• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Chessington World of Adventures Resort

I wasn't particularly keen on how the IP was executed at Gardaland (and from what I've heard, neither were the studio...), but this is a solid fit for Chessington, despite valid capacity concerns.

Part of the issue with its Italian counterpart is that the design feels quite literally unconvincingly slapped on to existing infrastructure, whereas this is a fresh, ground-up job. Similarly, this is a coaster and some flat rides, negating the need to employ actors who very vaguely resemble The Rock or Jack Black.

Any idea on whether the area will incorporate yer actual animals?
 
Rick said:
God not again. In what world is a franchise that has done £2 BILLION at the box office, with more on the way as @AT86 says, not a slam dunk ? Not to mention the franchise is hand in glove in terms of Chessington's theme.

....

Enthusiasts (for 20 years) - Chessington needs more investment
Merlin - £17m new area with a roller coaster from the most highly regarded manufacturer of all time
Enthusiasts - No.

Absolute plant pots.

Bring it on.
Click to expand...

It's already on the way out. In a few years we end up with an area themed to films that nobody has cared about for a long time, same as Angry Birds land still kicking about long after anyone still played the game, or DBGT opening arguably after Derren Brown was last considered famous. If they'd opened this land back when it was relevant instead of four years after the last movie (and with a third still not even confirmed to definitely be happening), I'd have no complaints.

No need for the personal insult either, there are better ways to respond to someone not liking a choice made by a family theme park.
 
Can't say I'm excited about any of the rides here, I fail to see how one of the smallest/slowest B&M coasters ever built is going to be particularly good. In addition, I'm unsure on the quality of the support rides from SBF. Capacity is likely going to be an issue.

I'm also still struggling with the IP only agenda of the Merlin group now, limiting creativity and future possibilities.

However, investment is better than none and Chessington badly needs it.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Rick said:
God not again. In what world is a franchise that has done £2 BILLION at the box office, with more on the way as @AT86 says, not a slam dunk ? Not to mention the franchise is hand in glove in terms of Chessington's theme.

....

Enthusiasts (for 20 years) - Chessington needs more investment
Merlin - £17m new area with a roller coaster from the most highly regarded manufacturer of all time
Enthusiasts - No.

Absolute plant pots.

Bring it on.
Click to expand...
I think it’s fair to criticise that although the IP is relevant and a great fit for Chessington, the hardware they are installing is poor both in term of quality and capacity.
 
But even if they go for better hardware than we are expecting I don’t think the shuttle coaster will be high enough capacity and the flat rides probably won’t be either. Chessington really should have built two towers for Croc Drop and I think the capacity of this area will be inadequate too.
 
The IP is a great choice. I've not even seen the new films but am well aware of them.

Look at Avatar, Disney built Pandora several years after the film and it's still really popular.

Again though it still seems strange to build a quite tame looking coaster with a 1.4m height restriction when there are much more well rounded thrill coasters available.

Still it's a great all round investment, look forward to checking it out.
 
Nosferatu said:
If Chessington Buzz's inaccuracy is anything to go by, in regards to their previous report of the budget being around £12 million, then there's also a chance that the support rides may not even be from SBF.
Click to expand...
Chessington Buzz could well have a different definition of “the budget” to Merlin. It’s often said by critics that Merlin inflate their budgets in marketing to include every little cost in them, so perhaps Chessington Buzz reported a different cost by accident (e.g. the budget without marketing and IP costs)? It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if they knew this figure based on how connected they are to the park.

Or that figure could have been a simple mistake. The team behind Chessington Buzz are only human; we all make mistakes!

From past experience, I trust that Chessington Buzz is a very reliable source, so I believe them on this one. It would also make sense given that Chessington has worked with SBF fairly recently (on Croc Drop).
 
I'd say it's a family/thrill coaster, just with a higher height restriction. Supposedly, if Chessington Buzz are to be believed, the launch speed will be 45mph, which is the same maximum speed that Colossus reaches. The layout for this is also pretty compact and ground hugging, so you never know, it could pull higher forces than what people are expecting. But yeah, we'll see how accurate this information is come opening day.
 
Last edited:
Matt N said:
Chessington Buzz could well have a different definition of “the budget” to Merlin. It’s often said by critics that Merlin inflate their budgets in marketing to include every little cost in them, so perhaps Chessington Buzz reported a different cost by accident (e.g. the budget without marketing and IP costs)? It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if they knew this figure based on how connected they are to the park.
Click to expand...
Hang on hang on, are we genuinely saying that we think a simple (and tbh fairly poor) fan site has any kinda handle on the budgets of a multi-million Merlin Capital project, to the extent that they can cut and chop their figures to show what they want?!?

Come on now. Chessington Buzz have as much knowledge of the numbers as the rest of us... i.e. none...
 
Islander said:
Hang on hang on, are we genuinely saying that we think a simple (and tbh fairly poor) fan site has any kinda handle on the budgets of a multi-million Merlin Capital project, to the extent that they can cut and chop their figures to show what they want?!?

Come on now. Chessington Buzz have as much knowledge of the numbers as the rest of us... i.e. none...
Click to expand...
I only say this because from my experience of having talked to him on other sites, Jared (the guy who runs Chessington Buzz) is very knowledgeable and has very good connections within both Chessington and Merlin. He does seem to be fed insider information via these connections, and he does seem to know plenty of stuff about Chessington/Merlin that isn’t necessarily common public knowledge.

With that in mind, I did wonder whether he might have slightly more insight into the “actual” cost of this project.

I’ve heard enough stuff said by him in the past that’s been proven accurate to believe that Chessington Buzz is a reputable source. For instance, I remember he was the first to say that this was a B&M Wing Coaster, and many rubbished his claim at the time. He was ultimately proven right.

I’m not saying that CB necessarily knows a different budget; that figure could simply have been an honest mistake. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they did.
 
With rampant inflation and the fallout from Brexit, it's quite hard to know what you'd get for your money anyway now. £17 million sounds like a lot for Chessington, and significantly more than Zufari was quoted as. Over the last 20 years Chessington’s projects have been significantly cheaper than Alton’s and Thorpe’s, but on paper this is in the Wicker Man ballpark.

But it's hard to gauge what this means in real terms. The pound hasn’t been doing very well internationally, imports have got more expensive, there’s been a shortage of construction workers and rampant inflation. Even if you compare it to projects that were built a few years ago like Icon and Wicker Man, it might not go as far as we think. But then again, it might.
 
RicketyCricket said:
Again though it still seems strange to build a quite tame looking coaster with a 1.4m height restriction when there are much more well rounded thrill coasters available.
Click to expand...
This 100%, I think Chessington have really dropped the ball adding a low thrill whilst high height restriction ride.

There are a range of decent low height restrictions rides available now which would suit way more of their apparent target audience whilst still being seen as a mid-thrill rides; Paultons for example has Storm Chaser, Flight of the Pterosaur, Velociraptor for 1m+ and Cobra for just 1.1m
 
Skyscraper said:
This intrigues me:

Screenshot_20220816-083149-765.png


Will be interesting to see what they've done.
Click to expand...

I think the way Chessington will 'solve' the capacity problem is to not care about capacity. Problem solved!
 
Rick said:
God not again. In what world is a franchise that has done £2 BILLION at the box office, with more on the way as @AT86 says, not a slam dunk ? Not to mention the franchise is hand in glove in terms of Chessington's theme.

....

Enthusiasts (for 20 years) - Chessington needs more investment
Merlin - £17m new area with a roller coaster from the most highly regarded manufacturer of all time
Enthusiasts - No.

Absolute plant pots.

Bring it on.
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more, not that I've been in half a century, but this might even get me to go again.
But what worries me more Rick, why do you hold prejudice against plant pots?
Some of my best friends are plant pots.
You hold terracotta in low esteem?
 
Danny said:
Am I missing something, or has the 1.4m height restriction been confirmed? B&M 's family invert range can accommodate guests from 1.15m, so it may not necessarily be 1.4m.
Click to expand...
If it's a wing coaster like rumoured, it'll be 1.4 like all of the others.
 
ThemeParkAddict said:
I continue to be unimpressed by Merlin’s choice of IP. Half expecting Grown Ups 2: The Ride to open in 2026
Click to expand...
Not sure how you could be unimpressed with them choosing a franchise with 2 massive blockbuster hits within the last 5 years, and another currently in development. Jungle theme suits Chessington perfectly, and Jumanji is very marketable for them.
Did you have the same reservations when Disney World created The World of Avatar after just 1 movie? Jumanji has had 3 (4 if you count Zathura), with more on the way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top