A planning application has been submitted by Chessington World of Adventures Resort to install two additional children’s flat rides in the Pirates’ Cove area of the theme park, alongside associated theming and landscaping.

Codenamed Project Anchor, the development will see two children’s rides installed in the area between Blue Barnacle and Seastorm. The first of the rides, located on the west part of the site, will be a water barrels ride, which will have a ride operations booth themed as a 6 metres tall lighthouse. Documents refer to this attraction as a Watermania ride, suggesting this will utilise ride hardware from Zamperla of the same name. The plans indicate that each of the ride’s 6 cups, along with the central theming feature, will be themed as wooden barrels. Each barrel will have capacity for up to four riders, who will each have access to water blaster to shoot fellow riders. Its installation will require the removal of a games unit and a small timber building – the latter has now been used as a storage shed for many years, although was previously a shop selling seashells in the 1980/90s. Documents uploaded as part of the application suggest the ride will be named Bobbing Barrels.

The second ride, located on the east part of the site, will be rockin’ tug ride. It seems likely that this will be the relocation of Timber Tug from Thorpe Park Resort, following the confirmation that the Old Town area will close in preparation for Project Exodus. The ride’s operations booth will be themed with a variety of maritime-style props, and a wooden mast theming feature will also be added. The installation of this ride will require the removal of a games cover, and will see part of the existing Treasure Chest arcade building used for the ride’s queue line. There will also be the reconfiguration of an existing planter. It appears that the ride will be named Trawler Trouble.

As part of the justification for the development, the application notes that the Resort must respond to opportunities to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and continue to invest and renew its attractions to maintain its position in the face of growing competition. This includes investing in smaller children’s attractions that make the Resort attractive to younger families, as well as helping to manage guest flows and distribution around the theme park, especially important during busier periods when wait times for larger attractions can be longer. It is highlighted that Pirates’ Cove is in need of investment to refresh the area, and that this proposal will enhance the immersive theming and more generally improve the area’s overall appearance.

This application follows the submission of plans last month to reconfigure the Explorer Entrance, which in turn followed the submission and approval of the Amazon Land development. It is stated that construction is proposed to take placed between March and June 2022, with an anticipated opening date in June 2022.

Are you glad to see yet more investment into the Resort, and efforts to refresh the theme park’s ride offering? Make sure you share your thoughts over on the Attraction Source Forum.

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