April 21, 201411 yr comment_181525 I know a guy who could do with that scrap wood for his open fireplace
June 5, 201411 yr comment_184926 I was at the park today, and noticed that speakers have been fitted above the shooting gallery next to scorpion express. anyone know any more???
June 18, 201411 yr comment_185489 I would say the ride was a great experience, a little disappointing in comparison to the Runaway Mine Train, but an improvement on the decayed ride that was there before. I agree the queue is...poor...and tight, all a little odd ball. However generally suits the target market, serves its purpose as a family friendly attractions, and as long as the fireball and water effects keep working its a great ride...when they stop working...yeah its just going to be a Western Flying Fish. The Kids loved the ride, and that's the important thing, Chessington is not Disneyland nor does it pretend to be Disneyland, it serves its purpose well. And it was much needed. So we should not be too quick to be critical, its a lovely little ride and I was happy enough with it, apart from the now botch job of transitional areas, such as the odd tight area of the Entrance to the ride, or the odd ball area of the Jumbo's and the Zufari walkway.
August 16, 201411 yr comment_188860 I have to say I was VERY impressed with Scorpion today! Had some new stuff added to the queue, such as live scorpions/cockroaches and even a tally on the wall! ("Days since explosion") Had some new sounds as well! In the tunnel section you'd hear scorpions supposedly scuttling along above the ceiling...and an intimidating rumbling which is heard just before the fire effect occurs! and for the most part...the giant scorpion's water effect was PERFECTLY timed!
August 17, 201411 yr comment_188898 I rode it a couple of weeks ago, and have to admit I actually prefer it in it's current theme. Seems to be more going on than when it was the Mine Train
August 17, 201411 yr comment_188908 I'm pretty sure this is the best footage of the Scorpion Express soundtrack we have so far...
September 9, 201410 yr comment_191438 "Chessington is not Disneyland nor does it pretend to be Disneyland," Well in the handbook it does say... "our vision, to be the global leader in location based branded family entertainment" sounds distinctly disney to me. The facts are that Runaway was more than capable of running last year after the decaying fire hazard rockwork was removed. But it was eventually decided after several weeks of sitting on hands that runaway could be re-packaged as a new attraction. The same I regret to tell you is true of ramesies, all it needed was a new restraint system to be shipped post haste. But as merlin don't much care for post haste it was left to decay yet further. I must make something clear, you can't blame the engineers. They are overworked as it stands and with the ailing rides lineup along with the uncertian future of the park, and it's assets. The morale sadly isn't great!
September 9, 201410 yr comment_191452 Thanks for that post Gimble... and welcome to TPM. I noted Ramases was down today - is it anything serious? I loved the original RMT and I love Ramases too - I'd hate to see Ramases disappear, she'll be 20 next year!
September 9, 201410 yr comment_191487 I think the extention of the hotel plus investment in the theming of the park kinda shows that they are intending to keep it nowadays. At least it's more secure than it's ever been. Of course you can't blame the engineers. It's definitely all down to budgets and staffing.
September 9, 201410 yr comment_191493 "Chessington is not Disneyland nor does it pretend to be Disneyland," Well in the handbook it does say... "our vision, to be the global leader in location based branded family entertainment" sounds distinctly disney to me. The facts are that Runaway was more than capable of running last year after the decaying fire hazard rockwork was removed. But it was eventually decided after several weeks of sitting on hands that runaway could be re-packaged as a new attraction. The same I regret to tell you is true of ramesies, all it needed was a new restraint system to be shipped post haste. But as merlin don't much care for post haste it was left to decay yet further. I must make something clear, you can't blame the engineers. They are overworked as it stands and with the ailing rides lineup along with the uncertian future of the park, and it's assets. The morale sadly isn't great! You can't blame them for leaving Runaway. Whilst it would've helped with the atrocious queues last year, I think it was the better choice to re-develop it for this year. As by about mid July, it was pretty clear to the park that what should have been their finest moment was a complete shambles. I believe that they decided to almost give up on 2013 and instead put all efforts into making 2014 the year 2013 should have been. Again this is a guess, but its pretty clear. They obviously weren't going to have any money for a major attraction and Amazu and the hotel weren't going to pull the crowds. The re-working of Scorpion created one of the busiest periods at Chessington in years. The park was almost at capacity daily, sometimes even over! It might be worth pointing out that a lot more money than we think was spent on this year, a lot more! Merlin do see a bright future for the park, otherwise so much money wouldn't have been spent on a second hotel!
September 9, 201410 yr comment_191505 Haha yes I agree with you there. Last year was a bit of a disaster and there are literally dosens of incidents which were kept quiet. I guess thats something they are just as good as disney at, keeping it all out of the press! I do wonder, if the hotel was to change overall ownership (rather like the way it used to be, or run as a franchise) what would happen on the payroll, as maintenance now look after the hotel - not an external company. I really can't help but think that money spent would mean money saved in the long run. That, and people panicking and making unprofessional mistakes! Bring the painters in I say, like the old days.
September 10, 201410 yr comment_191510 Haha yes I agree with you there. Last year was a bit of a disaster and there are literally dosens of incidents which were kept quiet. I guess thats something they are just as good as disney at, keeping it all out of the press! That's really nothing new, believe me...
September 14, 201410 yr comment_191881 Scorpion Express is actually better than I was expecting. Liked the soundtrack, and the water jets and fire were fab! Still preferred it as Runaway Mine Train though.
September 20, 201410 yr comment_192494 The Fire effect wasn't working on Thursday hope this isn't going to be the case for the rest of the year!
January 8, 201510 yr comment_200427 At the End of the video Ride Experiences may vary. What the heck? Is that a disclaimer that the fire and water may not work all this year?
January 9, 201510 yr comment_200479 All their ride videos say that. It won't be anything to do with the effects.
January 11, 201510 yr comment_200699 It will be on the basis of how many cycles you get or getting wet, operators try and give the same amount of cycles throughout the day but sometimes park wrong or are just not paying attention and send it round an extra time. Just reading a while back on what coaster dude said about the additions, Scorpian has been worked on throughout the year with new small touchs and general improvments. For instance the heaters installed into the tunnel a month after opening and did anyone notice the TNT detinator added into the queue over summer? Its just before you get on the platform. It's nice to see that throughout the year it has had a fair bit of attention ... just a shame the fire effect is hit or miss!
January 13, 201510 yr comment_200839 It received that bit of attention with added details, as the park were unhappy with the finished result from MMM. It seems things don't always look like their design art work, and objects (scorpions) may look bigger on paper than in real life. Silly I know..
January 13, 201510 yr comment_200841 That makes sense as it was nothing major just small added theaming and features. Also forgot to mention the special boards made for the ride to block off certain gates was a nice touch! Compared to Vampires approach of using height sticks.
January 13, 201510 yr comment_200856 Heaters installed in the cave? Probably the most unnecessary addition in the history of unnecessary additions...
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