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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

I'm going to inspect the planning documents with a fine tooth comb. I definitely remember people saying 24 at the time, hinting that it had been specified somewhere in the plans, but that could have come from elsewhere.
 
Sorry to double post, but... I apologise for my inaccuracy, as I cannot find a single reference to capacity anywhere within the planning documents.

Not sure where 24 riders per train came from... that drawing unmistakably shows 7 sets of airgates.

If I do get a source for the capacity comments, I'll feed back, but for now, I can't find one... sorry about that.

However, that does mean that the back to back seats theory can't be ruled out, either, as they never said anything about capacity, so there's no legal requirement for it to only have 28 riders per train...
 
John Wardley probably said something positive in that regard to get the enthusiasts actually excited about an attraction that few are really invested in.

Plus meant those in attendance could jump up and down shouting "I know something you don't know" for Internet clout.
 
And how many times it’ll break down on opening day and how many times it’s 15 hour queue will be evacuated
 
Just for the record I had a look at The Swarm on Google Maps earlier. Very convenient of Merlin to build it without a roof, and the picture was taken with a train in the station. Using the maps scaling tool the distance between each row of seats is approx 2m. Exactly the same as the spacing on Chessingtons planning documents for their wingrider.
If the ride had back to back seating it would need to be greater to stop guests kicking each other.
 
Oh… I guess that rules that theory out, then.

That makes Wardley’s comment about the capacity a head scratcher once again…

In other news; I found the source of the 24 riders figure. It was mentioned in the Noise Impact Assessment as part of the planning application. The relevant extract is as follows:
Operational Noise from the Attraction
7.4. The proposed ride will take 24 guests, seated in 6 cars, travelling up to the highest point of the
attraction. There the ride terminates and lets gravity take the car back the same route until it reaches
the station. The ride profile will be an approximate 1 minute ride period and a 1 minute turn around
period. It is understood that a maximum of 24 guests will ride the attraction at any one time.

7.5. This assessment has assumed an LAeq LOAEL level for noise from the attraction that is equal
to existing background noise levels, expressed as LA90 dB. This is in the context of the general
soundscape of Chessington World of Adventures.

7.6. It is understood that the ride is motor driven, with the motors located at the base of the ride,
housed within an enclosure.

7.7. The ride supplier has provided noise level measurement for a similar ride, based in Italy. This
ride is a larger ride than the proposed CWoAR ride and will seat more riders.

7.8. The following comparisons can be made between the Project X attraction and the proposed
attraction.

  • The example Project X has 7 vehicles x 4 passengers on each train. This can accommodate up to 28 people at a single ride. Project Amazon on the other hand can only accommodate 24 guests at every ride. The lower number indicates that noise from screams will be slightly reduced compared to the reference data.
  • There are a number of similarities in the track design between Project X and proposed, including sections that will generate the highest levels of noise. The measurements undertaken at a position 5m away from this section of Project X showed that the noise from the car, without passengers, is 71 dB LAeq. This can be calculated to 77 dB LAeq at 1m from the attraction. The level with passengers is 92 dB LAeq at 1m.
  • The Project X had a speed of 24m/s while the proposed Chessington ride is 20m/s. The slower speed will reduce both ride and scream levels.
  • The Project X has a lift to bring the cars into place, the proposed Chessington ride has no such lift. The lift mechanism generates relatively high levels of noise at 76 dB LAeq, at an assumed 1m. This figure is taken from the Project X noise data.

7.9. The above differences between the two rides are expected to reduce the operational noise
levels by 3-5 dB for the proposed Chessington ride, compared to Project X.
Click to expand...
For clarity, the Project X that it is compared to is Raptor at Gardaland.

I’m not sure what the 7th airgate is for (maybe wheelchair boarding or something?), but having read what some people said earlier about noise being a big part of planning applications, I doubt that Merlin would put 24 in a legally binding Noise Impact Assessment when the number was actually 28.
 
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Matt N said:
I doubt that Merlin would put 24 in a legally binding Noise Impact Assessment when the number was actually 28.
Click to expand...
The phrase 'It is understood that a maximum of 24 guests will ride the attraction at any one time.' is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this document.

This report is talking in indicative terms based on 24 riders, but the way it is worded means that there is wiggle room for small variations from this, so long as it doesn't have significant overall effect on the noise level.

Who knows, maybe this is what JW was referring to when he talked about capacity. Perhaps the ride originally was only due to have 6 rows, but during the design process, B&M came up with a 'clever' way to squeeze an extra row onto the ride to increase the capacity.
 
Tom said:
Do we believe this is definitely a launch and the bit of the track behind the station is just a buffer for the return?
Click to expand...
Either that or it will go backwards first up the spike to get a bit more speed going into the forwards launch.
 
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Matt N said:
I’m not sure what the 7th airgate is for (maybe wheelchair boarding or something?), but having read what some people said earlier about noise being a big part of planning applications, I doubt that Merlin would put 24 in a legally binding Noise Impact Assessment when the number was actually 28.
Click to expand...
Could the 7th airgate be for staff to stand behind when the ride is in operation? Obviously it’s a launch coaster, so it could just be for safety?
 
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