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[2026]Bluey Coaster in CBeebies Land

venny said:
I think this development nearly sums up one of the biggest problems with the park. A focus on chasing fads and novelties at the expense of a quality experience.

I’m sure some people will visit, because “Bluey”, but what they’ll be experiencing will likely be an underwhelming experience with a massive queue. At the same time, the park has lost a popular tracked ride which will almost certainly be a longer and richer attraction than what is replacing it. And people queuing 45 minutes for Squirrel Nutty are now getting another shorter, less richly detailed experience.

Not exactly a positive long term decision.
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In all fairness for previous Merlin choices of using IP's not only were they executed poorly but that they were mostly dated by then (Angry Birds at Thorpe Park being the poster child for this).

That said Bluey does having staying power so in the short to medium term might do the park though that said, can't help but feel that the only reason this coaster was installed as it was part of a deal and Merlin had to find a place for it quickly without much thought which could explain a lot of these choices.
 
I still think this coaster is a bit of an odd addition.

If it were smaller and able to have no height restriction, or larger and able to provide something a bit more thrilling for slightly older kids, I could understand the rationale… but as it is, the ride appears to be doing little meaningfully different from Octonauts. Given that a non-coaster tracked ride is going to make way for this and people already argue that Alton lacks non-coasters, I don’t quite get the thought process here.

I’m sure it’ll be very successful, and another coaster is rarely a bad thing, but I think the money could have been better spent on something else here.
 
Considering they could have repurposed the dungeons, the 4D cinema, Nick building or a combination of the three. It just seems an odd choice.
 
Is it possible that this coaster could have a maximum height restriction of either 1.2 or 1.4 and be a purely kids Coaster. A bit like Driving School
 
Definitely think the Bluey theme is a good move considering it's become a global icon. I think the removal of Postman Pat was likely a space decision just as much as the ongoing relevance of the IP. Another possible factor as said before is the IP being under Dreamworks which is now part of Universal.

Hid said:
Is it possible that this coaster could have a maximum height restriction of either 1.2 or 1.4 and be a purely kids Coaster. A bit like Driving School
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It's certainly possible although I'm not sure they will do that so parents can ride with their kids too.

There's every chance they could introduce a requirement for adults to be accompanied by a kid however that's not something that happens particularly often and in the case of Canada's Wonderland and Snoopy's Racing Railway where those above a certain height needed to accompany someone under that height and above the minimum, this got removed a year after opening.

If something like that does get introduced, it could be for opening year but long term, it may be relaxed.
 
Hid said:
Is it possible that this coaster could have a maximum height restriction of either 1.2 or 1.4 and be a purely kids Coaster. A bit like Driving School
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Doubtful. Whilst you cannot physically be on Driving School with your child, you can follow them around the track (on the outside) and feel confident they are safe. You would not feel safe leaving a small child on a rollercoaster that you can’t really observe them.
 
owenstreet7 said:
There's every chance they could introduce a requirement for adults to be accompanied by a kid however that's not something that happens particularly often and in the case of Canada's Wonderland and Snoopy's Racing Railway where those above a certain height needed to accompany someone under that height and above the minimum, this got removed a year after opening.

If something like that does get introduced, it could be for opening year but long term, it may be relaxed.
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I'd actually be down for something like this in the opening season, so families (the target audience for the coaster) can ride without a bunch of adults/teens that are Coaster/Bluey nerds aren't lengthening a ride queue that'll undoubtedly have a very limited throughput. Nerds can still get their creds the following season when some of the hype has died down.
 
AltonLover123 said:
Doubtful. Whilst you cannot physically be on Driving School with your child, you can follow them around the track (on the outside) and feel confident they are safe. You would not feel safe leaving a small child on a rollercoaster that you can’t really observe them.
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It works on rides like Go Gators or Jellikns at Fantasy Island so why couldn't it work on Bluey Coaster
 
This is so obviously the wrong attraction, and wrong throughput, for such a massive IP that has reach far beyond the the age range of your typical kids show. I'm amazed they have allowed the licencing for something so small over what they could have got for a Peppa Pig Land sized deal here or elsewhere.
 
pluk said:
This is so obviously the wrong attraction, and wrong throughput, for such a massive IP that has reach far beyond the the age range of your typical kids show. I'm amazed they have allowed the licencing for something so small over what they could have got for a Peppa Pig Land sized deal here or elsewhere.
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These are my thoughts exactly, compounded after observing the last few days of discussions here. It's a baffling missed opportunity for both the park and the BBC's licensing department. There surely has to be more Bluey business to follow in future seasons?
 
Plastic Person said:
These are my thoughts exactly, compounded after observing the last few days of discussions here. It's a baffling missed opportunity for both the park and the BBC's licensing department. There surely has to be more Bluey business to follow in future seasons?
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I was thinking a Bluey area in the vein of Paw Patrol at Chessington would've been better, I was thinking that would've been Bluey instead before the announcement.

Especially as Peppa Pig World was successful for Paultons so having Bluey at a park as it's own thing is better than a Duplo Dino clone.

Although, I do wonder if there's a twist to the coaster such as spinning cars 🤔
 
Bluey could have worked as a sub-area within CBeebies Land, that way whether guests get to experience the Bluey-related stuff isn’t contingent on the ride availability and being in Big Fun Showtime at the right time.

Even if the Sensory Garden got rethemed and the Photo Studio for Meet and Greets then guests can just hang around and still experience Bluey at the park, without the fuss of set show times or waiting in a (what will be) a big queue. This speaks to the big problem with Alton Towers, everything feels like a rush to experience, there is no time to take it slow for a moment (which is even more important when you have young children!).

Yeah this coaster might bring a bunch of people into Alton Towers, but if they leave with a mixed/stressful experience then they won’t convert those visitors into long-term repeat customers.

The IP is like the Harry Potter of pre-school children, they might have boxed themselves in here especially with how compartmentalised CBeebies Land is.
 
I have said before, but I do wonder if this is part of future plans, spinball is getting old (it has recently had a new PLC though), but the land near spinball and the lake view suite could be a perfect place to expand cebeebies, but octonaughts is in the way of quite a bit of land, and it isn't the best experience (uncovered station, single train, etc) this coaster could allow them to get rid of octonaughts (perhaps move it to somewhere like thorpe, not much ground work is required) and then expand the land with new rides.
 
QTXAdsy said:
You do get the feeling with many a Merlin project that no one seems to think things through other than thoosies who will be proved right...again, for the 700th time no doubt.
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No, thoosies don't always get things right if thoosies were to own parks they would immediately flop if you haven't got the business knowledge.

More often we either overhype or underhype the impact the main goal of any new ride is to increase attendance this Bluey Coaster will hopefully do that given its a popular IP.
 
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