Images of the new hotel and land show colourful Minecraft themeing (Image: Merlin Entertainments)
Chessington World of Adventures Resort has announced a huge £50m expansion with the world’s first Minecraft World theme park land, new rollercoaster, and a Minecraft hotel.
Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time, and soon its fans will be able to enjoy a fully immersive experience based on the retro-styled block-based game. The addition has been dubbed one of “Merlin Entertainments’ most ambitious theme park developments in recent years”, as details of the expansion, set to open in 2027, were revealed.
The new Chessington hotel will have 69 rooms themed around Minecraft (Image: Merlin Entertainments)
The name of the world’s first Minecraft rollercoaster has been revealed as Escape the Nether, and it’ll “take guests on a high-speed indoor adventure through dark mines before bursting out of the building through a Nether portal into the Overworld themed area of the land”, according to a statement from Merlin.
Images show the plans for the new theme park land, where guests can fully immerse themselves in a Minecraft adventure. Popular characters such as Steve and the Chicken Jockey can be spotted in the colourful plans, and it looks like the new park will include plenty of interactive elements.
An artist’s impression of the new rollercoaster has also been released showing a rotating car on a track, with passengers in the dark, giving the first glimpse of what this new ride may look like.
Artist’s impression of the Minecraft rollercoaster (Image: Merlin Entertainments)
Meanwhile, work has also begun on the Minecraft World Hotel, which will feature 69 Minecraft-themed rooms, 49 standard and 20 premium, across four floors. According to Merlin, the hotel will draw on “the game’s iconic biomes, characters, mobs, colours and textures alongside an immersive restaurant and potions bar.”
The lobby will be themed around the Overworld, and even walking to your room will be an immersive experience, with Nether Portal-style lifts and corridors resembling mine tunnel corridors.
Plans for the bedrooms show colourful decor, including Minecraft’s distinctive blocks, items, and mobs in each room, and the family-friendly accommodation shows bunk bed areas for kids staying overnight.
An underwater-themed restaurant, inspired by Minecraft’s ocean biomes, will be found downstairs, while a Woodland Mansion-themed bar will include rows of colourful potions.
The lifts and halls will also have Minecraft themeing (Image: Merlin Entertainments)
Plans show bedrooms with lots of little Minecraft details (Image: Merlin Entertainments)
Chessington World of Adventures is set in Surrey, just a 35-minute train ride from London Waterloo, and in addition to its theme park has a zoo and SEA LIFE aquarium. It already has two themed hotels on site: the Azteca and Safari Resort Hotels, which include themed bedrooms around the Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, and wild animals.
The new land and hotel aren’t the Merlin group’s first foray into the Minecraft world. Over the summer, Alton Towers hosted Minecraft: Meet the Mobs, an interactive trail where guests could earn an exclusive digital item if they completed it.
Daisy Mercedes, creator of experiences and events at Merlin, said: “We promised something truly special when we announced Minecraft World earlier this year, and with Minecraft World Hotel we are offering even more. Not only will fans be able to experience the game imagined for real life, but they’ll be also able to sleep inside it, ensuring fans respawn exactly where they want to be!
“Seeing the Minecraft World Hotel take shape alongside the attractions we are building at Chessington World of Adventures theme park is a Minecraft fan’s biggest dream. Every room, corridor and detail has been crafted with immense love for this game, the stories made within it and its community.”
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This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
