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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

So the whole of the BK in Transylvania is being rethemed? I thought the inside looked good, tbh. Aren't there more important things that need sorting?

Ah well, the concept art for it looks nice.
 
BigAl said:
So the whole of the BK in Transylvania is being rethemed? I thought the inside looked good, tbh. Aren't there more important things that need sorting?

Ah well, the concept art for it looks nice.
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Burger King is becoming The Burger Kitchen, not to be confused with the Creaky Cafe, which is located adjacent to the entrance into Transylvania. Formally known as Refresh.
 
Thank goodness! I'd just started to think the park had gone mad! This is all good then! :p
 
In fact, both restaurants have been fully refurbished this year!

And just take a look at this!
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Photo courtesy of Marcus Assab who posted a lot more on TTF.

Looks familiar doesn't it! To me that crossed beam pattern looks just like the image I was analysing on the previous page. I guess the original facade was partially covered up in 1991 by a new one, then again in 1998 when it became Count's Cauldron, and now it has been partly restored in preparation for the Burger Kitchen. Looks amazing - seamlessly fits into Transylvania and has great Bavarian architecture. So much better than the Count's Cauldron exterior, despite the theming being of high quality it was just out of place.

And the Creaky Café looks amazing too. Really, these are great developments, even just a few themed food outlets are unexpected! It seems 'theme' has finally come back into fashion at Chessington!
 
electricBlll said:
Really, these are great developments, even just a few themed food outlets are unexpected! It seems 'theme' has finally come back into fashion at Chessington!
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Completely agree with you, although, "Theme" never went out of fashion at Chessington. It was more a case of never having enough money to add more to the park. On a large investment year, they are making the most of the budgets to improve other areas of the park. I can confirm that there are also a lot more "Improvements" elsewhere in the park...
 
Jared said:
On a large investment year, they are making the most of the budgets to improve other areas of the park. I can confirm that there are also a lot more "Improvements" elsewhere in the park...
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I mean, theme in general has once again become an integral part of how Chessington functions, and they are firmly out of the dark ages of 2000-2007. Really it came back with their rebrand in 2010, but since then they have not had the money to show their intentions. Fantastic that they are making the most of this budget!

Also, care to hint at what these 'improvements' are? You have me excited now, although I wouldn't mind if they were kept secret. I like a surprise, no matter small it may be.
 
electricBlll said:
Jared said:
On a large investment year, they are making the most of the budgets to improve other areas of the park. I can confirm that there are also a lot more "Improvements" elsewhere in the park...
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I mean, theme in general has once again become an integral part of how Chessington functions, and they are firmly out of the dark ages of 2000-2007. Really it came back with their rebrand in 2010, but since then they have not had the money to show their intentions. Fantastic that they are making the most of this budget!

Also, care to hint at what these 'improvements' are? You have me excited now, although I wouldn't mind if they were kept secret. I like a surprise, no matter small it may be.
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I wish I could reveal more, but on this occasion, I think it's best to keep the changes a secret.

Since Merlin took over in 2008, the budgets have come into a far more controlled manor than previously, which allows them to put aside sections of the investment for other areas in the park. Creaky Caves, for example, was planned for last year, but due to a problem with some of the lighting rigs for Africa and Madagascar Live, it had to be postponed. Alongside the other changes and Zufari, 2013 is going to be an exciting year at Chessington.
 
:eek:

2013 shaping up to be an amazing year for Chessington. Zufari is looking amazing, as is this new Transylvania, and there's more to come! I'm so glad that they're reverting the Burger Kitchen to it's old Bavarian Style, it made no sense to have a Castle in the middle of a small village, with another castle in the forest.

Other Changes I hope they're making this closed season would be a clean up of Runaway Mine Train. Some sort of theme for the Flying Dumbos, and theming of the rails in Forbidden Kingdom.

I really like the way money is being spent at this park of late, it began last season with the breathtaking changes to Tomb Blaster, and this closed season they have the finances for a multimillion pound headline attraction, and various refurbishment projects. Long may it continue I say!

Would I be right in thinking that the Hotel Extension is due to open in the 2014 season alongside a new looking Monkey and Bird Garden?
 
Quetzal said:
:eek:

2013 shaping up to be an amazing year for Chessington. Zufari is looking amazing, as is this new Transylvania, and there's more to come! I'm so glad that they're reverting the Burger Kitchen to it's old Bavarian Style, it made no sense to have a Castle in the middle of a small village, with another castle in the forest.
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Here here! Completely agree. I was never happy with the changes made, and hated when they replaced the Black Forest Chateau with McDonalds! It was a travesty in my eyes.

Quetzal said:
Other Changes I hope they're making this closed season would be a clean up of Runaway Mine Train. Some sort of theme for the Flying Dumbos, and theming of the rails in Forbidden Kingdom.

I really like the way money is being spent at this park of late, it began last season with the breathtaking changes to Tomb Blaster, and this closed season they have the finances for a multimillion pound headline attraction, and various refurbishment projects. Long may it continue I say!
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Well, there are a few changes happening across the park, although, most of them are good clean ups, general repairs and a bit of work to tidy up the Forbidden Kingdom.

On the subject of Tomb Blaster, can I just say, that was done on absolutely no budget by a combination of ride and engineering teams. The lights were taken from the parks Halloween selection, and the controller was an old one that used to be used for Hocus Pocus Hall (which was replaced). The new set pieces were done by the ride team, along side a load of painting. The effects were looked at by the engineers. It was done on a budget of zero and in my opinion is a huge step forward. Long may it continue on Tomb Blaster!

Quetzal said:
Would I be right in thinking that the Hotel Extension is due to open in the 2014 season alongside a new looking Monkey and Bird Garden?
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A date is unknown at present, although I am assuming it'll be 2014. More info here. The plans for the Monkey & Bird Garden are not yet available, although, judging by the previous plans and the plans shown for the hotel expansion, it would appear that the idea of "Monkey Kingdom" is very much still there. With the raised platforms into the Monkey Enclosures and the large free flight aviary for most of the birds. I have a feeling that the Monkey Kingdom expansion will happen for 2014 with the hotel the following year and the new coaster in 2016...
 
Jared said:
I was never happy with the changes made, and hated when they replaced the Black Forest Chateau with McDonalds! It was a travesty in my eyes.
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Was the 1998 refurbishment the same time that they removed the animatronic show from the restaurant? If so, I fully agree the change was a step in the wrong direction. I wonder if the interior is also being refurbished this year. When I first went inside the Cauldron I was surprised that it was so nicely decorated, despite large smiling trees still not suiting Transylvania's original style.

Jared said:
On the subject of Tomb Blaster, can I just say, that was done on absolutely no budget by a combination of ride and engineering teams. The lights were taken from the parks Halloween selection, and the controller was an old one that used to be used for Hocus Pocus Hall (which was replaced). The new set pieces were done by the ride team, along side a load of painting. The effects were looked at by the engineers. It was done on a budget of zero and in my opinion is a huge step forward. Long may it continue on Tomb Blaster!
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Stories like this are really good to hear. Not often in theme parks do staff members pull together to really improve something purely for the sake of the ride experience. I really hope the staff enjoy their jobs at Chessington, from my perspective it seems like a much friendlier community to work in than, for example, Thorpe Park.

I have not seen the Tomb Blaster improvements myself, since I last visited when it was closed, but it sounds perfect and just what the ride needed in the short term. And a lot better than previous "zero budget" improvements, like Abdab's awkward appearance in The Vampire - which I hope has been reverted this year. His face was starting to flake off last year... Maybe it serves him right for scaring me as a child.
 
Just a reminder that the 2 free tickets tokens giveaway start in The Sun today for anyone who's interested. I've got to keep up my cheapskate reputation. :D

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Photo courtesy of: Towers2Go
 
MiserableMonkey said:
The new 'Creaky Cafe'

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Awesome artwork, really hope it looks like that!

Chessington is such an awesome little park and it's a shame that recently it's fallen into a bit of disrepair. Merlin could quite easily make this a jewel in their crown for not a lot of money if they just touched it up here and there. It's such a shame :(
 
LiamC said:
Oh. Now I'm sad :(

That is a MASSIVE disappointment!
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Sorry, what were you expecting?

Considering how quickly this has been done up, and is a rather unexpected addition and a complete improvement on the awfulness that was Refresh, it's a decent improvement...

Could be better, but considering the lack of budget available to Chessie, it's decent enough...
 
I'm so disappointed. That's like being offered the rights to McVitie's estate and then being given a single Jaffa Cake.
 
Benzin said:
LiamC said:
Oh. Now I'm sad :(

That is a MASSIVE disappointment!
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Sorry, what were you expecting?

Considering how quickly this has been done up, and is a rather unexpected addition and a complete improvement on the awfulness that was Refresh, it's a decent improvement...

Could be better, but considering the lack of budget available to Chessie, it's decent enough...
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Something along the lines of the concept art released above that's all. I was merely stating my disappointment that it looks almost nothing like it.
 
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