The much-anticipated results of the UK Theme Park Awards 2024 have been revealed, celebrating the nation’s favorite theme parks and attractions. With over 360,000 public votes combined with expert judges’ scores, the awards highlight excellence across 22 categories, including Theme Park of the Year, Best New Attraction, and Best Value.
George, a key figure in the event, shared his excitement: “The UK Theme Park Awards can only be described as a rollercoaster ride! From start to finish, it once again has been an amazing experience and one that I am proud to be part of. A huge congratulations to all the nominees and winners! What an incredible day!”
Top Winners
- Thorpe Park was crowned Theme Park of the Year and also celebrated the Best New Attraction with Hyperia.
- Nemesis Reborn at Alton Towers won Best Reimagined Attraction.
- Paultons Park triumphed as Best Theme Park for Families and Toddlers.
- Chessington World of Adventures was named Best Theme Park with Animals.
- Drayton Manor stood out as the Best Value Theme Park.
Now in their fifth year, these prestigious national awards allow the British public to vote for their favorite theme parks. Organized by ThemeParks-UK.com, an independent consumer guide, the awards were presented in association with AttractionTickets.com this year.
New categories introduced this year included Best Ride Storytelling, Best New Food or Retail Outlet, Best Theme Park Lodges or Glamping, Best Accessibility Initiative, and Best Sustainability Initiative.
Out of 38 nominated theme parks, 20 received awards. The ceremony took place at Thorpe Park on September 19, attended by over 150 industry representatives. A recording of the event is available at ukthemeparkawards.com.
Multiple Award Winners
- Alton Towers and Drayton Manor in Staffordshire were among the top winners, securing 12 and 8 awards respectively.
- LEGOLAND Windsor in Berkshire and Paultons Park in Hampshire each won 6 awards.
- Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey received 7 and 4 awards respectively.
Other multiple award winners included:
- Adventure Island in Essex
- BeWILDerwood in Cheshire & Norfolk
- Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight
- Crealy in Devon
- Fantasy Island in Lincolnshire
- Flamingo Land in Yorkshire
- West Midlands Safari Park in Worcestershire
- Gulliver’s Theme Parks
Additional winners this year were Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, GreenWood Family Park, Pleasurewood Hills, Southport Pleasureland, and Sundown Adventureland.
An award for Content Creator of the Year was also presented, acknowledging high-quality user-generated content on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Neil Poulter, Divisional Director at Thorpe Park, expressed his delight:
“We were delighted to be chosen as the host venue for the highly anticipated UK Theme Park Awards 2024 this year as we celebrated our 45th anniversary, with the added bonus of being shortlisted for a number of awards in what has been an incredibly exciting year for the park. It was our pleasure to welcome colleagues from across the industry to Thorpe Park as we collectively celebrated and congratulated each other on creating another year of feel-good fun for our guests.”
“We are thrilled to have won a number of awards, including Theme Park of the Year, after an incredible 12 months have seen us launch the UK’s tallest, fastest, and most weightless rollercoaster, unveil a brand new land alongside a huge number of other projects all of which added sparkle across the park. What a year it has been for Thorpe Park, our guests, and our staff!”
For a complete list of the winners and more details about the awards, visit ukthemeparkawards.com.
Images: UK Theme Park Awards
