The Most Visited Theme Parks In The United Kingdom
Pleasure Beach Blackpool. Attracting over six million visitors during 2008, Pleasure Beach Blackpool is by far the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom.
Located on the Fylde coast, Pleasure Beach Blackpool is a family run venture and has been in the Thompson family since the park opened in its very early state in 1896 by William George Bean. Over the following years, the park developed from a small seaside amusement centre to the massively popular area that it is today.
Although it has been a popular site throughout its many years of operation, it is often said that Pleasure Beach Blackpool would not be as large or as popular as it currently is without the famous Pepsi Max Big One.
When it was first opened in May 1994, the Pepsi Max Big One was not only the tallest roller coaster in the world, but the steepest and fastest too. records which were held by the ride for many years. Whilst it can no longer boast these records, the Pepsi Max Big One is still one of the biggest attractions of the Pleasure Beach Blackpool.
Alton Towers. With in excess of three million visitors walking through the gates of Alton Towers during 2008, it is surprising for many to realise that Alton Towers is not the first most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Although both Pleasure Beach Blackpool and Alton Towers have a similar amount of rides and attractions, Alton Towers rides are seen as the most adventurous, modern and boundary pushing which are recognised all over the globe.
Outside of the fact that Alton Towers homes some of the most popular rides in the United Kingdom, most notably Oblivion, the worlds very first vertical drop roller coaster and Nemesis, the first inverted roller coaster anywhere in Europe, there are two fantastic Alton Towers hotels situated onsite. Decorated and furnished in a variety of different tastes, the hotels provide a place for visitors to the park to rest their head at night, before heading back out for another day of stomach churning and breath-taking rides.
Alton Towers is host to a range of activities throughout the year, even during its closed season, when a selection of rides are opened for Half Term Hullabaloo in February and a set area of the park is turned into a fantastic winter wonderland during December.
Thorpe Park. Operated by the same company who own Alton Towers, Merlin Entertainment, Thorpe Park is the third most visited theme park in the United Kingdom, drawing just under two million visitors during 2008.
Thorpe Park is seen as the older brother of its sister park Chessington World of Adventures. Whilst the latter is aimed at young children and families, Thorpe Park is full of white-knuckle rides, catering for the older thrill seeker market perfectly.
Whilst considerably smaller than Pleasure Beach Blackpool and Alton Towers, Thorpe Park is massively popular all throughout its open season, for which a lot of credit can currently go to SAW The Ride, a roller coaster based around the gruesome horror film series SAW.
About the Author:
Open Roads has a variety of travel packages and offers on Alton Towers Hotels for you to enjoy a perfectly planned vacation. They also have a range of discounts and offers for other attractive travel destinations around the world.
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