Project Anchor

2. Features
3. Under Construction
4. Project Anchor

With Project Anchor, Chessington is planning to add two new rides for the 2022 season. Planning was submitted in February. Allowing us to see what the park is adding. Chessington planning to install two new rides at the park. The plans detail the addition of the rides to the Pirate’s Cove area, alongside other changes to the land for the year.

The first of the two new rides looks set to be a new round ride. Featuring water guns and a nautical feel. With a lighthouse tower operating console. The new ride brings a new interactive touch to the park and is an additional water ride. It’ll be extremely popular on those hot days! This new ride looks like a Watermania ride by Italian manufacturer, Zamperla. Bobbing Barrels is the expected name for this new ride.

Chessington also looks set to install Timber Tug Boat from Thorpe Park. This Zamperla Rocking Tug ride will match the theme of the land and save the ride from the scrap heap. With a new roller coaster planned for Thorpe Park. The ride was on the chopping block. Timber Tug Boat will make Chessington it’s third home. Trawler Trouble looks set to be the name for this relocated ride.

With planning permission confirmed in early April, construction began rapidly. Project Anchor is taking shape and we’re following progress frequently! Check out the latest updates below. Exclusive to Chessington Buzz!

Construction

21st June 2022

Work all over Shipwreck Coast continues. Highly detailed sets are being decorated around the site and new signage and theming are popping up. Construction on the pump room for Bobbing Barrels is coming along well and Trawler Trouble’s platform is close to being completed.

16th June 2022

Work is commencing on the installation of theming throughout the town of Shipwreck Coast. With details spotted everywhere, you look. Speakers are being installed and things are really starting to come together. The plant room for Bobbing Barrels is being built and Seastorm looks close to being ready to open. The loading platform for Trawler Trouble is taking shape and the ride’s newly refurbish cladding has been installed. The land is really coming together!

11th June 2022

Of course, it wouldn’t be Chessington Buzz without an exclusive behind-the-scenes update! We put on our high-vis jackets and went on a tour with a senior park official. Check out the update below!

There’s so much to talk about. So we’ll start with Trawler Trouble. The ride system is fully installed and work is due to begin soon on installing the loading platform. Unlike previously, the ride will no longer feature a mechanical loading platform. A new larger platform is being installed instead. This will make it easier for the park to maintain the ride in the long term. Controls are due in soon and testing later this month.

In the Trawler Trouble’s queue line, two new Black rat enclosures have been installed. These are linked via a tunnel system that the rats can pass through. Forty black rats will call the enclosures home. The two habitats are highly themed with some really great details!

Bobbing Barrels has now had its ride vehicles installed. Controls are in place and work will soon begin on the construction of the plant room for the ride. This will house the rides pumps and filtration systems. Work on the fencing and detailing of the ride will commence soon. This will hopefully be by the end of June.

Elsewhere in the area, the creative team at Chessington have begun set-dressing the land. Work on the installation of an entrance feature for Trawler Trouble progressing well. A stage area is also in progress near the entrance of Bobbing Barrels.

10th June 2022

Fresh off of the boat, quite literally. The Bobbing Barrels have arrived and are being stored in the Project Amazon site compound. These little rafts look fantastic and it is hoped they’ll be lifted onto the ride overnight.

1st June 2022

Not a huge amount of progress to report today. The only major change on site is that Bobbing Barrels now has its operator’s cabin. The lighthouse tower forms the cabin for the controls of the ride and is now in place. Work is ongoing to tidy up other parts of the new land, with work taking place to prepare parts for planting and the installation of speakers.

27th May 2022

A lot can happen overnight! Chessington has made huge progress in the last 24 hours. Trawler Trouble has been lifted onto its track. Seastorm also now has its centrepiece once again. Bobbing Barrel’s centre barrel is also now on top of the ride, which gives us a great idea of how the ride vehicles will look. Theming work is also starting to take shape around the area, with a ship and fishing baskets in place next to the entrance of Seastorm. A faux bronze Mermaid was also spotted resting nearby.

26th May 2022

Bobbing Barrels’ ride system has arrived! The ride, fresh off the ferry from Italy has been set up and work is progressing well installing it. The ride is a Watermania model manufactured by the Italian company Zamperla. Work is also taking place installing what we believe to be animal enclosures within the Trawler Trouble queue line. The new operator’s kiosk for the ride has also been put into place.

18th May 2022

Never ones to settle of late, Chessington isn’t just fixing up the ride system of Seastorm. The rides centrepiece was refreshed just a few seasons ago. It is now seeing some fantastic new theming additions, with a large ship and tentacle now installed. A broken mast was also added at the end of our visit.

The ride hardware looks mostly together now, with just the ships to be added back onto Seastorm. Work is also ongoing painting the rides operator cabin. With creative teams from both Chessington and Freemont Baxter working on the project.

A lot of work is going on around the site, with fencing now up across most of the ride queues. The area is really starting to all come together and we cannot wait to see it all completed and back open!

11th May 2022

Trawler Trouble fresh from a brief refurbishment has been freshly painted and is sporting a new colour scheme. Formerly known as Timber Tug Boat from Thorpe Park, this Zamperla Rockin’ Tug ride looks nearly new! The fresh colours look set to tie in nicely with the new colours of Shipwreck Coast.

Elsewhere on the construction site. A large section of scaffolding is being erected over the site of Bobbling Barrels. We believe this is so that the foundations can be waterproofed without fear of the UK weather-causing issues. The foundations look mostly completed now and we cannot wait to see the ride hardware arrive. Fencing work is progressing well around the area and work on Seastorm is continuing well.

7th May 2022

Blockwork pathing is going down throughout the land. With the queue line for Bobbing Barrels becoming clear. The exit ramp for Trawler Trouble is also in progress. Great work has taken place over on Seastorm, with the ride’s main arms now being put back into place. The new queue line however still has rocks and planting blocking its final route.

29th April 2022

It’s time for another update and this time exciting things are happening!

Over on Seastorm, the long-awaited parts have arrived. This has allowed park engineers to now continue putting the ride back together. It’ll be great to have Seastorm back in operation. It is unknown whether it will reopen when ready, or if it’ll be held back until Shipwreck Coast is completed.

The foundations for Bobbing Barrels look to be complete, with work progressing on foundations for the queue line. The ride operator kiosk is yet to have foundations too, so those will likely begin soon. It is not yet known whether the ride hardware has arrived, but we’ll be watching closely!

Fencing and work surrounding Trawler Trouble are also going well. With the exit path and fencing starting to take shape. The ride is still believed to be with a scenic refurbishment company having an overhaul before arriving at Chessington.

Things are progressing well and we cannot wait to see it all come together.

21st April 2022

The final concrete framework for the Bobbing Barrels trough is in place, with concrete poured and setting. Work also continues on Trawler Trouble, with the perimeter of the ride taking shape. Seastorm’s new queue looks to be complete, but there are still large boulders and planting blocking parts of its layout.

14th April 2022

Work continues at Chessington. Bobbing Barrels looks close to having its foundations completed, with most of the concrete base now in place. Rebar sidings are in place for the edge of what will become the base of the water mania ride. The base is expected to become filled with water, so it’ll likely be entirely concrete.

Foundations on Trawler look to be completed, with fencing now going in around the area. The base for what will be the loading platform on the left-hand side looks to have its foundations completed.

Not much else seems to be taking place on Seastorm. The park still seems to be awaiting parts to repair the ride. Here’s hoping it will arrive soon so that the park can get Seastorm back into operation. It will certainly help the park to handle the crowds this summer when Shipwreck Coast is completed.

9th April 2022

Time flies at Chessington, and apparently, so do the construction crews! Work has picked up and the foundations for Bobbing Barrels are taking shape. With the wooden framework for the rides, concrete troughs started to be built. This framework will form a mould when the construction team pour the concrete base.

The foundations and what looks to be utilities are in place for Trawler Trouble. Work has also been finished on trimming and widening part of the path area.

Seastorm is still sadly in pieces, with not much progress being made. The queue line for the ride has however been completely reworked. With a new entranceway taking shape within Shipwreck Coast. The queue will now form part of the area, rather than being a part of Adventure Point. It’s a good change that will help bring the new land together.

4th April 2022

No huge changes have been made, but work continues at a pace. The queue line for Seatorm is taking shape and the foundation works on Trawler Trouble and Bobbing Barrels continues. The former pay-to-play Pirate Blasta game has also been dismantled. No major changes appear to be happening at Seastorm, with the ride still in pieces.

26th March 2022

Work continues to progress well, with the new queue line fencing for Seastorm now in place. It is clear now that Seatorm’s entrance has been moved to be part of the new area. The framework which is expected to form the foundation of Trawler Trouble is in place. Bobbing Barrels also seems to be beginning to take shape, with the outline of the ride becoming clear.

20th March 2022

Clearing work is continuing. The extended pathway section that started earlier in the season is now close to completion. It would also appear that Seastorm is having work done to its queue line. With the former Fastrack merge point and batching area removed.

17th March 2022

Themed site walls are up and work continues on clearing the area. Chessington is wasting no time in getting things prepared. With the boundary now in place and work on clearing away parts of the area. The former HB Leisure basketball game has been relocated. Work should start ramping up soon!

5th March 2022

Once again, little has changed on the site. Some clearing and path widening has begun to take place in the nearby area, but little else has happened. Seastorm still remains in pieces, with the park confirming to us that parts have been ordered to repair the ride. With the current shortage of parts, delays in reopening the ride are expected.

26th February 2022

Although little has changed, with planning submitted some small things had begun in the area. The former Basketball game had been shuttered, with all of the prizes removed. The pathways were cleared and things appeared to have been tidied up. No visible progress had been made on Seastorm and it became evident just how poor a state of repair the centrepiece of the ride was in. The Pirates’ Cove mast, installed in late 2021, remained in place.

16th February 2022

In early 2022, the Chessington Buzz team got word that changes were coming to Pirate’s Cove this season. In a bid to ensure we were able to archive the area, we took to taking photos of the land shortly after planning was submitted. Here you can see Seastorm blocked off following prolonged downtime. The ride is also dismantled, awaiting parts. The park is hopeful to have the ride back in operation as soon as possible. Our journey into what later became Project Anchor began here.