Project Felix
Project Felix entered planning during the 2017 season and sought to improve an ageing area of the park, Mystic East. With much of the large theming features removed. The land was in desperate need of some love. Plans indicated that updating the area was paramount, and Chessington intended to do it justice.
Plans included the removal of a number of structures. Most notable were Peeking Heights. Opening originally at Thorpe Park as Eclipse. It moved to Chessington ahead of the 2005 season and became known as Peeking Heights. Sadly, it suffered from several issues. It very rarely operated at full capacity and didn’t fit with the theme of the land.
Removing Peeking Heights as well as the former Coke Pagoda building opened up a lot of space. It allowed Chessington to play with ideas. With the idea of bringing in a new breed of Tiger at the forefront of plans. Clearly, the park needed to do something new. Three tiger bridges allow tigers to be up above guests.
The land also detailed new viewing galleries for the new tiger enclosures, detailed theming, and a new large theming feature to replace the former stone heads. The stone heads were removed for the 2013 season following safety concerns. The large tiger head that was planned to replace them was original and looked great. Guests travelled through the mouth in the plans.
The Project Felix plans were exciting. Once a few planning issues had been resolved, things were finalised, and construction began. What came of it was Land of the Tiger and Tiger Rock, replacing the dated Mystic East and Dragon Falls.
