Tim said:
What worries me is that we'll never see someone else like him manage to break through the corporate structure and have as much influence as he did. [...] Are we ever likely to see someone given a chance like that again?
Probably not. Theme parks in Britain are now a business, but when he had the ambitious idea to build Chessington in the early 80s there were few set rules. From about 1985 to 1995 it seemed to be just him and a few others leading the whole British theme park industry!
The way I see it, John Wardley's expertise was never theme parks, and I somewhat disagree that he was a "geek" or an "enthusiast" himself, at least that's not the way I see him. He was a
magician (literally), who eventually settled on theme parks and rides as his preferred medium for entertainment.
The original Chessington World of Adventures, from what I can infer, was built from the principles of theatre, not theme parks; of which the most well-known at the time was Disney, and John wanted to deliberately
avoid their style. That is why it was so cleverly designed, themed and creative, yet fun and pleasant. To extend a famous zoo into a theme park was an ambitious project - the type that usually never leaves the planning stage - but it clicked with the "British sense of fun" so well. And everything he has ever been involved in has had a humane sense of fun that almost everybody can enjoy (to whatever extent their brain works at)
John Wardley has had an obvious influence on the British theme park industry, even today, mostly at Alton Towers. Things aren't done the American way, for example, rides aren't always trying to be big and impressive, mind-glowingly immersive holiday destinations or full of extreme thrills. Instead they are unique, often weird but always incredible fun.
You can tell the industry has moved on from the days when he could simply come up with an idea and it would get built a few years later. Also his ethos didn't always connect with the public in the context of a theme park. The Fifth Dimension, for example, is perhaps the best example of a big, ambitious, British blockbuster project full of humour and theatricality, but which relied too much on assumptions about how the public would react. He was not serving himself by building these rides, he was doing it for the public. So, when the public didn't get it, he knew the ride had to be changed, even though it was a great creation.
However, it's that naivety that I admire. In terms of the Fifth Dimension, it's quite a nice idea really - a romp through space with your quirky robotic friend Zappomatic on you way to defeat evil, all to the tune of playful synths/toy piano music. But the public had little reason to lap it up the way it was intended. It's rather sad really but not a failure, and the ride would have still entertained enough people who rode it. He inspired me with Professor Burp's Bubbleworks, a ride which, by the 21st century, was far from sophisticated, but entertained us in crazy ways that you just can't get anywhere else.
Anyway, thank you John Wardley. I've never met you (well that debases my whole post) but your personality and easy imagination inspires me no end. Thanks to you and your collaborators for all the fun.
