Huge new £2.3million Gruffalo attraction to open in the UK later this year

A £2.3million Gruffalo theme park is to start thrilling visitors to Blackpool seafront later this year.

The brand-new attraction swings opens it doors in May and will feature favourite characters from creators Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse will bring together six of the best loved stories to create an indoor play adventure at the theme park.

In the new Blackpool experience, guests will burst through the pages of some of their favourite stories and into a magical 3D world.

From The Gruffalo’s deep dark wood, to Princess Pearl’s castle in Zog, guests will embark on an adventure of imagination, discovery and play as they join their favourite characters.

The attraction will open in May (Merlin Entertainments)

There will be different play zones, each inspired by The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child, Zog, The Snail and the Whale, Room on the Broom and The Highway Rat.

The theme park will be suitable for children under 10, with a toddler play area specifically for those under three.

The attraction - which is being launched by Merlin Entertainments behind Madame Tussauds and Legoland - has been 18 months in the making and will open next door to Sea Life Blackpool.

The new experience will join Merlin’s seven other attractions in Blackpool including The Blackpool Tower, SEA LIFE Blackpool and Peter RabbitTM: Explore and Play.

It will have a number of themed zones (Merlin Entertainments)

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are the picture book partnership behind bestselling books such as The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Zog.

Donaldson was the Children’s Laureate between 2011 and 2013 and honoured with a CBE in 2018 for services to literature.

Illustrator Axel Scheffler's artwork has even featured on 50p coins, and stamps from Royal Mail and Deutsche Post.

It will join other Merlin attractions including Blackpool Tower (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Councillor Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council, said: “The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse will be the first of its kind and we can’t wait to see this amazing space, full of play and adventure, come to life.

"Merlin Entertainments have done brilliant work with The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom at Chessington; as well as with Zog at Warwick Castle.

"We can’t wait to see what the Clubhouse will bring to Blackpool, and to the stories that we love.”