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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

Bubbles/Gruff used to have a temporary pause button on both sides. Spent enough time covering it on offload since they put it in a position most guests used to haul themselves out of the boat.

Have to be able to stop the moving conveyor in case someone falls onto it. So we also used it for anyone with limited mobility, though if you weren't careful it'd confuse the system should it stop for too long.

See also on Fury. Though that's automated to stop at a certain point anyway.

I’ve really never understood why they put the station stop there, where it’s so easy for guests to slam down on it.

In terms of the station stops on Tiger Rock and on Gruffalo, I believe that they can only stop the conveyer for a maximum of 20 seconds (could be even less these days), and after that time the ride sits itself down to prevent boats stacking up and mounting each other. 20 seconds sounds like a long time, but when you consider the complexities of loading and unloading someone with mobility issues, it isn’t that long at all really.

In terms of Scorpion, they just shouldn’t have advertised it as an open attraction this year. It seems to have way more issues than people first though, and as another new coaster has opened this year, so it’s not as if guests can even moan about being a major ride down.
 
I think they moved the Gruffalo station stop a couple of years back. It was on top of the post and guests would often press it, but I'm pretty sure it's on the side of the post instead now.
 
Not sure if this has been picked up yet and don’t intend to start a pointless discussion but thought it worth posting here… Chessington Buzz who do sometimes seem to have some interesting inside information has today posted quite a needlessly cryptic post that seems to indicate that Rita could be relocated to Chessington, could be clickbaiting or maybe they have heard some actual reliable information. I’ll add the post in for context (it’s a series of posts in a Twitter thread).


From: https://twitter.com/chessingtonbuzz/status/1679611417253617665?s=46&t=j2sZj4yk8HsN4526QO2Rmg
 
I may have missed something (probably, because I dearest pay attention), is Rita being removed?

As far as I’m aware, Merlin and previously Tussauds have never relocated an entire coaster so even if Rita is leaving Towers, it being relocated to Chessington is more than a long shot.

Remember a few years back when Spinball was rumoured to be replacing Slammer at Thorpe Park? It was discussed at length but I doubt either park even so much as considered this.
 
I may have missed something (probably, because I dearest pay attention), is Rita being removed?

As far as I’m aware, Merlin and previously Tussauds have never relocated an entire coaster so even if Rita is leaving Towers, it being relocated to Chessington is more than a long shot.

Remember a few years back when Spinball was rumoured to be replacing Slammer at Thorpe Park? It was discussed at length but I doubt either park even so much as considered this.
Nothing at all to say so, just speculation from a post I saw from chessington buzz socials. I think it’s extremely unlikely myself, but they do seem to get some things right so thought it was worth sharing. The thing with this rumour is that it’s an ageing coaster, with ageing technology! Okay maybe you could look down the route of Zamperla, but even then the track itself won’t be getting any younger at nearly 20 years old.
 
I'd be willing to put my life savings (all £2.11 of them) on them not relocating Rita. Rita is an old roller coaster, and is constantly under strain due to the speeds it goes - I would be surprised if it has 10 years left in it.

Also (and more to the point) it is not at all in line with the park's target audience.

Yes, Chessington Buzz obviously has some inside sources, but I would eat my entire computer if this were true.
 
Whereabouts in the park was that photo taken? My CWoA geography is not the best.

It looks to be one of the car parks to the left on the main road into to the parking for the Explorer gate.

I believe it was used as a storage area for the Mandrill Mayhem track during construction (the google maps view seems to show some supports stored there), so I suspect this ‘teaser’ is implying more coaster track (specifically Rita’s?) could be stored there soon, not necessarily that this is where the coaster would go.

IMG_5178.jpeg

Can’t say I am particularly convinced by this idea anyhow.
 
Matugani was relocated from Liseberg Sweden to Lost Island Iowa and opened as new again in 2022. Both are 2005 Intamin Accelerators, so perhaps there is some life left in Rita, especially if Intamin are able to support and make a few £ selling new parts as part of a refurbishment.
 
Matugani was relocated from Liseberg Sweden to Lost Island Iowa and opened as new again in 2022. Both are 2005 Intamin Accelerators, so perhaps there is some life left in Rita, especially if Intamin are able to support and make a few £ selling new parts.

I do get your point and it is certainly possible to relocate coasters - but Rita is more fitting for somewhere like Thorpe and not a family park like Chessington.

BUT, I may have to eat my hat, as if you'd told me a couple of years ago there would be a B&M at Chessington, I would have laughed you out the door, and now look 👀
 
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