June 26, 201510 yr comment_212101 I was at Chessington yesterday. Zufari was bone dry in the cave, but the water effects on Rameses were working. However, Dragon Falls was closed when I arrived at about 2.30pm...
June 26, 201510 yr comment_212103 Didn't ride Bubbleworks yesterday so don't know whether they were on or not.
June 26, 201510 yr comment_212104 According to staff there yesterday, Chessington has a hosepipe ban and because of that they can't do water until it is lifted. I hope it comes back soon because its a bit of a let down without it... Doesn't it just cycle back round round the system though? So it's not like they are wasting loads of water?
June 26, 201510 yr comment_212105 I just went on http://www.hosepipeban.org.uk/and it says there are currently no bans in place.
June 26, 201510 yr comment_212108 It's likely an excuse or a guess, a hosepipe ban probably wouldn't affect the water effects because the system recycles.
June 26, 201510 yr comment_212112 The shutter in the cave is working today, that's about it. It's a total joke, they should be ashamed of themselves, its bad enough when it's working to their low standard.. What a farce.
June 26, 201510 yr comment_212114 I just went on http://www.hosepipeban.org.uk/and it says there are currently no bans in place. Yeah there's no hosepipe ban here ATM (same water district), why am I not surprised Chessington tried to blame their lack of working rides on someone else, I wonder who they'll blame next?
June 26, 201510 yr comment_212115 It's just what they do internally to their staff too. They love the blame game.
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217102 Can anyone tell me why Zufari has been opening at 12 the last few days? And is it anything to do with the two new giraffes that have arrived?
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217104 Nothing to do with the new Giraffes as like you said it's been opening at 12 all week. It just opens later to cut costs when it's quiet, which is the reason other rides open later as well.
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217105 It's very costly to run and isn't popular because of its obscurity and hidden location, so there isn't much reason to open it earlier on quiet days. Solve this problem by changing its name from something so ambiguous and stupid, remodel the entrance so you can see it and looks more inviting. And then make it good.
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217109 They also need to remodel the loading area... It's amazing how many things Merlin managed to get wrong with Zufari...
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217111 Those staggered openings are awful! Zufari is understandable, but four attractions opening at 12 is poor.
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217113 I really don't see the problem. Hardly anyone is going to go on them rides before 12 on a quiet day anyway. I have more of a problem with Thorpe opening rides at 11 during weekends and the Summer Holidays.
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217145 As Benin said, the problem with Zufari is well, everything. From its ill fated pre-show and cheap interactive animation, the cost cutting of wooden doors, over automatic doors, the lap bar stuff, the long walk way to wanyama, the hilarious 'finale'.. I think most people have ridden it now and have concluded how rubbish it is, and arguably Merlins best example of how cost cutting can break an otherwise great idea.
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217146 Those staggered openings are awful! Zufari is understandable, but four attractions opening at 12 is poor. To be fair, those attractions were rarely used in the first 2 hours in the past. I find it hard to moan about it when plenty of other parks do it as well, and Chessington wasn't even open on these weekdays 5-6 years ago.. On a different note, am I still in the minority of people who actually Zufari's name? Clearly a formation of the words 'zoo' and 'safari' and relatively quirky. Shame it sounds too much like Zafari of course...
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217155 Clearly a formation of the words 'zoo' and 'safari' and relatively quirky. Quirky - just like the ride isn't; try explaining what it means to all the thousands of people daily who: don't recognise "Zufari Ride Into Africa" as a real usable name and just call it "the safari ride" instead (therefore getting it mixed up with Safari Skyway), and basically have no interest in it until they are told what the ride actually is. Imagine if all rides were named with the "cool" formula that is always used now to decide a new attraction's name in about 10 seconds. Skyway could be "Monozu", BubbleWorks probably "Watertastic: Bath time - The Ride", hey Nemesis could be "Alien: What Lies Beneath" and Oblivion "The Hole".
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217158 Surely the lack of interest in what the ride is comes down to poor marketing as a whole, rather than an obscure name? A bad name doesn't help, granted, but if people are interested in it at all unless someone has to physically explain to them what the ride is, something has gone wrong with marketing as a whole? Interested what other attractions you think have been lazily named / named with a "cool" formula. Certainly in terms of major attractions, the likes of Swarm, Raptor, Smiler, Flug and Scorpion Express aren't that formulaic, and all fit in with the story given to the ride? Maybe I'm just easily pleased / not that fussed.
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217163 No not really, marketing is the process of trying to research what a customer wants, and they do get a fair bit of feedback about satisfaction with Zufari. Unless you mean advertising/promotion. Zufari is still the most promoted ride on park, and sometimes on odd days operators are asked to announce to the queue that they should visit Zufari as the queue is shorter, and riding Zufari even features as a 'top tip' leaflet handed out to guests. Basically everyone is desperate for you to ride Zufari. There just isn't the draw or interest. And since you asked, ahem.. "Dreamworks Penguins Of Madagascar: Operation - Cheesy Dibbles" They actually have to speak the full name on stage probably for licensing reasons "Dreamworks Penguins of Madagascar: Operation - Treetop Hoppers" Only really referred to as Treetop Hoppers, 1 year after Amazu Treetop Adventure opened. Which brings me on to "Amazu - Treetop Adventure" Do people really think this "pun" sound clever or interesting? It's a monkey enclosure with a playground. The Smiler and The Swarm are very similar names in consecutive years, both trying to sound more important because they use 'The' when most rides deliberately don't. Only The Smiler really achieves this because it was backed up by a lot of brand identity. And nobody really made the intended connection between a Swarm ("of bees?") and the metal alien theme. "Oblivion - The Black Hole" slap two established names together and you get a new one "Zafari Bar And Grill" followed by "Zufari" a year later. Also "Azteca" was already the name of an area in Sea Life before it was the name of the hotel, but they didn't seem to notice. Azteca sounds like a theme option on RCT3. "Nemesis: Sub Terra" borrows the identity from a much better ride theme in order to promote itself, when really it ought to just be "Sub Terra".
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217165 What needs to be remembered is that guests tend to need rides to be fully explained to them... Look at the name of the rides for CBeebies Land... They're long and daft at times, but a guest can read it and go "that's a water ride", or whatever, very beneficial to them... Granted CBeebies is mostly so parents know exactly what the ride is so they can judge prior if it's suitable for their little ones, but the idea is still the same... I too like the Zufari name, but it's pretty much the only thing I do like... The ride isn't helped by the poor access among the fencing zoo and then what is probably a dreadful ride experience to most riders given you see about 3/4 species in about 2 minutes tops... Given that a majority have probably visited Florida and Animal Kingdom, or hell even places like Longleat, Knowsley, etc and even as a safari experience it's dreadful... Great idea, awful execution...
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217169 No not really, marketing is the process of trying to research what a customer wants, and they do get a fair bit of feedback about satisfaction with Zufari. Unless you mean advertising/promotion. Zufari is still the most promoted ride on park, and sometimes on odd days operators are asked to announce to the queue that they should visit Zufari as the queue is shorter, and riding Zufari even features as a 'top tip' leaflet handed out to guests. Basically everyone is desperate for you to ride Zufari. There just isn't the draw or interest. And since you asked, ahem.. I meant advertising / promotion, since I class that as the same as marketing. What you are calling marketing I'd call research to be honest. But even with the heaviest of promotion, if people are still having to ask what it is / need it explained to them, surely that hasn't worked? I was talking about major additions, of which many you list aren't really. Oblivion TBH is a weird one, but I have no problem with Gardaland taking heavy inspiration from Oblivion, and presumably most of the Italian audience don't know the connection. I'd have preferred a more original name, though.
September 8, 20159 yr comment_217171 I was talking about major additions, of which many you list aren't really. Yet I was initially talking about the constant flurry of stupid names, of which all the ones I listed are. It's plainly obvious to any guest that most new names are overblown and unmemorable. It's also worth mentioning that the Dreamworks show was a "major" addition, at least it was a major investment behind the scenes and was supposed to be a main attraction at the park until the movie it was based on flopped. Zufari was a very major Merlin project, strange as that seems now. You're excuse about an Italian audience not making the connection doesn't stop it from being a very cumbersome and stupid name - surely even worse for Italians than for a British market? It's not "taking inspiration" - it's literally taking two British ride names and slapping them together to seem "edgy" and reference-y to get enthusiasts happy. Plus you seem to think that you can make people understand what a ride is by promoting it as well as possible. People don't know what the heck BubbleWorks is by its name, it NEVER gets promoted, yet it is miles more popular than Zufari because it gives a flavour of the theme while sounding intriguing. Nobody even knows what Hocus Pocus Hall is even once theyre in it, yet people often come into that attraction based on its name alone. A play on words that sounds like it came from a primary school animal project doesn't achieve that. I feel annoyed by it because I know how much effort was actually put into decisions like these - and how much I'd relish the chance to title a project like a movie or a ride - and how out of touch Merlin often are.
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