Today the organisers of the UK Theme Park Awards announced that the nominations are now open, with the public able to nominate at ukthemeparkawards.com until 10 June.
Once again, the public will be able to vote for their favourite theme parks in national awards recognising the best rides and attractions, shows and events. The awards are organised by ThemeParks-UK.com, an independent consumer guide to UK theme parks.
The public vote will take place from 21 July until 1 September. These votes work in combination with those of the Expert Judges to generate the final results. An announcement is due in September.
There are 22 categories for the UK Theme Park Awards this year, including: Theme Park of the Year, Best Customer Service and Best Value. New categories include Best Use of IP in an Attraction, Best Queue Line Experience or Pre-Show, and Best Integration of Technology in a Guest Experience.
In advance of the public vote taking place later this year, there will be a compilated shortlist using the public nominations and with the help of an expert judging panel.
Healthy competition for prizes
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 theme parks likely to receive multiple nominations include Adventure Island in Essex, BeWILDerwood in Cheshire and Norfolk, Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight, Crealy in Devon, Fantasy Island in Lincolnshire, Flamingo Land in Yorkshire, Pleasurewood Hills in Suffolk, as well as the various Gulliver’s Theme Parks.
Furthermore, there will also be awards for Best Established Content Creator and Best Developing Content Creator. This category includes bloggers, vloggers and podcasters, as well as those creating content on other platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
“With more than 360,000 public votes last year, the popularity of the awards continues to grow every year, and they are a great way to celebrate the very best UK theme parks..
“I’m so pleased that the awards are returning this year and with a range of new categories,” said Lawrence Roots, Founder of ThemeParks-UK.com
The full list of 22 award categories are the following:
- Theme Park of the Year
- 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 New Accessibility Initiative
- Best New Sustainability Initiative
- Best New Event
- Best New Entertainment
- Best New Food or Retail Outlet
- Best Use of IP in an Attraction
- Best Queue Line Experience or Pre-Show
- Best Integration of Technology in a Guest Experience
- Best Customer Service
- Best Value Theme Park
- Best Social Media Content
- Best Marketing Campaign
- Best Established Content Creator
- Best Developing Content Creator
Image: Theme Parks UK