The 5th Dimension (ride)

5th Dimension
Chessington World of Adventures
StatusClosed
Opening date1987
Closing date1993
Replaced byTerror Tomb
General statistics
Attraction type Dark ride
Manufacturer Mack Rides
Designer John Wardley
Theme Cyberspace
Capacity 1,200 riders per hour
Vehicles 5
Rows 24
Riders per row 3
Duration 7 minutes

The 5th Dimension was a dark ride at Chessington World of Adventures Resort when the theme park opened and was the first major dark ride attraction of its kind in the UK. Its narrative followed the character of TV repair robot Zappomatic. The ride closed at the end of the 1993 season and was replaced by Terror Tomb, which in turn has been replaced by Tomb Blaster. The ride was designed with cars that could rotate to face what was happening in the scene, an effect still used today in the ride's current incarnation as Tomb Blaster.

History and Removal

The ride opened in the summer of 1987 and was sponsored by Hitachi. It went through several script revisions and technical changes in its first seasons of operation. Riders were taken through large sets depicting Zappomatic's journey through the computer-generated "fifth dimension" to find and defeat a monstrous computer virus named The Gorg. The scenes featured animatronics and pyrotechnic effects.

Upon opening, The 5th Dimension was considered a failure by the park because it did not meet guest popularity expectations and it became the first major attraction to be removed from the theme park, being replaced in 1994 by Terror Tomb. However, the ride left a significant legacy among those who remember the original ride.

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Coordinates: 51°20′57″N 0°19′10″W / 51.34917°N 0.31944°W