Minecraft is about to become something you can physically walk into. At Chessington World of Adventures Resort in Surrey, a new permanent land is taking shape where familiar blocks, biomes and dimensions from the game will become real-world spaces โ and the first glimpse of what is coming suggests this will be considerably more ambitious than a themed ride.
At the centre of it all is a journey into the Nether, followed by an escape back toward the Overworld. But the rollercoaster is only one part of a much larger Minecraft experience that will eventually let visitors eat, play, explore and even sleep inside the world of the game.
Minecraft World is coming to Chessington in 2027
The project, known as Minecraft World, is being developed at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in Surrey, south-west of London, on the site associated with the park’s former Wild Asia area.
Merlin Entertainments and Mojang Studios first announced the project in March 2026, revealing plans for what they described as a major new permanent Minecraft attraction. The development represents a reported ยฃ50 million investment and is being created as part of the companies’ broader effort to bring Minecraft into physical entertainment.
The official Chessington website currently lists 2027 as the opening year, although an exact opening date has not yet been announced.
Minecraft’s official experiences page also lists Minecraft World as the first Minecraft theme park land.
That distinction matters because this is not being presented as a single temporary experience or a Minecraft overlay placed on an existing attraction. The plans cover an entire themed land, including rides, interactive adventures, playscapes, retail, food and accommodation.
| Minecraft World detail | Confirmed information |
| Location | Chessington World of Adventures Resort, Surrey |
| Opening | 2027 |
| Investment | ยฃ50 million |
| Developers | Mojang Studios and Merlin Entertainments |
| Main coaster | Escape the Nether |
| Hotel | Minecraft World Hotel |
| Reported hotel size | 69 rooms across four floors |
| Exact opening date | Not announced |
| Room pricing | Not announced |
| Coaster technical specifications | Not fully announced |
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Escape the Nether is Minecraft’s first rollercoaster
Then comes the attraction that could become the defining moment of Minecraft World.
Escape the Nether is being described as the world’s first Minecraft rollercoaster, and its story begins underground.
Rather than simply surrounding a conventional ride with Minecraft decorations, the attraction is being designed around the game’s environments and dimensions. Riders will travel through an indoor, mine-inspired setting before encountering a Nether portal.
From there, the journey moves into a Nether-inspired environment and eventually toward an Overworld-themed area.
Minecraft’s official September 2026 Live recap describes the experience as sending guests “up, down, all around” through an environment inspired by the Nether. The same official recap confirms that the attraction will feature both indoor and outdoor sections.
The official Minecraft World page currently confirms the presence of a “world first coaster”, although several technical details remain undisclosed.
The exact height, speed and ride duration of Escape the Nether have not yet been announced.
That leaves plenty of unanswered questions about the ride itself, but the core experience is already clear: guests will physically move through a Minecraft-inspired mine, enter the Nether and eventually emerge toward the Overworld.
For a franchise built around exploration, crafting and moving between distinct environments, the concept is unusually fitting.
The Minecraft World Hotel will add a 69-room overnight experience
Once the coaster ends, the Minecraft experience will not necessarily be over.
The development will also feature the world’s first Minecraft World Hotel, allowing visitors to continue the themed experience after leaving the park attractions.
Minecraft’s September 2026 Live recap describes the hotel as featuring themed rooms, a deep-sea-inspired dining venue and Minecraft-inspired spaces.
Contemporary reporting has put the hotel at 69 rooms across four floors, divided into 20 premium rooms and 49 standard rooms.
The accommodation is designed to make the Minecraft theme part of the entire stay rather than something guests only encounter outside their room.
Minecraft-inspired corridors will extend the game’s visual language through the building, while the dining facilities will also carry their own themes.
One restaurant will have an underwater or deep-sea theme, while a bar will take inspiration from the game’s Woodland Mansion.
In other words, the hotel is designed to turn the familiar Minecraft sleepover idea into an actual physical experience.
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The hotel brings Minecraft’s strange sense of adventure indoors
The official Minecraft presentation leaned into the playful idea of staying inside the game.
Visitors will be able to recharge in themed rooms, eat at the deep-sea-inspired restaurant and move through corridors influenced by Minecraft’s environments.
The presentation even jokingly described the hotel as a place where guests can “mingle with mobs”, while noting that the beds should be comfortable enough that visitors will not need to worry about Minecraft’s infamous phantom encounters.
The humour reflects the broader approach being taken with Minecraft World: the goal is not simply to place a logo on a building, but to create an environment that feels connected to the game.
Torfi Frans รlafsson, Senior Creative Director of Entertainment at Minecraft, said:
โMinecraft World represents a meaningful milestone in our ongoing journey to expand the Minecraft universe. We’re thrilled to have partnered with Merlin Entertainments to realise a place where you can literally be in the Minecraft Overworld and have an adventure of your own with your family and friends. The team at Merlin Entertainments and Mojang have worked hard to craft an experience that feels immersive, authentic and welcoming, and we can’t wait for our community to experience it.โ
That emphasis on authenticity is central to the project.
What else will be inside Minecraft World?
Escape the Nether and the hotel may be the biggest reveals, but they are not the full story.
Minecraft World is being designed as an entire themed land, with areas inspired by Minecraft’s Overworld biomes, mobs and items.
The official plans include:
- Interactive adventures
- Block-built playscapes
- Themed retail
- Minecraft-inspired food locations
- Areas inspired by Minecraft environments
- Opportunities to encounter mobs
- Minecraft-themed meet-and-greets
- Locations inspired by lush caves, mineshafts and plains
Minecraft’s March 2026 Live recap also highlighted the planned world-first rollercoaster, themed food, a large Minecraft shop and opportunities for guests to encounter mobs.
The result is intended to feel less like a standalone branded attraction and more like entering a physical Minecraft environment.
Visitors will be able to move between different themed spaces while encountering elements that are instantly recognizable from the game.
Mojang and Merlin are aiming for an authentic Minecraft experience
The partnership behind Minecraft World is a major part of the project’s identity.
Merlin Entertainments and Mojang Studios have been working together on the development, with Merlin saying its teams have collaborated with Mojang and Minecraft creators to make the attractions and environments feel authentic to the game’s global community.
Angela Jobson, SVP of Global Brand at Merlin Entertainments, said:
โWeโre absolutely thrilled to be bringing Minecraftโs creativity, bold adventures, and ridiculous fun to life at a theme park for the first time at Chessington World of Adventures. Minecraft World will allow friends and families to play, explore and craft together on a truly epic scale. Working closely together with Mojang Studios we are meticulously creating an authentic world that the global community of Minecraft fans will want to immerse themselves in and experience the game in a whole new way.โ
Torfi Frans รlafsson has similarly described the project as an important expansion of the Minecraft universe beyond gaming.
The collaboration has also involved Minecraft creators as the companies work toward making the physical environments feel familiar to people who have spent years creating their own worlds inside the game.
Minecraft World is part of a much larger real-world expansion
Minecraft’s move into physical entertainment did not begin at Chessington.
The franchise already has official real-world experiences, including Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue, which has appeared in multiple international locations. Minecraft’s official experiences page also lists Moonlight Trail, an outdoor nighttime experience in Buenos Aires.
Minecraft World represents a different scale.
Instead of being a temporary or touring attraction, it is being developed as a permanent location-based theme park land, combining rides, accommodation, dining, retail and interactive experiences.
The wider strategy dates back to the 2024 “Adventures Made Real” partnership between Merlin and Mojang. Under that partnership, Merlin committed more than ยฃ85 million to the first wave of Minecraft-themed real-world experiences in the UK and United States.
Minecraft World is therefore another major stage in the franchise’s expansion beyond the traditional game.
When will Minecraft World open?
For now, the confirmed answer is simply 2027.
Chessington’s website lists the attraction as opening during the year, but an exact public opening day has not been announced by the park or Mojang.
The same uncertainty applies to the Minecraft World Hotel.
Although contemporary reporting has provided details about its reported 69-room, four-floor layout, full room pricing and booking information have not been announced on the official Minecraft World page.
Chessington currently provides a way for interested visitors to follow updates about the project while development continues.
So anyone already imagining a Minecraft-themed overnight stay will have to wait for the official booking details.
How close is Minecraft World to London?
The location gives the project another advantage for UK visitors.
Chessington World of Adventures is in Surrey, within Greater London, and Merlin says the resort is approximately 35 minutes by direct train from London Waterloo.
That makes Minecraft World accessible for visitors travelling through London, while also allowing fans to combine a trip to the UK capital with a visit to the new themed land.
When the project opens, Minecraft fans will not need to travel to a dedicated Minecraft resort in another country to experience the franchise on this scale.
2027 could bring Minecraft far beyond the screen
The September 2026 Minecraft Live event revealed new information about the game itself while also putting Minecraft World firmly in the spotlight.
And the physical project is now beginning to look like much more than a themed corner of a theme park.
There will be an entire Minecraft-inspired land, a journey through the Nether, an Overworld-themed environment, interactive attractions, playscapes, themed food and retail, plus a hotel where the experience continues after the park closes.
The exact opening date remains unknown. So do the room prices and several technical details of Escape the Nether.
But the central picture is already confirmed.
Minecraft World is coming to Chessington in 2027 โ and when it arrives, visitors will not simply be looking at Minecraft. They will be stepping inside it.
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Conclusion
Minecraft World is shaping up to be one of the franchise’s largest real-world expansions yet. Backed by a reported ยฃ50 million investment, the permanent Chessington land will combine Escape the Nether, themed environments, interactive experiences, retail, dining and the reported 69-room Minecraft World Hotel.
The exact launch date and further attraction specifications are still to come, but Mojang Studios and Merlin Entertainments have already established the central idea: a place where Minecraft fans can leave the screen behind and experience the Overworld, Nether and wider game-inspired world in person.
Source Disclaimer
This article has been prepared based on thorough research of the sources provided in the original material, including official announcements and pages from Mojang Studios, Minecraft, Merlin Entertainments and Chessington World of Adventures, supplemented by relevant reporting for details not yet published on the official project page. The article reflects the information available from those sources at the time of writing. Opening dates, pricing and individual attraction details may change before Minecraft World launches.
Sources
- Merlin Entertainments: Minecraft World Is Coming To Chessington in 2027
- Official Chessington Minecraft World page
- Minecraft: Official Minecraft Experiences
- Minecraft Live 2026 September recap
- Minecraft Live 2026 March recap
- Merlin and Mojang’s 2024 Minecraft real-world attractions partnership announcement
Featured Image Credit: Merlin Entertainments / Mojang Studios
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