Safari Skyway

Safari Skyway was a monorail ride that opened in 1986 at Chessington World of Adventures Resort, in the Market Square area (Now called Adventure Point). Manufactured by Mack Rides, the ride gave guests a guided tour of Chessington Zoo, and in its first year, the construction of Chessington World of Adventures theme park. The ride ran for almost thirty years before closing abruptly in late July 2015. In early January 2016, the park announced that the ride would be retired due to continuous troubles with maintenance for the ride.[1]

Safari Skyway
Ride cars in 2012
Chessington World of Adventures
AreaMarket Square
StatusRemoved
Opening date1986 (1986)
Closing date31 July 2015 (2015-07-31)
General statistics
Attraction typeMonorail
ManufacturerMack Rides
MusicThe Call to Adventure
Duration8:00
Closure announcedJanuary 2016

History

Safari Skyway was opened in 1986, as one of the first rides to open at Chessington World of Adventures.[2] Safari Skyway's entrance was towards the back of the Market Square area, and the monorail gave a guided tour of the zoo, lawn and mansion area. In later years of the ride's operation, maintenance of the aging monorail system became difficult, and it suffered frequent breakdowns, including an incident in 2009 when a park-wide power cut stranded the monorail cars mid-route, forcing those inside to be rescued by a cherry picker.[3]

Description

The ride took approximately 8 minutes,[4] and the maximum height restriction for riders was 1.96 meters. Riders under 1.1 meters had to be accompanied by someone 16 or over.[5] The ride passed such features in Chessington Zoo, such as Sea Lion Bay, Amazu, Trail of the Kings and other areas. It first passed the smaller animals in the Children's Zoo, before going behind the Sea Life Centre and near to the Lodge Gate entrance. The ride continued passing nearby (but not directly above) the gorillas, lions and sea lions before returning to the station via the theme park.[4]

  • Station building in 2015
  • Sealion Bay from Safari Skyway in 2006

See also

References
  1. http://www.chessington.com/plan/faq/150/safari-skyway.aspx
  2. "Chessington History". Theme Park Guide. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  3. B., Matt. "Chessington Power Cut Rescue (The only part)". YouTube. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  4. "Safari Skyway". Coaster Force. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  5. "Market Square". Chessington World of Adventures. Retrieved 15 October 2013.


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