Bubbleworks

[SteveJ]

The pricey tours are ridiculous considering the park have invested almost nothing in maintaing the ride scenes over the last decade. All a sudden they are making out they care for it as much as the fans, "bringing back" Professor Burp (management dont really know who this character is/was other than what's on wikipedia).

 

They've seen little worth in this "dinosaur" ride for 10 years, until now when they realise they can exploit people's interest in it for lots of money.

 

So many families & fans are going to be toured through the broken down remains of what used to be a classic ride, it's really odd how its ended up like this. Even just restoring general things would have made a big difference, like proper lighting in there (rather than cheap LED panels flashing on demo settings in every scene), fixing shattered effects, fixing the audio properly...

 

Sad to hear some people genuinely asking what changed in 2006, that brings home just how long it has taken them to settle the ride's fate. Before the refurbishment, it really was a perfect family attraction and, had it been properly looked after in the 2000s, would still be just as popular as Prof Burp's BubbleWorks now. The current ride is a modified, sterile version. Most the fun animations were disconnected or removed. The amazing colours and textures painted over in flat primary colours, the characters all made to look the same. All sense of humour replaced with an advert for Imperial Leather soap. It was probably the worst refurbishment in the UK and the most unnecessary.

 

[Marley]

On 8/9/2016 at 11:58 AM, Archive said:

The pricey tours are offensive considering the park have invested almost nothing in the ride over the last decade, not cared for it one bit and pretty much abandoned the scenes each winter.

 

C'mon Archive, give them some credit. They did eventually sync up the music in the fairground scene...... after 6/7 years of it being broken.

[pluk]

On 8/9/2016 at 11:58 AM, Archive said:

The pricey tours are offensive considering the park have invested almost nothing in the ride over the last decade, not cared for it one bit and pretty much abandoned the scenes each winter. All a sudden they are superficially making out they care for it as much as the fans

...

and a good thing that they are finally removing the BubbleWorks name from a ride that stopped being BubbleWorks a long time ago.

 

Post of the year.

[yeah]

Rumours have surfaced it'll be another Charlie ride, which I really can't see straight after the other contract ran out. If its Grufalo than thats going to fit in with Transylvania about as much as a nightclub in a lost Atlantean cit- Oh.

[pluk]

1 hour ago, ChessingtonSam said:

Rumours have surfaced it'll be another Charlie ride, which I really can't see straight after the other contract ran out. If its Grufalo than thats going to fit in with Transylvania about as much as a nightclub in a lost Atlantean cit- Oh.

 

Charlie- nope.

Grufalo - certainty feasible. Could access come from the other side of the building, removing the ride from Transylvania?

[yeah]

7 hours ago, pluk said:

 

Charlie- nope.

Grufalo - certainty feasible. Could access come from the other side of the building, removing the ride from Transylvania?

I didn't think of that, then you'd be putting the ride in Pirates Cove (nope) or Trail of the Kings which could work, but I imagine Chessie couldnt be asked to do that.

[Benin]

They'd need to do some serious rejigging if they wanted the entrance elsewhere (like the opposite side of the building), then it's likely that no one would ever find the entrance...

 

It'll be exactly the same building and queueline, just a different theme inside...

[Matt 236]

I don't know what makes me sadder, the poor state of disrepair the ride has become in  or the likeleihood of it's successor. 

 

The Bubbleworks in its heyday was charming attraction, something magical, immersive and that appealed to everyone whether they were 7 or 70. Sadly over the years the ride has suffered neglect and become a shadow of its former self. Whether that be the LED flooded scenes, garish colours or mess of the fountain finale. 

 

The ride could've still had a place at Chessington today if the park had cared. Parks like Europa and Efteling really look after their dark rides which often get updated whilst keeping their charm. See Fata Morgana, Piccolo Mondo, Festival Carnival and Geisterschloss. 

 

Whilst this his forseen closure could seen as putting the ride out of its misery, I can't say I'm optimistic for it's replacement. Rumours point towards an IP retheme of the Gruffalo. My main concern isn't really the case of the ride using a less creative and original (typical Merlin) approach but moreso cohesion.

 

The original Chessington was aimed to have different themed world areas, China (Mystic East), Mexico (Mexicana) and even India (Wild Asia) proved this. By adding a fictional (even if British) IP into a European themed town with a forest theme will most certainly cripple area cohesion for sure.

 

Of course, they could surprise all of us by making the whole area feel more fitting whilst retaining the original features. But the likes of Zufari, Tombs and Angry Birds unfortunately fill me with no confidence what so ever. 

[rygr]

Queued up twice for this today. Not only is there somebody on the batching gate to stop people going through to the station and somebody on the platform on each side but there is also now somebody standing at the top of the stairs to stop people going down to the platform. Essentially, you have to bypass 3 different members of staff before getting on the ride - is there a reason for this 3rd person at the top of the stairs? H&S? not allowed to have guests standing on the stairs? Possibly answered my own

question but this seems like a very recent thing/change.

[yeah]

Let's just remember that to younger guests who never experienced the original, Bubbleworks is the most magical thing ever. I never rode the original, and I don't ever remember finding it particularly magical, but today I really noticed how magical people can find it.

12 minutes ago, rygr said:

Queued up twice for this today. Not only is there somebody on the batching gate to stop people going through to the station and somebody on the platform on each side but there is also now somebody standing at the top of the stairs to stop people going down to the platform. Essentially, you have to bypass 3 different members of staff before getting on the ride - is there a reason for this 3rd person at the top of the stairs? H&S? not allowed to have guests standing on the stairs? Possibly answered my own

question but this seems like a very recent thing/change.

Think its for efficiency, it doesn't really extend queue times, in fact I can see it reducing them, saying that though, it was on 80 minutes earlier.

[Mattgwise]

Check out some pictures of the old posters and station on the British Dark Rides Project Facebook page. Brings back memories of the real Bubbleworks.

 

https://www.facebook.com/britishdarkrides/photos/?tab=album&album_id=755965204471431

[rygr]

53 minutes ago, Mattgwise said:

Check out some pictures of the old posters and station on the British Dark Rides Project Facebook page. Brings back memories of the real Bubbleworks.

 

https://www.facebook.com/britishdarkrides/photos/?tab=album&album_id=755965204471431

Those posters were so great. I too would love to own one. However, I *believe* they were painted onto the wall so can't be taken down (I may be wrong though) so they will as he says probably perish in the refurb and not be up for grabs in this

auction. It's strange with the park keep mentioning prof burp that they haven't taken the new posters off to reveal the old ones for its last month in operation! (Now that would be lovely to see). Does anyone know what is actually going to be sold off in the auction? Rubber ducks? I can't see them selling things like the cow or 'feet' but I might be wrong...

[yeah]

1 hour ago, rygr said:

Those posters were so great. I too would love to own one. However, I *believe* they were painted onto the wall so can't be taken down (I may be wrong though) so they will as he says probably perish in the refurb and not be up for grabs in this

auction. It's strange with the park keep mentioning prof burp that they haven't taken the new posters off to reveal the old ones for its last month in operation! (Now that would be lovely to see). Does anyone know what is actually going to be sold off in the auction? Rubber ducks? I can't see them selling things like the cow or 'feet' but I might be wrong...

Id imagine the bubbleheads aswell

[Mattgwise]

So this is Professor Burp....

(I don't know why the picture has pasted with stuff in another language underneath. Bizarre)

 

[OlivusPrime]

I can't help but think of this.

 

 

[SteveJ]

On 8/10/2016 at 5:14 PM, Marley said:

 

C'mon Archive, give them some credit. They did eventually sync up the music in the fairground scene...... after 6/7 years of it being broken.

Ha I hope Chessington see this!

 

And their Prof Burp tour would be very ironic and funny if only people were not paying £35 each to do what staff do every morning anyway, walking through the sets in their very dirty poor condition (not actually going backstage at all), with the added bonus of a man wearing some leftover suit and wig that is nothing like Prof Burp at all. How did it get to this?

[Marc]

2 hours ago, Archive said:

Ha I hope Chessington see this!

 

And their Prof Burp tour would be very ironic and funny if only people were not paying £35 each to do what staff do every morning anyway, walking through the sets in their very dirty poor condition (not actually going backstage at all), with the added bonus of a man wearing some leftover suit and wig that is nothing like Prof Burp at all. How did it get to this?

 

I think you answered your own question - Staff do every morning, not just the GP. The same reason why the Lift Hill walks are so popular which again is something staff will do on a daily basis.

 

Regardless of peoples personal opinions on the ride - its clear theres still great love for Bubbleworks from the GP from the reaction of its closure, im sure there will be many people more than happy to pay for a tour. 

[SteveJ]

But it's very obvious that it shouldn't be that way. £35 per person is an exploitative price for hot air. Of course people will pay for the nostalgia over a ride that was very famous for 15 years and then ruined for no reason

Had the park invested any upkeep in what guests see, had a team of people maintaining & restoring the animations, audio, scenery and lighting to at least attempt to address the daily complaints abou the ride's poor condition - then perhaps these tours wouldn't be such a blatant cash in.

 

Guests really deserve something faithful to the ride as a send off, not this. An actor in a cheap suit, that looks like the closest things the entertainment department could afford on a tiny budget.

 

Perhaps they should apologise for very poor retheme in 2006 that ruined a cherished attraction. The current attraction is still a favourite of children who obviously never rode the original, as it recycles so many props and sets just painted over  - so can you imagine how much more inspirational it would be to them if it was still all untouched.. That's the real loss.

[Benin]

Dem truth bombs tho...

[RobF]

Least they didnt do a towers .... They have told us its closing and when rather than suddenly closing the flume

[MattyMoo]

Archive, think I've said it before but your posts are so spot on.

[Coaster]

Had my last few rides on Bubbleworks today, quite sad to see it close really.

 

 

 

[Marc]

On 8/15/2016 at 3:04 PM, Archive said:

But it's very obvious that it shouldn't be that way. £35 per person is an exploitative price for pure hot air, of course people will pay for it because of the ride's heritage and the fact its so popular, although that is extremely naive it is forgivable. People are paying for their nostalgia, not anything of worth, over a ride that was very famous for 15 years and then ruined for very little reason, and now being removed for another revolving door IP attraction.

Had the park invested any upkeep in what guests see, had a team of people maintaining & restoring the animations, audio, scenery and lighting to at least attempt to address the daily complaints abou the ride's poor condition - then perhaps these tours wouldn't be such a blatant cash in. Why should the park be defended for this? It isnt 'personal opinions' if there is no industry professionalism at all.

 

Guests really deserve something faithful to the ride as a send off, not this. An actor from the stage show in a very cheap suit, that looks like the closest things the entertainment department could afford on a tiny budget and almost no information on what the character was meant to be like. The park management barely knew who Prof Burp was, other than a name present day fans throw about, let alone know what the original ride was actually like.

 

The original ride as it was designed was very popular & influential for many years, in a time before the internet and social media, so of course its online presence is very skew and the park have got away with wrongly 'pretending' its the same ride for maximum attention. And so for some people who never saw the original, my complaints will perhaps look like 'a fuss over nothing', because the original was from a time where the industry had actual integrity rather than the corporate joke it is today.

 

Not one person of the many people that built the 1990 ride has been remotely involved in this. Perhaps they should apologise for very poor quality retheme in 2006 that was the result of pure corporate mismanagement and ruined a cherished attraction, rather than superficially impersonate a character people associate with their good memories. The current attraction is still a favourite of children who obviously never rode the original, as it recycles so many props and sets just painted over with broken cheap lighting  - so can you imagine how much more inspirational it would be to them if it was still all untouched and a professional show? That's the real loss.

 

For the record i wasn't disagreeing with anything you say regarding old / new Bubbleworks - I was merely getting at there will be people who genuinely do enjoy these tours - and if they do thats fair enough IMO. 

 

https://www.chessington.com/press/downloads/2016/Bubbleworks-Auction-Catalogue.pdf - link to whats on sale from the ride. 

[yeah]

"Wooden frames not included"

Maybe we'll still see posters in the queue then.

 

Also, seems the elephant will be reused as the Gruffalo figure then 

[Matt 236]

As far as I'm aware only two of the props listed are from Professor Burps, which include the feet and hippo head.

 

Very much doubt I'll be bidding in these, but I'm some numerous will which may be over the odds. 

 

Expect to see some items in a highly known enthusiast's shed soon!