HermanTheGerman

Yes, I'll be named 'Wild Wood' to "fit in". (and also to remove any remaining character)

Well, it's not built by Mack in the first place, (despite what the internet tells you), so you're wrong there. And I fail to see your issue with it being branded a new ride. Was the 5th Dimension to Terror Tomb not a new ride? The average punter is hardly going to noice the similarity . Its a dark ride. Who cares if the hardwear is the same? Guests watching the advert aren't going to ride it and say "oh no, this Leisuretec boat ride moves us along the same way the old one did. It's a con." As long as they remove all remnants of Bubbleworks it should be fine... Granted, Merlin do lie an awful lot in their advertising. (Look at how many people, even on here, are referring to the Gruffalo ad imagery as "concept art" when the real ride will look nothing like it.) Sure, call them out for lying, but by doing it here, you're taking the credibility away from instances when it really does matter (a la Galactica, Shark Hotel, all other Chessington ads...)

Haha, I think its hilarious they plan to rename Transylvania 'Wild Wood'. So much is going to be out of place now, not that they seem to care.

Last I heard it was planned to open at the start of the season. Its been shut since September, and other than a couple of structural changes (in the form of new scene divisions), and a relatively small change to the nature of the transit system, nothing too significant is going on. Definitely nothing that would warrant more than six months of construction anyway.

Lol, re-themeing Transylvania would be the final nail in the coffin for Chessington. It's a shame you don't like Vampire. I assume you're a relatively new visitor to Chessington? The coaster has never really been what made Vampire great. It has its moments, but on the whole it's very mediocre. What made it so special, and why many obsess over it, was the unique drama and theatricality it employed, really taking guests into the set with the original station and crypt. So it's interesting you judged it based on the actual roller coaster. It just goes to show how much has been taken away. The station is now such a non-event. But it a re-theme wouldn't solve that problem. Like it or not, it's still the most famed park area, and MMM wouldn't have a chance at creating an area nearly as impressive, even if what's standing is just a castrated version of what came before.

Gahahhhh, I'm so glad the one step forwards, three steps back ethos has been employed to Transylvania this year. P.s. Loving the the RCT3 design on the Carousel <3

Glad to see they've finally cleaned the Skyway castle. (HINT: They haven't)

Sorry, but what? Projection mapping is great, but its becoming rather a standard and cliché thing now... Its too formulated. The fountains were just fun. A fun, elated, spontaneous way to end an attraction with nothing greater to its purpose than to entertain. Sadly, projections I feel don't quite deliver that. They're more fake. They seem corporate. Digital. Not the immersive spurt of carefree creativity that the Bubbleworks finale was. Having said that, I'm very pleased to see they have removed the fountains. The Bubbleworks and Gruffalo Storybook Adventure should be kept completely different, incomparable rides.

^ Well that was because under the old system the third train didn't wait on lift two, and instead came right on through even if the brake run wasn't clear. So there really was a pressure to send trains out on time, haha. There are a couple stories I've head of trains crashing! (Though not nearly as dramatic as it sounds, there was still a fair bit of the break run clear to slow the carriage down.)

Three trains weren't decommissioned per-say, its still perfectly safe to do so. Simply everyone's favorite man Graham McGrath decided "guests would rather wait a little longer than have their ride paused mid-way through", which of course is completely tortured logic. But hey, it stuck, so now train two doesn't exist, mwhahaha.

But it virtually was Merlin who changed it. Who cares if the name was different?

The Carousel project isn't just re-locating the old one. They're only getting a new one because the current ride is down to fail insurance and they don't want to be seen removing any more family rides.

Have you not been to Thorpe Park?

Spoiler: Both mazes are rubbish

"I think it makes perfect sense, apart from when people don't understand"? ANYWAY, Wild Asia is crumbling, (literal fungi growing up theming), all the bunting removed, paintwork fading, one of Kobra's tails being chopped off, moss and mold growing everywhere, bamboo fences falling, the area looks appalling for something only six years old. Everything about Dragon's Fury is diabolical for such a popular attraction. There is absolutely nothing to the experience but the actual roller coaster, which to be frank, is astronomically cheap, and not at all fit for a park like Chessington. No thought is given at all for the queuing experience (the rat infested drains by the in-queue shop smell lovely don't they), the track is fading beyond recognition, and goodness knows how much stress that relatively weak structure is under. One thing missed out from that earlier post is Rattlesnake. The ride is in a god-awful condition. Five car operation? What on earth. Water effects not functional for so many years now that they've actually overgrown so much they're next to hidden, next to all the Mexicans gone, and the one by the station is so worn that not only is his fiberglass arm exposed, by also the metal rod in the middle. Remember when he used to climb the tower? Most the cartoony snakes and barrels are gone, and that Mexican has been remodeled and now looks as if he's an "excited" tramp under a bus shelter. So yay- Chessington.

Well erm, the foundations of the station and finale wing of the building are hugely botched, constantly requiring work, and the wood flooring and supports beneath the ride have a tendency to rot (a MAJOR structural support for the building had to be replaced last winter for example). Infrastructure issues are what led to the sponsorship in the first place, as DIC cba to pay to stop the ride being condemned. But of course the Gruffalo isn't going to fix it, and they know that, they just don't want to pay for another building.

^ Senior management teams changed at the end of 2013 as part of a shake up following the diabolical year (huge drop in profits, guest satisfaction being down, Zufari under-preforming massively), and with it left the people pushing for such a refurbishment. Since then the park have wanted nothing but to get rid of it. Lol, nope.

Ah thank you. You wrote exactly what I couldn't be bothered to. Thank you.

Yes... That's one of the best examples in fact. Just because the sonic's of the Smiler's track are a little unconventional you think its a vastly different track?

Why would you want IMAscore music? They're all so similar. They can only do variations of the same piece effectively. They try way too hard to be epic and dramatic that it just gets annoying an in your face. And it would be rather insulting to have a piece as famous as the fountain finale track just replaced.

The new Carousel is opening because the current one is now in its twentieth year at Chessington, and was already second hand so will likely fail insurance next year. With the recent Bubbleworks fiasco, and Safari Skyway dead and buried, the park don't want to be seen removing any more children's rides, hence this investment.

Ha, yes they did. Just like their PR also pretended the is the same as its always been, so that's twice they've lied to you.

Well the first cycle was painful and rubbish, more rubbish than the second cycle at least, so I can't really see the problem.

They didn't try to improve Bubbleworks, the sponsorship only came about because the ride's structure needed significant work following rot, and DIC point blank refused to pay for it. The actual "improvements" to the ride were done by Tussauds Studios with an interest level of 0.2 out of 10, who just botched up the lighting, botched up the audio (remember the didn't want to pay for a new soundtrack, so just badly chopped up the pieces they had already), and went over each scene, covering the walls with boring wallpaper, and making the vast majority of the animations static. Nobody can honestly put their hand on their heart and say they thought they were 'improving it' when they went over all the station murals and hand painted signs with flat singular colours and computer printed signs. You've the foundations of a brilliant attraction with Bubbleworks. If they really put their minds to it, I'm sure they could create something charming and timeless again. But hey, latest trends and Gruffalos sound just as exciting. (no)

Just because its within their target audience does not mean its the right choice. By that logic you could justify anything the park do - "Pandamonium doesn't interest me, but the children will love it probably" doesn't cover the fact its the worst, most forgettable investment ever. The Gruffalo Storybook Adventure is a completely backwards decision, and totally highlights how sorry of a state the UK theme park industry is in right now. The fact that without a moments hesitation (don't let their social media game fool you, the park are glad to see the back of Bubbleworks) they go and replace what was once their most iconic, most cherished, and most popular ride with a cheap and dated IP. Of course, the Bubbleworks as it stands is a disaster of a ride, but as its popularity shows, its a concept that still has potential. If they'd been in even the slightest way creative, they could have tried to actually "sell the factory" to a zany new character, producing anything else that could possibly link to the word 'Bubbleworks'; instead however, it literally came down to different people in the park's PR Department (so people with no creative background whatsoever) arguing over which IP to use. Yes, which IP to use. Hotel Transylvania was once considered for example. Point being, they don't want to hear it unless its the latest trend. So yes, there are plenty of things that suit the 'target market' of Chessington, The Gruffalo being one of them. But that does not, for once instant, mean it is the right decision.