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What uk theme park looks most promising and why

T

Thrillseeker2024

Roller Poster
Merlin has invested heavily in all their 4 merlin parks across the UK. With:

Hyperia, big easy boulevard
Waterpark at chessington
Minifigure speedway at legoland
Nemesis, horizon and the new facts to replace retrosquad at towers!

What do you think looks the most promising for future years?
 
Thorpe Park looks more promising than it has for a while. I'm hoping they can use the island west of Swarm for a major coaster, and also link the park up better with more bridges and pathways. It's a bit on the small side for a major park, and could really be improved by making it bigger. I'm also encouraged to see they are turning away from dark themes, at least for Hyperia, and I hope they turn it into a more balanced theme park again. They need a big GCI like Troy or a huge Vekoma mine train - something a bit more "thrill" than "extreme".

Drayton Manor has also shown good taste with the Lift & Launch coaster, even though the layout is still a mystery. Turning Shockwave to sitdown is also a good move, I think. They could focus on having better non-looping, airtime coasters than Alton. If these are a success, I'm hoping they get something like a Mack mega-lite. I also hope they restore Pirate Adventure in some form, and another tow-boat ride on the lake like Excalibur.
 
Thorpe and Paultons are definitely the most promising for me. Thorpe with Hyperia and the amount of investment, Paultons just because it's genuinely a nice place to be, even without a big coaster.

Alton is the least. My last two visits have made me wish i'd spent the money to travel down to thorpe instead, which is saying a lot as Alton has been my favourite park since I was a young kid. Staggered openings, coasters not even opening all day, staff telling you not to congregate waiting for a coaster to open and go elsewhere, despite no other coasters being open! I'm not sure whether its just been bad luck, but i'd rather go anywhere than alton nowadays. They need more fundamental changes in my opinion than simply new flats and a coaster.
 
Of the ones listed in the OP its Thorpe, new coaster and some nice tlc keep it just ahead but depending on what Project Horizon is, new flats mabey and nemesis, Alton is close.

But in all the UK, its Paultons hands down. Only recently have Merlins parks started to show the promise they should have.

Paultons ten years ago is very different to now and with a possible 15 million pound investment coming, and a whole end of the park under planning i think it will be very different ten years in the future.
 
I personally don't see Thorpe Park as a promising park. Like, we know we're getting Hyperia, however I don't know how they really top that to be honest. Do Merlin even want to top it, or will they expect to milk the ever loving sh*t out of it for years to come?

See, I think the Merlin parks have lacked consistency for several years now, so my expectations will probably remain relatively low until we're promised more changes overall (not just talking about ride hardware here), rather than 1 decent looking coaster (that truth be told, could have been built years ago).

Paultons is the most promising by definition. I think at the most fundamental level, they know their market and actively listen and interact with their guests and enthusiasts alike. They are also happy to invest on a regular basis and price themselves very reasonably. We need more parks like Paultons, but sadly that'll never happen because of the Merlin monopoly amongst other things.
 
I think there are two clear standouts for me.
1. Paultons Park - We've seen this park go from strength to strength since Peppa Pig World opened up. Lost Kingdom was a great first expansion, with a clear focus on theming and creating an immersive family appropriate area. Tornado Springs just bought the whole concept to another level. They're investing in quality rides and are taking a lot of care to ensure that they mainatain a really fun, immersive experience for the whole family. I absolutely adore this park and think it's got the brightest future of any UK park.
2. Drayton Manor - Honestly rather similar to Paultons here. Whilst it's had a rough couple of years, I think they're really turning things around and making extremely brave and wise decisions for the park. Whilst I was Apocalypse's no 1 fan and adored Shockwave, Drayton have done the right thing moving towards the family market. Vikings is a really nice addition to the park and is really nicely landscaped. It's not quite up to Paultons level for theming just yet, but I can definitely see them taking steps to match that level with future additions. Also the plot for their new coaster is HUGE. And to opt for Intamin of all manufacturers?! I think it's a pretty clear indicator that Drayton mean business and are prepared to invest and create a quality experience for families. It's so nice to see parks move in the right direction, whilst also not cheaping out. Honestly think the future for this park is incredibly bright and I for one think it's the most exciting park to watch out for. Paultons are maintaining quality, whereas I feel Drayton are really building up their level of quality.
 
I think Thorpe is starting to look promising again. During my last visit everything seemed to work, there's investment in renovation (finally!) and there's even the big obvious chunk of CAPEX behind saw we all might have just noticed ;)

I'd like to see some more cosmetic changes like a proper glow up for the entrance area (i.e. repaving, more planting and maybe one day even that Hotel?) and some more work to hide back-of-house (which they seem to have started doing on the bridge before you hit the dome, nice one!). Perhaps even... actually do you know what? Most of what I want to suggest seems to be getting done. Well done, Thorpe.

Up in the Midlands, Drayton seems to be heading in the right direction. Vikings was a good investment, I'd like to see some more rockwork around Thor, but the park is working on a budget and is managing to bring us a brand new coaster, so I honestly can't complain. I'm genuinely excited for their future...

Obligatory Paulton's comment, my home park as a small child. How that place has changed! The old powered coaster was my #1 Credit, the OG, baby's first coaster. Please build a GCI.
 
1. Thorpe Park following their rebrand - I feel that it is now on the up with Hyperia and the park need to keep up the momentum with continuing investment. I can imagine a New for 2025 Flat Ride on the Slammer site followed by further investments in the long term (i.e. Amity Beach site, Area Behind Swarm Island/Treasure Island and Miss Hippo's Fungle Safari site).

2. Paultons Park - At the moment, they are making constant and consistent investments to add to their park line up such as Splash Lagoon and the upcoming dark ride. I can see them maintaining this investment further and make a Plopsaland style move into thrill.

3. Drayton Manor - since being bought out by Looping Group, they have made constant investments and have a lot of potential. It's focus on family thrill makes it a perfect in between park (compared to Chessington and Thorpe Park). I can imagine that they'll theme the park before Paultons complete theirs! 😂

I honestly feel that those parks are the ones to watch over the next few years (in light of Universal).
 
It would have been thorpe, but after I went 3 times this year... Ive just lost all hope for the bloody place, for me its PAULTONS because they actually put quality over quantity, the park is actually taken care of and the pricing is "reasonable"
 
I've seen Thorpe do this before - they add a new ride, look like they've turned a corner with the place looking shiny and cared for - and then leave the place to fall apart for the next decade or so. I guess they probably all do - but that's where it's most noticeable.

So, the answer, probably, is wherever's next on the Merlin TLC wheel of fortune. I'd love to vote for a non-Merlin park, but until they start building landmark coasters (which Icon, simply is not) then I just can't.

That said - if Alton continue to put in the effort they have with The Curse and Nemesis for all new additions, then it's them.
 
As always I think Alton has the most potential. It's just such a stunning location and if they can add some more indoor dark rides/coasters and get it properly tidied up it'll be a great theme park again.
 
Thorpe Park I fully expect to fall back into complacency mode after Hyperia. I hope I'm wrong but... I feel like all of the Merlin parks are going to continue the cycle of being left to decay for years on end, until they've got something new to promote and want to paper over the cracks again. People endlessly fapping over a bit of upkeep at Thorpe as if it's something they couldn't have done at any point over the last decade is a confusing one.

Paultons Park is doing fine, a little overrated perhaps. Their coaster line-up at the end of the day is still very basic and "off the shelf". I think what they desperately need is a bigger, more unique headlining coaster. Not a white knuckle thrill ride but something that takes the next step. Something of a Dragon's Fury scale. That thing is wild, especially on a hot day. Still very much a family coaster... but I'd 100% take it over Icon or Millenium Coaster.

I think it has to go to Drayton Manor for me. It's been given a new lease of life recently. The new coaster is all kinds of mysterious and I'm looking forward to finding out what it actually does. I'm going with them because I think they have the most potential when it comes to variety of thrills in what they could build down the line.
 
Fleetwood_Mack said:
Thorpe Park I fully expect to fall back into complacency mode after Hyperia. I hope I'm wrong but... I feel like all of the Merlin parks are going to continue the cycle of being left to decay for years on end, until they've got something new to promote and want to paper over the cracks again. People endlessly fapping over a bit of upkeep at Thorpe as if it's something they couldn't have done at any point over the last decade is a confusing one.

Paultons Park is doing fine, a little overrated perhaps. Their coaster line-up at the end of the day is still very basic and "off the shelf". I think what they desperately need is a bigger, more unique headlining coaster. Not a white knuckle thrill ride but something that takes the next step. Something of a Dragon's Fury scale. That thing is wild, especially on a hot day. Still very much a family coaster... but I'd 100% take it over Icon or Millenium Coaster.

I think it has to go to Drayton Manor for me. It's been given a new lease of life recently. The new coaster is all kinds of mysterious and I'm looking forward to finding out what it actually does. I'm going with them because I think they have the most potential when it comes to variety of thrills in what they could build down the line.
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I find most enthusiasts in the UK are very easily pleased/excited. They see the bare minimum of maintanance being done and see it as some huge turning point. People were going mad saying how perfect Alton Towers was when Nemesis came back - meanwhile from the Nemesis Reborn queue you could see a filthy Galactica with "Clean Me" written in the dirt. Smiler covered in muck, and the Smiler pit is full of green algae!

Same with Thorpe, they've repainted a few old buildings and done the bare minimum of maintenance and it's some massive turning point apparently.

I can see all the Merlin parks falling back into the typical cost cutting ways next year sadly
 
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