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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

Matt.GC said:
Have they been successful long term or short term? Anything new with a current popular IP is going to gain instant interest.
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As an example, I’d argue that Saw (ride themed around an IP that was arguably “flavour-of-the-month” at the time) is certainly still working magic long term, as it’s now 12 years old and still one of Thorpe’s most popular and well-known attractions!
 
Matt N said:
As an example, I’d argue that Saw (ride themed around an IP that was arguably “flavour-of-the-month” at the time) is certainly still working magic long term, as it’s now 12 years old and still one of Thorpe’s most popular and well-known attractions!
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Yep. I'll give you that one. The fact Lions gate seem to unbelievably keep the franchise going after all this time certainly helps. But I'm sure I don't need to list the cash Merlin have thrown at a number of things for a quick return without thinking of the long term consequences. Bearing in mind I wasn't referring to just an IP, I referring to what I see as more short term thinking behind this project, particularly capacity. Expensive but small roller coaster with a woeful throughout in a park that needs another low capacity ride like a hole in the head.
 
Matt.GC said:
Bubble works was older when it closed than many people reading this forum
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Don’t forget the second version of Bubbleworks was built to accommodate the Imperial Leather sponsorship so was almost an IP anyway. The original version ran for 15 years(which I never got to ride), then the rubbish soap version for 10 years.
 
The SAW reference is interesting @Matt N and is a great case study of how a not very interesting ride can do wonders for a park for a lengthy period.

Matt.GC said:
Getting a unique B&M shuttle and slapping an "in the moment" IP on it for ease of marketing and a quick short term attendance boost seems a little too PLC Merlin to me. Like they haven't really learnt their lessons from past investments at all.
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I still think this is a misrepresentation of the popularity and health of the Jumanji franchise. The last Jumanji film came out less than two years ago and did as much at the box office as all the SAW films put together.

I think the real value of an IP is not just about what it brings to the ride itself, it's about their ability to maximise on their investment by instantly creating an awareness of what something is. In a lot of cases you are able to get someone's buy in (quite literally) just by the mere mention of the brand.

"Chessington have a new Gruffalo ride"
vs.
"Chessington have a new ride, it's about a mouse taking a journey through a forest and meets various other animals and then meets this big monster"
 
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Rick said:
The SAW reference is interesting @Matt N and is a great case study of how a not very interesting ride can do wonders for a park for a lengthy period.



I still think this is a misrepresentation of the popularity and health of the Jumanji franchise. The last Jumanji film came out less than two years ago and did as much at the box office as all the SAW films put together.

I think the real value of an IP is not just about what it brings to the ride itself, it's about their ability to maximise on their investment by instantly creating an awareness of what something is. In a lot of cases you are able to get someone's buy in (quite literally) just by the mere mention of the brand.

"Chessington have a new Gruffalo ride"
vs.
"Chessington have a new ride, it's about a mouse taking a journey through a forest and meets various other animals and then meets this big monster"
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I think this brings to light the mediocrity of the Gruffalo story rather than how powerful a name drop is lol.
 
Rick said:
The SAW reference is interesting @Matt N and is a great case study of how a not very interesting ride can do wonders for a park for a lengthy period.



I still think this is a misrepresentation of the popularity and health of the Jumanji franchise. The last Jumanji film came out less than two years ago and did as much at the box office as all the SAW films put together.

I think the real value of an IP is not just about what it brings to the ride itself, it's about their ability to maximise on their investment by instantly creating an awareness of what something is. In a lot of cases you are able to get someone's buy in (quite literally) just by the mere mention of the brand.

"Chessington have a new Gruffalo ride"
vs.
"Chessington have a new ride, it's about a mouse taking a journey through a forest and meets various other animals and then meets this big monster"
Click to expand...

How is this a misinterpretation of the health of the Jumanji franchise? I'm not denying for one moment it's a big boys IP at present. You could well be right, we could be on it's 6th sequel by 2030 and I'll happily eat my words. This could turn out to be IP deal of the century for all any of us know. But how do you think this will this fit in a decades time? Or even 5 years time? It'll be great opening year, maybe the year after and maybe another 2 or 3 years if they churn out a third movie and it becomes a success. But after that?

Only 2 ways this is going to go. Either I'll be wrong, Jumanji will be a family staple on our TV screens for decades and all will be well. Or the IP will look dated in just a few years, it will outstay it's welcome, the area will be left to rot whilst the license clock runs down and vinyls and paint will frantically be slapped on everything in a hasty attempt to hide the original IP in a decades time.

Bearing in mind we're not talking about a Gerstlaur in the corner of Thorpe Park here (Saw being an IP gamble that did pay off). We're talking about an entire area with the IP hard baked in, a couple of flats and a B&M. Some serious hardware. Look at Avatar, it's probably better known as a flying theatre and a heavily themed area in Animal Kingdom than it is a movie.

Jumanji is also completely different to the likes of Julia Donaldson, David Walliams, Cbeebies, Lego, Peppa Pig, Thomas the Tank Engine etc. The end of your post seems to back up my point that a Jumanji IP is more to do with a here and now attendance boost rather than long term sustainability even if you have compared it to an IP that is completely different. These afformention IP's have proven/ are proving to be somewhat timeless or at the very least resilient. Where's the Walking Dead now? What's Derren Brown done recently (hiding away from disgruntled TP guests and Merlin accountants in a bunker eating corned beef perhaps?)? Who remembers much from any of the DreamWorks animated movies other than Shrek?
 
Matt.GC said:
How is this a misinterpretation of the health of the Jumanji franchise? I'm not denying for one moment it's a big boys IP at present. You could well be right, we could be on it's 6th sequel by 2030 and I'll happily eat my words. This could turn out to be IP deal of the century for all any of us know. But how do you think this will this fit in a decades time? Or even 5 years time? It'll be great opening year, maybe the year after and maybe another 2 or 3 years if they churn out a third movie and it becomes a success. But after that?

Only 2 ways this is going to go. Either I'll be wrong, Jumanji will be a family staple on our TV screens for decades and all will be well. Or the IP will look dated in just a few years, it will outstay it's welcome, the area will be left to rot whilst the license clock runs down and vinyls and paint will frantically be slapped on everything in a hasty attempt to hide the original IP in a decades time.
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Does something need to be on its sixth sequel by 2030 in order to remain relevant and provide some continuing value? You don't need new SAW films or new Wallace And Gromit specials for them to provide benefit to the park or the attraction. Look how prevalent the Peanuts characters are in Cedar Fair parks, yet they hardly appear on TV at all. But that doesn't matter - the job is already done.

If for whatever reason the IP becomes dated, it can slip away as required or it's just a random word that people don't understand or relate to. I think it's a difficult proposition to suggest that a dated IP damages the ride or people's perception of it, especially when in recent times a vast number of people have enjoyed the property on some level.

Disney does this remarkably well, there are staple attractions at all the parks which utilise IPs that haven't had a new release for decades. Furthermore, the ride can actually keep the IP relevant, it's not a one way transaction. SAW is a good example of this.

Matt.GC said:
Where's the Walking Dead now?
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Currently broadcasting its final (11th) season, streaming in full on Disney Plus.

Matt.GC said:
What's Derren Brown done recently
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Touring the UK with Showman. It's very different, but very good.

Matt.GC said:
Who remembers much from any of the DreamWorks animated movies other than Shrek?
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Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar are still in the public consciousness and I genuinely think that's what is needed. I think by definition, if you build something based on the 'now', you can link yourself to something that is a flash in the pan.

I also think you have to roll the dice on IPs, it's certainly true that sometimes you will win but others you will lose. Paultons bet big on Peppa Pig and it worked out extremely well for them.
 
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Interesting… looks like Chessington could be anticipating a big uptick in accommodation demand when the 2023 coaster opens!

The lodges themselves look really nice, and should be nice if the Enchanted Village is anything to go off of, but why are there so few of them? (34 seems a very low amount to me…)
 
They also need to improve the accommodation infrastructure, rather than just tagging on additional rooms without matching it with additional facilities. Utilising the existing reception, food and beverage locations just adds to the overcrowding problems that put too much strain on those existing facilities.
 
As has been mentioned a lot the capacity is the real problem. Yes the target demographic is a bit questionable but I think we can predict they want something for the older kids and parents to ride. The capacity is the real issue I have with this ride but netherless I'm still looking forward to it opening and trying it out. It might be quite good fun actually.
 
According to Theme Park Guide, shovels are now in the ground and construction on Project Amazon has begun, in spite of planning permission having not been granted yet:

Exciting stuff! Although I’ll admit I’m a little confused as to why they’re starting before planning permission is granted… they must be very confident in it getting approved!
 
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