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Tiger Rock

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Coordinates: 51°20′54″N 0°19′15″W / 51.34842°N 0.320926°W / 51.34842; -0.320926
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Tiger Rock
Dragon Falls in 2010
Chessington World of Adventures
AreaLand of the Tiger
Coordinates51°20′54″N 0°19′15″W / 51.34842°N 0.320926°W / 51.34842; -0.320926
StatusOperating
Cost£4 million
Soft opening dateApril 2018
Opening date5 May 2018 (2018-05-05)
ReplacedDragon Falls
General statistics
TypLog flume
ManufacturerMack Rides
DesignerJohn Wardley
Height15 m (49 ft)
Length21 m (69 ft)
Speed26 mph (42 km/h)
Capacity1,500 riders per hour
Boats32 boats. Riders are arranged 5 across in a single row for a total of 5 riders per boat.
Height restriction120 cm (3 ft 11 in)
Fastrack available

Tiger Rock (previously known as Dragon Falls and Dragon River) is a flume ride at the theme park Chessington World of Adventures[1] in Chessington, southwest London, England. Primarily designed by John Wardley and opened in 1987, it is located in the Land of the Tiger (formerly Mystic East) area of the park. The ride was originally extensively themed, although the majority of its scenic design was later removed due to lack of maintenance and durability over time. A contest was held in 2014 that focused on possible new themes for the ride. In September 2017, the ride closed for refurbishment and reemerged on 5 May 2018 as Tiger Rock.

History

The ride was named Dragon River[2] when it opened in 1987, but subsequently named Dragon Falls since the 1999 season.[3][4] The ride was manufactured by Mack Rides and was produced by John Wardley with the Tussauds Group.[5]

In July 2017, Chessington filed for planning permission to undertake a large overhaul of the Mystic East area of the theme park. Part of this overhaul included the re-theming and renaming of Dragon Falls to Tiger Rock. The ride closed on 10 September 2017 so that the overhaul could take place, which involved nearby Peeking Heights, a ferris wheel that was closed permanently the same day. In 2018, Chessington opened Tiger Rock to the public on 5 May 2018. Its theme revolves around tiger imagery and features a large tiger's head on the second drop, replacing the Angkor Wat heads.

Ride description

Tiger Rock is a water flume ride and features two drops, with the first being smaller than the second. When it was known as Dragon Falls, the station building was designed as a pagoda and the first drop featured a sculpted dragon tunnel. The ride began its journey by passing out of the station, and then along a picturesque stream lined with traditional Japanese plants and trees. Bridges are positioned above the ride at certain points, allowing guests to view passing boats. The boats go up the first lift hill, and then drop down into a tunnel which originally housed a trick waterfall effect.

The boats exit the tunnel into trees, under a bridge, and around a lagoon until reaching a second, taller lift that ascends the side of a rocky mountain. The boats reach their highest point, before dropping into the main splash pool. Prior to the Tiger Rock theme, the boats would pass between two large scenic stone faces resembling Angkor Wat. Right before returning to the station, they would also pass an animatronic elephant that sprayed water at passing riders from its trunk.

Theme

The surrounding area is Oriental themed and features multiple bridges, viewpoints of the flume and a large fibreglass Buddha statue based on the Great Buddha of Kōtoku-in. The boats are themed to resemble wooden canoes with inline seating. The enclosures feature great interactions with the paths, bridges and with the 'Tiger Rock' flume ride in the area and there are also trails in the area where the tigers can walk over the head of guests called 'Tiger Crossings' in a 'Europe First'. A fair bit of the theming of the area has been changed including a few buildings have been repainted to fit in with a new tiger theme, the 'Angkor Wat' structure on the second 'main' drop of the ride has been replaced with a large rock structure centrepiece that the ride drops through that looks like a tiger head. Noticeably, the 'Dragon tunnel' has been repainted and re-purposed to look like a rocky cave structure, with the rough shape of the dragon being recognizable, but the artwork replaced with a flat blanket of grey rock texture. Notably, the large Buddha statue themed to Kōtoku-in in the city of Kamakura in Japan has survived the re-theme.

References

  1. ^ "News & Changes". Chessington World of Adventures. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Map of Chessington World of Adventures from 1987, with 'Dragon River' (scan)". Archived from the original on 16 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Map of CWOA from 1998 (scan), also with 'Dragon River'". Archived from the original on 16 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Map of CWOA from 1999 (scan) with 'Dragon Falls'". Archived from the original on 16 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Official website 'Mystic East' page". Retrieved 2 November 2008.
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