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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

I won't lie, but I'm a tad disappointed they decided to go with Vekoma rather than S&S (who still own the original Arrow Suspended Coaster design and does still make spare parts for the existing ones). A repaint would be great, I'm probably the only one here who isn't keen on the idea of purple and black. Personally for me, if love to see the track look red again, heck, if it looked blood red, that be the cherry on top, but the supports definitely need to be redone, and I'd prefer it to look like tree trunks, heck, maybe with some cool details like claw marks near the bottom, to create a sense of foreboding. Purple and Black feel too convential and not so 'Gothic' if you get what I mean.

I'd like to see some new trains, though not from vekoma because, to be frank, when I rode Vampire for the first time last year, the speed was great, but it felt like the swinging wasn't that snappy or as extreme as it could've been, and I don't really like the restraints.



Anyway, onto Dragon Fury's repaint, hopefully the grey won't be it's final coat, but I've heard that there's going to be more props added in the queue. That'll be interesting to see!
 
Trooper Looper said:
I won't lie, but I'm a tad disappointed they decided to go with Vekoma rather than S&S (who still own the original Arrow Suspended Coaster design and does still make spare parts for the existing ones). A repaint would be great, I'm probably the only one here who isn't keen on the idea of purple and black. Personally for me, if love to see the track look red again, heck, if it looked blood red, that be the cherry on top, but the supports definitely need to be redone, and I'd prefer it to look like tree trunks, heck, maybe with some cool details like claw marks near the bottom, to create a sense of foreboding. Purple and Black feel too convential and not so 'Gothic' if you get what I mean.

I'd like to see some new trains, though not from vekoma because, to be frank, when I rode Vampire for the first time last year, the speed was great, but it felt like the swinging wasn't that snappy or as extreme as it could've been, and I don't really like the restraints.



Anyway, onto Dragon Fury's repaint, hopefully the grey won't be it's final coat, but I've heard that there's going to be more props added in the queue. That'll be interesting to see!
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When they were searching for new trains (2001), Arrow was bankrupt but hadn't yet been sold to S&S, that was in October 2002 I believe.
Just to scare a few older readers, this was how people on the forums of the time reacted (this was still before my time). https://www.themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=806
 
Trooper Looper said:
I won't lie, but I'm a tad disappointed they decided to go with Vekoma rather than S&S (who still own the original Arrow Suspended Coaster design and does still make spare parts for the existing ones). A repaint would be great, I'm probably the only one here who isn't keen on the idea of purple and black. Personally for me, if love to see the track look red again, heck, if it looked blood red, that be the cherry on top, but the supports definitely need to be redone, and I'd prefer it to look like tree trunks, heck, maybe with some cool details like claw marks near the bottom, to create a sense of foreboding. Purple and Black feel too convential and not so 'Gothic' if you get what I mean.

I'd like to see some new trains, though not from vekoma because, to be frank, when I rode Vampire for the first time last year, the speed was great, but it felt like the swinging wasn't that snappy or as extreme as it could've been, and I don't really like the restraints.



Anyway, onto Dragon Fury's repaint, hopefully the grey won't be it's final coat, but I've heard that there's going to be more props added in the queue. That'll be interesting to see!
Click to expand...

Thameslink Rail said:
When they were searching for new trains (2001), Arrow was bankrupt but hadn't yet been sold to S&S, that was in October 2002 I believe.
Just to scare a few older readers, this was how people on the forums of the time reacted (this was still before my time). https://www.themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=80
Click to expand...
I do have a couple of comments on this, the link to the S&S buyout read like S&S was about to become a top player on the coaster circuit matching intamin and such.

I wouldnt trust an S&S product personally, from a business/risk point of view vekoma is the safer option …
 
Trooper Looper said:
I won't lie, but I'm a tad disappointed they decided to go with Vekoma rather than S&S (who still own the original Arrow Suspended Coaster design and does still make spare parts for the existing ones). A repaint would be great, I'm probably the only one here who isn't keen on the idea of purple and black. Personally for me, if love to see the track look red again, heck, if it looked blood red, that be the cherry on top, but the supports definitely need to be redone, and I'd prefer it to look like tree trunks, heck, maybe with some cool details like claw marks near the bottom, to create a sense of foreboding. Purple and Black feel too convential and not so 'Gothic' if you get what I mean.

I'd like to see some new trains, though not from vekoma because, to be frank, when I rode Vampire for the first time last year, the speed was great, but it felt like the swinging wasn't that snappy or as extreme as it could've been, and I don't really like the restraints.



Anyway, onto Dragon Fury's repaint, hopefully the grey won't be it's final coat, but I've heard that there's going to be more props added in the queue. That'll be interesting to see!
Click to expand...
The track has never been red. Don't know what colour you'd call it tbh, maybe orange at a push.

The Vekoma trains massively reduced the swinging and its a real shame because Vampire has the best layout of the lot.

I've rode quite a few of them in recent years. The Bat at Kings Island is an absolutely brilliant ride, you swing into the brake run at a 90° angle.
 
RicketyCricket said:
The track has never been red. Don't know what colour you'd call it tbh, maybe orange at a push.

The Vekoma trains massively reduced the swinging and its a real shame because Vampire has the best layout of the lot.

I've rode quite a few of them in recent years. The Bat at Kings Island is an absolutely brilliant ride, you swing into the brake run at a 90° angle.
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I guess it's how you see it. There does seem to be hints of orange in the track during its early years, but it looks mostly red to me.

I agree, Vekomas trains don't seem to give the layout justice, and the remaining Arrow Suspended Coastets with the original cars really do whip you around those banked turns, which looks to add the fun to it even more. I'd be up for new trains that look and perform like arrows design! If it gives a better experience, count me in!!
 
I'd absolutely be on the phone to Vekoma over S&S. New Vekoma suspended coasters are great, where as S&S can be a bit questionable and I think the only suspended coaster they've built is the Free Fly in Sweden
 
If Vekoma are handling the new trains then I'd take a guess that Taziker would be doing the retrack in keeping export costs down by having the track built in this country rather than abroad.

Likely be a Nemesis job in which the only old track to remain are the lift hills and break runs.
 
Has a re-track or re-train been rumored or announced? I thought this speculation was purley based on seeing a car with Vekoma's branding at the Park.
This could be for many reasons. For example Just a general inspection of Vampir's condition to determine if work needs to be done. Or tendering for a new ride that's very early in development.
Did I miss something else that suggests a Vampire rebuild or is this just based on the ride being old?
 
Tim said:
Has a re-track or re-train been rumored or announced? I thought this speculation was purley based on seeing a car with Vekoma's branding at the Park.
This could be for many reasons. For example Just a general inspection of Vampir's condition to determine if work needs to be done. Or tendering for a new ride that's very early in development.
Did I miss something else that suggests a Vampire rebuild or is this just based on the ride being old?
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I would imagine due to the age of the vampire and nemesis having a re-track . Metal fatigue etc.

One question... If it's a re track do they have to place track like for like. I.e. can the rail be different to support a different coaster? The supports the same height and location but a different rail design.. say 4d?
 
Age isn't the only factor in if a ride needs a retrack. Actually it's not even the most important.

Hulk is the first B&M I know of that needed a retrack and it was over 10 years younger than Nemesis (Hulk ran for 16 years, Nemesis 28).
In that case it was the number of ride cycles that was more important as Hulk ran almost day and night with no closed seasons.
Plus I'm sure Universal saw the benefit of retracking one of their headline ride rather than letting it age with every increasing maintenance costs.

Then there's the stress on the track caused by the train. Eagles Fortress (a great companion as it was the same ride type as Vampire but shares many similarities to Nemesis) didn't even last 10 years. The forces on the track were just too much to handle. This is part of the stated reason why Nemesis needs a retrack. After near 30 years of running along the side of a pit some of the supports needed to come out to strengthen the foundations. For this reason I'd be shocked if Oblivion/Galactica don't outlive Nemesis.
Likewise Vampire is a far tamer ride and on more stable terrain than Eagles Fortress.

Not that I'm saying it doesn't need a retrack. It is 30+ years old and it's not a B&M. But there are old Arrow rides still running today (many examples actually) that are still going strong.
 
In my view, there’s another factor in whether Vampire will receive a retrack or not… as well as the state of the track, you do have to question whether the ride is popular enough or iconic enough to receive such treatment, as well as whether a replacement in the form of a brand new ride would be more viable.

Retracking a ride like-for-like is an expensive form of refurbishment with little inherent marketability, so a business couldn’t justify it for any old ride. It’s about weighing up the pros and cons; retracking like-for-like is not always the best option even when the ride has some degree of iconicity. For instance, Universal Orlando retracked Hulk, but decided to scrap Dragon Challenge and replace it with a brand new ride in Hagrid’s. Both decisions seem to have gone down very well for them.

With something like Nemesis, I can understand why Merlin decided that retracking it was the most viable option. It’s a fairly popular ride, so it certainly has reputation on its side. It’s also in a pit bespokely designed for it, so replacing it would likely be difficult and expensive.

Would they come to the same decision regarding Vampire, though? It doesn’t seem exceptionally popular or highly rated like Nemesis is. It’s also not enmeshed into the terrain quite like Nemesis is, so it could make it easier to replace. Furthermore, a retrack could be harder for a ride like Vampire seeing as the manufacturer is now defunct and the model is no longer sold. One thing that could work in its favour is the rumour that a replacement of equal size would not be permitted by the council, but I’m unsure if that’s true or just a rumour or assumption.
 
Matt N said:
Would they come to the same decision regarding Vampire, though? It doesn’t seem exceptionally popular or highly rated like Nemesis is. It’s also not enmeshed into the terrain quite like Nemesis is, so it could make it easier to replace. Furthermore, a retrack could be harder for a ride like Vampire seeing as the manufacturer is now defunct and the model is no longer sold. One thing that could work in its favour is the rumour that a replacement of equal size would not be permitted by the council, but I’m unsure if that’s true or just a rumour or assumption.
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It's the most popular ride at Chessington (edging out Dragons Fury), and it holds nostalgic value for many. I believe that it definitely could be retracked.
 
AT86 said:
That is absolutely the case. The council have said they would not allow a development of the scale of Vampire on that site again.
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Fair enough; I wasn’t sure if it had been confirmed or not.

In that case, that does probably strengthen the case for Vampire being retracked rather than removed.

I would argue, however, that they could still build a spiritual successor to Vampire elsewhere on park. While such a ride would not directly replace it, it could fill the same gap in the lineup and have the same money spent on it as a Vampire retrack.

When the time came, they could then replace Vampire with something a bit tamer, quieter and more council-friendly.
 
The story from John Wardley before Nemesis is that he heard Six Flags had some new technology coming and was then told its a roller coaster under the tracks, to which his response was we already have one of those at Chessington! Of course the new B&M could invert so Batman/Nemesis are significantly different to Vampire.

But I think Vampire is significantly important to the development of Chessington from a zoo into a theme park and subsequently the development of Tussauds empire.
 
Here’s an interesting thought; given that the council have said that they would block a Vampire replacement of equivalent size, would they even permit a Vampire retrack?

I know that it would be a hefty refurbishment of the existing ride rather than a new one (so not a replacement per se), but through a certain lens, you could argue that it’s a replacement, and the council may view it as maintaining the obstruction provided by the existing Vampire when they could be removing it…

I’m not trying to scare anyone here, but it’s just a thought I had.
 
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