{"id":172,"date":"2016-06-30T12:09:56","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T12:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/?p=172"},"modified":"2016-06-08T12:13:32","modified_gmt":"2016-06-08T12:13:32","slug":"the-best-theme-parks-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/2016\/06\/the-best-theme-parks-in-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"The best Theme Parks in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ask a kid where they want to go and a theme park is probably one of the first places they come up with.\u00a0 Theme parks also offer activities and fun for kids of all ages<\/a> from the special rides for little kids right up to the white-knuckle rides that even adults think twice about riding.\u00a0 Some of them even have animals as well so a double-up on the unmissable stakes.\u00a0 Here we look at the top 11 Theme Parks in the UK in\u00a0no particular order.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alton Towers, Staffordshire<\/span><\/p>\n

Alton Towers is the UK\u2019s biggest theme park, located in the grounds of a 15th century country estate.\u00a0 It opened in 1980 and has a total of eight high-speed roller coasters, 11 thrill rides and a number of other rides including those suitable for the little kids.\u00a0 Add to that the new Cbeebies Land, an aquarium, cable car, monorail and even gardens to explore, there is more than a day\u2019s worth of children’s entertainment<\/a>.\u00a0 There are even two hotels on the site including one that features a giant pirate ship as its downstairs area, which the kids will love.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire<\/span><\/p>\n

Blackpool Pleasure Beach may be one of the most well-known spots in the country but doesn\u2019t lack for rides despite its urban location.\u00a0 There are 40 rides in the park including five steel roller coasters, five wooden ones and plenty of family-friendly rides as well.\u00a0 For the smaller kids there is a Nickelodeon Land while older kids will love the Ghost Train and Go Karts.\u00a0 The Big Blue is the pleasure beach hotel but the central location means there are plenty of other accommodation options too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chessington World of Adventures, Surrey<\/span><\/p>\n

Chessington World of Adventures has a staggering range of things to do from the thrill rides and roller coasters to the zoo and a Sea Life centre.\u00a0 Nor is the zoo just an add-on \u2013 it has over 1000 animals including gorillas and tigers spread over eight different zones.\u00a0 One of the notable rides is the Dragon\u2019s Fury, an unusual roller coaster that spins around a half kilometres track encasing the Land of the Dragons zone.\u00a0 There are two hotels within the park and a monorail system to get around.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crealy Park, Devon<\/span><\/p>\n

Crealy Park is actually two sites, one in Devon and one in Cornwall.\u00a0 The Devon site includes a range of water rides, swinging boat and even quad biking among around 60 attractions.\u00a0 It is aimed more at the under 10 age group and doesn\u2019t have the big thrill rides for the older kids.\u00a0 There is a Dino Jeep virtual ride that takes kids through the dinosaurs that most will love as well as a Roman themed roller coaster.\u00a0 A small zoo includes friendly faces such as guinea pigs and meerkats while there is a campsite next door as well as places for motorhomes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drayton Manor, Staffordshire<\/span><\/p>\n

Drayton Manor is another theme park built on a former mansion site and contains a great mixture of roller coasters, thrill rides and rides for the kids as well as a zoo.\u00a0 There is a dedicated Thomas Land for the little kids \u2013 dedicated to that famous little tank engine.\u00a0 For the older kids there is The Shock Wave, a coaster where you stand up and loop through a Zero-G roll as well as a double corkscrew.\u00a0 There is a four-star hotel on the site as well as plenty of nearby camping options.<\/span><\/p>\n

Flamingo Land, Yorkshire<\/span><\/p>\n

Flamingo Land was named for the former bird residents of the Yorkshire Zoological Gardens that the site started out life being.\u00a0 Situated between York and Scarborough, the park is now filled with thrill rides, roller coasters, kids\u2019 attractions and the best zoo in the northeast.\u00a0 The zoo has many famous animals including white rhinos, tigers and giraffes while one of the newest ride is called Hero and is a vertical position tower similar to the Air ride at Alton Towers.\u00a0 Accommodation on site is varied as well including everything from luxury lodges to camping spots.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gulliver\u2019s Land, Buckinghamshire<\/span><\/p>\n

Gulliver\u2019s Land is a combination of theme park, water area, farm and a campsite so there is something for kids of all ages.\u00a0 It is aimed at children from the age of two to thirteen and everything is aimed at children, with no alcohol on site for example.\u00a0 Lilliput Land is particularly special for the under-fives with rides such as teacups and a cycle monorail.\u00a0 There is no on-site accommodation but its central location means there are plenty of options nearby.<\/span><\/p>\n

LEGOLAND, Berkshire<\/span><\/p>\n

LEGOLAND used to be one for the younger kids but not anymore and most adults will admit to loving a chance to play with those famous bricks.\u00a0 There may not be the white-knuckle rides of many of the parks but there are plenty of great rides for the kids to enjoy and Miniland will fascinate young and old.\u00a0 Using nearly 40 million bricks, this is a series of detailed models of scenes from around the world with animated cars, boats and scenery included.\u00a0 Even the on-site hotel has a completely Lego theme to it that the kids will love.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paultons Park, Hampshire<\/span><\/p>\n

Paultons Park is on the edge of the New Forest National Park and is home to over 60 rides and attractions as well as Peppa Pig World, a must-see for the little kids.\u00a0 There is a period themed garden with a real Victorian carousel contrasting with the brand new 4D cinema.\u00a0 There is also a beautiful African themed gardens area to explore after the rides.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pleasurewood Hills, Norfolk<\/span><\/p>\n

Pleasurewood Hill has recently undergone a major refurbishment meaning the site now has four roller coasters as well as thrill and kiddies rides.\u00a0 Animal shows include a sea lion show and a parrot show so something for the animal fans.\u00a0 For the thrill seekers, HoBs PiT is said to be the scariest ride in the UK, travelling through an abandoned mine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thorpe Park, Surrey<\/span><\/p>\n

Thorpe Park is located on an island raised from a former gravel pit near both the M3 and M25 motorways.\u00a0 From wet rides to thrill rides and even seven roller coasters, the park is an adrenaline junkie\u2019s paradise while the new Angry Birds Land is great for younger kids.\u00a0 Stealth is one of the fastest coasters in the UK, reaching over 80mph while Saw \u2013 The Ride is based on the horror franchise and is typically billed as the \u2018most terrifying coaster\u2019 including a hall of horrors and vertical drops.\u00a0 Accommodation comes in the form of shark-theme hotel that rises out of the lake within the park.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask a kid where they want to go and a theme park is probably one of the first places they come up with.\u00a0 Theme parks also offer activities and fun for kids of all ages from the special rides for little kids right up to the white-knuckle rides that even adults think twice about riding.\u00a0 … Continue reading “The best Theme Parks in the UK”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,38,78,24,100],"tags":[94,53,62,83,61],"class_list":["post-172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activities","category-fun-fair","category-ideas","category-outdoor-adventure","category-plan","tag-best","tag-entertainment","tag-fun","tag-idea","tag-kids"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172\/revisions\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kiddyzone.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}