Parents in the U.K. will soon get to experience the thrills of having packs of feral children scream “Chicken jockey!” at them in a far-more expansive environment than their local cineplex, as THR reports today that Microsoft-owned video game brand Minecraft is getting its own theme park version in a London-area park. Specifically, Mojang Studios is teaming up with Merlin Entertainment to create a Minecraft World at Chessington World Of Adventures, which, Wikipedia informs us, is the 20th most-visited theme park in the country, and used to have a whole area themed around classic British comedy magazine The Beano, so, boy howdy, are those kids in for a treat.
Specifically, Minecraft World will feature a variety of attractions, including a roller coaster, interactive adventures, and block-built playscapes, some of which will apparently be crafted by famous Minecraft creators. (What’s less clear is whether the children in attendance will actually be allowed to build anything there, which seems like it would be the main appeal of bringing some aspect of Minecraft into the real world. But, hey, what do we know?)
The announcement of the theme park feels, if we’re being honest, like part of a pattern of Minecraft very deliberately trying to make money in territory once Nintendo’s Mario proves it’s possible; the long-standing franchise broke into films last year, for instance, proving that The Super Mario Bros. Movie wasn’t necessarily a fluke in terms of using modern CGI to recreate the video game look. Will kids from around the planet flock to Chessington to walk through Minecraft‘s Overworld, the same way they travel to Universal’s various Super Nintendo Worlds? Hard to say—but if they do, they’ll also get the thrill of seeing rides based off of such white-hot British entertainment brands as “The Gruffalo”—not just a fun thing to refer to Mark Ruffalo, turns out—and “Broom On The Room,” so be sure to plan enough days for your stay! (Also, they just re-skinned all the old Beano rides for a zone called “Wild Asia,” so you can probably still find an old Dennis The Menace cutout kicking around somewhere if you look hard enough.)
Minecraft World is expected to open some time in 2027.
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