Chessington World of Adventures Resort

[AdrenalineAlex]

Cattlepen queue's It looks good so far, should be even better when it's done!

[Danny]

Just watched the pov vid and got to say. I know some features aren't working yet but it doesn't compare to the Disney safari in Florida, needs to be more animals and exciting parts

[onair]

Just watched the video thanks for posting it.

I know you can't judge something until you have experienced it for yourself but from viewing that video and the photos it really does look bland and as if its been done on a really tight budget.

Ok I know its only march and perhaps when there some sun out and the landscaping grows a bit it may look better. There just seems no wow factor ! Why oh why are Merlin so uncreative. That tree could have been animated and come down infront of the jeep, instead go for the cheap option and just stick a branch on the floor. And the finale in the cave what a wasted opportunity.

At present it looks more like a jeep ride through a rubbish tip more than Africa...

[Danny]

I agree, the fallen branch is very poor and the cave scene is nothing special, if you look at disney's Kilimanjaro safari they have a bit where a bridge drops slightly as the truck goes over it, very nice touch as takes riders by suprise, riders can see the waterfall as soon as they come round the corner on zufari, must say this ride has had no thought put into it at all

[electricBlll_Returns]

must say this ride has had no thought put into it at all

Oh but it has.

Zufari has taken five years of planning until Chessington got the budget to go ahead with it. They were banking on this being their breakthrough moment, to finally make best use of all that space at the back of the park and marry the zoo with the theme park. The cave finale, range of animals and theme design were all planned to be so impressive and adventurous.

So sad to see it turn out like this, but I guess it is to be expected with Chessington. They just don't get the money they need from Merlin, I guess. All those good ideas abandoned, and instead they have built an average attraction that looks fun but generally unmemorable. Even bearing in mind there are more animals/improvements to come, Zufari seems to be another disappointment. Poor Chessington.

Well at least they have built it so they can adapt it however they want once they get the time and money. As others have said, this will certainly be a ride that develops over time.

[haydn!]

I think this is a ride that will grow old gracefully, it really needs the landscaping to look a plush and green for it to work.

Plus, probably didn't help that for most of the POV, it looked away from the animals!

[Rob]

The resort is pleased to announce a
£5 million upgrade plan is taking place at Chessington during 2013 & 2014.

The scale of this investment, and also the fact that the resort is open throughout the year for Zoo Days, means that all the works cannot be completed in the winter months and a certain amount of disruption cannot be avoided during the main park season.

Therefore you may find certain rides, attractions, and facilities may not be available at certain points during the season whilst work is carried out.

We will do our best to minimize any inconvenience and ensure that you will still have an amazing adventure here and we will post details of unavailable rides and facilities on this page and elsewhere online as soon as they are confirmed.

Our brand new attraction for 2013; ‘ZUFARI – Ride into Africa’ launches to the public on the 27th March and there will be more information about additional entertainment and amazing additional events throughout the year coming soon.

Again, we apologise for the disruption and appreciate your patience whilst we make your adventure even better for the future.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Chessington World of Adventures Resort.

Current Upgrades

MEXICANA
Runaway Train reopening TBC

MYSTIC EAST
Peeking Heights reopen from 2nd April
Dragon Falls reopen from 10th April

The completion dates are for guidance only and may change!

[Pennywise]

Bizarre that all this couldn't be done over the close season...

[Boz]

I'm glad to see RMT finally getting some TLC, but I agree with D4n, why have M$rlin only just realized that this needs doing, and not been doing it over the closed season.

[rollerghoster]

so it seems that chessington are getting a £5million upgrade, with certain rides closed for short periods throughout the season (beginning with dragon falls, Peking heights and the runaway minetrain) while i'm sad that this means that i won't be able to do a marathon sesh on dragon falls next week when i go, i'm assuming that this means that the crumbling rock work on both dragon falls and runaway minetrain are being sorted.
While i know this is going to annoy a few people, i personally am very glad to see some of my old favourites getting a bit of tlc, what with this and the yet to be seen upgrades to transylvania...and the inclusion of zufari.....it looks like chessington are making a step in the right direction.....what do you all think?

[bensaund]

Most of this work is long overdue, but I really can not see why this can not be done out of season.

[stu1980]

i emailed them about 8 days ago as was trying to book for 2 nights in may but the prices online also have park tickets included and you cant remove them so that bumps the price up  bit i think. But with that said im still waiting for a reply and have now found a cheaper hotel just 2mins down the road.

[Trisnie]

i emailed them about 8 days ago as was trying to book for 2 nights in may but the prices online also have park tickets included and you cant remove them so that bumps the price up  bit i think. But with that said im still waiting for a reply and have now found a cheaper hotel just 2mins down the road.

At the top of the page just to the left of the phone number you can see a Merlin Pass holder link
http://www.chessingtonholidays.co.uk/annualpass.html
That will let you book without park tickets

[stu1980]

i emailed them about 8 days ago as was trying to book for 2 nights in may but the prices online also have park tickets included and you cant remove them so that bumps the price up  bit i think. But with that said im still waiting for a reply and have now found a cheaper hotel just 2mins down the road.

At the top of the page just to the left of the phone number you can see a Merlin Pass holder link
http://www.chessingtonholidays.co.uk/annualpass.html
That will let you book without park tickets

See i did not know that i went via cwoa site http://chessingtonholidays.merlinbreaks.co.uk/masterChessington/r/main,availability/

[Adam]

Wow. From looking at the POV's this looks pretty terrible to be honest.

Anyone that has been on Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom will compare like I have done, and what strikes me straight away is how short this one is! I mean going through 2 or 3 animal enclosures? Really? And that whole "look at these rock carvings..." you can see the building!

The cave thing, what is that supposed to be? There is no jeopardy! I mean does the floor under the jeep move or anything or is it simply that pathetic waterfall? That is the climax?

Really poor show Merlin. I really hope more improvements are made!

[Graeme]

I was lucky enough to be on the first public ride today. Worth noting first of all that it was only open for 3 hours due to animals getting cold.

The entrance to the ride is pretty standard as per the current theme of the area...think bamboo etc.

The queue line is a typical merlin cattle pen made from bamboo. Half way through the queue line you stop for a picture against a lion king type green screen.

You are then shown into a room where you are seated and watch the per ride video about ACRE etc. A cartoon character then appears on screen (can't remember what animal it is) and this is voiced by a member of staff watching the room on a camera. The member of staff then picks people out and gets them to do monkey impressions etc, calling them by their name.

The ride itself is basically a dirt track through the animals with no real landscaping but you do get quite close to some of them. The cave finale is a case that you get told in the video not to go into the cave and when you get to the rhinos there is a tree down so you have to go via the cave and at this point you lose contact with ACRE.

In the cave, I think it tries to simulate a flood, I can see what they've tried here but don't really get it, you then exit the cave by literally going through a waterfall which makes for a cool finale.

I can see what they've tried to do here but the area needs more vegetation and the animals need to be integrated with the ride more. Families seemed to enjoy the ride but its nowhere near a high standard.

All in all its a nice edition but not great, I think it suits the audience it's aimed at, I do think the 1.1m restriction cuts out a lot of potential riders though.

Can't link to the pictures on my Facebook but if you search Graeme Donaldson there are a few in my mobile uploads

[Trisnie]

Could this be a ride they add to year in year out with extra enclosures?

[bensaund]

I feel another Sub Terra here, they will close it in a month for upgrades after bad reviews! LOL

[Graeme]

I think the potential is there for new animals, I'd be shocked if they didn't add more

[TB2]

Wow. From looking at the POV's this looks pretty terrible to be honest.

Anyone that has been on Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom will compare like I have done, and what strikes me straight away is how short this one is! I mean going through 2 or 3 animal enclosures? Really? And that whole "look at these rock carvings..." you can see the building!

The cave thing, what is that supposed to be? There is no jeopardy! I mean does the floor under the jeep move or anything or is it simply that pathetic waterfall? That is the climax?

Really poor show Merlin. I really hope more improvements are made!

The comparisons are fair but on the other hand what we're talking about is comparing London (Kilimanjaro Safari) to Uttoxeter (Zufari). It's partly the parks fault for bigging it up beyond what the attraction is capable of nonetheless, the park will make changes and once the greenery starts to come through it will be a much better for it.