-
ℹ️ Heads up...
This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.
E
electricBlll
That statement isn't based on anything tangible, unless you were there at the ride every day of the season to see the guests' responses. If the ride was outdated and unpopular then why are they bothering to bring it back and advertise it so heavily?
Or was it just the strangely elaborate queue and lack of fireballs on a children's ride that people didn't like? All that has changed is the name and scenic design.
CoasterCrazyChris
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Fireballs? Sounds like a good distraction from theming which will inevitable be lacking in creativity or attention to detail.
N
_nemesis_
I mean that on most weekends, the train was rarely full, and by adding fireballs, people are going to come and ride it, as the ride now has a lot more action, something which people love these days. This is probably the reason why the ride isn't just getting a new mountain, because then it will be a moderately different ride, without the light to dark effect. This will then attract people to the attraction, they are then advertising it heavily to put the ride back in public eye, now that it has been re-vamped.electricBlll said:
electricBlll said:
You say that, but it was vastly better than the Flying Fish, which as you say, is just a different name and scenic design...
E
electricBlll
The only reason a train wouldn't be full on peak days is if the ride hosts weren't doing their job or if the queue didn't exceed five minutes. I highly doubt either was the case, and personally I have always had to queue 30minutes+ for the Runaway Train. Your statistics just don't exist! :twirly:
People don't like change because that's human nature; whatever the outcome of this project, anybody who rode it before in its 25 years of operation will need to be charmed into liking it. Chessington know this - they wouldn't have decided to demolish the tunnels and boiler shack just for the sake of it.
That explains why they are resorting to pyrotechnics to impress guests, because such effects get instant responses from riders. It's like putting laser guns in Terror Tomb to distract from the fact that all the animatronics were removed.
However, Scorpion Express can still be an excellent little family ride, I'm not denying that. But it didn't have to be at the expense of what made the original ride so smart and fun. Remember a lot of the original design had already been removed by the time it closed in 2012.
People don't like change because that's human nature; whatever the outcome of this project, anybody who rode it before in its 25 years of operation will need to be charmed into liking it. Chessington know this - they wouldn't have decided to demolish the tunnels and boiler shack just for the sake of it.
That explains why they are resorting to pyrotechnics to impress guests, because such effects get instant responses from riders. It's like putting laser guns in Terror Tomb to distract from the fact that all the animatronics were removed.
However, Scorpion Express can still be an excellent little family ride, I'm not denying that. But it didn't have to be at the expense of what made the original ride so smart and fun. Remember a lot of the original design had already been removed by the time it closed in 2012.
Benzin
TS Member
Since Apocalypse at Magic Mountain has fire and is usually empty, I doubt people will literally go out of their way to ride something because it now has fire instead of a well themed exterior...
The devil is in the detail, and if all the effort is put into a fire effect will on previous records will be unreliable and make minimal sense or thematic consistency with the focus being on looking 'cool', then it will be disappointing...
Nothing wrong with updating a ride, but some consideration into what made the ride so well liked in the first place shouldn't be lost over some effects...
The devil is in the detail, and if all the effort is put into a fire effect will on previous records will be unreliable and make minimal sense or thematic consistency with the focus being on looking 'cool', then it will be disappointing...
Nothing wrong with updating a ride, but some consideration into what made the ride so well liked in the first place shouldn't be lost over some effects...
Sam
TS Member
People defending the old Runaway Train are so far in denial that they're in Egypt. The old ride was a crappy, off-the-shelf cheapskate pile of tosh, and a smattering of rotting rockwork theming did not make up for that.
Aha, the obvious mark of a fanboy. What exactly gave the ride its "old fashioned sense of fun"? The decaying theming? The crappy layout? The general second-rate mediocrity of the whole affair? While the crappy ride system remains, literally every guest except you will prefer it with fireballs and water effects.
Any effects will improve the ride, but at the end of the day, you can only polish a turd (that layout) so much.
electricBlll said:
Aha, the obvious mark of a fanboy. What exactly gave the ride its "old fashioned sense of fun"? The decaying theming? The crappy layout? The general second-rate mediocrity of the whole affair? While the crappy ride system remains, literally every guest except you will prefer it with fireballs and water effects.
Any effects will improve the ride, but at the end of the day, you can only polish a turd (that layout) so much.
E
electricBlll
I love Egypt.
Yes the ride hardware was very dated, even in 1987, and Chessington have vastly restricted themselves by not building an entirely new track layout. Also nice ability to lyrically reel off rhetorical questions to reassure yourself that only your opinion is valid.
The original queue design was so extensive (looking out over balconies, around a large waterfall, over a bridge, around a three-storey boiler shack, through a dark cave...) that most of it became superfluous after a few seasons - the same naivety towards theme design that made everything built under Tussaudes until 1996 really great. This is all now being replaced by a boring switchback queue.
Young families can't give a damn about coaster layouts and fanboyism because they don't hang around internet forums all the time, they just want to laugh and move on to the next good ride. The Runaway Train gave them that dead easily for 25 years and that's all it was required to do.
Showmanship like that is desperately needed these days, but apparently new rides need to hit guests over the head with statistics and gimmicks instead.
Yes the ride hardware was very dated, even in 1987, and Chessington have vastly restricted themselves by not building an entirely new track layout. Also nice ability to lyrically reel off rhetorical questions to reassure yourself that only your opinion is valid.
If you've ever tried to entertain people then you would know. The ride was simple but knew how to find your sense of humour dead easily. That was totally intentional in its design and not just a phrase I've invented. I never found it particularly exciting compared to other rides, but the low beams flying towards your head and not knowing where you'd enter and exit the cave next added a memorable thrill (certainly when you are 5).
The original queue design was so extensive (looking out over balconies, around a large waterfall, over a bridge, around a three-storey boiler shack, through a dark cave...) that most of it became superfluous after a few seasons - the same naivety towards theme design that made everything built under Tussaudes until 1996 really great. This is all now being replaced by a boring switchback queue.
Young families can't give a damn about coaster layouts and fanboyism because they don't hang around internet forums all the time, they just want to laugh and move on to the next good ride. The Runaway Train gave them that dead easily for 25 years and that's all it was required to do.
Showmanship like that is desperately needed these days, but apparently new rides need to hit guests over the head with statistics and gimmicks instead.
Sam
TS Member
Has so much waffle ever been written about such a piss-poor non-starter of a ride?
Chessington fanboys seem to have a contempt for the idea of people actually being entertained. And they also seem to have a contempt for the public daring to enjoy stuff like animatronics and fireballs, rather than 'properly appreciating' all the old rubbish that has made Chessington the desperately, pathetically average park that it now is (and has really always been). :
Chessington fanboys seem to have a contempt for the idea of people actually being entertained. And they also seem to have a contempt for the public daring to enjoy stuff like animatronics and fireballs, rather than 'properly appreciating' all the old rubbish that has made Chessington the desperately, pathetically average park that it now is (and has really always been). :
CoasterCrazyChris
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Sam said:Has so much waffle ever been written about such a piss-poor non-starter of a ride?
Chessington fanboys seem to have a contempt for the idea of people actually being entertained. And they also seem to have a contempt for the public daring to enjoy stuff like animatronics and fireballs, rather than 'properly appreciating' all the old rubbish that has made Chessington the desperately, pathetically average park that it now is (and has really always been). :
Yes, except the 'special effects' if they ever materialize will probably not get up and running until several months after the refurb is complete and then be broken by the end of the season.
Before we had a mediocre ride with some good theming, landscaping and a thoughtful queue design. Now it looks like we will still have a mediocre ride...but with mediocre theming as well.
E
electricBlll
In your amazing self assertion you failed to actually read my post, so your second paragraph makes no sense. I don't want anybody in the world to "properly appreciate" the 'old Chessington' (are you mistaking me for being a nostalgic keyboard addict?), but I know from being "the public" and being a part of themed entertainment what actually resonates with guests.
Oh well, a lot of people who don't actually have anything to say about Chessington like to use it as a punch bag, so you're not alone... Which is why I agree that Runaway Train should have been replaced by a better rollercoaster continuing the same identity. But you won't actually read this far into my post. Needless to say the ride isn't being built for you when you won't even visit, so there's no point is there?
Oh well, a lot of people who don't actually have anything to say about Chessington like to use it as a punch bag, so you're not alone... Which is why I agree that Runaway Train should have been replaced by a better rollercoaster continuing the same identity. But you won't actually read this far into my post. Needless to say the ride isn't being built for you when you won't even visit, so there's no point is there?
Lottie.
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Zadra, Energylandia
Sam said:Has so much waffle ever been written about such a piss-poor non-starter of a ride?
Chessington fanboys seem to have a contempt for the idea of people actually being entertained. And they also seem to have a contempt for the public daring to enjoy stuff like animatronics and fireballs, rather than 'properly appreciating' all the old rubbish that has made Chessington the desperately, pathetically average park that it now is (and has really always been). :
Quick question, did you ever visit the park in the 1980s/90s? Cause it was a completely different park to what it is now. Not defending the park in any way, I am just curious.
Sam
TS Member
Lottie. said:
No, though neither did Bill in any meaningful way (being only three by the end of the nineties). I find it hard to believe it was radically different to how it is now. Unless they removed the GCI woodie, the indoor coaster and the Omnimover dark ride...?
All the average fare that's there now (Vampire, Runaway Train, Bubbleworks) may be in a worse state now than it was then I'm sure, but they're all still basically the same rides. Vampire hasn't magically transformed from a top ten Mitch Hawker coaster in the nineties to a mediocre snooze-fest in 2014.
Maybe the rides and areas were in slightly better nick, but apart from that I see no evidence that Chessington was anything more than marginally better in the 80s/90s than it is now (and minus one major coaster). People talk about it like in the 80s and 90s it was EP, Efteling and the Magic Kingdom all rolled into one.
E
electricBlll
Ah I see. In that case, "come with me on a journey under the skin" into Chessington's past and you will be in for a surprise. Also I first visited in 1998 and remember very well. Childhood memories are the strongest you know, and I've got no rose tinted glasses going on.
Omnimover dark ride? That's so 1960s.
Edit: Aha, congratulations down there on again misinterpreting my post and confirming that you have absolutely nothing to say.
Omnimover dark ride? That's so 1960s.
Edit: Aha, congratulations down there on again misinterpreting my post and confirming that you have absolutely nothing to say.
DiogoJ42
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Metropolitan Line
As the old saying goes, "you weren't there, man!"
There was a time when Chessington was not only the UKs best theme park, but indeed our only theme park. People had much lower standards back then, as the vast majority of people in the country had never seen "theming" on a ride (not even DLP existed back then). I can assure you that as a child in the 80's, Chessington was just as magical as Towers became in the 90's.
As for vampire, did you ever ride it with the original trains? It was a totally different ride: Far more agressive, and the theme was much darker.
Sadly, these days the whole park has gone to pot and, in my opinion, is now beyond saving. :'( I agree that the current state of the place is frankly pathetic, and that they should have torn down RMT and built something better. But for it's time, it was a good ride.
There was a time when Chessington was not only the UKs best theme park, but indeed our only theme park. People had much lower standards back then, as the vast majority of people in the country had never seen "theming" on a ride (not even DLP existed back then). I can assure you that as a child in the 80's, Chessington was just as magical as Towers became in the 90's.
As for vampire, did you ever ride it with the original trains? It was a totally different ride: Far more agressive, and the theme was much darker.
Sadly, these days the whole park has gone to pot and, in my opinion, is now beyond saving. :'( I agree that the current state of the place is frankly pathetic, and that they should have torn down RMT and built something better. But for it's time, it was a good ride.
CoasterCrazyChris
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
Sam said:
Slightly?!
God that's a huge understatement.
I mean it's not like they haven't had to demolish half the park's theming or anything in the last few seasons.
Hairobics
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Professor Burp's Bubbleworks
I'm probably clouded by nostalgia but I'm pretty sure Chessington was at it's strongest entertainment-wise in the 90's, it's seems to be all over the place at the moment.
For me the problems today are the fact it's kind of a Thorpe tie in, "Thrill Seekers go Thorpe Park, Families and children go Chessington" where as Chessington used to feel like a mini Thorpe to me.
It's also seems to be going back to it's roots with the recent Zoo identity, but fails because the remnants of the past still linger at the older park sites, I know it's always been a zoo but it used to feel like it's separate thing, like it was a separate attraction, now however it seems like it's trying to push it down your throat with things like Wild Asia and the recent Africa, some people might like that but I have never gone there for the zoo, I have a terrible feeling that one day all the parks areas will suffer ToyTowns fate, with Transylvania being a target due to the fact it's not animal themed, however it's popularity may be able to defend it yet.
For me the problems today are the fact it's kind of a Thorpe tie in, "Thrill Seekers go Thorpe Park, Families and children go Chessington" where as Chessington used to feel like a mini Thorpe to me.
It's also seems to be going back to it's roots with the recent Zoo identity, but fails because the remnants of the past still linger at the older park sites, I know it's always been a zoo but it used to feel like it's separate thing, like it was a separate attraction, now however it seems like it's trying to push it down your throat with things like Wild Asia and the recent Africa, some people might like that but I have never gone there for the zoo, I have a terrible feeling that one day all the parks areas will suffer ToyTowns fate, with Transylvania being a target due to the fact it's not animal themed, however it's popularity may be able to defend it yet.
N
_nemesis_
^ Well, the ToyTown and Wild Asia re-themes, were nothing to do with 'forcing the Zoo down your throat', it was that the park are tying to build upon the whole 'World of Adventures' brand and ditch the fictional areas, ala Beanoland and ToyTown. So don't worry Transylvania is safe, especially since they've been doing lots of refurbishments in that area. The only area I can see on it's way out any time soon is Land of the Dragons as it does not fit within the parks image.
As for the Zoo integrating with the Theme Park, they are (as far as I'm aware) trying to move them away from each other and make the Zoo a separate attraction. Things like Zufari are being installed to attract more attention to the Zoo, as it has high operation costs for animal health, food, trainers that are constantly on site. As well as enclosure extensions. In fact, during the 80's/90's, the Zoo was actually more part of the park, with it being spread across the whole site. There was a bird garden where Transylvania is now, Polar bears where Land of the Dragons is, Giraffes outside The Fifth Dimension, and a reptile house in Calamity Canyon.
They are just trying to give the Zoo some more attention, both with the public and maintenance wise. This is noticeable with area like Amazu opening this year that they are trying to make the zoo different, not your typical enclosure to enclosure setup. Things like Lorikeet Lagoon and the Sakes in the Wild Asia shop are about adding to the area's atmosphere and using the resort's licence to house animals as a tool for the theme park experiences. If you haven't been to the Zoo, I suggest you try it, it's actually very good.
As for the Zoo integrating with the Theme Park, they are (as far as I'm aware) trying to move them away from each other and make the Zoo a separate attraction. Things like Zufari are being installed to attract more attention to the Zoo, as it has high operation costs for animal health, food, trainers that are constantly on site. As well as enclosure extensions. In fact, during the 80's/90's, the Zoo was actually more part of the park, with it being spread across the whole site. There was a bird garden where Transylvania is now, Polar bears where Land of the Dragons is, Giraffes outside The Fifth Dimension, and a reptile house in Calamity Canyon.
They are just trying to give the Zoo some more attention, both with the public and maintenance wise. This is noticeable with area like Amazu opening this year that they are trying to make the zoo different, not your typical enclosure to enclosure setup. Things like Lorikeet Lagoon and the Sakes in the Wild Asia shop are about adding to the area's atmosphere and using the resort's licence to house animals as a tool for the theme park experiences. If you haven't been to the Zoo, I suggest you try it, it's actually very good.
A
Anonymous
BenBowser said:
I can assure you, that's not the area next on the hit list
BenBowser said:
Let us not forget, the Zoo was there a long long time before the Theme Park! The Theme Park is a mere baby in comparison and that shouldn't be forgotten. The zoo is an integral part of the park and not investing in expanding the animal offering would be foolish.
I'm not going to touch on what I know about Scorpion Express, as in my eyes it's going to be somewhat lacklustre in comparison to what it was, but alas it's investment.