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owenstreet7
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
I would agree that Tiger Rock would be a ride that Chessington should prioritise operating on off peak compared to let's say Griffin's Galleon which is hidden away and is almost identical to Trawler Trouble.
I wonder if that is a sign for the long term i.e. redevelopment. I'd prefer it if they had rides operating on rotation if they needed to reduce staffing.
Speaking of off peak closures, it looks like Rattlesnake is operating today.
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Enter Valhalla
TS Member
I remember back in 2016, they closed Ramases Revenge, Griffins and Peeking Heights on off-peak days. They justified this by saying that Ramases and Peeking required a minimum number of riders to operate them, and nobody cared about Griffins anyway.
But closing Tiger Rock, Zufari and Rattlesnake on off peak days, especially at a time when Scorpion is closed and Tomb Blaster is being delayed, what is even the point of visiting on those days. How on earth are the poor staff in Guest Help and Information going to justify that to the guests. Not to mention the fact that Chessington’s ride reliability in general isn’t great anyway.
It’s so weird, every time you think that Merlin are cleaning up their act, they do something like this.
But closing Tiger Rock, Zufari and Rattlesnake on off peak days, especially at a time when Scorpion is closed and Tomb Blaster is being delayed, what is even the point of visiting on those days. How on earth are the poor staff in Guest Help and Information going to justify that to the guests. Not to mention the fact that Chessington’s ride reliability in general isn’t great anyway.
It’s so weird, every time you think that Merlin are cleaning up their act, they do something like this.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
I can understand the principle behind shutting or reducing certain things off-peak, but I think these three rides are oddly major attractions to be giving this treatment to, and I’m not necessarily sure that shutting rides entirely is necessarily the way forward.
If it was more minor attractions being closed, that would be one thing, but these three are all pretty major draws at Chessington. Rattlesnake is one of only 4 operating coasters at the park, Tiger Rock is their only major water ride and Zufari is quite a big cornerstone in promoting the animal aspect of the park.
If they wanted to save on staffing costs, I would have picked more minor attractions to close or maybe gone for something not as extreme as full closure. Why couldn’t they run the rides in rotation, or operate staggered openings? That would still offer off-peak visitors the chance to experience those rides while reducing costs in the intended way.
If it was more minor attractions being closed, that would be one thing, but these three are all pretty major draws at Chessington. Rattlesnake is one of only 4 operating coasters at the park, Tiger Rock is their only major water ride and Zufari is quite a big cornerstone in promoting the animal aspect of the park.
If they wanted to save on staffing costs, I would have picked more minor attractions to close or maybe gone for something not as extreme as full closure. Why couldn’t they run the rides in rotation, or operate staggered openings? That would still offer off-peak visitors the chance to experience those rides while reducing costs in the intended way.
Benzin
TS Member
We were lapping Griffin's Galleon a few weeks ago. It needs to stay and people need to stop talking about it to keep it nice and secret with no queue
Sometimes I wonder if they are highlighting animal extinction, as most of the time you hardly see any of the animals when riding Zufari.
Enter Valhalla
TS Member
Admittedly it is a nice one to operate, although that’s mainly because you barely ever get a queue for it, hence my point about nobody being bothered when it was closed.
Those behind the scenes photos are great, certainly gives a different perspective.
I will say though, the end of Vampire is always disappointing visually, could they not do something to make it not so obvious that it acts as some kind of workshop/maintenance/storage/whatever else they use it for.
Blackhole_Sun
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
I have zero interest in climbing coaster lift hills but as soon as the Vampire behind the scenes tour came up I had to take the plunge and book it for later in the year.
Don’t worry, if they don’t put the chandeliers back in the station they are coming home with me.
Don’t worry, if they don’t put the chandeliers back in the station they are coming home with me.
Reb
TS Member
Kind of related, but there were once talks about making the first lift hill a tunnel that you travel up to stop the light bleeding into the station. I think the current B&M Halloween over the wire mesh on the lift was the finance departments compromise.
It has been a while since I was there, but I know it was an arrow design, where the trains are stored using a winch/pushing and can be added by releasing the method of holding (a chain in some cases, cords, brakes etc) but dosn't it go behind a curtains?
I wonder if it was to get a reborn style makeover with more theming if they would modernise the storage tracks to use wheels, although if they need to keep it they could use sliding walls instead of the curtains
djtruefitt
TS Team
I’m sure back in the day it used to be a lot darker in there than it is today so you never really saw how awful it looks.
Bowser
TS Member
Chessington Buzz says lots of the effects aren’t working, sounds like they were busy.
Reb
TS Member
Some walkways to fire exits were found to be unsafe, so they had to get them up to a safety standard.
Thameslink Rail
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Smiler
Tomb Blaster seems to have a history of unsafe walkways...