Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park Lake in July 1979, the year the park opened to the public

The demolition of the Thorpe Park Estate in the 1930s saw the grounds transform into a gravel pit, originally owned by Ready Mixed Concrete Limited. When the pits were expended, RMC flooded part of the site. In 1975 the Water Ski World Championships were held on the site.[2] RMC established a subsidiary, Leisure Sport Limited, to operate a 400-acre (160 ha) park for water sports, leisure and heritage exhibitions, at a cost of £3 million.[3]

The park was officially opened to the public by Lord Louis Mountbatten on 24 May 1979, his final public appearance shortly before he was assassinated by a bomb on board in a fishing boat planted by the Provisional IRA in Mullaghmore, Ireland. In addition to lakes and parkland, the park featured a replica Stone Age cave, Celtic farm, Norman castle and Viking camp as well as ancient water vehicles and aircraft.[3]

Between 1983 and 1989 it was regularly used as a filming location for The Benny Hill Show.

In the early 80s, the park redeveloped into a theme park with permanent themed rides and attractions.[4] New attractions were opened throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Space Station Zero was the park's first rollercoaster, opening in 1984.[5] The last large attraction opened by the park's original owners was "X:\No Way Out" in 1996.

In 1998, The Tussauds Group bought the park. From the outset the park started opening key attractions such as Tidal Wave in 2000, Colossus in 2002, Nemesis Inferno in 2003 and Stealth in 2006.[6]

In May 2007, Blackstone Group purchased The Tussauds Group for US$1.9 billion and the company was merged into Merlin Entertainments, who took over operation of Thorpe Park.[7][8] Dubai International Capital also gained 20% of Merlin Entertainments.[9]

On 17 July 2007, as part of the financing for the Tussauds deal, Merlin sold Thorpe Park to private investor Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury, under a sale and leaseback agreement.[10] Although it is owned by Prestbury, the site is operated by Merlin based on a renewable 35-year lease.[7]

The target audience for the resort is teenagers and young adults, adding rides such as Saw – The Ride and The Swarm for example. In 2014, Merlin decided to also target a more broad-family based market with new attractions such as Angry Birds Land and the park's onsite hotel.[11]

On 20 February 2019, the official Twitter account of Thorpe Park confirmed the permanent closure of Logger's Leap, a log flume that opened in 1989 but had been closed since 2015 due to the Smiler accident at Alton Towers that year.[12]

In 2021, Thorpe Park announced plans for a new rollercoaster in the Old Town section of the park, planned to open for the 2024 season, under the project name of Project Exodus. This ride is set to be the tallest and fastest ride in the UK, at a height of 236 feet (71.93 metres) and a speed of 81mph (130.35kmh).[13]

Since 2016, Thorpe Park is zoned into eight 'island territories'.

• 
  Amity Island
• 
  The Dock Yard
• 
  The Jungle
• 
  Lost City
• 
  Swarm Island

• Port and Basecamp includes the turnstile entrance, bridge, the dome and the playground.
• Amity (originally 'Amity Cove') opened with Tidal Wave and now includes Stealth, Depth Charge, Amity Beach, High Strikers & Storm Surge.
• The Jungle contains Nemesis Inferno, Rumba Rapids, Mr Monkey's Banana Ride and a street of restaurants.
• Angry Birds Land is in partnership with the Angry Birds video game. Attractions in this area include Angry Birds 4D, Detonator: Bombs Away and King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgems.
• Old Town is located towards the back of the park and includes Saw - The Ride, Samurai & Black Mirror Labyrinth
• Lost City contains Colossus, Rush, Quantum, Vortex and Zodiac.
• Swarm Island opened as the plaza for The Swarm.
• The Dock Yard (previously named 'The Depot' and 'Thorpe Junction') is the plaza immediately outside Ghost Train, previously known as "Derren Brown's Ghost Train" and includes the nearby The Walking Dead: The Ride rollercoaster, previously known as "X" and "X:\ No way out".

• Nemesis Inferno is the first inverted coaster to feature interlocking corkscrews (in the same layout).
• Additionally, the world record for 'most naked people on a rollercoaster' was set on Nemesis Inferno in May 2004.[28]
• The Swarm opened as Europe's tallest wing coaster and the first coaster in the world to feature the "wing over drop".
• SAW - The Ride was marketed as having the world's steepest 'freefall' drop,[29] and as the world's first horror movie themed roller coaster. SAW - The Ride was not actually the steepest rollercoaster in the world when it opened in March 2009 - Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach had opened the previous year with a steeper 111° drop. However, whilst Steel Hawg's drop has brakes on it, SAW's drop is brakeless - hence it being marketed as having the steepest freefall drop. This particular accolade was taken by The Monster in 2016 (and, as of 2022, is held by Defiance).
• Colossus held the world record for the most inversions on a rollercoaster when it opened in 2002, with 10 inversions. This record was matched in 2006 by "10 Inversion Coaster" (an exact clone of Colossus) and then beaten in 2013 by The Smiler at Alton Towers Resort, with 14 inversions.
• Stealth is the UK's fastest roller coaster, launching from 0–80 mph (0–129 km/h) in 1.9 seconds. The signage outside of the ride indicates a slower acceleration of 0–80 mph (0–129 km/h) in 2.3 seconds; this discrepancy is because the ride's launch was modified to accelerate faster in the off-season of 2013 (whilst the signage was left as-is). Standing at 205.1 ft (62.5 m), it is also the UK's second tallest roller coaster (behind the Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach which is 213ft).
• Tidal Wave opened as Europe's tallest water ride.
• Hyperia will be the tallest roller coaster in the UK at 236 ft (72 m), and the fastest roller coaster in the UK at 81mph (130km/h).[13]

Thorpe Park events for the 2023 Season:

• Mardi Gras (18 May – 11 June) which will entail "a variety of live entertainment" as it brings "a taste of New Orleans" to the park.
• Carnival (21 July – 28 August) where live entertainment and a brand new stage show will be arriving to the park for a limited time. Carnival also sees 'Trailers: Breakout at Bozo's', an 8+ horror maze open for the event.
• Oktoberfest (8 September – 1 October) which the park offers live entertainment (music and roaming actors) at the Island Festival Centre (By Ghost Train) and German food and drink offerings around the park. Rides and attractions are open until late and select rides have Bavarian themed music/ride announcements to fit with the Oktoberfest theme.
• Fright Nights (6 October – 31 October) which the park offers a range of Halloween entertainment: including horror mazes, shows, scare zones and roaming actors. On top of this, rides and attractions are open until late – excluding Depth Charge (close at dusk).

In recent years, Thorpe Park has held a range of unique events such as Zombie Hunt (2018), GameFX (2019), ParkVibes (2021) and many more.

Guests can stay over on-park at the 'Thorpe Shark Cabins', comprising 90 rooms converted from shipping containers with a link to facilities in the adjacent Dome. The accommodation takes its name from its shark head entrance feature built from recycled park signage.

The hotel initially opened in 2013 as 'The Crash Pad', run by external company Snoozebox. The temporary development was purchased by the park the following year and rebranded as the Thorpe Shark Hotel.[37]

Thorpe Park had originally been planning to build a permanent 250-bed hotel as far back as 2006. This would have been located on the opposite side of the lake, on the site of former excavation works, featuring a lakeside bar, health club and restaurant. Planning permission was granted in 2011.[38]

The development was pitched again following the installation of 'The Crash Pad' to "test market conditions". The park received planning permission to construct the permanent hotel in 2014, with construction planned to begin in 2016 and an opening in 2018. However, the hotel was never constructed and the Shark Hotel's planning permission was extended by 10 years instead.[39]

In 2023, new Swarm, Nemesis Inferno and Stealth themed rooms opened in the Thorpe Shark Cabins. They feature special theming in the room and unlimited fastrack on each rooms roller coaster on your 2nd day.[40]

Thorpe Park has a maximum capacity of 15,000 guests.[41][42]

In 2010, the park outlined a 5-year development plan that outlined new rollercoasters for 2012, which was later realised in The Swarm. The plan outlined another rollercoaster scheduled for 2015 as well as a permanent lakeside hotel, both of which have not come to fruition. No application was ever submitted for the 2015 development and the earmarked site behind The Swarm remains undeveloped.

On 26 November 2021, the park launched a public consultation website outlining a proposal for a brand new roller coaster.[43] Alongside this, leaflets were handed out to local residents, stating the proposal will 'involve the removal of existing old rides and replacement with a new roller coaster in the Old Town part of the resort'. The public consultation began on the 10 December 2021, with plans detailing a 236-foot (72 m) tall steel hyper coaster codenamed "Project Exodus".[43] An application for planning permission was submitted on the 14 March 2022.[44]

Objections to the planning permission application were raised by Surrey Wildlife Trust, Natural England, and the Environment Agency; citing concerns regarding biodiversity impacts, pollution, and flood risks.[45] The concerns raised by Surrey Wildlife Trust and Natural England were addressed, leading to their objections subsequently being withdrawn,[46] however, the Environment Agency's concerns remained unresolved as of October 2022. On the 5th of October 2022, Runnymede Borough Council approved the application for "Project Exodus", but, due to the unresolved objection from the Environment Agency, the application had to be referred to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for approval[47] (under the terms of The Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2021).

On the 1 November 2022, a letter sent to Runnymede Borough Council on behalf of the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities stated that 'He is content that it should be determined by the local planning authority'.[48] Subsequently, Runnymede Borough Council granted planning permission for "Project Exodus" on the 2nd of November 2022.[49][50]

Construction for the project has begun with the manufacturer being confirmed as Mack Rides, the site of Old Town and the remaining rides have been flattened for the project and the ground pins for the ride's footers have arrived at the park. On the 17th July 2023, the first supports arrived for the coaster.

On the 16 August 2023, Project Exodus was confirmed to be the UKs fastest roller coaster, and the colour scheme of black, gold and white was confirmed.

On the 5 October 2023, the name for Project Exodus, Hyperia, was revealed.

There are no direct rail connections to Thorpe Park, the nearest railway station being Chertsey, 2km away.

Thorpe Park is served by the 950 express bus that runs from Staines rail station,[51] from which journeys from London Waterloo can be made. Other bus routes that serve the park include routes 461 and 446.[52]

• Merlin Entertainments
• The Tussauds Group
• RMC Group
• "Thorpe Park", an episode of The Inbetweeners where the main characters visit Thorpe Park
• Primeval – the third episode of Series 2 featured the park under a fictitious name.
• Staines railway station
• Chertsey railway station
• Alton Towers
• Chessington World of Adventures
• Theme Park
• Drayton Manor Theme Park

• Official website
• Memories of Thorpe Park