Safari Skyway was a

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...

ride that opened in 1986 at

Chessington World of Adventures Resort Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, with the theme park being developed along ...

, in the

Market Square area Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

(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.

History

''Safari Skyway'' was opened in 1986, as one of the first rides to open at Chessington World of Adventures. Safari Skyway's entrance was towards the back of the

, and the

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 An aerial work platform (AWP), also known as an aerial device, elevating work platform (EWP), cherry picker, bucket truck or mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) is a mechanical device used to provide temporary access for people or equipment t ...

Description

The ride took approximately 8 minutes, 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. The ride passed such features in

Chessington Zoo Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, with the theme park being developed alo ...

, 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 Sea Life is a chain of commercial marine life, sea life-themed aquarium tourism, attractions. there are 53 Sea Life attractions (including standalone Sea Life centres, mini Sea Life features within resort theme parks, and Legoland submarine ri ...

and near to the Lodge Gate entrance. The ride continued passing nearby (but not directly above) the

gorillas Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

and

sea lions Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

before returning to the station via the theme park.

Gallery

File:SafariSkywayCWOA.JPG, Station building in 2015 File:Sea Lions at Chessington World of Adventures.jpg, Sealion Bay from Safari Skyway in 2006

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.34863, -0.31728, region:GB, display=title Chessington World of Adventures rides Tourist attractions in London 1986 establishments in the United Kingdom 2015 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Monorails in the United Kingdom Amusement rides manufactured by Mack Rides

History

Description

Gallery

See also

References

External links