• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Chessington World of Adventures Resort

Bowser said:
I wonder if a Vekoma Flyer a la FLY at Phantasialand would work on the existing track layout? Would be a major overhaul of course but could give the rides many more decades whilst bringing it into the 21st century and also retaining the charm of the original.
Click to expand...
Pretty unlikely, that's a completely different ride type and would require a lot of space, much more I think than they have to work with on the Vampire site. I seem to remember there being some planning permission issues when they built Vampire so they'll have a hard time convincing the locals of the merits of such a project.

Far more likely they'll replace it with a Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster in the style of Flight of the Pterosaur at Paultons, with a custom layout they could probably mimic the original layout pretty closely and avoid any planning issues. That would also appeal to a similar demographic and would be a good choice for Chessington.
 
For a park that already struggles with any sort of crowds, I can’t imagine these seemingly increasing number of closures are going to do much for the precious KPIs.

On top of that I can’t help but feel that the charm that Chessington once had, is now almost entirely lost. Bespoke and quirky ride concepts are slowly making for lacklustre ride hardware thinly veiled in generic IPs.
 
NuttySquirrel said:
Pretty unlikely, that's a completely different ride type and would require a lot of space, much more I think than they have to work with on the Vampire site. I seem to remember there being some planning permission issues when they built Vampire so they'll have a hard time convincing the locals of the merits of such a project.

Far more likely they'll replace it with a Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster in the style of Flight of the Pterosaur at Paultons, with a custom layout they could probably mimic the original layout pretty closely and avoid any planning issues. That would also appeal to a similar demographic and would be a good choice for Chessington.
Click to expand...

No I mean using the existing layout so it presumably wouldn’t require planning permission, it would essentially be changing the trains again (and likely retracking).
 
owenstreet7 said:
Amazing to hear, I notice they haven't said anything about Tiger Rock at current so this could be a sign that we're not getting a farewell yet (retheme or not) 🤔
Click to expand...
They absolutely can’t afford to get rid of it at this stage when half the park’s a building site.

Keep it open for 2026, put some papier mâché tigers on the bridges then redo during 2027 while the other half of Minecraft is up and running.

The place really is a mess at the moment, though - and as someone who visited pretty much every year in recent times until last year I won’t be going back until all this work’s done.
 
For Vampire, I think there are two good options:

a) Replace it with a Vekoma Family Suspended, as they tend to be. However, the banking would need to be different to account for how much it used to swing. From my limited experience of them, they do also feel more like inverted coasters, which might not suit the Vampire's long layout.

b) (Better) An exact refurbishment/track replacement, with Vekoma Family Suspended trains adapted to fully swing.

I hope they keep it though, as I can't imagine the park without it.
 
Bowser said:
No I mean using the existing layout so it presumably wouldn’t require planning permission, it would essentially be changing the trains again (and likely retracking).
Click to expand...
Yes but I just don't think that's at all possible with a Flying Coaster as it's a completely different type of ride and you wouldn't be able to use the original layout. The Vekoma SFC is the closest modern equivalent, even then I imagine some reprofiling could be needed given that it doesn't swing.
 
Vampire had an overhaul before and the track doesn't need redoing (from John Wardley Interview), so I see no reason it couldn't be done again
 
NuttySquirrel said:
Yes but I just don't think that's at all possible with a Flying Coaster as it's a completely different type of ride and you wouldn't be able to use the original layout. The Vekoma SFC is the closest modern equivalent, even then I imagine some reprofiling could be needed given that it doesn't swing.
Click to expand...

Why couldn't you theoretically use the layout? Presumably customisation would be required during the re-track but the basic route seems like it would be cool. From watching this it seems like it could work, possibly add some rolls but i'm no mechanical engineer. Might try in RCT and see how it pans out.


From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzsB-f2Sn0k
 
It'd be enormously more complicated to attempt to replace Vampire with a Vekoma flyer than a SFC. Most obvious issue would be the station as FLY loads side-on then rotates the track round to the flying position. There simply wouldn't be space for this on the Vampire site.

To be honest even putting a SFC there wouldn't be trivial. They have flat stations rather than the gravity driven station found on Vampire so some reworking would be required there. You'd also have to ensure any replacement ride complied to modern clearance requirements which could differ significantly from Vampire's. No doubt there would be other challenges too.
 
Bowser said:
I wonder if a Vekoma Flyer a la FLY at Phantasialand would work on the existing track layout? Would be a major overhaul of course but could give the rides many more decades whilst bringing it into the 21st century and also retaining the charm of the original. Flying through the trees and over the roofs plus the theming make it a natural fit. Could even extend it into the Trail of the Kings area (and a dark ride section plus launch in the "old" station though i'm heading a bit deep into fantasy realms now).

Not sure about the harnesses as even without inversions could be a much taller height restriction than Vampire which would be a hit but then Minecraft will somewhat be filling that void. If they can get it 1.2m or lower that could be ok.

The ride is the heart and soul of the park to me, the equivalent of Nemesis so even if it just ends up being a re-track of the current ride i think it's essential it stays in some form.
Click to expand...
Was wondering the same thing, I'm my day dreams about planning rides haha. Think the bit after the 2nd lift would lend itself well to flying. Would require a significant overhaul of the station (as in complete remodel/redesign of layout). Replace the traditional chain lifts with launches (a plus for the locals). Maybe squeeze an inversion or 2 (maybe an inline as you come out of the tunnel and over the 2nd lift). I even started a mock-up of what it might look like as a fun exercise in Sketchup:

Vampire New

Not sure if it at all would be achievable or a realistic prospect, but fun to dream!
 
Dave said:
There isn’t a “favourite child” of the group, that’s the point, you are putting an emotional slant on the decisions Merlin make which doesn’t exist.

Don’t think it’s anything to be upset about either, personally I would rather Merlin makes the best out of all its parks, I don’t need them to have favourites, I want them to maximise all of them.
Click to expand...
It's not so much there being an 'emotional slant'. What I am getting at is this. What Merlin park makes the most amount of business sense to invest in more continuously? It's neither Thorpe or Alton Towers, because they are receiving hardly any of the same levels of investment as constantly as Chessington. It seems my posts were misinterpreted, or I did not explain my point clearly enough. There is no emotional investment when it comes to business.
 
The Big Mack said:
It's not so much there being an 'emotional slant'. What I am getting at is this. What Merlin park makes the most amount of business sense to invest in more continuously? It's neither Thorpe or Alton Towers, because they are receiving hardly any of the same levels of investment as constantly as Chessington. It seems my posts were misinterpreted, or I did not explain my point clearly enough. There is no emotional investment when it comes to business.
Click to expand...

Chessington makes the most sense to invest in. As others have said it is under pressure from Paultons who continue to go from strength to strength.

Even if it wasn't for Paultons, Chessington is the closest Theme Park to London with great public transport links. It also benefits from being a whole family theme park with the other 2 merlin parks in the area aimed at specific age categories. The recent investment of world of Jumanji has increased it's age appeal attracting the teen / young adult market. Paw Patrol will give them a foothold for preschool / early primary meaning it will boost midweek visits and help them compete with Peppa Pig. Minecraft will then fill the gap between the 2 so they have been very clever with the investments. The additional accommodation and waterpark will increase multi stay visits and ensure they get even more revenue per visit.

Alton Towers is probably the highest UK revenue park however the sheer size and heritage make it incredibly expensive to run and maintain. Recent years have seen capital spent on just standing still and for all we know could actually have cost more than the chessington investments. It also suffers from poor access so has to try harder to compete. The mix of trying to appeal as much to adrenaline junkies as well as tots first coasters means investments are difficult to get right. Most on here are critical of the bluey coaster when really we have seen the last 2 investments aimed at the adrenaline junkies so it probably is cbeebies turn.

Thorpe Park i would say generates the least profit. The rides are hugely costly to run and any investment needs to be big to drive visitor numbers. As successful as Hyperia is it probably won't generate the same return as Minecraft or Paw Patrol. Add to that Thorpe is open the fewest number of days a year and doesn't take advantage of Feb half term or Christmas or have much of a hotel. This probably means its return on investment is low.

Legoland is probably the odd one out. Its had rather poor levels of investment despite being the busiest UK merlin park and arguably the most profitable. There has been investment in accommodation as well as mini figure speedway which was welcome however the rapids being sat now for a number of seasons is embarrassing. We haven't heard of any significant plans other than the entrance portal in some time. This could indicate some of Legoland investment spend is being sent to Chessington maybe because of the popularity of Lego and not needing to invest as Lego drives the visitors anyway.

We will never know the inner thinking of Merlin but as a business they will want the biggest return on investment and are in a fortunate position of being able to distribute capital accordingly. It could be compared to regional government spending when the formula says spending in London will see a bigger return than spending in Newcastle. Newcastle might need it more but London will generate more return so gets the investment.
 
Glen_Belt_77 said:
Land of the Tiger, Room on the Broom, Croc Drop, Rainforest and Shipwreck Coast over the 5 years before WOJ - Decent investment and retheming no?
Click to expand...
a lot of that was second/third hand rides cheaply done. Yes Shipwreck coast was still an improvement, but it was only only one new ride and some themed items that will likely be looking worn out already. Mandrill Mayhem was the first major ride investment since Zufari really. Everything else has been minor rethemes or cheaply done. Even Croc Drop which should have been a major investment was done with cheaper hardware that is prone to issues.
 
Depends on definition of "decent".

Sort of thinking that has landed the parks into the situation where the likes of Chessie needed to close 2 areas of the park to rebuild because the place has worked off scraps for years.

The big investments are certainly down to fixing years of minimalism. As we learnt from Thorpe adding stuff just to say "we added something" doesn't help either.
 
New for 20XX has been the Chessington way for the last decade always having 'something' new nearly every season even if a rethemed or cheaper addition. I dunno guess it shows the constant need to evolve as one new attraction opens and older one is canned
 
Glen_Belt_77 said:
Land of the Tiger, Room on the Broom, Croc Drop, Rainforest and Shipwreck Coast over the 5 years before WOJ - Decent investment and retheming no?
Click to expand...

Far from it. All done on the cheap, really.

Room on the Broom: A few 2D cut outs and effects in a pre-existing building and layout.
Croc Drop: A cheap SBF drop tower.
Rainforest: Hand-me-downs from other Merlin properties. Presented nicely, admittedly but doesn't scream major investment.
Shipwreck Coast: Hand-me-downs from other Merlin properties. Presented nicely, admittedly but doesn't scream major investment.
Land of the Tiger: A cheap retheme of a 30-year old log flume, that worsened the ride experience.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top