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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

Decent Zoos and captive breeding programs are the reason we still have a great many species that would have been killed off, because of human intervention.

I don't think they are ideal, but they do offer a fantastic way to educate people and hopefully improve the long term future and attitudes towards the care of our wildlife worldwide.

Good friends of mine, are very high profile and active in areas such as the dog meat trade across Asia, the Moon Bears of China etc - do not look these things up in detail, unless you have a seriously strong sense of moral duty that you can equal with emotive strength - being aware though (as I choose, rather than detail!) is still a helpful step. Seriously, without wanting to sound harsh here, they make zoos and safaris look like a paradise. Those serious about animal welfare, there are a raft of absolutely abhorrent issues to tackle first hand - so long as we are respectful, zoos are a fantastic way to tackle general levels of ignorance (largely no fault of their own) amongst the public, and hopefully improve the welfare of animals on the whole - by changing a perception and attitude towards them in general, and by shining a light into some dark corners.

The thing that came across from Chessington when I visited, was how keen they are to educate, the shows were fantastic and I didn't see much that made me think the animals were anything less than very well cared for, and genuinely loved by the staff.

Not saying I am right, but in the contexts in which I have had the displeasure of gaining understanding, it seems pretty good to me.
 
One thing that I always get from the videos Chessington releases is the enthusiasm from the park staff for the animals and the experience they will give to visitors. Rides are rides but animals like Giraffes and Rhinos are fascinating to just watch. I hope as well as the attraction, that guests get the chance to just view the animals too.
 
They are majestic, beautiful creatures aren't they.

Their eyelashes look almost fake lol!

Way too cute man, way too cute ;D
 
Is there even a remote possibility of the Safari Skyway being refreshed any time soon? Besides the fact that the trains are tatty and the track looks like it's crumbling to pieces, would it at all be possible to extend the track around the the edge of the new Zufari attraction and allow visitors to view the animals there from above, as well as from below in the trucks?

If it was up to me, besides sorting the points above out, I'd...

  • replace the current trains for longer, more modern and much more aesthetically pleasing trains, then...
  • ...extend the station for greater throughput,
  • alter the layout of the monorail to create more space in areas that could potentially become home to new rides or structures in the future (such as the section that runs past the entrance to Transylvania and the Seastorm ride),
  • add different dimensions to the ride (similar to what can be found on the 'The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride' at Islands of Adventure) such as tunnels, theming elements that react to the arrival of the train, mist, sound and light effects, etc...,
  • possibly add some kind of interactive quiz where each carriage is equipped with a touch screen monitor (or a monitor and a few buttons labelled A,B, C, etc...) and as the train reaches certain enclosures, the ride asks the guests on-board a question which they can answer, rather than just have them sit there and observe/listen,
  • move the petting zoo to the plot of land to the right of Hocus Pocus Hall (looking above in Google Maps) to allow for either a new enclosure there or to create space for a new ride, as well as build another smaller enclosure in the same space, unless the petting zoo was expanded with it having more space available,
  • and finally, I'd consider building another enclosure by taking a small section of the end of the car park to the right of the Gorilla enclosure. This could be something similar to the Kangaroo enclosure at Busch Gardens Florida where guests enter an Australian outback themed enclosure to feed and stroke kangaroos and Wallabies. However, an Australian themed enclosure could also bring with it the addition of a few other species, such as Koala Bears. Such species where few people get the chance to travel to their natural habitats to see them can be a big hit for visitor attractions. Besides all that, Koala bears, Wallabies and Kangaroos are awesome! :p

The reason for this is that the Safari Skyway can be quite boring if very few animals are out in the open, so adding other elements to the attraction to make it more than just a mode of transport for viewing the enclosures from above might be a good idea.

That would all probably cost a hell of a lot of money though, and something like this would/should only be undertaken once a new major ride attracts more guests back to the park. Perhaps the addition of Zufari will lead to greater investment over the coming years? I certainly hope it does!

:)
 
I imagine skyway is coming towards the end of its technical life really.. It'd probably need to be heavily refurbed or rebuilt to be able to cope with improvements in general.

Would be nice to do something with skyway though, it's got such a visual impact yet hasn't been painted for decades.
 
A new system would probably be a better idea unless it'd be cheaper and just as effective to just fix the existing one? I've no idea though. :p
 
thefatone said:
I imagine skyway is coming towards the end of its technical life really.. It'd probably need to be heavily refurbed or rebuilt to be able to cope with improvements in general.

Would be nice to do something with skyway though, it's got such a visual impact yet hasn't been painted for decades.
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The ride was decrepit and run down back when I worked on it in 2005. Back then, there was a lot of rumours about it getting that much needed change but nothing has ever come to fruition. It does need a re-route and it desperately needs new trains. It shouldn't leave the park though as it is a very popular ride with guests.
 
Re: Re: Chessington World of Adventures Resort

Sam said:
Graham McGrath, the park's 'Head of Operations' is pretty cute too! What a silver fox, wow! :D
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He's a very nice bloke too. :)

Safari Skyway really needs doing. They want to re-route it round Wanyama, and have been quoted by Mack to do it, but alas, its not been done.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Tapatalk 2
 
He makes those IGLU ads <3

Skyway's needed a redo for years... If Mack can redo their Europa one (Iceland/Historama) then Chessie can do their one (with Merlin giving them money)...

Then again, there's a nice long list of rides at Chessie that need renovating... Runaway Train for a start...
 
Looks scarily incomplete considering it opens in around 60 days! ???

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However, I do absolutely love the trucks!

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Photos belong to Family Days UK.
 
I noticed this hasn't been posted about here yet, so I thought I'd copy and paste what I said on another site.

General Public Outroar Over 'Not Caring For Animal Welfare'

Overnight, many people took to Chessington's Facebook page to complain that the park/zoo's passion for the wellbeing of animals is nonexistent.
This comes after news that 6 young rabbits were left abandoned in the park's car park. The way the story is told is different between the park itself and those sticking up for it, and those that can only seem to say negative things regarding the park.

According to those posting almost continuousely, a box of rabbits was abandoned in the car park and it was only notcied when a member of the public walked past and happened to noticed them. Upon telling the park, staff apparently told the woman to leave and left the woman to deal with it herself by ringing a near-by rescue center. When the people from the center arrived, no staff came out to help the round-up and one member even laughed at the people collecting the rabbits as he walked past walking his dog.

The problem with Facebook, is that once someone has told even a slightly biased story, everyone else immediately believes that person and twists the story to make it even worse for CWOA. Chessington is now apparently a place whose reputation has dropped down through the floor, whose attendance this year is going to be minature and that it is a company who doesn't care for their animals what so ever.

I mean, just read some of the below posts:

Oooppss!! Think ya Reputation just plummeted to the ground!! Oh well "Not my problem"!!
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You people are sick,you deserve to be prosecuted for animal cruelty,SHAME on you
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I am confused- you 'like' Surrey Wildlife Trust, yet you don't value the lives of domestic rabbits? So... would you have helped them if they were wild rabbits?
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Naturally, this outrage has now spread to the ENTIRE Merlin Entertainments company, with every park and location now places of greed wih no care for guests (or animals) at all.

In response to the comments, CWOA had this to say:

We are very disappointed and saddened to read these comments which we feel are unrepresentative of the true facts around this matter and have been taken out of context. We operate under strict Zoo licensing regulations and as such there are very strict restrictions in place around bringing any animals into the Zoo, especially with regards to wild animals. Taking in animals from the wild may threaten the welfare of our own animals, many of which are highly endangered species, as they may carry diseases and other parasites which could harm our animals. When we were alerted to the rabbits having been found on the roadside outside of our premises, we suggested that a specialist organisation was contacted, such as an animal shelter, in order to get them to safety as quickly as possible. We are pleased to hear the animals were taken to a suitable shelter and are doing well.


As you can see, the park tells a slightly different version of the story and one which I personnally believe, due to the fact I have trust with the park.

One incident should not have had such an impact as it did. Chessington have had a very long and successful history afterall.

To read more, visit CWOA's Facebook page :http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/Chessington?fref=ts

AR12
 
Surely it makes sense that they can't take random animals into a zoo? If the rabbits had a disease it could easily cause issues for Chessington's animals.

Chessington isn't a rescue centre.
 
^
Exactly. They have to run under strict guidelines and the welfare of animals in the park is the most important thing in a situation.

And to top it all off, becuase of this being explained the public now agree that every moment a guest gets close to an animal it is breaching the guidelines.
 
They may be strict about taking animals in, but last year when I went to pick up the two rats I adopted from them, I was able to walk straight in the front gate with an empty (but you couldn't see in to it) pet box in my hand, and no one questioned it :p
(In fairness, they knew I was coming, but I'd have expected someone to at least check I wasn't bringing in any live animals)
 
There's one key thing missing in this, where did the rabbits come from? By the sounds of it, they were not left there by Chessington, so presumably someone had left them there purposely (for whatever reason).

Reading the posts on that page just makes me glad I'm not that dumb to read something (with very vague information) and blow it out of proportion.

The park could have taken a different action, but that's as much as I think should be said. Saying that Chessington is 'disgusting' and that they should 'not be allowed to handle animals' is just utterly stupid. Ugh, I don't even see the point in ranting, just leave the dumb witted to continue with their ramblings I say.

I wonder if I write on there I saw a flying pig over the park they would believe me, hmmmm.
 
All this uproar is a complete load of rubbish, they obviously can't just take in random animals that were found on the roadside, they have to leave that to actual animal welfare people. I just can't believe how twisted this story has become, and how absolutely stupid some people in today's society are. ::)

Of course, if they had taken the rabbits in, and they were riddled with diseases that then spread to the other zoo animals, then there would be an uproar about that too, they just can't win. I can almost see the Daily Fail headlines: "Foolish theme park kills off it's zoo by taking in diseased rabbits" :p
 
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