The Gruffalo and Tiger Rock

The changes of the past five years

The UK’s greatest theme park has been going through a period of renovation, or rather transformation, for some time now; there is no other way of explaining the changes that have taken place over the last five years – apart from last year’s Adventure Tree Carousel, no new attraction has been added to Chessington World of Aventures. For example, the Runaway Train is now the Scorpion Express, the dark ride BubbleWorks is now Gruffalo’s River Ride Adventure and the log flume Dragon Falls is now Tiger Rock. Sadly, there have also been some retirements, such as the Monorail, which used to dominate the area around the Hocus Pocus Hall and the Zoo, and the Peeking Heights Ferris Wheel.

Scorpion Express

This development started with the Runaway Train rollercoaster, which lost all the artificial rock that had so impressively decorated the ride. Although Scorpion Express now stands relatively naked in the area, it is hard to miss. A huge mechanical sculpture in the shape of a scorpion adorns the rear helix, creating all sorts of effects that make for a very fun and lively ride. There are also a number of terrariums in the queue to entertain the waiting passengers. All in all, the upgrade of the ride has been successful. In any case, a ride on the Scorpion Express is a lot of fun.

Gruffalo’s River Ride Adventure

Similarly, the squeaky duck dark ride BubbleWorks in the Transylvanian area, next to the awesome Vampire suspended coaster, was a lot of fun – let’s see what happened to it.

Originally opened as Prof Burp’s BubbleWorks, the first 15 years were spent in round boats sailing through a fizzy drink factory before Imperial Leather’s ducklings took over the dark ride. In 2014, the soap manufacturer’s sponsorship with Merlin ended and all references to the manufacturer were removed from the park. While the theme of the ride may have lasted for the time being, the design elements used did not. So a new IP was needed, and a classic children’s book was chosen to fit in easily with the theme. The last ride with the old design followed in 2016, before Gruffalo’s River Ride Adventure opened on 18.03.2017.

The ride itself offers a very healthy mix of static design elements and video projections. The atmosphere inside is now very dense; it feels like following a stream through a forest in a small boat. Each room tells a part of the first children’s book, in which the Mouse stops the Fox, the Owl and the Snake from eating him by threatening them with the Gruffalo – a hitherto fictional creature. In the following rooms, the Mouse meets the aforementioned Gruffalo, who also wants to eat him, but does not, thanks to the Mouse’s explanation that all the other animals are afraid of him. Together, the Gruffalo and the Mouse climb up the ride’s lift and then make their way to the former bathing room. There they meet the other animals, who take to their heels. This scene succeeds despite the relatively open design and retains some of its old charm thanks to some of the remaining fountains. On the way back to the station, the Mouse chases the Gruffalo away, leaving him to crack his nuts in peace.

As I am not familiar with the franchise, I will refrain from making a comparison at this point. The ride itself is once again fascinating. The mix of static design elements and video projections works very well and doesn’t seem out of place anywhere; despite the rotation of the gondola, you can actually catch it at any time. In general, the ride is now consistently well attended.

Tiger Rock

The Tiger Rock log flume, on the other hand, is much less popular, although this does not apply to the new and much larger tiger enclosure which now occupies the former open areas of the log flume. This is where most of the work has been done, as the renovation of the log flume was unfortunately not carried out. So you float through a channel that could have been re-coated and have a great view of the animals in the (at least partially) surrounding enclosure. This is a good thing, especially as the animals really do congregate in these areas and it is actually the best view from the Tiger Rock log flume, but it could have been more. The hardware of the ride contrasts with the new layout of the ride and in my opinion this is a missed opportunity. As Tiger Rock is the last remaining log flume of the group in England, it is sadly foreseeable that the ride will be closed in the next few years.

Pictures Chessington World of Adventures

Conclusion about the visit

Of the three theme parks near London, Chessington World of Adventures remains my first port of call. The three major additions of the last five years all have their place and are all either fully or largely successful. With a revamp of the Hocus Pocus Hall walkthrough already announced, we can look forward to more to come. In any case, it’s a park to include in your UK plans, especially if you’ve never been there and want to visit a theme park near London.

 

What is your opinion about Scorpion Express, Gruffalo’s River Ride Adventure and Tiger Rock at Chessington World of Adventures?  Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

 

     


Click here for the overview page of Chessington World of Adventures

Chessington World of Adventures



Theme Park:Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington Zoo (1931 - ?)
Part of the Resort Chessington
World of Adventures Resort
Address:Leatherhead Road
KT9 2NE
Chessington
https://www.chessington.com
Operated by:Merlin Entertainments


Chessington World of Adventures in Chessington, Greater London is one of three Merlin Entertainments theme parks near the English capital London. The animal and amusement park is open all year round – although the rides themselves are only operated seasonally – and can look back on a very long history.

Founded in 1931, the park houses a variety of family-friendly rides, including the only suspended coaster made by the American manufacturer Arrow in Europe. The Vampire roller coaster offers a breathtaking ride through the treetops of the Transylvania themed area.

In general, the park is very well designed and is one of the most beautiful in the country. The animal park belonging to the park is very rich in species and a species-appropriate animal husbandry is given value. This is particularly evident in Wanyama Village & Reserve, which is located near the park’s hotel and has a large prairie, which is used by the Zufari safari drive.

 
Reviews

A visit to the World of Jumanji
The Gruffalo and Tiger Rock
The Zufari Adventure
With Dragon’s Fury through Chessington South
A day in the world of adventure

 

Sea Life Chessington


Black Buccaneer

 

Fun Fact #1: With the Monkey Swinger it goes through the waves in a humid and happy way, as the fountains do not only serve as decoration on this wave swinger!

Fun Fact #2:Almost all the rides in Chessington World of Adventures are located in a pit so that they do not reach out over the treetops of the park. 


 
 
 

Highlights of the Animal and Theme Park

 




Dragon's Fury

 

Dragon’s Fury

Probably the best Spinning Coaster

 


Gruffalo River Ride

 

Gruffalo River Ride Adventure

A beautiful dark ride

 


Kobra

 

Kobra

The Disk’o Coaster of Wild Asia

 


 

Lorikeet Lagoon

Home of many Lorikeet

 


 

Mandrill Mayhem

The shuttle wing coaster

 


Monkey Swinger

 

Monkey Swinger

The wet wave swinger

 



Rattlesnake

 

Rattlesnake

A beautiful Wild Mouse

 


Scorpion Express

 

Scorpion Express

The powered coaster with the scorpion sculpture

 


 

Tiger Rock

Log flume through the tiger enclosure

 



Tomb Blaster

 

Tomb Blaster

A blast by Sally

 


 

Vampire

The best Suspended Coaster

 


 

Zufari

A truck ride adventure

 


 
 

Past Highlight of the Animal and Theme Park

 





Rameses Revenge

 

Rameses Revenge

A wash machine of a ride

 



The Zufari Adventure

Changes in Chessington World of Adventures

After years of caring for its animals and expanding its zoo, Chessington World of Adventures has this year invested in a new ride and new enclosures for its African animals. In fact, Chessington is prettier than ever, with the Flying Dumbos, which moved last year, now sporting a new livery. A further £5 million is currently being invested in further improvements to the park’s appearance, which is why the Dragon Falls log flume, the Powered Coaster Runaway Train and some of the paths are currently closed to visitors. Kicking off this movement is Zufari.

Zufari

The big novelty this year is Zufari, an installation where you are taken in a spacious off-road vehicle with a capacity of 30 people + driver to an off-road track with some surprises, where you can observe some animals. In theory, the installation can be compared to the beginning of the Jungle Safari at the Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, before you enter the jungle and the sarcasm takes over.

Zufari offers everything you would expect from a safari-based attraction. After taking the obligatory photo in the queue, or skipping it altogether, you wait to enter a pre-show room, which serves only to distract children from the wait, as the actual movie starts soon after. A monkey appears on the screen, which has already been featured beforehand. This monkey interacts with the audience in a similar way to Stitch live! from the Walt Disney Studios in Paris. Unfortunately, the commentary is rather juvenile and the animation is not very good, but the children liked it.

After boarding the truck, the very jerky and funny ride begins. Once the vegetation here is fully developed, this part of the ride will certainly give you a much greater sense of adventure than the current ride. Passing by an empty flamingo enclosure, we now come to the giraffe enclosure, where strange signs have been put up on the hall, all warning you not to go through a cave.

With a little wit and some back and forth driving, the real safari begins. There are giraffes, zebras and rhinos to be seen in the large enclosure next door, which also further enhances the hotel stay at the park.

As one of the paths is blocked, we decide to go into the cave. What awaits you in the cave is particularly pleasing for the left-hand side of the car. As is well known, Chessington adds a lot of water to some of its attractions. The fact that children are only allowed to sit in the middle seats has now been explained, as well as why the floor was so wet when we entered the ride. A waterfall at the end of the cave is the reason why the cars still drip as they enter the loading station – the only effect that was obvious from the start.

For the water-loving Brits, the finale will certainly round off the Ride into Africa, but even the Germans don’t have to worry about too much contact with water, as it’s only slightly higher than the grand finale of the dark ride Bubble Works and not as soaking wet as the wave swinger Monkey Swinger – where the drenching fountains were unfortunately not used on the day of our visit – or the Top Spin Rameses Revenge.

 

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Click here for the overview page of Chessington World of Adventures