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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

I think it all looks very nice. I like the colour of the coaster, the main theming structure is good, the station appears to be coming along nicely and as John pointed out there seems to be a fair amount of show lighting, the launch back through the station will no doubt be fun. Lots of positives.

But overall I can't help but feel the coaster is going to be naff, and you are of course going to be waiting a long time for said naff coaster as the throughput will be frustratingly low. Sure the target market will enjoy it, but there are so many amazing family coasters out there with interesting long layouts. Whereas here in the UK family coaster seems to equate to short and boring. It does not have to be that way!

I know Merlin have a bulk deal with B&M at the moment which will have reduced costs, but I maintain that a B&M wing coaster is not what Chessington needed at all. A multi-launch terrain hugging Vekoma/Intamin/Mack family coaster with theming interactions could have been so much more appropriate.
 
If anything this project shows is that you shouldn't believe everything said on the Internet. There's nothing here that shows any method to improve the throughput of this.

Area looks fine. Jungle themed ones always look naff until the foliage grows in, suppose can add the station building under the "make it dilapidated so when it falls apart its still themed" section of the Merlin handbook.

The "World of Jumanji" circle will be scuffed up by June.

The coaster looks to have a better launch than Icon. But still so many questions about the why of this one. I guess after years of barely anything being built at Chessie should be glad for it but it just feels so designed by committee rather than considering the flaws in the park.

If they wanted launches and inversions in a small space there's options available.

And agree that there are some ridiculous family coasters out there. The Zierer at Schwaben comes to mind as being surprisingly forceful in parts.
 
If were on the subject of good family coasters…. We should look no further than BTM at Disneyland Paris.. very low height restriction long ride with thrill sections… . Im not a big Vekoma fan however this ride system would be ideal for Jumanji. Lost mine train ride through the world of Jumanji…. Great for the whole family ….
 
Rob F said:
If were on the subject of good family coasters…. We should look no further than BTM at Disneyland Paris.. very low height restriction long ride with thrill sections… . Im not a big Vekoma fan however this ride system would be ideal for Jumanji. Lost mine train ride through the world of Jumanji…. Great for the whole family ….
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Have to disagree here. Family/thrill coasters have come on leaps and bounds since BTM, there are far better options out there. Its the themeing that makes BTM special and Merlin wouldn't be able to produce anywhere near something of that quality.

I think Taron has the same height restriction as Mandrill Mayhem for example. That ride is pure fun and not too intense. Perfect next step coaster for kids.
 
RicketyCricket said:
Have to disagree here. Family/thrill coasters have come on leaps and bounds since BTM, there are far better options out there. Its the themeing that makes BTM special and Merlin wouldn't be able to produce anywhere near something of that quality.

I think Taron has the same height restriction as Mandrill Mayhem for example. That ride is pure fun and not too intense. Perfect next step coaster for kids.
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I know they may sound similar restrictions but when taking them to the average age for that height they make a BIG difference (I've used stats for a boy in the examples below).

Big Thunder Paris - 1.02m 3.5 year old
Mandrill Mayhem - 1.2m 6.5 year old
Taron - 1.3m 8.5 year old

A child advances a huge amount in those age gaps
 
Rob F said:
If were on the subject of good family coasters…. We should look no further than BTM at Disneyland Paris.. very low height restriction long ride with thrill sections… . Im not a big Vekoma fan however this ride system would be ideal for Jumanji. Lost mine train ride through the world of Jumanji…. Great for the whole family ….
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Yes I agree with this actually. BTM is one of the best coasters I’ve been on. Problem is, the ride is extremely high budget and if you take away all the mountain elements and animatronics you are left with a custom built Vekoma layout. Still a good coaster but the theming is the ride.

While Mandrill has excellent theming I would think the vast majority of the budget went on the coaster (custom and first of its kind). Merlin just don’t think about integrating a great ride around a great theme and if they do, something has to give in terms of cost. If we take the massive Jaguar shrine out then we would have more to spend on the ride system. We may have seen a complete circuit with 2 trains etc.

We also have to factor the cost in for the IP in the first place. If this was a “jungle land”
I don’t think it would have taken away from the experience at all. Again, extra budget for ride system or area as a whole.
 
AstroDan said:
It's not about bigger thrills! I feel it's SO easy for people tp spin out the usual 'but it's a family coaster' yarn when individuals say it doesn't look that great.

There are hundreds of GREAT family coasters around the world. I have been on many and could list dozens but won't.

The issues I have with this are not dissimilar to my issues with Th13teen. A unique concept, yes, dumbed into a track layout that is something astonishingly plain.

Why should family equate to plain? It shouldn't. Could this have been enhanced with dark ride sections? Would another manufacturer have enabled a more complex and lengthy ride?

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Will it be popular with punters and will it be reliable? 1000%

End of discussion
 
I don't think you can accuse many on here for not slating Towers in its current state.

Especially not with dedicated topics deriding the hotel and food.

Most criticism across the parks on here seems fairly constructive and sensible in its questioning. For example why is Chessie's big ride going to be dreadful for capacity? Will the SBF support rides help? Why on earth did they build Croc Drop's themed building so large?

You can have multiple opinions of this and other investments.
 
AstroDan said:
Popular? I dread the queues. And the SBF support rides... high quality? Hmm...

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We have already established the throughput concerns though and are all in agreement that it wont be a throughput monster. A bit like most rides at the park in that regard.

We are talking about the coaster itself. It's definitely going to be popular.
 
With closed season so tantalisingly close to it's merciful end, I wouldn't want to lead forward another circular argument, but I have played enough Rollercoaster Tycoon to know that a new rollercoaster at an already popular park will likely prove to be equally popular. I haven't been to Chessington in years and this will get me back there, if not just out of sheer curiosity as to how this will ride. But is otherwise legitimate to wonder why a park with well documented throughput issues has chosen or otherwise been selected for a ride that will obviously continue a trend that is a pain in the arse for both the park and for guests.
.
 
Towers4ever said:
Towers full of fun fair rides.

A few blinkered views around lately slating Chessington, Thorpe, Drayton and pretty much everywhere but Towers which is, currently, a cluster of mismanagement and lacks any cohesive direction
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Watch your language, buddy.

And while we're here, do you actually read these forums? It's hardly fanboyism!

Its good to see a coherent new area develop properly, which Chessington is much better at than ATR.

I just don't think the ride choices are great.
 
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I won’t bang the drum too much about why some fan sites were invited along to yesterday, especially considering as they’re unofficial. I’ll make an exception for Theme Park Worldwide as Sean supports parks more brilliantly than others, whereas it seems Buzz just sit on the resort all winter, rarely going home!

Anyways… 😬

Good to see some more pictures of the area yesterday and despite the floor logo which some say will be scuffed up by June, the whole area looks pretty decent. To see Mandrill Mayhem in the station and flying through it is great, although a lot quicker than I ever imagined it would be. Now that the theming is being applied, that looks great too.

Capacity has been talked about on here a lot and I’ve struggled to see it personally, but am I right in thinking this coaster only has one train? Because that works certainly have an impact.

Looks like I’m now set to extend my birthday weekend even more. 👏🏻 Looking forward to visiting the area to check it out and riding it, even if I spend some time sitting there eating donuts and watching it go round the track.
 
The more I see of this ride the less I feel I can critise. It's true the capacity won't be great. Although I don't think it'll actually be quite as bad as we first feared. The transitions are snappy and it doesn't waste time with a slow lift hill. Chessington as a park also has a fairly low capacity, so based on the daily guest cap I'm not expecting any worse queues than something like The Smiler gets at Alton.

And if we look past capacity I really can't fault the ride. It's fast, has interesting elements, really unique compared to other family offerings and has that B&M quality.
From off ride It's also an incredible spectacle. It's going to be amazing stood in that area with those wide winged trains surrounding you. And it's a proper area; Main ride, 2 support rides and F&B facilities. With some good themeing thrown in as well.

When you compare this to Zufari and previous large investments it really is a massive step up.
 
RyanUK said:
Capacity has been talked about on here a lot and I’ve struggled to see it personally, but am I right in thinking this coaster only has one train? Because that works certainly have an impact.
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Yep it's a shuttle coaster so only has one train.
 
Tim said:
The more I see of this ride the less I feel I can critise. It's true the capacity won't be great. Although I don't think it'll actually be quite as bad as we first feared. The transitions are snappy and it doesn't waste time with a slow lift hill. Chessington as a park also has a fairly low capacity, so based on the daily guest cap I'm not expecting any worse queues than something like The Smiler gets at Alton.

And if we look past capacity I really can't fault the ride. It's fast, has interesting elements, really unique compared to other family offerings and has that B&M quality.
From off ride It's also an incredible spectacle. It's going to be amazing stood in that area with those wide winged trains surrounding you. And it's a proper area; Main ride, 2 support rides and F&B facilities. With some good themeing thrown in as well.

When you compare this to Zufari and previous large investments it really is a massive step up.
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This is true. For Chessington, it's a huge step up from the vast majority of what we have seen in the past 20 years (although not from what they did in the first 10 or so years the park was open). I just, you know, am hard to please.

In all seriousness, the coaster still doesn't much appeal. Yes, I will ride it. Hopefully it'll surprise me. But, you know, it's a new ride at Chessington and a new ride was badly needed.
 
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