06:53 - David
Here we go again, I'm off to pick up the Ratcliffes, then TH13TEEN here we come!
07:29 - Mark
Good morning everybody! Are we all excited? It should be an interesting day ahead as we venture into the Dark Forest.
07:50 - Matt
Morning all! I am up and just about to leave with Sue, picking Fluffy (Coaster-Crazy) up on the way to the Resort! Looking forward to some Dark Forest action!
08:04 - Aaron
I've arrived at the resort! Nice to see the open times for the theme park back. There's a wraith at the trade entrance gate too! No updates from me today as I'm working. Enjoy the coverage though!
08:23 - David
We're here! Just waiting for the monorail, but here's a Thirteen poster to wet your appetite.
08:26 - Matt
We have arrived! The car park is busy even at this hour!
08:32 - David
Open up monorail!
08:49 - Mark
It's a rather drab morning but the Corkscrew in the entrance plaza is very impressive.
08:50 - David
We're at the entrance, and here's a couple of pics of Corkscrew sitting proudly in the plaza.
09:10 - Mark
We're in! New merchandise in Towers Trading.
09:24 - David
We're at the entrance of the Dark Forest, the area is looking fantastic and the music is very spooky and atmospheric.
09:28 - David
It's Testing!
09:29 - Mark
There are big queues leading to the area.
09:30 - David
Here's the new Sky Ride station looking all shiny and new.
09:31 - Mark
Woodcutters Bar
09:36 - Mark
The tension is mounting!
09:37 - Mark
Woodcutters Bar
09:40 - Mark
Rita's shop.
09:50 - David
Here's the entrance to Thirteen, we're in the queue now.
09:51 - Mark
Everyone is now in the Thirteen queue.
09:59 - Mark
The Thirteen queue is a massive one, and it looks to be full! Everyone is getting soaked. It's still not started loading guests, we hope it opens on time - in about 1 minute!
10:02 - Mark
Rita station.
10:03 - Mark
Just as I say that, the first full train completes a circuit. Bang on 10am. Trains seem to be setting off quickly, it's looking good for throughput!
10:09 - David
There's lots of broken tree theming in the queue, there's even an old Alton Towers van being engulfed by the Dark Forest.
10:11 - Mark
Looking through the trees towards the station entrance.
10:22 - David
Almost there!
10:25 - Mark
Not long now.
10:39 - David
Here's the station, fantastically themed!
10:40 - Matt
Just got off Th13teen and wow! What an amazing ride! The theming is dense. Lots of it and of a high quality! The layout was very smooth and fast paced. The indoor drop was well presented too with air blowing of you and loads of ace sounds! The station is also of a high quality with not a blank space anywhere. Very very impressed!
10:50 - David
My opinion of Thirteen is, it's FANTASTIC!
The theming is top notch, the coaster section is fun and very smooth and the indoor section was amazing, very dark and atmospheric, and the drop works extremely well.
We could have a new top ride at Alton Towers!
10:51 - Mark
We're off, first impressions: very good! The station has some great theming, with dimmed lights and a green eerie effects. There's also the girl whispering "you better not go alone" and other phrases. The first part of the ride is very smooth and fairly rapid - some nice banked turns in there. The only critisism would be that it's a little short.
However, it's the crypt that puts a real smile on your face. After the train parks inside, some more fantastic theming is lit up and with a blast of air, the train drops a couple of feet. Shortly after it plummets all the way down, revealing more impressive surroundings. Before you have time to take it all in, you're launched out in reverse surprisingly quicky.
The upwards helix that follows has a disorientating sway to it and seems to go on for quite a bit. Finally you're back out in the daylight, and somewhat launched again back into the station.
All in all a very solid ride that didn't seem unfinished at all. The throughput seems good and all is going smooth so far. The best themed ride in park without a doubt.
10:53 - David
Here's the front of Thirteen's ruin.
10:54 - David
...and here's Rita's new entrance.
10:59 - David
...and Rita's new look station.
11:24 - Mark
Forest Feast.
11:29 - Mark
A re-themed shooting gallery in the Dark Forest.
11:30 - David
We're just heading back to Towers Street before heading for lunch.
We've spotted some new recycling bins, as mentioned in the long term development plans.
11:34 - David
Your Day is closed, again.
11:35 - Mark
Galloping Gargoyles.
11:50 - Mark
We're just heading to Burger King for some lunch now. If you're bored whilst we eat, be sure to check out our iPhone and iPod touch app - Thrill Seeker. You can find out more at http://thrillseekerapp.com/
Back when we're full!
11:51 - David
New Ben and Jerry's stall, looking very good.
11:56 - Aaron
Quick update from me, as everyone is on park, the two full Th13teen tv adverts have been released online. Pre an post watershed.
12:47 - Mark
X-Strike in X-Sector.
12:50 - Mark
Oblivion is down at the moment, but it has a nice new logo on its entrance!/
12:51 - Mark
Oblivion is back up now - we're queueing for it.
13:13 - David
Oblivion's on ride video is now working.
13:15 - Mark
That Oblivion ride was wet! The rain is back to its 'best' now.
13:24 - Mark
The Sky Ride is now open! Good news.
13:53 - David
We've just been through Sharkbait Reef and there are some new tanks added about halfway through.
14:16 - David
The radio control cars from Rita have moved to Forbidden Valley.
14:17 - Mark
The maps around park have a hint of Thirteen to them.
14:29 - Mark
Here's one of those maps.
15:08 - David
15:11 - David
That was some theming we've spotted in the Thirteen queue, very spooky.
15:35 - Mark
Just been on Thirteen again, it really is a top ride!
15:41 - Mark
A sign near the station entrance.
15:53 - Mark
A Thirteen car about to leave the station.
15:55 - Matt
Here is some of the new rita gear on sale!
15:58 - Mark
The return to the station.
16:02 - Mark
A well themed wall inside the station.
16:25 - Mark
Not the best shot, but this is inside the building. Just before the drop.
16:41 - Mark
Again not the best shot, but this is inside the crypt. You can make out the wraith which is in front of you as the train launches backwards. Supposedly this will move towards you as you go back, but this wasn't the case today. Apparently that wasn't the only missing effect either -it's already pretty good.
17:09 - Mark
As dusk falls over the park the lights come on. You can imagine the Dark Forest looking very nice at night.
17:11 - Mark
Inside the Thirteen station building there's a large tesla coil - let's hope this is operational in the near future!
17:58 - Mark
That concludes our coverage from today. We've just been on Thirteen a couple more times and John Wardley has just left the station for a ride himself. Unsuprisingly he's been there all day judging the reactions from guests. I think it's fair to say they've been positive! Remember to check out live.chessingtonnerd.com tomorrow for live coverage from the opening of the new Wild Asia area. Over and out...