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Chessington General Discussion


Ash

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2 hours ago, Archive said:

Kill or cure for the park? It will be a net carousel development of 0

To be honest,  I'm not that happy either, that the park's old Carousel is being ditched for a new one that will probably be a lot more generic (even if they have different locations).

 

The former Carousel was beautifully decorated with it's stunning murals of it's golden days of past which seem to be long gone now sadly.

 

Least they are actually getting a new ride, even if it's just a Carousel.

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6 minutes ago, Matt Creek said:

To be honest,  I'm not that happy either, that the park's old Carousel is being ditched for a new one that will probably be a lot more generic (even if they have different locations).

 

The former Carousel was beautifully decorated with it's stunning murals of it's golden days of past which seem to be long gone now sadly.

 

Least they are actually betting a new ride, even if it's just a Carousel.

Don't forget about the gruffalo even if its just a retheme of bubbleworks

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10 minutes ago, Matt Creek said:

To be honest,  I'm not that happy either, that the park's old Carousel is being ditched for a new one that will probably be a lot more generic

 

It's going to be themed to the hills with Chessington's "adventure/African" branding and even have its own theme music to impress all the guests and fans. It's also a carousel. I hope that when the rest of the park inevitably falls down all that's left is this carousel as a symbol of the park management's approach to everything.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I remember like just last year ish the vinyl arcade signs were made all swish and it was hailed as a great improvement and now its already changed again to powerpoint style FUN FORT ARCADE. The area coud do with redeveloping, the back-of-house buildings really need a total refurbishment and the defunct Skyway infrastructure takes up too much space and blocks people's movement to the back of the park.

 

Or just carousel-it ok then

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2 hours ago, Wumbamillio said:

It's traditional for the castle to be horrible and green and be painted a shade of sick

Not necessarily. Non Disney/Uni parks like Phantasialand and Efteling have castle structures that are generally well kept.

 

Shame I can't say the same about Chessington's which seems to have been neglected for years and is more likely to be demolished than refurbished in years to come. Based on how the rockwork on Falls and RMT went amongst other former thematic elements.

 

(I criticise only because I want them to succeed and be great again)

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Chessington are busy at work preparing for their big 2017 season ahead.  

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Construction on the park's new Carousel continues. Apparently it will be called The Chessington Adventure Tree and be the park's new centre piece. How inspiring.

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Sadly as expected, the old Carousel has been removed after serving the park for over twenty years. Out with the old and in with the new, who knows?

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Meanwhile, construction on the Gruffalo ride, the former entrance and queue line of the Bubbleworks has been completely removed with the addition of bright green and blue on the facade. Fingers crossed the cohesion of Transylvania isn't ruined or worse, the area is spited completely.

 

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Regardless of the above changes being positive or negative, there is surely one good thing about Chessington right now regardless. New Lion Cubs

 

Photos copyright and distributed by Theme Park Guide 

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Looks as gaudy and generic you'd expect a Merlin family dark ride to look, a good start.

But hopefully they've seen sense and removed the awful queue layout that's been fiddled with so much over the years and put the entrance back to the facade and not some poles over to the side. Hopefully the buggy shelter blocking the neighboring Transyl. buildings won't return and the area will be tidied up again.

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Are they actually just going to paint it green?! :lol:

 

Was it too much to expect a completely refreshed exterior, that had no resemblance to Bubbleworks, rather than (what looks like) the same exterior painted over in green.  It'll look so out of place, not to mention the fact that, unless more work happens, it'll just look like Bubbleworks but green.

 

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One can hope these are just under layers of the final result, but even then I'm not too optimistic on the end result.

 

Transylvania was/is my favourite area of Chessington but I'm not too optimistic of it's reincarnation for 2017 as I expect the area's charm and cohesion to be lessened as a result of park changes. It's also difficult to say how long Vampire has left, given it'll be 30 in just over three years. That's Chessington sadly.

 

The new entrance location is the only positive I can take here. 

 

African/Adventurecthemes are good in a zoo/theme park but I feel Chessington is overdoing it in all honesty.

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I never understood Transylvania very well and have found the attractions completely overrated. Bubble works has very good music and is a laugh but it doesn't at all fit in the area. Vampire is rough, boring and poorly operated. Say it this way, if this means Transylvania will be rethemed in the future, I will be a happy enthusiast!

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2 hours ago, ThemeParkCrafter said:

I never understood Transylvania very well and have found the attractions completely overrated. Bubble works has very good music and is a laugh but it doesn't at all fit in the area. Vampire is rough, boring and poorly operated. Say it this way, if this means Transylvania will be rethemed in the future, I will be a happy enthusiast!

Lol, re-themeing Transylvania would be the final nail in the coffin for Chessington. 

 

It's a shame you don't like Vampire. I assume you're a relatively new visitor to Chessington? The coaster has never really been what made Vampire great. It has its moments, but on the whole it's very mediocre. What made it so special, and why many obsess over it, was the unique drama and theatricality it employed, really taking guests into the set with the original station and crypt. 

 

So it's interesting you judged it based on the actual roller coaster. It just goes to show how much has been taken away. The station is now such a non-event. 

 

But it a re-theme wouldn't solve that problem. Like it or not, it's still the most famed park area, and MMM wouldn't have a chance at creating an area nearly as impressive, even if what's standing is just a castrated version of what came before. 

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The area was never overrated, it was fun and great, a charming little scenic area with the park's two best rides in.

 

But it became so botched year on year ever since the late 90s when the park kept trying to change it with fiddling with its appearance, or the rides, or trying to make it more "spooky" and cartoony to give the park a new goofy image. Vampire and Bubbleworks were fudged for a long time since, Gruffalo wont really change that, it will still be a mess like the whole park.

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  • Mattgwise changed the title to Chessington General Discussion

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