SteveJ

The full version is a marvellous 14 minute suite of stones, leaves and dinosaurs. But last time it was put on the internet somebody asked for its removal, if I remember rightly.

I completely agree. And something that really makes a ride special is when the designers themselves also have fun. The magic and happiness of Prof Burp's BubbleWorks shone through to the rider, you could tell it was created by genuinely amazing, funny people who were creating this ride for you, the rider. John Wardley has said on several occasions that it was "one of the happiest" project he ever worked on. And it showed. These days rides are inevitably conceived and executed like products being sold for profit; financers are too worried about market research and profit to be spontaneous. That doesn't mean the new rides are bad necessarily, but they lack that innocent sense of fun that Chessington once possessed. You would never be able to make a ride like BubbleWorks in the same way again, so replacing it will be a challenge. It's also interesting you bring up Tomb Blaster as being the "scary" dark ride. That was certainly the point of Terror Tomb, but since 2002 the ride has been noticeably tamer with the "adventure" persona it has been dressed in - the Indian Jones-style music, for example. I think, in the future, if they gave the tomb back its frightening edge (and its humour), it would feel more satisfying as an experience.

You have managed to turn a conversation about BubbleWorks into an argument about Wikipedia. If you must have "proof", click the history tab on the Bubbleworks Wikipedia page and you will see the same user that created the page has now changed it to say "RideAddict is a bit of a troll, never mind, from Archive". ______________ Anyway, in light of recent surveys about BubbleWorks and even demands from the public to bring "back Professor Burp" on their Facebook page, it can be assumed that Chessington are very aware that BubbleWorks needs changing. It is unlikely for anything to happen for a while, however, at least not until they have opened their next major roller coaster - probably within the next 5 years. You cannot recreate the old BubbleWorks and it would be a nightmare to market to today's market, so they need a whole new idea. But it should retain that flare of creativity, spontaneity and wide appeal of the original ride. In the meantime they should restore as much as they can on a low budget. They have done well with this so far, like restoring some of the original music, new lighting (a good lighting design can make a huge difference if they tried hard) and fixed effects. But there's more that could be done to recover a bit of the old character, before they gut the whole thing out. Get back the fruity scent in the aroma machines rather than soap smells, the strobe sequence in the finale, remove a few ducks (even if they are replaced with nothing it would be an improvement).

No he wasn't. And yes I did write it, using information from an in-depth interview with John Wardley that was recorded in 2010. In fact I created the BubbleWorks page just because there wasn't one. But don't trust Wikipedia anyway, it's useless and nerdy. Once you write something in Wikipedia, it gets taken as the word of God and the same information gets posted everywhere. The original ride was stylised in a specific way to fit with Transylvania, and Professor Burp had a funny European accent I think. The station gave the impression of a lively market square in the evening, with the brass band playing and the sun setting over the town - that's just my interpretation. The factory exterior was clearly a lavish European building with its fleur-de-lys and bold architectural details, but it's got vey diluted over the years. But after years of odd repaints, printed bubble windows and pieces being removed, the building looks incredibly incongruous and odd.

It's amazing to think that after so much effort to hide the "world's first" element, the end of that video was the moment they revealed it. That was it. They left it down to a random woman to ask what it was, who seemingly didn't notice the drop was special, and have an unimpressed man mutter "Well it has the world's first vertical drop". And I love the little "clap" he does after the airtime hill to try and look enthusiastic!

You are really bad at interpreting words. Re-read his post and you will find at no point does he criticise John Wardley, quite the opposite. And by the way, I think I wrote that on Wikipedia years ago and it's not really that accurate... This was because of the rubbish maintenance. He originally turned his head gently, spoke to you as you floated past (with a lifelike mouth), blinked, moved his eyes. I always remember this scene being particularly weird as you say and Professor Burp was hardly a comforting figure at the time! I also remember the audio being really weird, like unnaturally high-pitched and you couldn't make any words out - it took me ages to realise it was supposed to be his voice. The ride had become so unkept. It was obvious by 2005 BubbleWorks needed a refurbishment to return it to perfection, but instead Chessington decided to remove every animatronic to save money and pay for a few repaints with the sponsorship money. It was the worst scenario ever.

I miss the Exterior BubbleWorks queue loop. I know it was not part of the original ride (composed by Ian Habgood in the late 90s I think, rather than Grahm Smart who did the original music inside the ride) but it reminds me of my first visits to Chessington. It's a great quirky piece in itself but not really fitting to the rest of Transylvania with all those fluid, sneezing and machinery sound effects.

Yes, it's the new fashion for rollercoasters to "disturb you psychologically" it seems. It's just marketing nonsense, and the Smiler will not really have that affect on your mind. And the study into how "rollercoasters work best when structured like a story" is probably made up; I mean what they are saying is true, but theme parks over the world have been storytelling for decades, you don't need scientific research. They are just trying to reintroduce understanding of 'theme' amongst the public, by advertising the "marmalisation" concept more than the ride itself. If this was ten years ago, when British theme parks gave up with proper theme design, The Smiler would be heavily advertised for its record breaking inversions and world first elements. Instead they have taken a far more thematic approach to marketing, and not even mentioning that it will break the inversion record yet! This is a good change.

Really? People forget the entire tunnel on Oblivion? That's funny, I seem to remember it quite prominently. Also, whether people "forget" and "chop" parts of Oblivion is completely irrelevant to how long the track for The Smiler is.

No, obviously Alton Towers have not "chopped" Oblivion in their figures. Just admit you read it wrong. Those comparisons are just estimates that Alton Towers used to give a rough idea how long the ride will be.

A billboard with a hole in it. Because hell is everybody's idea of fun! Why they think this will bring in more visitors this year I have no idea. It may offer a momentary feeling of danger, but will make very little impact to the overall ride experience. It isn't really that interesting to look at, it's just "piece of devasted theming no.7". At least they have done something, I guess.

It seems not everybody is smiling! By the way, The Smiler looks amazing.

Look at all the amazing theming. Look at the big island behind The Swarm, it has brilliant potential for a rollercoaster. I've never really seen it properly before. I like the way it joins up with the Treasure Island peninsula, which has been unaccessible to the public for decades... Eventually they could build up an 'outer ring' of new land extending from The Swarm round to where the railway used to join with Canada Creek.

They might be worth more than we think, but yes, the only reason anyone would buy them is for sentimental reasons. Opening up my 2001 Thorpe Park map is like going in a time machine, because I instantly remember how I used to perceive the park. There's Tidal Wave and Logger's Leap drawn to look like they are 200ft tall, old rides long since removed and of course the promise of a "10 looping coaster coming in 2002" - and the mystery of not knowing what it would be. It is an extremely different sensation to what Thorpe Park is like today, so it's not really the map itself I find special, it's the reminder of the past. Even with the old Alton Towers maps I feel like I know the park as it was years ago. For example, there are endless mentions of "the magic" throughout the 90s, but then abruptly the imagery turns sterile when Tussaudes was bought by DIC. Also, there's Toyland Tours being marketed on par with Nemesis as "new for '94", as if they expected both rides to be as popular as each other, and totally forgotten things like Peter Rabbit on Ice being a flagship attraction. Then Oblivion comes along and the park's whole brand image suddenly changes, now using computer drawn images, 3D logos, with a big new emphasis on thrills, and you realise what a change of direction Oblivion was.

A collection of all the old Chessington maps since 1994 sold for about £70 a while ago. I have all the Thorpe Park maps since 2001 and Chessington since 2002, which I collected myself over the years. Also Alton Towers maps since 1994, of which those pre-2003 I bought. The most I have paid was £13 for the 1998 map. So.. I guess I'm stupid! But they are an amazing representation of the park's development and full of theme parky imagery. I really like the older hand-painted ones, as you can spot little visual jokes the artist has hidden in the picture.

I've seen plenty of billboards in my life and none of them were interesting to look at. I doubt this will be much different. Flying through it on a rollercoaster, however, could be quite fun, regardless of what the object actually is. But putting mist on it would be completely gratuitous.

Not necessarily true. Many rides still get high praise and fame many decades after they opened. Nemesis, for example, still attracts people from all over the world thanks to its reputation, which is quite rare for a British rollercoaster. It achieved its reputation for being such a great ride in every way and a genuine feat of engineering. The Swarm, by comparison, is not in the same league. It's not really a question of gimmicks.

Thank you for reading my whole post, and taking the time to respond. It's interesting to hear somebody else's point of view. Good point, but a ride doesn't even have to be explainable to be amazing. What I like about a good ride is noticing more with visit, or being able to interpret a theme. Like Hex - there are always new subtleties to discover and the ending is left totally unexplained, but this works to its advantage. The more you think about Hex, the more interesting it becomes. Whereas with the Swarm, it has a good first impression but when you go into details you realise it doesn't have much more to offer. I agree the inverted drop is visually impressive by its very nature. But it could be so much more of a spectacle if they tried. Again you could compare it to Oblivion - the vertical drop would still look cool wherever you put it, but by having it tower above you the impact greatly increases, dominating the area like an enormous monolith whose view is inescapable wherever you are in X Sector. The Swarm's first drop is not presented with any such drama, though it is unfortunate that Depth Charge's mouldy submarine obstructs the view as you approach. At least they partially built it over a pond instead of just a dirt floor, and it is still an exciting element when you are actually riding. Also, interesting to hear about the helicopter. That was one of my favourite things from the plans, and I admit I was a bit disappointed to see how it turned out. This may be improved when they connect the second island, as it would allow you to see it from a different angle. I agree completely. I still think The Swarm is great and when I am actually riding these issues don't bother me at all. I just feel in retrospect that it could have been more amazing if they tried, hence it detracts from my potential enjoyment. I only bring it up because people often say how brilliant its theming is and I don't see that. Maybe they are excited just because the Swarm has theming, after a decade of Thorpe Park lacking in that department. Within a few years I think the novelty will wear off, and The Swarm will settle in as just another ride at Thorpe Park (though one of the better ones!), rather than the amazing world-class experience some people suggest it is. But anyway, thank you Thorpe Park for giving us The Swarm, it's a very good ride.

I would like something both beneficial to the ride experience and a spectacle to look at from the ground. A billboard by its very nature is flat, and (according to the concept art) boring feature to look at, unless people find advertising fun. I would suggest a small semi-demolished building of some sort, which somehow relates to the church and gives a greater impression of what the area was before the Swarm landed. Even better if it extended into the path. You are not at all wrong in thinking those things, but does any of that actually matter to the ride experience itself? The various vehicles lying about act as descriptive devices to superficially convey the 'destruction' theme, but they don't combine to give a strong overall impression. The connection between the intention and what was actually built is not apparent when at the park. And if a theme ever needs post hoc 'explanation' to make it effective, then you know there is inconsistency somewhere. Basically, the Swarm fails to make me feel like I am in an area being attacked by aliens, even with great suspension of disbelief. Judging from recent developments, it seems many other people also failed to connect with the theme. Now I don't necessarily think the theming is weak: in my opinion the problem is down to the way the island is landscaped. It's a sparse, flat plaza, with the ride placed right on top of it, resulting in obtrusive safety nets and tall chain link fences obscuring guest interaction. The area was not designed from the perspective of the guest. Every item of theming was plonked somewhere behind a tall fence, or poorly integrated into the area as a whole (the airplane wing is supported by a conveniently located pile of dirt, for example). The opportunity to actually involve the audience/guests in the theme is missed in several places; this is especially disappointing considering they built the island from scratch and therefore had no physical limitations to overcome. For comparison, look at a ride like Oblivion. There are minimal fences, and the whole area has been designed to allow the guest to view the symbolic drop from every angle - with the elevated surrounding paths acting like a viewing gallery. You can also physically walk down into the pit and get within a metre of the ride cars as they fall into the hole - brilliant. The ride is not positioned to the side of the path, hidden behind a fence and out of reach - if it was then Oblivion would lose half its impact. With the Swarm, features like the helicopter, inverted drop and the firetruck just don't fulfil their potential and seem strangely distant, stuck behind their fences. Likewise, the queueline is boring because of its poor landscaping. Remember when queues used to take you up a hill, through tunnels, down into deep pits and let you get great views of the ride as you walked through? The Swarm just contains you in the same flat area as you walk back and forth. It seems Thorpe Park recognised these problems when they installed the upturned ambulance, which both fills empty space and allows guests to get up close to the theming. It may not sound so important, but it makes a whole lot of difference to the area and the guest experience. Well done. ___________________ I have no problem with the ride itself, and this new near miss will only improve the ride experience. I hope I'm not coming across as just another moaning enthusiast nerd who complains about everything. Really, when I actually rode The Swarm it left a big impression on me and I had great fun. But I can't help but recognise the inconsistencies in the theme design, which detracts from my enjoyment somewhat.

I would be happier if it was necessary theming or creative theming. 'Theming' alone is not why I like theme parks, hence a billboard does not excite me. Whatever, I quite like the idea really, I'm just questioning their rather bland thought process.

You know why this ride is going to be great? It has humour. I was really worried that they were going to ruin this brilliant piece of engineering with that ugly, grotty station building and death traps placed around the ride, but the final theme design looks to have changed. It is still sinister, imposing, even frightening, but now it is done with an underlying humour that could transform the ride into something actually enjoyable. Finally! Now the only way they can ruin it is to go too cliché with the hypnosis idea. Or they could repeat Thirteen's mistakes and miss out on a brilliant concept by not actually building any theming. But it all looks great so far.

Out of all the objects they could have used... why a billboard? A theme is supposed to be enticing and fun, not... bland and boring. I don't understand all this huge praise for The Swarm's theming anyway. Yes, it's good simply because there is theming, but there are more creative ways to have a "devastation" theme than just plonk old vehicles around. It's not as if people have always wanted to fly around a junkyard. The most interesting part is the church station because of the religious connotations with the 'end of the world' concept, and the irony that the swarm has devastated the building. The Swarm is a favourite of mine because the ride itself is a new experience, but why some people argue it has the "best theming in the UK" I don't know. And this billboard is another example of thinking firmly inside the box.

Forgive me for directly linking to your image, but this view is particularly interesting. For somebody who never visited Chessington in its early years, I am really surprised just how much was hidden. The whole area looks more spacious and Vampire's drop is more of a spectacle - and all they they did was remove some trees! Look how they have removed the sculpture of the phantom horserider, presumably to get the scaffolding in place. I actually hope they don't put it back or at least relocate it, despite the good job they did on recycling the old Rodeo cowboy. I'm just not a big fan of static theming stuck outdoors where it only looks false, and it made no sense in that position. Also it's good to see the Creaky Café proving popular, but... monkeys? In Transylvania? And why remove that one turret from the roof but not the other? Please put it back.

Thank you very much for the updates. Interesting that they have chosen to cover up the Black Forest facade again, although perhaps only partially this time? It shows they must have a specific plan in mind and want start from scratch. They have also removed the half-timber details from the recently uncovered frontage over the toilets, so suggesting they are redesigning that entire side of Transylvania. This is very unexpected and has the potential to be amazing, as long as they don't turn it into some goofy haunted castle or something. Currently it's difficult to tell what appearance they are going for, as they haven't really started to theme the new facade just yet. I assume they have bordered up the old windows to protect them before they put the new layer on top, so they won't be visible once they have finished. You can see they have begun replacing the gable end and bargeboard along the edges of the roof as well.

Ripsaw was always a bit rubbish in my experience. It never really did very much and compared to Rameses Revenge, which has its own little pit to spin around in and plenty of spectators, I found the experience less communal and physical. Suddenly all that changed when last year it was on a brilliant setting! Far more thrilling than anything Rameses Revenge does these days. I love the effect of initially teasing you with a 'spray' of water vapour, then coming back round later and getting a full on soak. Surely Rameses Revenge was not always on such tame settings. They really ought to skip the first cycle and move on to a more thrilling setting that uses the ride's full potential. Oh yes, and Thorpe Park should never get one. If they didn't 15 years ago, they should definitely not now.