March 5, 201213 yr comment_133269 Thing is, you say its outdated but then the Jumbos are key important rides at all the Disney Magic Kingdom parks so there quite clearly is a draw there. The problem with Jumbos is something that lies through every Chessington ride. It just isn't looked after. Jumbos could look amazing, everytime they repaint the elephants, they look like new. But they've let the structure fade into a really dodgy green giving the ride this ancient looking edge.As for keeping it, well it is a popular ride. Throughput plays a part in it, but it is terrific for young kids and far more eventful then Sea Dragons or Carousel.
March 5, 201213 yr comment_133272 Thing is, you say its outdated but then the Jumbos are key important rides at all the Disney Magic Kingdom parksBut this isnt Disney, and it's not a key ride......
March 5, 201213 yr comment_133275 But this isnt Disney, and it's not a key ride......Well done for pointing out the obvious and an excellent use of elipses.And well done for also cutting out the rest of my post that gave the other reason why Chessington will keep Jumbos.In fact, did you even read past the first line of my post?
March 26, 201213 yr comment_135116 It's interesting the merlin parks in the uk are all kind of in bad situations.Chessington is surrounded by green belt.Alton towers is in protected woodland, and very strict height restrictions.Legoland has now pretty much swelled to as big as it can get.Thorpe park has the unusual situation of having plenty of expansion space and higher restrictions, but unable to do much because its surrounded by lakes.Kind of a no win situation for all the parks.
April 25, 201213 yr comment_136847 http://maps.kingston.gov.uk/isis_main/Planning/Planning_DETAIL.aspx?strCASENO=1210008&strHeader=Y According to this, the Safari has been permitted with conditions. Hooray.
April 25, 201213 yr Author comment_136848 A source off ttf also reports that Merlin are putting £12 million into the project so I look forward to see how this turns out!
April 25, 201213 yr comment_136868 Fantastic news. Been having a thorough look through all of the documents; if you haven't done so, I highly recommend; there are some cool mood boards and visualisations (some we haven't seen before) in some of the files, do some digging if you have the time. I wasn't too excited about this project before but after having a proper read and look, this can only be good news for the park.
April 28, 201213 yr comment_136963 Not created by merlin studios. Interesting. However, what is more interesting is this letter http://images.kingston.gov.uk/images_dellstore/DC/1210008/Image_97.pdf - it states what chessingtons been doing in the past decade, why they've rebranded, that the park has continually had ideas and applications which have been shelved.. It shows they do actually care for the place and need this in order to succeed. Only weird thing is they're planning to maintain visitor numbers through this investment, not increase it. But does show what an arse the local council are to them.
April 28, 201213 yr comment_136973 A source off ttf also reports that Merlin are putting £12 million into the project so I look forward to see how this turns out! Ahh some investment, I'm happy now all we need is a new rollercoaster like Manta at SeaWorld San Diego and I'm very happy
April 28, 201213 yr comment_136974 Only weird thing is they're planning to maintain visitor numbers through this investment, not increase it. But does show what an arse the local council are to them. I think that may be a tactical piece of wording. If they tell the council they plan to increase visitor numbers they would probably try and squeeze some infrastructure money out of them, if the plan is for visitor numbers to remain static the council have not got grounds to make such a claim. When visitor numbers exceed those planned everyone is happy!
April 28, 201213 yr comment_136986 Apart from the council who will take a negative view due to congestion on Leatherhead Road.
April 28, 201213 yr comment_136989 And that road already gets a fair amount of congestion... It's horrid around park close...
May 30, 201213 yr comment_137768 Apart from the council who will take a negative view due to congestion on Leatherhead Road. Just going back here, Leatherhead Road is always busy during the day regardless of whether Chessington is open. During the season when the park is open, the traffic lights at the North entrance have helped ease the flow of traffic. The South entrance doesn't help at all and is quite frankly dangerous but I've travelled to Chessington many a time during November to February and that road is just a nightmare.
June 2, 201213 yr comment_137826 Just received my Merlin annual pass Magazine thing for the first time and there is quite a good section on Chessington over the years. Although it does say "The resort has changed beyond all recognition" which I think is at odds with what we think, that the park has stayed pretty much the exact same. It does also state that it has received "huge investment" have to say I haven't seen any... Still it is a nice article with some great pictures, and it states that the finale of the Safari Tour next year will be "one of the most spectacular you're ever likely to witness at a theme park." Nemesis also gets a mention as the "coaster king"
June 2, 201213 yr comment_137827 ^ I agree with Merlin on this. They are writing a history of Chessington over 25 years and the park has massively changed. Firstly in its transformation from Chessington Zoo to Chessington then as the park has developed. Just look at the map from 1987 to see the changes! Granted there haven't been many recent changes but it looks like the Safari Trail will be good.
July 30, 201213 yr Author comment_139536 Credit to Theme Park Guide Here is the website also: http://www.chessington.com/zufari/ Lots of information on their about the ride!
July 30, 201213 yr comment_139538 That name is just... What? Also, sounds like they got Towers' marketing people on the job with the website Jump aboard the ultimate off-roader truck Nice to see the first official announcement of it though...
July 30, 201213 yr comment_139539 Love the name actually; simple and to the point but also quirky. They really seem to put a lot of emphasis on THAT cave as well, hope that all goes to plan. Nonetheless should be a brilliant attract for the resort. On a separate note, the Africa theme is spreading - could that mean that Forbidden Kingdom is going to join in properly with Africa as well? Would create a great, large African area if rethemed to fit in properly..
July 30, 201213 yr comment_139540 Problem is that for me, it's too similar to Zafari, granted that's not technically on park, but surely there's a plethora of other potential names? It doesn't have to be short or quirky really, and this name to me just doesn't sound good... Hell just put Safari or Rally in it and then think up something... This is almost Cedar Fair naming style territory it's that bad imo...
September 6, 201212 yr Author comment_140861 Update from Zufari! Lots of groundwork has been done! This thing looks huge! Steal work for the animal houses have also started And stone work has appeared on site! Looking good so far! All credits to Theme Uk for the images
September 6, 201212 yr comment_140862 Yay construction at chessington! This has been.. well.. ages. Liking the rocks. If only they could blast deep down with explosives, could get some mighty rocks to decorate your entire park, and maybe find a good ride in the process.
September 9, 201212 yr comment_140965 The framework for one of the enclosures now seems complete. Credit to Theme Park guide
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