Thank you to everyone who attended our 2018 Spring Spectacular event at Chessington World of Adventures!

We'd love to hear your thoughts about the day, whether there are things you particularly enjoyed or any suggestions that we could consider for future events, do let us know.

With it having been a few years since I was last at Chessington, yesterday's event was a really enjoyable way to experience the park again. Thanks to Chessington's organisation on the event side of things, as well as generally good operations, the day felt relatively easy-going and a great start to this year of TTSP events!

The morning ERT on Dragon's Fury was well run, and meant we could avoid having to queue in its cattlepen later in the day. Having not attended the first Summer Sizzler back in 2013, I was very much looking forward to the Temple of Mayhem takeover too, with the opportunity to shoot some foam balls at people. It certainly didn't disappoint, although my legs are now suffering...

I really enjoyed the talk from Andy and Michelle, especially with them being relatively open about the development of The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure. It was also great to see their passion for the attractions that they've been a part of, especially when it can feel like that enthusiasm for guest experience has been less of a priority for Merlin recently.

The behind the scenes tour was then a nice way to round off the day, and provided a real insight into the level of effort and care that has gone (and continues to go) into the attraction. Although this part of the day did involve some waiting around, I think it was appreciated that Chessington kept Vampire Burger Kitchen open as an area to wait in. When it was our turn, it then meant we could be given a comprehensive tour of the attraction that covered both the smallest details, such as the placement of the smell pods, and the largest elements, like the construction of The Gruffalo models. 

It was of course also good to see everyone again, and that is ultimately what made the day as fun as it was!

I had an amazing day yesterday that was full of many highlights, starting with ERT on Dragon's Fury which was a great start to the day.  I really enjoyed myself and loved the MMM talk from Andy & Michelle - such a fascinating insight into the planning of Gruffalo and I loved the little details such as reusing the bubbles from Bubbleworks to make the dandelions!

One of the best parts was of course the takeover of Temple of Mayhem - such a great attraction to have when you can't normally access it and fabulous to let your inner big kid out for half an hour!

The behind the scenes of Gruffalo was a wonderful way to end the day and seeing the ride from a different perspective was really good as well as learning about how the ride system works.

A massive thanks to the team and Chessington for organising such a fantastic day and it was so amazing to see everyone again as the company of great friends made the day so memorable too

This has been an absolutely fantastic event, the exclusives were brilliant and the talk and bts were really insightful. But most of all it's always the amazing people that make these events so brilliant! I've made some brilliant friends through TT and with every event I only make more! 

Cobham Services - The new TT social location? 

Being our first event of the year, it was really good to see everyone enjoying themselves once again. It turned out to be a truly epic weekend!

It was great to start the event off in the hotel before venturing into the park for Dragon's Fury ERT, making it a calm start to the day. I could only manage 4 rides before I had to give up as spinning coasters usually give me a headache. The group ride on Vampire was brilliant, along with The Guffalo River Ride Adventure, and the ride on Rattlesnake was as fun as usual. After a ride on the temperamental Rameses Revenge, it was really nice to sit down and have some lunch at The Smokehouse.

Andy and Michelle gave an insightful talk into the creation of The Gruffalo, which I thoroughly enjoyed as I have a keen interest in the creation of attractions, along with the amount of work that goes into them. This is most certainly something which I'd like to explore further. The tour was facinating, and I must say that this was one of my personal highlights as I was in awe! Thanks to Will who told us more about the ride on our return to the ops booth.

Temple of Mayhem, well what can I say? OUCH!
I'm still aching now from all the running up and down the stairs. My legs are still recovering, but it was well worth it. The rapid fire cannon was a particular favourite of mine, especially when some looked around in all directions to see where the balls were coming from. Sorry for wiping you out, Dan! Yes... I did see you hit the deck

The Cobham Services "Social" was... different, although thoroughly entertaining after the event. I think it made part of the day, especially seeing us all lined up with McDonald's!

There are so many memories from the event, but a big thank you must go to everyone involved at Chessington World of Adventures who really looked after us throughout the day! I was very impressed with how the day ran!

I can't wait until I see everyone again soon!

What a great first event of the season!
The organisation of the day was wonderful, the Chessington staff helped the day go very smoothly, and the TTSP team were welcoming and organised the group throughout all the ride takeovers that happened and the scheduled events. The Gruffalo behind the scenes was a highlight for me!

This was the perfect event for me to bring my 7 year old to, having crashed elements of other events.
This event in particular was perfectly suited due to the majority of rides having a 1.2 hight restriction. The younger members of the group appeared to have an amazing time and the talk offered by Michelle and Andrew was suitable for all ages and Andrew remembering my daughters question from the Q&A during the Gruffalo bts was a wonderful touch. My daughter said of the day:

I definitely loved Dragons Fury: Also,Tempel of Mayhem at the end I loved throwing balls at Paul.
I also enjoyed the behind the scenes on the gruffalo because it was very fun. It was also very nice to learn how things work.
Definitely should do it all again.

As always I loved catching up with familiar faces and meeting new ones. The exclusive time in Temple of Mayhem was a sight to behold and such fun. Much love to all who attended and let mini-me feel part of the group. It means a lot to me, and to her future as an enthusiast is one I'm not sure I'm ready for!
Here's to the next meet

I loved throwing balls at Paul.

I am literally howling, haha!

What lovely feedback! Liam and the VIP team certainly did us proud on this event - look forward to working with them again in the future.

Slightly very late feedback but I had an amazing weekend!!

It was great to see everyone again and also make new friends. The ERT was perfect and the Temple of Mayhem takeover was both terrifying and hilarious
(my thighs have just about recovered)

I really enjoyed the talk and BTS which were very interesting and I equally enjoyed the bubble-fest courtesy of DeadJack5

I can't wait for the next event and I'm sure it will be just as amazing (the swarm ert plz)

Group infinity (group eight) forever!

Yeah, the bubbles were awesome

Ok, this event was stupidly fun. Dragon's Fury ERT was mental, and one of the few ERTs where I've felt ill! The operations were silky smooth which meant we wouldn't have to queue hours for it later on.
The talk from MMM was interesting and it's always nice to see what really goes on when designing a new ride.
Temple of Mayhem. Ouch. That's all I have to say I've got a lovely big bruise from the carnage that went on, and I've now realised why it's usually children only.
The backstage was weird, seeing the Gruffalo from a new angle. It was a nice, much calmer end to the day as well!
It was great to see everyone again! Thanks to the team and Chessington for setting this up See you all at Thorpe in June!

Thanks everyone involved in making this one of my favourite southern events. It was just nice to be able to act like a big kid. I never realised how much fun throwing balls at the team would be, but it was   Thank you to Michelle and Andy for the really interesting talk. I never even comprehended how much went into the Gruffalo and their passion and enthusiasm for the ride is just so infectious.  I really loved the behind the scenes so much. Being able to get so close with scenes and finding out all the intricate details, like the bubbles being used for the dandelions was just crazy. Thank you everyone!