Tom Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 Not sure to laugh or cry that a ride is running as per normal and it's 'great news' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted September 13, 2015 Report Share Posted September 13, 2015 It has been for the last few days I think.. It may well have been, I was on park today so thought it was worth mentioning as I haven't seen anything else in this topic to suggest that it has been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 Short preview of my upcoming documentary episode on the 1990 Prof Burp's BubbleWorks. The story behind the ride is a great one so I hope you enjoy when this video comes out in a week or so.. Glitch, Jordanluke2009 and dk3 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 Short preview of my upcoming documentary episode on the 1990 Prof Burp's BubbleWorks. The story behind the ride is a great one so I hope you enjoy when this video comes out in a week or so.. Looking forward to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted October 24, 2015 Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 No music in the finale yesterday, it just looks so bare and horrible, I do love the lights in there though! Although would have love to seen it with the strobes as it seems like it really cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan.B Posted November 1, 2015 Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 It was very weird riding it on Friday without the music. You can normally hear it blasting out by the Transylvania entrance, over the bridge in the station and on the lift. Even weirder was that I normally sing along to the soundtrack, and in the finale the music really makes it, riding Bubbleworks with a hater made it feel very awkward in the finale... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk3 Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 No music in the finale!? That's just as important as the fountains. (And the mirrors) (And the strobes) yeah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Just imagine Bubbleworks without the fountains, the mirrors and the music? That would be awful, might as well just turn the lights off too as that would be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Well I don't know why people are moaning about the music being off, you should be grateful - the fountains are on! Expectations are much too high to expect fountains AND music, don't you know how hard speakers are to maintain?! dk3, JoshuaA and Mattgwise 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Preview video: Part 2 of a video project I'm producing is now published, documentary on the creation of the 1990 BubbleWorks with new interviews from the team behind it. This was a really special video to make so I hope you enjoy watching. A lot of questions will be answered! You can watch for free on Vimeo via this link Matt 236 and Morgan.B 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Thanks for the video, I have always had a soft spot for the Transylvania area of Chessington, and this helps it feel more-so. It's astounding how much skill, effort end creativity was placed upon this ride, from the beginning to the end. In its time it seems to come across as a game changing & revolutionary ride, where as mentioned it was one of the few original dark rides created then. There is further possibility that this could've even been close'ish to Disney standards at the time. Bubble works has always been a dark ride I've strongly enjoyed since first visiting Chessington in 2006 and this has helped me appreciate a lot more. I still remember how amazed I was when I first saw the fountain finale at the end with all the giant fountains everywhere and the impressive strobes which made it feel like you were blinking each time they occurred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 I'm treating the video like a tenth anniversary tribute to Burps Bubbleworks closing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Bubble works has always been a dark ride I've strongly enjoyed since first visiting Chessington in 2006 and this has helped me appreciate a lot more. I still remember how amazed I was when I first saw the fountain finale at the end with all the giant fountains everywhere and the impressive strobes which made it feel like you were blinking each time they occurred. Imagine if you'd actually ridden the original version... To think some people know nothing of how good it once was... pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Imagine if you'd actually ridden the original version... To think some people know nothing of how good it once was... Yes I did miss the ride in its prime (just), though even then the fountain finale was still a lot better than what we have now which is unfortunately pretty much an empty wall with two mirror'ish other one and lights that don't give the effect near as much as it once did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 It's a shame really that the ride was in a very poor state by 2005 and far from its prime. Many animations and animatronics looking terrible (Prof Burp with wonky face and a big hole in his neck was a bit weird). It was still a lot of fun but even when I was 10ish years old I could see how fairly worn out it was. In 2006 it was just a botch job. It's hard to describe really if you didn't know the original. The new version was really scrubbed up, cleaned and stripped down, yet so wrong and lifeless. I think of it like an old friend getting excessively botoxed until they look like plastic. Removing 80% of the animations was also a deliberate decision to save having to maintain them. The audio-visual system was also royally botched, I actually have no idea how they could have got the audio tracks so so wrong. Obviously they were edited to have ducks quacking, but you have weird anomalies like only half the track was transferred off the original hard-written sound system - looped incorrectly and even the quacking isn't in proper rhythm. One of the weirdest parts is the ruined sound effects. To this day you can hear the end of Prof Burp's voice shouting "-it's hard work" over and over at the base of the lift, it somehow leaked on to the new SFX loop in that area and couldn't have been deliberate. Unless they wanted it to be an echo of Prof Burp's ghost looping quietly in that area? Well they did paint a moustache on his face on the posters before pasting over with the new one. It's great you remember the finale fondly Matt, but to be honest it too was also extremely botched in 2006. The lighting was amazing even in 2005, then by 2006 it was suddenly totally weak, out of sequence and the strobes did not have any stroboscopic effect. There were no mirrors at all in 2006, just blue painted walls with ducks. It's actually much better now I would say, at least with a black wall it's less distracting and the newer LED lights at least have a colour sequence. It's not a patch on the original though. pluk and dk3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlinpixie Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 I was at Chessington today and Gel Engineering were onsite in Bubbleworks where much banging could be heard from inside. I was hoping that this company might be related to improving animatronics etc but a google of their company indicates they are more mechanical/ lift hill related. So I think perhaps work is going on with the ride system itself rather than improvements to the actual ride models etc. pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 The animations are designed to be very simple and can be fixed by any mechanical engineer. Problem is most the parts were removed and dumped in 2006. The drop/ramp is being rebuilt. Morgan.B 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam P Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Explains the mess behind it http://theme-parks.org/UKthemeparks/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/DSC02494.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Hopefully, this could mean the fountain finale could be improved too as a result (and hopefully make the fountains more reliable). Last time I went in there, was rather poor. Fury is covered in scaffolding too, what's happening there though I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Hopefully, this could mean the fountain finale could be improved too as a result (and hopefully make the fountains more reliable). Last time I went in there, was rather poor. Fury is covered in scaffolding too, what's happening there though I'm not sure. Maybe those ducks seen on Scruffy Dog's social media are for bubbleworks and it's getting some attention this closed season. '**(Hocus Pocus Hall, AMAZU Treetop Adventure, Carousel and Seastorm) Rides subject to availability' That is the ride lineup for the Winters Tail? If I'm correct hasn't bubbleworks been open as a ride in the theme park closed season in past years? so reading into that would hopefully suggest it is closed for a lengthy period of time enough to sort the ride out to how it should look. Mysterio Ka 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 It's mainly because the drop/ramp doesn't exist yet. I imagine it also needs the chance for a long winter break for once after being kept open a lot for these Christmas events in previous years. Could be good. OldFarmerDean 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Parry Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 It's mainly because the drop/ramp doesn't exist yet. I imagine it also needs the chance for a long winter break for once after being kept open a lot for these Christmas events in previous years. Could be good. Maybe they've seen your great little documentary and been inspired to return it to it's former glory... Well a man can dream, can't he?! SteveJ and Matt 236 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 I guess the 2016 attraction being scrapped isn't so bad after all if the park is getting even more attention... I know they've done a lot over the past few years... but things like bubbleworks, and well dragon falls and tomb but not sure of the future of the last 2, are in desperate need of attention as, as far as merlin attractions go, they're so laughable how bad they have gotten (such a shame I never got to experience the original bubbleworks, instead my first visit in 2009 had to make do - at least the finale was working properly then!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack F Posted November 27, 2015 Report Share Posted November 27, 2015 Maybe those ducks seen on Scruffy Dog's social media are for bubbleworks and it's getting some attention this closed season. Sorry to burst your bubble (heheh) but aren't they for the Loggers takeover? :3 #Quack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted November 27, 2015 Report Share Posted November 27, 2015 Sorry to burst your bubble (heheh) but aren't they for the Loggers takeover? :3 #Quack I just don't see why they would be made already with loggers not returning til 2017 - that's if it even returns and I highly doubt it will get the duck treatment aha! I can imagine those ducks fitting perfectly in the finale room! Kerfuffle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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