Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park, formerly also known as Thorpe Park Resort, is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, 20 mi southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertainments and includes rides, themed cabins, live events and Hyperia, the United Kingdom's tallest and fastest rollercoaster. In 2019, Thorpe Park was the UK's third most visited theme park (1.9 million visitors), behind Alton Towers and Legoland Windsor. However, in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the park only had a 125-day operation season, along with limited capacity, leading to massively reduced visitor numbers.

After demolition of the Thorpe Park Estate in the 1930s, the site became a gravel pit, but in the early 1970s part of that gravel pit was flooded, creating a unique water-based environment for the park, with the intention of building a leisure attraction on it. Thorpe Park resort was built on that site in 1979, and being partially flooded it allowed visitors to view Thorpe Park as an island. It has since grown into a major theme park in the UK and one of the top 10 theme parks in Europe. Major attractions include Tidal Wave, a large water ride; Ghost Train, a dark ride; as well as a number of rollercoasters including Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, Stealth, Saw – The Ride, The Swarm, The Walking Dead: The Ride, and Hyperia.

History


The demolition of the Thorpe Park Estate in the 1930s transformed the grounds into a gravel pit, originally owned by Ready Mixed Concrete Limited. When the pits were exhausted, RMC flooded part of the site. In 1975 the Water Ski World Championships were held on the site. RMC established a subsidiary, Leisure Sport Limited, to operate a 400 acre park for water sports, leisure and heritage exhibitions, at a cost of £3 million.

The park was formally opened to the public by Lord Louis Mountbatten on 24 May 1979, his final public appearance shortly before he was assassinated by a bomb on board in a fishing boat planted by the Provisional IRA in Mullaghmore, Ireland. In addition to lakes and parkland, the park featured a replica Stone Age cave, Celtic farm, Norman castle and Viking camp as well as ancient water vehicles and aircraft.

Between 1983 and 1989 it was often used as a filming location for The Benny Hill Show.

In the early 1980s, the park was redeveloped into a theme park with permanent themed rides and attractions. New attractions were opened throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Space Station Zero was the park's first rollercoaster, opening in 1984. The last large attraction opened by the park's original owners was "X:\No Way Out" in 1996.

In 1998, The Tussauds Group bought the park. From the outset they started opening key attractions such as Tidal Wave in 2000, Colossus in 2002, Nemesis Inferno in 2003 and Stealth in 2006.

In May 2007, Blackstone Group purchased The Tussauds Group for US$1.9 billion and the company was merged into Merlin Entertainments, who took over operation of Thorpe Park. Dubai International Capital also acquired 20% of Merlin Entertainments.

On 17 July 2007, as part of the financing for the Tussauds deal, Merlin sold Thorpe Park to private investment firm Prestbury, under a sale and leaseback agreement. The site is operated by Merlin based on a renewable 35-year lease. As of 2023, the site is owned by LXi REIT Plc.

The target audience for the resort is teenagers and young adults, with rides such as Saw – The Ride and The Swarm being added. In 2014, Merlin decided also to target a broader family-based market with new attractions such as Angry Birds Land and the park's onsite hotel.

On 20 February 2019, the official Twitter account of Thorpe Park confirmed the permanent closure of Logger's Leap, a log flume that had opened in 1989 but had been closed since 2015 due to the Smiler accident at Alton Towers that year.

In 2021, Thorpe Park announced plans for a new rollercoaster in the Old Town section of the park under the project name of Project Exodus. This ride is set to be the tallest and fastest ride in the UK, at a height of 236 feet (71.9 metres) and a speed of 81 mph (130 km per hour).

On 30 October 2023, Thorpe Park announced that Angry Birds Land would be closing. It permanently closed the following day. On 16 November 2023, the park revealed that the land would be rethemed to Big Easy Boulevard, which opened on 24 March 2024. In response to a survey taken in late 2022, Thorpe Park revitalised their branding on 30 November 2023, with a brand new logo (previously unchanged since 2008) and slogan, bidding farewell to their iconic "infinity" symbol (used for the park since 2001) and light-hearted An Island Like No Other tagline - instead marketing itself as the home of Feel-Good Thrills. The new logo comes with six palettes and patterns for their marketing materials and merchandise, stating that this “encapsulates the spirit of Thorpe Park”.

On 27 March 2024, Thorpe Park announced that Hyperia would open on 24 May.

On 24 May 2024, Hyperia, the UK's tallest and fastest rollercoaster opened to the public at the resort.

Territories
In 2024, with the addition of Big Easy Boulevard and Fearless Valley, Thorpe Park is zoned into nine 'island territories'.


 * Port and Basecamp includes the turnstile entrance, bridge, the dome and the playground.
 * Amity (originally 'Amity Cove') opened with Tidal Wave and now includes Stealth, Depth Charge, Amity Beach, High Striker, Flying Fish, and Storm Surge.
 * The Jungle contains Nemesis Inferno, Rumba Rapids, Mr Monkey's Banana Ride, and a street of restaurants.
 * Old Town is located towards the back of the park and includes Saw - The Ride and Samurai.
 * Fearless Valley is located towards the back of the park and includes Hyperia.
 * Lost City contains Colossus, Rush, Quantum, Vortex, and Zodiac.
 * Swarm Island opened as the plaza for The Swarm.
 * The Dock Yard (previously named 'The Depot' and 'Thorpe Junction') is the plaza immediately outside Ghost Train, previously known as "Derren Brown's Ghost Train", and includes the nearby The Walking Dead: The Ride rollercoaster, previously known as "X" and "X:\ No way out".
 * Big Easy Boulevard (formerly 'Angry Birds Land' between 2014-2023) is located between Amity and The Jungle, and contains Detonator, Big Easy Bumpers (Dodgems), and Sunset Cinema (4D Theatre).

Port and Basecamp
The 'Basecamp' area contains security, the turnstiles, toilets, business/staff reception, 'Island HQ' and bridge where guests enter the park. This leads to 'The Dome' which acts as a hub for the park, which houses 'Vibes Bar & Kitchen' (formerly Infinity Bar & Kitchen), an arcade area, The Coffee Shack, toilets, lockers, the Island Gift Shop, guest services, first aid, photo points and staff areas (canteen, 'The Core' and offices).

The dome was previously known as 'Port Atlantis' with an underwater Atlantian themed interior. Much of the scenery and underwater effects went missing since Merlin's acquisition of the park and was removed altogether after the building's change of theme.

The Dome remains open outside park operating hours to provide entertainment and dining facilities for guests staying at Thorpe Shark Cabins, including a breakfast buffet.

Amity
Amity is set as a 1950s-era American fishing village hit by a tidal wave and opened with Tidal Wave in 2000. It was previously named 'Amity Cove', as still named on themed signage. The area was expanded in 2006 with Stealth, set at 'Amity Speedway' racetrack. It later took on attractions from the former 'Neptune's Beach' family area, Depth Charge, and Amity Beach outdoor water park. Amity and Amity Speedway are no longer physically connected, being divided by Big Easy Boulevard.

It also includes attractions from the former 'European Park' area, Flying Fish and Storm In A Teacup. Flying Fish was originally located beside Tidal Wave (where Stealth sits today) but was removed following construction of Stealth in 2005. It was reopened, in its present location near The Swarm, in 2007, due to popular demand. In 2011, the raft water ride Storm Surge was re-located from Cypress Gardens in Florida, USA, before it was rethemed into Legoland Florida. Storm Surge was built on the former site of the Octopus Garden children's area.

The Jungle
The area's main attractions are Nemesis Inferno, a Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster set in a volcano, and Rumba Rapids a river rapids ride. The area was previously named 'Calypso Quay', the area now also includes part of the former 'Ranger County' family area, including Mr Monkey's Banana Ride, a small swinging ship ride, as well as shopfronts and restaurants from the former 'European Park' area.

The Dock Yard
This area is primarily the plaza for Ghost Train, an indoor dark ride, and also contains The Walking Dead: The Ride an indoor rollercoaster. The area has no major themed features, other than buildings and scenery remaining from 'Octopus's Garden' (a since-closed children's area) which was later themed to Amity such as the Megastore, various buoys, and a carnival game that resembles a cargo ship.

Lost City
The Lost City's theme is that of the ruins of a recently unearthed Atlantean civilisation, with Colossus as the main attraction (since 2002). The area first opened in 2001 with the Vortex and Zodiac rides as the only attractions. In 2003, this area was expanded further, with the additions of Quantum (a magic carpet ride) and Eclipse (a Ferris Wheel). Eclipse was removed after the 2004 season (being relocated to Chessington World of Adventures); in its place, Rush, an S&S Screamin' Swing, was opened in the 2005 season. At the end of the 2005 season, Zodiac was removed, and replaced with a new HUSS Enterprise (relocated from Drayton Manor, where it operated under the name Cyclone, until it had to be closed down due to noise complaints). The replacement Zodiac opened (without fanfare) for the 2006 season.

Old Town
The main ride in this area is Saw - The Ride, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter with a 100 ft, 100-degree beyond vertical drop. The ride is themed to the Saw horror movie franchise and is set in a derelict warehouse/sawmill. A flat ride called Samurai was relocated from Chessington World of Adventures in 2004.

The area was previously named 'Canada Creek' and was the plaza for Logger's Leap, which opened in 1989 as one of the tallest log flumes in the world. It had a loose Canadian forest theme, although this has mostly been lost through redevelopments and resembles more of a Western town theme. The main attractions listed in the area sat outside the plaza. Logger's Leap ceased to operate after the 2015 season, and its permanent closure was confirmed in 2019. It also used to have the main station for the Canada Creek Railway, a miniature railway which used to take guests to and from the (now closed) 'Thorpe Farm' area of the park, and around the backwoods of Canada Creek (after the closure of Thorpe Farm, it only traversed the backwoods of the Canada Creek area). The railway was closed during the 2008 season (and the track had to be partially rerouted due to the construction of SAW - The Ride), before being closed permanently at the end of the 2011 season. In the years since its closure, the trains, station, and route used by this ride were utilized by several Fright Nights attractions. The area was also home to the experience Black Mirror Labyrinth from 2021-2023.

Most of the rides in this area have been closed since the start of the 2022 season, due to construction work for Hyperia (opening 24 May).

Fearless Valley
The main ride in this area is Hyperia, the UK's tallest and fastest rollercoaster. Fearless Valley also includes a Burger King, Victorious Games, Hyporium gift shop, Cloud Nine Treats and toilets themed to Hyperia.

Swarm Island
Swarm Island is the plaza area for The Swarm, a Bolliger & Mabillard wing coaster, opened in 2012. The area was built on land reclaimed from the surrounding lakes. The area is themed as the scene of an apocalyptic disaster/alien invasion from "The Swarm" which is intertwined with the area and ride station. Major theming pieces include a crashed plane, various damaged emergency vehicles like a helicopter and fire truck, a partially destroyed church (used as the ride station), and other destroyed structures. Many of the areas facilities are based within these structures, such as the ride station being housed in the church, the shop being housed in a shipping container, and the ride control room being based in an overturned police trailer wedged in the roof of the church.

Records held by the park

 * Nemesis Inferno is the first inverted coaster to feature interlocking corkscrews (in the same layout).
 * Additionally, the world record for 'most naked people on a rollercoaster' was set on Nemesis Inferno in May 2004.
 * The Swarm opened as Europe's tallest wing coaster and the first coaster in the world to feature the "wing over drop".
 * SAW - The Ride was marketed as having the world's steepest 'freefall' drop, and as the world's first horror movie themed roller coaster. SAW - The Ride was not actually the steepest rollercoaster in the world when it opened in March 2009 - Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach had opened the previous year with a steeper 111° drop. However, whilst Steel Hawg's drop has brakes on it, SAW's drop is brakeless - hence it being marketed as having the steepest freefall drop. This particular accolade was taken by The Monster in 2016 (and, as of 2022, is held by Defiance).
 * Colossus held the world record for the most inversions on a rollercoaster when it opened in 2002, with 10 inversions. This record was matched in 2006 by "10 Inversion Coaster" (an exact clone of Colossus) and then beaten in 2013 by The Smiler at Alton Towers Resort, with 14 inversions.
 * Stealth was the UK's fastest roller coaster, launching from 0–80 mph in 1.8 seconds (as of 2024 this record has been taken by Hyperia) Standing at 205.1 ft, it is also the UK's third tallest roller coaster (behind The Big One and Hyperia).
 * Tidal Wave opened as Europe's tallest water ride.
 * Hyperia is the tallest roller coaster in the UK at 236 ft, and the fastest roller coaster in the UK at 81 mph (130 km/h). Hyperia also contains Europe's tallest inversion at 168ft (51.2 m), and a world's first outer-banked turn inversion. Thorpe Park also claim that Hyperia has 14.8s of airtime being the UK's most weightless coaster. However, this is debated as they have included a 3s stall in this statistic, which is widely regarded as hangtime and not airtime.
 * Stealth is the world's fastest accelerating rollercoaster (0–80 mph in 1.8 seconds) with the announced closure of Do-Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highland on 13 March 2024.

Fright Nights
Fright Nights, formerly "Fright Nites" is Thorpe Park's annual Halloween event and also its largest Halloween event in the UK. It is an event that has been running at Thorpe Park since 2002, celebrating Halloween with the park staying open until late at night, as well as operating a range of temporary Halloween attractions. Roaming actors in costume or with make up can also be found around the park. During Fright Nights, the park stays open until 9pm, with a range of "scare mazes" available for guests, who normally enter in groups of 8–10. "Face it Alone" has sometimes been available as an upcharge, where a guest enters unaccompanied and must sign a disclaimer before entering.

In 2013, Fright Nights was relaunched with a horror movie theme, courtesy of a three-year contract with Lionsgate. All of the pre-existing Fright Nights attractions were removed with the exception of The Asylum and SAW: Alive to make way for new horror-film themed attractions.

In 2014, when the Thorpe Shark Hotel opened, Thorpe Park offered two overnight scare attractions, one of which involved a 'night terror' character appearing in guests' hotel rooms during the night. The other attraction, the 'Extra Cut', involved guests being 'kidnapped' from their hotel room during the night and chased throughout the park.

In 2017 Fright Nights was reinvented with a Walking Dead theme. The addition of two Walking Dead attractions coincided with the season 8 premier of the show. SAW Alive, The Big Top and Platform 15 remained in operation from previous years, with Containment returning as an upcharge attraction.

In 2020, restrictions put into place due to the COVID-19 Pandemic meant that only two mazes operated: Platform 15 and Roots of Evil, both of which took place primarily outdoors. This led to a wide selection of scare zones introduced for the first time to Fright Nights, with The Swarm: Invasion located on Swarm Island, Creek Freaks Unchained in Old Town, The Fearstival Arena in The Dockyard, The Howling of LycanThorpe High in Lost City (on the site near Zodiac and Rush typically used for a scare maze), and Terror at Amity High returning for its third year on the Stealth Plaza. The Crows were also added as roaming actors dressed as scarecrows, based in a few main locations but found anywhere around the park, including interacting with other scare zones.

– Previous Fright Night attraction. – Current Fright Night attraction.

Thorpe Shark Cabins
Guests can stay over on-park at the 'Thorpe Shark Cabins', comprising 90 rooms converted from shipping containers with a link to facilities in the adjacent Dome. The accommodation takes its name from its shark head entrance feature built from recycled park signage.

The hotel initially opened in 2013 as 'The Crash Pad', run by external company Snoozebox. The temporary development was purchased by the park the following year and rebranded as the Thorpe Shark Hotel.

Thorpe Park had originally been planning to build a permanent 250-bed hotel as far back as 2006. This would have been located on the opposite side of the lake, on the site of former excavation works, featuring a lakeside bar, health club and restaurant. Planning permission was granted in 2011.

The development was pitched again following the installation of 'The Crash Pad' to "test market conditions". The park received planning permission to construct the permanent hotel in 2014, with construction planned to begin in 2016 and an opening in 2018. However, the hotel was never constructed and the Shark Hotel's planning permission was extended by 10 years instead.

In 2023, new Swarm, Nemesis Inferno and Stealth themed rooms opened in the Thorpe Shark Cabins. They feature special theming in the room and unlimited fastrack on each rooms roller coaster on your 2nd day.

In 2024, new Colossus and Hyperia themed rooms opened in the Thorpe Shark Cabins.

Operations and developments
Thorpe Park has a maximum capacity of 15,000 guests.

In 2010, the park outlined a 5-year development plan that outlined new rollercoasters for 2012, which was later realised in The Swarm. The plan outlined another rollercoaster scheduled for 2015 as well as a permanent lakeside hotel, both of which have not come to fruition. No application was ever submitted for the 2015 development and the earmarked site behind The Swarm remains undeveloped.

On 26 November 2021, the park launched a public consultation website outlining a proposal for a brand new roller coaster. Alongside this, leaflets were handed out to local residents, stating the proposal will 'involve the removal of existing old rides and replacement with a new roller coaster in the Old Town part of the resort'. The public consultation began on 10 December 2021, with plans detailing a 236 ft tall steel hyper coaster codenamed "Project Exodus". An application for planning permission was submitted on 14 March 2022.

Objections to the planning permission application were raised by Surrey Wildlife Trust, Natural England, and the Environment Agency; citing concerns regarding biodiversity impacts, pollution, and flood risks. The concerns raised by Surrey Wildlife Trust and Natural England were addressed, leading to their objections subsequently being withdrawn, however, the Environment Agency's concerns remained unresolved as of October 2022. On 5 October 2022, Runnymede Borough Council approved the application for "Project Exodus", but, due to the unresolved objection from the Environment Agency, the application had to be referred to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for approval (under the terms of The Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2021).

On 1 November 2022, a letter sent to Runnymede Borough Council on behalf of the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities stated that 'He is content that it should be determined by the local planning authority'. Subsequently, Runnymede Borough Council granted planning permission for "Project Exodus" on 2 November 2022.

Construction for the project has begun with the manufacturer being confirmed as Mack Rides, the site of Old Town (and the remaining rides have been flattened for the project), and the ground pins for the ride's footers have arrived at the park. On 17 July 2023, the first supports arrived for the coaster.

On 16 August 2023, Project Exodus was confirmed to be the UK's fastest roller coaster, and the colour scheme of black, gold and white was confirmed.

On 5 October 2023, the name for Project Exodus, Hyperia, was revealed. On 6 March 2024, the track for Hyperia was completed. Later that month the scheduled opening date for Hyperia was revealed as 24 May.

Transport
There are no direct rail connections to Thorpe Park; the nearest railway station is Chertsey, 2 km away.

Thorpe Park is served by the 950 express bus, which runs from Staines railway station, from which journeys from London Waterloo or Reading can be made. Other local bus routes that serve the park include routes 461 and 446. There is also the seasonal 951 bus between Watford and Thorpe Park, operating once daily (arriving in the morning, departing in the evening) although there are two return journeys during Fright Nights.