The Troubled History of The Vampire: The UK's First Iconic Rollercoaster
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- Join us as we head on Expedition Chessington World Of Adventures to look at the UK's first iconic rollercoaster. The Vampire. This ride has a troubled history that forced another ride manufacturer to save it from becoming extinct.
Check out the history of The Bat at King's Island here - • Kings Island and The F...
Join the Expedition
expthemepark
www.patreon.com/expeditionthemepark
expeditionthemepark
Make sure you check out John Wardley's book Creating My Nemesis for a look into all the incredible work over the years by John
www.amazon.co....
Credits -
Go check out the full original videos here and support their channels here!
Theme Park Review - / themeparkreview
Nina7 - • Chessington 1989
Zuluzulupapa - • Chessington World of A...
Peter Oliver - • Camelot Theme Park
RCCGB - • Alton Towers Corkscrew...
13News Now - • From 1984: Busch Garde...
RCCGB - • Vekoma Promotion video...
Jonus04 - • Big Bad Wolf POV with ...
Sean Flaharty - • Video
Paul Dean - • 2000 Chessington July ...
Nonsense Brothers - • Video
Andyhampshire1 - • Chessington 19 7 98 pa...
Howard gillooly - • Vampire at Chessington...
Parksmania.it - • CHESSINGTON WORLD OF A...
Cwoa - • lee vampire last day
RobJP81 - • Vampire Ride 11th Row ...
Theme Park Worldwide - / themeparkworldwide
Theme Park Escape - • Chessington World Of A...
Jarl Grimm On Tour - • Vampire Burger Kitchen...
Coaster Clips - • Vampire Offride HD Che...
CrayCray For Coasters - • VAMPIRE 4K OFFRIDE || ...
Despite being a relatively young coaster fan, The Vampire is still one of my all time favourites that I ride every chance I get, yes it may seem incredibly primitive by US standards and it’s gone through so many budget cuts throughout the years, but it never fails to deliver thrills and atmosphere. Great video dude.
A classic for sure
I wish I could ride it! I love gothic stuff and coasters!? Like together would be a dream...love it!
Aha alas, the primitive rides are often the best. As a fan who had the honor or experiencing both this and the Big Bad Wolf I would be hard pressed to say primitive. Much like many European creations, the overall quality nuanced the rustic underside.
Thanks for mentioning the Bubble Works at the end. All the way through this video, every time you mentioned Vampire or the Transylvania area as a whole "losing charm" all I could think of was how the Bubble Works has changed from one of my favourite dark rides in the UK to the horrible mess of corporate sponsorship it is today... I'm really looking forward to a video on that ride, and hope you can find some good footage showing how it used to be.
I kept it to the end ha
Agreed! When he said that the vampire was Chessingtons most iconic ride I couldn't help but disagree. All about the bubble works, though terror tomb was good too
@@ExpeditionThemePark You know there was another dark ride in a boat at a Tussauds park that became an IP as well. But I won't TOY around with you.
You know John Wardley worked on another boat ride at another Tussauds park that got rethemed
Also loved the 5th Dimension. Used to be a great park in its time.
I used to work at Chessington in the early 90's and at the 'Black Forest Chateau'.
A bit of unknown triva that animatronic organ player is (was) in fact Phill Collins the drummer, singer and musician from the Madam Tussaud Wax Museum.
However we called him Marcel and he drove us all crazy as it would play every 15 minutes throughout the day with classic hits like 'viva espania'.
Lol EDIT: After watching the full video it's a known bit of triva.
What a superb video! I think people forget what a big thing the Vampire was back in 1990. These sort of rides were only found in America usually, so you can imagine what a stir this caused when it opened . I just hope Merlin continue to give it the love and recognition it deserves.
Me tooo
I never forgot how much of a big deal it was after all these years. Went on it again yesterday 💜
I grew up in Chessington and the Vampire was my very first rollercoaster. Getting to ride it once every year using our residents tickets was the highlight of my childhood.
An amazing first coaster
yeah im simmilar to you vampire was also my first roller coaster
"The vampire's organist's face was based on an old Phil Collins wax figure." I just about spit out/choked on my drink at that comment. LOLOL!!!
I absolutely love this ride and was so disappointed when the park let all the theming fall into disrepair. I'm happy they've fixed it up but the ride was so rough and joulting the last time I rode it I don't think it will ever be the same experience again.
You can never beat the old old carriages
Far more jolting is the ‘impressive’ $6mil price tag of a brand new coaster concept in 1990, Disney just spent $300mil on an old coaster concept with Hagrid’s
RIP bubble works
Wahhh
The Big Bad Wolf was one of my favorite coasters, it's a shame it didn't get the same treatment as Vampire. It pretty much closed for the same reasons Vampire almost did; high maintenance costs and the lack of support due to Arrow no longer existing. Hopefully Vampire stays for a while, there's not that many Arrow suspended coasters in existence anymore.
Sorry for replying a month later, but Big Bad Wolf was one of my favorites also, and while Verbolten isn't a bad coaster by any means, it's not Big Bad. I also deeply wish it had been preserved
trust me Chessington have no plans to shut down vampire if anything they will keep it... I work there it is one of the busiest rides there to this day
It needs more of that genius marketing, KFC KFC KFC KFC KFC KFC KFC KFC KFC go to KFC.
“Welp, can’t argue with that, we’re going to KFC”.
This ride was MAGICAL as a kid. The ride experience, the theming it was almost an amazing dream. Top that off with the bubble works. Chessington were creating absolute childhood dreams at this time. I was soo lucky to be along for the ride.
Wholeheartedly agree. Chessington was a big great part of my childhood. I also loved the bubbleworks. The theming and fizzy pop/cartoon style theme was so good.
Need to go back soon, I'm pushing 40 now. There is a new coaster coming next year.
@@rundattmedia2106 I loved the bubble works shame it’s be renamed The Gruffalo they should kept the name
@@peppermint_kisses Rode Gruffalo today was very impressed must say!
Just got back from Chessington and ran straight to this video. Was great to take the kids on a the Vampire for the 1st time. It was (probably) my 1st coaster and it was my daughters too :) | It's showing it's age, but it's still a classic
I love learning about UK theme parks. As a young American theme park enthusiasts this is one of the coolest coasters I've ever seen!
Thanks for watching!
As soon as Desperado was mentioned I knew Lance was going to show up! Love the videos as always!
😂
Even now in 2022, with all the new ride types and technology, there’s nothing like a night time ride on Vampire! Great video, always like watching your UK based episodes.
19:06 There is a small mistake here. There is another Arrow Suspended still operating outside the US. Vortex at Canadas Wonderland. Vampire isn't the only Arrow Suspended outside the US. But it is the only one outside the Americas.
Well yeah sorry that’s I mean. I lived in Toronto so should know 😂
Eagle Fortress at Everland in South Korea is also outside of the US
@@BrendanCorwin1030 That's not still operating though.
That’s the best one too
The vampire has to be one of my top 3 every time I go on there I laugh like a mad scientist at people screaming and creep everyone out
The Vampire Stakehouse, home of the bloodiest stakeburgers.
I think binging What We Do In the Shadows has ruined my perception of vampires, I just kept thinking of references to it while I watched this 😭
This is actually one of my favourite coasters in the uk, just the way it makes you feel flying through the trees and of course the insane music makes it all so fun.
So I first rode this with the original trains. The theme was amazing. It got me really hyped up slightly nervous and was perfect.
By the time we went on school trips I’d already been to Disney and it was starting to get run down. Still loved it.
Recently went with my stepkids.
First up the new trains do not swing as much. The theme was clearly run down. However, in the line , the stepkids were really nervous. The atmosphere still had the same impact.
However, it was so much fun. Stepkids were divided on it. Eldest loved it, youngest was scared.
Think she might just not be that into the coaster experience.
Oh and bubbleworks was a delight. The nonsense in its place is just a waste of a dark ride.
"The UK's first iconic coaster"
Grand National, Big Dipper, Black Hole and Scenic Railway in unison: How dare!
Icon: Yeah, I'm clearly the only Icon here!
Grand National and Big Dipper: Goddammit, Icon, not now.
Corkscrew: Hey guys, have I missed anything?
The original vampire was my first "big" coaster some time in the mid 90s.
Loved it, and the whole park.
Went back once for the "new vampire" and was so disappointed that I never returned to Chessington.
On a side note, I'm an aircraft engineer who used to have to detect leaks in low pressure air systems, for this we used a squirt on leak detector similar to washing liquid...
When I first used it, I asked how I would spot the leak vs the foam that naturally forms from squirting...
"Think Professor burps bubble works" was the answer I was given.
For years I trained apprentices and told them the same, until sadly, I always got the reply "what's that?" 😭 and I knew the world had changed and the younger generation was missing out!
Thank you for creating a brilliantly-researched, accurate and informative video that brings back very happy memories for me (and for many thousands of others).
Thanks for the many smiles you gave us!
@@adamclewer7784 Thanks Adam!
I love learning about UK Theme Parks in your videos. This was really cool. Now I want to see the Troubled History of that Super Mario song! haha
3:24 - "There aren't very many things you can do with a roller coaster in way of theming."
Busch Gardens: Hold my beer
Efteling: Hold my beer
Europa Park: Hold my beer
Phantasialand: Hold my beer
Universal: Hold my butterbeer
Dollywood: Hold my sarsaparilla
Disney: Hold my $20 soda
I love the discount Phantom of the Opera theme.
It was inspired by it!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is my home park and Big Bad wolf was one of my first ever coasters. The current coaster, verbolten, is great, but nothing will ever replace it.
I remember back when the journey to the actual ride was one of my favourite things. Love the ride as a kid as it was my first proper rollercoaster experience. Most themes for parks these day just seem lame and spoiled by sponsors. Great video 👍🏻
Okay, TH-cam? As much as I appreciate the fact that I now have a few MONTHS worth of videos to binge in order to catch up on this channel, I clicked your stupid little bell icon until it was solid for a reason: _because I wanted to get notifications of ALL of this channel's videos._ Thanks a lot for notifying me of exactly NONE OF THEM.🤨
I love your UK videos.
Not the others? 😂 thanks!
@@ExpeditionThemePark erm that sounds pretty bad. I'm from the UK so I have more of a connection with your UK videos. That probably sounds better
I am not even British., and I love the UK videos as well as the others. The UK videos just give me insight into the theme park experience of my British cousins.
Vampire was my first coaster and I loved it so much. We always had lunch in the black forest cafe too. We went back a few years ago and it was honestly heart breaking to see so much of the iconic area now gone. I won't even mention the pain of loosing bubbleworks lol. I cried over a damned dark ride with that one
I’ve wanted to ride this for years now. It is certainly a ride that I would like to get to one day. Big Bad Wolf was one of my first coasters and I was immensely sad when Busch Gardens decided to remove it after it’s 25th Anniversary. Glad to see the Vampire hasn’t suffered the same fate!
I haven’t watched you for 2 and a half years, also RIP Bubble Works 😞.
Defo miss having that ride fly past my office. Such a fantastic coaster, John Wardley really got original transylvania spot on.
I've just realised something. Each john wardley designed coaster in the uk is still operating. Not one has closed forever. Nemesis obvs is currently closed for the re track but not one is gone.
Don’t forget the haunted house and 5th dimension too
ugh I loved bubbleworks more than ANYTHING
12:00 Can’t have an Expedition Theme Park video about Arrow without including Desperado 😂
Completely agree with everything said about the vampire ride. It was my first rollercoaster and you would really get caught up in the theming. I felt a sense of pride last summer when my son rode it for the first time at 4 years old he is very tall for his age 😂. However I feel that theme parks now lack theming and this makes a huge difference. I loved the Erie atmosphere of Transylvania.
Rollercoaster fetish... And ur strapped in so can’t stop you playing with yourself...
I appreciate how you seamlessly wove in the iconic Desperado clip. 10/10
Cannot wait for bubbleworks expedition, never rode it but I love it anyway
And don't forget ze secret formula, juice + Gas = POP!!
I will straight up mourn this Coaster when it closes.
This was my very first Rollercoaster when I was 8 in 2011.
I ride it everytime I head to Chessington. and I cannot get enough of it.
Man I feel old. Just recently turned 37 but like you it was my first ever coaster too back in the early 90's. Very fond memories of Chessington back then, bubbleworks etc.
Need to revisit next year once they have the new coaster built!
Rumor has it that vampire will be going quite soon, so it will either be revamped or it will be going for good
This is the coster that made me interested in roller-coasters
Just rode my 100th coaster this week (Hyperion at Energylandia). Vampire was my first one more than 20 years ago! 🥰
Being an American enthusiast I’ve always looked at this coaster and wanted to ride it, being the only stops suspended coaster outside of North America (Canada’s wonderland has one). Keep the great work up! And I have footage of Southern California rides if you need it
I've Been On Vampire Roller Coaster At Chessington World Of Adventures Theme Park Near London In England And It Was Super Awesome And It Was A Bit Like The Batmobile From The Original Batman Trilogy. Thanks Mate. X
Dis count classic
Yesss
That Vincent Price interview is delightful. Great find.
Entertaining and interesting as always.
Thank you
Chessington in the 90’s was a brilliant day out and The Vampire was a highlight. Haven’t been back for many many years but would like to ride it again with the new trains and updated theming.
First went to Chessington at Easter 1987 but the park was still a building site and I remember being hugely disappointed. The 5th Dimension, mine train and monorail were running but not much else. The restaurant was inside a Portacabin and the log flume boats were stacked up in the car park. Wish I had taken a camera now. First went on the Vampire a few days after it opened and they told us to come back at closing time as they needed bodies for testing so we obliged and were rewarded with about 20 rides. Guess they didn't have enough bodies so half the train was sand bags. Lots of official people standing around wearing suits and holding clipboards and stopwatches. Think they were trying to figure out the timing for running 3 trains but I got the impression it wasn't going well as we witnessed some heated arguments between the suits!
I ran the Big Bad Wolf in the late 80’s. Sad to see them tear it down. A maintenance worker was killed when a train struck him in the head while he was out in the ride area.
"It's hard to imagine a Chessington World of Adventures without a Vampire in it" - be careful mate, we might end up with a "son of vampire" (shudders)...
This was the ride that got me into coasters. I loved the theatre of it and the whole of Transylvania was so immersive - Merlin don't build lands like that anymore and it's something I really miss.
11:55
"Springing up in places like Kuwait, Indonesia, Columbia, China" Nice, nice.
"And Las Vegas" ...oh.
"In fact, the Desperado..." *OH NO*
6:13 Great Scotland Yard. It's Sooty Sweep And Soo From The Sooty Show The Original Series. Thanks Mate. X
When the bubbleworks music began I couldn't help but smile. What a ride that was.
i think the area where Vampire is located is probably the best in any uk park and the rollercoaster blends perfectly in the woods, plus the theming is very nice and looks authentic. well, of course apart from the burger place.
one thing about your videos if i may: i think watching them in winter makes me sad because i feel like the opening season is far, but watching them now makes me excited as the season is just a couple of weeks away :)
god the nostalgia this coaster gives me is insane
Nice episode! It's also the only Arrow suspended roller coaster outside of the United States! This attraction looks very cool and it is very enjoyable! Keep going! 👍👍👍
There's an Arrow suspended coaster at Canada's Wonderland, so it's not the only one outside of the USA.
I was always far too scared to ride The Vampire myself, but I absolutely loved watching it swoop overhead whenever I visited Chessington.
GOT HAPPY! ( Reference to 90s advertising of GET HAPPY CWoA and the song). Thanks for a great history of the ride. My first big coaster in UK. It was brilliant, do prefer the older trains but the theming was great.
One issue they used to have on 3 (the older) trains was the dispatch time. The ride had something like 50 seconds between dispatch and it would shut down if it was over that. I spent a lot of time on the second lift hill waiting!
The entrance is so good and dark especially when you could que in it! Not the walk through we have now.
Don't forget to mention that was the world's largest themed McDonald's at one point! - or so Tussauds used to say!
Hearing that music again gives me chills. God bless.
I rode vampire yesterday for the first time in 10+ years and I really do wonder (and slightly fear) what its future is. It's such a head banger now - actually gave me a bit of a headache. And some of the queue line theming was looking a bit sad.
It's an absolute classic though but they must be wondering if there would actually be value in retracking it. I know I am. 😔
The Vampire is to this day my favourite ride ever. Back in the 90s I went to Chessington a lot and that was hands down the best
Iconic it is! Absolutely love Vampire, its an absolute dream to work on too!
Recently I've created an arrow suspended/swinging coaster on planet coaster. I took heavy inspiration from the vampire especially with the queue and station I even named it"vampire unchained"!
12:17 this joke still lives on with this channel and I absolutely love it
I searched the comments just for this, lol. I love this reference.🤣
Gasp!! An interview with Vincent Price!? And he’s talking about roller coasters?!?😍
Funny how we see 2 people I know, Vincent Price, and a commercial possibly done by Aardman studios in a Creature Comforts style.
I've never been to Chessington (Alton Towers and Drayton Manor were my childhood haunts, and my adulthood has been defined too much aaaargh), and I'm pretty sad that I never got to experience the Vampire in its original heyday. But hey, maybe I'll be able to ride this new revamp sometime.
Also, top tier punning - I very much approve 😁
I went there 2 days ago, went on the Vampire, amazing to ride on. The vampire dude was playing his song btw so its good now
Speaking of Arrow suspended coasters, any chance of getting an episode on Vortex in Canada's Wonderland? I feel like as one of the few surviving unaltered Arrow suspended coasters it might warrant a conversation XD
What is the most iconic UK coaster? Also when I said outside of the US I meant North America sorry 😣
The big one
Nemesis, at least, probably here in the U.S. This looks similar to a European Big Bad Wolf!
@@screamingacn it is the same model (arrow suspended coaster) as big bad wolf
The Big One, though as I’m from Blackpool I would say that.
The Wicker Man is my favourite. The theming is absolutely amazing and I've always loved wooden coaster.
The vampire, the bat, the iron dragon, all suspended coasters, all I believe are arrow design? Interesting, amazing video thanks for the great coverage here, I just might have to figure out how to get to the UK to experience some of these myself, definitely the best park's outside the USA
I know I’m very late end but I’ve been binging all of your videos again recently, and I live in Williamsburg. So seeing you mention big bad Wolf brought a nostalgic smile to my face. That was the first roller coaster I ever went on as a child. Nowadays roller coasters are a big part of my life, but I will never forget how amazing big bad wolf whites. I miss that ride so much
I have fond memories of Big Bad Wolf in Williamsburg as well
Got some Dark Shadows vibes from the building with the three Golden Arches. XD
I'm queuing up watching this FFS it has just turned up the stress level to 90% 🙏👻🙈
Your videos are so amazing. I love learning all about different rides and it's almost more fun for rides I've never ridden. It's like experiencing the ride for the first time.
Thank you!
You're very welcome
My first coaster, thanks so much for this video. I went to chessington in the 1990s when everything worked and the theming was awesome. Its a bit sad that they didnt look after the theming as it really made the ride special (especially as a kid). What they did to bubbleworks was awful, but i will look forward to the video when it comes out.
Imperial Leather Bubbleworks is a true case of poor care and disrespect to the original team designing the ride.
@@thecinematicmind so is the Gruffalo. Instead of bringing back Bubbleworks to its former glory, Merlin decided to slap an IP on a still missed beloved attraction.
I find it hard to believe that a park would not upkeep the theme of an ride. After all, they are called "Theme Parks" for a reason. Can you picture Disney letting some of the animatronics go wonky on the Haunted Mansion??
It sadly happens a lot more than you would think. Poor maintenance, parks get sold and the new owners don't care, etc. Even Disney doesn't have a perfect trackrecord in up-keeping all aspects of their rides though, that's simply impossible.
Unfortunately money matters a lot with these things. I'm sure if every theme park was as wealthy as Disneyland then they would keep up to the same standards but, especially in the UK, parks just dont have the money to do that. That being said, vision and creativity is also important, and from about 2002-2011 I'd say there was a period in the UK where a lot of the big parks simply lacked the imagination and skill needed to make well-themed rides and so the result was mediocre rides with little to no theming being produced and older rides being left in shambles, especially in the early years of Merlin taking over the parks from Tussauds in 2007. Still, I think it was probably more down to finances than anything.
I’m sorry but I refuse to believe this failed. I mean, you guys saw it, they have an *actual* vampire ride it. How could that go wrong?
I was the Ride area team leader for Transylvania (along with a certain Ms Burns) when it reopened with the vekoma trains. The two of us were the first to go on the ride after the water barrels to test it and a ride by the big Dutch man from vekoma. He then trained us to operate it which took about 5 minutes. “Press this, turn this, press this, don’t touch that. There, good ride yah!” And from that the ride operators manual was written. The new ride was good but nothing compared to operating or loading the old ride on a three train day. 20 seconds to unload, load and dispatch the train. Plus as a keepsake I still have the dispatch button from the original Arrow control panel from the first incarnation which somehow came home with me after the last ride…….
One of my all time favourites! All the music in the loading bay is an absolute bop
So good
Heavily detailed theme area (plus giant McDonalds logos)
That was actually later I just couldn’t find earlier footage
@@ExpeditionThemePark I can only imagine how difficult it is to find all the 90s 00s footage, it’s amazing you’re able to find as much as you do! Loved the vid :)
It was a great theme for a McDonalds inside and out. It never had the creepy floor rising organist like the original Restaurant but was still great. The only thing scary about the restaurant now is the prices.
Your puns are iconic. 😀👍
vampire is really unique to me, it sort of stops and starts, like going along a straight, it'll slow down, and you can feel it, but them once it goes down again you get pulled away just like the first drop, i think it's due to how heavy it is and it's so unique, i've never felt anything like it anywhere else
We get it.
Wow. This coaster looks incredible. Overly-themed coasters are so underrated.
Overthemed Western though, something about the mine carts for me. Australia used to have the best mine cart ride around at Dreamworld, sent you backwards, had a fake broken track you’d sharply turn at the last minute from, while going in and out of a massive fake mountain feeling the cart is going to fall off the tracks on the edge.
I can’t wait for the Bubble Works episode!
Nobody does theme parks better than the Americans and after experiencing them, here in the U.K. we just can’t compete. I remember going to Chessington and Thorpe Park before I’d ever been to the U.S., and although I liked them, they weren’t anything particularly special. I did like The Vampire though, which, considering I’m not a coaster fan anyway, says a lot. Going to the U.S., and Florida in particular really opened my eyes to just how good theme parks could be if they were done right. Unfortunately, here in the U.K., things haven’t really changed and even somewhere like Alton Towers isn’t anywhere near as good as somewhere like Busch Gardens. Maybe there’s a reluctance to spend millions of pounds on creating anything like DisneyWorld, which is a shame. From my experiences, nothing in American theme parks is out of place and you never see litter, whereas here, they tend to be a little shabby, a little bit neglected and not particularly well thought out. You definitely don’t get the same kind of experience. The first time I went to DisneyWorld, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios Orlando, I was in my early thirties and I was like an 8 year old experiencing them for the very first time. So, so different to what we have here. By the way, I hated Bubble Works at Chessington, but definitely really enjoyed The Vampire.
Disney and Universal make a lot of their money from their movies so they can afford to spend ridiculous amounts of money like Adventure Islands/Universal in their new Harry Porter ride which cost $330 millions of dollars . Unless people wants to pay ridiculous amounts of money I don’t understand how the would possibly for other parks to justify spending the much on a ride .
I love the fact that even when it’s about a uk coaster you manage to put in the buffalo bills desperado. “That was stupid” video. Love this video.
You can Now join American Coaster Enthusiasts Europe branch
Woo!
Awsome video and specially a suspended coaster. Truely great and great puns used. awsome
IDK about you, but im hooked on chess, chess, Chessington Zoo!
"FANG YOU"
No way did you just...
The continuous, laboured puns in this were terrible. And I'm here for it.
Yeasssssss we will see you Necks time
Ok, but the Vampire soundtrack slaps
I was starting to miss the "really stupid" inserts, glad they're back
It’s been long enough 😂
Although I've been on far more intense coasters now vampire was my favourite coaster for years and my first "major" coaster and what got me into coasters so i hold it in a special place for that
You *sucked the life* right out of those vampire puns
Vincent Price got an interview? Sweet!
The vampire is the ride that got me over my fear of rollercoasters