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Rise Of UK Theme Parks
Since Blackpool Pleasure Beach opened the Pepsi Max Big One in
1994, UK rollercoaster construction and theme park competition
in general has been gathering pace. New parks have been built
across the country and established centres such as Thorpe Park
and Aulton Tours have battled for supremacy. This was a
scenario that was hard to conceive 15 years ago with the
impending opening of EuroDisney (now Disney Resort Paris), as
many thought the UK theme park industry would struggle to
survive and thrill seekers would instead be enticed through the
tunnel to one of America’s biggest brand names.
Unfortunately, for the Walt Disney Company this did not quiet
materialise. The first sign of problems was when French locals
started holding protests – due to concerns the park was going to
damage and dilute the proud local culture. These protests
partly led to crowds in the opening year falling drastically
lower than predictions. EuroDisney also had to deal with the
problems of an excess of under-populated hotels which had ran
drastically over budget. This combined with high prices led to
the closure of hotels during the winter months. By the start
of 1994, EuroDisney was in serious financial difficulties and
press speculation indicated that the park was on the verge of
bankruptcy.
Meanwhile back in the UK the theme park industry was enjoying
somewhat of a renaissance. 1994 was hailed as “The Year of the
Rollercoaster” as new rides sprang up across the country.
Drayton Manor opened its “Shockwave” ride along with Alton
Tower’s who launched the famous “Nemesis”. At the same time
Blackpool opened its 11th roller coaster, the Pepsi Max Big
One, which for a short time was the tallest in the
world...suddenly the UK found itself gripped in roller coaster
fever which contrasted harshly with the negative press
emanating from the outskirts of Paris.
Over the next ten years the UK continued to ride at the
forefront of theme park technology…even out doing stateside
industry giants such as Six Flags. Alton Towers -
www.alton-towers.co.uk - ensured its park received world wide
attention with the launching of the first ever vertical drop
roller coaster, Oblivion in 1998 and the world’s first “flying
roller coaster” with Air in 2002. Not to be outdone Fantasy
Island near Skegness opened the tallest and fastest type of
this ride in the world in the form of the 2002 Jubilee Odyssey
and in 2002 Thorpe Park opened a record breaking ten inversion
rollercoaster named Collosus.
By 2002 EuroDisney had now become Disney Resort Paris -
http://www.disneylandparis.com. With the addition of more
attractions and the re-branding of the entire theme park
complex, to better appeal to European tastes, the Walt Disney
Company finally announced their first annual profit for the
park. Disney had at last found the right balance between
implementing such a strong American brand on foreign soil
without diluting the local culture. However, the time it had
taken to find the balance ensured that Disney has not achieved
the domination in the European market that many predicted.
At the present time the UK theme park market seems to be going
from strength to strength with continued investment in their
facilities. For example, Drayton Park have spent over £2
million in time for the new season upgrading their entry and
ticketing facilities, while the ever inventive Alton Towers are
launching their new ride ‘Spinball Whizzer’ which has the
carriage as the focus of the ride rather than the actual track!
With the volume and popularity of parks increasing all the time
in the UK, the demand for accommodation in surrounding areas has
also expanded. Last year Alton Towers opened its second hotel,
Splash Landings, which boasts an exciting all-weather water
park, ‘Cariba Creek’. In addition to this companies such as UK
short break specialists Superbreak.com –
http://www.superbreak.com – have a number of excellent package
deals with parks such as Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Aulton
Towers and Legoland near Windsor which has over 50 interactive
rides, live shows, building workshops.
Overall the future seems bright for the theme park industry
across the UK and Europe as a whole. The slow progress of
Disney Resort Paris has allowed other parks to get on an even
footing and with continued investment in rides and general
infrastructure competition should continue to be fierce between
the major parks – which can only be good news for the consumer.
About The Author: Robin Richmond http://www.bigmouthmedia.com
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