Park Paradise

Chessington World of Adventures - Zufari Update

Three white rhinoceroses are currently settling into their new home at Chessington World of Adventures, as the park gears up for the opening of a major new ride in 2013.

Zufari: Ride into Africa! will take guests on a tour in safari trucks around a number of animal exhibits, hosting the rhinos, giraffes and flamingos. Three rhinos - named Kanty, Dozer and Gyasi - have now arrived at the park from zoos in Arnhem in Holland, Beauval in France and Lisbon in Portugal. They will now have several months to become accustomed to their enclosure, before the ride opens to guests in March 2013.

Describing the park’s newest residents, Chessington’s Zoo Manager Marc Boardman said: “We are thrilled to welcome three white rhinos to the resort for the first time since Chessington opened as a zoo 81 years ago. With any new animal arrival there are challenges to face, and we have recruited specialist rhino keepers to ensure they have the best care possible. The new rhino enclosure has some of the most modern facilities in Europe and it’s great to finally welcome its new residents.”

Chessington World of Adventure’s planned addition is similar in design to the Rhino Rally attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa, as well as Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It is expected to be a major draw for the park, which is investing millions in its construction.

Legoland Florida - Christmas Bricktacular

Legoland Florida will be celebrating the holiday season with family friendly fun during its second annual Christmas Bricktacular. Holiday music and decorations will fill The Beginning and Fun Town with festivities every Saturday and Sunday in December.

Christmas Bricktacular will feature:

• Lego Christmas Tree: The more than 30-foot-tall Lego Christmas tree made with a combination of 270,000 forest green Lego and Duplo bricks provides the piece for Christmas Bricktacular. Through Dec. 25, a special family will be chosen to help light the Bricktacular tree each night. The official tree lighting ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. Nov. 29, 2012 with a special master of ceremonies.
• Lego Model Build Activity: Help Legoland Florida build a Lego Christmas Tree in the Wells Fargo Fun Town 4D Theatre Plaza that will stand over 20 foot tall when completed.
• Lego Santa Scavenger Hunt: Help find Santa in this fun-filled holiday scavenger hunt. The whole family can enjoy searching for Santa in the over 30 million Lego bricks that make up Miniland USA. One lucky hunter each day will receive a prize from the daily drawing.
• Lego Santa and Lego Toy Soldier: Guests will have meet and greet opportunities with Legoland Florida’s special holiday friends, Lego Santa and Lego Toy Soldier.
• Holiday Festivities and Entertainment: Festive decorations and sounds of the season will fill the entrance of the park and a variety of holiday entertainment will take place throughout the weekend to delight guests of all ages.
• Holiday Shopping: With six specialty stores, the park is proud to offer a unique and often hard to find selection of Lego products and more.

Alton Towers - Enterprise to be replaced…

Alton Towers is reportedly set to replace the ageing Enterprise ride with an updated model, as it prepares to revamp the X-Sector area for the 2013 season.

Fan site Towers Times claims that the ride will be replaced with a similar, but newer model next year. However, reports on other sites such as Towers Street suggest that a more modest refurbishment, involving the replacement of several parts, will be undertaken. Enterprise will also receive an updated colour scheme in order to tie in with the new SW7 roller coaster, which will open in time for the new season.

Enterprise is one of Alton Towers’ oldest attractions, having made its debut in the Festival Park area in 1984. The ride is a classic Huss Enterprise attraction, identical to those seen in other theme parks and travelling funfairs all over the world. It was relocated in 1998 to become part of the new X-Sector area alongside the Oblivion rollercoaster.

Riders are seated in pods hanging from a wheel, which starts in a horizontal position. Initially, it spins close to the ground, causing riders’ pods to swing outwards. It is then raised to a vertical position, with the forces generated pinning riders into their seats as they travel upside down before the wheel is gradually lowered back to a horizontal position.

Chessington World of Adventures - Hotel Expansion

Plans have been released to extend the existing Holiday Inn hotel at Chessington World of Adventures. The extension includes 69 new rooms, a new restaurant, shop, and an indoor/outdoor stage & play area. 

A great move by Merlin, spending lots of money on the resort as a whole, including the hotel in 2014 and the zoo (Zufari) in 2013…but where are the new attractions. We have yet to see a large ride investment in the park since Wild Asia, and even that was a re-development of an old area. Merlin really need to step up their game and pump some cash into the main park.

Alton Towers - SW7 UPDATE

Alton Towers has released several new details of its planned “Secret Weapon 7” roller coaster, although the “world’s first” element remains a secret.

The park has confirmed that SW7 will open to the public on March 16, 2013, on the site of the former Black Hole coaster in the X-Sector area. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it will feature a new train design which will seat 16 riders in 4 rows of 4 each. Alton Towers is spending £18 million on its latest addition, its biggest ever outlay on a single ride.

The new coaster is claimed to be “the first of its kind in the world”, and will hit a top speed of 53 miles per hour. Its tallest drop will stand at 98 feet, with the total ride time coming in at 2 minutes 45 seconds. Guests will need to be at least 1.4 metres tall to ride.

SW7 will feature at least 8 inversions and 2 lift hills, and will be located alongside the existing Oblivion roller coaster. Alton Towers has previously claimed that the ride will feature a “world’s first” element, and while several rumours are circulating on the web, the park has yet to confirm the nature of this.

Thorpe Park - Storm Surge Re-opens

Thorpe Park has reopened its Storm Surge water ride after an accident which reportedly saw a woman’s foot crushed by a conveyor belt.

The incident occurred on October 12, with the woman’s foot becoming trapped as she stepped onto the conveyor belt in the ride’s loading area. The slow-moving belt is used to allow guests to board Storm Surge’s 6-seater rubber rafts before ascending a lift hill.

Reports suggest that firefighters were called to help free the woman’s foot, before she was taken to hospital to receive treatment for a “crush injury”. Storm Surge was closed on October 13, but has since reopened to the public.

Chessington World of Adventures - Halloween Hocus Pocus 

The annual Halloween Hocus Pocus events at Chessington World of Adventures will kick off on October 26, 2012, running through to November 4.

The park will stay open later than usual during the events, although the 7pm closing time is earlier than in recent years. A variety of special temporary attractions will be on offer during Halloween Hocus Pocus, with the Chessington theme park, zoo and Sea Life centre all operating as normal.

Among the Halloween attractions will be Vampire: The Haunting of the Hollows, a walkthrough horror maze located close to the Vampire roller coaster. It will depict Black Hollow, a spooky village in Transylvania.

The Hocus Pocus Hall attraction will undergo a Halloween makeover, becoming Bewitched. Its usual array of creepy effects and cheeky goblins will be left in place, with a number of additional surprises being added.

For younger guests too scared to take on the horror maze, two shows will be laid on. The first, Burt and Bilge’s Big Bad BOO, will be hosted in Market Square. The second, Spooky Factor, will star a variety of animals including spiders, toads and rats.

It may be aimed at kids and families but I LOVE this event, it is just a great laugh and a brilliant day out. Make sure you visit!