Croc Drop is an

SBF Visa SBF Visa Group is an Italian company known for its amusement rides and roller coaster designing. SBF was founded in 1952 by Italo Frison, who initially constructed bumper cars and then children's rides. List of roller coasters As of 2021, SB ...

drop tower

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

, which opened in April 2021 at

Chessington World of Adventures Resort Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, with the theme park being developed along ...

in southwest

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, 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 ''Flambards'' is a novel for children or young adults by K. M. Peyton, first published by Oxford University Press in 1967 with illustrations by Victor Ambrus. Alternatively, "Flambards" is the trilogy (1967–1969) or series (1967–1981) name ...

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 Peppa Pig World themed area is based on the children's animated television ser ...

. Croc Drop marks the first significant new ride hardware at Chessington since Zufari and Kobra. In 2020, the ride's name was opposed by the American footwear manufacturer Crocs. 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 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 has been composed by Nick Hutson. Set to ‘drop’ in spring, those daring will 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 a 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. File:CrocDropPromotional.jpg, Croc Drop promotional image.

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