Chessington General Discussion

[Mattgwise]

1 hour ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:

@RobF I think this fire is the final nail in the coffin for Scourpeon Express. The ride is over 30 years old and becoming increasingly unreliable. The ride will probably require extensive repairs. I’m not sure if Chessington would invest in an aging attraction. Personally I love Scourpeon Express it’s a great Rollercoaster for all ages as well as being one of the Theme Parks original rides. I hope Chessington see reason to repair this Chessington classic. With Chessington’s history of repairing attractions,I think it’s safe to presume it’ll be closer for the rest of the season. Of course @RobF I hope I am wrong.

But Rocky express is also over 30 years old and you insist on that being relocated! 🤔

[Mark9]

10 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:

@RobF I think this fire is the final nail in the coffin for Scourpeon Express. The ride is over 30 years old and becoming increasingly unreliable. The ride will probably require extensive repairs. I’m not sure if Chessington would invest in an aging attraction. Personally I love Scourpeon Express it’s a great Rollercoaster for all ages as well as being one of the Theme Parks original rides. I hope Chessington see reason to repair this Chessington classic. With Chessington’s history of repairing attractions,I think it’s safe to presume it’ll be closer for the rest of the season. Of course @RobF I hope I am wrong.

 

This is a semi regular occurrence for Scorpion, it will be a motor blow out and will require a replacement. So it will just depend on how quickly Mack can get that to Chessington.

[Theme Park Fanatic]

1 hour ago, Mark9 said:

 

This is a semi regular occurrence for Scorpion, it will be a motor blow out and will require a replacement. So it will just depend on how quickly Mack can get that to Chessington.

@Mark9 the Fire Brigade are not normally required 

[RobF]

2 hours ago, Mark9 said:

 

This is a semi regular occurrence for Scorpion, it will be a motor blow out and will require a replacement. So it will just depend on how quickly Mack can get that to Chessington.

 Would chessington normally curtain the whole area off from view for a motor ?

I get fencing off the area but the black screens ?

[Theme Park Fanatic]

2 minutes ago, RobF said:

 Would chessington normally curtain the whole area off from view for a motor ?

I get fencing off the area but the black screens ?

@RobF I think the situation is more serious than @Mark9 thinks. The first the ride is cordoned off makes me think there’s catastrophic fire damage  

[jessica2]

Does anyone have any experience of chessington's reserve and ride system? They've used it to replace fastpass and there are 3 levels- one where you wait virtually for the same time as the ride's advertised queue time, one where you wait 50% of that time, and another more akin to a true fast pass where you enter straight away. I'm not sure how new this is and whether there are still any teething issues.

 

It does say in the FAQs sometimes the app says the ride is 'full' when the queue is very long, which slightly negates the benefit so I assume this doesn't happen very often. It reminds me of the thorpe reserve and ride they had at fright nights many years ago, and I guess similar to the systems at black mirror and DBGT with timed tickets in a way although of course this is not free. Thanks!

[JoshC.]

8 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:

@Mark9 the Fire Brigade are not normally required 

 

7 hours ago, RobF said:

 Would chessington normally curtain the whole area off from view for a motor ?

I get fencing off the area but the black screens ?

 

To be fair a blown motor can do a fair amount of damage / look pretty bad. Even if it happens on an occasional basis, every situation is different.

[Benin]

Considering the world we live in where minor damage to anything can be escalated into "ThE sKy HaS fAlLeN!" in about 5 minutes is it any wonder Chessie would block off the area? All it takes is one errant photo of a burnt and blackened item and suddenly the news is filled with "Smiler operator park ablaze" headlines.

 

Fire brigade have been called to Chessie a number of times. The amount of incidents that don't get documented is amusing (in a morbid way).

[Mattgwise]

It's like the hotel being evacuated at 2am a few weeks back had photos of the fire engines arriving put on social media and many discussing a fire when Most modern fire alarm systems have auto dispatch of fire brigade even in the event of a false alarm and that's all it probably was. 

[Theme Park Fanatic]

Hi, I think the most sensible decision would be to remove Scorpion Expres. As much as it pains me as it’s a favourite of mine. The ride is ageing and becoming unreliable. It’s been rumoured to be leaving for a few seasons. I think this fire is the final nail in the coffin. Could Rocky Express from Thorpe replace it? Rocky is similarity themed to Scorpion Express. Alternatively the Scorpion Express plot could remain vacant for future development. I expect by the end of the season Chessington will announce wheather Scorpion Express will return next year. What is your opinion on what should happen to this Chessington classic?

[RobF]

3 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:

Hi, I think the most sensible decision would be to remove Scorpion Expres. As much as it pains me as it’s a favourite of mine. The ride is ageing and becoming unreliable. It’s been rumoured to be leaving for a few seasons. I think this fire is the final nail in the coffin. Could Rocky Express from Thorpe replace it? Rocky is similarity themed to Scorpion Express. Alternatively the Scorpion Express plot could remain vacant for future development. I expect by the end of the season Chessington will announce wheather Scorpion Express will return next year. What is your opinion on what should happen to this Chessington classic?

No 

 

no 

 

No….

 

none of us actually know what happened in scorpion valley, unless you can provide some evidence to prove we are talking serious damage, it is unlikely to just be removed.

 

if were talking train damage then that is replaceable/ and may even be able to run as a shorter train short term ( logically yes) if the ride system will accept missing carriages is another.

 

it is to soon for any speculation as to what the future holds 

[Mattgwise]

3 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:

Hi, I think the most sensible decision would be to remove Scorpion Expres. As much as it pains me as it’s a favourite of mine. The ride is ageing and becoming unreliable. It’s been rumoured to be leaving for a few seasons. I think this fire is the final nail in the coffin. Could Rocky Express from Thorpe replace it? Rocky is similarity themed to Scorpion Express. Alternatively the Scorpion Express plot could remain vacant for future development. I expect by the end of the season Chessington will announce wheather Scorpion Express will return next year. What is your opinion on what should happen to this Chessington classic?

What RobF said! Rocky Express is almost as old. What your saying isn't logical! 

[Theme Park Fanatic]

Scorpion Express has been removed from the Chessington app. To me this shouts that the ride could permanently close. Whenever a Merlin Theme Park removes a ride from a map,it usually signals the end of the particular ride. Furthermore there were rumours a few years ago that due to it’s age and unreliability Scorpion Express would close. I think the fire may have caused this rumour to become reality. Chessington will probably deem it non economical,to repair an ageing and unreliable ride. If the rumours were true why would Chessington invest in a ride that’ll close soon.  I don’t know wheather to take this for gospel. The same message also stated that Seastorm would close. Obviously this was wrong as Seastorm has recently reopened following a complete refurbishment.

 

This is the message I received. From a member of a Facebook group I belong to.

I was asked this on the post  but its Scorpion Express and Seastorm if it happens that is but as I said already when you hear the same rumour more than once it usually happens x

[RobF]

10 hours ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:

Scorpion Express has been removed from the Chessington app. To me this shouts that the ride could permanently close. Whenever a Merlin Theme Park removes a ride from a map,it usually signals the end of the particular ride. Furthermore there were rumours a few years ago that due to it’s age and unreliability Scorpion Express would close. I think the fire may have caused this rumour to become reality. Chessington will probably deem it non economical,to repair an ageing and unreliable ride. If the rumours were true why would Chessington invest in a ride that’ll close soon.  I don’t know wheather to take this for gospel. The same message also stated that Seastorm would close. Obviously this was wrong as Seastorm has recently reopened following a complete refurbishment.

 

This is the message I received. From a member of a Facebook group I belong to.

I was asked this on the post  but its Scorpion Express and Seastorm if it happens that is but as I said already when you hear the same rumour more than once it usually happens x

Your welcome to your own opinion , the app is nothing in the scheme of things, towers remove rides from the app if they have extended down time regularly, the ride was only refurbished a few years ago. 
 

I stand by what I said, until anyone is actually aware of the damage sustained no one here can make a judgement, the final decision will be with the team at Chessington/merlin.

 

Its unlikely that a decision has been made yet, the ride is also still listed as an attraction on the website.

[Theme Park Fanatic]

@RobF I hope your correct and Scourpeon Express has temporarily been removed from the Chessington app,while repairs are done. I love Scorpion Express it’s a true Chessington classic. It was a shame that such an old and well loved ride had a fire. IMO this fire was far sadder than the one Imperial Leather Bubbleworks had. Too be frank the Imperial Leather version of Bubbleworks was a crap and  annoying ride. It was certainly the worst ride Chessington had or will ever had. The ride was made even worse by the fact it replaced Professor Burp’s Bubbleworks. This ride was far superior to Imperial Leather. 
If your unaware of the fire I’m talking about it happened at Christmas 2013. Basically at the time The Creaky Cafe was being used as Santa’s grotto. It was decorated with Christmas lights etc. Unfortunately one of the lights came into contact with a heater and ignited. The fire resulted in The Creaky Cafe having to be demolished and the rebuilding of part of Bubbleworks.

[Mark9]

Update from today is that guests can now walk down into that area and the train is parked in the maintenance area (the lowest part of the ride, just before the station).

[Matt 236]

Like Rob had said, the likelihood is it has been taken off the app because it may have pro-longer downtime because of the unknown incident. 
 

There are many parks with older Mack powered coasters (80’s/90’s), so if they can keep theirs going, there is no reason why Chessington can’t either. However again that depends on the damage. 
 

I think comparing an outdoor powered coaster to a fully enclosed water based dark ride is an inaccurate comparison. 

[Theme Park Fanatic]

3 hours ago, Mark9 said:

Update from today is that guests can now walk down into that area and the train is parked in the maintenance area (the lowest part of the ride, just before the station).

@Mark9 how bad does the damage to Scorpion Express appear to be?

[Mattgwise]

7 minutes ago, Theme Park Fanatic said:

@Mark9 how bad does the damage to Scorpion Express appear to be?

There is zero damage to anything that still exists there! Just the front carriage of the train has been removed, presumably for repair. We don't even know if it actually caught fire or just burnt out and smoked (likely the latter). It really wasn't that bad! Just wait and be patient! 

[Theme Park Fanatic]

2 minutes ago, Mattgwise said:

There is zero damage to anything that still exists there! Just the front carriage of the train has been removed, presumably for repair. We don't even know if it actually caught fire or just burnt out and smoked (likely the latter). It really wasn't that bad! Just wait and be patient! 

 

 

@Mattgwisethe ride will definitely reopen then just with a new front carriage.

[Mark9]

Yup like I said earlier. This is why knee jerk reactions proclaiming the end of Scorpion Express aren't very helpful. 

 

This isn't the first time something like this has happened on scorpion, back when I used to work on it as Runaway Train, it was a known potential when operating the ride. 

 

 

[Theme Park Fanatic]

This is the reply Chessington Buzz gave to someone’s question on Twitter. The post is regarding the future of Scorpion Express. 
“It's future has long since been in the balance given its age and the availability of original ride hardware. Regardless of the recent incident it was always on the list for 'renew or replace' in future plans. Holds many memories but it's time might just be up... We'll see”.
This response backs up my claims that a few years ago Scorpion Express was rumoured to be closing. 

[Benin]

Considering the age of everything at Chessie I'd imagine such a list would essentially cover everything in the park.

 

Probably as always didn't want to fork out the necessary budget for giving it a proper lease of life when converting it to Scorpion Express on the first place. Mack are still opening new Powered coasters so the ride hardware just needs updating if they really want to keep it.

[Matt 236]

If parks like Tivoli Gardens can replace their old powered coasters with ‘flashy’ new versions which are superior, then Chessington definitely can too. 
 

However they choose not too, so Scorpion will go when it’s literally an operational write off. Which maybe it already is. 
 

Even in the DIC years, Flying Fish got a new train. 

[Matt N]

I can’t imagine a Mack Powered Coaster with Scorpion Express’ layout would be at all expensive to replace and maintain parts on, in fairness. Even if it did need replacing, I imagine they could give it the Nemesis treatment and replace the whole lot for very little (possibly even less than £1m?).

 

But we don’t know that it is being removed currently by any means. The current closure could just be due to some slightly lengthier maintenance work following whatever happened the other day.