Theme parks across Britain are opening their gates again for the 2014 season. So what new thrills and spills are in store for us? The Your-Hols team have chosen their Top 10 but do add your own favourite in the comments below.
Alton Towers, Staffordshire
Thrill rides galore at Alton Towers, which opened last weekend, but this year the spotlight is on a ride for little ones. CBeebies Land opens on May 24 and will be home to a range of themed rides, attractions and live entertainment. Children will be able to play with all their favourite CBeebies characters.
Rollercoasters include The Smiler, the world’s first 14 looping coaster, Air where you can feel the thrill of being weightless and Oblivion, the world’s first vertical drop coaster plunging you 60 metres down. The park has gardens and two hotels, Alton Towers and Splash Landings, with themed rooms, bars and restaurants.
See Alton Towers
Thorpe Park, Surrey
An Angry Birds themed land is flying into Thorpe Park this spring. Fans of the feathered flocks and piggy characters will love the world’s first Angry Birds 4D animation experience. The new land also features the characters coming home to roost on Detonator – the resort’s 100ft rapid drop tower ride – while ‘Red Bird’ and the ‘Bad Piggies’ go bump to bump on a new dodgems.
The park has more than 25 rides and attractions to enjoy including THE SWARM, the UK’s first winged rollercoaster, Stealth, one of Europe’s fastest and tallest rollercoasters, Colossus, a 10-loop rollercoaster and Nemesis Inferno, a feet-free, legs-dangling coaster experience, as well as SAW – The Ride.
See Thorpe Park
Paultons Park, Hampshire
Deep in the heart of the New Forest, Paultons Park is home to the world’s first and UK exclusive Peppa Pig World with themed rides, outdoor playground and an indoor play centre. Daily appearances from Peppa too.
A Victorian carousel of 24 traditionally painted horses opens in time for the Easter break (April 4-22). A new restaurant, Wildwoods, also opens for Easter. The park has more than 60 rides and attractions, including favourites such as EDGE, Cobra – Paultons’ biggest rollercoaster, Magma, the Raging River Ride and a 4D cinema.
See Paultons Park
Oakwood Theme Park, Pembrokeshire
Oakwood, in 88 acres of Pembrokeshire countryside, opens on April 11. Wales’ biggest family adventure has more than 40 exhilarating rides and experiences.
Famed as one of the wildest wooden coasters on the planet, Megafobia was voted the best ride in the UK and the third best ride in the world by coaster enthusiasts from the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain. The park is also home to Drenched – one of the tallest, steepest and wettest rides in Europe – and Neverland, the magical world of Peter Pan which spreads across more than three acres and features 10 new rides and attractions, above.
See Oakwood Theme Park
LEGOLAND Windsor,
Berkshire
Everyone loves those little bricks. The park is geared for three to 12 year-olds but is fabulous fun for all the family. More than 55 interactive rides, live shows, building workshops, driving schools and attractions, all set in 150 acres of beautiful parkland.
The new Pirate Falls Treasure Quest log flume ride features more than 100 new LEGO models and themed features. Also opening this spring is Castaway Camp, a pirate adventure play area, and a new themed family restaurant Pirate Shores Burger Kitchen. Other highlights include DUPLO Valley featuring Splash Safari for little ones.
See LEGOLAND Windsor
Drayton Manor, Staffordshire
The park opens on March 29 but you’ll have to wait a few weeks for new ride Air Race, launching early summer. It takes riders on a stomach-churning aerial adventure, featuring banks, loops, dives and weightlessness. It joins a host of rides in Action Park, including Shockwave, G-Force and Splash Canyon.
The park is also home to Europe’s only Thomas Land featuring 21 rides and attractions, a 4D cinema and Cartoon Network street where you can find Ben 10: Ultimate Mission rollercoaster. There’s also a 15-acre zoo with more than100 different species. The four-star Drayton Manor Hotel with 150 bedrooms, includes 15 Thomas & Friends themed family rooms.
See Drayton Manor
M&Ds, Motherwell
Scotland’s theme park is bursting with white knuckle rollercoasters and rides, including the Tsunami, Tornado, White Water, Magic Carpet, Runaway Mine Train, Captain’s Curse swing-boat ride and Devil’s Island Golf.
Younger kids can enjoy the Big Apple ride, Big Wheel, Flying Jumbos and soft play area – Krazy Congo. M&D’s, opening on March 29, is also home to Amazonia, Scotland’s only indoor tropical rainforest with exotic animals, birds and creepie crawlies!. The collection of animals and plant life is unique to any zoo in Britain and all are rainforest creatures.
See M&Ds
Chessington World of Adventures, Surrey
Scorpion Express is the new ride for 2014 at this family favourite park. Set within Mexicana’s Scorpion Valley, adventurers must board the old train of the Scorpion Express as it’s the only way to cross the sands, ruins of the mines, and abandoned town. Watch out for surprises at every turn though, as with unstable mines guarded by the Scorpion anything could happen.
Chessington Azteca Hotel, with 69 themed rooms with separate children’s sleeping area, opens in August. The park has more than 40 rides and attractions for all ages, a zoo with tigers, gorillas and sealions and a Sea Life centre.
See Chessington World of Adventures
Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire
Open at weekends but fully opens April 1. Blackpool Pleasure Beach is bursting with action-packed thrills from one of Europe’s tallest rollercoasters, The Pepsi Max Big One to the classic wooden Grand National. The new £5 million ride, Wallace & Gromit’s Thrill-O-Matic, opened on the 42-acre site last year and there are another 12 rides in the UK’s only Nickelodeon Land. The four-star Big Blue Hotel has 157 rooms and is the place to stay if you can’t get enough of the coasters.
See Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Flamingo Land, Yorkshire
Set in 375 acres of beautiful North Yorkshire countryside, Flamingo Land opens on March 29. Extreme rides including Cliff Hanger, a vertical drop ride and one of the tallest in Europe – swinging over a vast lake.
The £8m Hero, which opened last year, is a coaster giving you the sensation of free flight and as you climb you get great sea views. The park also has the UK’s most visited zoo with tigers from the tropical forests of South East Asia, giraffes from sub-Saharan Africa, Penguin Coast and a new penguin pool.
Flamingo Land Resort has a range of accommodation, including Gold Class Holiday Homes, five-star Log Cabins and new Luxury Lodges.
See Flamingo Land
