Jb85
TS Member
As much as I am with you on the re track theory - this is a different Merlin now admittedly.
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As much as I am with you on the re track theory - this is a different Merlin now admittedly.
Benzin
TS Member
It wasn't even the highest throughput when it ran 3 trains. Though I don't know how badly they've butchered the throughput on Tiger Falls.
Granted though the 600-700 pph it gets on 2 trains is still one of the best on park. If you have a good team working on it. Which Chessie isn't really known for.
Yes it is and I agree to an extent however I'm not sure any company would bother to retrack vampire at this point mainly because it seems they are investing iin other area's of the park which are going to be more marketable. I think a retrack of vampire could possibility happen in the mid term future however I think that will be a least 5 years away but probably considerably more.
venny
TS Member
There’s two elements which make a retrack a decent possibility: -
- Chessington won’t be able to replace it with anything on the same scale.
- It remains popular.
Assuming sound minds prevail (which they may not) and those two facts remain true, the ride is likely going to be here for some time yet.
- Chessington won’t be able to replace it with anything on the same scale.
- It remains popular.
Assuming sound minds prevail (which they may not) and those two facts remain true, the ride is likely going to be here for some time yet.
Trooper Looper
TS Member
Should've stayed as Transilvania, but with added story to it, as The Gruffalo River Ride just being nature claiming Bubbleworks factory. There, I've fixed it.
Trooper Looper
TS Member
Do by chance anyone here knows how long Chessingtons license with Julia Donaldson has left before they lose all the rights to the characters?
Trooper Looper
TS Member
Ah...R.I.P Original ideas and creativity. Dark Rides wise anyway.
Cheers for replying though
Matt.GC
TS Member
Until she actually visits Chessington and wonders why a ride themed to one of her books has been placed inside an area clearly themed to Transylvania, only painted in bright colours?
Trooper Looper
TS Member
Yes.
Trooper Looper
TS Member
So, I might be going to Chessington with my Family in June for the first time. Even if we've already been to Alton Towers countless times, is Chessington still worth going to?
RicketyCricket
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Taron
Its very crowd dependant due to the amount of low capacity rides. Go on a quiet day and it's brilliant. Go on a busy Saturday and it's dreadful.
Much better day out than Thorpe IMO.
Trooper Looper
TS Member
Thank you so much for replying! I'm going on a Sunday, 26th of June to be precise. Fingers crossed the longest queue will only be 45 minutes.
jon81uk
TS Member
very much agree with this, term time weekdays at Chessington have been some of my best ever theme park days, we stayed on the dodgems and Dragon Falls for several rides without getting off and just had a really relaxed day watching animals and riding with no wait. As none of the rides (except Rameses when it existed) are particularly intense it just made it a lot of fun really to do multiple rides.
Whereas a similar day at Thorpe gets old quickly as there is only so many times I want to go upside down.
AstroDan
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point
I visited Chessington on New Year's Eve. We arrived at noon and stayed until around 4pm. I didn't think much to the event, in all honesty. I can't decide whether it was due to the double-whammy of post-Christmas lethargy on the part of the park coupled with the sudden loss of Vampire or whether it was simply due to the event being sub-par.
The event neither does rides nor Christmas well, it's trying to be a jack of all trades but ends up being master of none in this case. Of course, the animal side of things is all available, but otherwise I felt the event was flat. There was some entertainment, the panto for younger families being a high point - but the 5 minutes singing on the stage in Adventure Point was just dire.
Unfortunately for Chessington, they have you walking past endless closed rides to get to one that is open. Case in point: Walk into Wild Asia just to ride dodgems. Seastorm is an example of an attraction that absolutely should have been open, given its central location in the park. Alton Towers, for example, can get away with the closures more readily because of the way the park has discrete areas that are separated from each other. Alton can open pretty much every ride in CBeebies and Mutiny Bay. Chessington doesn't have this benefit. There were just not enough things operating.
I do feel that given the loss of Vampire, there was really very little to do - and another coaster would have meant that guests didn't feel so short changed.
There was a fair choice of food - but I have to say the Smokehouse has drastically gone downhill. The meat was dry and the menu choices are now all just meal deals - the mixed platters for one etc. have gone. It's all disposable plates and cups etc. Just not very nice.
Basically - I wasn't impressed with the place. They need a Lightopia equivalent to really make people go wow, or just open the park (almost) fully - like Legoland. Then there's plenty to do.
The event neither does rides nor Christmas well, it's trying to be a jack of all trades but ends up being master of none in this case. Of course, the animal side of things is all available, but otherwise I felt the event was flat. There was some entertainment, the panto for younger families being a high point - but the 5 minutes singing on the stage in Adventure Point was just dire.
Unfortunately for Chessington, they have you walking past endless closed rides to get to one that is open. Case in point: Walk into Wild Asia just to ride dodgems. Seastorm is an example of an attraction that absolutely should have been open, given its central location in the park. Alton Towers, for example, can get away with the closures more readily because of the way the park has discrete areas that are separated from each other. Alton can open pretty much every ride in CBeebies and Mutiny Bay. Chessington doesn't have this benefit. There were just not enough things operating.
I do feel that given the loss of Vampire, there was really very little to do - and another coaster would have meant that guests didn't feel so short changed.
There was a fair choice of food - but I have to say the Smokehouse has drastically gone downhill. The meat was dry and the menu choices are now all just meal deals - the mixed platters for one etc. have gone. It's all disposable plates and cups etc. Just not very nice.
Basically - I wasn't impressed with the place. They need a Lightopia equivalent to really make people go wow, or just open the park (almost) fully - like Legoland. Then there's plenty to do.
AT86
TS Member
I am not sure when, but it appears that recently Chessington’s trip advisor rating has dropped to 3 stars. For many many years it has sat at 3.5 stars (the same as Thorpe and Legoland, with Towers at 4 stars).
This means that Chessington is now the lowest rated UK Merlin attraction when it comes to trip advisor, not a particularly great achievement. I wonder if management will take note - in the past Merlin have been keen to keep review scores up because it doesn’t look good to have poor scores since lots of prospective customers check these things out these days before booking.
This means that Chessington is now the lowest rated UK Merlin attraction when it comes to trip advisor, not a particularly great achievement. I wonder if management will take note - in the past Merlin have been keen to keep review scores up because it doesn’t look good to have poor scores since lots of prospective customers check these things out these days before booking.
I think this means more than a lot of people might think on the surface. I know a decent chunk of people who plan what they do with attractions and restaurants with trip advisor or google reviews. They use them as a general benchmark. If one thing is rated higher that's a similar thing they'll go there instead.I am not sure when, but it appears that recently Chessington’s trip advisor rating has dropped to 3 stars. For many many years it has sat at 3.5 stars (the same as Thorpe and Legoland, with Towers at 4 stars).
This means that Chessington is now the lowest rated UK Merlin attraction when it comes to trip advisor, not a particularly great achievement. I wonder if management will take note - in the past Merlin have been keen to keep review scores up because it doesn’t look good to have poor scores since lots of prospective customers check these things out these days before booking.
Now this made me think of looking at Paulton's trip advisor rating which is 4.5 stars. Surely if you've got to make the decision to go to either you pick the one with the much higher rating.
This could well have quite a decent impact on Chessington's attendance figures and actually mean that additions like the new coaster have a smaller impact.