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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

I went on Tiger Rock twice today and I could only think of what it used to be.
Dragon River, when it opened in 1987, must have been an absolute wonder. The theming around the area was perhaps the best the UK has ever offered.
The attention of detail around the whole Mystic East area was superb and the foliage around the area suited the area, unlike today.
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There were many theming centrepieces, such as the Buddha which still stands today, the dragon after the first drop, and the 2 Angkor Wat-esque statues next to the second drop.
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The name changed to Dragon Falls in 1999, and not soon after, the ride started to decline. The original faux-rock mountain next to the Buddha was demolished in 2005.
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The ride declined even further in 2013 when the remaining rock scenery around the first lift hill and the two Angkor Wat-esque statues were removed. Half of the dragon tunnel was demolished as well. Also, over time, the theming in the station was being removed.
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Dragon Falls was rethemed to Tiger Rock in 2018. Some changes were made, including adding a tiger centerpiece and changing the dragon tunnel to a bare unthemed one. The elephant animatronic was also removed.
It is a shame that such a great ride has become so mediocre.
 
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zeock said:
A Dragons Fury car was stuck on one of the MCBR's for about 10 minutes.
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This is quite normal, not sure the need of posting it in Daily Mirror/Mail etc. style. If we posted every time a coaster broke and stopped on a MCBR then that's all we'd ever be posting about!

As for Jumanji, I know it is necessary because of the ride area but I don't like how the whole area is just fenced off from the rest of the park. There does look to be some planting so hopefully this will become less apparent over the years.
 
zeock said:
Sorry, it's just that I haven't witnessed it stop on that section before, and I wanted to share my observation.
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Rollercoasters can plan stop on any mid-course brake or lift.

It’s only really worth a post it a coaster stalls outside of those areas, otherwise there is a risk news outlets pick it up (some of the affiliated local news reporters look out for these things and then if it’s a slow news day the nationals do so as well as all the geeks froth at the mouth and rage comment on the posts increasing their social media reach statistics and advert revenue).
 
I am due to be going to Chessington on 1 and 2 June. In theory as it's not a strike day everything should be pen/running as normal however in practicality is it likely that there is a higher than normal chance of things being closed due to a maintenance backlog? I'll be travelling from Yorkshire so don't want to be going down that way for things to be closed and may defer the trip a couple of weeks if it looks like a sensible course of action. Day at AT and Chester Zoo would give us broadly the same experience...

Plus, we love Scorpion Express almost as much as Alton Towers RMT. Be nice for that to be back open again when we go...
 
Feels difficult to determine the impact of the strikes. In a park that struggles with availability at the best of times, you do have to wonder.

I still feel like we'll see some forward movement between the two parties that could mean the strikes don't occur (perhaps a renewed focus on negotiations and time being given for that).

The action is so targeted and cleverly timed with the opening of Jumanji and serving as a clear statement of intent that summer could be hugely disrupted if it's not sorted now.
 
It's certainly well-planned for maximum disruption; that's the trouble weighing up whether it's going to be disruptive enough for me to delay a 300 mile trip or not and on the balance of it, it probably will be. Luckily I'm a MAP holder so can change my travel dates at-will but it would be a difficult decision if I had bought my tickets far in advance.

My entire knowledge about ride maintenance is based on Rollercoaster Tycoon so can't comment on what they actually do but if there is no ride maintenance happening for 3 days then it stands to reason that there will have to be make-up work to do or extra checks I guess. It's interesting that they have said the opening of Jumanji won't be affected by the strikes too.
 
davestones said:
My entire knowledge about ride maintenance is based on Rollercoaster Tycoon so can't comment on what they actually do but if there is no ride maintenance happening for 3 days then it stands to reason that there will have to be make-up work to do or extra checks I guess.
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It's basically the same, you hit 31 mins on a 30 minute inspection cycle and the station brakes fail and a train made almost entirely of metal inexplicably bursts into flames.

Hope it's a good trip irrespective. I'd perhaps wait as long as you can before determining a destination unless that gives you headaches with accommodation etc.
 
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Rick said:
It's basically the same, you hit 31 mins on a 30 minute inspection cycle and the station brakes fail and a train made almost entirely of metal inexplicably bursts into flames.

Hope it's a good trip irrespective. I'd perhaps wait as long as you can before determining a destination unless that gives you headaches with accommodation etc.
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Premier Inn pay on arrival bookings, I never chance prepaid/non-refundable bookings with an 8 and 7 year old.. too much chance of them hurting themselves through idiocy, or getting one of the endless cycles of small children diseases etc etc.

Will see how the period following the first strike goes, I'm sure there will be people on here and all over FB decrying it. Maybe a vlogger will pop up somewhere to inject their opinion.
 
davestones said:
My entire knowledge about ride maintenance is based on Rollercoaster Tycoon so can't comment on what they actually do but if there is no ride maintenance happening for 3 days then it stands to reason that there will have to be make-up work to do or extra checks I guess.
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Yes, be careful going on Adventure Tree as this might happen

From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBiswwhyBXI


In all seriousness, even on the strike days the rides that are open will still be maintained and inspected. The park has explicitly said that. The issue is not one of safety but one of availability. On the non-strike days it will presumably be business as usual, but it's hard to say at this point. It might be best to see how the week after the first strike goes (2nd-4th May) before making a decision.
 
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