Trip report Thorpe Park and Chessington WoA

Not to long ago I was in England and visited Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventure.

Thorpe Park

The park in general was very nice. Much bether than Alton Towers last time I visitted. It had some nice theming, and it seemed clean. The staff wasn't the best I have seen, but they did their job. The ride selection was very nice, and it was clear that this park was aimed at thrill seekers. (something that suited me very well) The main problem this day was crowds. With many thousands school children running around in the park it was very crowded. Colossus had a two hours que a short time after opening. But with some planning and a good use of single riders que and fasttrack we didn't que more than 30min on any ride. I was in the park with a few fellow ECC members. One of them was from the UK, so he was well known in the park and showed us around.

Colossus ????????? Well the ride was a bit too rough IMO. The part up to the first cork was pretty good, but the rest wasn't that good. The twists where intresting, but its propably not an element we will see in any more rides.. The theming is great, and it's realy cool seeing the train run over, under and around you.

Nemesis Inferno ????????? This is a great ride. Of course no match for Nemesis, but it's still a lot of fun. The pre-lift section was very good. The ride was more forcefull than I had expected, especially the last two helixes. The best seat was definiatly the front row. Very nice theming too!

X: No Way out ????????? The best word to describe this ride is "strange". It is an backward Vekoma coaster in the dark! Featuring elements such as several MCBR?????????s with a complete stop, a fake lift-hill and the usual Vekoma roughness this! I rode it mostly for getting the credits, and I propably wont try it next time I visit the park.

Rush ????????? This was a great ride. Nice airtime and positive g-forces. I only hope they will make it last longer in the future.

Slammer ????????? Except for terrible opperation this was a very good ride. The operators did a very bad job with the boarding, and the que was much longer than necesary. But anyways the ride was surpisingly fun, and the restraints very comfortable.

Chessington World of Adventure

This was a realy nice park. The place was very clean, and the staff was very friendly. The theming was pretty good, especially in the transylvania section.

Dragon?????????s Fury ????????? definiatly the best ride in the park. I'm surprised they advertise this as a family ride since I found it pretty intense. The spinning is mad. The best part is the first drop with the following immelman. Some great spinning there. And don't forget the two helixes and the bunny jump. Definiatly a great ride!

Vampire ????????? My first suspended coaster, and I realy liked it. It swung more than I had expected. I especially like the way how it goes through the trees. At several occasions I was able to touch the trees. The part after the second lift is the best. The way how it take some turns pretty high, before suddenly diving down into a tunnel is very nice. I haven?????????t tried the old trains, but they seemed bether themed than the new ones. Also I think they could have made the tunnel look a bit bether. But definiatly a very beautifull ride.

As it turned out I also got a bonus park: Brgithon Pier. This was a nice park, especially at night time when all the lights are turned on. That way it kind of reminded me of Tivoli and LiseBerg. It was pretty strange riding coaster out on the sea. The park had two coasters:

Crazy Mouse - A standard reverchon spinning wild mouse. The first half is fun, but the madness begins when the cars are allowed to spin. It was almost spinning too much! And when we hit the final brakes the ride continiued to spin for 3 or 4 circiuts before coming to a stop. It was seriously crazy!

Turbo Coaster - A normal Pinfari looper. Rough as expected.

It was a nice trip with some good coasters and parks. I took a lot of pictures, but I'm gonna take them through photoshop, so don't expect them in a while.

My new Top 10 Coasters
1. Nemesis (Alton Towers)
2. Balder (Liseberg)
3. Katun (Mirabilandia)
4. Lisebergbanan (Liseberg)
5. D?????????monen (Tivoli Gardens)
6. Nemesis Inferno (Thorpe Park)
7. Dragon's Fury (Chessington World of Adventures)
8. Kanonen (Liseberg)
9. Thundercoaster (TusenFryd)
10. Oblivion (Alton Towers)

Visit http://www.coastercounter.com for my total coaster list. (username Nosferatu)

Sounds like you had a nice trip. Shame you didnt go to Alton again. Thorpe is apparently really good, i havent been yet but will be going soon hopefully.

BTW i can understand why nemesis is your favourite coaster [:D] Its awesome.

I like nemesis too - But I think my new fave coaster is the big one at blackpool pleasure beach, they had a good number of real "hold on tight" rides at BPB...

What? Why? The Big One? That is one of the worst coasters i've been on. No airtime no G-Forcesm rough as hell, argh i hate the ride I supose when i was little i loved it though

Also i told you you'd have a problem with the School kids at Thorpe Park, but at least you managed to have a good time anyway

Yeah. But they all left at around3pm, so the park was nearly deserted for the last couple of hours.

jpe: I will go to Alton again next time I visit England[;)] But this time we was only in the south. I also realy want to visit Blackpool. Looks like an awesome park.

Expect the pictures somewhere around christmas[;)]