That looks so... bland. It's worse than I expected, at least they've got some interactions with the tigers planned. 

 

Its a nice idea to drop through the mouth, but if they don't cover up the rest of the wearhouse?? What about fixing up and hiding the rest of the geotty bits? The lift hills have been without rockwork of disguise for years, as has the rest of the tomb building, specifically after the dragon tunnel section. Hmmmm 

Kinda cool with all the Tigers, losing Peeking Heights amuses me though, wonder what ride replacement we'll get?

concept art looks gorgeous; the model however... Oh lord.

Looks nice to be honest, let's just hope they can pull it off with the final product. 

 

More importantly, it's great to see a Merlin park investing in a log flume rather than ripping them down.  Log flumes are fab rides and it's good to see we still have one not-awful one in the UK. 

The log flume is barely being invested in apart from a more exciting drop feature, most the money seems to be on the enclosures. The new layout for the area is nice, it keeps what is great about the view to the drop and introduces the tigers in a not-too-hasty way. If they actually use the 'tunnels' then cooool, that'd be great.

 

But yeah why so bland on the actual plans? And why restricted to the drop zone only? (The answer is saving money of course, despite the rest of Falls being in desperate need of it)

 

Ignoring the pre-viz model (which looks like it was done in a hurry!) the concept art looks lovely yet the actual submitted elevations show very little of those oriental structures and details. Let's hope it all comes to fruition.

 

Got it on reliable authority that this project design was outsourced rather than an MMM design, but with Merlin stepping in here and there other than obviously giving their original brief. That hasn't been done at Chessington since the 90s I think, where external designers have brought in their ideas. It makes for a more creative output, providing Merlin then deliver the money.

Could be really nice - as long as they use the concept art and not the CG images. Horrible metal fences doesn't exactly look great...

Looks good, well the concept art anyway, bit odd that 'Dragon' Falls goes through tiger. 

Yeah but it's Tiger Falls now.

 

3 hours ago, Imagineer said:

Could be really nice - as long as they use the concept art and not the CG images. Horrible metal fences doesn't exactly look great...

 

The architectural elevations and plans are the actual proposals for construction, the rest are illustrative and may change or turn out differently. So lots of metal fences everywhere but some pretty Oriental touches/structures around the enclosures too, as well as the odd Zufari-esque beige tent unfortunately.

 

Here are the main parts, there's more of the individual structures on the above link.

 

 

 

I'm not sure why they didn't just restore the existing theme, the area worked fantastically as Mystic East when it was properly looked after.

1 hour ago, Wumbamillio said:

Yeah but it's Tiger Falls now.

 

Didnt see that, that's a shame

3 hours ago, Wumbamillio said:

Yeah but it's Tiger Falls now.

 

 

The architectural elevations and plans are the actual proposals for construction, the rest are illustrative and may change or turn out differently. So lots of metal fences everywhere but some pretty Oriental touches/structures around the enclosures too, as well as the odd Zufari-esque beige tent unfortunately.

 

 

 

.... FML.

That area of Mystic East was rubbish ever since Samurai went (and even then most of that path was just Samurai queueline)...

11 hours ago, Wumbamillio said:

The log flume is barely being invested in apart from a more exciting drop feature, most the money seems to be on the enclosures. The new layout for the area is nice, it keeps what is great about the view to the drop and introduces the tigers in a not-too-hasty way. If they actually use the 'tunnels' then cooool, that'd be great.

 

My point was more they're at least doing something to the log flume, in the sense that they're adding things to fit around it, paying attention it, etc.  It's not being left whilst development happens around it, it's being included in it.  Makes me feel a bit more confident that it might be around for a bit longer than, say, 1 or 2 more seasons.

 

 

23 minutes ago, BaronC. said:

Makes me feel a bit more confident that it might be around for a bit longer than, say, 1 or 2 more seasons.

It'll be around for a fair old while yet, mainly due to the fact the supports go right through the middle of Tomb Blaster, and there are a million reasons why the won't dig around in there. Its a shame really, as its so old now. Its becoming quite the maintenance nightmare. And for god's sake- Chessington needs some new hardware! 

I mean of course I'd like to see it upgraded, etc.  But given the track record Merlin have of getting rid of log flumes at the moment, and the fact I'm not wholly convinced we'd see them create a brand new one which would be to my liking, I'm just selfishly glad to see that, for now, we still get a half-decent log flume in the UK!

I like this idea, the blending of the zoo with the theme park does sit well with me although I'm not sure about the idea of renaming it Tiger Falls. Will that mean the dragon head at the bottom of drop one will be leaving or will the ride be a blending of the two Chinese themes. 

The dragon head will be staying according to the plans. Maybe guests will be treated with a DIY repaint to look like a tiger at the last minute, just like Transylvania's incredible transformation into 'Wild Woods' with the aid of a sign and some painted trees?

This was approved by the way. Good to hear..

Chessington saying the whole of Mystic East will be shut from 11th September and have confirmed that Peeking Heights is not returning.

Apparently the plans have been approved without the drop feature?

Lets hope Merlin put some effort into this, as this could be a great new area if done right.

I guess Mystic East was starting to crumble apart anyway (like the rest of Chessie tbf) so some change will do the area some good.

Peeking Heights probably won't be missed by too many, I personally only rode it once, and I rarely saw it with a queue.

12 hours ago, ChessingtonSam said:

Apparently the plans have been approved without the drop feature?

Wut?

 

EDIT: Just looked at the plans and the Tiger Face seems to have been approved?

I can't see anything on the decision to say that the drop feature hasn't been approved?

 

Also on the planning permission website - a segway track for Go Ape was approved, not sure if that's been discussed/spotted or not...

It will be interesting to see how this development turns out - I hope they do a good job but hey this is Chessington and they don't get nearly enough investment.  I really like dragon falls but over the past few years it's just looked really bare and not great.  Shame about Peeking Heights though it never appeared to be very popular - anyone know what the throughput is on that thing? I'm thinking very low.  I can honestly say I found it pretty terrifying - stopping at the top on a fairly windy day was enough for me 

They had a weird way of running Peeking Heights where only 3 to 5 capsules were ever filled, they then rotated it to the top and then back to the ground. It almost acted as a observation tower rather than a Ferris wheel. I'm guessing throughputs were terrible but it also open so rarely. 

 

A shame really, I do like Ferris wheels/observation towers at theme parks as it's a great way to see the entire park. A new (or decent second hand) Ferris wheel probably wouldn't cost much either but they have different plans for that area now.