dk3 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Dare I say it, could Chessington not be a little bit more ambitious perhaps. Magic Carpet was great for 1987 and Samurai was great in 1999 but that was over 15 years ago. It's the same thought pattern that wants Bubbleworks to return to its Professor Burp days, it's not pushing the park forward, just keeping it in the past. I accept that the period between 1995-2000 was the parks greatest days but if the place is to have any future it needs to strive to lead, not keep relying on the rides that made it what it was. Chessington. I completely get what you're saying, but being ambitious will cost more money than playing it safe. And we all know how they love to do things 'on the cheap'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Video showcasing Chessington in 1993. Features Chessington Railroad, Safari Skyway, Fifth Dimension, Professor Burp's, Runaway Mine Train, Original Vampire, Weather Vane, Dragon, Old Crocks Valley, Toytown Truckers, Dragon River with all it's theming haha, the circus and more. I really miss these days!!! What is hilarious is to see Vampire being operated ultra efficiently and the train coming off the second lift and over the buildings, to already see the next train on the section after the first lift! dk3, Merry-go-girl, Kerfuffle and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 4 major rides closed (resulting in serious strain for Vampire, Bubbles, Falls & Scorpion)? Wow! Makes even Thorpe's reliability on rides sound fees able (least Thorpe's rides are better now pre2009). As far as I'm aware all the rides at Chessington have fastrack except the caroulsel, which is poor. Too many rides with fastrack than needed really. Chessington to an extent just needs to be rebuilt completely since most of its rides are falling apart snd most of the new ones seem tempory. MattyMoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyMoo Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 6 rides currently - Dragon Falls, Monkey Swinger, Dragon's Fury, Rattlesnake, Safari Skyway and Tombblaster. That's outrageous. Vampire has a 2 hour wait, Tiny Truckers 1 hour, Seastorm 40 minutes, Peeking Heights 45 minutes, Scorpion Express 50 minutes, Ramases Revenge 30 minutes (Whaaaaat!), Kobra 70 minutes, Bubbleworks 40 minutes and Black Bucanner 45 minutes. I thought Bubbleworks would be longer than that all things considered dk3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 @Amarghh wants me to take her to Chessington so much, it's stuff like this that puts me off! MattyMoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyMoo Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Don't worry Ryan, there's over 40 attractions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 ...and a zoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk3 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 It's just unfortunate that the attractions that attract people the most are on their very last legs. Kerfuffle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerfuffle Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 It's just unfortunate that the attractions that attract people the most are on their very last legs... ...or are the ones that are currently stark nude. *glares at Falls* MattyMoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Video showcasing Chessington in 1993. Features Chessington Railroad, Safari Skyway, Fifth Dimension, Professor Burp's, Runaway Mine Train, Original Vampire, Weather Vane, Dragon, Old Crocks Valley, Toytown Truckers, Dragon River with all it's theming haha, the circus and more. I really miss these days!!! What is hilarious is to see Vampire being operated ultra efficiently and the train coming off the second lift and over the buildings, to already see the next train on the section after the first lift! Thanks for the find Mattg, that video is awesome. MattyMoo and dk3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk3 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 ...or are the ones that are currently stark nude. *glares at Falls* ...which is 'currently unavailable' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk3 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Thanks for the find Mattg, that video is awesome. Indeed - Chessington at its best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Chessington is just running on fumes from it's once great past (1987-2000), and these fumes become more and more watered down following from reliability issues & removed/rotting theming. The fact that one it's main coasters was never supposed to be long term & the other one being at the end of it's life just sums things up. The longer it takes for Chessington to get reinvigorated takes, the more severe & bigger the bang when most of it's major rides fail forever (towers & thorpe have issues too but they're on a noticeably smaller level). That video from the 90's shows how good Chessington was (and could be with many millions spent) and almost resembles a slightly smaller Efteling, Phantasiland and even Europa scale back then. What went wrong? TraX and dk3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraX Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Indeed. It's a shame they've fallen so hard, but it's not like the warning signs haven't been there for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatever Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 If Vampire finally pops its clogs, what will happen? It takes up a large part of the park and it's a major ride too. Would they replace it with a replica or would the council not allow it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 07.50 - Oh how I miss that flick coming out of the tunnel on the original trains. It was a completely different ride really, far superior to what we're left with. EDIT 11.08, now I've got got the Bubleworks finale light show, and I actually find it quite upsetting to watch. See that wonder on the kids face as the water freezes over her head? You don't see that on there any more. How could it be allowed to fall so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk3 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 11:14 - the proper strobes in the fruit juice fountain final! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MachoMachine Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 @Amarghh wants me to take her to Chessington so much, it's stuff like this that puts me off! I'm sorry, I'm deprived Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Han30 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 It really is a shame that Chessington is having so many problems at the moment regarding ride availability - I've been looking at their FB page and the number of complaints about closed rides is quite alarming. My sister went yesterday to renew her family pass and for the 4-5 hours they were there, my niece got on 2 rides. Apparently they queued well over an hour for Dragons Fury and wait for it - 35mins for Griffins Galleon!!! Looking on their queue times on the CWOA website today and yesterday - Vampire queues at 2 hours?!! And Sea Storm at 35mins. As much as I have fond memories of Chessington, I have no urge to visit again soon. They could really do with a massive injection of investment to improve the place. I really hope it will be great again in the future because it really was fantastic in the 90's. They obviously can't compete with TP in terms of thrill rides or high rides but that isn't the be all and end all of a theme park - Chessie has always had a nice atmosphere but I suspect that with all the ridiculous queues and ride down times recently, many guests probably won't be too happy - and to be fair, if I paid gate price to get in to find 6 rides not working, I would be slightly gutted to say the least Cal and dk3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry-go-girl Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 I observed the exact same thing last year, mountains of complaints about people spending their entire day queuing. But people keep rolling up. Seems that with the ever exploding population in this world we're begrudgingly getting used to little payoff for our patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Han30 Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 To be fair it IS peak season so queues are expected - but the issues obviously gets worse with rides out of action - with 6 rides unavailable for example, that will have a hefty impact on the queues for other rides. But yes, people do moan and then do return. If I was cheesed off with a place and had an awful time I might say something but I certain wouldn't revisit multiple times. I may have dreamt it but I thought I read a complaint on FB from a woman saying her kids queues 2 hours to go on Monkey Swinger which broke down when they got to the front. TWO hours for Monkey Swinger?! Not saying she was lying but can the queue line even hold that many people to make it a 2 hour wait?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Problem is with Monkey Swinger whenever I have visited over the last few years is that it is mostly operated by one person. This means it takes about 8 to 10 minutes to get people off, fast track and disabled on, load with those room queue, check all swings and start the ride. This could be more than halved if it was operated by two staff. MattyMoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HermanTheGerman Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 It runs with two operators during the summer peak season; or at least it's meant to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 35 minutes for Griffins Galleon?!! Every single Merlin park seems to be having massive issues with reliability this year, what gives guys? Usually it's just one or two parks that are awful, but Thorpe, Towers AND Chessie (No-one cares enough about Lego to notice) are having dreadful years... Unfortunately, unless people use the feedback screens whilst on park, I doubt anything will change... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk3 Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 A similar story today, with six down: Bubbleworks, Dragon's Fury and Monkey Swinger "currently unavailable". Rattlesnake, Safari Skyway and Tomb Blaster "unavailable today". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.