Chessington World of Adventures Resort

[Ladyofthelake]

I would suspect if the area was to be renamed to fit in with The Gruffalo then it potentially could be called 'The Deep Dark Wood' which is the home of The Gruffalo in the books.

If this was to be the case then I honestly don't think it would be as bad as people fear, in fact it could even mean that both attractions fit within the same area. It is quite feasible that in the deepest part of a Deep Dark Wood you could find a Vampire's lair, therefore Vampire would still fit in with the newly named area.

Whilst I know Bubbleworks did hold a special place in many people's memories I do honestly think if done well that The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure could prove to be a very popular attraction. The Gruffalo continues to be a hugely popular character with young children and this new ride, if done well, has the potential to create just as fond memories for a new generation as Bubbleworks did for so many.

[Owen]

At the end of the day nothing but the Gruffalo name is confirmed at the moment, and so there's no need to panic. What will be will be and I guarantee whatever happens it won't be the end of the world! :P

I'm honestly just excited to see a tired area such as Transylvania get some love again, to me that makes this development worth while.

[MakoMania]

It has officially been announced and also features on the new Merlin annual pass advert:

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[ThemeCrafter264]

From what the concept art shows, it does look rather magical and I think we should expect a good ride.

[Ladyofthelake]

As MakoMania just posted, Chessington World of Adventures Resort have officially announced Th Gruffalo River Ride Adventure' and, perhaps unsurprisingly, are marketing it as 'the World's First Gruffalo Ride'.

SouthParks News have summed up all the key information for the new ride which is due to open in March. Although the precise location hasn't explicitly been confirmed, the description of the ride on the Resort's website pretty much confirms it will be in the former Bubbleworks building.

[Owen]

I love the boats! Remind me of the original Bubbleworks boats.



Not only this but it seems that many people are now quite pleased with this, with one person saying "I'm not so dissapointed that Bubbleworks is going now because my son loves this!" Which is nice to hear.

[Chris]

Just depends on how well they execute it.

Mass vinyl CGI images is not the way forward. Proper theming, effects and excitement will make this a winner.

Hopefully they will keep the fountain ending.

[lewis97]

Just depends on how well they execute it.

Mass vinyl CGI images is not the way forward. Proper theming, effects and excitement will make this a winner.

Exactly my thoughts too.

The reaction to Chessington's announcement has been overwhelming positive by the wider market from what I've seen, so provided it's faithful to the IP (which I'm sure it will be) it will probably meet their expectations.

However, for it to be a truly worth successor to Bubbleworks, Merlin should be looking to exceed expectations by perhaps including a couple of decent animatronics and plenty of animated elements. It would be quite depressing to float past mostly static scenes where there is a reliance on vinyl imagery.

[Owen]

An advert is now playing on TV advertising The Gruffalo River Adventure and hotel rooms.

[ThemeCrafter264]

Was anything new said or shown?

[Owen]

No, it mentions some characters mouse, fox, owl, snake and of course the Gruffalo. We also get a look at the potential ride exterior. It then says about themed rooms and shows the ride logo.

Here are some screenshots.

The Gruffalo and Mouse as part of the standard Chessington advert start -



Ride Exterior -



Fox -



Owl -



Snake -



The Gruffalo -



Finally, logos -

[ThemeCrafter264]

If the theming is as good as shown in these pictures, we will have, in my opinion, a good successor to Bubbleworks!

[lewis97]

A post on the official Gruffalo website confirms some additional details about what the creature's arrival means for the Resort, including a potential new name for the area of 'Wild Woods'.

The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure – a world first - has landed in the Wild Woods at Chessington World of Adventures Resort

...

The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure will be accompanied by many other Gruffalo offerings across the Resort, including four brand new Gruffalo themed hotel rooms in the Chessington Safari Hotel a brand new retail shop and food outlet both offering themed goodies, character meet and greets with The Gruffalo himself plus much much more!

[Owen]

I personally think this is a great name as it links to Vampire as well (at least in my opinion). It also means that the area doesn't necessarily need to be drastically changed meaning the buildings many love can remain intact.

[Liam.W]

The more I watch the advert the more I grow to like it. The first time I watched it the other week I wasn't too keen on it, but now I'm actually looking forward to trying it out! I don't know if I've mentioned it in here, but the concept art for the station does look rather nice, so hopefully if Merlin stick to that style all the way throughout the attraction it will be rather good! I think it's a great replacement for Bubbleworks because the number of comments I have seen on FaceBook such as "My son will love this" is unreal, so this could be a big winner for Chessington!

[Stan.H]

because the number of comments I have seen on Facebook such as "My son will love this" is unreal, so this could be a big winner for Chessington!

Lets prepare for the 120 minute wait times to start rolling in!!

I also think that this ride could be pretty good, yes, it isn't Bubbleworks but Chessington appear to be doing a great effort with this ip and you never know, it could've been the Ice Age River Adventure - being very 'meh'. Hopefully, the fountain finale will remain, and the attraction will feature AA's, immersive sets and a cool queue line soundtrack! I am very impressed so far!

[Jack]

I will fully support Gruffleworks if it looks like the adverts.

[ThemeCrafter264]

Thinking about it, what if the finale is where you actually meet the Gruffalo in a way like Kong saving the guests? Also those concept art does look good

[Ladyofthelake]

As posted on SouthParks Facebook, the new TV advert featuring The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure is now available online. Whilst Owen has posted the key screenshots earlier in this topic, the full advert does give a good idea of the kind of journey guests will go on. It'll be interesting to see how this is executed as from the concept art it has the potential to be very good.

[Dom]

The more I see and hear about this the more I'm liking it, which isn't something I was expecting to say this early into the year. I really hope Chessington pull this off to a high standard