Chessington World of Adventures Resort have this week submitted the full planning application for Project Play, which will see the redevelopment of Mexicana into a new immersive land that will cater to pre-school children, with rides including a rollercoaster.
The Proposal
The proposed site for Project Play is 0.56 hectares in size, comprising the majority of Mexicana, the entirety of the “Yoohoo” children’s zoo, and the picnic area behind Croc Drop. Rattlesnake is located outside (to the south) of the development area and stated to be unaffected by these proposals.
The vision for the project is to revitalise the existing, outdated offering by creating a new themed land that features “a story-driven curated collection of new rides and experiences which will allow visitors to immerse themselves in a fresh adventure”. This forms part of Merlin’s investment strategy into Chessington to ensure it provides for the full range of guests’ needs, including families with younger children who are just starting to experience theme parks, and thereby ensuring that the Resort remains attractive to its range of guests. As with the recently submitted Project Refresh & Renew planning application, the fact that Universal Destinations & Experiences have purchased approximately 476 acres of land south of Bedford, with plans to explore a potential new theme park and resort, is specifically referenced as part of the justification for the investment to ensure that Chessington remains competitive within the wider market.
It is said that Project Play will transport guests into a new “branded world”, with the roster of attractions that the area will feature designed to cater to families with preschool-aged children. These will offer engaging and inclusive experiences that will both entertain and educate, fostering creative thinking through play and interaction. The experiences will provide varying levels of stimulation and thrill, allowing for family bonding, the creation of shared memories, and to be physically active.
The new area will be accessed through a new 5.2m high entrance portal on the eastern edge of the site, located broadly in the same place as the entrance/exit to the existing children’s zoo. Due to the need to create a safe, immersive environment suitable for families with infants, the area’s rides and play spaces have been arranged in a ‘horseshoe’ format so as to optimise the visual field for parental supervision of playing infants. This sees the attractions and facilities arranged around the perimeter of the site, and primary circulation route loops within this layout providing access to all the rides whilst surrounding a central themed outdoor play space. In addition, the area’s perimeter boundaries will be secured by themed fences with a maximum height of 2.4m, which will have the dual purpose of enhancing the immersive experience and ensuring that children cannot inadvertently stray into the wider theme park.
The proposed facilities and retail building occupies much of the area’s northern boundary and is designed to be the feature which welcomes guests to the area. The proposed rollercoaster will anchor the new land as a key attraction and feature a distinctive entrance feature that will serve as a new landmark which defines the area’s western boundary. Children’s Ride C will be located between the rollercoaster and the facilities and retail building, while Children’s Rides A and B will be located along the southern boundary, with a games kiosk positioned between them. Within the enclosing boundary formed by the rides and buildings will be an outdoor children’s play space, complemented by seating areas.
Rollercoaster
The queue line entrance to the area’s rollercoaster will be located alongside an entrance feature that stands at 15.5m in height (the tallest element of the development). This will also incorporate a slide as a play feature that will be accessible from outside of the rollercoaster’s queue line via a staircase and exit onto a red circular area. It appears that alongside the main queue line there will also be a Ride Access Pass (RAP) queue – the main queue line will head left from the entrance portal, into a cattle-pen area of queue, and the RAP queue will head right.
These will both lead guests to the front of the entrance feature and see them enter through a doorway at the ground level, passing through an entrance lobby and into a “themed room” – this is also referred to as a “guest briefing area” and so it seems as though this could function as a pre-show for the rollercoaster. Following this, guests would pass through an exit lobby in order to exit from the rear of the entrance feature structure into another section of queue line. This is shown to take the form of a winding pathway that eventually transitions to an elevated walkway, providing step-free access to the level of the rollercoaster’s station platform.
The station will take the form of an open-sided, but nonetheless covered, building. Plans indicate that there will be eight sets of airgates, which is consistent with the number of rows shown on the rollercoaster train that is also detailed on the plans – it is worth noting that there appears to be a themed “zero car” at the front of the train. On the same side as the airgates will be a small operator’s booth, while a separate plant room is proposed at the rear of the rollercoaster. The existing c.6m high themed fence structure behind Scorpion Express is planned to be retained for re-use. Unsurprisingly, the existing theming is due to be removed and replaced with a new themed barrier that will still provide visual separation between the guest and back of house areas while reinforcing the identity of the land.
The rollercoaster itself is proposed to be situated on the base of the former Scorpion Express ride, which will be enlarged for the new ride. The layout shown for the rollercoaster appears to be a mirrored variant of that of Farmyard Flyer at Paultons Park, a Force Coaster manufactured by Zierer. This sees the train exit the station into an approximately 6m tall lift hill, from which it descends into a left-banked helix around a 7.25m tall theming feature and then traverse a gentle S-bend and hill before completing another left turn into the brake run and station. The area enclosed by the rollercoaster’s station and track is also shown to feature theming of up to 7.25m in height. It appears guests will disembark from the rollercoaster on the same side from which they boarded, with another elevated walkway returning guests into the wider area.
Children’s Flat Rides
Project Play will also feature three children’s flat rides spread around the land. These will each be served by a fenced queue line and small ride operator booths, along with a plant room for Children’s Ride B, that are themed to complement the respective ride.
Children’s Ride A will be located close to the area’s entrance portal. Although the ride itself will seemingly remain at ground level, it is shown to revolve around a central 9.43m tall theming feature. The plans show a spoked structure to which nine individual gondolas appear to be attached, splayed out at varying distances. This therefore bears similarities with Zierer’s Drifter, a new interactive ride concept where each gondola features a lever which, when pulled by riders, allows the gondola to drift out as the ride spins. The theming concepts presented by Zierer include cars/trucks revolving around a rockwork or tower feature, and another which sees the gondolas themed as hovercrafts rotating around a lighthouse.
Children’s Ride B will be located opposite the entrance to the rollercoaster. This ride will be 10.93m tall, with plans suggesting that guests will enter one of eight gondolas which will then lift up and spin around a central column – this would correspond to a ride type similar to a Samba Tower from Zamperla. Each gondola has what appears to be a propeller above it, indicating that they could perhaps be themed as helicopters.
Children’s Ride C will be located between the rollercoaster and the facilities and retail building. This ride will be a rethemed Jungle Bus, with this attraction set to be relocated from Wild Asia as part of Project Refresh & Renew.
Play Area
Within the centre of the area will be a play environment, consisting of three built climbable structures which will feature elements such as climbing frames and slides. The first will be 4m in height, the second c.2m and rectangular in design, and the third (the largest of the three features) will have a maximum height of 10.7m and is indicated to be of a shape which could represent a boat. Each structure will be located on a different coloured surface, with these being green, egg shell and blue respectively.
All play equipment will be themed to align with the area and is designed to encourage independent play, relaxation, and destimulation. It is noted that wheelchair-accessible play equipment will be featured. Around the perimeter of the play area will be timber benches, including picnic benches. An area of composite decking will also run through the area, seemingly creating a boardwalk-style feature.
Facilities and Retail Building
The proposals for Project Play also feature a new facilities and retail building. This will face into the area with a total width of 37m, whilst being around 14m in depth, creating a total floorspace of 405.8 sq metres.
The building will be a single-storey steel-framed structure, featuring a mono-pitched roof that slopes towards the northern boundary for ease of maintenance. Metal cladding will be utilised on the building onto which a mix of 2D and 3D theming will be constructed. The eastern half of the building will be single-storey, while the western section will feature two-storey theming with a central raised element on the southern façade – the latter will serve as an easily identifiable and legible point within the area. As is the case with the entire development, the exact details of the theming will be addressed separately through a planning condition later in the development process.
Within the western section of the building will be a meet and greet area, behind which will be a changing room and break room for use by staff members. In the middle area of the building, will be both male and female WCs, along with two unisex accessible washrooms and a Changing Places facility. At the eastern end will then be a themed shop experience which will occupy 200 sq metres of the building’s total floorspace.
Other Features
Additional features within the redeveloped area include two areas of hardstanding which are designated for mobile food and beverage kiosks – one of these is located next to Children’s Ride A, with some nearby picnic benches, and the other alongside Children’s Ride C.
Another feature is a round games kiosk which will be a total of 4.8m high, including the 3D theming proposed to be located on its roof. This will be located on the southern part of the site, near to a low-level themed feature that will run adjacent to the play area and through which guests appear to be able to walk. This themed feature is stated to have an overall height of 7m, which corresponds to two specific elements – while details are lacking from the plans, this does have the appearance of a suspension bridge.
Area Theme, Landscaping & Design
Although the area’s theme is yet to be confirmed, the planning documents do identify it as being an “intellectual property”, with commercial sensitivities meaning that the identity of the theming cannot be disclosed at this stage of the project. Nonetheless, it is explained that the guest-facing appearance, character, and experience of the land will be shaped by the theming applied to buildings, structures, and the landscape – this theming will include two-dimensional patterns applied directly to building façades, as well as three-dimensional sculptural elements integrated into both the structures and the landscape, bringing the land’s imagined environment to life. This seemingly includes five small “themed items” which are shown to be scattered around the area, along with “themed trees”.
One potential IP which has been connected with Project Play is PAW Patrol, an animated children’s TV series which follows a crew of search and rescue dogs who each have a set of skills based on emergency services professions. The series is based in the community of Adventure Bay, with Chessington’s proposed new area sharing similarities with this that includes the themed feature that could potentially be themed as a suspension bridge, the beach area created by the play environment, and the pathways around the area taking the appearance of roads and accompanying footpaths.
With the rollercoaster’s entrance feature being the tallest element of the new land, it is clear that it will be something iconic to the associated IP. This could therefore be The Lookout, the PAW Patrol’s headquarters within the series, which has the appearance of an observation tower that even features a slide spiraling down its exterior. With each member of the PAW Patrol having their own vehicle, it seems plausible that each car of rollercoaster’s train could take on a different appearance in line with these as guests join the crew on a mission.
The limited details within the planning documents also provide a basis for speculating about the theme of the other rides within the area. Children’s Ride A could be themed to Zuma, a crew member who drives an orange hovercraft, with this being what the drifting gondolas guests are seated in being themed to and the central theming element being the Adventure Bay Lighthouse. Children’s Ride B could be themed to Skye, a crew member who drives a pink helicopter which would fit with the appearance of this ride’s gondolas. Finally, Children’s Ride C could see the relocated Jungle Bus rethemed as the PAW Patroller, a large 18-wheeler truck. It is worth noting that there is a total of five “themed items” shown spread across the area, so, with there being a total of seven members of the original PAW Patrol crew, these items could correspond to the five members who won’t have a dedicated ride.
Looking at the other features of the area, firstly the two-storey façade of the western section of the facilities and retail building, where a meet and greet will be located, could give it the appearance of City Hall, with this having a tall bell tower in its centre. The play equipment could then be themed to The Pup Park, a playground used by the PAW Patrol when off-duty, and the Sea Patroller. Finally, the mobile F&B kiosks could be operated by Mr. Porter who is the owner of Porter’s Café, a local grocery store and restaurant within Adventure Bay.
The proposals include a comprehensive landscape scheme which will provide semi-mature trees of species which are both native and more climate resilient. This will therefore see a 2:1 tree replacement ratio, with the 39 trees lost (of which only 3 are stated to be of moderate quality) replaced through the planting of 78 urban trees, of which 22 will be on-site within Project Play and 56 will be ‘off-site’, bolstering the current shelterbelt at the edge of ‘Tiger Field’ on the western Resort boundary which was planted as part of the Land of the Tiger development. The landscape scheme will also include hedges, ornamental and native scrub planting, and the integration of SuDS.
It is noted that the initial arrangement of the attractions within the development site would have resulted in 53 lost trees. This was therefore reduced through revision of the arrangement with the most notable change appearing to have been to opt for the mirrored layout of the area’s rollercoaster.
It is noted that the Resort are considering utilisation of both black coloured tarmacadam and resin bound gravel for the area’s footpaths, while a ‘Safety Surface’ in a variety of colours will be used for the play environments.
It is intended for the area to be well lit to facilitate a safe environment and encourage guests to use and stay in these spaces in the evenings. The style of the lighting will reflect the area’s theme and is therefore expected to require bespoke solutions.
Impact on Mexicana and Children’s Zoo
Having first opened in 1987, the planning documents note that the general feel and look of Mexicana is very dated. Additionally, it is acknowledged that Scorpion Express, which originally opened in 1987 as Runaway Train, has experienced mechanical issues resulting in it remaining closed for the last few years.
Therefore, Project Play will see the dismantling of Scorpion Express, along with the demolition of the existing restaurant building and the various retail units and facilities which line the main concourse – this includes the VIP Hub and Annual Pass Centre, which will be relocated within the theme park. A kiosk within the existing area will also be removed.
Similarly, it is noted that the children’s zoo enclosures require investment. However, it is considered that a better, long-term solution for the animals’ welfare and guest experience is to invest in new and enhanced enclosures, representing their natural continental locations, in the Wanyama Village & Reserve area. This is said to be part of the Resort’s move to create a dedicated, bespoke animal setting, separated from its rides and attractions. If required, the works to create these improved animal enclosures will be the subject of a separate, future planning application. Depending on timings, it is acknowledged that an interim solution for the temporary relocation of the animals may be needed prior to moving them to a more permanent new home in the Wanyama Reserve & Village area.
The Planning Process
The first details concerning Project Play were unveiled by Chessington as part of a public consultation held in September – although this principally focused on Project Refresh & Renew, limited details for Project Play were also featured identifying the site and outlining that the proposals were for a pre-school age new themed land. The documents note that 75 people attended the in-person public exhibition, and that 148 surveys were completed, of which 80% of responses to the question relating to Project Play were supportive of the proposal. It is also noted that the public consultation presented plans to create a dedicated animal collection at the Wanyama Reserve & Village, and that this attracted a high level of support (87%). Prior to this, meetings were held with the local council to discuss the planning considerations.
The planning portal currently indicates that the target date for a decision on the Project Play application is mid February 2025. This would then enable construction works to begin as planned in February 2025, leading to completion in February 2026 following a 12 month period of construction. Full project completion is then indicated to be in March 2026, which would align with the start of the 2026 season at Chessington.
Are you pleased to see investment into another new area at Chessington? What IP do you think the area will be themed to? Make sure you share your thoughts via our social media channels.
