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Chessington World of Adventures holding public consultation regarding “current proposals and new developments” - potential new attraction?

Matt N

CF Legend
Chessington has today announced that it is holding a public consultation on 19th September regarding “updates on current projects” (I’m assuming this means the waterpark) as well as “new developments”:

Seeing as they’ve already had a consultation for the waterpark, as well as the fact that the promo leaflet mentions “new developments”, I’m going to take a guess that something new is going to be unveiled here… I wonder what it could be?
 
Guess with Paultons future looking bright they have to do something. Hopefully some TLC as i thought some parts of the park and zoo were looking quite shabby and they need to sort Scorpion Express out, either fix it or scrap it and add something new.

When it comes to the waterpark i was just looking at the planning doc (see documents) and they did add some traffic information in July but its still not gone through.
 
The consultation could be for revamped waterpark plans. Could also be for a replacement for them, or for something else entirely.

There's a fair bit of the park which needs work. Tomb Blaster. Zufari. Scorpion Express. All big blights on the park. Something like Land of the Dragons needs attention. Parts of the Zoo could do with TLC. Vampire is aging. An extension to the park/resort, a la Jumanji Land, wouldn't be bad, but would be ignoring some of the bigger issues the park has at the moment.

There's also been some rumours knocking about that the park are considering removing / scaling back parts of the Zoo. Whether there's truth in those rumours is another thing, but I wonder if this consultation will make things clearer there
 
I think a ride like Uncharted at PortAventura, would be a great fit at Chessington. Apparently, Project Horizon at Alton Towers has been scrapped/changed to the point that the ride system has too, so maybe Chessington could get one!
 
Yeah they are desperately lacking a kiddie cred - my daughter is 95cm and has 26 creds to her name but there is no coaster at Chessington she can ride, even Thorpe Park has one she can do.
There is definitely a gap there that needs addressing sooner than later

I'm hoping that this consultation would have at least one family coaster (hopefully two but let's not push it)

Even if it's one of those classic Zierer Force models ☺️
 
Information is now online about what Chessington intends to discuss at the consultation. In summation, we have three main points of interest in terms of new things. These are:
  • Project Refresh and Renew: Wild Asia and the area currently occupied by Explorer Glamping are to be rethemed into a brand new themed land. The centrepiece attraction will be a brand new roller coaster “with indoor and outdoor elements”, and other draws include a rethemed and repositioned Kobra, a new indoor attraction, and a new outdoor play area. Interactive retail and food and beverage opportunities will also be present.
  • Project Play: This is a little bit more blue sky, by the looks of things, but the northern end of Mexicana, encompassing Scorpion Express and the Children’s Zoo, is to be rethemed into a children’s area “similar to CBeebies Land at Alton Towers”. The design concept is still being developed, but this could include a children’s roller coaster, children’s flat rides, a themed play scape and meet and greet areas, amongst other things.
  • Animal Movements: Some of the animals are to be moved to a dedicated area in Wanyama Village and Reserve from their current homes. The lorikeets are to be relocated here from Wild Asia as part of Project Refresh and Renew, and other animals are also to be relocated here.
In terms of some existing announced projects, other updates have also been provided:
  • The previously granted Safari Lodges are being targeted for a 2027 opening.
  • The waterpark development is ongoing, and they hope to seek planning permission at the earliest opportunity.
  • The southern Macaw car park is to be resurfaced using a similar geogrid surfacing system to that at Legoland Windsor.
Doesn’t this all sound rather exciting? I’ll be interested to hear whether there are any more details from the consultations later on!
 
Wild Asia retheme:

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Application set to go into council in October, so could be looking at a Spring 2026 opening.

The question is, is the coaster the old Project Horizon is?

In any case, the plan gives me a "Studio Tour at Movie Park Germany" vibe, so...
 
I like the idea of an indoor coaster but the site plan looks incredibly boxy. I'm getting an industrial 'city' vibe...I hope it's not that.

Aren't there higher priorities at Chessie than replacing Wild Asia? It's not even a bad area and hasn't been around that long.
 
I’ve heard an interesting theory that Project Refresh and Renew could possibly be the materialisation of an interesting market research concept outlined by Merlin earlier this year… the concept outlined a Minecraft land at either Chessington or Alton Towers. If it is Minecraft, that would explain the boxy aesthetic on the site plan…

If it ends up being this, I think it could be a huge hit for Chessington!
 
Impressive plans 👏👏👏

I'm genuinely curious on what will happen to the Dodgems and Monkey Swinger. I can imagine the Wave Swinger might get relocated to Thorpe Park as it would fit in there however not so sure on the Dodgems.
 
I’ve heard an interesting theory that Project Refresh and Renew could possibly be the materialisation of an interesting market research concept outlined by Merlin earlier this year… the concept outlined a Minecraft land at either Chessington or Alton Towers. If it is Minecraft, that would explain the boxy aesthetic on the site plan…

If it ends up being this, I think it could be a huge hit for Chessington!
I mean.. the shape of this patch of grass alone screams Minecraft, surely? Would be an odd design choice if not.

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How long before someone pre-creates this new land in Minecraft?
 
Can confirm Intamin.

Monkey Swinger and Jungle Bus likely to be relocated and moved to another part of the park.

Tuk Tuk is dead in the woods and past salvaging.

I’m lead to believe this is very much a phase one.
Do you know if Rattlesnake is staying?
 
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