Scorpion Express

Scorpion Express
Chessington World of Adventures
Park section Mexicana
Coordinates 51°20′58″N 0°19′05″W / 51.349435°N 0.318012°W / 51.349435; -0.318012Coordinates: 51°20′58″N 0°19′05″W / 51.349435°N 0.318012°W / 51.349435; -0.318012
Status Operating
Soft opening date 15 March 2014 (as Scorpion Express)
Opening date 7 June 1987 as Runaway Train (19 March 2014 as Scorpion Express)
Cost £300,000 (when originally built)
General statistics
Type Steel – Powered
Manufacturer Mack Rides
Model Blauer Enzian
Height 4.7 m (15 ft)
Length 259 m (850 ft)
Speed 22.4 mph (36.0 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration 105 seconds
Capacity 1,100 riders per hour
Height restriction 90 cm (2 ft 11 in)
Trains Single train with 10 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 40 riders per train.
Fastrack available
Wheelchair accessible
Scorpion Express at RCDB
Pictures of Scorpion Express at RCDB

Scorpion Express is a train themed roller coaster at Chessington World of Adventures in Greater London, England. It originally opened as Runaway Train in 1987. The ride officially reopened, following a major refurbishment, on 19 March 2014 just a few days after soft openings began. It is a retheme of the Runaway Train ride, of which Scorpion Express retains the cars and track from. Scorpion Express is themed around the fictional Mexican village of Scorpion Valley, that has unstable mines guarded by an animatronic scorpion.

History

This Mack Blauer Enzian was originally opened as the Runaway Train, which had operated for over twenty five years. At the end of the 2012 season, the Runaway Train closed for a large scale refurbishment, which would have involved a complete rebuild of the ride. Due to the ride retaining the track and carts from the Runaway Train, it is technically one of the oldest Rollercoasters in the park, although its themeing is among the newest.

Construction

Boiler feature in the queue

The Runaway Train's track was done up towards the end of the 2013 season, ready to be refurbished for the Scorpion Express. The area surrounding the Runaway Train was boarded off with notices up saying that the ride would be "Re-launching in 2014". Over the closed season, the animatronic scorpion was installed after 208 hours of off site construction.[1] During this time, the ride's signature oil derrick was built as well as the station and queue line.

The ride was complete on time to open for the park's Annual Passholder Preview Days when it soft-opened. The ride officially launched on Wednesday 19 March after having slight alterations and theming adjustments.

Marketing

Little was known about the scrapping of the refurbishment idea until a large media announcement on the park's website on 17 December 2013 which included some information about Scorpion Express such as the ride's theme and slogan. Its logo was then released a month later.

During the resort's annual February Half-Term event - African Adventures - advertising for the ride was placed on large billboards at the zoo entrance and on the back of the gate maps. At the same time a mini site for the ride was launced on the parks website, which showed the concept art for the attraction among other details. During this time it was also announced that the ride would feature fire, water and smoke effects, as well as animatronics.

Days after the ride's soft opening, adverts for the attraction were broadcast across British television. Several other media stunts including newspaper articles about the ride appeared at this time.

Description

The ride's premise revolves around the town of Scorpion Valley, which has been overrun with Scorpions after an explosion caused the gold mine to collapse and all the residents fled the town. The Town Governor leaves behind a giant, mechanical steam-powered scorpion fashioned from rusted scrap metal from the debris of the mine explosion in an attempt to guard the gold from chancing looters. As well as this, various steampunk-inspired scorpions protect the town, all fashioned from scrap metal.

Queue

Notices in the queue for Scorpion Express detail the ride's backstory

The new ride in Mexicana starts with a long winding queue. At the start of the queue, a radio station can be heard playing in the background, notices from the governor of Scorpion Valley are pinned up in the queue, which reveal the ride's backstory. Riders then enter and queue in a dark, mine-themed building where live scorpions feature. Upon exiting, riders go over a bridge, before arriving at the station.

Ride

The ride takes guests on a train journey through an abandoned mining town, across deserts and near to the mine itself. It features animatronic scenery, smoke, fire and water effects. The height minimum is 90 cm, while guests with a torso +51 inches are not able to ride. Riders under 110 cm must be accompanied by a person aged 16 or over.[2] The layout is a basic figure of 8 loop with a straight piece of track at the back and consists of several helixes, some of which go over and under the queue line, which itself snakes around the ride. The ride makes at least two laps of the circuit, and more on off peak days. An on-ride photo is taken immediately before the train returns to enter the station for the first time.

Reception

Scorpion Express has received mixed reviews since its launch in 2014, however it has been one of the most successful rides to open in the park's history, with the general response being vastly better than the recent additions of ZUFARI: Ride into Africa! and Kobra. It has been praised for its unusual twist on the western setting, and some critics have labeled it as one of the most creative attractions to open in the United Kingdom for over a decade.

The launch of Scorpion Express created one of the busiest periods in the park's history. During the month following its opening, attendance at the park was averaging at 14,000 people per day, and over the following Easter Bank Holiday, the theme park hit maximum capacity three times in a row. The ride is known to have waiting times in excess of ninety minutes, and in its opening year had queues of several hours.

In its opening year, Scorpion Express brought the park's attendance to two million people, a figure the park had only hit once before.

References

  1. ↑ http://jacintaz3.co.uk/the-sting-of-the-scorpion-at-chessington-world-of-adventures/
  2. ↑ "Mexicana". Chessington World of Adventures. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
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