UK theme parks - a Very Good Guide

海外生活
#1

British Theme parks






    Since the 1980s the theme park industry has
become larger than ever before, with everything from large,
worldwide type theme parks such as Disneyland and Universal
Studios Hollywood to smaller and medium-sized theme parks such
as the Six Flags parks and countless smaller ventures in many of
the states of the U.S and in countries around the world. Even
simpler theme parks directly aimed at smaller children have
emerged, including Legoland in Carlsbad, California, the first
Legoland opened in Billund, Denmark.). The only limit to future
theme park ventures is ones imagination.




Theme parks are great fun, they create excitement and
thrills, so here is a list of British theme parks you can go to with friends or
by you own!



  • Alton Towers

  • American Adventure


  • Blackpool Pleasure Beach


  • Blackgang Chine


  • Brean Leisure Park


  • Camelot Theme Park


  • Chessington World of Adventures


  • Crealy Park


  • Drayton Manor


  • Dreamland


  • Fantasy Island


  • Flambards Village Theme Park


  • Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo


  • Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach


  • Legoland


  • Lightwater Valley


  • Loudoun Castle


  • New MetroLand


  • Oakwood Leisure Park


  • Paulton's Park


  • Pleasure Island Family Theme Park


  • Pleasureland Southport


  • Pleasurewood Hills


  • Thorpe Park


  • West Midlands Safari Park


  • Wicksteed Leisure Park



[ 编辑者 paigewen 于日期 27Feb05 ]
#2

Alton Towers






    Alton Towers
was purchased by The Tussauds Group in 1990. Today it is notable for its extreme
rides, including Nemesis, a rollercoaster in which people hang with their legs
dangling down (or up as the case may be), Oblivion, the world's first vertical
drop rollercoaster and The Black Hole, a rather conventional rollercoaster if it
wasn't for the twist of being in complete darkness. The oldest rollercoaster at
the site is Corkscrew, a ride with two inversions which many riders find
uncomfortable due to its rough track. Billed as the first of its kind, Air is a
rollercoaster, unusual in that finders find themselves suspended horizontally
facing down, as though flying. This is known as a flying roller coaster. Inside
the towers is the ride Hex, a surreal attraction which is based on a myth
surrounding the towers and their history. The latest attraction is a spinning
rollercoaster named Spinball Whizzer, aimed more towards families than
thrillseekers.



Guests can stay at one of two hotels on the site. Doing this also gives them
access to a newly built water park.



For more info go to
http://www.altontowers.com











[ 编辑者 lightningraider 于日期 27Feb05 ]
#3

American adventure - sorry not enough infomation on this.

The website is still underconstuction

http://www.americanadventure.co.uk/

#4

Blackpool Pleasure Beach






Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an amusement park founded in 1896 by Alderman William George Bean in the town of Blackpool in Lancashire,
England. Bean said his intent was to create "...an American Style Amusement
Park, the fundamental principle of which is to make adults feel like children again and to inspire gaiety of a primarily innocent character." It is the home of the Pepsi Max Big One a 213ft tall steel coaster (built in 1994), it was the tallest rollercoaster in Europe until 2002. Instead of free rides and a fee to enter, entrance is free to Blackpool, but each ride cost a small fee.



Each Autumn, Blackpool Pleasure Beach presents the Blackpool Illuminations, an
electric light show along the seaside. The displays vary from simple patterns to
representations of fairy tales and illuminated models.



Today, Blackpool Pleasure Beach attracts about 7 million visitors a year. The
park was the subject of a somewhat unflattering, six-part BBC documentary in
1998.



The park is being upgraded, along with the rest of Blackpool, in an attempt to
make it an international tourist destination





For more info go to http://www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.co.uk/HTML/index.php








[ 编辑者 lightningraider 于日期 27Feb05 ]

[ 编辑者 yi_iy 于日期 27Feb05 ]
#5

Blackgang Chine






Blackgang Chine is the location of a natural chine (a
coastal ravine) in the soft Cretaceous cliffs near Ventnor at the southern tip
of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.



Unstable terrain due to the underlying Gault Clay strata has resulted in a
succession of huge landslips, notably in the 1920s, giving the area a very
rugged and spectacular appearance quite atypical of southeast England.



The site is home to the Blackgang Chine amusement park, established in 1843 by
Victorian entrepeneur Alexander Dabell, whose descendants have owned it ever
since. It is allegedly the oldest theme park in the UK, and famous for its
lifesize plastic dinosaurs. Originally a general-purpose scenic and curiosity
park, it featured a whale skeleton and landscaped paths down the chine to a
waterfall and the beach below. The paths were swept away in the early 1900s, and
the continuing coastal erosion has since obliterated the chine itself and forced
the owners to repeatedly move the clifftop facilities inland. The park's focus
now is themed entertainments for families with young children.



Blackgang is also the name of the nearby village. According to a May 2000 talk
to the Isle of Wight Postcard Club by the present owner, Mr Simon Dabell, the
etymology is simply "black pathway" (the original appearance of the chine), but
the theme park understandably fosters the interpretation of a smuggling origin.
Thus visitors to the park are greeted by a gigantic fibreglass smuggler between
whose legs they must pass to enter.



Clifftop walks in and around the area give panoramic views of the English
Channel and the south-western Isle of Wight coast. Blackgang is also notable for
dinosaur fossils and the nudist Blackgang Beach.







For more info go to http://www.blackgangchine.com






#6

Brean Leisure Park



www.brean.com


Camelotthemepark


www.camelotthemepark.co.uk



#7

Chessington World of Adventures



Chessington World of Adventures is a British theme park
owned by the Tussauds Group. It was formerly Chessington Zoo but was reopened in
1987 under the new name following a £18 million development investment. It is
situated 12 miles South West of centralLondon on the A243, 2 miles from the A3
and M25 (junction 9 or 10). In recent years, the Tussauds Group has been
transforming the theme park into a more family-orientated attraction, with the
more extreme rides being relocated to Thorpe Park.






Park Guide





Animal Land



Beanoland





Forbidden Kingdom


Land of the Dragons





Market Square



Mexicana



Mystic East



Pirates Cove



Toytown




Transylvania



Rollercoaster




The Vampire



Dragon's Fury



Rattlesnake



For more info go to http://www.chessington.co.uk





#8

Crealy Park








Experience the legendary magic and
adventure of Crealy Great Adventure Theme Parks , the South
West’s favourite family attractions in Devon and Cornwall .

From the moment of arrival, magic, fun
and adventure are all around and you’ll discover the most
exciting rides and adventures create your own magical memories
in the six unique realms - all for your maximum fun –
guaranteed!


For rides that Slide, Splash and Rock!
- At Devon’s Crealy you’ll find the fabulous El Pastil Loco
Coaster, Queen Bess Pirate Ship and Tidal Wave Log Flume
together with Techno Race Karts, and a Victorian Carousel, and
NEW for 2005 The Funosaurus Show with Dina the last Baby
Dinosaur on Earth!


At Cornwall ’s Crealy you’ll discover
Thunder Falls Log Flume, the Raging Rivers water slide and the
Viking Warrior Pirate Ship and NEW for 2005 Swampbusters
eco-adventure, Pony Express Ride and animated Singing Chicken
Show!


Both parks have huge indoor and outdoor
playgrounds for children of all ages, Animal Showtime where you
can ride, feed, milk, and groom or cuddle the friendliest
animals. Barn loads of cuddly bunnies, adorable calves, cute
kids, fluffy lambs, higgledy piglets and chirpy chicks. Seasonal
events all year - Easter M’Egga Egg Hunt, May Bank Holiday Lost
Toys Treasure Hunt, Summer Sunflower Maze, October PumpkinFest
and Maximum Blast Fireworks at Halloween.


...with delicious food in the
Restaurant and café’s, a gift shop stuffed with goodies, gifts
and toys and acres of space to explore the whole family with
have a fantastic day out whatever the weather!







For more info go to http://www.crealy.co.uk






#9

Drayton Manor







Drayton Manor is a theme park in
Staffordshire, in the UK


Rides in the park
include Storm Force 10 (opened by the pop
group Steps), Shockwave, a stand-up
rollercoaster, and Apocalypse, a stand-up
drop tower...





For more info go to http://www.draytonmanor.co.uk


#10

Dreamland



Dreamland Margate is a British amusement park in the seaside resort town of Margate Kent. The park is famous for having the UK's oldest surviving rollercoaster, The Scenic Railway. It is currently under threat from closure because of the value of commercial land in the area.




For more info go to http://www.savedreamland.co.uk/



#11

Fantasy Island


Fantasy Island - Britain's First Themed Indoor Family Resort and Amusement
Park


For more information go to http://www.fantasyisland.co.uk


#12


Flamingo land theme park and zoo



Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo is an amusement park in Kirby Misperton, Malton, south of Pickering, in North Yorkshire.



The Flamingo Park Zoological Gardens was founded in 1959 by Pentland Hick. In 1978, it was bought by Robert Gibb, who chnaged the name to Flamingo Land and developed the complex. After Robert’s death in 1995, his son, Gordon, became Chief Executive.



It’s most prominent rollercoasters have been Magnum Force (2000-2004) and The Bullet (1991-2004), although both of these attractions have been sold in advance of the 2005 season, when two new rollercoasters are expected to open.



The complex also houses a zoo and a caravan park.





For more information go to http://www.flamingoland.co.uk/















#13

Great Yarmouth Pleasure beach



http://www.pleasure-beach.co.uk/

#14

Legoland


Legoland theme park with lots to do for children, lego model village, rides, gold panning, car racing and lots more. The theme park has spectacular models made entirely from lego bricks one of the leading childrens toys


For more information go to www.legoland.co.uk







#15

Lightwater Valley


Lightwater Valley is a modern amusement park set in 175 acres of parkland, located on the edge of the village of North Stainley, near Ripon , North Yorkshire.

Adjoining the theme park is Lightwater Valley Country Shopping Village, a development of factory outlet shops, with additional Classic Car Collection and Birds of Prey Centre attractions.

The complex is operated by Lightwater Valley Attractions Limited, a division of the holding company Heritage Great Britain PLC, who also operated attractions based at popular British landmarks such as Lands End and John O'Groats.

Lightwater Valley was founded by Robert Staveley and initially evolved from a small farm attraction.


The Ultimate Roller Coaster



The Ultimate station and first incline

UltimateLightwater Valley’s signature attraction, The Ultimate, is a unique
terrain roller coaster which was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records for
been the world’s longest roller coaster, for ten consecutive years from 1991 to
2001.



Set within 44 acres of woodland, the Ultimate takes passengers on a 5minute
50second ride along 7542ft of tubular steel track, with two lift hills of 107ft
and 157ft respectively, which rest on Canadian redwood trestles.



The Ultimate represented an investment of £5.2million and was designed by the
park’s original owner, Robert Staveley. Construction work began in early 1990
and took eighteen months to complete before the opening to the public on 17 July
1991.





Amusement Rides



Guests splashing down the Toad Hole water rideLightwater Valley is currently
home to a varied collection of amusement rides specially chosen to suit all age
ranges and tastes, from white knuckle thrill rides to gentler rides for all the
family.



The Valligators, are three friendly green costumed entertainers who currently
act as the park’s mascots and entertain the younger visitors to Lightwater
Valley.



The park is home to some unusual amusement rides, which have been specially
built into the park’s terrain, including the Toad Hole a splash boat ride and
the Rat Ride a subterranean roller coaster set in a mock sewer.




For more information go to http://www.lightwatervalley.net








#16

Again, those are the theme parks whose information are
not easily obtained. Hopefully their official website will help if you are
interested!


Loudoun Castle

New MetroLand

Oakwood Leisure Park

Paulton's Park

Pleasure Island Family Theme Park

Pleasureland Southport

Pleasurewood Hills

#17

Thorpe Park


Thorpe Park is an amusement park in Kingston upon Thames, London built in 1979 on the site of gravel pit which was partially flooded to make a water theme park. It added its first thrill ride in 1987, the Thunder River water ride.


For more information go to http://www.thorpepark.co.uk/







#18

West Midlands Safari Park


The West Midland Safari Park is a safari park located between Kidderminster and Bewdley in Worcestershire, England. It is in Wyre Forest district.


For more information go to http://www.wmsp.co.uk








#19

West Midlands Safari Park


This is mainly for young children


For more information go to http://www.wicksteed.co.uk/



#20

Recommended Theme Parks


Alton Towers


Paulton's Park


Thorpe Park


These are the biggest parks
in UK!



Done!