Vampire (roller coaster) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Vampire |
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Vampire's second lift hill and drop.
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| Chessington World of Adventures | |
| Location | Chessington World of Adventures |
| Park section | Wild Woods |
| Coordinates | 51°20′50″N 0°18′56″W / 51.347279°N 0.315607°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | 11 April 1990 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Suspended |
| Manufacturer | Arrow Dynamics |
| Designer | John Wardley |
| Model | Suspended Swinging Coaster |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift |
| Height | 70 ft (21 m) |
| Length | 2,200 ft (670 m) |
| Speed | 45 mph (72 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| G-force | 4 |
| Height restriction | 43.3 in (110 cm) |
| Trains | 2 trains with 12 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 24 riders per train. |
| Theme | Gothic |
 Fastrack available |
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 Wheelchair accessible |
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| Vampire at RCDB | |
Vampire (first called The Vampire) is an exciting roller coaster at Chessington World of Adventures theme park. You can find it in London, England. It opened in 1990 in an area then called "Transylvania," which is now known as "Wild Woods."
This ride is special because it's the only one of its kind (made by Arrow Dynamics) still running outside of North America. The trains on Vampire hang below the track. They swing freely as the coaster moves along its path.
The ride has two big hills that lift you up. It features many exciting dives and turns. Most of the ride takes place through a forest, making it feel like a spooky adventure. John Wardley designed how the ride moves. A British company called Sparks Creative Services created its cool theme.
In 2001, Vampire was updated. It got new trains made by Vekoma. The ride reopened in 2002 with these new trains.
Contents
History of the Vampire Roller Coaster
The Spooky Theme of Vampire
The Vampire roller coaster has a Gothic theme. This means it looks like old castles and spooky stories. When it first opened, the ride had many cool details. The queue line, where you wait, went through castle gates. There was a foggy tunnel under the track. You would also see a graveyard area with Gothic tombs. A dark path led into the station.
The station looked like a castle ballroom. It had chandeliers that looked like they were on fire. There were Gothic paintings on the walls. A large pipe organ was a main decoration. Special lights and sounds made the experience even more dramatic. The famous music in the station was composed by Graham Smart. It sounded like an organ playing a Gothic rock song, similar to The Phantom of the Opera.
The station also had an animatronic organ player. This is a robot that looks like a person. It used to move as if playing the music. Sadly, over time, many of these cool features have been removed. In 2015, the graveyard canopy was taken down. The grand chandeliers in the station were also removed. Now, much of the original themed queue and station is gone.
The roller coaster trains were originally black and looked like bats. Near the end of the ride, the coaster drops suddenly into a tunnel. Then it reaches the brakes. The tunnel used to be longer and darker, designed to look like a cave. But this part has also been changed. In 1998, the ride was partly updated with new logos.
How Vampire Got New Trains
As Vampire got older, it started to have problems. It broke down often and needed a lot of repairs. The company that built it, Arrow Dynamics, had gone out of business. This made it hard to fix the issues. Because of these problems, Vampire closed for the 2001 season. Many people thought it would be taken down forever.
But instead of removing the ride, a different plan was made. They decided to change Vampire so it could use a new kind of suspended coaster train. The actual track of the ride stayed the same. Changing the track would have needed special permission, which was hard to get. Since the ride was a suspended swinging model, with tight turns, any new trains also had to be able to swing. This swinging helps reduce the side-to-side forces (called G-forces) on riders.
This led to the creation of new swinging suspended floorless coaster trains. These were made by a company called Vekoma. These new trains are still used on Vampire today. The updated ride opened in 2002, giving Vampire a new life!
Images for kids
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Former ride entrance
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Ride station, themed as an abbey, with an organ in the far back
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Animatronic organ player
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Riders in sitting position
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Helix after lift two
