Croc Drop is an SBF Visa

drop tower A drop tower is a type of amusement park ride incorporating a central tower structure with one or more gondolas attached. In a typical modern configuration, each gondola carrying riders is lifted to the top of the tower and then released t ...

flat ride Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This could be due to ...

, which opened in April 2021 at

Chessington World of Adventures Resort Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a Amusement park, theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex originally opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931; the theme par ...

in southwest

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, forming part of the park's Forbidden Kingdom section.

History

Following the closure of Rameses Revenge at the end of 2019, plans were soon spotted for a multi-million pound replacement drop tower. Two years on, it opened alongside the Blue Barnacle for the 2021 season in Forbidden Kingdom. The ride is manufactured by the SBF Visa Group and is the third model of its type in Britain, after Skyraker 001 at Flambards and Magma at

Paultons Park Paultons Park is an amusement park located in the New Forest National Park, near the village of Ower, in Hampshire, England, with over 70 rides and attractions. The park is situated on the former Paultons Estate, and covers 140 acres of land a ...

. Croc Drop marks the first complete new ride hardware at Chessington since Kobra in 2010. In 2020, the ride's name was opposed by the American footwear manufacturer

Crocs Crocs, Inc. is an American footwear company based in Broomfield, Colorado. It manufactures and markets the Crocs brand of foam footwear. Crocs, Inc. terms these "clogs," but they do not contain wood like traditional clogs. History 2002–20 ...

. The opposition was not upheld by the UK Intellectual Property Office and the ride's name was retained.

Description

As with all rides of its type, a

gondola The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...

with 16 seats is lifted to the top of a large vertical structure, then released to free-fall down the tower. Brakes slow the gondola as it approaches the bottom of the ride. This design expands on this concept with features including rotating gondolas and several bounces before coming to rest. The total weight of the ride is around 26,000 kg and it rotates at 6 rpm. The ride's soundtrack was produced by Nick Hutson. Riders plunge 25m into the giant jaws of a crocodile, Sobek, the ancient Egyptian Crocodile God and protector of the Nile, who has been possessed by evil spirits, transforming him into a cruel deity. With the once fertile Nile laying stagnant, riders must take part in a ceremony to banish the evil spirits from Sobek, plunging into the crocodile's soul and freeing the waters back into the Nile. Chessington ran a teaser campaign throughout 2020 for the new attraction, with mysterious clues posted on their social media channels for people to solve. Those between 1.2m and 1.3m must be accompanied by an adult over the age of 16, while those over the minimum height of 1.3m can ‘drop’ alone.

Gallery

File:CrocDrop2.jpg, Croc Drop completed ride in motion. File:CrocDrop3.jpg, Croc Drop significantly changes Chessington's skyline. File:CrocDrop4.jpg, Croc Drop's batching area and doors opening with smoke. File:Croc Drop Construction.jpg, Ride during early construction.

References

External links

* Chessington World of Adventures rides Amusement rides introduced in 2021 Amusement rides manufactured by SBF Visa Group 2021 establishments in the United Kingdom {{Amusement-ride-stub