The UK Theme Park Awards 2024 is around the corner, and the judging panel for the gala event has been announced.
10 experts from the attractions industry have been lined up to participate with InterPark’s Editor Beth Whitaker making up the panel team.
For the fifth year, the British public will be able to vote for their favourite theme parks in these prestigious national awards. The winners will be determined by combining thousands of public votes with scores from the judging panel.
The public will be able to vote in all 22 categories from 22nd July until 1st September 2024 at ukthemeparkawards.com
The awards are organised by ThemeParks-UK.com, an independent consumer guide to UK theme parks. This year, the awards are presented in association with AttractionTickets.com.
The complete judging panel for the UK Theme Park Awards 2024 consists of:
- Tom Anstey (Editor In Chief, Planet Attractions)
- Chris Bailey (Founder, Attraction Source)
- Dawn Foote (Co-Founder & CEO, Katapult)
- Marcus Gaines (Owner, Ride and Park Media)
- Andy Hine MBE (Chairman, Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain)
- Paul Kelly (Chief Executive, British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions)
- Mark Locker (Founder & CEO, Attractions.io)
- Owen Ralph (Attractions Industry Journalist, Words and Attractions)
- Lawrence Roots (Founder, ThemeParks-UK.com)
- Beth Whitaker (Editor, InterPark)
More information about the judging panel is now available at ukthemeparkawards.com/judges
“The awards are returning bigger and even better this year, as the public interest continues to grow. It will be the fifth year that we celebrate all of the biggest achievements at theme parks around the UK.” said Lawrence Roots, Founder of ThemeParks-UK.com.
“I’m delighted that we’ll be able to bring together so many representatives from theme parks with other industry professionals and content creators.”
The categories in this year’s awards include Theme Park of the Year, Best Customer Service and Best Value. There are several brand new categories such as Best Ride Storytelling, Best Accessibility Initiative and Best Sustainability Initiative.
The major contenders for the awards include Alton Towers and Drayton Manor in Staffordshire, Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Lancashire, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey, LEGOLAND Windsor in Berkshire and Paultons Park in Hampshire.
Other UK theme parks likely to receive multiple nominations include Adventure Island in Essex, Crealy in Devon, Fantasy Island in Lincolnshire, Flamingo Land in Yorkshire, Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire, Pleasurewood Hills in Suffolk, as well as the various Gulliver’s Theme Parks.
For theme park fans, there will also be an award for Content Creator of the Year, which includes bloggers, vloggers and podcasters, as well as those creating content on other platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
The full list of 22 categories are as follows:
- Best New Attraction
- Best Reimagined Attraction
- Best Theme Park for Families
- Best Theme Park for Toddlers
- Best Theme Park for Thrills
- Best Theme Park with Animals
- Best Seaside Park
- Best Ride Storytelling
- Best Accessibility Initiative
- Best Sustainability Initiative
- Best New Event
- Best New Entertainment
- Best Theme Park Map
- Best New Food or Retail Outlet
- Best Theme Park Lodges or Glamping
- Most Missed Attraction From The Past
- Best Customer Service
- Best Value Theme Park
- Best Social Media Content
- Best Marketing Campaign
- Theme Park of the Year
- Content Creator of the Year
Images: Theme Parks UK
