Minecraft World to debut next year in UK theme park
Minecraft will make its theme park debut next year.
Merlin Entertainments has announced that it will open Minecraft World, the world's first fully immersive Minecraft theme park land, in 2027 at Chessington World of Adventures, outside London. In 2024, Merlin announced that it would partner Microsoft's Mojang Studios, the creator of Minecraft, to develop Minecraft-themed attractions at its parks in the United Kingdom and United States. [See Minecraft is coming to theme parks in the US, UK.]
Chessington's Minecraft land will feature the world's first Minecraft-themed roller coaster among other interactive adventures, block built playscapes, and themed retail and dining, the company said.
Minecraft themed roller coaster in Minecraft World at Chessington World of Adventures. Concept art courtesy Merlin Entertainments
Another view from the coaster
"Minecraft World represents a meaningful milestone in our ongoing journey to expand the Minecraft universe," Torfi Frans Ólafsson, Senior Creative Director Of Entertainment At Minecraft, said. "We're thrilled to have partnered with Merlin Entertainments to realise a place where you can literally be in the Minecraft Overworld and have an adventure of your own with your family and friends. The team at Merlin Entertainments and Mojang have worked hard to craft an experience that feels immersive, authentic and welcoming, and we can't wait for our community to experience it."
Merlin announced the budget for Minecraft World at £50 million, or US$67 million. For comparison, Merlin said that it spent US$90 million on its Lego Galaxy attractions in California and Florida.
Replies (8)
I think this looks fine. The Jumanji section was a huge success, which cost 17 million Pounds back in 2023 (and included a B&M, notoriously more expensive than other manufacturers), so 50 million Pounds seems like a pretty robust budget by comparison.
So, is this just SNW but Minecraft?
For a park the size of Chessington, £50 million is a pretty hefty investment. We're not talking Disney or Universal here, but more a park along the lines of a United property, and a major investment in one of those parks is usually in the $15 million ballpark these days. The coaster itself should be pretty similar to the Uncharted coaster that opened at PortAventura a few years ago, and if I remember correctly that was a €25 million = ~$29 million = ~£22 million coaster, so I definitely expect something fairly impressive to come out of this project for what they're spending on it. As someone who doesn't play Minecraft or really know much about it beyond last year's movie, it's not something that particularly appeals to me, but I am curious to see what they come up with.
'Bout time!
I might be the only person here who used to play this like a fanatic when I was younger. And a real-life Minecart roller coaster is an idea that I think everyone had growing up. I trust Chessington, too, because of how they handled Jumanji.
I will admit, one roller coaster seems a little bit light. A shooting dark ride with giant "crossbows" where you have to defend a village would be my go-to. Or a water ride of some sort. But if they're planning to do something anything like the Power-up bands, then it should suffice. Hopefully without an upcharge.
This sounds like a repeat of Thorpe parks angry birds land… that was a pathetic cash grab reskin that broke immersion.
I rode Uncharted over at PA when it first opened and loved the ride system. Think Gringotts, but less theming/story but better ride mechanics. So much promise and the news report did suggest a new element/worlds first in this type of ride. Non Minecraft fans in UK should be excited about this.
Kobra is being rethemed and a additional dark ride is also to be added. A huge investment in Chessington and remember that we don't have "Super Nintendo World" here in Europe... so it may not compare to Universal's land (in cost or quality), but it doesn't need to. Any interactive features and moving scenery will be a first for most visitors and very well received.
"remember that we don't have "Super Nintendo World" here in Europe... so it may not compare to Universal's land (in cost or quality), but it doesn't need to. "
Yet, but I do think this addition could be preemptive to compete with Universal's UK park.
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Yikes, that seems a bit light for an immersive world. It sure seems like they are going to slap some Minecraft theming on off the shelf rides, and call it a day. Does this strike anyone else as going on the cheap??
Also, I know a few people suggested Merlin as the company who could take on the Sesame Street IP, but if this is all they are doing with a much "hotter" IP at the moment, I can't see them spending the money on Sesame Street!!