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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

RR is great though when your waiting for other members of your group who are ordering KFC fried chicken. Usually get a couple of goes then.
It makes forbidden kingdom more of an area instead of a ride.

SS can't be replaced as well.
 
nickhutson said:
Oh for goodness sake... it's a funfair ride! I don't see the appeal of it myself - but I gave up on flat rides a few years ago when I nearly threw up after doing one at Carters!
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Strange approach tbh. I came off Bandit doubled over in pain but still approach coasters. Anyway that's O/T sooooooo......
 
Oakwood have the right idea with Drenched. That requires a minimum of 12 riders so on quieter days they give people specific times to come back, like say at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 etc, that way everyone comes back at that time and they have enough for a full boat. That still opens even when there's less than 100 guests in the park, which does occasionally happen at Oakwood.
 
Ok i'm only going to Thorpe once next year and that's it. Chessington used to be an amazing place and RR was more than a fairground ride, it was themed beautifully (a lot more than now) and had a lot of interaction. Merlin will crash and burn I hope soon and spin off the Theme Park division as the lack of investment is going to hit them hard in 1-3 years. I am sure someones running away with all the money.
 
MaxPower said:
I really do feel for Chessington, the park is been dismantled piece by piece for years due to lack of investment and neglect.

The world that Wardley built is being destroyed by Merlin.
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I think it has been destroyed. Chessington is almost unrecognizable from its 90's haydays. It was a Theme Park. Now its a hotel with a collection of rides and a zoo attached. I say bring back the Doctor (Dr. C)
 
I suppose the worst of the damage was done by Tussauds under DIC when they ripped out the original Bubbleworks, but at least it was replaced with something.

I dread to think what Merlin intend to replace Ramesis with when it goes, if anything.
 
MaxPower said:
I suppose the worst of the damage was done by Tussauds under DIC when they ripped out the original Bubbleworks, but at least it was replaced with something.
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Bubbleworks really needs to go back to how it was, or at least get a minor retheme. Imperial leather has to be the worst sponsor, and this is the same people who gave us [I[fanta[/I]. A magical soap factory makes no sense, especially in transilvania.
 
I miss the old bubbleworks dearly. :( The themeing and the overall atmosphere of the ride was much better than the Imperial Leather version ruined by DIC Tussauds. It's comparable to what happened when Toyland Tours was changed to Charlie, but arguably, Bubbleworks didn't even need to be rethemed. It was still popular in 2005, compared to Toyland Tours which wasn't when it closed.
 
If I could get chessington to change one thing, it would be to restore transilvania back to how it was originally. I know that they had to change the trains on vampire, but the suspended cars look so much better. Most of the effects are broke in bubbleworks now, and most of the scenes make no sense. Who is exited about a tour of a soap factory anyway?
 
Leah said:
If I could get chessington to change one thing, it would be to restore transilvania back to how it was originally. I know that they had to change the trains on vampire, but the suspended cars look so much better. Most of the effects are broke in bubbleworks now, and most of the scenes make no sense. Who is exited about a tour of a soap factory anyway?
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No only did the old Vampire trains look better from a themeing point of view, but the swinging of them during the ride was much more violent and was generally a better ride as well. Here's a POV from 1993
 
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The BubbleWorks redesign was a travesty that only came about because of DIC Tussauds' budgeting system and the flawed creative decisions.

Luckily the original ride was timeless and a bureaucratic and ugly redesign project can't quite kill off its legacy.. It would be lovely if you could watch my documentary about the original if you havn't seen it already.
This episode will be extended in the coming months after I've interviewed another few designers on the 1990 project too. :)
 
I like Chessington! I'm too far away to be blurry eyed about its past. The only person that mattered was the 8yo I took and she loved it. Most of the rides were for her age/height and the zoo was good(even zufari) sooo yes ticked all the boxes. Just because it doesn't work for you(you got old) doesn't mean that other ppl see it the same way.

Like Drayton manor, it has a market!
I wish the snake train was still at dmp!!!!!
 
For a comparison here's the artwork for the Imperial Leather retheme
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In all seriousness, that is an amazing video! The concept art, the animatronics and models of the ride during its planning looked so pretty. Thanks so much for the video! Can't wait for the extended video with the 1990 project as well.
 
monkeyboy said:
I like Chessington! I'm too far away to be blurry eyed about its past. The only person that mattered was the 8yo I took and she loved it. Most of the rides were for her age/height and the zoo was good(even zufari) sooo yes ticked all the boxes. Just because it doesn't work for you(you got old) doesn't mean that other ppl see it the same way.

Like Drayton manor, it has a market!
I wish the snake train was still at dmp!!!!!
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Im not saying it for the sake of it but in terms of value for money and family happiness its not like it was. The old chessington offered a theme park experience that was high quality. Today's chessington is an experience that is to clear your wallet with what basically stuff that is broken and hasent been repaired from 1995. My problem is if your charging and saying your a premium product then you need to be one.
 
The sad thing is that the original Bubbleworks will now never return. A far better thing to do with this building would be to rip out everything, start from scratch and have a newer far better quality dark ride put in its place with no reference to the original Bubbleworks. Whilever it's called Bubbleworks people will keep thinking of the original.
 
I sort of disagree as it would be relevatively cheap to convert it back. Many of the set pieces and mechanics are the same. Sure it would never be identical, but with the right people involved it can be a pretty good tribute. The chance of them building a more successful dark ride than the original Bubbleworks is pretty low, so it would make for a good cheap refit.

It is a shame it was ever changed. As mentioned it was still very popular when it was rethemed (which is why a sponsor wanted their name on it I guess). The full outdoor queue was often filled even on quiet days, and with the families and couples only policy in force.

Cheasington was fantastic up until around the time Bubbleworks was rethemed and Samurai removed. Certainly the Chessington of those days holds much more nostalgia for me than even Alton Towers!
 
They should never go back to the old Prof Burp version, because it would never be the same... It would feel forced and an attempt to get people in purely on nostalgia and not moving forward...

Best option is to gut the building and keep the ride system for a complete retheme... As it's unlikely they would remove the ride system as well...
 
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