StealthFan Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 So last week I had a few days off and I thought why not visit Chessington. Since my last visit this year a lot has happened on park. The new hotel is now finished and open, the Amazu attraction in the Zoo has opened and they have a brand new Lion after the other one sadly passed away. Obviously as I went during a week day the first thing to notice was the park was very very quiet and some of the rides didn't open to 11/12. The park have continued with the current investment/refurbishment plan through out the season and things are looking great. The most important thing they have done in my view is the new queue time boards through the park that not only look fantastic but there is now more than one on park and THEY WORK! I could keep going on but you all want to see pictures don't you so here they are! What better way to start the day than with a McDonalds breakfast! I don't know if you can see the entrance in this picture behind the huge amount of people....... As you can see due to how quiet the park is they have once again opted to use staggered openings. First stop on park was Amazu which was still being constructed on my last visit. The attraction is Elissa friendly as it features GIANT GUIENA PIGS! These animals are just so awesome! Thats right now banging on the window Hi Larry! Amazu features an aerial ropes course. What route should I take? The beginner route.... or the expert route? Giant Guinea Pigs from above! I am totally AMAZUing! Did I take the slide? OF COURSE I DID! This is one of the sexy new queue boards located through the park. Don't they look amazing! You can't have a trip to Chessington without a ride on Vampire! After all these years its still a great ride. Naturally as its right by Vampire it would be rude not to go on Bubbleworks. Last time I visited the park the fountain finale was broken due to a pump failure (as can be seen here: ). Was it working today? YES! Sadly these days there is no longer a strobe light and today there was no music but it is still a wonderful ending to a ride. Expect staggered openings to stay while the park is quiet. Honestly you don't notice them as much as you would think as they have enough open to keep you busy for the first couple of hours. Another thing thats now complete since my last visit if the new hotel! The Azteca hotel is in my view a fantastic addition for the park and this hotel is a LOT better than the old. I was lucky enough to bump in to a friend I worked with at Chessington who is now a Team Leader in the hotel. He was very kind enough to take me on a tour of the new hotel. First stop was the hotels Temple Restaurant. The restaurant has some amazing features such as this leaf cutter ant tunnel which runs all the way around the restaurant right next to the tables. You can watch all the ants run past your table doing their thing while enjoying your food. Also every half hour there is a show. I was lucky enough to get to see this show and it was a really nice touch. If you want to check it out for yourself you can by watching the video below! [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] After the restaurant it was time to go and see the rooms. Each floor has a different theme and a different style carpet. Make sure you check out your Adventurer's Guide once you arrive so you can make the best of your trip to Britain's Wildest Adventure. The rooms layout is almost identical to that of the Big Blue Hotel at Blackpool. They feature an adults area with a double/king size bed. Then a separate kids area with bunk beds and a TV. This is my favourite part of the room and apparently the feedback for this has been amazing. Here is another one of the floors and another fantastic carpet. In this room the double/king size beds is a bit more themed. All I can think is I wish the canopy lowered so I could make some kind of fort. For a park hotel this view is just fantastic, especially with weather as good as we had during our visit! The rooms also feature a treasure hunt for the kids which if they complete they win loads of little treats! Alton Towers used to run something very similar in their hotels. Even the doors are themed. You can't fault the attention to detail in this hotel. There is a small stage where they have evening entertainment. Its right next to the bar which means while the kids watch the show you can have a few drinks. This is the small outdoor seating area by the bar which I actually saw a lot of people relaxing in and reading the paper. This water feature made me need to pee. After the tour round the hotel it was time to head back on park and where better to start then Zufari! I am pretty sure this sign isn't 100% politically correct but it made me laugh. After one year the trucks have really suffered. They have tons of rust from the water effects in the cave and a lot of the paint is chipped and faded. While the ride is very good I think this is what lets it down the most. Giraffes are awesome don't you agree? After leaving Africa I felt like channeling my inner Tomb Raider and took on Tomb Blaster. Who can see the piece of Chessington history in this photo? This was my score! Dragons Fury is my favourite spinner and today it was running INSANE. I have never spun so much in all the years of riding it. Skyway is always a great way to see the Zoo but has been down for the past few weeks while work is conducted on it. It is hoped that the ride will be back by Halloween. As I could see them from above I took a trip into the Trail of the Kings to check out one of the park newest arrivals. I think she has settled in pretty well don't you? Either that or she still has jet lag! While the Lion were relaxing this Ostrich had a battle on his hands. Find out what happened below! [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] Look at me I'm a giraffe! More Giant Guinea Pigs because THEY ARE AWESOME! Thats it for my trip to Chessington this time round. I will be back for the newly revamped Halloween at Chessington in October! -Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOG1991 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Great TR! I have paid some attention to this park but didn't really know what all it offered so thanks! Vampire looks pretty awesome. So do the giant guinea pigs!!! I was not aware that Vampire had their trains replaced like that. Is the swinging just as good as before? better? worse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthFan Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 I was not aware that Vampire had their trains replaced like that. Is the swinging just as good as before? better? worse? Considering the ride closed when I was 10 for the upgrade I can't say I remember exactly what its like before hand ride wise but it was different in the sense that back in the old trains you were heavily enclosed, unlike with the Vekoma trains it now runs where you are pretty exposed. The swing is a bit different as you sit lower in the trains now so you get a longer swing than before. One of the biggest jobs during the 2001 season when the ride was closed was excavating the earth at the lowest parts of the ride to prevent the new trains from hitting the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 (edited) ^I like Vampire, even though I was a bit concerned that the trees might slap me in the face as I shot past them. The new hotel looks nice, and the "fountain show" in the restaurant is a kid of cool--even though it looks like the monkey on the right may be relieving the effects of drinking too much beer. Edited September 20, 2014 by cfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthFan Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 ^I like Vampire, even though I was a bit concerned that the trees might slap me in the face as I shot past them. The new hotel looks nice, and the "fountain show" in the restaurant is a kid of cool--even though it looks like the monkey on the right may be relieving the effects of drinking too much beer. Its funny you mention trees hitting you in face on Vampire as that was something that did happen to me in 2013 pre season testing as I was sent round to check out what trees needed to be cut back. My friend who took me round the hotel did call the monkeys around the fountain the pissing monkeys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 My friend who took me round the hotel did call the monkeys around the fountain the pissing monkeys Obviously a person of discerning taste and sharp wit. It's good to see Chessington improving. I haven't been there since 2006, but I thought it was a rather nice park back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BudtheWeiser Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Great Tr Good to see The hotel now its finished Sadly Chessington announced yesterday that Skyway is down for the rest of the season showing its age I think so hopefully it gets a lot of tlc in the winter ready for next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthFan Posted September 26, 2014 Author Share Posted September 26, 2014 Great Tr Good to see The hotel now its finished Sadly Chessington announced yesterday that Skyway is down for the rest of the season showing its age I think so hopefully it gets a lot of tlc in the winter ready for next year Believe me that ride needs more than TLC it needs complete refurbishment/upgrade or replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 I enjoyed taking the Skyway for a brief tour of the zoo area. I hope it gets the care and attention it deserves. Great update on the park, Craig! The new hotel and surrounding area looks awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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