CBeebies Land

The area first opened in 1989 as Britannia Building Society Farm, an educational attraction centred on modern farming. Guests were able to visit Farm-a-Rama, an exhibition on modern farming, watch cows being milked, and take a relaxing boat ride around the paddocks to see the various animals resident at the farm. In 1992 the name of the area changed to Safeway Farm, and although there weren’t any major changes to the area, Farm-a-Rama was removed, and a barn where some of the animals could be viewed up close was introduced in place of the milking shed.

The first major change to the area occurring in 1995 when Old MacDonald moved in, and the area was renamed Old MacDonald’s Farmyard. This transformation saw the introduction of The Tractor Ride in place of some of the paddocks, Doodle Doo Derby, and The Singing Barn. In 1999 the boat ride was re-themed to Riverbank Eye Spy, an interactive attraction where children had to guess the animals described as you go and press the relevant buttons in the boat which makes the sound of that animal.

The area saw controversy in 2001 with the nationwide outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Despite not being infected, park management made the decision to cull the livestock in order to avoid restrictions being placed on the park’s opening. To replace the lost animals, Ribena Berry Bish Bash opened in 2003 and The Dung Heap play area was introduced in 2007.

More recently the animals made a return to the farmyard including rabbits, ferrets, chickens, and even donkeys, offering children the opportunity to interact with and learn more about the animals that call the farm home. The animals remained until the closure of the area in October 2013 and were relocated to Chessington World of Adventures Resort for the 2014 season. The area has also been host to some of the park’s Christmas events, providing the home for Santa’s Grotto, and the chance to meet his famous reindeer.

In September 2013 a planning application was submitted for a new family development on the site of Old MacDonald’s Farm. This was later revealed to be CBeebies Land and would mean a complete transformation for the area which had been a family favourite for many years.

During the closed season of 2014/15, CBeebies Land was extended onto the former site of The Beastie with the addition of a new family rollercoaster – Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure.

Two new shows were introduced to Big Fun Showtime at the start of the 2016 season, with shows featuring Hey Duggee and Tree Fu Tom replacing those of Nina and the Neurons and Mike the Knight, whilst The Zingzillas continued to entertain younger guests with their music.

2017 saw new friends arrive in CBeebies Land, with Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride and The Furchester Hotel Live joining the line-up of attractions for the start of the 2017 theme park season. This season also saw The Zingzillas’ show replaced by ‘The Funster Show’ in the Big Fun Showtime pavilion.

Peter Rabbit returned to Alton Towers Resort in 2019, with the opening of Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop – a pair of frog hopper towers. However, Nina’s Science Lab didn’t return for the 2019 season, making it the first of CBeebies Land’s attractions to close.

2020 saw the retheming of The Numtums Number-Go-Round to adopt a more generic Bugbies theme, as well as the final operation of Charlie and Lola’s Moonsquirters & Green Drops, which, given the interactive nature of the attraction, remained closed following the COVID-19 pandemic.

New attractions then arrived for the 2022 season, with Hey Duggee’s Big Adventure Badge replacing Tree Fu Tom Training Camp, Andy’s Adventures Dinosaur Dig replacing Mr Bloom’s Allotment, and JoJo & Gran Gran At Home utilising the building previously home to Charlie and Lola’s Moonsquirters & Green Drops.