| 5th Dimension | |
| Location: | Chessington World of Adventures |
| Status: | Removed |
| Replacement: | Terror Tomb |
| Type: | Dark ride |
| Manufacturer: | Mack Rides |
| Designer: | Tussauds Studios |
| Model: | Prototype dark ride transit |
| Theme: | Cyberspace |
| Capacity: | 1,200 |
| Vehicles: | 5 |
| Rows: | 24 |
| Riders Per Row: | 4 |
| Duration: | 7 minutes |
The 5th Dimension was a dark ride at the Chessington World of Adventures Resort in southwest London, England, when the theme park opened and was the first major special effects attraction of its kind in the UK. The ride closed at the end of the 1993 season and was replaced by Terror Tomb, which in turn has been replaced by Tomb Blaster. The ride was designed with cars that could stop and rotate to face what was happening in the scene; the same transit system is in use today.
The ride opened in the summer of 1987, designed and produced by Madame Tussauds Studios and originally sponsored by Hitachi. The ride followed the character of "computer trouble shooter" robot Zappomatic, through a series of eclectic scenes set inside a malfunctioning computer generated reality, with large scale animations and special effects. The transit system was manufactured by Mack Rides from a bespoke concept by John Wardley.
Upon its initial opening, The 5th Dimension was considered a disappointment by the park management because it did not attract enough attendance. Once in the ride, guest reception was largely positive but with confusion about its narrative thread.[1] The ride was extensively redesigned for its second season to make it more appealing to younger visitors, including rewriting Zappomatic as a TV repair robot on a mission to defeat a virus named "The Gorg".[2] [3] The ride operated for another six seasons, until being replaced by Terror Tomb in 1994.