Thorpe Park

amusement park
Thorpe Park
Location	Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK
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

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

Name	Manufacturer	Type	Opened	Status
Colossus	Intamin	Sit-Down	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	Launched	2006	Operating
Swarm	Bolliger & Mabillard	Wing Coaster	2012	Operating
Walking Dead: The Ride	Vekoma	Enclosed	1996	Operating