like that.

Gosh so rude. Never known someone who thought so highly of themselves with such little reason.

I came...

Tsch.. so pedantic

Agreed. nothing like that ever happens at Thorpe.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/3579359.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/845267.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1639891.stmNAKED RIDERS TO THE RESCUE!

The new B&M Dive Machines at Heide Park is named..KrakeKrake firework displayAccording to a member on Towers Times, the ride will consist of three rowed trains with six people per row. The first drop will go into the mouth of Kraken and you will come out of a pirate ship on the other side. A water splash effect will also be on the ride following the suit of the Dive Machines in America and China.So there we have it, two new B&M's in Europe, both themed around some kind of animal and the theme of the rides being at the forefront of advertising.

I wouldn't call it an arguement, I'd call it a discussion.

But thats not what I am saying at all. Read what I am saying Jord.These attacks don't just happen one at a time, September 11th, July 7th were all a series of attacks. They all a targeted thing. The Tube did stop running when bombs started going off, airports grinded to a halt when the Trade Centres were hit and were still hampered weeks and months afterwards. The world effectively changed when these things started to occur.Afterall, ever seen the way a simple fire alert at a station can effect an entire underground line?I am in no way implying that Thorpe having a bomb attack would immediately stop Heathrow and they would all run round like headless chickens. What I am saying is that they would have to sit up and take note because the bomb exploding is only a few miles away from the airport.

A bomb being let off a few miles away from a major airport, and they'd only think "oh its not us, no need to worry then"The Eye, definitly because its the centre of London, but Alton, the middle of nowhere? really? They want to make an impact, but they also want to disrupt as much as possible. Somehow, attacking a theme park that isn't close to any airports, train lines or major motorways seems unlikely..

Well a few things you've made me think.Disney as more a target. true but think of Thorpe's location. It's a few short miles from one of the leading airports in Europe (in terms of air traffic and customers), the park itself is located within a stones throw of the M4 and the M25 so if a terrorist bomb was to go off at Thorpe, it wouldn't be just to destroy Thorpe but would be to cause issues to transport.Now this is rather large scale, Thorpe wouldn't be the first place I'd target if I was a terrorist. So I believe the searches are to discourage anti-social behavior. And yes they may be an inconvenience to people but I would much rather the visual deterrent of security and searches at the entrances then to have the invisible prescence at Alton where drugs, alcohol and smoking are common place in queuelines.I am happy with the random searches though.