Chessington World of Adventures Resort

[Tom]

It's less news and more another Facebook bandwagon that a series of females (yes, it has to be said as it was literally only women posting) have jumped on.

 

[James]

I can only speculate but I'd imagine that Chessington as a business don't have a corporate policy on dealing with stray animals randomly abandoned on their property (in the same way that, like, Thorpe Park don't...) and that maybe this was just an example of one member of staff, almost certainly working for admissions or something like that if they were near the entrance, dealing badly with the issue, but this then reflecting on the attitude of the park as a whole? Or have I missed something?

That's what I was thinking too. It only takes one member of staff to say or do something and a guest will generalise that as the whole business attitude. This has been a bit of a vague story though (and most likely over sensationalised) so it could be anyone's guess as to if just one member of staff was involved or if there were a few involved.

 

[joelpagett]

Hey guys,

I went to chessie yesterday and have an update for you to see, WARNING: LOTS OF MUD!

Full set here...

http://www.themeparknewsuk.com/

UPDATES-

There is also a closed season update available here
http://www.themeparknewsuk.com/2013/01/chessington-closed-season-2012-13.html

 

[Tom]

Have pass holder day tickets sold out? If not, is there a link please?

 

[MiserableMonkey]

Have pass holder day tickets sold out? If not, is there a link please?

The back of the Zoo Days map suggests they'll be released in February.

 

[joelpagett]

Have pass holder day tickets sold out? If not, is there a link please?

Nothing has currently been released for the pass holder day as of yet. They don't usually release the details until a few weeks beforehand.

 

[Tom]

Oh thanks. Was it pass holders only last year (no guests per pass holder?) and how was it for busyness? I know they restrict numbers now, or claim to.

 

[electricBlll]

Those closed season updates are great! Chessington! If the personification of yourself were reading this, I would like to thank you just for doing something to improve yourself this winter.

And look at those forgotten facades!! Hidden for years by treacherous trees! I am so glad Transylvania is finally getting some aesthetic attention. If they could make the new Count's Cauldron look more European, like it used to when it was the Black Forest Chateau, it would be wonderful; but even just a repaint would be a huge improvement.

Also the new café looks lovely, it may actually be worth going inside this year. Do you know if they have removed the snow from the roof? (the fake snow that is - left over from when it was themed as the "Alpine Spa")

 

[MiserableMonkey]

Oh thanks. Was it pass holders only last year (no guests per pass holder?) and how was it for busyness? I know they restrict numbers now, or claim to.

I went on the Sunday, and whilst it was noticeably busy, we still managed to ride pretty much everything. For example, we queued around 30-40 minutes for Vampire, and around the same for Dragon's Fury.

I'm not sure if it was just pass holders or not, so hopefully somebody else will know.

 

[Quetzal]

I'm so ridiculously happy that Transylvania is getting a refresh. The new cafe looks really nice, and those old rotted facades are getting the facelift they've needed for ages.

Hopefully more of the same elsewhere on the park?

 

[BigAl]

This is a step in the right direction!

So when is Vampire getting a repaint? And the station theming returning or what is there updating? And the brakes updating so they can guide the trains into the station quicker for more efficient loading and dispatching (for the three trains to be used properly again)? And the audio turning up slightly so you can actually hear it? And the addition of more speakers in the station so that you can hear the audio everywhere at a decent volume? And the theming in the queue replacing? And the station exterior theming? And the cave extending? And the ride ops shouting over the audio being silenced by making them use pre-recorded dispatch audio along the lines of that guy used for Rita's new announcements saying "Sit back, hold tight; Vampire is taking flight."? And the original entrance being reused because the current one is seriously underwhelming?? ?? ?? ??


Am I asking for too much?

 

[Lottie.]

This is a step in the right direction!

So when is Vampire getting a repaint? And the station theming returning or what is there updating? And the brakes updating so they can guide the trains into the station quicker for more efficient loading and dispatching (for the three trains to be used properly again)? And the audio turning up slightly so you can actually hear it? And the addition of more speakers in the station so that you can hear the audio everywhere at a decent volume? And the theming in the queue replacing? And the station exterior theming? And the cave extending? And the ride ops shouting over the audio being silenced by making them use pre-recorded dispatch audio along the lines of that guy used for Rita's new announcements saying "Sit back, hold tight; Vampire is taking flight."? And the original entrance being reused because the current one is seriously underwhelming?? ?? ?? ??


Am I asking for too much?

I read that as if you were going from 'one question' [small pause] then 'oh another question'.

Tbf, I am pleased that Translyvania is getting some TLC during closed season! Thanks for those updates themeparkmania

 

[joelpagett]

Those closed season updates are great! Chessington! If the personification of yourself were reading this, I would like to thank you just for doing something to improve yourself this winter.

And look at those forgotten facades!! Hidden for years by treacherous trees! I am so glad Transylvania is finally getting some aesthetic attention. If they could make the new Count's Cauldron look more European, like it used to when it was the Black Forest Chateau, it would be wonderful; but even just a repaint would be a huge improvement.

Also the new café looks lovely, it may actually be worth going inside this year. Do you know if they have removed the snow from the roof? (the fake snow that is - left over from when it was themed as the "Alpine Spa")

The Scaffolding and everything is up and one of the vans said something to do with painting and facade management or something, So i am assuming that Transylvania will be getting a good lick of paint. Also the snow has gone from the roofs.

 

[CoasterCrazyChris]

Great to see some restoration taking place on Transylvania, but that Alpine Spa looks more like Santa's Grotto now!!

I think it was far more true to the theme before

 

[electricBlll]

Here's a photo from a few weeks ago of the new "Creaky Cottage", while they were reworking the facade, from ThemeUk.net. On the right, you can see they briefly exposed parts of the original design that had for years been covered up by that awful Refresh sign. Nice to see, though it has since been removed in preparation of the new sign.

I much prefer the new look, you can't quite see the whole building in that image but they have stayed true to the European architecture that characterises the rest of Transylvania. It just looked so old and uninviting before. Here's an image of the new wall they have built - nice theme details! As you can see, you can no longer access the café through that arch. Also I am glad the snow has gone, despite it being a little reminder of the past from when it was the Alpine Spa; but it just didn't make sense anymore and seemed out of place.

 

[BigAl]

*Geek alert*

Just came across an old article from a few years back regarding the upgrade of Vampire's control system with new (at the time ) DC drives from a company called 'Sprint Electric':

Chessington World of Adventures’ Vampire ride runs smoother with DC drives from Sprint Electric
10/02/2010

DC drives manufacturer Sprint Electric has supplied DC drives for retrofitting the control system of a theme’s park rollercoaster.

Chessington World of Adventures, a popular theme park and zoo in south-west London, offers 25 different rides and attractions. One of the most famous attractions is the Vampire ride. It became the UK’s first suspended rollercoaster when it opened in 1990 and the only coaster to fly above tree height. During the summer season, the Vampire now thrills adrenalin junkies of all ages – it is one of the few rollercoasters Europe-wide available also for small children, starting at a height of 1.1m. At peak periods, the Vampire ride attracts 17,000 visitors a day.

Three trains make, on average, 720 laps of the track over an eight-hour day. This creates a substantial workload for the ride’s DC motor control system. The ageing control system was becoming costly in both maintenance and downtime. Chessington World of Adventures needed to improve the ride’s reliability ahead of the summer’s peak-season.

Chessington World of Adventures had two options: Redesign the control system to use AC motors and AC drives, or keep the existing DC motor control system and retrofit it with modern DC drives. Redesigning with AC technology would mean a lengthy and costly Health and Safety review. Keeping the already installed and proven DC technology proved both easier and more cost effective.

System integrator B & G Controls of Sittingbourne, Kent, was contracted by Chessington World of Adventures due to their knowledge of fairground applications. B & G Controls chose DC drives from Sprint Electric because they had previously worked together on another demanding ride application at Chessington World of Adventures.

David Garwood from B & G Controls explains, “Two 430 Ampere PLX digital DC drives were installed to control the Vampire’s flight. Each flight has many twists and high-speed turns, but the two lifts create the serious demand. To raise the three trains and 24 passengers, the drives operate at 90 percent current for the first lift and 100 percent current for the second.”

To make the ride’s load-run-disembark process a smooth one for the park’s visitors, the PLX has to interface with an existing SLC-500 series PLC from Allen Bradley. “The PLX DC drives’ software made it possible to re-program inside the drive, some of the signals coming out of the PLC to suit the application better. Signals such as Field o.k. and Tacho o.k. required logic function and timer function PLX application blocks to re-create what the PLC needed of them,” explains Sprint Electric’s research and development director Aris Potamianos, who helped with the software integration and commissioning.

Other PLX safety features ideally suited to this application are the drive’s coast-stop input and the ability to revert automatically from tachogenerator speed feedback to armature voltage feedback. The PLX's coast-stop input ensures the ride control can effect an almost instant isolation of the drive from the rest of the process in the unlikely scenario of hardware or software failure inside the PLX. The coast-stop input forces the drive to cease supplying armature current to the motor irrespective of drive operating conditions.

Another useful safety feature is the PLX’s ability to automatically revert from tachogenerator speed feedback to armature voltage feedback in case of mechanical or electrical damage to the tachogenerator or its connection medium to the drive. The drive will give a warning of this failure to the PLC but it will continue to be under closed loop speed control until the next convenient stop instance when the fault can be attended to.

With the installation and commissioning complete, Chessington World of Adventures’ engineers are pleased with the re-vamped control system, having noticed the ramp up to full speed is a lot smoother now. David Garwood concludes, “The test runs during the park’s closed season were really successful. We were all looking forward to seeing the improvements when the park opened again in the summer.” Excited young visitors’ comments on the Chessington website give evidence that the refurbishment of the Vampire ride was a success: “One of the best rides ever! Great for all ages; my cousins aged five and seven loved it,” says a girl. “This is probably the most exhilarating ride in the whole park – amazing,” comments a boy. And another visitor adds, “Can’t wait to go on it again next year!”

Increase in accuracy and productivity as well as lower energy consumption make DC drives from Sprint Electric ideal for retrofits when a more effective, modern drive system is required. Sprint Electric offers a full range of PLX digital DC drives from 12 Amps up to 2250 Amps, with all models available from stock. Whether in retrofits or original equipment, DC Drives from Sprint Electric are being used in many different applications including metal processing, the pulp and paper industry, rubber and plastic processing, lifting equipment, food processing, leisure industries and many more.

Slightly more interesting, here's a collection of old photos from Thorpe Park Mania of Vampire from before it was messed with in 2001. A few of my favourites are...

A load more old shots of Vampire can also be found here on Theme UK, though I can't link to any and they're also a little smaller than the ones above. To find them, scroll through the album at the bottom of the page. There's some great shots of the trains in action (close-ups as well), along with a look inside the Black Forest Chateu.


Although a few people will have already seen these, here's a pretty good POV of Vampire shot in 1993:

The Vampire Chessington 1993


It's interesting to see how much more open the area was back then, as well as the original longer tunnel and the theming which covered the entrance back into the station.

Am I the only one that thinks the older trains look a little slower? Just watch as it leaves the cave, it looks like it's about to roll back down.


Some great footage of the original Vampire trains can be seen in this old clip of Noel's House Party:

TV Show Gotcha On The Old Vampire




A few final things on Bubbleworks now (and again, I'm sure many people will have already seen all of this); Theme UK has a run-through of the original Proffesor Burp's Bubbleworks (pictures and descriptions) which can be viewed here.


There's also a clip on Youtube of quite a lot of the original ride audio as well:

All music from BUBBLEWORKS - Chessington

 

[Ted]

Thanks for sharing these, Alex. I've already seen most of the stuff you've posted, but never seen the 1st and 4th pictures of Vampire. Shame that the themeing has decreased over the years, but I still think it looks good, and the TLC it's getting will make it look great again =)

 

[BigAl]

Yeah, I assumed a few people around here would have seen most of it already, but I thought I'd post it all anyway as it's always nice to look back at things in case you notice something you'd never seen before, etc... I'm glad there were a few things you hadn't seen.


Also, one thing I didn't mention (that again, a few may already know) was that Chessington weren't originally after Vekoma to fit new floorless trains. They first went back to Arrow, but they couldn't create something cost effective for the park, so off they went to Vekoma.

Interesting that a few days ago I also read that Arrow had also been working on a new type of suspended swinging trains which would have been very much like the ones produced by Vekoma. There was some information and images on Arrow's website, but that's now all obviously gone and instead there's just an S&S error page. :/

 

[joelpagett]

I hate to admit it but I think that Vampire looks better now, the forest is more dense and I love the feeling of swooping past the trees fearing you may loose your legs. Although Transylvania is looking tired and not what it used to be, I think they maybe doing something to improve it this year. The images of the old trains look nice but they look a bit more clumpy and less fun!

 

[DiogoJ42]

The old trains swung hugher, and with much more force, giving a more thrilling ride.