Chessington General Discussion

[MattyMoo]

Black Buccaneer looks fab.

 

I know the grey weather doesn't help, but in those photos my goodness doesn't Chessie look run down? What a state.

[pognoi]

10 hours ago, HermanTheGerman said:

I believe Back Buccaneer looks so fresh because its received a comepletely new shell this year; rather than just a normal repaint.

 

 

It's been painted.

[yeah]

On Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 8:23 PM, Benin said:

As in the stage isn't coming back or the Penguins show?

There's a new backdrop gone up (literally a clipart picture of the sun) so Id assume the show

[HermanTheGerman]

8 hours ago, ChessingtonSam said:

There's a new backdrop gone up (literally a clipart picture of the sun) so Id assume the show

Isn't that from the Penguin show? The swirl behind the doors whenever they open? 

[yeah]

4 hours ago, HermanTheGerman said:

Isn't that from the Penguin show? The swirl behind the doors whenever they open? 

Yes it is, never noticed that.

[Zappomatic]

More Chessington on TV, this time it's Wish You Were Here: 

 

[pluk]

Great clip. 

 

Staff paid £2.20 ph, entrance £8.25! How times change! And if their prices had risen with inflation the entrance price should now be just over £20, not £50

 

Strange seeing buccaneer with no Vampire behind it.

[dragon2000]

In the clip 'in the busy summer, queues can get up to 45 minutes'. How those have changed along with the prices. Hello 120 minutes for Fury and Vampire.

[StevenVig]

Did he squeeze three in a row on Runaway Train!? 

[Zappomatic]

On 18/02/2017 at 7:14 AM, pluk said:

Great clip. 

 

Staff paid £2.20 ph, entrance £8.25! How times change! And if their prices had risen with inflation the entrance price should now be just over £20, not £50

 

Strange seeing buccaneer with no Vampire behind it.

You could say that in a way, the admission price still is just over £20 given only a complete moron would pay full gate price. I suspect back in 1990, splashing two for one vouchers everywhere as marketing wasn't really a thing, and prices have been inflated to take these into account.

[MattyMoo]

Dat Safari Skyway action doe <3

[pognoi]

I miss skyway

[Matt 236]

Skyway was certainly a wonderful attraction in it's peak, as not only did it provide a short break from the more adventurous attractions but some loverly and interesting views of the park above. 

 

Its a shame the ride was removed last year even though it was literally falling apart and parts of the route didn't work as well they once did. The attraction could've certainly lived on had the effort been made to update the trains and hardware which would also fit in strongly within it's current  adventure style too.

 

The monorail bahn at Europa reminds me a lot of what skyway once was and is perhaps the nearest experience to Chessington's now extinct monorail.

 

[HermanTheGerman]

Skyway was nice and fun wasn't it. 

[Adam P]

Transylvania is officially gone.

[SteveJ]

That is one heck of a lazy sign. Perfect for the one of the laziest area redesigns ever. Well done Chessington! Going to 'catch that mouse' any day now!

[Coaster]

Oh lord, that's awful! 

 

It's beyond belief actually, destroying a coherent land with a tiny plastic sign!  The true "magic" of Merlin.

[SteveJ]

Well it had been destroyed long before, it wasn't fun anymore let alone coherent, after practically every management in the last 20 years had decided they knew better instead of just maintaining it and keeping its original "Bavarian" detailed design. This is just another one of those fiddly, short term changes.

[StevenVig]

If you haven't seen it yet

 

 

Credit to Theme UK

[yeah]

1 hour ago, StevenVig said:

If you haven't seen it yet

 

 

Credit to Theme UK

*very very long sigh*

[HermanTheGerman]

I'm afraid it's just a sign of the times. This really isn't the park we all grew up with. A needlessly brand-centric one has taken its place. That's not necessarily anything new, but it really shows through in the way things are being driven. 

 

Transylvania was such a cool exciting name. A nice loud bit of fun for happy children. But why have drama and eccentricity when you can have generic brands and something as dull sounding as "adventure point"? Oh well, time to stop caring. 

 

Sorry, I'm out. Bye Chessington. 

[yeah]

Market Square is now called Adventure Point, the hot dog building has been painted purple inside out to be another nitrogenie and the old shooting game is now hot dogs. Creepy Caves is also being renamed. Not a fan of any of that at all. Can't wait for Room on the Broom ?

[OlivusPrime]

[MattyMoo]

Just a point - on the signpost on Theme UK, ADVENTURE POINT and WILD WOODS are in block capitals but everything else is in normal type

[SteveJ]

What's this??? A positive post about Chessington from me?

I like "Adventure Point" a lot better than Market Square as a name, since Market Square stopped being nicely Olde English decorated decades ago. It's a good clean change for a central hub of the park.

The carousel is decorated nicely, a good addition to the area, even though Chessington's desperate attempt to be Disney's Animal Kingdom (despite having only a falling apart bunch of 70s cages) is very tiring. This is perhaps the most on-the-nose Animal Kingdom borrowing to date. But its a carousel, kids will like it, a fine 'bonus' for the park.

Can they rename the whole park Merlin's Animal Kingdom while they're at it and stop repurposing the old theme park people remember? Then do whatever they like with it.

This octopus is the best thing to happen to the park this year, this is great! Characteristic and a nice touch to replace the rotten sail. Look at eet
 

Wild Woods though... Should have redone the whole area properly and put the corpse of a good area to rest.