A planning application has been submitted by Alton Towers Resort for a new junior coaster in CBeebies Land, replacing existing attraction Postman Pat Parcel Post.
Following an announcement by the Resort in the week before Christmas of their plans to open a new junior coaster in CBeebies Land in 2026, the full planning application documents have now been published on the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC) website. These provide further details about what will be the Resort’s 11th coaster, described as being “perfect for our youngest thrill-seekers and their families to enjoy together”.
Codenamed Project Sunshine, the proposal is for a new junior coaster which incorporates themed areas within the queue line and features a combined station and maintenance building. The entrance to the attraction’s queue line will be located on broadly the opposite side of the pathway to the existing CBeebies Land Photo Studio. The attraction is noted to feature a main queue, up to 45 minutes in length, along with a Ride Access Pass (RAP) queue line with a maximum length of 13 minutes. The main queue line is indicated to feature five themed areas, which will have a “rubber crumb finish” with the colouring yet to be confirmed. One of these areas will be located in what is currently an outdoor seating area for Corner Coffee. It is noted that the queue lines will consist of block paving with reference then made to Wet Pour Safety Surfacing being applied to “playground areas” – this could therefore suggest that the themed areas within the queue line will feature play equipment to keep young guests entertained whilst queuing. The queue lines will utilise the southern end of the site, before leading guests towards the ride’s station, which is positioned at the northern end, adjacent to Little Explorers Lunchbox.
The fully enclosed station building will seemingly be a dominant feature of the attraction, with it having a maximum height of around 9.3m from ground level. The external elevations will consist of insulated composite panels, with the guest facing elevations set to receive 3D theming panels, the details of which are to be determined at a later date. After the main and RAP queue lines merge, guests will enter the building. As the station platform will be above ground level and usually accessed via a small staircase, a passenger lift will also be provided to enable both access to and egress from the attraction. The only other feature within the station that is detailed on the plans is what is presumably the ride’s operator’s cabin – this will have a window directly out to the south, with an opening also shown on the western elevation to seemingly provide the operator with further visibility of the ride area.
Based on what is pictured on the plans, the coaster will seemingly have a simple, broadly circular layout. This will see the ride exit from the southern end of the station and ascend an initial incline up to a maximum height which is similar to that of the station building (i.e. 9.3m from ground level). While full details of the track and supports are not shown, it appears the ride will move clockwise through the layout around the perimeter of an area which will feature five theming features with a combination of soft and hard landscaping integrated into these themed areas. As the site slopes down towards the southern end, this has necessitated the incorporation of a themed retaining wall and retaining features to the attraction area to allow the attraction to be installed without the need for high rise foundations.
Additionally, outside of the main ride area will be a sixth theming feature which will stand at 9.4m from ground level and be 8.7m wide and 3.5m deep, making it the largest of the six. With this feature appearing to be accessible directly from the pathway running alongside the attraction, it seems plausible that it could function as a meet and greet space for the character(s) to which the proposed attraction is intended to be themed around.
The layout will then re-enter the station building through an opening on its west-facing elevation. The plans show a small area distinct from the station itself which could perhaps accommodate a finale scene. It seems there will also be a transfer track into the maintenance building, which will be located behind a roller shutter door. The maintenance area is shown to be of a similar size to that of the station, with a combined internal floorspace of 410 sq metres for the entire building, which will also incorporate a small plant room. As the maintenance building will extend back into the staff car park situated behind Towers Street, this will result in the loss of 16 parking spaces.
The inclusion of a maintenance building as part of the proposed development is notable, given that other junior coasters within Merlin Entertainments’ portfolio (e.g. Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure at Alton Towers, Duplo Dino Coaster at LEGOLAND Windsor, and Chessington World of Adventures’ proposed Project Play family coaster) do not feature a dedicated maintenance space. This could suggest that Project Sunshine will have greater technological complexity that increase its maintenance requirements, or that the space referred to as a “maintenance building” may be utilised as part of the attraction itself.
As not detailed within the plans, it is unclear whether the coaster will feature a long train design or perhaps several smaller carriages, and whether they may incorporate a unique element into the attraction and serve to differentiate it from Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure. It is also not possible to rule out the attraction being a powered coaster rather than a traditional gravity-driven rollercoaster, with the Resort referring to the development as a “coaster”. A powered coaster would likely make for a tamer ride experience than Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure, allowing the control of speed which would potentially give guests greater time to appreciate the theming elements that they are due to pass along the route.
The main exit from the station will be located on the opposite side to which guests enter the building, with the main exit route taking guests down two sets of stairs in order to pass beneath the coaster’s track (overhead netting will be incorporated to protect guests from loose articles) before a gentle slope returns guests to ground level of the surrounding area. A wheelchair accessible exit route will also be provided which will run parallel to the RAP queue and return guests to the main entrance portal.
There are a number of trees that, subject to the approval by the Arboriculturist, will require removal in order to accommodate the proposed attraction. Nonetheless, a landscaping plan is included within the attraction which details proposed new planting within and around the perimeter of the site, with the coaster set to be screened to the rear by a cluster of trees and hedges.
The development will utilise the site currently occupied by Postman Pat Parcel Post, a guided track ride manufactured by Metallbau Emmeln which opened as part of the original CBeebies Land attraction line-up in 2014. Despite part of the route for Get Set Go Treetop Adventure running above the site, no reference is made to this attraction being removed. Nonetheless, as Get Set Go’s track is not shown on the plans, it is difficult to tell whether it may at the very least need to be rerouted in order to avoid the proposed coaster and theming elements, or if Project Sunshine has been designed to integrate with the existing route.
Although Postman Pat Parcel Post was installed on the former site of Old MacDonald’s Tractor Ride, utilising a similar ride system and following a similar route to its predecessor, the ride hardware for Old MacDonald’s Tractor Ride was completely removed and replaced as part of the area’s redevelopment. Therefore, rather than due to the ride system reaching the end of its lifespan, it is understood that the decision to replace Postman Pat Parcel Post is driven by the desire to bring a more up-to-date IP to CBeebies Land, with Postman Pat no longer featuring in the day-to-day CBeebies programme of shows.
While the planning documents do not reference a specific IP, with it noted that visual theming will be determined at a later date, Bluey would be the undoubted front-runner of likely IPs given the series’ ever-growing global appeal and its status as the No. 1 kids show on CBeebies and Disney+ in the UK. The series follows the adventures of Bluey, a loveable blue heeler dog, who lives with her Mum, Dad and little sister, Bingo. Recent weeks have also seen the announcement that a Bluey feature film is being developed by Ludo Studio in collaboration with BBC Studios and set to release in 2027, with The Walt Disney Company acquiring the global theatrical rights. Following this news, it was also announced that, from 2025, Bluey and her family will also appear at Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, as well as onboard Disney Cruise Line voyages originating from Australia and New Zealand.
Whilst these recent announcements reflect a major expansion of The Walt Disney Company’s global relationship with BBC Studios in respect of Bluey, it is not believed that this will impact the existing relationship between BBC Studios and Alton Towers. Indeed, the 2024 season saw the arrival of Bluey and Bingo, as well as their parents Chilli and Bandit, at the Resort in the form of meet and greets within CBeebies Land as well as new Bluey rooms and suites in the CBeebies Land Hotel. It therefore certainly seems like a natural next step to cement the Heeler family’s presence at Alton Towers with the opening of a new headline coaster for CBeebies Land.
The planning portal currently indicates that the target date for a decision on the Project Sunshine application is the latter half of February 2025. With it noted that construction is expected to begin in 2025 and that the construction period is projected to last approximately 34 weeks, this should enable the development to be completed in good time for the start of the 2026 season at Alton Towers in March 2026.
Are you pleased to see new investment into CBeebies Land? Do you think the coaster will be themed to Bluey or another IP? Let us know on our social media channels.
