The
Rise of UK Theme Parks
by: Robin
Richmond
Since
Blackpool Pleasure Beach opened the Pepsi
Max Big One in 1994, UK rollercoaster
construction and theme park competition in
general has been gathering pace. New parks
have been built across the country and
established centres such as Thorpe Park
and Aulton Tours have battled for
supremacy. This was a scenario that was
hard to conceive 15 years ago with the
impending opening of EuroDisney (now
Disney Resort Paris), as many thought the
UK theme park industry would struggle to
survive and thrill seekers would instead
be enticed through the tunnel to one of
America’s biggest brand names.
Unfortunately,
for the Walt Disney Company this did not
quiet materialise. The first sign of
problems was when French locals started
holding protests – due to concerns the
park was going to damage and dilute the
proud local culture. These protests partly
led to crowds in the opening year falling
drastically lower than predictions.
EuroDisney also had to deal with the
problems of an excess of under-populated
hotels which had ran drastically over
budget. This combined with high prices led
to the closure of hotels during the winter
months. By the start of 1994, EuroDisney
was in serious financial difficulties and
press speculation indicated that the park
was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Meanwhile
back in the UK the theme park industry was
enjoying somewhat of a renaissance. 1994
was hailed as “The Year of the
Rollercoaster” as new rides sprang up
across the country. Drayton Manor opened
its “Shockwave” ride along with Alton
Tower’s who launched the famous
“Nemesis”. At the same time Blackpool
opened its 11th roller coaster, the Pepsi
Max Big One, which for a short time was
the tallest in the world...suddenly the UK
found itself gripped in roller coaster
fever which contrasted harshly with the
negative press emanating from the
outskirts of Paris.
Over the
next ten years the UK continued to ride at
the forefront of theme park
technology…even out doing stateside
industry giants such as Six Flags. Alton
Towers - www.alton-towers.co.uk
- ensured its park received world wide
attention with the launching of the first
ever vertical drop roller coaster,
Oblivion in 1998 and the world’s first
“flying roller coaster” with Air in
2002. Not to be outdone Fantasy Island
near Skegness opened the tallest and
fastest type of this ride in the world in
the form of the 2002 Jubilee Odyssey and
in 2002 Thorpe Park opened a record
breaking ten inversion rollercoaster named
Collosus.
By 2002
EuroDisney had now become Disney Resort
Paris - http://www.disneylandparis.com.
With the addition of more attractions and
the re-branding of the entire theme park
complex, to better appeal to European
tastes, the Walt Disney Company finally
announced their first annual profit for
the park. Disney had at last found the
right balance between implementing such a
strong American brand on foreign soil
without diluting the local culture.
However, the time it had taken to find the
balance ensured that Disney has not
achieved the domination in the European
market that many predicted.
At the
present time the UK theme park market
seems to be going from strength to
strength with continued investment in
their facilities. For example, Drayton
Park have spent over £2 million in time
for the new season upgrading their entry
and ticketing facilities, while the ever
inventive Alton Towers are launching their
new ride ‘Spinball Whizzer’ which has
the carriage as the focus of the ride
rather than the actual track!
With the
volume and popularity of parks increasing
all the time in the UK, the demand for
accommodation in surrounding areas has
also expanded. Last year Alton Towers
opened its second hotel, Splash Landings,
which boasts an exciting all-weather water
park, ‘Cariba Creek’. In addition to
this companies such as UK short break
specialists Superbreak.com
– http://www.superbreak.com
– have a number of excellent package
deals with parks such as Blackpool
Pleasure Beach, Aulton Towers and Legoland
near Windsor which has over 50 interactive
rides, live shows, building workshops.
Overall the
future seems bright for the theme park
industry across the UK and Europe as a
whole. The slow progress of Disney Resort
Paris has allowed other parks to get on an
even footing and with continued investment
in rides and general infrastructure
competition should continue to be fierce
between the major parks – which can only
be good news for the consumer.
About
The Author
Robin Richmond
http://www.bigmouthmedia.com
robin.richmond@bigmouthmedia.com
|
