Mark9

Land clearing has begun at Chessington on the new entrance to the parks car park. Many of the trees have been cut down where the Chessington and hotel sign is.

Fantastic podcast. John Wardley is fascinating to listen to and his appreciation for the work hes done is intoxicating. Now a days, all that is ever spoken about is the new rides. it's all new, new, new, the future.Hearing a discussion about the old Vampire, Burps Bubbleworks, Cwoa's Runaway Train, Haunted House and Nemesis reminds me of the magic that I saw in theme parks when I was a kid.Thanks for the link Sheepie, wicked.

I thought it opened 2 weeks before the official start to the season.. It was definitely open at some point because it was open on both AP day and TPM's Saw preview day.

The only ride that didn't open on Thrill Chill's open day was Colossus and as the event went on more rides were added to the line up (Flying Fish, Detonator and Rush). In fact on the actual open day for all rides, the only ones that were open really were the ones that had been open for over a month already.

Otherwise known as "what Theme Park Review think of the worlds rides"

The best thing about JLS is that they have already written a book called "Our story so far." It must be about three pages long.

And you're also fat...

That... and its easier for new staff to start on quiet days as they aren't just thrown into the deep end with a very busy day.

On three trains sometimes you'd notice just to late that someone had taken their shoes off. The answer? Hide their shoes in one of the dark areas so when they get back into the station they'll be like "oh my god, someones nicked my shoes" and we would say "well we did tell you to keep your shoes on." That would get em (even though it is slightly mean).

I think that can be said for any ride at Chessington this season.

Well thank you too for being so polite

Because Rattlesnake has an even lower throughput then Dragons Fury. It would not be able to handle the extra amount of people using normal Express Pass on it. Also, it's height restriction tends to exclude a lot of people whereas the current 6 ride express pass option is family friendly.

It wasn't my best season from a ride operator point of view but if when I visited as a guest the park has looked better then it has ever done. With Wild Asia coming in and an emphasis on the guest experience, 2009 was just the start of Chessington taking back it's place as the best park in the South. Oh.. and I was the last public rider with Marc on Dragons Fury of the 2009 season. And it was magical.

If that was yesterday... that was me operating. Hope you enjoyed your ride.. my last ride of the season :'( Very long.

Fury 70-80 MinutesVampire 70-80 MinutesTomb Blaster 70-80 MinutesBubbleworks 45-60 MinutesRunaway Train 60-70 MinutesRattlesnake 45-60 MinutesDragon Falls 30-40 MinutesBlack Buccaneer 20-30 MInutesSafari Skyway 45 MinutesRameses Revenge 30 MinutesFlying Jumbos 50 MinutesTiny Truckers 45 MinutesGriffins Galleon 20 MinutesToadies Crazy Cars 30 MinutesHocus Pocus Hall Bewitched 90 MinutesWooooo

Haha only just. For those expecting an easy ride this Halloween it won't be... today was Chessington's highest gate figure of the season with all rides having full queue-lines again.

I'd say Vampire is one of the ultimate coasters in the dark as the ride isn't lit up like a cheap christmas tree so when it says in the dark, it really is pitch black. Today the park was incredibly misty and I wish I could have gone to ride Vampire.

Rammy isn't really considered to be major anymore

After 6 queues were down slightly. At mid-day most major rides were at 60 minutes or more.

Can't wait. I will always have a soft spot for new Chessington development. Chessie kid through and through and cannot wait to see how this turns out.

The full queue lines for every ride at Chessington today speak otherwise (Even Griffins!). This weekend is expected to be very busy.

*sighs*Bloody Intamin rides *grumble, grumble*

No way with Thorpe. Mainly down to the park having to man negative aspects and partly because no matter what Thorpe add, the rides do not have the magic that rides at Alton Towers and Chessington have.For those that say it's down to the people they go with, an element of that is true but I like to think I'm not just friends with someone because I see them regularly at a theme park. In fact, I seem to be friends with someone in spite of Thorpe =P!

World of adventures is exactly the point of Chessington, a park with areas themed to different areas of the world. You're got Market Square as Old England, Mexicana as Mexico, Forbidden Kingdom as Egypt, Mystic East as China, Pirates Cove as Cornwall () etc etc. I'm glad they are finally going back to the world of adventures ideas as the last two lands haven't worked as well as they might have done (Beanoland and Land of the Dragons)

She's been mine since she opened so good luck with that