For the third year, the British public were able to vote for their favourite theme parks in these national awards recognising the best rides and attractions, shows and events.
The awards were organised by ThemeParks-UK.com, an independent consumer guide to UK theme parks. This year, the awards were presented in association with AttractionTickets.com
There were 22 categories this year, including Theme Park of the Year, Best Customer Service and Best Value. New categories included Best Steel Coaster, Best Wooden Coaster and Best Mascot.
204,501 public votes were combined with the scores from the judging panel to determine the winners in each category. Of the 30 theme parks that received nominations, 18 won awards.
The awards ceremony was held at Drayton Manor on 22 September and was attended by more than 100 representatives from the UK theme park industry. A recording of the awards ceremony will be available to watch at ukthemeparkawards.com
The biggest winners in the awards included Alton Towers and Drayton Manor in Staffordshire (with 11 and 6 awards respectively), Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Lancashire (7), LEGOLAND Windsor in Berkshire (6), Paultons Park in Hampshire (4) and Thorpe Park in Surrey (5). Other UK theme parks with multiple awards included Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey (2), Crealy in Devon (3), Adventure Island in Essex (3) and the various Gulliver’s Theme Parks (2).
Also winning awards this year: Fantasy Island in Lincolnshire, Flamingo Land in Yorkshire, Joyland in Norfolk, Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire, Pleasurewood Hills in Suffolk, Sundown Adventureland in Nottinghamshire, Twinlakes in Leicestershire, Wicksteed Park Northamptonshire.
For theme park content creators, there were also awards for Blogger of the Year, YouTuber of the Year and Instagrammer of the Year.
Victoria Lynn, Managing Director of Drayton Manor Resort, said: “We’re thrilled to have hosted the UK Theme Park Awards this year, and equally delighted to have been shortlisted for 13 awards ourselves!
“The UK Theme Park Awards are a fantastic opportunity for parks and attractions across the country to come together to celebrate, learn and champion one another, while also recognising the efforts of the teams working hard behind the scenes to ensure the UK’s theme parks are some of the top destinations for a day out.
“Here at Drayton Manor Resort, we work incredibly hard to ensure our guests enjoy a fun-filled day out each time they visit, and to see this recognised by the public vote, allowing us to take home 6 awards this year, really is fantastic.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for us, and to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the entire Drayton Manor team, who work incredibly hard to make the resort a brilliant UK attraction.”
The full list of winners is:
Best New Attraction p
- GOLD: Sik (Flamingo Land)
- SILVER: Vikings (Drayton Manor)
- BRONZE: Sooty Land (Crealy)
Best Theme Park for Families (Large)
- GOLD: Alton Towers
- SILVER: Chessington World of Adventures
- BRONZE: Paultons Park
Best Theme Park for Families (Small)
- GOLD: Gulliver’s Theme Parks
- SILVER: Adventure Island
- BRONZE: Crealy
Best Theme Park for Toddlers
- GOLD: Paultons Park
- SILVER: LEGOLAND Windsor
- BRONZE: Alton Towers
Best Theme Park for Thrills
- GOLD: Thorpe Park
- SILVER: Alton Towers
- BRONZE: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Best Seaside Park
- GOLD: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
- SILVER: Fantasy Island
- BRONZE: Adventure Island
Best Mascot
- GOLD: Ollie the Dragon (LEGOLAND Windsor)
- SILVER: Rory the Lion (Drayton Manor)
- BRONZE: Woody Bear (Pleasurewood Hills)
Best Steel Coaster
- GOLD: Nemesis (Alton Towers)
- SILVER: ICON (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
- BRONZE: The Swarm (Thorpe Park)
Best Wooden Coaster
- GOLD: Wicker Man (Alton Towers)
- SILVER: Grand National (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
- BRONZE: Megafobia (Oakwood Theme Park)
Best Live Entertainment
- GOLD: Hot Ice (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
- SILVER: Return to Skeleton Bay (LEGOLAND Windsor)
- BRONZE: The Sooty Show (Crealy)
Best Play Experience
- GOLD: DUPLO Valley (LEGOLAND Windsor)
- SILVER: Hey Duggee’s Big Adventure Badge (Alton Towers)
- BRONZE: Angry Birds Activity Park (Sundown Adventureland)
Best Dark Ride
- GOLD: Wallace & Gromit’s Thrill-O-Matic (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
- SILVER: Flight of the Sky Lion (LEGOLAND Windsor)
- BRONZE: The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure (Chessington World of Adventures)
Best Historic Ride
- GOLD: Water Chute (Wicksteed Park)
- SILVER: Ghost Train (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
- BRONZE: Snails (Joyland)
Best Halloween Event
- GOLD: Fright Nights (Thorpe Park)
- SILVER: Scarefest (Alton Towers)
- BRONZE: Xtreme Scream Park (Twinlakes)
Best Christmas Event
- GOLD: Lightopia (Alton Towers)
- SILVER: LEGOLAND at Christmas (LEGOLAND Windsor)
- BRONZE: Magical Christmas (Drayton Manor)
Best Value
- GOLD: Drayton Manor
- SILVER: Gulliver’s Theme Parks
- BRONZE: Adventure Island
Best Customer Service
- GOLD: Alton Towers
- SILVER: Paultons Park
- BRONZE: Thorpe Park
Best Social Media Engagement
- GOLD: Alton Towers
- SILVER: Drayton Manor
- BRONZE: Thorpe Park
Blogger of the Year
- GOLD: Theme Park Guide
- SILVER: Cupcakes & Coasters
- BRONZE: Thrill Nation
YouTuber of the Year
- GOLD: Theme Park Worldwide
- SILVER: TheJackSilkstone
- BRONZE: DigitalDan
Instagrammer of the Year
- GOLD: Thrill Riders
- SILVER: Roller Coaster Rachel
- BRONZE: Cupcakes & Coasters
Theme Park of the Year
- GOLD: Alton Towers
- SILVER: Paultons Park
- BRONZE: Drayton Manor
Expert Judges
- Andy Hine MBE (Chairman – Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain)
- Dawn Foote (Co-Founder & CEO – Katapult)
- Justin Garvanovic (Editor – First Drop)
- Lawrence Roots (Editor – ThemeParks-UK.com)
- Mark Locker (Founder & CEO – Attractions.io)
- Paul Kelly (Chief Executive – British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions)
