• 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

You think Chessington is the epitome of how Merlin abandon their parks and they all look unloved etc? Gotcha. I don't agree, but I am aware it's a common concern round these parts.

Chessington is my least favourite of the Merlin parks in this country, the wildlife aspect doesn't particularly interest me. It's worth noting that the park has some of the oldest fixtures and fittings of any of the Merlin parks - not to say that's an excuse, but that does factor in, I am sure.

A lot of work has been done to fix aspects of the park up, Runaway Train looked dire in years gone by but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a brand new ride under the Scorpion Express guise.

Also, Zufari might not get a lot of love around here, but it's a pretty solid addition, not to mention a pretty hefty investment.

Has a lot been done? Absolutely. Could more be done and could it be done quicker? Sure.
 
Rick said:
A lot of work has been done to fix aspects of the park up, Runaway Train looked dire in years gone by but you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a brand new ride under the Scorpion Express guise.

Also, Zufari might not get a lot of love around here, but it's a pretty solid addition, not to mention a pretty hefty investment.
Click to expand...

Both those projects resulted in two second rate and completely uninspired attractions. For an operator of Merlin's position and profit level in the industry what we got with Scorpion Express and Zufari was frankly not good enough.

Credit where credit is due though - Wild Asia is arguably the best themed area Merlin have ever attempted although not perfect (lacks colour etc.) it should have marked the start of a level of standard to roll out across the park. However, resort and zoo additions aside what we have seen since 2010 investment wise both in terms of quality and quantity has been dire.
 
The issue with rides like zufari is it could have been so much better, if you ride it on a busy day you get rushed through the whole ride, don't see many animals and then you have the final section. It's nice but it's not amazing or anything. A bit more money on the ending would have been better, or I would have preferred it if the ride had no story what so ever and no ending, and they spend that money on a longer ride and more animals. As that is what people go on the ride for, the animals, not the story.

Then of course there was the awful design of the queue, pre show, station, air gates and offload. I hope which ever Merlin bright spark came up with that concept no longer works for them!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ted
This is where I think enthusiasts differ to Joe Public. Take a new ride, whether it be Zufari, Smiler etc.

Joe Public - "Wow, a new ride. Pretty good"
Enthusiast - "It could have been so much better"

If Merlin, or any operator pull a ride out of the bag that is 8/10, the bulk of guests are happy and rate it higher than a 7/10 ride, while enthusiasts are forever disappointed because it's not an 11/10.

Watch kids on Zufari, they love it and are not troubled by the "awful design of the queue or airgates".
 
Of course enthusiasts differ from the average guest in their attitudes and opinions. That's obvious and partly why this enthusiast forum exists. :) Folks here know that only too well, mostly from bitter experience of UK parks by and large having got away with what some (myself included) would consider mediocrity for years.

Some people with a strong interest will enjoy and support pretty well anything in that area of interest regardless of its quality, in more extreme cases seeming to others as if they're bordering on obsession and blind adoration. In a parks context these people are obviously theme park fans, but I wouldn't class them as enthusiasts. No, being an enthusiast of anything is about not just accepting whatever standards you're presented with in your area of interest. It's about seeking out and praising good experiences and ideas. A lot of enthusiasts probably love their favourite things even more than the type of park fan mentioned above loves everything!

Equally however it involves encountering issues and commenting on them. Any negativity usually stems from a perceived lack of improvement, but otherwise the comments should be constructive and borne from passion for the subject and experience.

I think the average guest's perception to the park is actually somewhere between the enthusiast and the obsessed park fan. They do notice problems that can affect their day, and I'd like to think that Zufari would be far from an 8/10 for most of them.
 
Unfortunately I feel Chessington won't ever return to what it once was. Then again, with Falls and Tomb Blaster (Terror Tomb), it wasn't really designed to last. The fact that most theming is rotting away is in some ways, shows the negligence of looking after it all.

I love Chessington, don't get me wrong but I'm not expecting some huge ride for next year. It's nice to see they are adding a new addition to the park, and a high ropes course too. These will be aimed at the kids so I'm hardly going to see thrill seekers flocking to the park any time soon.

Whatever they have planned, I hope that it's a success for the park.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ted
Rick said:
This is where I think enthusiasts differ to Joe Public. Take a new ride, whether it be Zufari, Smiler etc.

Joe Public - "Wow, a new ride. Pretty good"
Enthusiast - "It could have been so much better"

If Merlin, or any operator pull a ride out of the bag that is 8/10, the bulk of guests are happy and rate it higher than a 7/10 ride, while enthusiasts are forever disappointed because it's not an 11/10.

Watch kids on Zufari, they love it and are not troubled by the "awful design of the queue or airgates".
Click to expand...

Enthusiasts in expecting more from themes park than the public shocker! Cheese has summed everything up pretty well though and in a far better manner than I could.

Of course kids aren't troubled by designs of queues and airgates though, heck I know I wouldn't have been when I was a kid. I'd like to think that the people who are paid to design these things are troubled by them though! Queueing is actually a very big part of the ride expereince these days which is why lots of parks (not Merlin in the UK) spend a lot of money on trying to make queues memorable and part of the experience. Merlin clearly know this, they've pulled off what looks like a very unique queue line for baby Oblivion at Gardaland.

Zufari is one of those really frustrating rides. The concept is relatively simple but good, it's almost the perfect type of ride for a park like Chessington. However when compared to similar rides over in the States it just does not stack up. It's too short, there aren't enough animals and the story is horribly cheesy (wow look at these rock formations on the side of what is clearly a corrugated metal building). Maybe it would have been better if Merlin hadn't played around with budgets and given a few extra million from Zufari to The Smiler!

:)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ted
I visited the park on Saturday, for the first time in about 10-15 years, Rattlesnake, Tomb Blaster and Safari Skyway were shut and we were handed a letter exchangeable for free entry into the park another day in the 2015 season. My biggest complaint was Zufari, the way the entire queue is held up for photographs that nobody buys. Another example of this was the sea-life center, where they make you take a picture on the way in. Plus the price of the pictures £10 for a photo is not acceptable IMO.
 
MattyH said:
My biggest complaint was Zufari, the way the entire queue is held up for photographs that nobody buys. Another example of this was the sea-life center, where they make you take a picture on the way in.
Click to expand...
get used to it. Merlin seems to love them. Air is getting one next year, lazer raiders at legoland now has one.
 
Blame PicSolve or whomever they use. They'll never learn that if they just offer a digital download for £1 - they'll sell them so much easier!
 
I agree that download copies of photos for a quid would be appealing to guests and probably make Picsolve more money (even with the extra staff required to cover the ten or more times the number of sales they'd have to achieve), but the fact that these points could sell more photos than they do is not the point being made here. The point is that green screen photos are utterly pointless and interrupt the flow of queues. A sense of making progress in a queue can be just as important as how long you actually spend in it, and anything that keeps you stood still for longer than necessary has no place being there.
 
Chessington have submitted plans for a high rope course. According to the long term plan Chessington was due a major investment next year. High ropes does not sound major to me does this show the long term development plan has been changed or will this be a large ropes course. Thoughts?
 
ASturge21 said:
Chessington have submitted plans for a high rope course. According to the long term plan Chessington was due a major investment next year. High ropes does not sound major to me does this show the long term development plan has been changed or will this be a large ropes course. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
They are also meant (source: Wikipedia... must be true ;)) to be getting lodges (like enchanted village, though much smaller (they are the shed type things by the reindeer house)). IF this is true, then a highropes doesn't surprise me; they seem to be following Alton.
 
Leah said:
They are also meant (source: Wikipedia... must be true ;)) to be getting lodges (like enchanted village, though much smaller (they are the shed type things by the reindeer house)). IF this is true, then a highropes doesn't surprise me; they seem to be following Alton.
Click to expand...
Why would they need a same type of complex. Lodges might not work at Chessington but a high ropes would. Another after hours activity for hotel guests.
 
Leah said:
They are also meant (source: Wikipedia... must be true ;)) to be getting lodges (like enchanted village, though much smaller (they are the shed type things by the reindeer house)). IF this is true, then a highropes doesn't surprise me; they seem to be following Alton.
Click to expand...
It is Explorer Glamping so more like tents not sheds
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top