The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure

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The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 51°20′51″N 0°18′56″W / 51.34750°N 0.31556°W

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The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure

Chessington World of Adventures
Area	Wild Woods
Status	Operating
Opening date	18 March 2017
Replaced	Bubbleworks

Ride statistics
Attraction type	Dark ride
Manufacturer	Leisure Tech / WGH - (Lifts replaced by Garmendale)
Designer	Merlin Magic Making
Theme	The Gruffalo
Capacity	1,000 riders per hour
Vehicle type	Tubs
Vehicles	28
Riders per vehicle	4
Duration	6 minutes
Reserve and Ride available
Wheelchair accessible
Must transfer from wheelchair
Assistive listening available

The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure is a dark water ride that opened in March 2017 at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in Greater London, England, developed by Merlin Entertainments. It takes riders through scenes based on The Gruffalo franchise. The scenes consist largely of digital projection and include clips from the 2009 animated film The Gruffalo.^[1]

Ride experience

From the entrance, riders then enter a station decorated with stage-flats and leaves suspended from the ceiling.

The scenes throughout the ride depict the Gruffalo story, using screens, ambient lighting, projections, and animations. The ride ending retains the two smaller of the three sets of fountains from its predecessor Bubbleworks.^[2]

An on-ride photo is taken as the boat drops down a ramp into the final scene.

History

The original Prof. Burp's BubbleWorks ride operated for fifteen years, before being redesigned for a sponsorship deal at the end of 2005,^[3] without the involvement of the ride's original designers. During this refurbishment, the ride's factory theme was changed to suit the new sponsor Imperial Leather, with most of the animations and effects removed.^[4]^[5]^[6] By 2014, the Imperial Leather sponsorship had expired and so the brand logos were removed, but the ride remained in a poor condition. On 6 September 2016, the ride closed and the remaining props were auctioned off.^[7]^[8]

On 1 January 2017, Chessington announced that The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure would replace Bubbleworks.^[9] The new ride was produced by Merlin Magic Making and officially opened on 18 March 2017, with the surrounding Transylvania area renamed 'Wild Woods'.^[10]^[11]

The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure features far fewer animations, props and scenic detail than the original Prof. Burp's Bubble Works, instead employing TV screens and projected images onto whited-out sets, with the remaining spaces shrouded in darkness. Since the building was built to accommodate the original larger and more detailed scenes from Prof. Burp's Bubble Works, most of the Gruffalo sets were simply built in front of the old scenes. However, smell pods were added to give a better effect on the forest at one point which was received well.

References

^ "Chessington World of Adventures Resort: UK Theme Park & Zoo".
^ "Gruffalo River Ride Adventure - Chessington World of Adventures". YouTube.
^ "History of attractions / timeline: Chessington". Chessington UK. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
^ "2006 IL BubbleWorks Review". Coaster Kingdom. 26 March 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
^ "John Wardley Q&A BubbleWorks discussion". YouTube. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
^ "John Wardley Bubbleworks discussion at 12:30". The Season Pass Podcast. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
^ Neal, Charlotte (7 September 2016). "Watch final tour before Bubbleworks ride closed for good". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
^ Ritchie, Candice (25 July 2016). "Did you know THIS about Chessington's Bubbleworks ride?". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
^ "The Gruffalo - the Gruffalo River Ride Adventure – a world first - has landed in the Wild Woods at Chessington Worl".
^ Duffell, Beth (18 March 2017). "Gruffalo River Ride opens at Chessington World of Adventures". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
^ "The Gruffalo has arrived at Chessington World of Adventures Resort". Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.

External links

Official website

Links to related articles

v t e Chessington World of Adventures
Roller Coasters	Vampire (1990) Rattlesnake (1998) Dragon's Fury (2004) Mandrill Mayhem (2023)
Other rides	Tiny Truckers (1993) Seastorm (1995) Tomb Blaster (2002) KOBRA (2010) Flying Jumbos (2013) Zufari: Ride into Africa! (2013) The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure (2017) Tiger Rock (2018) Blue Barnacle (2021) Croc Drop (2021)
Past rides	Safari Skyway (1986–2015) Runaway Train (1987–2012) The 5th Dimension (1987–1993) Black Buccaneer (1988–2018) Bubbleworks (1990–2016) Terror Tomb (1994–2001) Rameses Revenge (1995–2019) Samurai (1999–2003) Beanoland (2000–2009) Hocus Pocus Hall (2003–2018) Peeking Heights (2005–2017) Madagascar Live! Prepare to Party (2012–2014) Scorpion Express (2014–2022)
See Also	Chessington Zoo Merlin Entertainments John Wardley (designer) List of amusement parks in the United Kingdom
Category Commons chessington.com

Dark rides in the United Kingdom

current
UK dark
rides

Spirit of London (1993–)
Hex – The Legend of the Towers (2000–)
Valhalla (2000–)
Tomb Blaster (2002–)
Nemesis: Sub-Terra (2012–2015, 2023–)
Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic (2013–)
The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure (2017–)
Curse at Alton Manor (2023–)
Ghost Train (2023–)

former
UK dark
rides

The Haunted Hotel (1980–2009) aka Trauma Towers
Doom & Sons (1981–1991)
Around The World in 80 Days (1981–1993)
Phantom Fantasia (1983–2000) aka Wicked Witches Haunt
Black Hole (1983–2005)
The 5th Dimension (1987–1993)
Prof. Burp's BubbleWorks (1990–2005)
The Haunted House (1992–2002)
Terror Tomb (1994–2001)
Toyland Tours (1994–2005)
Duel – The Haunted House Strikes Back (2003–2022)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride (2006–2015)
Derren Brown's Ghost Train (2016–2022)

51°20′51″N 0°18′56″W / 51.34750°N 0.31556°W / 51.34750; -0.31556