I spent an hour at the park this afternoon chatting with the management staff about several things and I had a tour of the PPW construction site.
I was shown the artists impression of the land and I can honestly say that it looks fantastic (as artists impressions often do).
Fans of Thomas Land at Drayton (DMP) will be pleased to hear that the same people - RMA Limited,
http://www.rma-themedattractions.co.uk - are building PPW! So I'm expecting a high level of theme to create an immersive world. The area is huge - 3 acres!
Time to break up the text with some photos.
Here's the main building which will house a play area, ice cream/snack shop and the largest dedicated Peppa Pig Store in the whole wide world!
The roof will have real grass growing on it! There are even little hooks for the lucky people who get to mow it. And those that give a toss about carbon footprints and all that sort of stuff, the grey squares things on top will provide ventilation/cool air without the need for aircon.
And I did ask... No, sorry, the play area will be for kids only (although you will be able to escort a child in there).
The next photo shows the groundwork for either the Windy Castle or Peppa Pig's House, I forget which. (Sorry, Rob!)
Windy Castle is not only a great place to make fart references, but it's also going to be a UK-first attraction! From what I can gather, it's going to be very similar to Twist & Turn at Toverland, a teacups-on-acid type ride. It's a "Flying Wheels" attraction, made by Metallbau Emmeln, a German company. In fact, all the attractions in PPW are German made.
Video:
http://www.toverland.nl/Internet/Page/5 ... -turn.aspx
From this photo, you can see one of the buildings is raised.
If you've ever seen Peppa Pig, you'll know that all of the locations (school, house etc) are on hills. The same will apply to PPW. So instead of having a completely flat themed area, attractions will be set on hills to reflect the actual world of Peppa Pig.
Peppa Pig music will be played throughout the area and there will be meet-and-great character opportunities during peak periods.
On the subject of theme, there will be some "static theming" such as a camper van.
Animatronics will also feature in PPW, notably in Peppa's House (a walk-thru from what I can gather) and even animatronic ducks on a pond!
(The last two images are from the Toys R Us website.)
This is Danny Dog's Car Ride.
The pillars are deliberately not straight, so it remains true to the cartoon.
These last two images show the construction of Grandpa Pig’s Little Train. Again, the train will be themed and operate exactly how it does in the show.
Paultons have the exclusive license for a PPW in the UK for an undisclosed (read: they wouldn't tell me
) period of time.
I think it will be very much like Thomas Land at DMP. By that I don't mean they will let the rest of the park rot just to keep one sparkling world, I mean there will probably be one or two attractions suited for the majority of us enthusiasts, but obviously it will be aimed at mainly the under 5's.
Scheduled opening date is Friday 9th April 2011, although there will be a soft opening for "Golden Ticket" winners the week before.
More information will be released in the coming weeks detailing the rides, artists impressions and so forth. As soon as I have it, I'll pass it on.