Ship ahoy!
We are thrilled to announce the return of a beloved classic, the Rainbow's End Pirate Ship, in Spring 2025!
The original Pirate Ship was a guest favourite for almost 40 years and decommissioned in 2017 due to the limited availability of replacement parts. But we have listened to repeated requests from Kiwis asking for it to return, and a new and improved Pirate Ship will be ready to set sail in Spring 2025.
Rainbow’s End CEO Susan Mudie says, “The Pirate Ship was a Park favorite for decades and our guests were vocal about missing it. We couldn’t walk past that kind of feedback so started investigating how to bring it back, better than ever. We are confident the new ride will offer heaps of enjoyment for all ages, with some exciting twists to the original.”
The Pirate Ship is a new design, built in Europe, but remains true to the original structure, with additional upgrades to theming and enhanced guest care features.
Development of the new, improved ship commenced 2 years ago with renowned manufacturer, Huss Rides in Germany.
The construction started in 2023 with steel works, and, now, with steel works complete, focus is on completing the final sculpting and painting of decorative elements for the hull, mast, sails and crow's nest in Berlin:
key timings
The parts, from the helm to the mast – start shipping from Europe in December 2024.
Major site works commence in Mid-January 2025.
The installation of the 13-metre-long ship will begin after the April holidays, ready for the grand opening in Spring 2025.
The New Ship Stats:
- The Ship seats up to 50 passengers per ride, which will be the biggest capacity ride at the Park.
- The Ship swings 75° to each side. At top swing guests will be about 15 metres in the air (about the height of a 4-story building!)
- The Ship will be 13 metres long and weighs 25 metric tonnes – that’s the size of four African bull elephants!
