Tiger Rock is the current incarnation of Chessington’s log flume that has been at the park since 1987. The Mack Rides log flume features two drops and features some great views into the tiger enclosures. What makes this flume ride special is that the second lift hill, slow 180° turn and the final drop are linked with and were installed at the same time as a Mack Dark Ride in the building below it which is currently known as Tomb Blaster.
Original Dragon River / Dragon Falls Console
Tiger Rock originally opened as Dragon River in 1987. This Mack Rides Log Flume had an original console was used from 1987 until 2017 before being updated to a modern touch screen console. With this version of the console, lights were used to show the operator where each of the boats were on the ride circuit. There was also a dial which controlled the flow speed of the water in the flume.
The Station
The tiger rock station is a traditional far eastern themed building known as the tiger temple. Guests board and disembark from the attraction on a slow conveyor belt which keeps moving through the station. There are some nice silhouettes of tigers on the walls as well as a projection mapped tiger face above the exit out of the station.
Base of Lift Hill 2
Some of the boats are left at the bottom of each lift or outside of the station over night when the flume are drained. There are evenly spaced around the circuit at each of the mechanical points ready to operate again once the water flow returns to height and the conveyer belts resume operation. Since being re-themed to Tiger Rock for 2018, the ride now only operates with 20 boats.
Lift Hill 2
On the lift hill, the boats make their way to the top of the conveyor belts as the boats stick to the material used. There is a breaking point half way up the lift hill where the conveyor strip to reduce stress on the ride system mechanics. Anti rollbacks are in place on either side of the flume trough to prevent any boats from moving or slipping back down the lift hill.
Crest of the Lift Hill
At the crest of the lift hill, there is an engineering bypass box which can independently move the lift hill conveyor belt manually, this also features an emergency stop button. This panel can only be activated if the ride is switched to manual mode on the ride console. The trough at the top of the lift hill never fully drains due to the power and the water pressure required to pump water through this section of the ride. Once completing the 180 degree turn, boats then reach another small conveyor belt that rises up and releases the boat to the forces of gravity to head down the drop.
Views from Tiger Rock
At the top of the lift hill, guests get amazing views of the rest of the park into areas such as the forbidden kingdom as well as into the rainforest. There are also some amazing views of the rest of the land of the tiger as well as down below to the Tomb Blaster show building. If you look further to outside of the park’s perimeter, you can get some great views looking towards Central London.
The Workshop
Behind the station for Tiger Rock there is a vertical storage rack for the log flume boats. Each boat is lifted on and off the storage rack by a forklift. This area is also used for storage of ride parts such as lift hill motors, conveyor belts from Mack Rides, the manufacturer of the attraction. Whilst Chessington has not had to do this yet, they keep a ‘form’ for the moulding of Tiger Rock boats in case they need a fabricate a new one, this is due to the design of the boat shells being bespoke for Chessington and not the standard Mack Rides design.
Winter Maintenance
During the closed season at Chessington, all the Tiger Rock boats are removed from the circuit. Whilst the boats that are being worked on will be in the workshop or in the storage area behind the station, the rest of the boats are stored on the plaza outside the ride entrance. They used to be stored within Wild Asia, however with that land now being under development, it is expected that the boats will be stored here over winter for now on. From this view, the material strip under the boats that links to the belts on the lift hills are visible. Log flume boats are also slightly curved underneath to allow for the boats to move smoothly at the top of the lift hills and before going down the drop. The anti-rollbacks positioned on the sides of the boat are also visible along with the wheels that guide the boats through the trough.
