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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

MattBTP said:
I do know John Wardley's designs were well received by the industry at the time. I seem to recall he was invited out to WDW for a backstage tour of ToT so it appears he turned heads at WDI.
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I'm not quite sure I recognise this. While the old Bubble Works is still one my favourite dark rides personally, and it was a surprisingly big hit with the public when it comes to UK parks, it would never have turned heads at Disney. There is an enormous spectrum of parks between UK standards and Disney after all.

It must be said John Wardley didn't design Bubble Works. From 1988 ish onwards (after Chessington opened) John was a park developer for Tussauds looking after park-level developments with the few others in the Tussauds 'A-team'!

Any invitation to Disney would have been an invitation to the whole development team surely. Any head turning he did would have been for his contribution to park developments, which he was very good at. He also actively contributed to designs of attractions and did the initial concepts so this isn't to downplay his contribution.

The only attractions he actually designed for Tussauds were the opening day rides at Chessington and you could argue Nemesis since he drafted the layout, which for a coaster is most the design done for you, though the final design was whoever B&M contracted to iron it out.

Chessington was great for the UK at the time, but certainly not a Disney park even at that time. You can enjoy a great meal without it needing to be compared to a 5 michelin star meal ya get me
 
I don't think any Disney comparisons are fair in terms of the scale of the parks but Chessington were punching well above their weight in the 90's.

The original theming in/around Terror Tomb, Dragon River and Vampire was world class and not reliant on IP's. They went above and beyond in terms of storytelling and immersion.

I think there were clear parallels with Efteling. Efteling maintained those standards and Chessington dropped off a cliff.
 
RicketyCricket said:
The original theming in/around Terror Tomb, Dragon River and Vampire was world class and not reliant on IP's. They went above and beyond in terms of storytelling and immersion.
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Terror Tomb's exterior area was really great and maybe the closest the park got to the standard of major parks in Europe. Dragon River's was well landscaped also. The theming for Dragon River was relatively primitive on the world stage but it did the trick. This more due to it being Tussauds first ever park project before Chessington had taken off on its own feet, it was still quite different for most UK parks at the time. An example of John's ability to work around project constraints such as this and know how to use the limited funds to make a solid guest experience.
 
Certainly Bubbleworks was not exactly 90’s Disney quality. Looking at Gruffalo, the show-building is relatively small, animatronics quite obviously not quite Disney. However, isn’t that all quite superficial? If these UK rides were to turn the heads of the top of the industry, it was probably due to the fact that these were amazingly designed and thought out rides, utilising the resources they had at the time to their full advantage. It did’t matter animations were simple; what did matter was that the ride took you through the factory with a thought out process, had memorable jokes and characters, presented a novel concept and knew how to appeal to it’s target audience.

They might have just been looking for people they might want to offer a job to anyway.
 
The_bup said:
Certainly Bubbleworks was not exactly 90’s Disney quality. Looking at Gruffalo, the show-building is relatively small, animatronics quite obviously not quite Disney. However, isn’t that all quite superficial? If these UK rides were to turn the heads of the top of the industry, it was probably due to the fact that these were amazingly designed and thought out rides, utilising the resources they had at the time to their full advantage. It did’t matter animations were simple; what did matter was that the ride took you through the factory with a thought out process, had memorable jokes and characters, presented a novel concept and knew how to appeal to it’s target audience.

They might have just been looking for people they might want to offer a job to anyway.
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This is kinda what I mean. A ride doesn't have to meet anywhere near the level of Disney to be a great ride.

Not just the animations, nothing about it came anywhere near Disney level in the 90s and none of Chessington really did. It didn't matter, the point was to be entertaining which the ride succeeded in!

I don't think Disney ever offered a job to anyone from Tussauds though. However there was definitely once an offer from Disney for Tussauds to collaborate on producing animatronics, which Tussauds declined.

Btw I don't think Bubble Works should ever be "brought back", instead make something new that is just as entertaining if not more.
 
ETPArchive said:
I'm not quite sure I recognise this. While the old Bubble Works is still one my favourite dark rides personally, and it was a surprisingly big hit with the public when it comes to UK parks, it would never have turned heads at Disney. There is an enormous spectrum of parks between UK standards and Disney after all.

It must be said John Wardley didn't design Bubble Works. From 1988 ish onwards (after Chessington opened) John was a park developer for Tussauds looking after park-level developments with the few others in the Tussauds 'A-team'!

Any invitation to Disney would have been an invitation to the whole development team surely. Any head turning he did would have been for his contribution to park developments, which he was very good at. He also actively contributed to designs of attractions and did the initial concepts so this isn't to downplay his contribution.

The only attractions he actually designed for Tussauds were the opening day rides at Chessington and you could argue Nemesis since he drafted the layout, which for a coaster is most the design done for you, though the final design was whoever B&M contracted to iron it out.

Chessington was great for the UK at the time, but certainly not a Disney park even at that time. You can enjoy a great meal without it needing to be compared to a 5 michelin star meal ya get me
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Yeah for sure, sorry, where I said John Wardley, it should have included the wider design team as well, as it takes a whole team of very talented people to develop these attractions. In terms of the Disney invite, can't remember where I saw it (might of been on the old Rideas forum), I do distinctly remember him commenting on some of the design elements for ToT.

Not saying Chessington was a Disney park, more that it was closer than people might think (compared to the gulf today between the two companies). Also, back then the park operators were a bit "friendlier" towards each other (I know the Thorpe Park management team were invited out to Europa Park a lot) back in the 70's/80's. Also Thorpe had an Imagineer design their original car park back when it opened, so think the industry has changed a lot from then to now. Wouldn't have surprised me if Disney did reach out to what Tussaud's were doing, particularly as they were entering the European market around that time with DLP.
 
I’ve watched TPWW’s latest vlog from CWOA this evening and it underlines what a state the place is in:


From: https://youtu.be/a2qmb18eVTc?si=fizvRzNnNr436xzL


Putting Paw Patrol and Minecraft to one side, you’ve got:

- Vampire down with suggestions of footer instability necessitating a possible retrack
- Trail of the Kings being half-closed now some of the animals have been moved elsewhere and Sealion Bay looking quite sad next to it
- Land of the Tiger no longer having any tigers and the area surrounding Tiger Rock being left to rot
- Tomb Blaster still suffering from half its effects being down
- Rattlesnake left out on a theming limb now Mexicana’s gone

All that will take tens of millions of pounds to sort, if indeed Merlin intend to/want to sort it - and given the group’s current financial position (plus the CAPEX already committed to 2026/2027) when will the park get back to being a good standard across the board? 2030? Later?

All very sad.
 
None of what Kolonel Klink has said above is new or a surprise?

Vampire needs underpinning in one place, not a huge job. 20-30k

Trail of the Kings is empty save for Gorillas (for now) and a few small animals. That area marked previously as a development site. No surprises. This could be redeveloped or repurposed to free up space elsewhere

Land of the Tiger. Big plot in a park desperately needing some land. Previously marked as a development site. Water rides expensive. Doesn't take a Crystal ball to suggest it's time is up? Minecraft 2.0?

Tomb Blaster needs a bit of TLC as it increasingly does given it's age. Mostly cosmetic now, 10s of thousands. Longer term probably will go in 5-10 years

Rattlesnake will become Adventure Point ride and they'll move the entrance. If there's a retheme it'll be a cheap one as the coaster is old

10's of millions for sure if they build two new lands - wait and see
 
KolonelKlink said:
I’ve watched TPWW’s latest vlog from CWOA this evening and it underlines what a state the place is in:


From: https://youtu.be/a2qmb18eVTc?si=fizvRzNnNr436xzL


Putting Paw Patrol and Minecraft to one side, you’ve got:

- Vampire down with suggestions of footer instability necessitating a possible retrack
- Trail of the Kings being half-closed now some of the animals have been moved elsewhere and Sealion Bay looking quite sad next to it
- Land of the Tiger no longer having any tigers and the area surrounding Tiger Rock being left to rot
- Tomb Blaster still suffering from half its effects being down
- Rattlesnake left out on a theming limb now Mexicana’s gone

All that will take tens of millions of pounds to sort, if indeed Merlin intend to/want to sort it - and given the group’s current financial position (plus the CAPEX already committed to 2026/2027) when will the park get back to being a good standard across the board? 2030? Later?

All very sad.
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Animal welfare comes first and foremost before having ride experience. Tigers around a Log Flume is not a suitable habitat. And Trail of the Kings lion enclosure was way too small for them these big cats walk 1000 Square miles every day.

Vampire is down for maintenance what TPWW stated was pure speculation not fact. Again a youruber pretending they know more than what they do.

Tomb Blaster was fine earlier this with only the boulder effect nof working when I rode it.

Rattlesnake is fine its in its own area.

Look the park does need some work but some patience is needed.
 
Hid said:
Animal welfare comes first and foremost before having ride experience. Tigers around a Log Flume is not a suitable habitat. And Trail of the Kings lion enclosure was way too small for them these big cats walk 1000 Square miles every day.

Vampire is down for maintenance what TPWW stated was pure speculation not fact. Again a youruber pretending they know more than what they do.

Tomb Blaster was fine earlier this with only the boulder effect nof working when I rode it.

Rattlesnake is fine its in its own area.

Look the park does need some work but some patience is needed.
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Patience is needed!??

Trying telling that to the families that have spent hundreds on their day out only to be met with this misery.

No discount is being offered and these issues aren’t being publicised. If they were nobody in their right mind would be paying to visit
 
Agree the price should reflect the offering. Park tickets should be advertised as £25-£30 and make a big song and dance about it - say there are exciting things coming and we still have X, Y and Z rides but to reflect your loyalty during this time of exciting redevelopment all tickets are discounted for this year. Regulars will be grateful and new guests will think 'thats good vslue'
 
If having Tigers by a log flume wasn't suitable then why did no one stop the park from doing so in the first place?

Patience doesn't help those who visit and come to find 2 closed areas plus whatever else has broken on the day.
 
Benzin said:
If having Tigers by a log flume wasn't suitable then why did no one stop the park from doing so in the first place?
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In none of the zoo reports and inspections has this been raised nor in the new 2025 guidance for zoos and wildlife parks. The lions enclosure for sure was too small but land of the tiger was big enough. At Jimmy's at least they will have a clear open area to wander about which is great for the animals
 
Glen_Belt_77 said:
Could say that about any captive animals hence why Merlin are doing some of this off their own backs mindful of the change in public perceptions
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Also there have been updates to Standards of modern zoo practice which come fully into effect in 2027 that is why they are changing and these are the part of new baseline standard
 
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