Benin Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 SHUSH! YOU MUST BE QUIET! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry-go-girl Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 ... Bloody ducks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 The giraffes Tonda, Kismet, Karamoja and Kito have arrived! I guess what is shown of the giraffe house is more the back of it which guests won't see; and even that looks nicely themed - seems to be very promising! And Zufari is being said to be a "safari trail with a theme park twist". I'm genuinely looking forward to doing this in March. mah boi and Mitchada04 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 Awww cute little things... Have a feeling this will probably be the UK's best addition this year... Whether or not that's a good or bad indicator on the other parks has yet to be seen... Also depends on the cavern finale and how much budget they've managed to sneak into it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 11, 2013 Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 It's more exciting then anything Thorpe or Alton can do because Chessington is always close to my heart and for it to get something natural like this just makes me happy. Giraffes are fantastic animals. I've seen criticism around that Rhinos, Giraffes and Flamingos aren't exciting. I just think that's ludicrous and I am very grateful that some of these fantastic animals are coming to Chessington again. Pickles and BigBobJones 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBobJones Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 I see a lot of people on these forums giving Chessington stick, but from what I have seen they are investing a lot into the resort and it is so fantastic they are getting more animals in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 To be fair, some of the stuff that has happened at Chessie (Fastrack on extremely low capacity rides, Vampire operations and lack of third train as two examples) they have deserved some stick... The zoo side of things though are extremely good... I remember talking to the Zoo Manager two years ago and you could tell he loved it and wanted the park to build on the success of Wanyama... The Conservation Evenings show as much... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 The zoo is fantastic, really grown to love and appreciate it. Integrating it into the park, rather than operating it seperately like they used to do, is the best way forwards. This is a genuinely exciting project for chessie, really look forward to trying it out! Just watched the video again, nice to see all the staff have enthusiasm there - even the divisional director! Far better than the usual blandness lack of enthusiasm they generally have (being usually from a finance background rather than an operations side of things). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry-go-girl Posted January 12, 2013 Report Share Posted January 12, 2013 I see a lot of people on these forums giving Chessington stick, but from what I have seen they are investing a lot into the resort and it is so fantastic they are getting more animals in. I think people get frustrated with theme park philosophy on money. In that they only seem to believe in putting money into making new things, rather then invest it into rejuvenating the old and loved things. There's this constant drive to push forward, tap a new market, create new fans. From our perspective it's not very interpersonal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 I can often get quite irritated with they way Chessington choose to invest in the theme park itself. They were on a high in 2010 with the addition of Wild Asia, I was expecting good things, then they just kind of lost it. The zoo however is a completely different story. Alot of effort has gone into it, and it really shows. This zufari thing isn't really for me but there is no doubt it is going to be a fantastic addition to the resort. I am sure many will love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 I can't wait for Zufari, it is easily my most anticipated addition out of the UK parks this year. Whilst there is a lot riding on the cave finale I'm sure they'll pull it off. It is what they have needed for a while, something that links the zoo and park together as one. Yes some might say a roller coaster is much more needed but on the piece of land Zufari is on the restrictions are much harsher I believe thus why they can only build zoo related things there. I remember reading somewhere that they were originally going to move the Trail of the Kings over there so the theme park side of things could expand behing Transylvania. I think Zufari is a much better option and will be great fun and something unique to this country. Bring on the AP weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 I think we'll get a new major ride in 2014 or 2015 and I think they're planning to develop and expand the Zufari (Africa) land even further with the re-themeing and combining of Mexicana and Forbidden Kingdom. Maybe the Runaway Train will be removed or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam P Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Visited the park today a fair bit of ground work has been done over the past week, some pictures if you want to see. Not sure if it had been noted yet but the ride will feature an on-ride picture (assume something worth a picture happens on the finale) along with Fastrack and a 1.1 metre minimum height restriction, under 1.3 metre accompanied by an adult. I did think that a 1 metre height restriction would have been the target although the seats do only have seat belts. With Chessington advertising it as a 10th land it will be interesting if they do look to combine some lands further down the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 1.1m restriction... What's Rhino Rally/Kilimanjaro? This sounds a bit... Awkward... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam P Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Don't quote me but I believe Rhino Rally is 1 metre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry-go-girl Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2261743/Who-tall-order-Special-trailer-built-transport-giraffes-new-multi-million-pound-safari-enclosure.html - Zufari getting a mention in the DailyMail. pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Interesting to see what's happening to the new Creaky Café (which has been a boring Refresh for the last few years). The whole thing will be indoors now. This also means that you won't be able to access it through the archway in Transylvania's entrance tower, only from the front. They even exposed some great facade detail during the refurbishment, back from when it was the "Alpine Spa". Though it was quickly covered up again by the new wood: There are loads more photos at ThemeUK. The new appearance fits in with Transylvania really well - a very European facade, with a certain Chessington quirkiness to it. Much better than the generic Refresh, which I never bothered visiting. Perhaps they should remove the snow, however, since it doesn't have any connection with the Alps anymore and is beginning to look old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben1990 Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 I believe the snow will be going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Looks rather nice tbh... I'll always remember those cold and wet morning briefings under the heaters... Ice Cream place NEEDS to become a dedicated Ben and Jerrys place... It's pointless being generic Merlin ice cream with discounted quality right next door... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Just a question regarding Zufari - does anyone know the expected capacity/throughput of people per hour that it will have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Nice to see refresh going. It's ****. Though, I spose it'll just be a refresh in disguise now? Or is it more of a corner coffee variant? Regardless, it's good to sort it out. That's another eyesore sorted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBobJones Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 Looks rather nice tbh... I'll always remember those cold and wet morning briefings under the heaters...Ice Cream place NEEDS to become a dedicated Ben and Jerrys place... It's pointless being generic Merlin ice cream with discounted quality right next door... I disagree, give me a Mr Whippy/99 flake Ice cream any day, don't need that expensive Ben and Jerrys rubbish Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubbles1 Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 I disagree, give me a Mr Whippy/99 flake Ice cream any day, don't need that expensive Ben and Jerrys rubbish how could you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBobJones Posted January 16, 2013 Report Share Posted January 16, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 I think we'll get a new major ride in 2014 or 2015 and I think they're planning to develop and expand the Zufari (Africa) land even further with the re-themeing and combining of Mexicana and Forbidden Kingdom.Maybe the Runaway Train will be removed or something... Just bumping my post since it was ignored... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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