Future of Cbeebies Tree Top Adventure

[tech]

I realise for some, this thread will be as interesting as the recent car park extension bombshell (only joking @AT86
- I love stuff like that)

But. As a dad, the future of this mid-90s dinosaur is really important to me, because it’s my daughter’s favourite ride in the world. She’s either riding it, telling me about it, or watching on-ride POV vids on YouTube. She’s 2.

The last few times we’ve visited, only 5 cars have been in service, and out of those 5, only 2 had working audio - the other 3 treat you to an ominously silent tour of Cbeebies Land which sort of defeats the object of the ride - it essentially becomes a bit of an open air monorail to nowhere.

Throughput has always been terrible, with queue times on busy days that put Wicker Man to shame. Difference is, 50-60min queues for a group of teenage thrillseekers is massively different to a 60 minute long line of grouchy toddlers and screaming babies.

The ride system will be 30 years old in a few years time, and unlike Nemesis I can’t see this being a candidate for a retrack.

It feels like a very important part of Cbeebies Land but does seem to get a little bit more broken every time we go - my favourite part without a doubt is the “hold a bit of wood on a stick in front of the sensor to stop the train at the station” system.

Will this thing keep hobbling along for another 10 years (or for as long as the BBC contract lasts), who knows?

Any thoughts from others that have braved the queue to keep their kiddos happy?

 

[BigShadowtinytree]

They should just replace the whole ride with a newer version of the same ride, it’s a decent attraction for CBeebies and seems pretty popular, I can’t imagine it would be super expensive especially when you consider how long these types of rides last. It can also be easily rethemed if the CBeebies contract ever ends. CBeebies would look strange without that ride going round.

 

[jon81uk]

I would guess it doesn't even need new track, just vehicles and maybe a new control system.

 

[JAperson]

I would guess it doesn't even need new track, just vehicles and maybe a new control system.

Merlin might well ring up there mates at Guarmandale who'll sort it out on the cheap,

 

[AT86]

How many cars can it run? Do you know if it has suddenly dropped to such a low number this year? (Are they having trouble with parts for example?) or has the number of cars on the track been steadily been reducing year on year as they have problems with them?

 

[tech]

How many cars can it run? Do you know if it has suddenly dropped to such a low number this year? (Are they having trouble with parts for example?) or has the number of cars on the track been steadily been reducing year on year as they have problems with them?

One of the pics in the TT archive shows a car '11' out on the track. Stands to reason therefore that there used to be at least 11 cars but because these things are typically even, let's say 12.

I didn't check on my visit yesterday, but one of the purple cars has been parked on the maintenance sidings for a couple of months. I believe (though not certain) there are now a maximum of 6 in service at any one time? Certainly on our last visit I worked out whilst queuing that only one red and one green car had working audio - the op seemed well aware of this because when I asked to wait for a car with working audio she said "I'm not sure which ones still work" (luckily, I did haha)

Oddly, three brand new (still bubblewrapped) 'bugs' can be seen in the maintenance area too. I'd love to think that means there are 3 more cars sitting somewhere waiting to come back into service, but I doubt it.

 

[Matt N]

They aren’t exactly short of options if it were to be replaced.

Zamperla’s Aerial Ride (e.g. Winston’s Whistle Stop Tours at Drayton Manor) looks to offer a similar type of experience: https://www.zamperla.com/products/aerial-ride/

As does ETF’s Panorama Pedal Plus (e.g. Kaninlandsbanan at Liseberg): https://www.etf.nl/ride-systems/products/etf-panorama-pedal-plus

Both of these could potentially offer a throughput bump compared to the current Get Set Go ride system, as well; I’m not sure what Get Set Go currently does, but Zamperla’s Aerial Ride is capable of 720pph and ETF’s Panorama Pedal is capable of 960pph!

 

[Matt.GC]

As a dad, the future of this mid-90s dinosaur is really important to me, because it’s my daughter’s favourite ride in the world. She’s either riding it, telling me about it, or watching on-ride POV vids on YouTube. She’s 2.

She sounds so sweet! God I miss mine being that age. I would queue whatever it took back then to keep my little girl happy. I never forgot her kicking off as a baby at the back of a massive queue for In the Night Garden, then hearing the familiar sounds from the show and suddenly she stopped crying and starting looking around with a her little bald head to find out where it was coming from.

When she was about the age of your daughter, I took her on RMT as soon as she was tall enough. She cried her eyes out at the end, loads of parents looking at me from the platform as if I was a bad father. Glad I did it though, she's just turned 8 and I took her on Taron a few weeks ago and she thought it wasn't intense enough!

I don't miss the Cbeebies queues though. I remember waiting for ages in slow moving Tree Top, ITNG, Postman Pat and Octonauts queues. With little ones it can be unbearable, bit like the entirety of Chessington.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

Does anyone roughly know when the pedals were removed off the ride? I think Merlin shouldn’t be allowed to have IP’s in there parks as they don’t know how to maintain them.

 

[AT86]

Does anyone else roughly know when the pedals were removed off the ride? I think Merlin shouldn’t be allowed to have IP’s in there parks as they don’t know how to maintain them.

As far as I remember the pedals were gone long before Merlin were on the scene. Early 2000s I think when they went.

 

[tech]

Merlin shouldn’t be allowed to have IP’s in there parks as they don’t know how to maintain them.

It does surprise me sometimes that they’re not held to stricter standards. The state of the ITNG boat ride is beyond shocking - parts of it haven’t worked in years and some of the Pontipines outside their house are missing half their head.

Sound bleed is my biggest gripe though - “let’s go on a journey into the night garden” whilst Andy’s Adventures theme song plays.

 

[Adam James]

So Cbeebies have had a rebrand recently, bringing a new square look to the 'Bugbies'... do we think that Treetop Adventure could receive an overhaul soon?

 

[Danny]

The whole land will need changing then, not just the ride. Oh, and the hotel.

Can't see it being an immediately pressing issue for them.

 

[Adam James]

The whole land will need changing then, not just the ride. Oh, and the hotel.

Can't see it being an immediately pressing issue for them.

Maybe not for the park itself, but I don't think it'll be long will the Beeb sends some requests over.
I wouldn't be surprised to see some temporary closures later this year.

 

[Poisson]

If the Beeb were that bothered they would have briefed Towers pre opening

 

[Zeock]

Can't see Towers overhauling all those bugs just because they have a different shape now. 99.999 percent of people either won't notice or won't care.

 

[Bert2theSpark]

Towers would have known about the rebrand for a while, obviously not when the new bugs and entrance portal were installed around the land, but a CBeebies rebrand has been public knowledge since at least last summer.

Next year is CBeebies Land's 10th Anniversary, I fully expect the area to get fully updated and marketed as part of the celebration. Don't forget the Bugbies are pretty much on all signage in the area and more importantly on the logo, so I fully expect a rebranded CBeebies Land alongside a rebranded Nemesis next season.

TL;DR CBeebies Land is probably going to get rethemed to CBeebies Land next season.

 

[Rick]

If the Beeb were that bothered they would have briefed Towers pre opening

Do we know that they didn't ? It's unlikely that they issued a cease and desist - it's just something that they would have to action over time to remain compliant in their agreement.

 

[MattyH]

Next year is CBeebies Land's 10th Anniversary

That's Impossible, it can't be 10 years old already can it?

 

[Adam James]

If the Beeb were that bothered they would have briefed Towers pre opening

The BBC will run these decisions on their time scales, not rush them to coincide with the openings of attractions they happen to have deals in place with...