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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

What is it with Chessington and dire theming? We've had numerous Tomb Blaster changes that just seem to make it worse, Dragon Falls without theming for five years, then Rainforest opened and the bar was lowered, now this and ok I like the topiary but have management been to Paultons and seen what the competition is like?
 
Does anyone know if the other entrance is still in use? I usually drive in and go through the entrance by Dragons Fury, but I'm getting the train tomorrow so the other entrance is a bit closer I think.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
What is it with Chessington and dire theming? We've had numerous Tomb Blaster changes that just seem to make it worse, Dragon Falls without theming for five years, then Rainforest opened and the bar was lowered, now this and ok I like the topiary but have management been to Paultons and seen what the competition is like?
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I think it’s becoming a pervasive issue. There are now a large amount of theme park fans working for Merlin, who often think they know best or employ their mates with varying degrees of disaster. Just because you’re a theme park fan does not make you a good lighting designer, sound engineer etc. Whereas in the past the perks might employ professionals in their field, there now seems to be a trend to rely on those fans to implement less than stellar adjustments.
 
venny said:
I think it’s becoming a pervasive issue. There are now a large amount of theme park fans working for Merlin, who often think they know best or employ their mates with varying degrees of disaster. Just because you’re a theme park fan does not make you a good lighting designer, sound engineer etc. Whereas in the past the perks might employ professionals in their field, there now seems to be a trend to rely on those fans to implement less than stellar adjustments.
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I’ve heard that a lot of what Chessington have done over recent years, be it re-themes, new music etc, has been done by theme parks fans who’ve essentially said they’ll do it for free. And I’d agree that, in most cases, the result hasn’t been great.

On the subject of Paultons, whilst I agree that Tornado Springs and Lost Kingdom are both themed pretty well by UK standards, we mustn’t forget that they too have their fair share of not so good theming, such as the street leading up to the 4D cinema, Magma, Peppa Pig World starting to look quite tried now, and let’s not forget that about a third of the park (if not more) remains completely unthemed.

I love Paultons, but it’s wrong to say that their theming is perfect and everything at Chessington is awful, as some have suggested.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
Peppa Pig World starting to look quite tried now
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I can't agree with that at all. The upkeep on the rides and theming in Peppa Pig World means pretty much all of it looks just as it did when it opened.

The older areas might be lacking in underlying quality emmersive themeing, but all are kept clean, neat and tidy. Whereas at Chessington the newer areas are the ones lacking quality immersive theming, and a lot of areas are not kept clean and tidy at all, although there has been a marked improvement in presentation efforts this year.
 
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