Thorpe Park
| |
| amusement park | |
| Location |  |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | May 24, 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. It is operated by Merlin Entertainments, but is actually owned by Nick Leslau.
History[edit | edit source]
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 early 2000's, 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.
Present roller coasters[edit | edit source]
| Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colossus | Intamin | 10 Inversion Roller Coaster | 2002 | Operating |
| Flying Fish | Mack Rides | Powered | 1983 | Operating |
| Nemesis Inferno | Bolliger & Mabillard | Inverted | 2003 | Operating |
| Saw - The Ride | Gerstlauer | Euro-Fighter | 2009 | Operating |
| Stealth | Intamin | Hyper Accelerator Coaster | 2006 | Operating |
| Swarm | Bolliger & Mabillard | Wing Coaster | 2012 | Operating |
| Walking Dead: The Ride | Vekoma | Enclosed | 1996 | Operating |
Attractions[edit | edit source]
Operating[edit | edit source]
| Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depth Charge | Aquatic | Dinghy Waterslides | 1991 |
| Derren Brown's Ghost Train | Severn Lamb / Simworx | Dark Ride | July 2016 |
| Detonator: Bombs Away | Fabbri | Drop Tower | April 2001 |
| King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems | Bertazzon | Dodgems | 2014 |
| Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride | Metallbau Emmeln | Pirate Ship | 1994 |
| Quantum | Fabbri | Flying Carpet | 2003 |
| Rocky Express | Mack Rides | Sea Storm | 1989 |
| Rumba Rapids | Intamin | River Rapids | 1987 |
| Rush | S&S Worldwide | Screamin' Swing | May 2005 |
| Samurai | Mondial | Top Scan | 2004 |
| SAW Alive | Paragon Creative | Walk-Through | 2010 |
| Storm In A Teacup | Mack Rides | Teacups | 1986 |
| Storm Surge | WhiteWater West | Spinning Rapids Ride | March 2011 |
| Tidal Wave | Hopkins Rides | Shoot The Chute | April 2000 |
| Timber Tug Boat | Zamperla | Rockin' Tug | 2017 |
| Vortex | KMG | Afterburner | 2001 |
| Zodiac | HUSS | Enterprise | 2006 |
Closed[edit | edit source]
External links[edit | edit source]
- Images of the park on NFCA Digital.
| Amusement parks owned/operated by Merlin Entertainments | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alton Towers • Amsterdam Dungeon • Chessington World of Adventures • Gardaland • Heide Park Resort • Thorpe Park | |||||||||
| Legoland | Billund • California • Deutschland • Dubai • Florida • Japan • Korea • Malaysia • New York • Shanghai • Sichuan • Windsor | ||||||||