Professor Burp’s Leaving Do
Last night, Chessington put on a special event after the park closed for the season to allow Bubbleworks fans one last ride before the ducks invade next year. Photos from the evening are here.
It was supposed to encompass an hour and a half exclusive ride time but, since only 50 people turned up for the start, it lasted just less than an hour.
Chessington hadn’t put on much of a show - the only perk was a free ride photo mousemat - so we had to create the party atmosphere ourselves. Some of us went further than others: our boat ended up singing the theme tune whilst floating around waving goodbye to Professor Burp, the Hiccups, the Cream Soda cow and all the other characters (I think I may have been getting overly emotional when I tried to say goodbye to the red laser powering the sensor at the top of the drop though).
Chatting to a couple of the staff afterwards, it seems the Imperial Leather re-theme/sponsorship deal might not be too bad:
- The layout will be identical to now
- The Hiccups are being replaced by an egg, a half-egg-half-chicken and a chicken (??)
- Supposedly the only changes to the Fountain Finale will be to the drop, which will become a giant plug hole
- Minor changes to the fairground scene include ducks riding the cola coaster
- The station will be rethemed as an underwater submarine
- The boats will become red and white (similar to The Flume but without gold taps), with the possibility of a gold rail around the side. They’ve decided against having little model ducks sitting on the edge of the boats quacking throughout the ride.
Exactly how much changes, we’ll find out next year. It’s just a pity poor old Professor Burp has been thrown out, although I hear he may be in for a nice retirement package (might be an idea to keep an eye out on eBay).
Professor Burp’s Bubbleworks
1990 - 2005
