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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

Surely it would have not hurt for them to have bought some kind of coloured dirt to cover the Zufari site with, giving it more an an authentic look?

If that picture is anything to go by it looks very, erm, bland. They may as well just keep it as Chessington Safari instead of trying to rip it off as an African Safari.

That spelling mistake in the Burger Kitchen is pretty terrible too. You would think they have people who read over these things several times before going to the printers/final edits. Even then, surely the people installing it would have noticed. It looks very unprofessional!
 
That looks about as natural a habitat for giraffes as the old concrete mountain was for bears at London Zoo.
 
Hey, at least it's more appropriate than Chester Zoo's giraffe enclosure which is simply a big warehouse style building and an outdoor area which is fully concreted (though it is big and is surrounded by trees and a river).

It looks a bit rubbish now but once the grass regrows it'll look absolutely fine. Recreating an African safari in Chessington was never going to be an easy task. Why did they dig up so much of the original turf anyway? Surely they could have just left the grass and just sorted out the track for the trucks?
 
Regarding the "typo" on the wall, it seems that there is actually space for the i, perhaps the letter was damaged and therefore not put on the wall. They look like plastic letters stuck on to me.

I know they should have sorted it out beforehand, but for all we know the builders damaged it and a replacement needed obtaining!

If its still like that on Saturday then it's a different matter!
 
Seen as plants don't exactly do a whole lot of growing in winter I think we need to wait a little bit of time before slamming the presentation of this attraction. I suppose its a little symptomatic of Merlins lack of forward planning (other parks would have built the paddocks winter 2011/2012 then to the show scenes and bed in the animals through late 2012 for a 2013 opening). But really I'm not going to put too much expectation on a regional park in a relatively small country.

I mean the UK's largest theme park with a much wider catchment area can't even get their roller coaster open on time so a slightly under-planted paddock is not the biggest scandal.

Though the inside of Merlin eateries seems to be an exercise in shear blandness.
 
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This was the newly refurbished interior when the Black Forest Chateau became the Count's Cauldron opened in 1998. It's really well designed with numerous details. They gave it a sleepy outdoor courtyard atmosphere with the plants, spherical lampposts and well in the centre.

Tussaudes were really keen on providing immersive eating experiences during the late 90s, albeit relying on external fast food chains to provide the service. They carried out similar refurbishments at Alton Towers, like the Cred Street Diner. I can never see this much money being spent on a restaurant at Chessington these days, it's like they have just dried up.

Unfortunately I think the majority of this theme design was removed when Burger King took over from McDonalds in 2008ish. Or maybe even earlier. No more details on the walls and the objects in the middle were removed for extra seating.

So I don't think they have ruined the interior this year, that happened a long time ago. It makes you think though, if they could create this great unique restaurant interior 15 years ago - why do they fail miserably at doing it now? And why did it last only a few years before being ruined?

At least the quality of the food will improve this year. I'm so glad Merlin are going back to in-house food brands, for various reasons. I may actually want to eat in there this year. Ooh, maybe they could bring the old Black Forest Chateau music back - that hasn't been played for decades. They probably won't.

As for Zufari, I am beginning to lose interest. Chessington's whole future is relying on Zufari to impress guests and develop the park as a zoo/theme park fusion. But it looks very underwhelming at the moment. Although anything new ride at Chessington is good.
 
Zufari has never been top of my interest range, but I think I will make a judgement when I have seen how the finale scene plays out and once the planting has a few months to grow.

Merlin need those themed eateries back, I really like Merlin in-house food but it would be nice to eat it in a themed restaurant.
 
Zufari is supposedly a massive attraction which spans an extensive area of land. What is visible in the photos (if anybody bothered to look at the plans) is just a fraction of the wider attraction. Nobody on here has experienced the ride yet, nor is the ride finished so maybe just use a bit of initiative and reserve judgement until it's open (and indeed the landscaping has had time to grow and mature).
 
Just spotted that over on mania hub. It also appears that Zufari has been pushed back further, and will now open a week later than originally advertised on the 27th.
 
Just checked Chessington website and yep, It has been cancelled and yep it has been pushed back..
Oh dear, 2 days before the event and less that a week till opening?
Seems really unorganized, surely they would of noticed sooner?

All I can say is..
I hear an uproar coming...
 
Damn, it was only last night that I thought I'd have a look to see when it was opening and now that date has changed. :(
 
I'm no fan of Chessie but again this isn't just a ride, they have living animals in this attraction, its possible something related to animal welfare has forced a last minute delay.
 
That is pretty bad to be honest, changing it less than 2 weeks before it opens. I actually planned a trip for the 27th March so I will be on park to post some updates, you can follow me on twitter @ThemeParkMedia... thats if the park opens it on thier 3rd proposed date and time, I am looking forward to experience it though!
 
They've cancelled both AP Preview days this weekend? That seems incredibly strange seeing as Zufari was not even going to open for them. To say they're going to get a lot of stick from those who were planning on going will be an understatement.

:)
 
Zufari will still be opening tomorrow for the launch event, so the issue is not with Zufari. I will be posting live updates on Chessington Buzz's Facebook page for all those who are interested.
 
Well there's obviously some issue(s) with Zufari given opening's been pushed back a week. I'd be very surprised if you'll be seeing the completed attraction tomorrow.
 
The image posted on ManiaHub (unable to copy paste here for some reason) says it's due to the investment delays - so the huge amount of scaffolding around Transylvania and perhaps other places we haven't seen.

They also mentioned they thought they could get back on track this week, but obviously snow has delayed them. Least they tried I suppose, the apology is quite good.
 
BigAl said:
Hey, at least it's more appropriate than Chester Zoo's giraffe enclosure which is simply a big warehouse style building and an outdoor area which is fully concreted (though it is big and is surrounded by trees and a river).
Click to expand...

In its defence, the giraffe enclosure at Chester Zoo is pretty damn old. With all the developments they will be making towards the end of the decade (such as the huge bio dome they are meant to be launching in 2018, including gorillas), it's unlikely to change anytime soon.
 
This has been posted on FB by Chessington Buzz, showing Zufari:

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Err, it looks like a construction site minus cranes and diggers? I really can't believe how awful it looks, if it's like that when it opens to the public then there are surely going to be a lot of dis-satisfied guests. Last time I checked that wasn't what Africa looked like.

:)
 
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