Mandrill Mayhem

A Mayhem or a Whimper?

Ever since Merlin took over Tussauds in 2007, there has been a problem with Chessington World of Adventures. On the extreme ride level you have nearby Thorpe Park, for the family/younger family you have Legoland. Chessington had that ideology of the gap inbetween but as the years progressed, it seemed to be more about having a Zoo with rides. Almost like a UK Busch Gardens, just on a much smaller scale. The years went on and although there was always a new coaster rumoured, it never happened, until 2023 when Mandrill Mayhem officially opened a full 19 years since the last coaster (Dragon's Fury!)

 

The World of Jumanji is Chessington's biggest investment in years and the star attraction; a new B&M Wing Coaster but unlike its nearby neighbour The Swarm at Thorpe Park, this one is a launched shuttle coaster, the first one from the manufacturer.

 

 

  

 

Much like with Wicker Man at Alton Towers and Chessington's own Tiger Rock there is a centrepiece to the ride and that is the Jaguar Shrine, where one of the ends of the coaster circles, it certainly helps to make an impression, even if it does look slightly too similar to the aforementioned Tiger Rock centrepiece. For the more eagle eyed people you'll see the first spike of the coaster and another one for the debate is it an inversion?

 

The queueing situation on opening day was via a free virtual queue only, where you would scan a QR code (or alternatively a link from the Chessington app) on your phone, to get a timeslot to be back at the entrance to join the physical queue. Once you've been granted access to join the physical queue, you have 45 minutes to use it, else you've lost your place and have to start the process again. 

 

I'll be honest, I wasn't too keen on the idea, if the idea was to implement it similar to the free fastrack days of 20+ years ago, I get the use but several times on opening day it felt it was not really needed, with most the day only having a 20 min queue despite using the virtual queuing method, there were several times it looked like the queue would be emptied and despite my countdown clock saying I still had 20 mins before I could join the physical queue. Hopefully these are just teething issues that can get sorted out, the queue certainly looks like it could hold more than on Dragon's Fury, a ride that should have the same hourly capacity.

Boarding feels a bit of a faff compared to The Swarm and other wing coasters, as you cannot wait outside your assigned rows gates whilst the coaster is moving, instead, only after has the previous train fully emptied, can you go into the station building and go straight to the assigned row. With the airgates there, fingers crossed this is just another teething issue to work out, as despite the staff getting those trains out as quickly & efficiently as they can, it does slow the process down just a tad, especially, if you are on the right side of the train and have to wait on the left side of the train until the previous passengers have left the station.

 

Once we've been checked, we're good to go on our journey through Jumanji, first place the backwards spike!

The first launch backwards, has a surprising amount of kick to it for a "family" coaster. Certainly more forceful than Icon at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, but not as forceful as the Intamin launches. And with a small drop straight after that initial launch, it can still take you a little bit by surprise, no matter how many times you ride it. The reverse spike, is a fun element, but it does very much depend on where you sit. The first 3, possibly 4 rows, you don't really notice it and it follows more of what you'd expect from a family coaster. Rows 5 and 6, you get a nice pop of airtime and feels like it's more geared to a family thrill audience, it's not quite Saw the Ride's beyond vertical drop, but it feels like its the family version. I imagine Row 7, this is even more exaggerated but unfortunately, I never got chance to go on this row on opening day, so I cannot pass judgement on it.

Once we're back on the launch track, we get a noticeable kick of speed, before we turn left out of the station and behind the Mamba Strike ride

This is rather tight left turn and pulls a surprising amount of G force for a "family" coaster, perhaps not as noticeable on the left side of the train but certainly on the right and this leads into the selling point of the ride; Chessington's first inverting roller coaster. The inversion is full of hangtime, something which you don't get on nearby The Swarm at Thorpe and is certainly much different than anything Chessington has had and has got currently and this is the park that once had Samurai and Ramesis Revenge. The only issue I have with the inversion, some of the Wing Coaster "bouncing" seems to be very prevalent on it and considering it's a new coaster means it'll be interesting how this changes as the ride gets older. It's not rough, but it is noticeable.

As you leave the inversion, you take another left turn, this time past the other ride in the area, Ostrich Stampede before making a gradual drop over some wooden spikes into the next speed boost

   

Just like the launches before it, it has a noticeable kick, before you start to circle the centrepiece of the area/coaster, the Jaguar Shrine.  There's a good few lateral forces as your start the ascent, again more noticeable on the right side of the train, but only for the first bend, as very quickly the momentum runs out and depending on how heavy your train is, will ultimately depend on high your go. On the left side of the train, the angle of ascent and height is not that noticeable, on the right side though it feels surprisingly higher and at a strange angle. If you know where to look, much like on Vampire and Dragon's Fury, you'll see the London landmarks such as Canary Wharf, The Shard etc on a clear day.

Once we have lost all of our momentum, it's time to repeat it the journey, this time in reverse (or frontwards if you were lucky enough to get Row 7)
 

Unfortunately, the incline really took out the momentum of the train and it seems to descend it a lot slower than it ascended it, it's only when we hit the speed boost just after the Jaguar Shrine, that the speed increases significantly. However, as we now have to go up the gentle slope that we descended earlier, this takes away the momentum we've just gained and the "bouncing" seems to have returned. When we reach the inversion, due to the slower speed, it has a lot more hangtime than the first time before descending back into the station.

Unlike most shuttle coasters, it does not incline the reverse spike again, instead, it stops with some relative kick on the launch track before stopping back in the station.

 

Question is though, was it worth the 19 year wait? Most definitely! Mandrill Mayhem has such a fun first half, with surprising G Forces, especially for Chessington. Is it the best coaster in the park? For me no, whilst it is a fun ride, it does not quite feel the whole package of what Dragon's Fury is and to a lesser extent, Vampire. Mandrill Mayhem's reverse trip, feels a slight let down than what the forwards trip did beforehand, not to say it is bad, but the pacing isn't quite there. That said though, it is what Chessington needed, a modern new coaster, with some intense elements, something that the park was desperately missing. 

The Good:

• Good operations considering
  
• Surprising G Forces
  
• The reverse spike on Rows 5 & 6
  
• Longer ride than it looks
• The hangtime on the inversion
  

The Bad: 

• Some noticeable Wing Coaster "bouncing"
  
• The reverse trip not as powerful as the forwards trip
• Feels like it is just missing something compared to the other two major coasters on park
  

The Ugly: 

• Odd loading procedure from the queueline
  

The Verdict:
  
3.5/5

More of my Mandrill Mayhem photos can be seen here: