Thorpe Park

Amusement park in the United Kingdom


Thorpe Park
Location
Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK
Status Operating
Opened 24 May 1979
Owner Merlin Entertainments
Area 500 acres (202 hectares)
Slogan An Island Like No Other
Website http://thorpepark.com/

Thorpe Park is an amusement park located in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK. It is operated by Merlin Entertainments, but is actually owned by Nick Leslau.

History

Thorpe Park is situated on the site of a former quarry on the border between Chertsey and Egham in Surrey, England.

In the late 1970s, the company "Ready Mixed Concrete Limited" flooded the site after the quarry's closure with the intention of opening an educational leisure park. In 1998, the park was purchased by the Tussauds Group, the then-owner of Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures. Tussauds added the majority of Thorpe Park's large rides during the 2000s, such as Colossus, Nemesis Inferno and Stealth. In 2007, Thorpe Park fell into the ownership of Merlin Entertainments after it purchased the Tussauds Group. Merlin decided to orient the park and its additions directly towards teenagers and young adults. This resulted in rides such as Saw - The Ride and The Swarm. However in 2014, Merlin decided to reposition the park back towards a more well-rounded age demographic with family-oriented additions such as Angry Birds Land, I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! and the park's onsite hotel.

Roller coasters

Planned

Class Name Manufacturer Type Opening
Roller Hyperia Mack Rides Hyper 2024

Present

Class Name Manufacturer Type Opened Status
Roller Colossus Intamin Sit-Down March 22, 2002 Operating
Powered Flying Fish Mack Rides Family 1983 Operating
Roller Nemesis Inferno Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted April 5, 2003 Operating
Roller Saw - The Ride Gerstlauer Sit-Down March 14, 2009 Operating
Roller Stealth Intamin Launched
Hyper
March 15, 2006 Operating
Roller Swarm Bolliger & Mabillard Winged March 15, 2012 Operating
Roller Walking Dead: The Ride Vekoma Enclosed March 23, 1996 Operating

Attractions

Operating

Name Manufacturer Type Opened
Black Mirror Labyrinth Freemont Baxter Walk-through May 22, 2021
Depth Charge Aquatic Dinghy Waterslides 1991
Dobble Tea Party Mack Rides Teacups 1986
Derren Brown's Ghost Train Severn Lamb
Simworx
Simulator July 2016
Detonator: Bombs Away Fabbri Drop Tower April 2001
High Striker Zamperla Junior Drop Tower 2017
King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems Bertazzon Dodgems 2014
Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride Metallbau Emmeln Pirate Ship 1994
Quantum Fabbri Flying Carpet 2003
Rumba Rapids Intamin River Rapids 1987
Rush S&S Worldwide Screamin' Swing May 2005
Samurai Mondial Top Scan 2004
Storm Surge WhiteWater West Spinning Rapids Ride March 2011
Tidal Wave Hopkins Rides Shoot The Chute April 2000
Vortex KMG Frisbee 2001
Zodiac HUSS Enterprise 2006

Closed

Name Manufacturer Type Opened Closed Fate
Calgary Stampede Fairmatt Troika 1993 2003 Travelling UK
Canada Creek Railway Severn Lamb Miniature Railway 1989 2011 Scrapped
Carousel Kingdom Peter Petz Carousel 1990 1999 Relocated to Alton Towers
Chief Ranger's Carousel Euro Sujets Carousel 1994 2014 Scrapped
Dare Devil Drivers Unknown Dodgems 1998 2000 Unknown
Eclipse Fabbri Ferris Wheel 2003 2004 Relocated to Chessington World of Adventures
Fantasy Fish Modern Products Roundabout 1980 2010 Unknown
Galleon Race Modern Products Roundabout 1980s 2010 Scrapped via John H. Rundle
Happy Halibuts Modern Products Junior Paratrooper 1980s 2010 Scrapped via John H. Rundle
Hi-Slide Modern Products Giant Slide 1980s 1990s Unknown
Loggers Leap Mack Rides Log Flume 1989 2015 Scrapped
Major Orbit Modern Products Major Orbit 1980 1991 Relocated to Stade Amusement Park
Miss Hippo's Fungle Safari Ihle Track Ride 1990 2009 Scrapped
Mr. Rabbit's Tropical Travels Mack Rides Scenic Boat Ride 1982 2001 Scrapped
Ollie Octopus Modern Products Major Orbit 1992 2010 Scrapped via John H. Rundle
Rocky Express Mack Rides Sea Storm 1986 2021 SBNO
SAW Alive Paragon Creative Walk-Through 2010 2012 Changed to halloween only, closed for good after the 2018 season.
Slammer S&S Worldwide Sky Swat 2005 2016 SBNO
Slippery Serpent Modern Products Track Ride 1980s 2010 Scrapped
Snake Slide Zapfun Tube Slide 1985 1990s Unknown
Swinging Seashells SBF Visa Group Junior Ferris Wheel 1994 or earlier 2010 Relocated to Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park
Timber Tug Boat Zamperla Rockin' Tug 2017 2021 Relocated to Chessington World of Adventures
Treasure Island Railway Unknown Miniature Railway 1983 1993 Scrapped
Up Periscope Modern Products Junior Jets 1980 2010 Scrapped via John H. Rundle
Wicked Witches' Haunt Mack Rides Tracked Dark Ride 1983 2000 Destroyed by fire
Zodiac HUSS Enterprise 2000 2005 Scrapped

External links

Amusement parks owned/operated by Merlin Entertainments