Thorpe Park Trip Reports

[Ricky]

So you did

[Laelda_95]

I went on mother's day ( Sunday 3rd) with a friend from school, and she has an annual pass like me. We queued up to get in for 5 mins before we were allowed in. I then found out that my bloody annual pass hates the machines which you scan it in, and refused to work...The first ride of the day was Saw. It was a walk-on, and we got on the front row. Normally this ride is really smooth for me and I don't think it's as bad as everyone says it is, but that day I really understood what people meant when they said it bashed them about. I walked off of that ride with a pounding headache.After that, we got on Colossus, which once again, was a walk-on. We sat somewhere in the middle, and the ride was fine. The restraint was uncomfortably loose however, and I was convinced I was going to fall out, no matter how much my mate reassured me I'd be fine. The track was really rusty which irritated me for some reason. Then we did Nemesis Inferno. I was glad to see the mist in the tunnel was back, and the orange lights were on too. Once again, my restraint was bothering me; it rattled too much, and the clip looked like it was going to come out. I came off the ride pleased, and mildly dizzy, but in a good way.My favourite ride, Stealth came next. After 10 minutes of convincing my friend to ride up front, she gave in, so we joined the pole position queue. I saw Ricky working on the ride, but I didn't say Hi incase I looked a cottage cheese tastes very nice, or it wasn't actually him. It was a really good ride. My mate got off the ride, and everything fell out of her pockets, LOL. Rush was good, considering my mate had never been on it, and was crapping herself. I've never been so amused in my life about someone's reaction to a ride. We went on it 3 more times that day, and I felt so sick! We did Vortex, and then quantum. I am never going on Vortex again, I nearly vommed everywhere. Not pleasant. We also did detonator, and my ride picture was shameful.Had burger king for lunch. Then we did Loggers,Rumba and Storm Surge (twice). I was surprised with storm surge. It wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be. I will say though, they need to drain the boats. I walked off looking like I had bladder control problems. I can't imagine how attractive that must have looked. We did everything else pretty much, including the Big Bashing Balls, which quite frankly was a rip-off, mostly due to the fact I couldn't stand up in the ball. Got an icecream at the thing near Loggers,when some old git decided to jump the queue of about 5 people. We got on everything atleast twice which was good. Overall a good day.

[Ricky]

Say hi next time!

[rygr]

Here goes, my first Thorpe Park trip report.Was pleased to hear there were hardly any queues from other guests for this week and last and so decided to visit on a school day. To say today was like that would be a lie, we arrived at the park just before 9:30 and already cars were constantly seeping into the car park. The park opened around 9:50 and we went to SAW - The Ride which opened 5 minutes early! Got to ride this twice before the queues (which were small at the time) built up. Next we went to Stealth where we were greeted by "This ride will be open from midday" - okay then, onto Tidalwave which of course, lived up to its name!!Then we went onto Nemesis Inferno. Not a good idea after Tidalwave, I myself was worried someone might have thought the pressure of Inferno was too much and I had wet myself as I was soaked. It ran well and there was lots of smoke in the tunnel which was nothing short of epic. Then we moved onto Storm Surge which in my opinion, wasn't worth the half hour wait. The lift hill was very slow, but the downhill spiral was actually quite fun, and the water guns at the end were a great effect. It got quite fast going down which also added to the ride experience, however it didn't leave me wanting to ride again right away!By this time, because of the weather, the queues had really started to build up. We headed off to Loggers Leap which had no queue, straight on. Daylight shining through the tunnel in the dark ruined the effect slightly as it wasn't pitch black like before, but its still a fantastic drop inside and the outdoor one is so fast too! Since we were wet already we went onto the Rumba Rapids which is such a good ride (I'm sorry, but I like the slow ones too!). It always makes me laugh how people go onto a wet ride, but when it comes to the water guns at the end they cover themselves up trying not to get hit by them, well I find it strange anyway!!After this we went onto Vortex which didn't have a queue, and provided a fantastic ride experience (except the restraints which scared me a tad as they just shoot down really quickly!). Won't go into Lunch too much, Burger King was empty-ish. After sorting lockers out we moved onto Stealth which had finally opened half hour late. Queued for the front row which took an extra half an hour. We knew this when we started queueing, but what we found annoying was how some of the people who had queued for any part of the train, were allowed to drop their bags off and then join the front row queue. I know the ride probably has rules/regulations, but it was really annoying as we were left standing there, waiting for 20 minutes without moving whilst some other groups were allowed to go to the front when they hadn't queued especially for it!. Stealth was awesome and the wait was definately worth while.After this we ended up going on Colossus twice and then onto Samurai which is always a lot of fun, especially as you seem to move about in your seat so much. Although the smell (egg, not nice) really changed to atmosphere of the whole ride as a lot of riders were covering their noses due to it. Back to SAW which again was great. We then decided to queue up for Stealth again which was probably a mistake. We had been queueing for 10 minutes when it broke down for 10 minutes. We sat it out and got all the way up to the ride platform when it broke down again for another 10 minutes. We were just about the get onto the train when it broke down again (just for a few minutes, but still!), again though, what can I say, it was worth it!!. Afterwards we went back to Loggers Leap with its new 1.2 (I think) height restriction and back to SAW for the last ride of the day. It broke down at 4:55pm. I bet the staff were annoyed. After about 20 minutes and several test runs later we eventually got our ride and left at 5:30pm to a packed bus stop and a 3 and a half hour journey home which should take half that time.Overall a fantastic day, made even better by the weather conditions. Wouldn't say the staff were ALL on top form, where as last wednesday at Chessington, every ride seemed to have staff that were a lot more interactive with the guests, maybe I'm just set in my Chessington ways, I don't know.Ride Count:SAW - The Ride - x 4Stealth - x 2Nemesis Inferno - x 2Loggers Leap - x 2Colossus - x 2Tidalwave - x 1Vortex - x 1Storm Surge - x 1Rumba Rapids - x 1

[Laelda_95]

Say hi next time!

Yeah well I would have, but I wasn't entirely sure it was you ahaa

[Ricky]

Well I have a blonde streak in my hair I'm short, and happen to be called Ricky, so if I have a namebadge which says that then say hi

[Laelda_95]

Ahh okay, I will. It didn't occur to me to look at your name tag.

[James6]

As one of Thorpe's biggest criticisers, I can't believe how good a day I just had, and a first... not a single breakdown! (Apart from Slammer being down all day and Samurai opening late) Amazing, will do a full report later!

[Mark9]

As one of Thorpe's biggest criticisers, I can't believe how good a day I just had, and a first... not a single breakdown! (Apart from Slammer being down all day and Samurai opening late)

A contradiction in terms, surely?!

[James6]

Haha I meant more that, none of the big rides, even Colossus or Stealth had a moment down.

[Mattgwise]

Quite a busy day at the park today, could really have done with having the park stay open until 7pm as only got on eight rides all day! Despite the long queues the atmosphere was good around the park and althought the scroller advertised Samurai as being unavailable all rides bar Saw Alive for obvious reasons were open. Never got a chance to ride Storm Surge but felt it didn't look as bad as I thought based on what I've heard and seen in pictures. Was completely shocked to find longest queue of the day was Nemesis Inferno as this is usually the shortest major coaster when I go and it was on two train op.Ride Count and times I queued: (some queues were longer at various point of the day)1. Rush x1 (30 minutes)2. Saw The Ride x1 (70 minutes) 3. Nemesis Inferno x1 (100 minutes)4. Stealth x1 (60 minutes) (included a breakdown that lasted for 15 minutes)5. Loggers Leap x1 (25 minutes)6 Colossus x2 (50 minutes and 10 minutes at 5:55pm)7.Samurai x1 (30 minutes)And as we left it took 30 minutes to get out of the car park as there are only 4 barriers for thousands of cars to leave through. Was a nightmare!

[alexander]

24th April 2011 - Bank Holiday SundaySorry there are no photo's, I had no camera, but there is a lot of text so skim read if you need! Today I wasn't really in it for the ride counts, because I didn't expect to get many done.I guessed the park was going to be packed today but we left at an early start of 8:30 arriving at Thorpe at 9:15. The car park was already half full and the park wasn't even open! I was dreading the day ahead. I went to the Annual Pass booth to renew my pass, it took a staggering 40 minutes just to renew, there was 5 tills on but most of them were incapable of doing the process on their own unfortunately. However, the sun was shining so it felt nice on my back whilst waiting, (although some complain about waiting in hot weather). We got in to the park about 10 past 10.1. Colossus - Waiting time: 30 MinutesThe first ride I headed for was Colossus as on my last visit the ride was continuously breaking down. The queue went quite far back, however the queuing wasn't too bad. The dispatch times were very fast, 2 trains were running but the queue was moving quickly. My folk bailed out on the first ride so I had to queue on my own. I noticed that all the sound FX 'the power of 10' was in sync again and not skipping, and the dispatch stations sounds and music was playing through speakers in the queue which gave the ride some atmosphere. I still think though the fences need a refurb with scratches all along it with people's names dented in. It did make me laugh after the first corkscrew we were standing under in the queue.The train roared through the element and scared the crap out of the girls in front, I laughed... discretely! I Got towards the end of the queue and saw there was pretty much no one in the front seat queue, I headed there and managed to get on way before the people in front of me whilst enjoying the wind through my hair at the front. I noticed that the ride was a lot rougher since I last ridden and even find it quite rough at the front, so again, Thorpe give Colossus some TLC. I'm glad I wasn't further back.2. Tidal Wave - Waiting time: Walk onNot much to say, I got absolutely drenched but it was nice to have the cold water running down on my back after the hot sun pelted down on me. It is still leaking underneath but not anywhere to the extent of Storm Surge. 3. Rumba Rapids - Waiting time: 10 minutesFor the first time, ever, I got pretty wet, I think the water was attracted to me today, it got me on several occasions, mainly after the tunnel part. There was only 3 of us so we were put into the boat with others but they were happy to share. It seemed like everyone was happy in the queue as well, no moaning about queuing etcetera. 4. Loggers Leap - Waiting time: 5 minutesAn old classic, nothing really changed other then the height restriction. I got, once again, wet, and got some of the water in my mouth as we splashed down the double drop. Not tasty, however, I didn't mind. I was surprised how short the queues were for the temperature was about 24 degrees.Lunch - Noodle place in Canada CreekI had the Duck with Hoisin sauce, and I really enjoyed it, I think it helped that I was hungry but I approved of the food as did my parents. Made it seem even better with 20% off. After lunch I went to go check the queue for Samurai, it said 35 minutes but it definitely looked longer because I've had very slow loading experiences with it. I asked at the exit gate whether or not I could enter as a single rider for a left over seat and they said "no, you have to queue like everyone else", I was quite shocked and annoyed seeing as it was going to be empty either way. But nevertheless, I headed to Slammer.5. Slammer - Waiting time: 15 minutesThe queue it self wasn't long, it just was taking ages to get people on or off. Nothing really to say but that it was working, and it's just as painful as I remember and wasn't really that enjoyable. But, alas, it was another ride.6. Nemesis Inferno - Waiting time: 115 Minutes (it stated 45 minutes)This was probably the worst part of the day. I had queue jumpers everyone and objected to those trying to cut in front. So instead, they cut in front people behind me instead. The extended queue had been put up and my battery was dying on my iPod so I had nothing really to entertain myself with. Usually with Nemesis Inferno, I find it quite quick to get on, even with the extended queue. However, the loading times were VERY slow, and so the queuing time just dragged on and on so I tried to see what new was in the queue. I saw some LC12 vinyls pasted across the supports. Feedback number about Thorpe Park. But, nothing else really but I noticed that over the years Nemesis has aged a lot better then Colossus. (B&M VS INTAMIN) - The track was a lot smoother, less noticeable rust and it wasn't as noisy as Colossus. I managed to nab a seat the park to enjoy a higher degree of G's, so it wasn't all bad after all.7. X:\ No Way Out - Waiting time: 15 minutesI think some refurbishments have been taken to X. The lighting upon entering had been replaced and it was a lot darker then I remembered, I had to run my hand along the wall to make sure I didn't walk into anything. There was red and blue lights dotted along the corridors and I thought it looked a lot better. The dropping off baggage area and collection had been moved to a small box window just before the station. I also noticed whilst on-ride that there was some new sound FX? Or, it was existing sounds which I had never noticed before. I heard a young girls voice scream then say 'you're scaring me' whilst wind up box music (if you know what I mean) was playing. I thought it may the ride a lot creepier but I didn't understand the significance of the ride. Oh, by the way, the lights were off again on the ride if you didn't guess! The collection point was in the second section of the station, upon exit they've fixed a couple of desks and shelved and repainted it which looks way better then it did before.When I got outside I starred at Storm Surge. It looked so grim underneath, lacked cleanliness and was dripping all over the place. It had a 2 hour queue all day so I didn't dare even bother joining the queue. We instead went to go back to Colossus.8. Colossus - Waiting time: 25 minutesMy parents came on this time. Again, fast loading times and we got on swiftly. We rode about mid-way of the train, headbanged a few times, but it wasn't as rough as I was expecting.Next, we went to head to Stealth, my mum decked. (This is why you shouldn't wear high heels or things similar to Theme Parks). The staff were very helpful and concerned and ran to her aid and asked if she wanted anything. She was fine after a few minutes, Stealth had then closed, god knows why. SO, I headed back to Rush because it's like, my favourite ride ever.9. Rush - Waiting time: 30 minutesIt was epic. Shame about the shortened time, probably because of the queues so ride duration was shortened.10. X:\ No Way Out - 15 MinutesRead above.All and all, I was very surprised by the amount of rides I got on. Thorpe even had to use the over-flow car parks and they were nearing full capacity so it was a nice surprise! I avoided the larger queue rides which were over an hour because today I really couldn't be bothered, I just wanted to spend time with my family for a change. I was pleased with the service Thorpe provided, and although the £2 parking charge was a bit cheeky I didn't feel Thorpe was trying to grab my money today. The park had a great atmosphere, and it was pretty much smiles all around from everyone and I didn't run into too many pikeys. Sorry if this was long for you to read. Now I can go have a cup of tea, and chill.

[Han30]

^^ you are so right about the water from Loggers not being tasty lol - Dragon Falls water is much nicer

[Leon]

Went yesterday (26th) it was an inset day but was VERY busyRide count:Colossus 90 MinsQuantum 10 MinsVortex 60 MinsRhumba Rapids 15 MinsNemesis Inferno 90 MinsVortex 45 MinsSaw-the ride was closed until the last 30 Mins of the day and the queue when we got there was 90 Mins so we left that one. Samurai was open for about an hour before it broke and was not open the rest of the day. Saw Alive was still closed for obvious reasons. We arrived 10 minutes after opening and queued for about an hour to get in. Was a slow day but still had alot of fun, next time I go I hope that it is alot quieter!Leon

[Benin]

They opened a ride 30 minutes before park closing?I've never really seen the point in doing this as it will cause more problems between staff and guests than keeping it closed all day...

[Leon]

They opened a ride 30 minutes before park closing?I've never really seen the point in doing this as it will cause more problems between staff and guests than keeping it closed all day...

Yea they opened it really late, but the queue got really long, really fast :/ and now samurai is closed today too! I wonder what happened, they had a crane on it yesterday and it was all opened up...

[Mark9]

They opened a ride 30 minutes before park closing?I've never really seen the point in doing this as it will cause more problems between staff and guests than keeping it closed all day...

I like it though..

[Fred]

They opened a ride 30 minutes before park closing?I've never really seen the point in doing this as it will cause more problems between staff and guests than keeping it closed all day...

Not really, as long as they pretty much know it's gonna work without a blip.With it being newest coaster, there's bound to be loads wanting to ride, so opening it that late gives them the opportunity - stops people complaining, and it looks like "goodwill" on behalf of the park.Staff shouldn't really care too much, its money at end of the day, time flies past as well. Mmm

[rygr]

Will add my own report again, went today to the park.After the shuttle bus turned into the park and the whole bus gasped with shock, I could tell it would be busy. It was about 10am and not only were guests queueing around ALL of the metal fencing outside the ticket booths but they had another extension added to that. Guests even began queueing out into the car park under the big entrance sign. I was quite worried we would only get one or two rides in. Being a Chessington fanboy I wasn't used to ever seeing a park this busy.Once we were inside it was quite different. It wasn't quiet but it wasn't packed either. We went straight onto Loggers Leap where they were already queue batching. Only waited for 10 minutes, got suprisingly wet this time, has to be my favourite log flume. We then went over to Stealth which was actually open before midday! (hooray!). It advertised the queue time to be 45 minutes, and we queued from where it says in the queue "45 minutes from this point" but it only took 25 minutes thanks to the efficient staff. We then opted to go for lunch in Burger King early in order to beat the "lunchtime rush".Lunch was followed by a trip to Rumba Rapids where the rapids were quite fierce today! Although in the queueline there was a lot of confusion between the entrance for Fast-track and the main entrance, where people were going down the fast-track entrance without fast-track. They were stopping the queue to batch where the two lines meet. After this (and spending £3 on lockers in just two hours) we went off to SAW - The Ride. It advertised 75 minutes and this was about 5 minutes out. Took just over an hour to get onto and off the ride. Had a fantastic ride operator who spoke to the queue making several humourous jokes/comments which made the whole queue smile. It's staff like this who REALLY make the day better, just little touches. Something he wasn't joking about was the live actors inside. I guess with SAW-Alive shut, they have to go somewhere! They were walking around in the queue line (inside).After SAW - The Ride we went onto Slammer. I'd only ever been on it once before and I don't remember it being as painful. Being quite tall the top restraint hurt! Suffice to say, I doubt I'll be rushing to go back on in a hurry. We then decided to brave Tidalwave. Its worth mentioning that engineers were working hard on the 3rd boat which was put into operation today, so all three boats were running. We only had to wait about half an hour and didn't get 'that' wet. In fact the "Splash Zone" remained pretty much bone dry all day. Then we went onto Samurai which has become my new favourite ride. Took ages to get on. We queued for about 40 minutes, but it was definately worth the wait. This was followed by Vortex which was a nice ride, with a nice queue was on and off really quickly (well for a busy day it was quick anyway!). Our final ride was Quantum and it only took 5 minutes to queue for. Not suprising since it was probably the most painful ride of the day. Sitting at the back row and going forwards and back round again it seemed to jolt ALOT. This resulted in lots of bouncing around in the seat which was at least interesting. We then opted to leave at around 5:15.Queue time averages for today;Storm Surge - 60-90 minsSAW - The Ride - 60-75 minsTidalwave/Stealth/Colossus/Nemesis Inferno/Loggers Leap/Rumba Rapids - 45 - 60 minsDetonator/Vortex/Zodiac/Rush/Slammer - 20 - 30 minsQuantum - 5 minsRide CountLoggers Leap x 1Stealth x 1Rumba Rapids x 1SAW - The Ride x 1Slammer x 1Tidalwave x 1Samurai x 1Vortex x 1Quantum x 1

[Sheepie]

Great TR. Really pleased to hear the park wasn't as busy as you were expecting and it sounds as though operations were efficient at least.

[Karys]

I went to Thorpe Park yesterday, 11th MayIt was so quiet it was amazing!We got the train into Staines for 9.30am where we got on the shuttle bus. It waited to for ages before departing so we didn't get to the park till after it had opened.The queue for the entrance was about 5-10 minutes, not much at all, there were a few spots of rain but then stopped. The day wasn't sunny, but it wasn't rainy, so that was a plus!Queue times for rides were great. I will post the order with the time waited below.Colossus No waiting time, we just walked straight on!Nemesis Inferno Waited for a couple of minutes, not much at all.Loggers LeapStraight on again. No one in front or behind us either on the ride, probably had it to ourselves!Samurai Got on pretty much straight away, just had to wait for one lot to get off.X No Way OutWouldn't normally go on this, but I wanted to show my other half just how terrible it was. It didn't disappoint in that respect. No queue of course and it took longer to pick up our bag at the end than go on the ride!Rumba RapidsNo queue again!Tidal WaveWe got straight on and there were only a couple of others in our boat. I swear I have never got this soaked on a ride, it was awful! And to make it worse, I was tricked by my fiancé in standing right by where it splashes when the next one went round and I got soaked AGAIN. I never dried out fully! Stealth(This was closed at the start on the day) We waited just over 10 minutes. The ride photo for this was hilarious as my fiancé looked like he was having a great time and I looked more like I was sitting bored in a meeting, not effected by the fact we were travelling at 80mph at all! SlammerI haven't been on this one before, we had to wait a few minutes before there were enough people who wanted to go on. The girl in front of us was having the worst time of her life. It was pretty scary, especially when you go forwards but it didn't feel as powerful as Vortex and Samurai. VortexHad to wait 1 turn before we could go on. Nemesis InfernoDid this again, it was the longest queue we had to wait.SAW was closed for some of the day and we saw some people who got stuck on the lift, this and the fact I am terrified of SAW movies (and horror in general) meant I completely chickened out of this one when it reopened. The outside track does look really good though, maybe when they retheme it after the contract runs out I will go on it!Didn't see the crazy LC12 man, but saw all the posters, I am very excited for the new ride!We ended up leaving the park at 3pm as we had been up since 7am and were getting worn out!The only negative thing about the day was that when we got home I had a terrible bout of food poisoning, so I am now very ill in bed!But the day was great and the ride times meant the day went quick and we got on all the rides we wanted!

[Lewis.]

It was fairly quiet today, longest queue was for Storm Surge. 40 Minutes (10 Minutes by the time we were bored enough to ride it)Got there around 1:30, left at 6. Got on everything because most staff didn't sign my disabled pass due to the lack of queues (I think it was signed 5/6 times)Went around Rumba Rapids twice because the area was DEAD, my friend got soaked, I came off bone dry. Didn't get on X:/ Where's It Gone, we nearly did... but someone puked just outside the exit station, we were told to exit via the main queue, first time I've ever seen it. I'm not missing much am I... the exit corridor is better themed Colossus seemed faster but still as rough as ever, and Samurai was very intense.SAW opened around 3 (I think) after testing for ages, and I think Detonator was down at some point because they kept sending it up empty (Also GUTTED that the countdown has returned - it was much more intense without it!)I had an amazing day, and the staff were brilliant too... I think we literally waited in the brake runs of Colossus and Nemesis: Inferno for a few seconds, if that. Plus a lot more of them seemed to be putting the effort in to really makes sure guests were having fun. Love how my best day at Thorpe Park was on Friday the 13th

[Luke_A]

I visited Thorpe Park today... This TR isn't that major so I'll try to keep it brief.Got to the park for opening and the got through the turnstiles at 9:30, then it was the run to Stealth, second person to ride front row , then I rode it again simply because it was just walk on again, bought my ORP with a photopass which is only £18 now for an AP holder for 5 photo's which is £3.60 per photo, pretty good deal in my opinion. So after my 2 goes on Stealth it was time for Detty, walk on yet again and only about 5 people on the ride at the time; got the photo from Detty too and well... It really is impossible to keep a straight face on this, amazingly intense as usual. Then over to Nemesis Inferno, walk on, no dispatch theme as some had been saying, but the mist was very thick and all the lights were on in the tunnel. Now over to Slammer where there were only 4 people riding on each side, I swear Slammer is running a lot faster this year, the speed it was flipping seemed a lot faster to me than usual! Samurai was up next with only a 10 minute queue, again I felt that it was more intense than usual today, and I actually felt dizzy when I came off of it! Then was Logger's Leap, Rocky Express and CCR, this was around the 12:00 mark when CCR opened, it's just nice to go on CCR for a break from some rides etc. (Bear in mind that Colossus has been broken down with lift hill evac since I joined the Samurai queue earlier) It was then a fastrack onto Saw, there were no actors today, according to the guy I spoke to at the batching point they are 'training' again for Saw: Alive. Lunch was then had at BK in Canada Creek. It's probably now about 13:45 and it's time for Tidal Wave and Nemesis inferno again, followed by 3 more times on Inferno because it's just that awesome It only had a 10-15 min queue anyway (advertised as 45mins?) 'tis now about 15:00 and I joined the queue for Rush, which was only saying 10 minutes, so I joined it and just as the cycle was coming to a stop, someone was ill and it had to be cleaned up which took about 20 mins, this involved the whole white powder thing and 2 test runs, yeah you get the idea, finally on Rush as the last ride of the day, we spent some time on park and left at about 16:30 after going round shops and picking up photo's, so all in all a Good day today. ;)Max Queues I saw:Nemesis Inferno: 45 minsColossus: 70 minsSaw:The Ride: 50 minsStorm Surge: 60 minsStealth: 60 minsDetonator: 20 minsX:\NWO: 15 mins

[Sheepie]

Sounds like you had a great day Luke! Good to hear about Inferno's tunnel effects still existing. I have a strange obsession over that ride.

[Cat]

Here is my first ever TR, Sorry it’s so long, but I enjoyed writing it!!We got to the park just before opeining time and joined to the queue for the turnstiles and within seconds were queue jumped by the strangest looking family of... well, they behaved like chavs but were dressed like they’d travelled in time from the 80’s, dodgy half shaved hairstyles included. I don’t know what the 80’s equivalent of a chav is, so I decided they were ‘retro chavs’ and hoped we wouldn’t come across them again in the park. Who would queue jump the queue for the turnstiles anyway? It disappears within seconds of opening! Once we’d safely stashed our stuff in the lockers and wasted several quid since my mate couldn’t decide which essentials she needed with her and what could stay in the locker, we headed to our first ride wich was Rush. There was no queue whatsoever and many thanks were due to the operators who made it a really good ride. As usual, only one swing was operating (the one closest to the operator) and it was going very high indeed, much higher than my last visit to the park.Next up were Vortex , Colossus and Saw the ride. We walked straight on to all these rides which was brilliant. It was my first time on Vortex, which although didn’t find as thrilling as Rush, I was surprised at how much it took my breath away, I’d never bothered with it before, preferring to head straight for the coasters, but I’ll certainly got on it again next time. Colossus was as head-banging as ever and Saw the ride as great as ever. Next up was Nemesis Inferno, my second favourite ride in the park. The area music was much louder than last year, but unfortunately no dispatch music, which would have been great. Again, we walked straight on. By now it was only 11am and we’d been on 5 pretty intense rides in an hour so we decided to go for a gentle ride on the Rhumba Rapids which I’m sure gets shorter every time I visit!! We went for lunch at Pizza Hut, which I must say I think is pretty good value considering it’s £7.99 for an all you can eat buffet. It would be nice if they actually made their potato salad and coleslaw etc, which definitely tastes cheap and bought in. Nice pizza though. No tips for the staff though since they chose to stand and glare at us during our meal.Back to the rides and onto Detonator, we waited about 5 minutes and I love that the countdown is back. However cheeky operator girl wasn’t always waiting until zero before dropping the riders, on ours we didn’t even get a countdown which nearly resulted in the return of my lunch! Unfortunately we met retro chav family again, and I was amused to see retro chav mummy’s harness was stuck shut which had her shouting her head off while her retro offspring ran round either trying to free her or were laughing at her. It was time for the wet rides next, Tidal wave (5 minutes queue) was the same as ever and then the not-so-shiney new Storm Surge. It took around 20 minutes to get through the queue and as we got to the batching area the ride decided to misbehave. As far as I could work out, there was a problem with a sensor (I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong) as staff frantically waved their legs infront of something to get the conveyor belts moving again, either that or they were doing some kind of regional dance only seen in Chertsey. In the end they called in a Rhys Ifans look alike who pressed a couple of buttons and the ride was once again operating. Good old Rhys Ifans. The ride however, was a little disappointing. Once you reach the top of the hill (I would reccomend taking a book to while the time away as it takes ages) the journey back down is not as fun as it looks, unless you like spinning around - alot. I did think however, it would be quite fun to slide down it without the boat. Loggers leap was the next ride with a wait of about 5 minutes and then onto X:/WTF which had no queue at all and broke down before it even left the station. We couldn’t be bothered to wait for them to fix it, so onto Stealth. Queue time was about 5-10 minutes. Fantastic ride. No Stealth DJ though.From Stealth we re-visited Saw (20 minutes), then X:/WTF, which is a truly terrible ride, hence the lack of queue and back to Stealth for a front row seat (AMAZING) which made the queue time 15 minutes, although I vow to never ride on anything but the front seat from now on. Also much love to the extremely happy guy working on Stealth!Then it was time for one last go on Loggers (straight on) and Colossal Ear-Ache (5 mins), and by that point I was done in. Another go on Inferno would have been nice, but I’m not sure my brain could have handled anymore so we went home.My only complaints were as always the price of lockers (grrrrr...) and the price of pretty much everything else too (food drink and sweets especially).All in all a fantastic day, amazing ride count, all rides open, staff were happy and friendly and lack of queues was the big fat cherry on top.Rush x 1Vortex x 1Colossus x 2Saw x 2Nemesis x 1Rhumba rapids x 1Detonator x 1Tidal wave x 1Storm surge x 1Loggers leap x 2Stealth x 2X:/ WTF x 1= 17 rides in total.