Bubbleworks
| Bubbleworks | |||||||||||
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Ride exterior in 2015 | |||||||||||
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| Attraction type | Dark ride | ||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Mack Rides | ||||||||||
| Designer | Sparks Group, Rex Studios, Dan Longley & John Wardley | ||||||||||
| Theme | Bubble Factory | ||||||||||
| Capacity | 1,200 riders per hour | ||||||||||
| Duration | 6 minutes | ||||||||||
 Fastrack available | |||||||||||
Bubbleworks (formerly Professor Burp's Bubble Works) is a dark water ride opened in 1990 at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in southwest London, England. It takes up to four riders on a boat through a series of animated bubble-themed scenes, including a unique tunnel fountain ending.
History
The ride was created as part of the second phase to regenerate Chessington Zoo into a popular theme park. The Transylvania area in Chessington World of Adventures Resort was created in 1990,[1] opening with two major rides designed by John Wardley; the Vampire and Professor Burp's Bubbleworks. Professor Burp's Bubbleworks features a Mack Rides theatrical boat ride,[2] with circular tubs holding up to four people as they travel through animated factory scenes.[3]
Sparks Creative Services oversaw the ride's construction and animations for each scene. John Wardley developed the initial concept of a Bavarian brewery into a magical fizzy pop factory, collaborating with Siriol Animation to create the original characters Prof Burp and the Bubbleheads. The musical score was composed and produced by Graham Smart. The Vampire roller coaster initially overshadowed the opening of Professor Burp's Bubbleworks.[4] The ride continued to be advertised as "new" to garner more attention. The dark ride went on to be highly successful, frequently voted third best dark ride in the world by the National Amusement Park Historical Association.
Professor Burp's Bubbleworks operated for 15 years until its retheme at the end of 2005, when it was renamed simply Bubbleworks.[3] Since it was re-themed, the ride has been sponsored by the Imperial Leather brand of Cusson's toiletries company. Most of the animated effects were either removed or made static during this redesign, with the original sets being stripped of their paintwork. For a while, this branding remained, even after the licensing period that Imperial Leather had purchased expired. The Imperial Leather branding was removed in a minor refurbishment in 2014.
References
- ↑ "History of attractions / timeline: Chessington". Chessington UK. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
- ↑ "Vampire". T-Park. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- 1 2 "Chessington History". Theme Park Guide. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- ↑ http://themeuk.net/Chessington_History/1991/1991pt1.jpg[]
External links
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![http://themeuk.net/Chessington_History/1991/1991pt1.jpg[]](http://themeuk.net/Chessington_History/1991/1991pt1.jpg[]){kind=link}
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Coordinates: 51°20′51″N 0°18′56″W / 51.34750°N 0.31556°W