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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

Its all a bit half arsed isn't it.

Rehashing a logo for what feels like the 9th time.
Theres theming but not in scale with the ride.
The ride looks shocking capacity.
The theming that's there is a bit "local park".
If the music on the teaser is the audio again it feels re-hashed.

I started writing more and Im just wholly met with "Meh" in my head.
 
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Themeing is decent quality, Merlin are at least fairly good at big centrepieces.

Just everything else is a bit lacking. Though I doubt Chessie could build anything bigger unfortunately (which then questions why you'd get a drop tower in the first place).

Like... This around the base of something like Scream? Yes. This? Not so much.
 
To be fair, I think the theming looks fairly substantial - although it is grossly out of scale as the tower itself is poxy. Main concern are:

- Ride quality
- Capacity

Of course, anyone who says it isn't very good will be met with "but it's a family ride".
 
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I noticed the music in the video is very similar to the new Tomb Blaster music, which makes sense with it being made by the same person.
 
I think what also doesn't help make the tower look finished is that it doesn't have a top hat. Drop towers such as Hurakan Condor, Apocalypse, Ice Blast and the Unikitty Disco Drops have some kind of themeing on top to well, top off the tower. As this just ends it looks like there's still another piece to be added on.
 
Thank GOODNESS the scenic paint wasnt finished in that media I posted earlier. I honestly thought it was after seeing it stay the same for like two months and with the ride now testing

Just a little colour and scenic texture goes a looong way. It's not the best rockwork in the UK but its alright.

But it still looks ridiculous. How did this ever get passed. It looks like the crocodile god took a giant dump on the ride.

I hope Im wrong, but it looks like the way it's been designed will just detract rather than add to the experience
 
OilyWater said:
But it still looks ridiculous. How did this ever get passed. It looks like the crocodile god took a giant dump on the ride.

I hope Im wrong, but it looks like the way it's been designed will just detract rather than add to the experience
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Do you mean in terms of the scale of the theming piece, or in terms of the actual theming piece being there in the first place?

Personally, I think it looks fantastic, and really striking, but each to their own, I suppose!
 
Matt N said:
Do you mean in terms of the scale of the theming piece, or in terms of the actual theming piece being there in the first place?
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Both really

Dropping into a big crocodile's mouth sounds good on paper, but when the tower is just a small one you're never going to get the perspective of dropping into a hole (like on Oblivion for example) when the croc head so big. I can only hope Im proven wrong there

Then youre trying to fit a crocodile head around a ride. To get that to look right is challenging and expensive, it's ended up looking very boxy.

The side angle looks right, but other angles it looks like a shapeless blob. Slap a logo on to sell merch and that's it. Youd have to do more architecture around it to make it look right, but it's overkill for a small flat ride.

What does it actually add? Nothing more than the small volcano on Paultons Park's one probably. It's come at the cost of a better queueline (like putting it back around the canopies) and other details that add to the experience. The statues and waterfall over the entrance have been cut for example.

A great trick that Disney and Universal use is to make say a temple ruin that subtly 'seems' like a croc from some angles, rather than force it. Or just keep it simple, Rameses got it right decades ago
 
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It's a family drop tower guys. That will look terrifying to much of its actual target audience.

You're probably just a big too big for Chessington these days.
 
Benjsh said:
It's a family drop tower guys. That will look terrifying to much of its actual target audience.

You're probably just a big too big for Chessington these days.
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Well but that’s kinda the problem - will it look terrifying (to kids or anyone) when you can only see the top 3’ of the tower?


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siralgenon said:
I think what also doesn't help make the tower look finished is that it doesn't have a top hat. Drop towers such as Hurakan Condor, Apocalypse, Ice Blast and the Unikitty Disco Drops have some kind of themeing on top to well, top off the tower. As this just ends it looks like there's still another piece to be added on.
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I vote for a massive sausage to make it look like the croc from punch and Judy snapping at his juicy prize. That's the way to do it.
 
Islander said:
Well but that’s kinda the problem - will it look terrifying (to kids or anyone) when you can only see the top 3’ of the tower?


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I'm pretty sure younger minds are more focused on the great big crocodile rather than things not being to scale... hahahahaha

This is just TP enthusiasts being nit picky. It will be a huge hit with the people's it's meant to be with. Although I do think the capacity is a huge issue. The queues will be awful
 
Not this same thing again..
Benjsh said:
I'm pretty sure younger minds are more focused on the great big crocodile rather than things not being to scale... hahahahaha
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Theyre not supposed to. Im sure that children don't care about the directing, cinematography, editing etc that goes into their favourite kids movie either, but it has to be done well (by adults) to make it work best.

Families will care about whether the ride is good or not, theyre not gonna come out with some kind of critical review or know how to design it better, but it couldve been a better ride experience.

Go to most average-smallish family theme park in Europe you will see they are better places than Chessington has become through its weird developments.

Its not rocket science or my personal preference, its just what goes into making a theme park.
 
OilyWater said:
Not this same thing again..

Theyre not supposed to. Im sure that children don't care about the directing, cinematography, editing etc that goes into their favourite kids movie either, but it has to be done well (by adults) to make it work best.

Families will care about whether the ride is good or not, theyre not gonna come out with some kind of critical review or know how to design it better, but it couldve been a better ride experience.

Go to most average-smallish family theme park in Europe you will see they are better places than Chessington has become through its weird developments.

Its not rocket science or my personal preference, its just what goes into making a theme park.
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They will care if a ride is good or not? Said by someone who hasn't ridden the ride yet. And the ride looks perfectly fine to me. It's not a thrill ride. It's a family ride with minor thrills in a family based park.

What are you not grasping? If you want a thrill based drop tower then go to a park aimed at teenagers and thrill seekers. It seems you're either a bit confused or just upset that you're probably a bit too old for Chessington now.
 
It's the execution. Stack it up against say Magma at Paultons, which has less themeing but looks more in scale. Both are SBF Visa rides, same height and model I believe and Chessington made a mess compared to Paultons and have a way bigger budget to build it with.

So it looks unimpressive and has poor throughput due to being small. Kids maybe daft, exaggerative and hyperactive, but they aren't blind. There's a good chance the visiting party will have more than 1 sprog in it and looking unimpressive plus a long queue means it'll be missed out. Next time you go to a park and walk past a ride like it with a queue, you'll possibly hear the parent telling little Jonny to do something else because of said queue. This combined with KPIs the adults fill in who will see it for what it is contributes to failings in the rides.

Chesvegas is a family park and as such should appeal to the whole family. This rides failings are questioning who in such a family it'd appeal to and it'd be a small range and within that small range, many will think it's small and gloss over it.
 
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Enthusiast - the new ride at Chessington sucks. It's awful. I mean terrible.
Person - I didn't realise it was open yet?
Enthusiast - it's not.

If any of you are ever summoned for jury service, I'd have a copy of this thread ready to demonstrate why you'd be wholly unsuitable.
 
Whether it's open or not, the name and logo are both atrocious.

At least the area will get a bit of a spruce up after being left to rot for so long.
 
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