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More than 360,000 people had their say in this year’s UK Theme Park Awards, with a record public vote seeing Thorpe Park crowned Theme Park of the Year, while Hyperia was named the Best New Attraction for 2024
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 03 Oct 2024
Thorpe Park played host to this year’s awards Credit: UK Theme Park Awards
More than 360,000 people had their say in this year’s UK Theme Park Awards, with a record public vote seeing Thorpe Park crowned Theme Park of the Year, while Hyperia was named the Best New Attraction for 2024.
Combined with scores from the expert judging panel, 367,441 public votes were cast, with Thorpe Park, which hosted this year’s event, coming out on top.
Named Theme Park of the Year, the Merlin-operated Thorpe Park celebrated the launch of Hyperia - the UK’s tallest and fastest rollercoaster - earlier this year. The Mack-manufactured attraction, which also includes Europe’s tallest loop at 168ft (51.2m) and a world-first outer-banked airtime hill, rightfully earned the title of Best New Attraction in this year’s awards.
Across 22 categories, parks and attractions from across the UK were recognised, with 20 of the 38 nominated theme parks picking up awards.
The biggest winners in this year’s awards include Alton Towers and Drayton Manor in Staffordshire with the parks picking up 12 and eight awards respectively.
Legoland Windsor in Berkshire also picked up six awards, while Paultons Park in Hampshire won the same amount. Including its Theme Park of the Year and Best New Attraction for 2024 awards, Thorpe Park collected seven awards in total.
There was also an award for Content Creator of the Year, which was picked up by YouTuber DigitalDan.
“It was our pleasure to welcome colleagues from across the industry to Thorpe Park as we collectively celebrated and congratulated each other on creating another year of feel-good fun for our guests,” said Neil Poulter, divisional director at Thorpe Park.
“We are thrilled to have won a number of awards, including Theme Park of the Year, after an incredible 12 months have seen us launch the UK’s tallest, fastest and most weightless rollercoaster, unveil a brand new land alongside a huge number of other projects all of which added sparkle across the park.”
The awards are organised by ThemeParks-UK.com, an independent consumer guide to UK theme parks. Planet Attractions once again acted as a partner to the awards, with Editor-in-Chief Tom Anstey once again joining the expert judging panel.
The full list of winners:
Theme Park of the Year presented by ADIPS
GOLD: Thorpe Park
SILVER: Alton Towers
BRONZE: Drayton Manor
Best New Attraction presented by LEAPS
GOLD: Hyperia (Thorpe Park)
SILVER: Gold Rush (Drayton Manor)
BRONZE: Minifigure Speedway (LEGOLAND Windsor)
Best Reimagined Attraction presented by The Experiences Group
GOLD: Nemesis Reborn (Alton Towers)
SILVER: The Wave (Drayton Manor)
BRONZE: Big Easy Boulevard (Thorpe Park)
Best Theme Park for Families presented by Vennersys
GOLD (Large): Paultons Park
SILVER (Large): Chessington World of Adventures
BRONZE (Large): LEGOLAND Windsor
GOLD (Small): Gulliver’s Theme Parks
SILVER (Small): Fantasy Island
BRONZE (Small): Crealy
Best Theme Park for Toddlers
GOLD (Large): Paultons Park (Peppa Pig World)
SILVER (Large): Drayton Manor (Thomas Land)
BRONZE (Large): Alton Towers (Cbeebies Land)
GOLD (Small): BeWILDerwood
SILVER (Small): Sundown Adventureland
BRONZE (Small): Crealy (Sooty Land)
Best Theme Park for Thrills presented by Semantic
GOLD: Thorpe Park
SILVER: Alton Towers
BRONZE: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Best Theme Park with Animals
GOLD: Chessington World of Adventures
SILVER: West Midlands Safari Park
BRONZE: Flamingo Land
Best Seaside Park presented by Universal Verification
GOLD (North): Blackpool Pleasure Beach
SILVER (North): Fantasy Island
BRONZE (North): Southport Pleasureland
GOLD (South): Adventure Island
SILVER (South): Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
BRONZE (South): Blackgang Chine
Best Ride Storytelling presented by The Business Creative
GOLD: The Curse at Alton Manor (Alton Towers)
SILVER: Flight of the Sky Lion (LEGOLAND Windsor)
BRONZE: Valhalla (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
Best Accessibility Initiative presented by Katapult
GOLD: Cbeebies Land Sensory Space (Alton Towers)
SILVER: Total Sensory Space (LEGOLAND Windsor)
BRONZE: Magic On Tour (Merlin Entertainments)
Best Sustainability Initiative presented by Taylor Made Designs
GOLD: Reverse Vending Machines (Merlin Entertainments)
SILVER: Going Green (GreenWood Family Park)
BRONZE: Paultons Promise (Paultons Park)
Best New Event presented by Pure Entertainment Group
GOLD (Large): Alton After Dark (Alton Towers)
SILVER (Large): Vikings Festival (Drayton Manor)
BRONZE (Large): Ninjas Unite (LEGOLAND Windsor)
GOLD (Small): Land of Lights (Gulliver's World)
SILVER (Small): Fiesta of the Dead (Blackgang Chine)
BRONZE (Small): Ibiza Sunset Party (Flamingo Land)
Best New Entertainment presented by TAG Live
GOLD: Stitches (Thorpe Park)
SILVER: The Phalanx (Alton Towers)
BRONZE: Blast Off – A Space Rocket Adventure (Paultons Park)
Best Theme Park Map
GOLD: Alton Towers
SILVER: LEGOLAND Windsor
BRONZE: Pleasurewood Hills
Best New Food or Retail Outlet
GOLD (Food): Grande Central (Paultons Park)
GOLD (Retail): Bunker '94 (Alton Towers)
Best Theme Park Lodges & Glamping presented by Lichfields
GOLD (Lodges): Safari Lodges (West Midlands Safari Park)
GOLD (Glamping): Explorer Glamping (Chessington World of Adventures)
Most Missed Attraction From The Past presented by Brave New Beast
Bubbleworks (Chessington World of Adventures)
Best Customer Service presented by Rose Events
GOLD (Large): Paultons Park
GOLD (Small): BeWILDerwood
Best Value Theme Park presented by Semnox
GOLD (Large): Drayton Manor
GOLD (Small): Adventure Island
Best Marketing Campaign presented by Agility
GOLD: Nemesis Reborn (Alton Towers)
SILVER: Hyperia (Thorpe Park)
BRONZE: Frontier Falls (Drayton Manor)
Best Social Media Content presented by Rubber Cheese
GOLD: Thorpe Park
SILVER: Alton Towers
BRONZE: Drayton Manor
Content Creator of the Year presented by Magic Little Giants
GOLD: DigitalDan
SILVER: Theme Park Worldwide
BRONZE: TheJackSilkstone
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