Chessington changes for 2012

[SaiyanHajime]

I wish I knew wtf was going on with Chessington.

I'm guessing this is what happened...

* Tussauds acquire and redevelop Thorpe, pushing all the money there.
*They, logically, decide that Chessington needs to be focused on a completely different market to Thorpe.
*They take one of the most popular rides out and move it to Thorpe, tell teens they can't ride the Bubbleworks and generally cut off the generation who grew up with the place.
* Vampire, presumably after a bit of neglect (Given how long BBW was fine), is in dire need of help or ripping out. Thankfully, they go with the option to renovate it and market it as a new improved ride rather than rip it out, which could have destroyed the park completely.
* Realising that the families with young kids audience goes to Legoland and Vampire's rebrand did them so well and that BIG RIDES BRING PEOPLE IN they decide to get a family coaster.
* Dragon's Fury does well marketing wise, but brings them never-ending woe.
* Chessington starts to loose gate figures from no investments, whilst Alton and Thorpe continue to grow. Presumably this is just a case of "Chessington's waited this long, it can wait a bit longer" attitude, whilst they get greedy with Thorpe?
* Management come and go, the overall quality of staff drops because good management go on to better things.
* Insane building regulations prevent the park from doing pretty much anything are increased, giving locals more say.
* Several rebrands later, the zoo is seen as a viable focus for future investments.

 

[nadroJ]

tell teens they can't ride the Bubbleworks and generally cut off the generation who grew up with the place.

What was that? Was there a period when there was a height limit unless accompanied by kids or something?

 

[Mark]

Yeah I remember that now that you mention it. The rule didn't last for long, but I do remember it happening. Couldn't tell you exactly which season it was but it was around the same time Samurai was moved I think.

 

[Nic]

I believe there was a "Couples and families only" rule when I went in 2003. They still let us on though.

 

[nadroJ]

And what the hell were they hoping to gain from that? How bloody stupid.

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

Was when they were making it "FOR KIDS" only...

The park has always been a bit daft really...

 

[nadroJ]

I suppose, in a roundabout way, it's the same as how Thorpe has no rides for young kids. I know in Thorpe's case that's a health and safety thing, but still.

Stupid park XD

 

[Coasterfreck]

I would want Merlin to relocate the CCR to Chessington (It would work as it is a family park) because Chessington does need a new ride even if it is a train relocated from Thorpe. Considering Kobra is two years old this season.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

I suppose, in a roundabout way, it's the same as how Thorpe has no rides for young kids. I know in Thorpe's case that's a health and safety thing, but still.

Stupid park XD

The thing is, kids don't pay to go to theme parks. At least teens and young adults do.

If you're going to make a kids park, you're actually making a park which appears to what parents think kids want.

Kids parks are NEVER premium parks. I cannot think of one. Family is the safest audience, so why Chessington ever decided to start cutting off older guests is just beyond me.

Why Thorpe does so well in itself is a bit of a mind boggle. I mean, if you look across the US all the Six Flags and Cedar Fair parks which did have the same audience are actually trying to broaden it to families because that market doesn't seem too fruitful out there. I think it boils down to location with Thorpe, more than anything, and that it's a rare breed here.

 

[TP Rich]

That was a ridiculous rule. There's no reason why they shouldn't be allowed on the ride. It's not enforced nowadays and the queue is fine.

 

[nealbie]

Joey, I think Thorpe picking their target market being such a success is because it's so close to (and a part of the same company as) Chessington and Legoland. 20 minutes by car - which most families travel about with.

The ease with which families accepted we have no children's rides if you actually took the time to discuss it with them politely and in an understanding manner is testament to this.

 

[Mark]

I'm really struggling to word what I am think right now, so bare with me...

Thorpe is odd because I don't think they actually opted to have a solely teenage target demographic. It just seems to have evolved that way. They wanted to become the 'Thrill' capital. Initially, when they began making the shift to thrills I would say that their marketing wasn't overtly aimed at the teenage crowd. However, since then, everything with relation to marketing has become aimed at the teens. The style of the website, adverts, the whole works.

I think the reason that Thorpe gets away with being all 'thrills' has a lot to do with its location and the fact that the majority of the teen audience need to use public transport. It is very easily accesible to the demographic of people that are percieved to be the thrill seekers. This relates to what Joey was saying about the US parks, like the Six Flags ones.

SFMM is a bit of pig to get to if you aren't driving. To aim the park at thrill seekers only means you are also aiming at the group of people who don't drive which would seem a bit daft.

It would be like if AT decided to aim massively at thrill seekers. It wouldn't be a complete success because the main bulk of 'thrill seekers' would struggle to get there. What I am getting at is that TPs success in hitting the target audience is also because it is so easily accesible to those they are aiming at. The rail network makes a massive difference. I remember (when I used to use the train) Staines station always being full of teens at the end of the day, Chessington South had a few teens, and a few families but not loads. I would hazard a guess that most families use a car to get somewhere rather than a train? Whereas teens don't have that option.

I think the Chessington decision to become more family orientated was more dictated by the restrictions placed on the park more than anything else. Its not like they can aim to be a thrill park when they aren't allowed to build the bigger attractions etc.

 

[Martyn B]

Some pics from Chessington:

 

[TP Rich]

Actually looks alright. Shame it has to be a tie-in, though. Although, I suppose it will bring the money in. The old toy shop looks much better now!

 

[gavin]

^Will it bring the money in though? I'm not disagreeing, I'm just asking. Is the whole Madagascar thing enough to bring people through the gates?

I can't see it to be honest, especially as it's basically just a slightly rethemed area with a show as opposed to any actual new attractions.

 

[peep]

^I dunno. Their IP weekends have been very popular with families with young kids. This is kinda taking it to the next level with a permanent (well, at least for this year) show featuring a very popular IP amongst that market. So I think it will be successful but it's just annoying that they are relying on an IP for their 25th year.

As a fan I hate it but I understand that it will be popular amongst the market they are aiming at and I suppose it'll bring in new peeps during the Olympics too that recognise the brand of Madagascar, and new peeps = more money for future investment (ha, who am I kidding, this is Chessington ).

 

[gavin]

^Will the Olympics actually make much, if any, difference though?

Sure, there will be more people coming into the country, but I would've thought a theme park would be last on their list of things to do. After all, it's not as if London is short of tourists. How many of the millions of tourists that visit in a normal year go to Thorpe or Chessington? I'm sure there's a few, but generally i can't see why they would be on the map of things to do while visiting the city.

 

[peep]

^Probably not, but surely with a marketable IP they may gain more interest than a year without the Olympics? Meh, their marketing department always seems very quiet anyway so I doubt they'll even attempt to gain their attention.

 

[TP Rich]

^ I think the Olympics will have an effect on the southern theme parks, including Chessington. It's only a few miles away from London and with lots of tourists from around the world staying in the area, they'll probably want days out, and I thought theme parks would be an obvious choice. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see, though.

 

[nadroJ]

It's a lot of rich foreign families with a lot of money that seem to be getting tickets too.