August 6, 201312 yr comment_164931 Many things already have been repainted and improved quite recently, particularly around Terror Tomb and Rattlesnake... Personally I think Chessington is at its best within the last few seasons. I still think the Dragon River refurbishments are being handled well, thinking from the perspective of a first-time guest: leaving the sculptures in such an ugly state is more telling of Chessington's history of poor upkeep, than if the guest never knew there was anything there. As long as they restore what they removed yes... Talking of Mystic East, I love this image Chessington posted today: I wonder who that could be poking out the top?
August 7, 201312 yr comment_164948 Many things already have been repainted and improved quite recently, particularly around Terror Tomb and Rattlesnake... Personally I think Chessington is at its best within the last few seasons. I don't get how though, what with giant metal fences in queues, poor operations on Vampire, half the park falling apart (including Rattlesnake and Tomb Blaster with theming actually removed and still looking run-down)... Usually I'd be visiting the park a lot, but this year, I really cannot be bothered anymore...
August 7, 201312 yr comment_164958 That's just my personal opinion, since I don't really let mundane stuff like that ruin my day out. The park feels a lot more colourful with the gradual changes being made and Zufari has added a buzz in a new part of the park. Of course "licks of paint" can't solve the park's real problems, but I'm glad that a few things that should have been done ages ago are now being visibly improved. The Vampire's newish batch system is pretty much what it always should have been (I'm talking about waiting beside the organist and being directed to your seats, I can't really say about any other changes that have been made). Waiting in the station is not nearly as dire as I had heard, and the trains were dispatching fairly promptly which kept queues bearable on a rather busy day. Also, most Abdabs have finally vacated the queueline - a foolish decision reversed. The area around the Tomb looks much better now that they have replenished the 'stone' walls in places and repainted various features. The obelisk may have had its top cut off but I much prefer its new aged appearance, since they remodelled the top to look like an ancient ruin. The show inside was running really well too... what's left of it.
August 13, 201312 yr comment_165226 So, to cut a short story long, looking back at the 90's chessington was a good park - today it still is but needs some major work doing to it (which has already begun with the runaway train) Why is this work being done during open season though? Surely it should be done during closed season. It just doesn't make any sense to me.
August 13, 201312 yr comment_165244 Why is this work being done during open season though? Surely it should be done during closed season. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I have no idea TPJames - though there must be a reason for it. It does seem daft to be doing work during the open season but maybe they used to closed season to focus on getting Zufari up and running - who knows. I just hope that Chessington gets back to the days around 2005(ish) when the rides seemed to be running well and it was a lovely little park with great atmosphere
August 13, 201312 yr comment_165246 I have no idea TPJames - though there must be a reason for it. It does seem daft to be doing work during the open season but maybe they used to closed season to focus on getting Zufari up and running - who knows. I just hope that Chessington gets back to the days around 2005(ish) when the rides seemed to be running well and it was a lovely little park with great atmosphereHopefully next year we will see all the rides patched up and none having to be closed or having little scenery because of refurbs.Some of the rides still do have great atmospheres though, especially black buccaneer. I love the music they play on the ride and the operator is always commentating and saying things like 'put your hands in the air if you dare!' Things like these just make the rides so much more enjoyable. Wild Asia also has a nice atmosphere and monkey swinger is one of my favourite rides in the park(when the water is on!) The thing I don't get about chessington, is why all their rides have such low throughputs. The only exception appears to be dragons fury. I don't know whether this is due to the staff or just the rides having terrible throughputs but in general they are awful. In particular this seems to be monkey swinger, vampire, Kobra and tomb raiders. The queues are always so short(in terms of length) and would be 5-10 mins on a ride at thorpe however they are 30 mins+ due to their rubbish throughputs. This is definately a case with lack of staff on monkey swinger but not sure about the others(of course vampire is now only on 2 trains!) The only ride which has a long queue length these days is dragons fury and that is the only ride which has the queue time it deserves!
August 13, 201312 yr comment_165255 Why is this work being done during open season though? Surely it should be done during closed season. It just doesn't make any sense to me. As Han said, they were probably putting Zufari as main priority of the work. Another thing that comes to mind is that the theming on falls & RT has been in a dire state for at least the seven years I've been going and it questions me as to whether these closures may have been a last minute occurrence which perhaps they were condemned unsafe just before the 2013 season. The thing I don't get about chessington, is why all their rides have such low throughputs. The only exception appears to be dragons fury. I don't know whether this is due to the staff or just the rides having terrible throughputs but in general they are awful. In particular this seems to be monkey swinger, vampire, Kobra and tomb raiders. The queues are always so short(in terms of length) and would be 5-10 mins on a ride at thorpe however they are 30 mins+ due to their rubbish throughputs. This is definately a case with lack of staff on monkey swinger but not sure about the others(of course vampire is now only on 2 trains!) The only ride which has a long queue length these days is dragons fury and that is the only ride which has the queue time it deserves! Fury's throughput isn't that brilliant either as I think it used to be 700/800 but nowadays it's closer to 500 which for a primary coaster is rather disappointing. Vampire used to take around 900 on 3 train op which was probably quite good with queues when it was (don't I rode it on 3 trains) but now it around 600 as it only has just 2 which could be even less with apparent slow operations. The only rides I think that have high throughputs there are Falls, Tomb Blaster, Buccaneer and Zufari (which is sadly ruined with the photo queue and pre show to be a good throughput one). Chessington needs more big rides that take 900 pph and Vampire's 3rd train to comeback, the park in my view is the worst Merlin park for throughputs at the mo.
August 13, 201312 yr comment_165256 Falls is the only ride on park to break 1000pph... Back in the day, 3 train Vampire could also do this... I can't say what 5 train Tomb is though, close, but I think not beyond 1000pph... The park needs more rides that reach this...
August 13, 201312 yr comment_165263 As Han said, they were probably putting Zufari as main priority of the work. Another thing that comes to mind is that the theming on falls & RT has been in a dire state for at least the seven years I've been going and it questions me as to whether these closures may have been a last minute occurrence which perhaps they were condemned unsafe just before the 2013 season. Fury's throughput isn't that brilliant either as I think it used to be 700/800 but nowadays it's closer to 500 which for a primary coaster is rather disappointing. Vampire used to take around 900 on 3 train op which was probably quite good with queues when it was (don't I rode it on 3 trains) but now it around 600 as it only has just 2 which could be even less with apparent slow operations. The only rides I think that have high throughputs there are Falls, Tomb Blaster, Buccaneer and Zufari (which is sadly ruined with the photo queue and pre show to be a good throughput one). Chessington needs more big rides that take 900 pph and Vampire's 3rd train to comeback, the park in my view is the worst Merlin park for throughputs at the mo. Before Chessington screwed up Buccaneer, the throughput was around 900pph. But back then it had air gates so people could batch themselves whilst the ride was moving. They also were able to have children sitting at the end of rows. With that luxury gone, batching takes far longer then it ever needs to so I'd say its throughput is closer to 300 people per hour then the projected 900 that Huss says it can get. Fury's throughput isn't that brilliant either as I think it used to be 700/800 but nowadays it's closer to 500 That throughput was based on Fury running 8 cars which it hasn't done since 2006. It's throughput now is far more like 450/550 (550 is very optimistic) an hour which for the parks second main roller coaster is dire. Still, could be worse and be Rattlesnakes 350pph an hour.
August 14, 201312 yr comment_165296 Dear friends, I am thinking to take my two daughters ( 6 & 7 years) to Chesingtong World of Adventures Saturday 27th of July. Could anyone tell me if is a good day or if the park could be too crowded because of school holidays? Any advice/suggestion? We will be going from London. Thanks in advance and best regards, Oscar Thanks a lot to all for all your answers with advices and suggestions! Any new one would be welcome. Best regards, Oscar Dear colleagues, We went to Chesington last 28th of July, Sunday, and we enjoyed a fantastic time there! Thanks to all for your advices and suggestions, we follow all of them and really had a great time. Best regards, Oscar
August 14, 201312 yr comment_165375 the park in my view is the worst Merlin park for throughputs at the mo. Been to Legoland...
August 15, 201312 yr comment_165384 Lego generally tries for throughputs though, or at least everytime I've been there they have.. Unlike chessie, potential being way higher than their actual due to their laid back attitude to allowing guests onto rides.
August 15, 201312 yr comment_165392 Chessie pushes for guest interaction even on rides like Fury. Fail.
August 15, 201312 yr comment_165394 They don't seem to realise that there is a time and place for guest interaction on rides... It's good to have it, but not on the platform to the detriment of throughputs... Remember seeing an empty car go through the entire station because the batcher was locked in discussion with guests over what rides they'd done that day...
August 16, 201312 yr comment_165504 So, Chessie featured on Daybreak this morning (along with the other UK Merlin parks and Drayton in a random 2 minute theme parky slot). Guess which two rides in particular featured on the Chessie section? Runaway Mine Train and Rameses Revenge. Both rides were shown operating, and Rameses was even named as a ride you can go on. Yet there was no mention at all of Zufari, even though the new attractions at other parks were mentioned! Not Chessie's fault here, but I can imagine there'll be a fair few guests disappointed if they end up visiting after seeing that they're supposedly working...
August 16, 201312 yr comment_165520 Advertising 2 closed rides as open and bypassing a major new attraction, not great management from Chessie and even though it probably isn't all their fault I do think they should've checked the editing as they could well get a few disappointed/angry guests the next coming days.
August 16, 201312 yr comment_165522 To be honest, I doubt Chessington were involved with this in any way. All the sections on the parks had phrases which felt lifted from press releases, and there was a couple of things wrong (Wild Asia was called Wild Africa for example). For the past couple of weeks, Daybreak have had little slots on things to do over the summer and stuff, and today just seemed to be the turn of theme parks. So, I expect it is Daybreak who are at fault, but the park will suffer the consequences from angry guests (even though it is a nice little bit of advertising for the park!)
August 19, 201312 yr comment_165760 Does anyone know if the queue boards are working yet, they seem to have been broken for ages!
August 19, 201312 yr comment_165765 If you mean the black screens in the queues then nope, they never work anymore and the scrolling screens at the queue start are pointless, they are never updated often enough. They always show the wrong waiting times. Very annoying.
August 20, 201312 yr comment_166047 Every weekend is followed by an onslaught of people complaining about queuing and wasps. Evidently lots of people forgot it's the summer holidays.
August 20, 201312 yr comment_166063 Has anyone here actually been recently that could tell me whether the wasp numbers really are that bad, or are people exaggerating. I am going soon and it's just I am not a huge fan of them and will provide entertainment to others in the queues and embarrassment to myself.
August 20, 201312 yr comment_166064 Has anyone here actually been recently that could tell me whether the wasp numbers really are that bad, or are people exaggerating. I am going soon and it's just I am not a huge fan of them and will provide entertainment to others in the queues and embarrassment to myself. You're not the only one When I visited the wasps wernt too bad but then I went to thorpe a couple of weeks later and it was horrible. There were wasps in every single queueline and to be honest most people were exaggerating over them and it was pretty horrid. Drinks capsules were getting thrown around, people were trying to run away in the queueline(although no where to run ) and everyone was trying to hit them with something or other Not sure how bad it is at chessie though, would expect it to be the same?
August 20, 201312 yr comment_166073 Thorpe was awful today for wasps, everywhere! Not sure if Chessington is suffering the same
August 20, 201312 yr comment_166089 Kids are sticky, wasps like sticky and Chessington has more little kids so I'd expect it to have twice as many wasps as Thorpe. I was at Bekonscot Model village today and there were wasps even in the car park, it's just that time of year.
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