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Benzin
TS Member
The finale looks good from a theming point of view...
Not, for what it actually is as a finale... There's no build up, no explanation as to what's happening inside, it's an anti-climax...
As I said, it needs a LOT of work to be up to a really good standard... Especially as the finale seems to be something added on to make things exciting should the animals be sleepy/boring/hidden...
Not, for what it actually is as a finale... There's no build up, no explanation as to what's happening inside, it's an anti-climax...
As I said, it needs a LOT of work to be up to a really good standard... Especially as the finale seems to be something added on to make things exciting should the animals be sleepy/boring/hidden...
E
electricBlll
Brad Wynne interview
This great interview with a leading creative member of Merlin Magic Making was recently published. It's great to know more about the creation of rides from the inside. He talks a lot about Zufari but he was also involved in Sub-Terra at Alton Towers.
He describes his job as "making sure the end result is as close the the original vision as possible", so blame him for Sub-Terra and Zufari's mediocrity! (Just joking)
Anyway, he has a great job and I am glad Merlin Magic Making enjoy their work. I'd love to be involved on the inside of these projects; It's so boring being on the outside, posting on internet forums where everybody moans. :twirly:
This great interview with a leading creative member of Merlin Magic Making was recently published. It's great to know more about the creation of rides from the inside. He talks a lot about Zufari but he was also involved in Sub-Terra at Alton Towers.
He describes his job as "making sure the end result is as close the the original vision as possible", so blame him for Sub-Terra and Zufari's mediocrity! (Just joking)
Anyway, he has a great job and I am glad Merlin Magic Making enjoy their work. I'd love to be involved on the inside of these projects; It's so boring being on the outside, posting on internet forums where everybody moans. :twirly:
Sam
TS Member
Bleh, this looks... uninspiring.
Why did they only cover half of that central building with the rockwork? It looks awful! If you're going to do most of it, why not go finish it off?
Also, the station platform. It looks very unimpressive for what is meant to be the grand terminal for these expeditions. The on-ride audio sounds really good, but the landscapes are bare and the finale doesn't really redeem the rest of it.
Chessington should at LEAST be able to build something as good as Disney fifteen years ago. There's no excuse for this not being as good as Kilimanjaro.
Why did they only cover half of that central building with the rockwork? It looks awful! If you're going to do most of it, why not go finish it off?
Also, the station platform. It looks very unimpressive for what is meant to be the grand terminal for these expeditions. The on-ride audio sounds really good, but the landscapes are bare and the finale doesn't really redeem the rest of it.
Chessington should at LEAST be able to build something as good as Disney fifteen years ago. There's no excuse for this not being as good as Kilimanjaro.
Plastic Person
TS Member
Roger Ramrod said:
Assuming you're not being sarcastic, Roger, I'd Disney were probably more extensive in their theming efforts 15 years ago...
Personally I never expected anything particularly grand or completely immersive, but this just looks a bit scruffy. What exactly is meant to be happening in the finale?
Sam
TS Member
I don't mean because Disney have increased in quality over that time. Disney fifteen years ago was still great. What I mean is that Kilimanjaro Safaris has been around long enough that Chessington should at least have been able to learn from it and make something comparable. If not improved. You'd expect in any other field that a mid-range company should at least be able to come up with something equal to what a top-end company was doing in 1998. I mean, Disney have done all the hard work for them, all they needed to do is go to Florida, make a few notes, and come up with their own version!
coasternut
TS Member
Roger Ramrod said:
Zufari could certainly learn a thing or two from Kilimanjaro Safaris but to expect something comparable is a little far fetched. Kilimanjaro Safaris was built on an astronomical budget even by Disney's standards and cover's an area considerably bigger than the entire property at Chessington. I don't know of the exact figures, but I'd suggest Zufari has been built for maybe a tenth of the cost of Kilimanjaro Safaris. With that in mind, I think we have a reasonable attraction with some potential for improvement.
These kinds of attractions are fairly expensive to maintain too. I just hope we see some continued investment to develop the landscape, flora and fauna!
A
Anonymous
Zufari was built on a budget of £8m after Merlin cut the budget down from £12m. There were going to be 5 Rhino, instead of 3. 7 Giraffe instead of 4 and as well as the current finale, there were going to be balls of fire and a vibrating ram underneath the truck that dropped. Considering the levels of ground work involved in this project (baring in mind that where the station is built, the cave and most of the hills are man made, I think they've done a great job.
Now, trying not to be a fan boy here and see it from the other side of the fence, yes, it looks bare, yes, the queue line is quite frankly horrid and it's very uninspired, but there have been so many complications during the construction of this ride that I'm glad to see the foundations of what will become a better experience are in. For example, there are already plans in place to add more animals, planting will grow, and the animals will become more comfortable with the Trucks.
I think I'm one of only 2 or 3 who have actually been on it on this forum, and sure, I'm not the best person to give a review, considering I run a Chessie site, but there are so many aspects of this attraction that are going to be worked on closed season, it's just a case of being patient, and realizing that this was never going to be comparable to a ride 4 times the size, with about 10 times the budget.
Now, trying not to be a fan boy here and see it from the other side of the fence, yes, it looks bare, yes, the queue line is quite frankly horrid and it's very uninspired, but there have been so many complications during the construction of this ride that I'm glad to see the foundations of what will become a better experience are in. For example, there are already plans in place to add more animals, planting will grow, and the animals will become more comfortable with the Trucks.
I think I'm one of only 2 or 3 who have actually been on it on this forum, and sure, I'm not the best person to give a review, considering I run a Chessie site, but there are so many aspects of this attraction that are going to be worked on closed season, it's just a case of being patient, and realizing that this was never going to be comparable to a ride 4 times the size, with about 10 times the budget.
BigAl
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Forbidden Journey
Shame the budget was slashed like that because what Jared described sounds pretty damn amazing! I hope that the budget being cut doesn't have such a huge impact on how well-received Zufari is by the general public. It doesn't matter if Merlin realise that removing money from Zufari's budget was a mistake because the damage will have already been done to the ride's reputation.
Removing such a drastic amount seems absolutely ridiculous amount of money from the budget just seems plain daft to me. Sure, you've saved some money now, but what are you going to do when people think your attraction is naff and people don't want to bother visiting until something worthy materialises which is worth paying to experience? How haven't they realised that you have to spend money to make more back?
Universal Orlando's current spending spree is a prime example that the more money that gets put into the park and attractions, the more you get out of the paying customer. When the economy is on its arse, people want more, not less. It doesn't matter that it has potential, if in the opening year it doesn't capture the imaginations of guests then it won't have as much of an impact later on in its life.
I still think that this attraction looks okay and I look forward to riding it, but I worry that if Merlin's parks have to keep going back to correct new attractions which are failing then at some point they're going to pay, which is a shame. But then they haven't got anyone else to blame if something bad does happen to them other than themselves.
I don't want them to fail and I don't enjoy having to read negative reactions and reports stating that their new attractions haven't inspired the public, because a lot of hard work goes into these new experiences and it's an absolute shame when all of that work doesn't pay off for all the great people who are involved in their creation and operation.
Edit: P.S. I wasn't ever expecting a Disney standard attraction with Zufari.
Removing such a drastic amount seems absolutely ridiculous amount of money from the budget just seems plain daft to me. Sure, you've saved some money now, but what are you going to do when people think your attraction is naff and people don't want to bother visiting until something worthy materialises which is worth paying to experience? How haven't they realised that you have to spend money to make more back?
Universal Orlando's current spending spree is a prime example that the more money that gets put into the park and attractions, the more you get out of the paying customer. When the economy is on its arse, people want more, not less. It doesn't matter that it has potential, if in the opening year it doesn't capture the imaginations of guests then it won't have as much of an impact later on in its life.
I still think that this attraction looks okay and I look forward to riding it, but I worry that if Merlin's parks have to keep going back to correct new attractions which are failing then at some point they're going to pay, which is a shame. But then they haven't got anyone else to blame if something bad does happen to them other than themselves.
I don't want them to fail and I don't enjoy having to read negative reactions and reports stating that their new attractions haven't inspired the public, because a lot of hard work goes into these new experiences and it's an absolute shame when all of that work doesn't pay off for all the great people who are involved in their creation and operation.
Edit: P.S. I wasn't ever expecting a Disney standard attraction with Zufari.
Depends. Families, particularly younger children, could find this amazing. Marketed well, and as long as you see animals, they'll enjoy it.DiogoJ42 said:
Hence why bubbleworks is so well rated, even though we all know it's a pile of turd. Families just don't look at it in our eyes. And I imagine this'll be one of the best safaris in the UK, even if it is short, which'd make it a winner due to the lack of people having been on foreign safaris.
It is a shame that Merlin do take the 'middle of the road' stance on new attractions. Most of the new attractions have a quality feel to them but lack a certain push to be exceptional. It is like they don't see their attractions within a wider context and focus on being just a bit better than other UK parks. The competition in the UK isn't especially a threat so the result is just a tad watered down.
There is nothing wrong with Zufari - but there is nothing standing out and giving it the wow factor. I guess it was not finished in the video, but things like the Giraffe house are finished and I think it probably speaks for most of the attraction.. :/
There is nothing wrong with Zufari - but there is nothing standing out and giving it the wow factor. I guess it was not finished in the video, but things like the Giraffe house are finished and I think it probably speaks for most of the attraction.. :/
Do not know if this hasn't been mentioned but Chessington are doing a £5 million refurbishment programme. The current rides listed for refurbishment include Dragon Falls, Peeking Heights and Runaway Train
Peeking Heights will be closed until 02/04/13
Dragon Falls will be closed until 10/04/13
Runaway Train will be closed for an unknown period of time.
Personally I think this is a good move as these rides really do need some TLC. The Runaway train's cave has deteriorated to a point where it does not even look like a cave! It is a shame Dragon Falls will be closed as that is one of my favourite rides at Chessington!
Peeking Heights will be closed until 02/04/13
Dragon Falls will be closed until 10/04/13
Runaway Train will be closed for an unknown period of time.
Personally I think this is a good move as these rides really do need some TLC. The Runaway train's cave has deteriorated to a point where it does not even look like a cave! It is a shame Dragon Falls will be closed as that is one of my favourite rides at Chessington!
Ted
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Kondaa
Thanks for posting, Hayden =)
I think this is fantastic news, both RT and Dragon Falls need a refurb as they're both now over 25 years old. Hopefully both of them will look good as new =) Although if it's a hot busy day in Easter, i can imagine Bubbleworks being busy!
I think this is fantastic news, both RT and Dragon Falls need a refurb as they're both now over 25 years old. Hopefully both of them will look good as new =) Although if it's a hot busy day in Easter, i can imagine Bubbleworks being busy!