Little thrillseekers are invited to join the Octonauts on a journey onboard the GUP convoy for their most exciting mission yet. With Captain Barnacles in the driving seat, younger guests will explore new underwater worlds, rescue amazing sea creatures and protect the ocean on their very first rollercoaster.
Need2Know
- Min. Rider Height:Â 0.9m
- Unaccompanied Height:Â 1.1m
- Max. Rider Height:Â None
- Ride Photography:Â Yes
- Fastrack:Â No
Tech Specs
- Manufacturer:Â Zamperla
- Ride Type:Â Speedy Coaster
- Opened:Â 21st March 2015
- Track Length:Â 136m
- Max. Track Height:Â 6.5m
- Passengers per Car:Â 14
- Duration:Â 2 mins 30 secs
Guests approach the queueline from the direction of Get Set Go! Tree Top Adventure. Entering through an archway themed to the Octonauts’ base, you make your way towards a photo booth where you can have your photograph taken to become an official ‘Octocadet’. As you proceeed through the queue line there are plenty of activities to keep young Octocadets entertained, from ocean themed puzzles and trivia, to video screens showing mini-episodes of the Octonauts cartoon.
Upon entering the station you ascend a short flight of steps before being batched into groups of two. Each two is allocated a coloured circle which corresponds to the train which you will board. Once the previous group of riders disembark, you enter the ride vehicle.
Once the train leaves the station it takes a right turn and ascends the short lift hill. When it reaches the summit of the lift hill the train banks to the right and begins its circuit. After the first turn you pass a large whale which fires a jet of water out of its back. After this you makes a left hand turn before quickly going into a right hand turn past the on ride photo point. On completing the right hand turn you enter the brake run which takes you back into the station. Each ride completes two circuits of the track.
Opening on 21st March 2015, Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure signified an expansion to CBeebies Land which opened one year previously in 2014.
The site which Octonauts occupies has been home to a number of attractions aimed at younger guests over the years. From 1986-1995, the site formed part of Kiddie Kingdom – a £250, 000 adventure playground – with the Trim Trail and Free Fall Slide occupying the area where the coaster now stands. In 1996 the Trim Trail was removed and The Beastie was re-located from its former home in Forbidden Valley to become part of the new Adventure Land. The Beastie would remain here until it ceased operation in 2010, although it wouldn’t be until 2012/13 that the ride would be removed. In 1991 the Free Fall Slide would be replaced by a tube slide and Astroglide. These were then later replaced in 2002 by the Space Adventures Playground. Space Adventures remained until the end of the 2014 season when the area was cleared to make way for Octonauts.
In late 2014, rumours of a kiddie coaster joining the CBeebies Land ride line-up began to circulate, although the first signs of construction weren’t spotted until early in January 2015. The removal of Space Adventures and the appearance of construction fencing around the site, which also included the area where Beastie once stood, confirmed that something new was coming for 2015.
Supports and track for the new attraction were first seen on resort in mid to late January, and by the time the theme park opened for February Half Term, the circuit had been completed with the GUP themed train already on the track. A few days prior to the theme park’s reopening, a press release emerged confirming that the new rollercoaster would be themed around the Octonauts and also provided the name and opening date for the attraction.
