There's still a lot of potential in Chessington and it's a real pity that Merlin don't realise this and give the park some TLC. It's a shame that the place isn't more popular because what they have is great, it just needs some attention, which means Merlin need to reach into their pocket, pull out their wallet and try and help them. It's such a shame to see the theming on the Runaway Train completely falling apart, and the queue to Tomb Blaster now being a complete eyesore. Even Dragon's Fury needs some attention now as well, as the theming in it's queue is crumbling and the track needs repainting too.
The site occupied by Toadie's Crazy Cars is enough for a new coaster on the same scale as Vampire and Dragon's Fury. Even if they don't want another coaster on that kind of scale, they can still fit a medium sized one in as well as a flat ride. That space is right in the middle of the park and is surrounded by trees, so I'm certain they'd be able to do something significant with that site without it causing the locals to get their knickers in a twist.
Once people see that something big has appeared at Chessington (and the marketing department don't mess things up), people will flock to see it and ride it for themselves, just as they did with major rides at Alton and Thorpe. The money gained from that should then be put into getting the rides and the theming back to an acceptable standard. The coaster needs to attract people in so a world's first coaster should do the trick. The problem is that it'd 1) be expensive and 2) need to be designed properly so that the ride doesn't rely on the world first to be good. I've already designed a Mack-style launch coaster with a theme and first feature myself, so if I can do it I'm positive they can as well!
A new headline attraction could do so much for the place if Merlin could just see the potential.
The zoo expansion of the zoo with Zufari, as well as the hotel expansion should help to pay for that side of the park. Would it be possible to open a couple of theme park areas for the Christmas zoo days as well? A few odd rides might help to bring a few more people in. Alton Towers opens a few areas for Christmas (although they don't have the zoo), and their Christmas events always prove to be quite popular (weather permitting, of course).
Now onto Vampire. That ride needs some serious love because it's such a great ride and not riding Vampire on a visit to Chessie is like going to a bowling alley and then just messing around in the arcade instead of actually playing bowling!
They could try to sort this out by explaining to Merlin that they can get more people to notice it by making it better than it used to be. That's probably easier said than done though.
They could use money for Vampire to sort the station out, which includes lighting, music and the theming that used to be inside before they nearly gutted the place over 10 years ago. They also need to get the track and supports painted, get the outdoor theming fixed so that you can't see the foam inside the statues. Maybe even even replacing the outdoor theming with a few animatronics that watch you as you queue for the ride and are partly out of sight to make it a little more creepy?
Although this would probably be more expensive and more hassle than it's worth, Vekoma still manufacture enclosed swinging trains, so Chessington still has the chance to get them to build cars like the original bat shaped ones. They looked much more impressive and according to a lot of people, offered a more fun experience as well.
Once they sort Vampire out, they do what they did over a decade ago and market the attraction as new. Perhaps they could market it as "Return of the Vampire", or something like that? After a year of significant investment, this kind of thing, along with a small new attraction or a new show, could ensure that gate figures stay high for a second year running. After all, didn't the park market Bubble Works as being new in its second year of operation to make it look like there was something new after the previous year when they'd concentrated on Vampire?
Another important thing that Merlin has hopefully realised now is that the possible new Paramount Park that will be located not far from their three Southern theme parks may be huge and it could really do some harm to gate figures if they don't sort themselves out. Now would be a good opportunity to really try hard with their parks, not just leave them to carry on at the same pace as they are at the moment and create rides that only keep people's interest for a year (or less than that in the Swarm's case o_o ). Thorpe is too small to compete with a park on the scale as the plans that have been presented for the Swanscombe site, and Legoland may struggle to compete against massive IP's that Paramount brings with it. The three parks need to be running on all cylinders if Paramount arrives, as should Alton Towers really.
I posted an idea back on Towers Times about a joint ticket for the three parks, and with Chessington and Legoland having accommodation already, and Thorpe soon joining them, perhaps Orlando Flexticket style two and three park tickets might help to get people going to all three parks rather than just one. We already know that Melin want to make people stay at their "resorts" for multiple days, but so far they've been going about this in the completely wrong way by slashing opening hours across all of their parks and making some rides and areas open later in the day. This is really no use if a park that claims to be attempting to compete with Disney and Universal is opening only a stone's throw away. A multiple park ticket would also require some form of shuttle between the parks as well, so that might help to convince people that going to two or even all three of the parks isn't such a bad idea if it's free and easy to go from one to the other with ease.
My last point is about the locals. Yes, they're a pain in the backside and cry at the slightest signs of life at the park, but perhaps the park could help the surrounding area to show that they do care about how their park affects them? If management can secure funds for a big new project, perhaps they can provide funding to road improvements around the park? That way, the new coaster attracts more guests who naturally please Merlin by spending money in their park, we get a nice new ride and the locals get improved roads and pavements around the site as compensation for an increase in traffic.
Chessington could be such a beautiful park if all of these things were sorted out. Of course it's going to cost a lot, but what do they expect when they've left it for so long? It'll probably never be as popular as Legoland now, but that shouldn't mean that it should just be left to more or less fend for itself. If management have so many great plans for the park, why doesn't Merlin see what they want to do and put a little more faith in them?
Anyway, no doubt that most of what I've just written is complete crap, but I'm just trying to think of ways to breathe a little more life back into the park.
