The 5th Dimension (Original Version), Chessington – 1987 On-Ride POV

The 5th Dimension dark ride at Chessington World of Adventures as it first opened, recorded on the park preview day in July 1987. This is the only available recording of the original intended version of the ride before it was completely reworked with a simpler story and characters for its second season. Follow Chessington Archive here— Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chessingtonarchive Facebook: https://facebook.com/chessingtonarchive/ This super rare tape reveals the original show with riders entering a computer screen (not a TV in this version) for a ride into a virtual reality world gone wrong, meeting ‘computer troubleshooter’ Zapomatic and exploring a series of strange virtual worlds! The parody sci-fi dark ride was based on concepts by satirist writer Douglas Adams but opened to a very confused response with UK guests for various reasons. For its second season it was decided to change the ride. This came at a cost of losing the original concept, the more sophisticated animation programming and production quality seen here, though more scenic detail was added. However the altered version is the ride as most people remember it and have very fond memories of! It eventually closed in 1993 to become Terror Tomb (now Tomb Blaster). This tape has been donated to ETPA by the original owner. #themepark #darkride #chessington #chessingtonworldofadventures

Added 3 Apr 2026