Flamingo Land Resort

Flamingo Land Resort was established in 1959 when a cinema entrepreneur, Edwin Pentland Hick, sold his cinema chain and used the funds to purchase a bankrupt country club to use the land for a zoo.[1] The site, which occupied nine acres, was initially called The Yorkshire Zoological Gardens. A colony of flamingos were among the first animals to be housed on site.[1]

In 1963, the gardens became home to the UK's first captive bottlenose dolphins – one of whom was given the name Sooty after the children's TV puppet. During the 1960s a small funfair began to be held on the site. In 1965 the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange as Associated Pleasure Parks and, in 1968, the park was renamed to Flamingo Park Zoo.

In 1968, the park purchased a killer whale from an aquarium within Seattle. Flamingo Park became the first within the UK to house a killer whale, who lived alongside the bottlenose dolphins. Cuddles soon became aggressive towards both the dolphins he lived with and the trainers he worked with and was sold to Dudley Zoo in 1971.

In the 1970s, amusement rides had become a permanent fixture of the park along with the zoo, becoming the first site in Europe to combine the attractions in one location.

The park was losing money by 1974 and underwent a major revamp when it was renamed Flamingo Land. More emphasis was placed on the "day out" experience – with fairground rides, a haunted castle, model railway and a jungle cruise raft ride on the lake. Despite a more professional marketing approach that saw regular guest appearances by celebrities and stars of the day (including the racehorse Red Rum), Flamingo Land continued to lose money.

The owners, Scotia Leisure Ltd., sold the site in 1978 to Robert Gibb – himself a former director at Scotia leisure. He put a team in place to develop the complex as a national, rather than local, tourist attraction, including investing in amusement rides. Many staff were made redundant with most re-engaged on seasonal contracts.

Flamingo Park Zoo, as it looked from the air in 1969

In 1995 Robert Gibb died in a car accident. His son Gordon Gibb, only 18 at the time, and his two sisters, Vicky and Melanie, took over the running of the park.[1]

Some of the major attractions at Flamingo Land include:[2]

• Sik – Intamin second-generation 'Multi Inversion Coaster', 10-inversion model opening at a reported cost of £18 million for the 2022 season. The ride is sponsored by local clothing company SikSilk
• Hero – Suspended Flying Coaster new for 2013 in Metropolis area of the park. The ride was closed on 22 May 2015 when a piece of foot rail came loose and struck riders, but re-opened after a thin safety net was added under the track where it passes over the queue.
• Pterodactyl – A Zamperla Vertical Swing installed in 2012 in the new Dino-Stone Park for the 2013 season.
• Mumbo Jumbo – Opened in Summer 2009, this roller coaster was recognised at the time by the Guinness World Records as having the steepest drop.
• Flip Flop – Suspended over an artificial lake and features two large ship funnels on either side of the station.
• Kumali – Installed 2006, this is a Suspended Looping Coaster made by Vekoma.
• Navigator – Installed 2005, it was the first 'Mega' "Disk 'O'" type of ride ever to be built.
• Velocity – Constructed in 2005, replacing the Thunder Mountain attraction. It was built by Vekoma. The ride was the first booster bike ride in the United Kingdom, and is the tallest and fastest of its type in the world. It is estimated to have cost around £7 million.
• Cliff Hanger – Opened in 2002, this is the first and tallest S&S Combo Tower in the United Kingdom.

Also on the site is a gym, a leisure centre, a spa, a golf course and a large collection of log cabins and static caravans.

Flamingo Land also operated sister park Pleasure Island Family Theme Park in Cleethorpes, from its opening on 23 May 1993 until April 2010, when it became independently operated.[3]

On the former site of Cleethorpes Zoo, construction for an amusement park began in the 1990s, managed by RKF Entertainment. During this time RKF went into administration and Robert Gibb purchased the site as a second park to complement Flamingo Land. When his son Gordon Gibb became chief executive of the company, his sister Vicky Gibb and later, his other sister Melanie Wood took responsibility for the Cleethorpes park.

In 2010 Melanie Wood attained her goal of taking ownership of the park herself, separating it from the rest of the family company. Pleasure Island was then operated by Dewarsavile Enterprises Ltd, directed by Wood. This marked the end of the association between Pleasure Island and Flamingo Land. Pleasure Island closed down at the end of the 2016 season.

The park has a large holiday village with static caravans and log cabins, a leisure centre, a swimming pool, and a café.

There is also The Club and Zoo Bar, an entertainment venue which is exclusive for caravan owners and people staying on site overnight. It is a venue capable of holding over 1000 people and boasts a large stage and resident shows as well as light entertainment performed by visiting cabaret acts. There is also a small supermarket for guests to buy their own supplies.

In the past, Flamingo Land never contained any themed areas and was very much an amusement park. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the park has developed several themed areas.

There are more 120 different species of animals in the park, including hippos, camels, meerkats, reptiles, exotic birds, giraffes, lions, tigers, sea lions, baboons, zebras, rare fish, penguins, otters, and many others.

• Bird Show – exotic birds at the Zoo.
• Sea Lion Show – sea lion show at the Zoo.
• Pirates of Zanzibar – live action pirate show in the Plaza, Show times 12:30, 2:30, 4:30 daily

Theme Park on ITV

Theme Park is an ITV docusoap shown in the Yorkshire and Tyne Tees Regions, following the behind the scenes activities of Flamingo Land. The first series was broadcast in 2001 and a prominent part of the show was the building of the new area The Little Monsters Den of Mischief. The series in 2004 followed the development of the new water ride, The Lost River, which replaced the previous log flume, Klondike Creek. 2006 saw the third series of the popular ITV1 show, and followed the construction of the park's new coaster, Kumali.

Zoo Vet at Large

The park's animal collection has also been a main feature of Zoo Vet at Large, which follows vet Matt Brash, both at his North Yorkshire surgeries and in his role as head vet at Flamingo Land. There have been multiple series which aired on ITV1 and are often repeated on the digital channel Sky Real Lives.

ChuckleVision

In an episode of ChuckleVision called "Romany Days", The Chuckle Brothers visit Flamingo Land in search of a pair of underpants which they believe to be of great value. The coaster they predominantly ride during the episode appears to be the Crazy Loop.

ITV Weather sponsorship

Flamingo Land took up the sponsorship of ITV Yorkshire weather in June 2007 and ITV Tyne Tees weather in July 2007. The campaign ran until the end of the season. This sponsorship was renewed with both ITV regions in March 2008 at the start of the new season.

Talk Flamingo

Talk Flamingo was a long-running, discussion-based website about the park with news, construction, history, pictures, reviews and multimedia. The site closed at the end of the park's 2009 season.

Udzungwa Forest Project (UFP)

Flamingo Land's wildlife management initiative operates in the villages closest to the Magombera forest with the aim to maintain tropical rainforest in Eastern Tanzania. The purpose of the project is to provide villagers with a long-term fuel alternative through education and research, therefore reducing firewood collection within the forest, and thus the pressures placed upon the local environment.

(Hull City A.F.C.) & (Middlesbrough's)

It was announced that Flamingo Land would be the new sponsors of the 2015–16 Championship season of football.

Flamingopics

A flamingo land resort fansite running from 2012 – current. It features over 2500+ photos 50 videos and plenty of information.

In 2012, park owner Gordon Gibb appeared in court charged with the assault of a ticket seller outside the entrance of the park.[14]

On 22 May 2015, a teenage girl was injured and had to be taken to hospital when a footrail fell from a car of the Hero roller coaster and cut her head. Another person was treated at the scene. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation into the incident. Hero reopened in early June.[15][16]

Flamingo Land Limited have donated £185,999 to the Conservative Party since 2014.[17]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flamingo Land.

• Flamingo Land Park & Resort – main website for the Park and Resort.