Chessington World of Adventures Resort

[DiogoJ42]

Not keen on the animals being so close to those cars, are they proper engines etc too, what about maintenance and break downs etc?

Here's what I can see happening:

* Sooner or later, one of the trucks breaks down mid ride.

* It takes several hours for the keepers to round up all the animals, then send out another truck to collect the guests (they probably won't be allowed to just walk out through the empty enclosure incase they have something on the soles of their shoes that could contaminate the grass. Anyone entering the animal areas of the zoo has to walk through a "sheep dip" regardless of what kind of footwear they have on.)

* Cue the headlines:
"families left stranded for hours in the middle of wild beast feeding frenzy!"
"We were stuck in the midday sun with an angry rhino!" Said Tracy, mother of three, "I thought we were going to die!"
"Children left to fend for themselves against horned beast of death in theme park horror!"
etc. etc.

Think I'm joking? Remember the headlines when the Safari Skyway stopped... "left dangling over hungry lions" and so forth.

* After an investigation lasting several months (during which time the ride is closed, fenced off, it's very existance denied, and anyone taking pictures of it is jumped on by security), H&S demand that the road is seperated from the animals by a two meter high rhino proof fence.

---

Anywhere else this would be fantasy, but at Chessington, I can see this happening.

 

[electricBlll]

They will never be able to rebuild those stone faces to the same level of quality and attention to detail as they were originally.

It's not that hard. The original piece was done by a freelance sculptor in London. They could easily contact an artist again to create new Buddha sculptures; they have enough time and money to do it properly; it will look great as long as the artist knows what they are doing. And this time mould it from something stronger than GRP!

As long as they don't let Merlin Studios do it, I don't want it to be replaced by some rusty van or scaffolding or whatever.
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All this talk of "Merlin apologists", "uberfans" and "Merlin haters" accross several topics is ridiculous. Since when were theme parks about politics? That notion is laughable in itself, since the whole principle of a theme park is to escape mundane argumentative things like that.

The fact that the structure had to be removed is terrible: yes. Well obviously. The unfortunate fact is, the themework had been rotting for decades, and by this point needed removal. Previous attempts to improve Mystic East included new signage and dull repaints. Well, this is the first time something significant is happening with real money involved. I'd much rather have one year of a bare Dragon River than another decade of a rotting ride, as long as the replacement is sympathetic to the original design.

Now some of my best memories are of floating into the mouth of the Chinese dragon, climbing to the top of mountains and dropping down the other side, dancing in the strobes of BubbleWorks and the rest. I enjoy Chessington because it was designed for pure fun and I get it, not because I am "theme park enthusiast" or an "apologist".

Of course it hurts at how Chessington has fallen so far. I remember Transylvania was a magical place when I was younger, it simply was. Compare that to 2013, it is now so oppressively dull, transparent and incoherent, much like the tacky 'themed land' it has become, that even my optimism is failing. But I've got my memories, my thoughts and my inspiration intact.

Personally I am going to send Chessington's management a realistic email to inquire into the park's hazy future, at least that's more productive than just whining on a forum...

 

[Laura]

Chessington was the first park I visited, I think I was about 8 years old. I remember queuing for three hours for Dragons Fury, and another two hours for Vampire with my dad.

I only remember little bits of the themeing but I remember Transylvania scaring me!

Just looking at that photo above is absolutely soul-destroying! I was actually thinking of visiting soon for nostalgia purposes but that seems like a terrible idea now.

I don't think young children will be quite as affected by the themeing removals as we are...but their parents will be and they're the ones shelling out for tickets. My one enduring memory of my first visit was my mum complaining endlessly about the extreme amounts of litter.

It is worth bearing in mind the themeing at Alton and Thorpe seems to consist entirely of tin sheds and abandoned vehicles, which can't really be used for somewhere like Chessington!

This will no doubt cause upset but I can't help but feel the park is looking as embarrassing as Oakwood, if the comments and photo above are anything to go for.
It honestly makes me wish I could get together some money and mates and go down there and fix it myself!

 

[DiogoJ42]

Same here. Chessie made me the geek I am today. I've stuck by the park through all these years of neglect. But frankly, this is all too much now. The wanton vandalism here makes the Oblivion Fanta episode look trivial. :'(
I'd rather they just cut the crap and closed the park altogether, than see it in this state.

 

[TheMan]

Geeks are losing the plot with this one, I am afraid the general consensus that you'd rather the theme be bare for a year, or the rides close in main season etc is not one the GP share.

All the people I have mentioned it too, who usually get very annoyed with me yacking on about theme parks all the time, are shocked, and think it is terrible organisation.

IT is. From wherever this has come, be it poor maintenance, planning, H&S whatever - this is rather drastic action.

I love it when people quote the terms and conditions as well, quote them at me when you have four/five rides closed and let's find out what happens.

By the way, small print that isn't very clearly legible or understandable, or indeed fair - isn't worth the paper it's written on anyway - and it is also must be deemed to be in context. The T&Cs are usually only quoted on the SW thread in all honesty, as most of us Chessie lovers in here are depressed by what is happening because of our fondness for the park. I found it late, it stole my love instantly.

I cannot imagine this is Chessington management again, but I have to wonder who on Earth is making all these awful decisions for our parks at the moment.

Don't quote millions of refurbishment at me either, Zufari was sliced by what, a third? And when your parks are not open all through the winter, you do not close four rides upon re-opening, especially when your new attraction is late.

If you ran Chessington, you would not make these decisions and cause yourself and your staff a no doubt horrific amount of grief - I also find way too many links now across all the parks with the same issue.

Someone, higher up, is wreaking havoc upon these parks and is clearly utterly clueless - what else can it be? ALL of these things being coincidences? I'd like to give the individual park managers far more credit than that.

Just looks at Alton's budget cuts debacle last year.

I'll keep banging on about it, and getting more and more vocal, until someone has the decency to come out and explain.

Oh and good luck with the emails, I made these points in one to Merlin, and got ignored.

EDIT:

Here's what I can see happening:

* Sooner or later, one of the trucks breaks down mid ride.

They must have plans if this happens I'd say, so this means also that all cars will have a proper driver as well? (Excuse the ignorance, shows how much attention I have paid to this).

Could be a bit of a nightmare to keep running this at times by all accounts, I wouldn't have thought that was something Chessington needed. And surely expensive also?

I hope once the season gets moving properly all their problems settle down a bit. I just can't imagine this will have a high re-ride factor either. And when you consider it cost more than Outlaw Run to build. I know I am tearing into the theme of SW7 right now, but I don't want to be harsh on Chessie - I hope it is a resounding success for them, but to me I can just foresee issues with whacking great diesel trucks being relied upon.

 

[electricBlll]

Geeks are losing the plot with this one

Personally I'm trying to maintain a level-headed approach despite one of my favourite rides being ruined. Understandably, the knee jerk reaction is to get all upset, but surely there has been a valid reason for this. Closing some of the park's most popular rides and demolishing the theming is definitely the last thing Chessington, Merlin, daily visitors, or anyone wanted to happen.

Let's remind ourselves of what Dragon River and Runaway Train looked like until now:

Spoiler

It's not very pretty.

At least with this quanitity of money involed, the results won't be the same half-bottomed efforts we've had before. Although I do fear that the replacement won't be as good as the original, such things never are, even if it's just for nostalgia's sake. :'(
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Something I can't defend, however, is what they have done to Transylvania this year. Grey paint everywhere. It has obviously been carried without proper supervision and looks depressing.

 

[BigAl]

...and those are some of the better areas!




Seriously though, I'll be really gutted if the theming isn't properly replaced. If the same happens to what is being replaced now as what happened to the rock work and theming around the animatronic dragon then I certainly won't be pleased.

 

[TheMan]

Geeks are losing the plot with this one

Personally I'm trying to maintain a level-headed approach despite one of my favourite rides being ruined. Understandably, the knee jerk reaction is to get all upset, but surely there has been a valid reason for this. Closing some of the park's most popular rides and demolishing the theming is definitely the last thing Chessington, Merlin, daily visitors, or anyone wanted to happen.

Yes I think anyone who cares will be considerate to the fact, these things needed fixing up.

All I mean is that, even though we are "geeks" that doesn't mean that closing these rides to get them fixed up should be acceptable. In fact, on the whole I am not really getting my points across that well right now, so I just say I hope that they get this fixed properly as I am not exactly confident given Transylvania, and in particular the restaurant!

If "not up to our visual standards" meant it was too good, I'd probably believe that lol!

But yes, looking at those pictures they do look a sorry state. I just hope they replicate, rather than completely replace, or worse, don't bother.

Anyone got any pictures of RMT yet? I may actually shed a tear for that one if they have to remove the entire lot! Has to be something seriously amiss for all this to happen.

 

[Laura]

It's disheartening to think that the GP don't vote with their feet. From what I've read here the park is still crowded so the money must be coming in... If there is no real negative reaction then it's horrible to think they might not bother to redo the themeing. No amount of whinging from enthusiasts is going to change their minds - they are clearly fine with the embarrassing state of the park as long as they are making money (sounds like a reasonable trade to be honest). I wonder how far they would let it fall before there was an actual impact on attendance figures?

 

[HaydenCR]

Having a look at Chessington Buzz's photos on Facebook. Here are my thoughts:

Flying Jumbos looks great, I am glad they have rethemed it! No more tacky pink and blue. A big improvement indeed.

The Transylvania changes are ok. While the repaint was desired they are playing it too straight, and thus the land is stating to lose its character. Burger Kitchen leaves a lot to be desired, it has killed the atmosphere of Counts Cauldron completely. Why is Merlin so insistent on having strong restaurant brands! Its a flippin' theme park. The restaurants should be themed to the area they are in, not to a generic Merlin restaurant brand!

 

[thefatone]

Can I just say, this season the theming is being stripped off, next season the new theming goes up.

Is this the same as tomb's queue? "They've put it up now, it'll be sorted next season?". Cos, from what I've heard.. It ain't.

Least Chessington has FINALLY put a batcher into Vampire. It's only been mentioned constantly to them for at least 10yrs.

 

[BigAl]

Why is Merlin so insistent on having strong restaurant brands! Its a flippin' theme park. The restaurants should be themed to the area they are in, not to a generic Merlin restaurant brand!

I have the same beef ( ) with their restaurants too. The Merlin eateries are becoming more and more generic (on the insides at least). This shouldn't be the case at all. With a theme park I want theming, not the same ideas rolled out across all the parks with just a few differences here and there.

A restaurant doesn't just need to be a place to eat food. The different themed shops and outlets are part of the experience imo, so loosing this takes some of the fun out of your day. :/

 

[Quetzal]

This may have already been brought up, but Ive found a planning application for the use of the field near Wild Asia as a camping site.

http://maps.kingston.gov.uk/isis_main/planning/Planning_DETAIL.aspx?strCASENO=1310076&strHeader=Y

Does this mean the hotel extension's been put on hold?

 

[BigAl]

This old POV of Vampire from 1999 was uploaded only a month ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMaymP9UP-M#


I love how you can hear the old trains rattling around!

 

[Machin]

My one enduring memory of my first visit was my mum complaining endlessly about the extreme amounts of litter.

They probably did this:

 

[Ted]

Went to visit Chessington today, here's my personal thoughts.

I generally think that Transylvania looks very bland after the repaint. The Burger Kitchen is just very average and definitely does not have the charm that Count's Cauldron had. Both the interior and exterior are very bland looking.

Here's what it used to look like prior to the changes:

Now it looks like this (Photo taken from Chessie's buzz Facebook):

I know which one I like better :/

Entering Transylvania today did not have the atmosphere I felt when I visited just a few years ago

For the rest of the park, I saw Dragon Falls and it looks dreadful without the rocks, the metal fences in the Tomb Blaster and Rameses Revenge. And seeing all of this didn't make me feel like I was in Chessington today. I was disappointed to say the least. On the plus side the staff were friendly as ever, at least that hasn't change from the old days.

 

[Tim]

Originally I wasn't sure what all the complaining was about but seeing it in context I get it now.

Transylvania's quirk was always that it gave a comic twist to a darker theme, hence the Gothic setting of Count's Cauldron but caricature style. But the new façade has gone full grim and run down; it's taken the main theme too seriously.

I still wouldn't say the new restaurant looks awful but I see why it is less appealing than the original/previous versions.

 

[HaydenCR]

Thats a problem with Merlin in general. They are trying to make things too realistic and serious, and it could hamper the character of the park. All the additions and changes to the park since WIld Asia have reflected this. They did say with Wild Asia that they were going to update the park to a similar style!

 

[electricBlll]

Transylvania's quirk was always that it gave a comic twist to a darker theme, hence the Gothic setting of Count's Cauldron but caricature style. But the new façade has gone full grim and run down; it's taken the main theme too seriously.

You are right the area has lost its charm, but Transylvania was never designed to be Gothic or caricatured at all.

The style was inspired by Bavarian and Romanian architecture, with the centre acting as the warm, quirky town and the passage round the back becoming more 'spooky' and darker in its appearance, leading towards The Vampire's "castle" (which was actually just a big metal shed). The area had plenty of character: BubbleWorks was pale orange with pastel blue decor, the other buildings were all half-timbered with shuttered windows. Classic-style lampposts and potted plants were also added. It was a fun, rather quaint area which married Vampire with Bubbleworks really well.

However in 1998 they introduced McDonalds with all that goofy Count's Cauldron stuff. It still looked professional but it gave Transylvania a more fictional, commercial appearance that clashed with the rest, in my opinion. The last thing you would find in a German town is a big McDonalds-themed castle!

When this year they removed the Count's Cauldron facade and exposed the old BFC one underneath, I thought this was a sign they were going back to the area's original image; more European and eccentric rather than VampireLand. That would suit Chessington's retro "wild adventure" brand too. But painting the building purple and grey was a terrible decision. I do prefer this architectural style over the Count's Cauldron facade, though.

Why grey, Chessington?
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Oh and here's Dragon Falls without its falls, from ThemeUK. Please ensure you are sitting down safely and not holding anything fragile before you view this image.

Spoiler

Actually it doesn't look as poor as I was expecting, at least they covered the area with wood in the meantime.

 

[thefatone]

The drop doesn't look anywhere near as dramatic anymore! It looks like a calm slide haha!

Weird how burger kitchen has only done a bit of a refresh.. what about that castle like turret then around the side? Surely the turret sticks out like a sore thumb next to this building now? (I've not seen any photos with it in though, perhaps deliberately?).