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Minecraft World Theme Park and Hotel Announced for London in 2027

The UK park at Chessington World of Adventures will feature the world's first Minecraft roller coaster and the first Minecraft World Hotel, plus themed food and the world's biggest Minecraft shop.

By Jeanpierre Florent · FirstDrop News TeamSep 28, 20264 min read
Photo: well-played.com.au
Photo Credit: well-played.com.au

Mojang Studios announced Minecraft World during its Minecraft Live broadcast on September 26, giving theme park fans their first real look at the Minecraft attraction coming to Chessington World of Adventures Resort in Greater London. The park opens in 2027 and will feature what Mojang calls the world's first Minecraft roller coaster, running both indoors and outdoors, along with the first Minecraft World Hotel, themed food, interactive adventures, and the world's biggest Minecraft shop.

Merlin Entertainments, which operates Chessington, describes Minecraft World as one of its most ambitious projects in recent years. The announcement builds on the news first shared on March 21 of this year that the park was in development, but this month's Minecraft Live offered the first detailed look at what guests can expect when it opens.

The centerpiece attraction is Escape the Nether, an indoor and outdoor roller coaster that takes riders through the world of Minecraft. No additional details about the coaster's layout, duration, or intensity level have been shared yet.

First Minecraft World Hotel Joins the Resort

The Minecraft World Hotel gives guests the chance to immerse themselves in the world of the game beyond just visiting the park for the day. Mojang describes it as the first Minecraft World Hotel, though no specifics about room count, theming details, or pricing have been announced.

The hotel joins the themed food offerings and interactive adventures that will round out the Minecraft World experience. Mojang also confirmed that the world's biggest Minecraft shop will open at the park, presumably selling game merchandise, apparel, and themed items.

Chessington World of Adventures sits on the outskirts of London in Greater London. The resort already operates a hotel and various themed areas, making it an established destination for UK families and tourists.

The Sift Dimension Anchored Minecraft Live

While Minecraft World offered theme park fans something to look forward to in 2027, the headline announcement of Minecraft Live focused squarely on The Sift, the first new dimension added to Minecraft in over 14 years. The Sift joins the Overworld, the Nether, and the End as the game's fourth dimension, bringing what Mojang describes as new dangers, discovery, and mystery.

The dimension launches in the Java and Bedrock editions of Minecraft at some point in 2027. Players will get their first look at The Sift earlier, when Minecraft Dungeons II launches on September 29, just one day after this broadcast. That sequel expands the interconnected Dungeons world with deeper character customization, approachable combat, and cooperative multiplayer.

Minecraft Dungeons II releases on Windows at €29.99 on Steam and on Switch on the same day. The game gives players the option to explore The Sift ahead of its arrival in the main Minecraft game next year.

Ice Caves Biome and Switch 2 Release Confirmed

Mojang also detailed the next content update for the base Minecraft game, which adds Ice Caves, a new cave biome designed as an underground extension beneath cold biomes. The biome features icicles that grow on cave ceilings and detach if a torch is placed beneath them, along with light-emitting ice crystals that grow on the ground and give off a soft light.

Ice Caves also includes calcite and a frozen zombie variant. Mojang says the biome is heading to testing soon but has not given a release date for the drop yet.

The broadcast reiterated that Minecraft arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 on October 27, 2026, with a free upgrade path for players who own the existing Switch version. The date had been confirmed before Minecraft Live, so the show repeated it rather than announcing it fresh. Pricing for the Switch 2 version has not been confirmed by Mojang.

Creator Platform and Community Features

Chief Creative Officer Jens Bergeström announced a new initiative aimed at the Minecraft creator community during the broadcast. He described it as Minecraft's mission to inspire and enable new generations of Minecraft creators by removing some of the obstacles standing in their way.

Bergeström said Minecraft is working on improving tools and systems to make it easier to create, manage, and share game content for creators. The Mojang division of Xbox has been consistently strong over the years, with Xbox Chief Executive Officer Asha Sharma noting that it has been subsidizing a lot of other divisions that are not as financially strong.

Mojang now reports directly to Sharma, and the expectation is that Microsoft will reinvest a lot more in Minecraft itself, making it a stronger rival to other user generated content platforms like Roblox and Fortnite.

Minecraft also announced the Wilderness Bound community challenge as a follow up to the Wilderness Bound release. The challenge centers on a forest expedition that unlocks Character Creator items and Java Skins for participants.

New Sound Effects Packs are launching on the Minecraft Marketplace before the end of 2026, and Minecraft: Education Edition is marking its 10 year anniversary this year.

Written by Jeanpierre Florent, part of the FirstDrop News Team

Jeanpierre is the Southern California based creator behind JPLAND21, a theme park community of more than one million subscribers across YouTube and Instagram. Our reporting is grounded in regular firsthand park visits. More about us

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