Farewell Safari Skyway
January 7th 2016
Farewell Safari Skyway. Earlier today, Chessington World of Adventures officially announced the removal of the much-loved Safari Skyway. As previously reported, the ride’s queue line has already been removed. And only yesterday was the attraction taken off of the official Chessington website. A small tribute to the ride has been posted on the FAQ page stating:
“Safari Skyway has been a firm favourite for many years and in fact was one of the original rides at Chessington World of Adventures Resort as it opened as a Theme Park back in 1987. As a result of ongoing maintenance issues, the decision has been made to retire Safari Skyway from the Chessington ride offering. This was a difficult decision to make as we know the ride has been a firm favourite amongst our Adventurers over the years however with exciting new shows and attractions planned for the 2016 season and beyond, we’re committed to ensuring the continued development of the Resort.”
– Chessington World of Adventures
Of course, the removal of the ride hasn’t come as much of a surprise. Throughout the last two years, the ride’s operation has been less than smooth. Getting off to a rocky start in 2014, the attraction didn’t properly reopen until the May Bank Holiday of that year. And was again forced to close in early September, this time for the rest of the season. Since then, the ride had been operating with a maximum of eight trains.
Serving as one of the most popular family attractions available at Chessington. This will no doubt be a great loss to the line-up, one which even park management may regret. Due to this, we are glad the resort made a full public announcement about the closure of this historic ride. We’re certainly going to miss this classic attraction. Join us as we say farewell Safari Skyway.
