England U.K. Theme Parks Blog - News Cheap Tickets Thorpe Park Alton Towers Legoland UK

38% off Alton Towers, 40% off Chessington and more

2011-05-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

There are some great discounts available on Theme Park tickets including 38% off Alton Towers and 40% off Chessington World of Adventures.

Check out the details of the cheap tickets at Loial Travel

Ben 10 ride for Drayton manor in 2011

2011-01-29T04:46:00.000-08:00

Europe’s first ever Ben 10 roller coaster ride will open at Drayton Manor for Easter 2011.

Theme park tickets slashed by up to 60%

2010-08-24T04:40:00.000-07:00

U.K. Theme park ticket prices have been slashed as the economy, the weather and the end of summer hit attendances.

It is now possible to get tickets for Alton Towers for less than half price and other theme parks at up to 50% off.

Visit lastminute.com to get the cheap deals on theme park prices

World Cup to cause Theme Park ticket price discounts

2010-05-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

The potential impact of the World cup football tournament on theme park attendances is expected to force large discounts on prices for theme park tickets in coming months.

Several important matches at weekends during the competition with matches played at peak viewing time in the U.K. are expected to limit attendances at Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, Legoand, Drayton Manor and other theme parks.

It is currently possible to get 60% off tickets to Thorpe Park and more large discounts are expected.

Themes ain't wot they used to be

2010-04-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

Theme parks have to have theme's, right? They have seperate areas of the park dedicated to specific subjects. Sort of. Hopefully, themes and characters that punters can identify with.

So why are they always so out of date? A Harry Potter theme park opens when the Harry Potter craze is at an end. Alton Towers and Thorpe park open new horror film related rides when teenage girls are obsessed with vampires. I'm sure you can think of more examples. Christ...why isn't there a Doctor Who theme park or area in England? Where are the Twilight or Trueblood themed rides? Maybe even a Facebook ride where you can update your status as you ride?

2010 theme park opening dates

2010-03-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

Alton Towers opens for the 2010 season on 20th March, as do Legoland and Drayton Manor(inc Thomas Land).

Thorpe Park opens on the 18th March 2010. Chessington World of Adventures opens for 2010 on the 27th March.

See below for details of new rides and attractions for 2010

Taking the piss at Thorpe Park

2010-02-28T06:36:00.000-08:00

I do love the publicity scams that the owners of Thorpe Park and Alton Towers etc come up with in order to keep the theme park names appearing in the press.

This year gets off to a good start with a competition to see which visitor to Thorpe Park has the smelliest wee. What a great way to get people through the gates...give them an opportunity to piss in a small pot.

Apparently the worst smelling urine will be used as part of the new Saw Alive attraction.

Legoland Windsor : Whats new for 2010

2010-02-14T04:37:00.000-08:00

Pirates Landing is a new land at Legoland Windsor for 2010

Pirate Training Camp, ia an interactive adventure play area.

Theres a new pirate themed swinging boat, the Jolly Rocker swinging up to 18 metres high

And theres an upgraded water ride,Pirate Falls Dynamite Drench, with new water cannons.

The new live action show for 2010 is also pirate themed, called The Pirates of Skeleton Bay.

Apart from pirates theres a new "4D" movie called Clutch Powers.

Chessington WOA whats new for 2010

2010-02-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

The main devlopment is the Beanoland area redeveopment into "Wild Asia". The main new ride is a ride named Kobra and has an Ancient Asiatic theme, with theming such as giant Snake heads and Elephant statues. Riders sit in a ring of seats around a spinning circular car, which travels up one hill until it loses momentum and is brought back down in the other direction.

The Chair-O-Planes currently in the area is to be rethemed with an Asian Flying Monkeys them
The Madhouse will re-open as the 'Temple of Mayhem'.

The Crazy Bus becomes the Jungle Bus.

The Dodgems will be renamed 'Tuk Tuk Turmoil'.

2 for 1 tickets for Thorpe Park, Legoland, Chessington

2010-01-23T03:11:00.000-08:00

2 for 1 tickets Thorpe Park, Legoland and Chessington World of Adventures. Up to 30% off Alton Towers. Visit Lastminute.com

Thorpe Park : whats new for 2010

2010-01-22T11:40:00.000-08:00

After the introduction of SAW - The Ride in 2009, this year sees the opening of SAW Alive.

Continuing the theme park industrie's current obsession with horror, SAW Alive will be in the form of a live action horror maze featuring scenes from the SAW movies.

Can't help wondering when we will start seeing more in the way of Vampire themed rides given the success of vampire films and TV programs.

Whats new for Alton Towers in 2010

2010-01-16T04:19:00.000-08:00

The recently named Thirteen rollercoaster is due to open in March. The ride is located near the site of the old Corkscrew rollercoaster, next to Rita - Queen of Speed.

The ride is described as a psychcoaster,and like the SAW ride at Thorpe park, will have a spooky/gothic theme.

Alton Towers is also in partnership with Sega to rename Spinball Whizzer to a Sonic the Hedgehog theme for the 2010 season - the ride will be known as Sonic Spinball.

A new Skyride station in the Cloud Cuckoo Land area of the park is set to open, this will replace the one destroyed by fire in July 2009.

Huge discounts for 2010 theme park tickets

2010-01-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

Book before end of January 2010 and get up to 50% off Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington and Legoland tickets.

And remember that the theme parks are open for the February half term.

New Alton Towers ride named Thirteen

2009-12-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

Continuing the recent trend for horror themed rides, Alton Towers has announced that their new ride for 2010 will be named Thirteen and is supposedly built on an old burial site. The ride will open in March.

Halloween at a theme park

2009-10-02T05:02:00.001-07:00

Have a special spookey Halloween at a top theme park or attraction.

Alton Towers Resort Scarefest £10
Fright Nights at Thorpe Park £28
Hocus Pocus at Chessington World of Adventures £24
The Scare Witch Trials at London Dungeons £15
Halloween at Legoland Windsor £33.30
The Haunted Castle at Warwick Castle £15
Halloween Medieval Banquet – London £49

Visit Attractiontix for tickets

Theme Parks still open

2009-09-13T03:06:00.000-07:00

With the end of the school holidays its a great time to visit a theme park in the U.K. or Europe. Theme Parks in the U.K. are open till early November and in Europe many are open over the Winter. Visting a theme park in the autumn can make a great short braek, particularly in Eurpe where you can mix visiting a theme park with time in wondeful cities such as Paris, Barcelona, Madrid etc.

Click on the links on the right to get cheap tickets to U.K. and European theme parks.

Ticket prices

2009-08-02T05:05:00.000-07:00

In the years since I have been writing this blog I cannot remember a year when there was not pressure on ticket prices because of either economic or weather reasons.

This year there seems to be a double whammy. The economic situation is dire. The weather in July was awful. Hopefully Auguet will be better, but it does not augar well for the finacial wellbeing of the theme parks in the U.K.

Camelot theme park saved

2009-04-01T13:51:00.001-07:00

Camelot theme park which went into administration last month has been saved and will open in May.

Theme Park Price Comparison

2009-02-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

Ticket prices for theme parks change on an almost daily basis. Not the gate prices, but the discounted offers available from internet tickets sellers. To compare prices for tickets to Alton Towers, Thorpe park, Thomas land, Drayton manor, Chessington and so on, I have found that the following three sites are the ones to check out. Who has the cheapest tickets or the best deals(for example 2 days for the price of 1) will change from day to day so always check prices on all three.

Buyagift
Lastminute.com
Attractiontix

Theme Park index of economic activity

2009-02-06T06:05:00.000-08:00

Economists often refer to the "skip" index to determine the health of the British economy, i.e if they see a lots of skips outside houses it suggests that the economy is healthy because lots of people are spending money on renovation of properties.

On a global scale I wonder whether a better index is one of theme parks opening and closeing. Whilst we see a lot of closures in the U.K. and the U.S. (Camelot being the latest in the U.K), other areas of the world, such as the Middle and Far east, are seeing a large number of new theme parks being built.

It is hard to image any new theme parks opening in theU.K. at the moment, which says a lot about the wealth of the nation I think.

Camelot theme park goes bust

2009-02-05T04:52:00.000-08:00

Camelot theme park near Chorley in Lancs has gone into receivership, and the park is unlikely to reopen in April for the new season.

The park has been in trouble for some time and there have long been plans to close it and a build new village on the same site.

Thorpe Park, Alton Towers,Thomas Land open for February 2009 half term

2009-01-10T02:53:00.000-08:00

It may be the middle of Winter, but it is only a few weeks before some of the major theme parks open for the 2009 February half term and the start of the main season in March.

Thorpe Park will be open during the February half term and weekends in March, before opening for the main season with all rides on 14th March.

2 day tickets are available for £20.

Alton Towers will also be open during the February half term, and opens for the 2009 season on 28th March.

Thomas Land at Drayton Manor will be open for half-term from 14th to 22nd February 2009.

For cheap tickets visit lastminute.com

Annual Theme Park Pass £90

2009-01-04T09:04:00.001-08:00

Merlin Annual Pass Gift Voucher - 12 Months unlimited Entry to the
U.K's Top Attractions

£90

12 months’ unlimited entry to the UK’s top attractions including The
Alton Towers Resort, LEGOLAND ® Windsor, THORPE PARK, Chessington
World of Adventures & Zoo, Madame Tussauds, Warwick Castle, SEA LIFE
Centres & Sanctuaries, the Dungeons, The London Eye & The London.

Click here for more details

Alton Towers : whats new in 2009

2008-12-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

With the major new ride not due till 2010, 2009 at Alton Towers will see a new Sea Life aquarium where the the old 3D Cinema building is.

Cred Street is to be rethemed and renamed with a new indoor playarea and the relocation of the Ug Swinger from Ug land.

The popular Skyride attraction will also be renovated.

Thorpe Park announces SAW - The Ride

2008-10-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Thorpe Park's new ride for 2009 has been a hot topic the past year.

What was "Project Dylan", was announced today as "SAW - The Ride"

Its due to open in in Spring 2009.

It'll be based on well known horror film series and is supposedly the "scariest ride in the world".

It has a beyond-vertical drop of 100º from a height of 100 feet, the steepest free-fall drop in the world

In addition there are also has three loops(a Zero-G Roll, an Immelmann Loop and a Dive Loop), and a scary indoor section.