BenBowser said:
Was the 2013 season that bad really? Yes it didn't go as well as a big investment year should, but it was bad for a good reason (if you get what I mean). Yes they did have two rides closed for most of the season but for a good cause. Runaway train gave the park a chance to do a proper job of the refurbishment and showed that the park were aware of the state that Dragon Falls and the Mine train had gotten into. The other closure, Rameses, gave the park a nudge that something had to be done to the up keep of the attractions, and has also given merlin a reason to give the ride a full system refurbishment.
I'll always wonder if the Tomb Blaster accident in 2012 was the catalyst for what happened to Runaway Train and Dragon Falls. After all, those two rides have been decaying rapidly for the last fifteen years, why suddenly the rush to pretend that it was all scheduled refurbishments when realistically, the rides were ready to go days before the cancelled Annual Pass day.
I want to be hopeful but Chessington has been letting people down for years with rubbish re-themes and poorly planned refurbishments, hasty ride closures and rides taking severe cuts in throughput. Why should we think Runaway and Falls will be any different based on recent evidence.