Ride package announced for Weymouth
One of Britain’s best-known marine life attractions, the Weymouth Sea Life Park, is to expand this coming season with the addition of four children’s rides. The £1 million package is one of the highlights of a series of planned developments at Merlin Entertainments’ Sea Life centres across the UK, including a brand new outlet at Chessington World of Adventures near London.
Merlin’s got pretty good in recent years at creating attraction hybrids and the addition of a Rockin’ Tug, drop tower, pirate ship and seal-themed ride will turn the Weymouth Sea Life facility into a cross between an aquarium and a mini amusement park.
“We’re really excited about this development which we feel will go a long way to making the park an all-day destination,” says general manager Gareth Lay.
The new rides – which together will form the new Adventure Island area – will open in May. In the meantime, Sea Life guests can continue to enjoy fish tanks inside brimming with everything fromshrimps to sharks.
With the addition of the new Sea Life Centre at Chessington (opening in time for Easter), Merlin now runs 11 Sea Life and Sanctuary attractions across the UK. The National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham, the flagship of the network, will this year feature Amazon Attack t, turning the spotlight on the more dangerous creatures of the Amazon river and surrounding rainforest. Brighton Sea Life Centre, meanwhile, debuts Lost in Amazonia, a rainforest-themed maze.
At Loch Lomond Aquarium in Scotland, a new feature entitled Predators will lead guests on a guided terror trail to encounter the deadliest undersea hunters, from the Highland loch (lake) to the clear blue waters of the Caribbean. At Blackpool Sea Life centre Suckers is a new exhibit dedicated to octopuses and their relatives, while Sea Life Great Yarmouth will introduce Jellies, focusing on jellyfish.
Finally, the National Seal Sanctuary in Cornwall, Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary Scarborough Sea Life & Marine Sanctuary and Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary will all see improvements to their respective Seal Rescue operations.
