Thanks for sharing. I think the early 1990s is when I first visited. Chessington holds many happy memories for me

Chessington was my first theme park... it’s a shame to see Mystic East going, thats the land I always remembered. That and being told off for standing up on the Bubbleworks in Transylvania. My childhood is being wiped away one land at a time...

A new video has emerged showcasing the park from 1991, and features some very rare footage of Circus World and Black Forest Chateau.

Morgan wrote:

A new video has emerged showcasing the park from 1991, and features some very rare footage of Circus World and Black Forest Chateau.

This video made me happy!

The Chessington I remember growing up with.

I feel everyone should be reminded about the wonder that was Terror Tomb, from this video by British Theme Park Archive.

How strange I also was going for a trip down memory lane yesterday and was watching this very POV along with the fifth dimension POV they have! Super nostalgic seeing terror tomb in it's former glory! 

I vaguely remember Terror Tomb, I was very young when I went on it. Remember it being one of my first dark rides and I loved it. I do miss the original ideas for rides that they used to have back in the day. 

I remember riding it when it was The 5th Dimension, showing my age now 

ROYJESS wrote:

I remember riding it when it was The 5th Dimension, showing my age now 

I have limited memories of it, other than the smoke, darkness and part of the music. It's hard for me to fully recall if I remember Zappomatic more from the ride itself, or from photos in the guidebook.

I only ever got to experience Terror Tomb, I'm a mid 90's baby so missed 5th Dimension, I also saw a video of the original Runaway Mine Train the other day, not sure if it's just because I'm looking at it through rose tinted glasses but I prefer the original theming in comparison to Scorpion Express

Runaway Mine Train is an odd one. The (not) rock work looked fantastic from the outside, and combined with the queue and music, made the experience feel like a very mini Big Thunder Mountain. But, on the inside of the (not) rock work, it was just the grey shell and supports holding it all together, and I believe it was always damp. If it rained heavily it usually couldn't open, probably because it had filed with water. After nearly 30 years, it certainly needed replacing.

The new style for me seems a decent installation. However, having removed all of the (not) rock work it does visually lose a lot of the niceness of the scenery, the slight mystery of the route the ride takes, and an increased perception of speed due to moving close to the scenery.

Would have loved to have seen some combination of the two.

Both the rock work on Dragon Falls and RMT were removed at similar times as it was found that the scaffolding (yes scaffolding) which held it all up had corroded to the point of being dangerous. Years and years of corrosive bird poo can't have helped either.

The quality of the rock work was never the best, and although it looked impressive from a distance, it began to deteriorate quickly which was evident from the many times it was repainted and repaired, or not!

Similar to what Chris mentioned, both attractions suddenly felt a lot smaller than what they did previously, as the rock work really did add a bigger sense of scale and immersiveness.

Wow that's pretty interesting! I agree that Scorpion Express is well themed but yes, the illusion of how big the ride actually is, is ruined. I had no idea how that they used something like scaffolding for the (not) rock work, is the Lost Kingdoms theming constructed in a similar manner I wonder? If so does that mean that also has limited time before it starts to deteriorate (more than it already has)?