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17th September 2023: Chessington Hi guys. Today was the second of my two London theme park visits this week, and a rather interesting one for me; it was my first visit to Chessington in almost a whole decade! To put things into some perspective, I was a fresh primary school leaver last time I went to Chessington in July 2014, so an awful lot has changed since then; I couldn’t wait to get inside and see some of the new things that hadn’t been built last time I was at the park, most notably Mandrill Mayhem and the World of Jumanji! I was able to visit the park today due to my mum and nan taking a trip to the nearby Hampton Court Palace, so the three of us left Gloucestershire at about 7:30am. The journey is supposed to take around 2h 15m from where I am, but it ended up taking a touch over 3 hours, in large part due to a bad bout of traffic on the M25 where it took about 30 minutes to drive a mile up our exit. As such, I arrived in the park at around 10:40am after my mum and nan dropped me off: Now before I get into my park day, I should mention that I did use the Virtual Queue system for Mandrill Mayhem, as I would like to share my experience and offer a corresponding piece of advice. Despite there being a Single Rider Queue for Mandrill Mayhem, the consensus was very divided with regard to whether those using it still needed to book a timeslot in the Virtual Queue or not, so I booked a timeslot just in case. When the Virtual Queue opened at 9:45am, I was still in the car on the way to Chessington, so I got in early despite not being at the park and booked a slot for around 10:45am while I was still in the car. I had a 30 minute window within which to redeem the slot, so as I figured that I would probably be able to make it to the ride entrance by 11:15am unless something went drastically wrong, I booked the slot and wasn’t too worried about making it in time. However, when I got to the park at around 10:40am or so, the app informed me that my timeslot had been moved forward by around 20 minutes, so I only had 10 minutes to make it to the ride and redeem it. This certainly made the panic set in, and I had to hotfoot it over to the ride at a fair pace! So if I were to give you one piece of advice, I would say; do not do what I did unless you are pretty sure that you can make it to the park a good bit before your entry window begins, as your slot may move forward and you may get caught out if not! With that being said, I did make it in time, and I was ultimately told by the entrance host that I did not need a Virtual Queue timeslot to use the Single Rider Queue. As such, I made my way straight into the Single Rider Queue to start my day on… Mandrill Mayhem Mandrill Mayhem was the main draw I had come to Chessington to experience, so as I did not need a Virtual Queue timeslot, I hopped straight into the Single Rider Queue to give it a go. As is often the case with Single Rider Queues, this was very fruitful, as there was only one person in front of me and I was batched into the ride and ready to go within minutes! I was very interested to experience Mandrill Mayhem, as the ride seemed like easily one of the most unique B&M coasters out there, and I’d always felt that it seemed like a very eclectic combination of ride types. I think Sarah from Coaster Studios put it quite well when she described it as being “like B&M picked a load of different ride types out of a hat”! But how was the ride? Did this unique blend of coaster types work well? Well if I’m being completely honest, I’m sorry to say that I didn’t overly rate the ride. I was seated in the front row outer left seat, and I have to say that I was definitely a bit disappointed with my first go on it after hearing some fairly positive reviews. It starts off quite well, with the initial swing launch sequence being fairly fun and providing some good speed and a surprisingly potent launch in terms of punch. The initial turn to the left provided some mild airtime, which was good fun, although the Junior Scorpion Tail wasn’t really up to much in the front. After the initial moments, though, I wasn’t greatly enamoured by it. My first critique is that if I’m being honest, the layout kind of feels a bit… bland, for lack of a better term. The inversion is OK, but perhaps taken a little bit too slowly for my personal taste, as someone who doesn’t massively love slow, hangy inversions. The various turns felt less dynamic and fast-paced than they looked off-ride and didn’t provide as much fun as I’d hoped, and the execution of them with the huge winged trains felt a little bit awkward (which I’ll touch upon in my second critique). I also wasn’t a fan of the main helix at all; the sideways hang was very awkward and uncomfortable for me. My second main critique of the ride is that for a brand new coaster, it is definitely not the smoothest. My first ride packed a fair old rattle, and in some of the more “dynamic” parts of the layout, such as the backwards dive out of the station and the s-bend before the big helix, the train seemed to almost shudder up and down in a very awkward fashion. The rattle was definitely noticeable and did detract from the ride for me, and I did step off with a little bit of a headache. Overall, then, Mandrill isn’t a terrible coaster by any means, but it wasn’t one I overly rated either. Based on the first ride, I was somewhat disappointed by it, and it definitely wasn’t one of my favourites. I apologise if I come across overly harsh or nitpicky, but that’s how I genuinely felt: After my first ride on Mandrill Mayhem, I looked at the app and considered my options. Nearby Dragon’s Fury was advertising a 100 minute queue, so that was swiftly vetoed, but another major coaster was on a much shorter wait… Vampire Vampire was on an advertised 5 minute queue, so I decided to head over and have a ride on it. When I arrived in the area, the queue looked a fair bit longer than 5 minutes, but as Rattlesnake was closed, Dragon’s Fury was on 100 minutes and I’d just ridden Mandrill Mayhem, I figured that I might as well give the queue a chance anyway. The queue initially moved faster from people leaving it than from the actual ride throughput, which did not bode well, and it ultimately took 60 minutes. The queue likely wasn’t helped by what may be the slowest operations I’ve ever seen in a Merlin park. The throughput average I clocked was somewhere in the ballpark of 400pph, with dispatch intervals clocking in at over 4 minutes in some of the longest cases. When I got to the station, I figured that this was likely due to the fact that the ride was seemingly lacking staff; there was only one operator on our side of the queue, who was handling both batching and restraint checking simultaneously, with another handling the seats on the left and what appeared to be the RAP queue. The staff were checking restraints at a fairly rapid pace and trying their best, but I do feel that the ride could have done with more staff on this occasion. But enough about the operations; how was the ride? Well, I hadn’t remembered particularly liking Vampire on my last visit to Chessington in 2014, but I was seated in row 5, and I have to say that it was a fair amount better than I’d remembered; some of the twists and turns through the trees were great fun, and the ride has some really surprising moments of intensity and thrill for a family coaster! My critiques from 2014 do still stand to a degree, though; the ride does have somewhat odd pacing, with a few moments where it’s quite slow, and while it was notably less rough than I’d previously remembered, it is showing its age a tad, with a couple of moments of slight headbanging and a couple of bits where the train kind of shunts forward awkwardly. Overall, though, Vampire was definitely a more fun coaster than I’d remembered from my last visit; I certainly found my lap on there pleasurable: After my ride on Vampire, another coaster was on a shorter queue than earlier, so I headed over to… Dragon’s Fury Dragon’s Fury was on a 40 minute advertised queue time, but the queue was only stretching back to the queue line shop and looked relatively innocuous, so I decided to give it a go. The queue ultimately took around 40-45 minutes, so broadly similar to what was advertised; it’s always great when that happens! So, how was the ride? Well, I’d remembered Dragon’s Fury being my favourite coaster at Chessington on my last visit, but I hadn’t remembered an awful lot beyond that, so I was interested to get back on. It wasn’t as enjoyable as I’d remembered, though; it probably isn’t helped by spinning coasters not being my favourite ride style in general these days, but the ride also seemed to have quite a few pretty rough and uncomfortable bits where it really threw you around, similar to Spinball Whizzer at Alton Towers (albeit perhaps not quite as uncomfortable as Spinball). I do have to say that it has a strong layout, though, with some surprising intensity and even the odd surprising pop of airtime, and I definitely prefer it to Spinball. Overall, Dragon’s Fury wasn’t my favourite; even though I do concede that its layout is strong, I’m not the biggest fan of spinning coasters these days, and the ride also had a fair few uncomfortably rough moments for me: After my ride on Dragon’s Fury, I headed for another ride on Mandrill Mayhem using the Single Rider Queue. I was seated in the row 3 inner right seat this time, and while the Junior Scorpion Tail did feel a little more potent this time and was good fun, my opinion was broadly unchanged from my first ride: After my reride on Mandrill Mayhem, the heavens opened, so I quickly made a beeline for an indoor attraction to ride while the rain came down… Tomb Blaster Tomb Blaster was on an advertised 30 minute queue, so I decided to have a ride on it. I initially feared the worst, as the queue was coming down the stairs near to the entrance, but the extension queue going around the whole plaza was thankfully shut off, so the queue took about the advertised 30 minutes; when a queue is exactly as advertised, I can’t really complain! But how was the ride? Well, I’d been on Tomb Blaster before, as it was one of only a select few rides I could ride with a plastercast on my visit in 2013, but I hadn’t really remembered an awful lot about it. And to be honest, I thought it was pretty good! I liked the storyline with the ancient priest, and there were some neat animatronics and surprisingly grand-scale physical set pieces! The interactivity also worked quite well, and I overall felt that the ride was definitely superior to something like Duel in its last year. On a side note; if anyone is interested to know my score, I got 2,850! Overall, then, I rather enjoyed Tomb Blaster; it was definitely a fun way to stay dry: After my ride on Tomb Blaster, I headed to another attraction nearby… Croc Drop Croc Drop was on an advertised 15 minute queue, so I decided to take a ride on it. This queue ended up being even less than advertised for me; as a single rider, I was ushered forward by the operator when a seat was going spare, so my queue only took 5-10 minutes. It’s great when that happens; it’s one of the definite bonuses of visiting parks alone! So, how was the ride? Well, I’m a fan of a good drop tower, and I thought that Croc Drop was good fun! It’s certainly on the far gentler end of the spectrum, but that’s to be expected from a family drop tower, and similarly to Magma at Paultons Park, the ride had some surprisingly fun moments of airtime! Overall, then, I found Croc Drop an enjoyable ride; I definitely had a fun time on there: After my ride on Croc Drop, I sat down and ate my lunch for a bit before heading over to Mandrill Mayhem for a third ride using the Single Rider Queue. I was seated in the row 5 outer right seat this time, and even though the Junior Scorpion Tail was at its most potent yet and very fun in this ride, my overall thoughts remained pretty much unchanged from my first ride: After that, Vampire was showing as a 30 minute queue, so I headed over intending to reride. However, it was approaching 3pm, and my mum rang me not very long after I joined to say that she would be in the drop off zone in 15 minutes. As the advertised queue time swiftly jumped up to 60 minutes and the queue didn’t appear to be moving anywhere very quickly, I ultimately bailed and left the queue: After I bailed on Vampire due to the increasing queue length, my mum and nan were approaching, so I decided to call it a day there and exit the park: So, that just about wraps up my day at Chessington! I had a nice day; I was glad to get on Mandrill Mayhem, and I was just generally glad to get back to the park after 9 years! I do maintain that it’s not one of my favourite UK parks, though; I’d probably say it’s the weakest of the Merlin four for me, as while it’s got some fun rides and some nice theming, there aren’t any rides there that I absolutely love, even for the family demographic, and the park does also appear to suffer from some notable capacity issues that can make queues quite long. For large parts of the day, Vampire and Dragon’s Fury both had queues of comfortably over an hour even though the park did not appear to be crazily busy, and I’d probably say that it has some of the weakest operations I’ve seen relative to the crowds it gets. Nonetheless, I had a fun day, and I certainly enjoyed my time at Chessington; I’m very glad I came back! Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed this report! I’m not sure when my next report will be or where it will be from, as this was almost definitely my final theme park visit of 2023. I’ve had a phenomenal season, and this was a nice way to end it!

Hi guys. I have very exciting news for you all this afternoon! According to Attraction Source, Chessington is holding a public exhibition showing off a “new attraction” on Wednesday 16th November: https://www.facebook.com/213894828494/posts/pfbid0298cGVxYnMfoovWQpQqqzfcgNkxuW9Scqmez8dJMMRmGj1QR8X29epFeWzG3AXCdjl/ Little else is known other than that, but details will apparently be revealed on the 16th, and there will be a public consultation period running until the 30th. Isn’t this exciting? I wonder what it could be; I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting another major investment at Chessington so soon after Jumanji, but I guess it would make sense seeing as I’ve heard reports of Chessington receiving £60m of CAPEX between 2022 and 2026…

It would appear that Chessington is installing 2 new rides in Pirate’s Cove for 2022, according to Chessington Buzz: https://chessingtonbuzz.com/news/two-new-rides-for-2022/ The planning application was submitted today, and the two rides are: A Zamperla Watermania (basically a mix of a teacups and a splash battle) that features water guns around the outside and a nautical feel, with a lighthouse tower operating console. The ride is to be named Bobbing Barrels. A Zamperla Rockin’ Tug, thought to be Timber Tug Boat from Thorpe Park, that is being named Trawler Trouble. Some of the artwork has also spawned a rumour that Pirate’s Cove is being rethemed to more of a nautical theme as opposed to a pirate theme. That would make sense given the general aesthetic of The Blue Barnacle compared to its predecessor, in my opinion. Isn’t this interesting! What do you guys think? It does certainly appear as if the level of investment into Chessington is stepping up somewhat, with these new rides now and Project Amazon in 2023!

Hi guys. Since Tussauds' purchase of Thorpe Park in 1998, Chessington & Thorpe Park, two of the UK's largest theme parks, have operated under the same corporate umbrella (Tussauds from 1998 through to 2007, Merlin since 2007) within very little distance of each other; both parks serve the London area, and they are only a very short drive away from each other. Tussauds' initial reasoning for purchasing Thorpe Park was in order to eliminate Chessington's closest competition within the South (Thorpe was a family park to the same, if not a greater, extent than Chessington at the time, and as John Wardley put it, Tussauds' mentality was one of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em"). While acquiring Thorpe did clear this particular roadblock for Tussauds in the short term, I believe it created them a rather different dilemma to grapple with in the long term; both Tussauds and Merlin seem to have had real trouble getting the two parks to coexist happily alongside one another. Now given that both have operated alongside one another within Tussauds/Merlin for 23 years, that might seem like an odd thing to say. But what I mean is; whenever one park in the duo succeeds from a business perspective, it seems to have the unwanted side effect of sending the other into a downward spiral. For evidence of what I mean, let me cite the UK Merlin park attendance graph shown during the Project Amazon consultation: (For reference, Chessington is the blue line and Thorpe Park is the red line; if you want a clearer image of this graph, here's a link to another thread on TowersStreet: https://towersstreet.com/talk/threads/uk-merlin-park-guest-figures-through-the-years.5778/) If we take a look at this graph between 1998 and the present day (well, 2020), I think it unveils some extremely interesting trends, and implies that a rather odd dynamic is at play among Merlin's southern RTPs. For instance, the first period where Thorpe's attendance really skyrockets on the chart is 2001/2002... which is exactly where Chessington's attendance starts to sharply decline. By the Merlin buyout in 2007, both parks had gone in vastly opposite directions attendance-wise, with Chessington having dropped right down to 1 million flat (from a solid 1.5-2 million prior to this period and very close to 2 million in the late 90s) and Thorpe having skyrocketed to nearly 2 million (from slightly below 1 million prior to this period). However, the tables began to turn in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Chessington's attendance began to steadily rise again during this period... while Thorpe's substantial growth began to level off and eventually turn back to decline. By 2019, Chessington was on an upward trajectory and had offset the losses of the 2000s entirely, reaching an attendance level of slightly above 1.5 million; this is roughly on par with 2000, the year prior to this cycle starting. Thorpe, on the other hand, was on a downward trajectory and had offset the bulk of what they gained during the 2000s; 2019 attendance was 1.5 million or a touch below, which is around on par with 2002, one of the very first years of the cycle. Chessington actually overtook Thorpe Park again in 2019, for the first time since the cycle began in 2001/2002. I don't know about you, but I personally think that this shows that a vicious cycle is at play within Merlin's two London area Resort Theme Parks; whenever one park prospers, it seems to be at the expense of the other. While Thorpe initially prospered in the 2000s, Chessington really struggled. While Chessington prospered in the 2010s, Thorpe really struggled. The two parks seem to cannibalise each other's attendance to an extent, and I can't think of any other situation in the world quite like it (in the sphere of theme parks, at least). So my question to you today is; can you think of any ways that Merlin could make this duo of parks coexist happily, and kick the cycle of attendance cannibalisation to the curb? Are there any other similarly situated groups of parks that have made it work? Why did this cycle begin in the first place? I'll admit I'm struggling to think of things myself, so I'd be really intrigued to hear some of your thoughts.

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.

Good afternoon all! I’m excited to announce the details for our annual Chessington meet! This meet has always been a fun day out to a relaxing park, it will also give us a chance to try out the new Gruffalo ride. As always, the date of the meet is voted by you, but we have set the provisional date to Saturday 22nd April. You will have 2 weeks to place your votes, with polls closing on Tuesday 28th February. Due to Easter/other commitments there isn't much choice for this weekend, which is why we are giving plenty of notice. The plan for the day is as follows: 9:30-10:00 - Meet outside Hocus Pocus Hall opposite the entrance by the green. 10:00 – Park gates will open and we will enter the park, working our way around the rides in whichever order people decide. If you miss this time due to transport/general lateness you can contact either myself or Paige and we will arrange to meet you. 13:00-14:00 – We will stop for some lunch where you can go and eat where you like, we will arrange to meet up again at 14:00 for the 2nd half of the day and the official group photo (yes, we will remember this time ) 14:00-17:00 The park closes at 5PM on this day so we will continue riding the rest of the attractions until park closes. 17:00 – We will be having a meal at the Monkey Puzzle nearby, this has been a firm favourite with everyone on previous meets and we will be looking to continue this tradition. Not everyone will want to do the same rides as everyone else, so please can we ask if there’s a ride you do not wish to go on that you patiently wait for the rest of the group whilst they ride. If you are coming later in the day then please do let myself or Paige know so we can arrange to find you when you arrive. If you are wanting to attend the meet, please post below and make sure you vote for all the dates you can attend. Also if you are bringing a friend, please state their name so we know who they are on the day. See you in April! Attending: Alexander BaronC Cian Doc Han30 Jamesthemanthemyth J.S217 Marc Martin.C Martin Doyle Matt Creek Mattgwise Mermite MilesK (Maybe) Mitchada04 Mrmonkey Mr Fish Paige Roodie Ryan Stuntman707 TallGuyDom TerrorTomb Weronika

The Closed season is here, Christmas music and decorations are around everywhere and the sight of new year isn't far away. This means one thing, time to review 2016. This year will be a two part edition, with part one focusing on the UK and part two on the wonders abroad. The Merlin Machine/ Given the circumstances of 2015, it was fairly imminent this wasn't going to be the best year for them. With Park-wide budget cuts, ride closures and controversial decisions, there has been a fair share of negativity. However, not everything they've done has been unacceptable. Alton Towers As expected, 2016 was not going to be Towers's year as a result of ruthless management operations to lessen the bleeding of 2015's unfortunate events. This resulted in budget cuts, leading to staff redundancies, closures of shops and food outlets , knee jerk safety precautions and the closure of seven attractions. Whilst Hex is the only major casualty here, closing down a family park staple, sufficient flat ride and more has certainly left a big gap in the family market. Galactica for me feels like an attempt at shoe horning a gimmick onto what was already a popular ride just so it can be marketed as a new major attraction. The VR element leaves something to be desired, although I did find the audio descriptive version highly amusing. That being said, I do really like the new space styling, soundtrack and station enhancements. However on the upside, the new Roller Coaster Restaurant is a fantastic addition to the park, featuring much character and a flagship park restaurant. The Steak I had last time was remarkable. The TLC scheme has certainly enhanced run down areas of the park such as Forbidden Valley and Towers Street which look noticeably better. Though some areas are still fairly run down it's a start and if this is the only way for Merlin to do upkeep, so be it. Fingers crossed they can keep a similar scheme in place Post 2018. The Galactica fireworks were highly enjoyable too and made for a great end of a season. The park still has magic but it may be a little drier for the time being. 2017 seems to be another year CBeebies land add ons, with a round ride and indoor attraction being installed amongst it's own hotel. None of the above is appealing to anyone over 6, however if it's successful let's see what happens. SW8 construction is where it all lies though. Thorpe Park 2016 has been very divided for the park with lots of positives and negatives happening at the park this year. The park has continued an acceptable level of small improvements in places from updating the Amity toilet block to refurbishing the main Burger King which is good to see. The Tidal Wave improvements also look nice. That being said a major TLC scheme could really benefit the park as lots of park areas have been neglected for a while now, including Colossus, Rumba, Canada Creek and even Inferno (to a lesser extent). Breakdowns have been inconsistent this year with some rides such as Stealth and Samurai suffering major lengths of downtime but other rides like Swarm, Slammer and Rush remaining generally reliable all season. Some rides of course are out of the park's control when it comes to issues, but it would be nice to see a better consistency on reliability though. Derren Brown's ghost train is where things become more complicated. The ride now offers the park with a much needed indoor/dark ride. The pre-show and live action elements (though without their faults) are the best elements of the attraction for me. Providing amusement and excitement that may controversially be the best we've seen at a UK park in the post Hex days. The virtual reality (VR) element however I am not a massive fan of, the first section is okay but the second one feels disjointed and almost anticlimactic but that may just be the ride's reliability. Speaking on reliability, the attraction hasn't been great, with the attraction constantly breaking down, headsets failing and other issues. The state of the attraction last October was shocking to say the least and that's before I mention the two month plus delay. Let's hope 2017 does wonders to this ride and it can finally prove to be a solid addition instead of the embarrassing handful it seemed to be this year. Losing Loggers this year feels like a massive blow for the park, which despite it's age was still a popular and firm favourite for people of all ages. 2017's confirmation has only dampened the doubtful reopening of this attraction further which is a shame. Ending this on a positive, the street food and temporary outlets in Old Town were decent additions to the park's catering lineup. The chip place place proved to be great and a very quirky idea at the very least. The I'm A Celebrity improvements were also acceptable. The kiddie rides in Old Town is a bizzare one but if they enhance the younger guest offering which the park lacks, it can't be all bad. Chessington Right, remaining optimistic here may be a little more difficult but let's see what happens. Tomb Blaster (the park's veteran dark ride), was set for what was supposed to be a major refurbishment, giving the ride much needed TLC and restoring it into the best state in years. How wrong could we be? The new lasers are blocky, tacky and ruin the look of the attraction and the scoring system makes no sense. And not only this but the new UV lighting (which was supposed to enhance the ride) has actually ruined this. As a result of exposing out of house areas and the metal warehouse the ride resides in. The removal of ambient sound effects has only added insult to injury and goes to show what a shoddy refurbishment this was to begin with. The reduction in car stopping has only added to the rot as a result of the ride being less in sync. In the contrary, the Bubbleworks was shut down forever to make way for the next revolving door IP attraction. Whilst many will disagree here, I still had a liking for the attraction even to the end as it provided a fun ride for all ages and was an amusing experience. From the whirling fairground rides to the fountain finale. The ride may be gone but it will always have a place in my heart. Especially my last ever ride. Where my girlfriend and I shared our first kiss in the fountain finale. The rest of the park is still a mess. Bits of theming looking worn and neglected, Vampires station is still a mess, Falls is still naked and breakdowns seem to be happening more frequently. Skyway was also spited after barely surviving the last few seasons. Shame they didn't maintain or rebuild it as that would've been much better than an animatronic panda show. Glamping won't save the park either sadly. Only good things I can say about Chessington this year are the small TLC bits were acceptable, the Smokehouse place is good and I met my girlfriend here. 2017 will be interesting to say the least with Gruffalo re-theme and new Market Square carousel. Let's see. Legoland Windsor Despite turning 20 years old, 2016 has been a quiet one for the park, as a result of adding anything major or notable. The Lego Movie 4D was the main new attraction this season and is a fantastic addition to the park and one of the most amusing 4D shows I've seen. Featuring the return of many of the lovable original characters and more from the original film. 2016 also saw the Star Wars miniland extended,in the form of the Death Star occupying space previously part of the Star Wars store. The new addition is fantastic and the combination of interactive features and vast models, makes for an excellent finale. The Star Wars store has also been renovated as a result of the updates. The model makers workshop has also been refurbished marking the return of the brick busts on the top floor which is really great to see again. Whilst much of what the park has done this year, even with the opening show (it's location also resolving the terrible entrance bottleneck), one word. Farmer Joes Chicken Shack! Theming aside this is one of the worst theme park eateries I've been too as the food tastes dull and barely edible; Was rather expensive too. Change however is on the way for the park, with Dino safari and Loki's Labyrinth being demolished in the same year. A major Ninjago dark ride and area will replace the latter with the former becoming home to the park's second hotel featuring a castle theme. Blackpool Pleasure Beach The historic seaside amusement park turned 120 this year making it the oldest operating U.K. Park and one of the oldest in the world. Apart from that, not much else really happened this year, although the new bridge and ghost train scene are both highly acceptable additions. The park still retains it's charm and character well amongst remaining one of the better kept UK parks. That said, the operations over my two day visit did leave something to be desired as National and Avalanche were on one train operation over the weekend joined by the Big One on day two. However given circumstances and they're an independent park they are solely forgiven. 2018 will hopefully be the year to bring wonders here, but there's still a while yet. Paultons Park A place I've always wanted to visit for a while and somewhere I can safely say is the underdog of UK parks currently. It's not so much the big things that make paultons, but all the small touches from park tidiness, staff friendliness down to the organic feel of the place. No HB leisure or in your face upselling here. The Lost Kingdom area has done wonders to this park and set the bar high for future investments on this upcoming park. The theming is of a high standard whilst the two coasters provide the perfect family thrill consistency amongst the other great attractions. Paultons is definitely the park the watch in the coming years and once they bring in a decent water ride, woodie and dark ride, they will for sure be one of the best parks in the U.K. If they are not already. Drayton Manor Yet another place I've been longing to tick off my check list, but past opportunities encountering misfortune resulting in me not able to visit. Maybe that's an omen? Drayton is the perhaps the blandest park I've ever visited. It lacks style, atmosphere and boasts the worst main coaster double act I've seen at a park. With all that negativity said and done on to the positives. Thomas Land is a loverly charming park area and one of the parts with atmosphere. Their flats rides such as Apocalypse, Maelstrom and Air race are all enjoyable and the Haunting was actually an acceptable attraction too. So is Ben10. Still won't be rushing back there yet, until they add a major attraction or receive enough persuasion. Still it's been ticked off the checklist right? Other not-so theme parky bits Went heights of Abraham in Matlock Bath which consists of a cable car, numerous caves and ruins.The views are fantastic and the caves were intriguing to say the least, especially given one actually featured an animatronic figure (sort of). Matlock bath is also pleasant enough with countless fish and chip shops, independent stores and a mediocre aquarium. It's almost like a Sea Side Town, away from the sea. With Bikers. Thanks for reading part 1 if you managed to not get bored. Part 2 will follow shortly. Adios

Good aftermppm all of you wonderful people! I'm very excited to officially announce plans for our meet at Chessington! This is generally a good relaxed fun day out and one of our more popular meets! It means we will be able to enjoy what is left working at the park and this year I will be participating properly in Empire whilst ScaryCoasterBoy will be hosting the game . The meet is on Saturday April 16th 2016, as voted by you! The Outline of the day will be as follows: Meet outside Hocus Pocus Hall between 09:30 and 10:00 am opposite the entrance by the green. As soon as the gates for the rest of the park open we will go into the park. If by any chance you happen to miss this meet point due to travel arrangements or just plain lateness you can either phone or text so we can arrange to meet you. Due to the success of this ice breaker game last year, this meet will once again get to play Empire a very popular and strategic game that really got everyone involved. Will it end in the Vampire Queue this year like every other year so far? Please bear in mind we will leave without you if you are late as it’s not fair on time keepers! A couple of members have found out this on previous meets. We will then continue visiting the attractions and we will try our best to get on all the attractions people wish to ride, which will be arranged before the meet. One thing that has been annoying in the past is the decision making on where to go next and then the group changing their minds if a queue is above a certain level. This just ends us up in the past riding less as we spend a lot of the time deciding where to go. I know not everyone will want to do some of the rides at Chessington but most of the things on offer cater for all. If you decide to not come on please be polite and wait for everyone to come off and chat to other members whilst you are waiting. Or go off and do another attraction as long as you’ll be back after the group has finished riding the attraction. If you are going I will be talking to you beforehand to see what attractions you are most keen to do so I can make sure I can arrange the day so that everyone gets a chance to ride what they wish to ride. Please respect other people’s wishes who wish to ride certain things that you yourself may not be too keen with. During the day, around half 1, we will stop for a bite to eat where you can go and eat where you like and we will arrange where to meet after everyone has finished eating. (Who knows we might all want to eat the same thing anyway ) After lunch we will group together for the Official Group Photo for the meet and continue going round the park and riding the attractions people want to do until the park closes. I will be handing out my phone number for everyone who is attending the meet that day, should there be any problems. We aim to stay together as a group for the day, going from one activity to the next, enjoying getting to know people you share very similar interests with, the idea is to just go with the flow and enjoy the day with some awesome people. There will be many photo’s in the day being taken I’m sure and the possibility of a few video clips. Whilst we cannot force you to stay with the group, it is the general purpose of these meets! You will have my number (and some of the senior teams) if you become split so by all means use it. The meets are a fantastic laugh and everyone is invited, even if you’ve never posted before or been to any kind of meet at all. If it's your first meet, I understand it can be nerve breaking - but we were all there at one point so know how it feels, please don't let this stop you from attending. Look at previous trip reports to give yourself a taster - Once there you'll be part of the group in no time! Once again, everyone will have my phone number so please use it on the day If anyone has any issues or concerns or even nervous about coming, feel free to post here, or PM myself and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If you feel like my response is taking too long another member of the team will be more than happy to help. We will all try and help you out as much as we can. Please PM me or post here to say if you’re attending. If you are bringing a mate along with you, please also include who they are so they are not just known as ‘Thing 1 or 2.’ The events with TPM have been fantastic this year and this one will be no different. Names will be added to the list once the date for the trip has been confirmed. Attended Meet (17) Celia Mae Coasterdude Deangarycox Hacksaw Itshurtingmeinside Martin c Matt creek Mer Micthada04 Mr fish Mystery package Olivius prime Peaj Phill Pritchard Stevenvig Tombterrorgirl Toofpikk (meal)

Hi there. A few friends and I have recently been working on a full 1:1 Chessington recreation in Minecraft and have just recently opened it! We currently have Land of the Dragons, Forbidden Kingdom, Wild Asia, Africa and some of Mexicana finished. Here are a few fancy pictures

For several years now, there's been something on my theme park bucket I've always been wanting to tick off now for a long time. No, not Baron 1898 [although soon hopefully], not Europa Park either I'm afraid, however keep an eye out for MC16 which is happening soon, some hints to what this may even appear in this very blog entry. This something is of course on home soil and relatively simplistic in all honesty. It's Chessington's Howl O ween event. It's been something I've planned for over two years but until had not worked out, due to not getting chance in 2013 and absolute rotten luck in 2014, very narrowly missing out on going [big emphasis on the very narrowly]. However due to numerous reasons [cough cough budget cuts], the two former fantastic mazes from the last few years were gone despite receiving strong reviews in their time and in were two new mazes [although in different locations to those], which begged the question. Would they remain as strong? Wait & see. One thing to note about Chessington is how much theming and decoration there was set-up, which made it feel a-lot more in swing, certainly more than Thorpe too. Pumpkins, lots of lots of pumpkins. Not bad theming for Chessington. BTW, I would recommend the Chicken Shack for food at the park as I'd say it's the best eatery there by a large'ish margin, especially if your fed up with Pizza, Pasta buffets or don't want miniscule fish & Chips either. But this was definitely the most impressive Halloween thematic element though, and looked even better at night. Review Of The Mazes [why the heck didn't I take more pictures] Curse Of The Lost Tomb The Main new maze for this year, with the absence of Haunting & Mystery [as mentioned earlier], this was the maze I was looking forward to the most and it had a lot to make up for. The maze was located in Wild Asia where the conference centre was [there might have been a stage there once too]. From the outside, there wasn't much to see really, just a standard temporary cattle pen like in to a building [bit like Thorpe really], not to mention was taking a bit of time for the queue to move. But the question was, did the maze itself prove to be worth it? Overall rating 9/10. Really enjoyed this maze, which featured an original storyline and features [game show like in a way] but unlike Thorpe's mazes were your just straight in to the action and are scraed silly, this had not just more of a backstory and not to mention a general reason why you were here in the first place. Trick Or Tweet Woods Located on the grassy area near Hocus Pocus where the log cabins continue to still exist. Being out in the open, not the best setting for a maze [though Blair Witch copes well] not to mention the cabin and trees were some cause for concern. Due to these reasons, we avoided the maze during the day and only did it once it was starting to get dark, hoping it would turn out better. But were we in for a trick; or a treat? Overall rating 2/10 [I'm feeling generous] That's 5 minutes I won't be getting back, makes Blair Witch MK1 look amazing, bring back Haunting In The Hollows! Though feeling hugely let down by that second maze, there was one good thing now, it was completely dark and meant it was time for some night rides. With the park closing at 8pm this year [something that will hopefully remain for next year], this gave us over 2 hours to experience rides fully in the dark [over 3 hours once the clocks change]. Night rides we managed were Scorpion Express which looked quite impressive at night especially the orange fire effect. We queued for Vampire next, which the dimly lit queue in the darkness really added to the experience even more than it does in the day. Unfortunately the ride broke for a while when we queued but was well worth it in the end, as the ride at night is superb. The way the ride interacts with the trees as it helix's through the shrubbery, it was absolutely amazing, shame there is only 10 days in the whole season you can really experience this ride at night. We did Fury after which turned out to be our final ride of the trip, which proved to be just as good at night, the darkness made the ride more fun and disorienting, not to mention the view from the lift was highly impressive [why I don't see that in the day is astounding]. Howl'O-Ween Summary The event as a whole was very good. Absolutely loved the Curse Of The Lost Tomb maze and the night rides, where the park as a whole looks amazing, even more so than Thorpe [except Stealth], as there was different coloured lighting and effects park wide which greatly added to the atmosphere. The park's soundtrack helped set the scene but was a little repetitive in all honesty. Whilst in some ways this event was better than Thorpes [There I Said It!], like the park's current state, there were a lot of flaws. Firstly ride operations were hit and miss. Some rides were OK such as Scorpion and Falls, but others left little to be desired. Rattlesnake especially which was going very very slowly and took 45 minutes to queue for from the cave, plus Vampire didn't seem to operating as fluently as normal, whether this was because of possible ride issues remains another story. Aside from Trick Or Treat being disappointing, this years event was described as not being as good as previous years [gutted 2014 never happened], but the overall absence of two fantastic mazes replaced by one that was very good and one that was poor, amongst there being a severe lack of live entertainment and roaming actors, which made Thorpe look like it was flooded with in comparison. The factor that Ramesis once had lasers and did not continue to this year, only added insult to injury. There was even slightly less theming this year too [so I've been told]. If the park had kept Haunting In The Hollows, at least one live stage show and live roaming actors, the event would've been amazing to the degree it's better than Fright Nights. However, unfortunately due to the line up being a little on the small side, I would say Fright Nights at least maze and entertainment wise is better. Chessington need to get their act together and pick up the disco ball they once held, I've heard some amazing things about their Halloween events in the park and though this years was ok, it didn't seem to quite up to it's previous amazing standard. With much investment, TLC & efforts Chessington could once again become the creme de la creme of UK parks but has since become very stale. Scarefest is definitely at the top of next years Halloween list.

Sup ridefans, So I work for a charity where we run playschemes and respite care for disabled children up to disabled young adults, split into three groups; play (5-12), youth (12-18) and young adults (18-25); specialising in our 'non-exclusion policy', meaning any young people are welcome, no matter how severe or not severe their disability is. I work at the youth scheme near Guildford, and on Saturdays we sometimes go on day trips. So today, we went to Chessington. That was an experience. I don't know if I've ever been to Chessington on a Saturday, but it definitely has never been like this. It was so busy the disabled/fastrack queues were almost as long as the normal ones, and when you are standing with a bunch of disabled teenagers... Well. It could have been worse. Still. We arrived at 12 and sat on the grass by the sealions to eat and watch the show from a distance, then split into two groups. One to go on the fast rides (three staff and four young people) and another group for the slower rides/going around the zoo (one of the girls was in a wheelchair). Our leader went to the place to pick up our wristbands and access passes,and returned with both them and a very inexperienced looking staff member who insisted on putting the wristbands on the young people instead of staff despite them very clearly stating on the band that they were "on behalf of", meaning she had to peel them all off when she realised there weren't enough and put them on us instead. The fast group's first ride was Bubbleworks which had been insisted on by two of the young people in our group, then we headed down to check if Vampire was open as we hadn't seen it go past, but hadn't seen displayed anywhere that it wasn't. Of course it was closed which disappointed a lot of us, and took quite a bit of explaining for some of our young people to get them to acknowledge that we couldn't ride and had to go elsewhere. For the next bit I have to explain how we work. When filling in the paperwork before their child can attend, the young persons' parent/guardian must indicate how much care their dependent requires. We have mostly 1:1's, meaning the young person must have their own carer at all times, few 2:1's (two staff to one young person) and some are non-1:1's, so they don't need their own carer and can be dealt with in the same manner as a normal child in a playscheme, though bearing in mind that even the non 1:1's are a spectrum with some more disabled than others that can pretty much be fine. Our group had two 1:1's and their carers, and one other staff member with two other 1:1's. When we approached Seastorm, only the two non-1:1's wanted to ride, meaning the two 1:1's and their carers were planning to watch at the side. When reaching the front of the queue however; the staff member with the two young people were told that despite their care ratio there must be one staff member with each young person. Meaning I had to leave my 1:1 to go on a ride with a young person who was practically fine mentally and physically instead of watching from a position where I could have seen him and been five feet away the whole time not on the ride, and could have actually done more to help from that position were anything to happen (which it wouldn't have). This also meant leaving two 1:1 young people with one staff member, one of which was my 1:1 who had epillepsy, putting me in a position where I would have only been able to sit and watch had anything happened. We encountered a similar problem on Dragon's Fury, where a 1:1 and both non-1:1's wanted to ride, and one staff member and 1:1 did not. But once again as each young person needed to be accompanied by one carer we had to take two first, then wait for me to queue AGAIN with the last young person and let him have a ride. So it was a stressful day with a lot of people, lots of young people having to wait around for their rides and us finding there was a limited amount for both the slow and fast groups to go on, leaving me to believe that the best place to be is somewhere in the middle, being able to ride the large rides but not being picky about going on smaller ones. Ah well, apparently they've had much better visits to Paulton's in the past, so we'll probably just go there next time.

It has got to that time of year again! Same as ever: +1 and -1 each turn you must wait three turns or 24hrs before your next go, whichever is the sooner ride removed on 0 and all others reset to 5 List is the rides that are advertised on the Chessington Website to avoid over lengthy un-fun voting Will be interesting this year to see how the retheme of the Runaway Train to the Scorpion Express will put it in the rankings! Will Rattlesnake keep it's title from 2013 as the best ride at Chessington? To start us off I will be doing: +1 Zufari: Ride into Africa! -1 Sea Dragons On your Marks, Get Set, Go!!! Black Buccaneer (5) Bubbleworks (5) Carousel (5) Dragon Falls (5) Dragon's Fury (5) Flying Jumbos (5) Griffin's Galleon (5) Hocus Pocus Hall (5) Jungle Bouncers (5) Jungle Bus (5) Kobra (5) Madagascar Live! (5) Monkey Swinger (5) Peeking Heights (5) Rameses Revenge (5) Rattlesnake (5) Safari Skyway (5) Scorpion Express (5) Sea Dragons (4) Seastorm (5) Tiny Truckers (5) Toadie's Crazy Cars (5) Tomb Blaster (5) Tuk Tuk Turmoil (5) Vampire (5) Zufari: Ride into Africa! (6)

So with 2014 not too far away, it will be interesting to see what takes place next year and whether it will be a more successful one than the last few we've seen or whether it will be another disappointing year. What we will see at Chessington in 2014/ The hotel extension (which I hope they do well) Monkey And Bird Gardens 2.0 The return of Ramesis Revenge (which hopefully won't break down big time) What we may see in 2014/ Runaway Mine train returned (either looking nice and fresh or a complete eyesore) Dragon Falls looking more impressive than recent years Plans of an apparent future coaster unveiled (it's only a rumour I've heard currently so who knows) More rides temporarily unavailible such as Skyway, Bubbleworks & Toadies. What we probably won't see in 2014/ Vampire on three trains (I can't see this happening, not until they improve 2 train op atleast) Some form of new ride (that's quite certain now) Burger Kitchen made to look more impressive indoors Vampire & Fury re-painted Haloween Hocus Pocus returning to 8pm closings Significantly reduced fastrack selling Safari Skyway rerouted (as it doesn't really give as much scenic ride as it used to)

Good evening all of you wonderful people! I'm very excited to officially announce plans for our meet at Chessington! This is generally a good relaxed fun day out and it means we will hopefully get to try out the new Scorpion Ride & Treehouse. The meet is on Sunday April 27th 2014. As voted by you! The Outline of the day will be as follows: Meet outside Hocus Pocus Hall between 09:30 and 10:00 am opposite the entrance by the green. As soon as the gates for the rest of the park open we will go into the park. If by any chance you happen to miss this meet point due to travel arrangements or just plain lateness you can either phone or text so we can arrange to meet you. Due to the success of this ice breaker game last year, this meet will once again get to play Empire a very popular and strategic game that really got everyone involved. Please bear in mind we will leave without you if you are late as it’s not fair on time keepers! A couple of members have found out this on previous meets. We will then continue visiting the attractions and we will try our best to get on all the attractions people wish to ride, which will be arranged before the meet. One thing that has been annoying in the past is the decision making on where to go next and then the group changing their minds if a queue is above a certain level. This just ends us up in the past riding less as we spend a lot of the time deciding where to go. I know not everyone will want to do some of the rides at Chessington but most of the things on offer cater for all. If you decide to not come on please be polite and wait for everyone to come off and chat to other members whilst you are waiting. Or go off and do another attraction as long as you’ll be back after the group has finished riding the attraction. If you are going I will be talking to you beforehand to see what attractions you are most keen to do so I can make sure I can arrange the day so that everyone gets a chance to ride what they wish to ride. Please respect other people’s wishes who wish to ride certain things that you yourself may not be too keen with. During the day, around half 1, we will stop for a bite to eat where you can go and eat where you like and we will arrange where to meet after everyone has finished eating. (Who knows we might all want to eat the same thing anyway ) After lunch we will group together for the Official Group Photo for the meet and continue going round the park and riding the attractions people want to do until the park closes. I will be handing out my phone number for everyone who is attending the meet that day, should there be any problems. We aim to stay together as a group for the day, going from one activity to the next, enjoying getting to know people you share very similar interests with, the idea is to just go with the flow and enjoy the day with some awesome people. There will be many photo’s in the day being taken I’m sure and the possibility of a few video clips. Whilst we cannot force you to stay with the group, it is the general purpose of these meets! You will have my number (and some of the senior teams) if you become split so by all means use it. The meets are a fantastic laugh and everyone is invited, even if you’ve never posted before or been to any kind of meet at all. If it's your first meet, I understand it can be nerve breaking - but we were all there at one point so know how it feels, please don't let this stop you from attending. Look at previous trip reports to give yourself a taster - Once there you'll be part of the group in no time! Once again, everyone will have my phone number so please use it on the day If anyone has any issues or concerns or even nervous about coming, feel free to post here, or PM myself and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If you feel like my response is taking too long another member of the team will be more than happy to help. We will all try and help you out as much as we can. Please PM me or post here to say if you’re attending. If you are bringing a mate along with you, please also include who they are so they are not just known as ‘Thing 1 or 2.’ The events with TPM have been fantastic this year and this one will be no different. Names will be added to the list once the date for the trip has been confirmed. Attending Full Meet (20) Alpengeist Coastercameron98 J.S217 LePaigeHalil Londoner Luke_A MarkC Matt Creek Mer Mr Fish Myk MysteryPackage Peaj Phill Pritchard with Orchid Director Ryan ScaryCoasterBoy Styles Toofpikk with Pip Squeak Maybe (1) DaddysLittlePrincess Attendees will be shown once date is confirmed