2020 changes at Chessington

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Chessington changes of 2020

I had my first visit to Chessington of the year on the 15th of March, also known as annual pass holders day and I was pleasantly surprised with how the park was. Before I get into the changes I just want to mention the amount of people in the event were much lower than last year making it much more bearable. I prefer a 20 minute queue for Vampire over a 180 minute queue for Room On The Broom! Any who here are the changes the park have made.

Tomb Blaster

Image result for tomb blasterAfter the 2002 dark ride had an appalling 2019 with lots of effects broken and the attraction seeming like a shadow of its former self. With no announcement or teasers going into Tomb Blaster and seeing the changes was a great surprise. There is new music greeting you straight away as you enter the area which is atmospheric, although I still prefer the previous version. The first physical change is the indoor queue section having writing on the wall about a priest, building up a story straight away. The ride itself has pretty much no changes to the physical sets but lots of new effects and audio which really impacts the ride. The story is about a priest in the tomb trying to escape and setting his army against the riders, a simple story that is very effective and just what the ride needed. The lighting alone makes the ride so much better and is another one of the tired parts of Chessington being fixed up and made up to scratch! A great refurbishment.

Zufari

Image result for zufariAnother ride which recieved a new story for 2020 is Zufari! While on board the Zufari truck you are now on an expedition with the Driver family rather than the previous expedition leaders from previous seasons. Although the script is very similar, this addition has improved the ride a lot as it is all linked together, unlike the previous version which has been cut up and mixed around a lot since the attraction opened in 2013. The ending has now changed as well as now you go through the cave due to an abandoned truck rather than the previous story. On the day the cave scene was not working with no water or wind effects operational, hopefully this can be fixed by the time the park opens on Thursday. These changes have made the ride much more coherent and the subtle changes have improved it and put it up to standard with when it opened back in 2013.

Vampire

Image result for vampire chessingtonThe Vekoma suspended coaster will be celebrating its 30th birthday this year with events being held in Easter to commemorate the classic coaster. Over previous years small changes have been made to the outdoor queue line trying to bring it back up to its 1990's standards. Lots of bigger theming elements have been added such as a wraith and many gravestones, once again making the experience better. The biggest changes however are in the indoor section of the queue. While entering the crypt and station building it is already much more atmospheric with red curtains and writing on the wall as well as new pictures, making the build up to the station much more scary. You enter the station and instantly get hit by the new lighting package on the Vampire animatronic, which is finally moving at a high standard again. This has to be one of the best decisions the park have made in recent years and makes the ride and station so much better. What a way to celebrate their 30th birthday!

Elmer's Flying Jumbo's

The classic flat ride has been hidden behind Rameses Revenge since 2012 but has been put into a central location once again and is finally getting the ridership it receives. Along with a new location the ride now has an IP attached, Elmer. The book series which started in 1968 and has over 30 books is very popular with kids and should attract some new guests to the park. The attraction looks very bright and appealing compared to the African theme which it has had since 2012. The area around the ride has some nice theming elements and is definitely a good retheme and its great to see another part of the park refreshed.

Those are the major changes that have happened over the closed season but there have also been some smaller ones such as the Original Sandwich Co. being rethemed to Dragon's Lair Cafe, Mexicana having new theming added and the Adventure Point Riders being relocated.

The biggest change however is the Rainforest. Which will be in a separate blog in the coming days.

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone stays safe during these scary times.

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