Descend

D E S C E N D

Our patented descent chutes are made of high carbon steel and are powered with pneumatic pistols strong enough to launch a blue whale a kilometer into the air!

You’ll descend the sea in style, cruising down the five kilometer drop to the park in our luxury descent pods, made of high carbon steel and quarduple-glazed, tension treated glass – the same glass we used to build out Underwater Eden Domesᵀᴹ. Each pod can hold fifty guests across two floors, and the huge windows provide an excellent view of the watery world beyond.

Each of our four chutes has a name. The Erebus was the first built, back when construction first began on Challenger Deep Descent 20 years ago. The Erebus chute is slightly wider than the other chutes to accomodate the large loads descended during construction. Our second and third chutes, Dauntless and Challenger, were constructed shortly before park opening. The fourth Chute, the Nautilus, was built nine months after the park originally opened in order to fascilitate the descent of more guests at a faster rate following the opening of the new park area, Captain Nemo’s.

Each chute holds ten pods, and every pod is kitted out with self-surfacing technology, meaning it will require no power to rise up to the ocean’s surface in an emergency.

Your Descent

You’ll arrive by skipper or ferry at Challenger Bay the day you are due to descend, unless you have booked to stay at the Challenger Bay hotel. Your ticket will tell you the time of your descent and which chute you should arrive at. When you arrive at your assigned chute, you’ll be given an EB (Equalisation Bracelet), which will help ease any discomfort that comes with descending to the park. The bracelets are adjustable, but cannot be removed except by a member of staff.

On your way to your launch door, you’ll notice there are many restrooms. Descent takes approximately 40 minutes, and there are no rest rooms aboard the Descent Pods, so please make sure you use the bathroom before you board! Don’t worry, the descent will not go ahead unless all assigned passengers who have been given their EB are aboard.

You will be asked to proceed to an access door. If you have trouble climbing stairs, you can ask to be seated on the lower deck of your descent pod if you have not already selected this option at time of booking. You will be asked to be seated during the descent by a member of staff.

You’ll be given a countdown before the pod launches. When it first begins its descent, it will move quite fast, and you’ll notice that the light fades fairly quickly. After 200m, the descent will slow in pace, and you’ll be able to observe the abundance of natural fauna in the beautiful sea above Challenger Deep Descent.

Before your pod docks in Challenger Deep Descent’s Central Landing, you’ll be given another countdown. The pod will land smoothly but you may notice some vibrations in the ground as the doors on the pod line up with the launch doors. When the doors open, you are free to exit and explore the park right away! Restrooms are located immediately to your left from all chute launch doors.