Going to Thorpe and Chessington for the first time

I'm going to Thorpe for the first time this friday, and chessington some time this next week. So I was wondering how the ques are this time a year? Which day would be the best for going to Chessington? Which rides to go to first? Any other things I should know? Thanks in advance for all help!

Its always best to go on the week days, going on week ends would be a waste of money. With Thorpe and Chessington being in London, the queues really do get very large during the summer months. Also you may also be unlucky with the fact this is the time of year all the schools are visiting the parks. Meaning there will be thousands of children running around which is just a nightmare. It may be your best bet to phone the parks up to get information with the situation with school trips, otherwise it would simply be a waste of time going. Also arriving first thing for gate opening times in the morning may be a good idea,this is when there is the least amount of people and you can get on the rides you most want to get on before the queues grow (always try to hit Colossus first, the queues often grow in access of 2 hours when i'm there and always has the biggest queues) Nemesis Inferno and Tidal Wave and usualy quite quick moving queues, so i wouldnt worry about that. However most the other flat rides are usualy pretty slow moving (i cant give any details about Rush and Slammer as i havnt been yet this year)

Chessington last time i went on a weekday during the summer was deserted, most of the queues were straight walk on, but as a warning, this is more of a kids park. When i went i infact hit both CHessington and THorpe Park in the same day. I got to Chessington for gate opening and then left for Thorpe about 11:30, which was a really good day out. Thorpe and Chessington are no more than a 20 min minute drive away, more around 10 minutes. Again you would have to check out the situation with kids visiting Chessington, if there isn't any schools visiting, i would be confident in saying there will be short queues.

So my advice is:

Aviod weekends
Phone (or email, phone is more direct) the parks to check the situation on School Visiting days
Book online for discounts on ticket prices http://www.thorpepark.com/tickets/ticket_prices.asp

Other than that you should be alright and have a good couple of days out

Thorpe Park:


Not so much about theming here, although there are some great examples. More about pure thrills!


Pretty busy with lots of school kids in right now. What you'll find is that because the park is a fairly small island, it will seem much busier than it actually is compared to the queue times! Max queue time on Friday was 1 hour for Colossus (Ride Team working hard!) As for the order of what rides when:

*Like The Edge said above, make sure you get there well before gate opening time, trust me you dont want to be stuck in a queue behind 5 school groups.

*If Colossus has finished it's checks head for it first. Enjoy 10 inversions.
*If it's not ready yet/afterwards turn back on yourself and go on Vortex (Afterburner), as it will have long, slow queues later.
*Then head onto Nemesis Inferno, hopefully before the school kids have got there.
*Take your pick of the following rides - Detonator (Drop Tower), Rush (Screamin' Swing)/Slammer (SkySwat)/Samurai (Topscan)

*Have a mass water ride session on - Tidal Wave (Shoot the Chute)/Ribena Rumba Rapids (Rapids)/Loggers Leap (Log Flume) even Depth Charge (Racing Waterslide) if it has a small queue or you want a look at the Rocket Coaster construction.
*Dry off on the coasters if they have a suitably small queue or the following flats - Quantum (Magic Carpet)/Zodiac (Enterprise).
*Tackle the infamous, highly nauseous ride, X:/No Way Out!
*Re-Ride at your own speed

Check out the following if you have extra time/are interested in them:
*Neptunes Beach (artificial beach), Pirates 4D (4D film/show)+( excellent after lunch), Storm in a Teacup, Stuntzmania (Stunt Show in the Arena).


Pointers:
*Thorpe Park also has its own farm accessible only via the regular Canada Creek Railway trains - a nice journey and worth a look if you have the time/want a place to escape/rest/eat lunch.

*Dont Forget To Eat Lunch[:)] - Try and avoid the main hours between 12-1pm when you'll find all the outlets (e.g. Burger King, McDonalds) packed with those children again.

*If you find yourself the only one in your group who wants to ride a ride/your group doesn't mind being split up, you can use Single Rider Queues (SRQs) which are generally much faster on the following rides (ask a member of staff):
Colossus, Detonator, Nemesis Inferno, Quantum, Rush, Samurai, Tidal Wave and Vortex.

*You can buy a '4Pack' ticket upon entry which lets you skip the queues on Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, Loggers Leap and Tidal Wave for ?????????4. Well worth it if it looks to be busy.



Chessington World of Adventures:


In terms of theming you will love this park, each 'land' is amazing. Enjoy the fantastic atmosphere of the place & there's no need to rush.


Certainly much less affected than Thorpe with school trips. Max Queue time probably peaking around an almighty 10mins believe it or not![:p] As for riding order:

*Again get there early (you may even be let in upto 30mins early)
*You have several options when you first get there (these rides get the biggest queues):

*Option1 - Dragons Fury (Spinning Coaster),
*Option2 - Vampire (Suspended, Swinging Coaster)
*Option3 - Dragon Falls (Log Flume with unique theme)

Then head to the other option rides (see above), riding any of the following on the way:

*Rameses Revenge (Huss TopSpin)[Ask the ride op for the most intense program available! - Long story...], Rattlesnake (Intense Wild Mouse), Tomb Blaster (Interactive Dark Ride), Runaway Train (Powered Mine Coaster), Professor Burp's Bubbleworks! (Great, unique, water/dark ride)[Final Year in park as is!], Black Buccaneer (Airtime-Filled Pirate Ship)

*Re-Ride at your own pace

Also worth a look if time allows -
*Griffins Galleon (Zamperela 'thing'!), Safari Skyway (Nice views around park), Seastorm (small fun flat ride), Beanoland attractions (Fun Dodgems, Chairswing etc), Peeking Heights (Very large Observation wheel), Misc Kids Rides in Toytown.


Pointers:
*Chessington also has a great zoo/'animal land'. This provides a great place to eat lunch or rest from the rides. It is a proper zoo with Tigers, Gorillas etc compared to Thorpes 'Farm'.

*If you find yourself the only one in your group who wants to ride a ride/your group doesn't mind being split up, you can use Single Rider Queues (SRQs) which are generally much faster on the following rides (ask a member of staff):
Dragons Fury [Very Good!], [Possible Rides (These rides you must ask)- Dragon Falls, Vampire, Rattlesnake].

*If operating, and queues suggest the need for it, make use of free Fastrack tickets provided at the entrance to certain attractions. [Dragons Fury, Vampire, Bubbleworks, Tomb Blaster, Dragon Falls]

*Upon entry you can buy a 'DayPlanner' which lets you skip the queues on Runaway Train, Dragons Fury, Dragon Falls, Tomb Blaster, Bubbleworks and Vampire. For a cost of ?????????4, works very well.



Anyway, hope you have a great time, I know you will. As for the issue of spending what time at each park, nowadays and especially at this time of year you really need a full day at each park.

Yours,
dragon2000[pshades]

p.s. What a mammoth post!

Thank you very much to both of you! I didn't think I would get that much feedback. Again thank you.

I'm going to Thorpe at friday along with a pretty big group from ECC. I'll propably take Chessington at tuesday or wednesday. Gonna use the whole day at both parks. I love rerides[;)] Also I gotta have time to take some pictures and some video. Again thanks, and I'm looking forward to visiting both parks.

Tried to book my tickets for Thorpe online, but it was all sold out for that day. Not a good sign. Anyways I'm sure it gonna be great. I qued 2hours for Nemesis a few years ago, so I'm used to it[;)]

Sold out/not available? Could be a good sign. If its the same case as Alton Towers, they dont sell them on certain days when they dont expect a large turnout. So i couild actualy mean there will be little people there

Well I realy hope that is the case. Always fun coming to a themepark when the rides ar emostly walk on[:D]