Chessington World of Adventure Discussion Thread

I'm heading down to Chessington on Sunday for the Annual Pass Holders day. I'm really looking forward to it, I've never been on a Disk'O Coaster before, so Kobra will be a new experiance for me. Wild Asia looks like it's shaping up to be a great addition to the park, the sneaky previews Chessington have been churning out have been looking great, with some nice theming going in there. We'll be doing live coverage from the day at Chessington Nerd Live, we'll be covering Wild Asia as well of the rest of the goings on around the park.

loving the updates wild asia looks sweet in those pictures

That looks amazing, Cobra theming looks unbelievable!

We had a great day at Chessington yesterday, despite it being stupidly busy. Wild Asia is amazing the theming is very good, on a par with Dark Forest I'd say, Kobra was a real surprise, it looked like it would be a fun ride, but it was deceptively quick and luckily we got quite a long cycle, as after we got off, the ride length was cut down to about half as the queue got bigger, which didn't drop below 75 mins all day.

The rest of the area, looks great the theming is top notch, and wouldn't look out of place in a park like Animal Kingdom, which says a lot for the amount of effort that has gone into it. The new Lorikeet Lagoon is a nice addition, it looks great, but the birds obviously weren't used to people yet, as they weren't really coming to drink the nectar.

If the recent additions at the parks like Dark Forest and Wild Asia are the shape of things to come, we are in for some good times. A big thumbs up from me.

Wow, Wild Asia looks fantastic! Both merlin and Chessie have done a wonderful job!

Now I have some free time, its time to look at Wild Asia.

Welcome to Wild Asia!

WOW its the new ride Kobra! ...........Oh wait never mind.

Taxi!!!!!!.......I mean Bus!

This is the start of a very Larry friendly look at Wild Asia

Its the most colourful thing in Wild Asia!

This could very well be fountain of youth!!!

You like Noodles? Well you can have them TWICE in Wild Asia!

Time for some Turmoil! Ohhhhhhhh!

Turmoil mini style!!

Now this is where TPR members get locked away at night!

Larry I hope your feeling the love here!

Dam fussy photo, but its the only one I have so enjoy the asylum.....I mean Temple of Mayhem

Nothing like a good wet zone! I dont see many of them!

Everone say hi to Ellie the Elephant!

Not ready just yet to look at the Kobra, there is still more to explore!

Do you think this Monkey is a Swinger?

I think he may very well be!

I can confirm the water squirter from the floor are still there and the water is still ICE COLD!

I think we best go and see the birds before the big nasty Kobra eats them all!

Does this bird look pissed off or is it just me?

This waterfall really makes me need to go wee wee

Here is an over view of the Lagoon!

This tree is VERY VERY special! He will have a convorsation with you if you ask nicley.

Okay I think ive kept you waiting enough, lets take a look at the Kobra.

Looking up at one of the huge Kobras at each end of the ride! THese things are bigger then you would think!

This guy doesnt know it but a huge disk will smack him in the back of the head soon!

These Kobras are all over the place, just ready to attack!

Wow this Kobra has some length to it..........

That guy in the white top is all "WOOOOOH I HAVENT BEEN BITTEN!"

He he its the Kobras bottom!

Okay so thats a good look at Wild Asia, the new land at Chessington World of Adventure and the start of a new multi million pound re-brand project!

Was great to meet you at the Mine Train Saturday afternoon, Craig - and Wild Asia looked pretty awesome. I got picked on by the elephant tree

Where is the kobra located??? Because when I went to BeanoLand (RIP ) There didn't seem to be any space for the kobra to go. And the Kobra is MASSIVE!!!( as it looks in the pictures)

Where is the kobra located??? Because when I went to BeanoLand (RIP ) There didn't seem to be any space for the kobra to go. And the Kobra is MASSIVE!!!( as it looks in the pictures)

Kobra is located where the Dodgems once sat, along the left side of Wild Asia if you enter from Land of the Dragons. The dodgems are now located where the old Splatapaults were (the balloon battle upcharge attraction).

Was great to meet you at the Mine Train Saturday afternoon, Craig - and Wild Asia looked pretty awesome. I got picked on by the elephant tree

Yeah was nice meeting you too, I have to say the last thing that I was expecting that day was to bump in to a TPR member. I had so much on my mind that day. The "magical" Elephant tree is AWESOME, I think thats the best thing about Wild Asia personally.

-Craig

Okay so yesterday marked the opening of the new zoo addition, the Wanyama Village & Reserve. This is a replacement with additions to the previous Creature Features exhibit by the hotel.

Currently the main addition to this are 2 Grevy's Zebra and 4 Scimitar-Horned Oryx. In the next couple of weeks the park is expecting delivery of 2 more Grevy's Zebra.

Anyway on to pictures.

-Craig

Its the entrance! How do I know this? Because it had a sign!

This animal is featured in a TV advert, of which I do not like!

If you say simples, I kill you!

Im just glad these dont talk to me!

As you can see construction is not 100% finished yet.

Squirrely type thingy.

See

Our house, in the middle of the lawn! Our house.....

Creepy mask, must mean its time to see the new additions.

Time to head up this rather lovley path.

Heading off to the hut

The best thing about this addition is all the hand craffted woodwork.

Oryx Sign

Zebra sign

Can you spot the difference?

You get a GREAT view of the hotel.

Looking down to the village.

Zebra or Oryx poo?

Some things are not quite finished, but still look pretty cool.

All the new animals together.

Bye Bye animals.

And I end with a message for anyone who meets up with TPR

The park has released news about changes to the park this year which include:

- Paid parking for £2

- Designated smoking areas throughout the park

- Refurbished toilets in park

- Changes to Dragon Falls height restriction

CHANGES TO DRAGONS FALLS HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS As one of the UK’s leading theme parks we regularly review all of the safety and visitor information relating to all our rides – working with independent experts and the manufacturers. As part of our regular review process a decision has been taken to increase the height restrictions on our Dragon Falls ride to 1.2m. We understand that this may be disappointing for a small number of our younger/family visitors as this is a very popular ride, but hope that you bear with us and will enjoy the many other attractions in the Park. Anyone under 1.3 metres must be accompanied by an adult aged 16 or over.

- Changes to the Fastpass system

Coaster: Vampire & Dragon's Fury - £6

Adventurer: Tomb Blaster, Bubbleworks, Dragon Falls & Runaway Train - £8

Young Adventurer: Tiny Truckers, Toadies, Seastorm & Jumbo's - £6

ULTIMATE Fastrack: UNLIMITED access to all of our rides including KOBRA, Vampire, Dragon's Fury, Monkey Swinger, Tuk Tuk Turmoil, Runaway Train, Rattlesnake, Seastorm and Safari Skyway - £50

All changes can be found on the parks website at www.chessington.com

Personally I think the height change on Dragon Falls is the most noticable as thats a big jump from 0.9m last year. I do have to wonder what prompted that move really and if somewhere like Thorpe Park or Alton Towers will instigate this change also.

-Craig

My parkvideo for this summer. Any feedback, good or bad, is welcomed.

Sorry for the double post, but this is pretty big news for a park that gets little to no investment!

The park have submitted plans for a massive 'Rhino Rally' safari experience with all new animals such as Giraffe's, Rhino's and Flamingo in addition to the wonderful zoo facilities already available on park.

The Ride will also feature a 3 minute animated pre show to brief guests upon the ride storyline and H/S regulations when the safari jeep is travelling through the animal enclosures.

The theming is bog standard 'African', but looks fairly extensive!

Here is the planning application link for those interested.

http://maps.kingston.gov.uk/isis_main/planning/Planning_DETAIL.aspx?strCASENO=1210008&strHeader=Y

The plan shows the park will be getting 3 new types of animals. Rhinos, Giraffes and Flamingos.

For those of you who have looked what do you think of this investment? I personally think its a great direction for the park and a welcome addition to the animal side of Britain's Wildest Adventure.

Overview.

Does anyone know if this is in addition to the existing African plains area?

It looks like a nice addition to the park, though it seems like it is going to take up a huge chunk of land.

^ So does BGTs.

I think its a great move forward for the park.

Does anyone know if this is in addition to the existing African plains area?

This is not an addition to the Wanyama Village & Reserve area. This is a brand new development on a huge plot of land that goes all the way from the park First Aid center by Tomb Blaster all the way over to the end of the Wanyama Village & Reserve area. From what I can tell it is attached to it but the Zebras and Oryx will not be part of the jeep experience itself.

Also for those of you interested Chessington today have announced not one but 2 Annual Pass Preview days on the 17th & 18th March. For more information click here

-Craig

You know if I'd known that they had the fastpass system last year, or if they'd had this system them, I'd probably have tried to get out there on my UK stop before Sandinavia. Especially since I had the Merlin pass anyways. But time was tight, and there wasn't that much I wanted to do there, and they hadn't added any coasters, and the lines had been HUGE when I went in 2003, so I skipped it.

Here is an interesting press release from the park from the 18th of January.

Snot What We Expect.

 

Less than three weeks into 2012 and Western Lowland Gorilla Damisi has already broken a resolution. Zoo keepers at Chessington World of Adventures Resort caught the male silver back red handed as he proceeded to pick his nose in front of repulsed visitors.

 

James Mackie, Gorilla Keeper at Chessington said;

“Given the time of year, we were hoping that Damisi might give this rather disgusting habit up but, as you can see, we’ve had no such luck. We just hope he's not setting a bad example to our younger gorillas.”

Damisi the Gorilla breaking his new years resoloution.

Popped down to Chessie for the day on Wednesday and had a pretty good time. It was really nice to experience all of the Zoo and SEA LIFE without feeling the pressure to 'get to vampire' etc. This way I really experienced what they had to offer and was really impressed. Although us enthusiasts continually slate the lack of investment at Chessington, I never fail to enjoy my visits here - the park always has a nice atmosphere and there is always plently to do, even if only selected rides are open.

The park was relatively busy for Zoo/SEA LIFE day, with bubbleworks getting a 45 minute queue at one point.

Most of the day was spent filming, so I thought I would share a few cliips I have put together...

It was nice to spend some time in the SEA LIFE centre, which continues to be an excellent support attraction.

The Zoo was also on good form, with plently of animals out to see!

Also wandered over to Wanyama which is such a great area of the park! Can't wait to see this side of the park expanded, here are my thoughts on the new attraction:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9bzm0RBHS8

Sorry to double post, but Chessington opened today for the 2012 season. The new attraction is a live stage show, Madagascar Live Prepare to Party. Looks like a decent addition but as the advert shows, it still lacks something in comparison to the Merlin siblings.

While at work I have heard nothing but great reviews about the show. People seems to love it and I couldn't even start to say how many people have asked me if the "I like to move it, move it!" is in there. Granted its no Swarm or Sub-Tera but considering what should be coming next year I think its a perfect investment for this year.

Yesterday, when I visited it, unfortunately, I didn't have the best day there I got stuck on bubbleworks for 10 mins because of technical difficulties, had to evacuate the log flume due to a fire alarm and then got evacuated from the tomb blaster queue but fortunately, I got given a free fast pass

Not the best day there

Yesterday, when I visited it, unfortunately, I didn't have the best day there I got stuck on bubbleworks for 10 mins because of technical difficulties, had to evacuate the log flume due to a fire alarm and then got evacuated from the tomb blaster queue but fortunately, I got given a free fast pass

Not the best day there

Prehaps this was why you got evacuated from the Tomb blaster queue:

Girl, four, badly injured in Chessington ride queue fall

Chessington World of Adventure Chessington World of Adventure said an internal investigation was taking place

 

A four-year-old girl suffered head injuries when she "fell from height" at Chessington World of Adventure.

 

The youngster, who is believed to be in a serious condition, fell from the raised Tomb Blaster ride queue at the Surrey resort on Thursday.

 

The girl, from the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, is being treated at St George's Hospital, south London.

 

A resort spokesman said the Health and Safety Executive had been informed and its own investigation was taking place.

 

Well-wishers have left scores of comments on the theme park's Facebook page.

'Thoughts with family'

 

The resort's spokesman added: "At 13:00 on 7th June 2012 a little girl sustained injuries following an incident at Chessington World of Adventures, the Resort Theme Park in Surrey.

 

"The resort's fully trained medical staff were on site immediately and administered direct care to the child until ambulance teams arrived. She was then taken to hospital in a conscious state.

 

"The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has also been advised, and we will of course co-operate fully with them on any investigations they wish to carry out.

 

"Until all investigations have concluded we are not in a position to comment further.

 

"We have been in touch with the family and all our thoughts and best wishes are with them at this difficult time."

 

A London Ambulance spokeswoman said: "We were called to reports of a four-year-old girl falling from height. We sent two crews and two fast response cars.

 

"We treated the patient for head injuries and she taken to St George's Hospital as a priority."

 

The Metropolitan Police said local officers had been informed but it was a matter for the HSE.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18379364

Little Jessica Blake toppled off a rope-style bridge as she queued for the Tomb Blaster ride at Chessington World of Adventures, Surrey, on Thursday.

 

She suffered a fractured skull, fractured ribs and bleeding to the brain, liver and kidneys.

 

“Devastated” parents Darren Blake and Sarah Archer are by her side at St George's Hospital in London.

 

Her condition is said to be critical.

 

Jessica was rushed to hospital on Thursday

Injured ... Jessica was rushed to hospital on Thursday

Jessica reportedly plunged off the bridge through a gap left by a missing plank.

 

Her aunt Carly Hyde, from Watford, said: “There were one or two planks missing from the bridge.

 

“Jessica was walking ahead of her mother and all of a sudden Sarah saw her disappear through the gap.

 

“Our little girl is touch and go at the moment - the doctors have said she has suffered damage to the right side of the brain.

 

“Their main priority at the moment is to get her through the next 24 hours.

 

“Her parents are not coping at all, she is their whole world. She really is a little angel.

 

“The whole family are in shock and absolutely devastated.”

 

The rope bridge was repaired later Thursday and the theme park closed for the rest of the day.

 

Jessica, who lives with her mother in Sheerness, Kent, was the flower girl at her father's wedding just two weeks ago.

 

Comments from witnesses on the park's Facebook page asking about the girl's condition were allegedly removed.

 

A statement was then published on the same page, which said: “The circumstances surrounding this sad incident are currently under investigation and therefore it is inappropriate to comment on this further.

 

“We have been in regular contact with the family and our thoughts and best wishes are with them at this time.”

 

Mrs Hyde said the family were “disgusted” that the comments had been removed.

 

She added: “This is a serious incident and people want to know how Jessica is doing.

 

“And in their statement they've said that they are in constant touch with the family and that is just not true.”

source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4363787/Girl-in-critical-condition-after-30ft-theme-park-plunge.html

^It's so sad. But what is even worst is what people have done to the Facebook page. All these stupid comments saying "OMG THE PARK SHOULD CLOSE!!! I AM NEVER TAKING MY KIDS THERE AGAIN!!!". It's appauling.