Ultimate Rollercoaster

Pinning down the definition of the term “theme park” is always a topic that will enliven debate, here’s my attempt to try and define the concept of a theme park more clearly, however before I begin it may be worth to note that my writing is biased towards the UK parks.

The term “theme park” is an abbreviation for “themed amusement park” and therefore it is essential that amusement rides are offered.

Some of the first venues in Britain that provided entertainment primarily through amusement rides could be found at seaside resorts. Amusement rides are still an important attraction located at most seaside resorts today, ranging from small temporary collections of rides or “fun fairs” to permanently established parks of all sizes including both historic and modern sites.

However traditionally the concept of a “theme park” excludes the seaside parks and refers exclusively to inland locations that charge an admission fee that allows both access into the venue and the use of the majority of the rides, entertainments and facilities on offer. It’s also expected that the venue is permanently established and doesn’t contain rides which travel as part of a carnival.

The term also contains the word “park” which implies that the venue will mostly be of an outdoor nature.

As well as rides a “theme park” must also offer some attempt at theming, where visitors enter non-natural environments and atmospheres which have been purposely created to offer a particular experience. Whether it’s on the basic level of presenting clusters of rides and amenities grouped by a common topic or subject, or a more sophisticated level of fully immersive artificially created scenery or sets.

A “theme park” must also be of a relatively large scale and include adequate amenities to support day visitors, including catering and retail outlets, as well as guest facilities such as toilets, storage lockers, trained medical staff and cash machines.

To wrap things up, a “theme park” must therefore conform to the following characteristics:
- a relatively large scale attraction capable of hosting day visitors
- primarily of an outdoor nature, located away from seaside resorts
- permanently established
- focused on providing entertainment through amusement rides
- attempt to present themed environments
- make one admission charge which includes access to most of the rides and facilities

Based on these characteristics, I propose that there are 22 fully qualified “theme park” attractions in the UK, which are:

01.] Alton Towers
02.] American Adventure
03.] Blackgang Chine
04.] Camelot
05.] Chessington World of Adventures
06.] Devon’s Crealy Park
07.] Drayton Manor Park
08.] Flambards Village
09.] Flamingo Land
10.] Gulliver's Kingdom
11.] Gulliver's Land
12.] Gulliver's World
13.] Legoland Windsor
14.] Lightwater Valley
15.] Loudoun Castle
16.] New Pleasurewood Hills
17.] Oakwood Park
18.] Paultons Park
19.] Pleasure Island
20.] Sundown Adventure Land
21.] Thorpe Park
22.] Wicksteed Leisure Park

The ones that didn’t quite make it

Robin Hill, Milkyway, Woodlands & Cornwall's Crealy Park – these attractions aren’t concentrating on providing amusement rides, and are more focused on offering more general entertainments.

Knowsley Safari Park & West Midlands Safari Park – the latter especially has a good collection of amusement rides however the amusement sections of both parks aren’t the primary focus of the operations, could be interesting to watch these sites in the future to see how they develop further.

Good post.

> However traditionally the concept of a “theme
> park” excludes the seaside parks and refers
> exclusively to inland locations

Pleasurewood Hills and Pleasure Island are therefore exceptions to this as they are at the seaside and are not inland.

> Based on these characteristics, I propose that
> there are 22 fully qualified “theme park”
> attractions in the UK, which are:

> 03.] Blackgang Chine

This park is not focussed on providing entertainment through amusement rides. The new roller coaster, water ride and kiddie ride are really exceptions at this park.

> 14.] Lightwater Valley

I would question whether this park attempts to provide a themed environment.

> 20.] Sundown Adventure Land

Like Blackgang, this is not a ride-focussed park. But it does have a dark ride, tractor ride and a boat ride. But its theming is probably the best in the UK.

> 22.] Wicksteed Leisure Park

This park definitely does not attempt to be a themed experience.

> Robin Hill, Milkyway, Woodlands & Cornwall's
> Crealy Park

These were excluded because they don't focus on rides. I would say these are more 'ride' parks than Blackgang or Sundown. Robin Hill has a pirate ship and some kiddie rides, plus the Toboggan. Milkyway has an indoor coaster and dodgems. Woodlands and Crealy have a number of rides.

However, I do generally agree with you. In this country, we do have to be a little bit flexible when it comes to defining the term "theme park" as few of our parks genuinely attempt consistent theming. I always consider Blackgang and Sundown to be proper theme parks because they do attempt genuine theming. They may not focus on rides, but they are themed and they do have rides, so I would consider them to be theme parks.

The only thing I would change is rather than "not at the seaside" is to describe a true theme park as being "non-urban" (at least in the UK). So Pleasureland couldn't be a theme park, despite an attempt at theming, because it is within the urban area of Southport. Pleasurewood Hills is not actually within the built-up area of Lowestoft or Corton (but it is extremely close!), so is a theme park.

They are my random thoughts.

Nick

> Pleasurewood Hills and Pleasure Island are
> therefore exceptions to this as they are at the
> seaside and are not inland.

Personally, what makes them theme parks for me are a few factors:

1) They are not accessed off the seafront, nor are they actually part of their respective seaside resort (Lowestoft isn't really a resort anyway). They are both right next to the coastline, but not the promenade.

2) They have a car park.

3) They are both on grass.

I'm sure we all agree those two are theme parks; those are just my definitions. I'd define a seaside amusement park as:

1) Accessed off the seafront.

2) On concrete, not grass.

3) Usually free entry.

> 03.] Blackgang Chine

> This park is not focussed on providing
> entertainment through amusement rides. The new
> roller coaster, water ride and kiddie ride are
> really exceptions at this park.

I agree; it's a natural feature, which has been a tourist attraction for that reason for well over a century (I can't remember the exact date). I consider it to have been a theme park since the 1960s, when it started installing attractions. I'd say a theme park has to have attractions, not necessarily rides.

> 14.] Lightwater Valley

> I would question whether this park attempts to
> provide a themed environment.

Well, it's good enough for me to consider it a theme park. All I look for is some attempt at "styling", eg. the way they used Canadian Redwoods for the Ultimate's lift hills. It doesn't need to be as good as other theme parks or even amusement parks! That's the funny thing - Blackpool can have better theming with Valhalla etc, yet Lightwater etc is still more of a theme park than it.

> Robin Hill, Milkyway, Woodlands & Cornwall's
> Crealy Park

> These were excluded because they don't focus on
> rides. I would say these are more 'ride' parks
> than Blackgang or Sundown. Robin Hill has a
> pirate ship and some kiddie rides, plus the
> Toboggan.

Yes, I think Robin Hill is more of a normal theme park than Blackgang Chine. When I visited it in 1983, it was a country park, but recent additions such as the pirate ship and the simulator have been marketed just like any theme park attractions. However, by that token, Blackgang could be considered just as much a theme park based on its most recent additions. Even though they are exceptions, they could arguably represent the way the park's going just as much as Robin Hill's do.

> The only thing I would change is rather than
> "not at the seaside" is to describe a
> true theme park as being "non-urban"
> (at least in the UK). So Pleasureland couldn't be
> a theme park, despite an attempt at theming,
> because it is within the urban area of Southport.
> Pleasurewood Hills is not actually within the
> built-up area of Lowestoft or Corton (but it is
> extremely close!), so is a theme park.

Yes, I agree. I think urban and non-urban is the perfect way to distinguish them.

Here's a thought - could we have a park that was out in the countryside, had a car park, had Pay-One-Price, yet still be considered an amusement park?

> Here's a thought - could we have a park that was
> out in the countryside, had a car park, had
> Pay-One-Price, yet still be considered an
> amusement park?

We have. M+D's in Scotland. It's in Strathclyde Country Park, has a car park and wristband entry, but is most definitely an amusement park.

> We have. M+D's in Scotland. It's in Strathclyde
> Country Park, has a car park and wristband entry,
> but is most definitely an amusement park.

One I thought felt very like an amusement park was Flamingo Land. It was the first time I felt I was in an "American-style" amusement park. Of course, it's different now, but at the time there was very little styling or theming.

> To wrap things up, a “theme park” must therefore
> conform to the following characteristics:
> - a relatively large scale attraction capable of hosting
> day visitors
> - primarily of an outdoor nature, located away from seaside
> resorts
> - permanently established
> - focused on providing entertainment through amusement
> rides
> - attempt to present themed environments
> - make one admission charge which includes access to most
> of the rides and facilities

My definition for a theme park would be an amusement park with a single constant theme or various themed lands, and there must be lots of fibreglass everywhere. Single themed attractions or a little themed area in one corner of the park don't count as theme park attractions.

It's not as well presenteed and thought out as yours. ;) But I would say it's more accurate. Who would call Lightwater valley a theme park for example? You basically only ruled out those seaside piers you have in England and kept all the other traditional parks listed.

According to my definition, these would be theme parks in Europe:
Lego Land, Euro Disney, Bonbon-Land, Europa Park, Port Aventura, Six Flags Holland, and so on.

But I guess the word theme park has quite a different meaning over there in UK than it does in Finland.

> Who would call
> Lightwater valley a theme park for example? You basically
> only ruled out those seaside piers you have in England and
> kept all the other traditional parks listed.

I must disagree. Winged Beast doesn't include the traditional parks in the list. As well as piers, we have countless seaside amusement parks, such as various Pleasure Beaches (Blackpool, Great Yarmouth, Skegness), Pleasureland and many, many other more minor ones. All of our traditional parks are at the seaside, not just as piers though.

We only started getting inland parks in the 1980s, and we call every one of them "theme parks".

As for Lightwater Valley, it's a lot more like a theme park than most. It's certainly more like a theme park than Flamingo Land. It's very large, it's green, it has lots of trees, a car park and an entry fee. Many of the rides are decorated or styled.

> But I guess the word theme park has quite a different
> meaning over there in UK than it does in Finland.

Yes. Of course, the word "theme" means the same, but we've taken "theme park" to mean anywhere with rides, basically! Perhaps it's just because they're the main things we noticed from the true American theme parks.

> We only started getting inland parks in the 1980s, and we
> call every one of them "theme parks".

This is complicated by the fact that we also have some inland amusmeent parks that are definitely not theme parks. Such as Riverside Amusement Park (Stourport-on-Severn), Billing Aquadrome (Northampton), Shipley Glen Pleasure Grounds (Saltaire), etc. These are really inland seaside parks, if you see what I mean...

Nick

> This is complicated by the fact that we also have some
> inland amusement parks that are definitely not theme parks.
> Such as Riverside Amusement Park (Stourport-on-Severn),
> Billing Aquadrome (Northampton), Shipley Glen Pleasure
> Grounds (Saltaire), etc. These are really inland seaside
> parks, if you see what I mean...

Yes, I agree, although I've never been to any of those. We just never got any of the really big inland amusement parks such as Knoebels and Kennywood. I suppose it's because we never built any at the ends of tramways. In fact, I believe Shipley Glen is at the end of a tramway! (But it's not a big park.)

I suppose one big, inland amusement park we had was Belle Vue.

Most of what we think of as our theme parks, though, started in the 1980s as either brand new parks, or places like farms (Oakwood) and pig farms (Lightwater Valley) adding rides. But, broadly speaking, they are all based on the "Disneyland" idea. Sort of!

The other side of the coin is that many seaside parks are now marketing themselves as theme parks! I've heard Adventure Island, Southend, referred to as a theme park in both Eastenders and that streaming video linked the other day (Top 10 Theme Parks). They do theme the rides and market themselves as a theme park, and they've succeeded, as I think most people would refer to it as that now.

I think some others are trying to market themselves as theme parks now, as they know it implies certain things to the British public.

> As for Lightwater Valley, it's a lot more like a
> theme park than most. It's certainly more like a
> theme park than Flamingo Land. It's very large,
> it's green, it has lots of trees, a car park and
> an entry fee. Many of the rides are decorated or
> styled.

When I was there in 2001, the park looked very plain, undecorated and boring. Nothing even resembling Disney Land or any theme parks there, even though some rides had some light themeing. Just like even those travelling Enterprises have (space themed facades, vechicles and such). I don't think single decorated rides count as theme park attractions, as they've really been built before anyone even knew about theme parks. If BPB has one heavily themed viking ride, it still doesn't make it a theme park in my eyes.

Bakken is about the closest you can get to a classic amusement park. They've been running amusement rides for who knows - maybe over 100 years already. The park doesn't attempt to provide any kind of theme lands or specially themed rides. Yet still Bakken also has lots of greens, fountains, decoration and their own car parks...

Theme park on the other hand is something where themeing is heavily presented troughout the park, it could appear as several different lands or just almost every ride in the park would be decorated to suit the overall atmosphere of the park (take wild west for example).

Yeah, I know the topic is still about UK... But it just doesn't sound right to me that you call almost everything a theme park over there. ;)

> I don't
> think single decorated rides count as theme park
> attractions, as they've really been built before anyone
> even knew about theme parks. If BPB has one heavily themed
> viking ride, it still doesn't make it a theme park in my
> eyes.

I agree; BPB is not a theme park, but my personal list does leave out an awful lot of parks: certainly all the seaside parks and piers. That's a huge percentage of the UK parks that we don't class as theme parks. For reference, I don't class these as theme parks:

Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
Pleasure Beach, Great Yarmouth
Pleasure Beach, Skegness
Pleasureland, Southport
Fantasy Island, Ingoldmells
Dreamland, Margate
Adventure Island, Southend
Funland, Hayling Island

Plus all the piers and very minor seaside amusement parks.

> Bakken is about the closest you can get to a classic
> amusement park. They've been running amusement rides for
> who knows - maybe over 100 years already. The park doesn't
> attempt to provide any kind of theme lands or specially
> themed rides. Yet still Bakken also has lots of greens,
> fountains, decoration and their own car parks...

Good point, but isn't Bakken a city park? We just don't have any of those left in the UK. This is why I say all our theme parks are "based on Disneyland". Of course, they aren't, but we lost all of our traditional parks apart from the seaside parks. Any modern parks that are considered theme parks popped up new in the 1980s, and are all based on the American model of a theme park. They have no tradition of their own.

If we still had Battersea or Belle Vue, I would consider them traditional amusement parks, not theme parks, but we just don't have anything like that left (apart from at the seaside).

I think, as said earlier in this thread, anything in the UK that is "rural" is considered a theme park. Lightwater Valley is out in the countryside, so it just seems like a theme park to me.

Don't get me wrong though, I wish we had better "true" theme parks in the UK like Efteling! :)

but we lost all of our traditional parks apart
> from the seaside parks. Any modern parks that are
> considered theme parks popped up new in the 1980s, and are
> all based on the American model of a theme park. They have
> no tradition of their own.

Oakwood isn't a theme park either- it's very much, in my eyes, a traditional amusement park.

> If we still had Battersea or Belle Vue, I would consider
> them traditional amusement parks, not theme parks, but we
> just don't have anything like that left (apart from at the
> seaside).

Oakwood!

> I think, as said earlier in this thread, anything in the UK
> that is "rural" is considered a theme park.

Apart from Oakwood.

> Don't get me wrong though, I wish we had better
> "true" theme parks in the UK like Efteling! :)

For me, the only true Theme Parks in the UK are Legoland, Thorpe Park, Camelot and Chessington.
Alton Towers are more like Pleasure Grounds.
The rest are all either pleasure grounds or amusement parks.
I have very strict personal rules about what constitutes a theme... whatever happened to themed costume characters, themed restaurants and shows?

>> If we still had Battersea or Belle Vue, I would consider
>> them traditional amusement parks, not theme parks, but we
>> just don't have anything like that left (apart from at the
>> seaside).

> Oakwood!

But that only started getting rides in the 1980s - its first coaster 1989. It was previously a farm, with no ride or entertainment history. It may be largely unthemed, but as it came after the new wave of theme parks (and is largely influenced by them), I can't consider it to have the tradition a traditional amusement park needs. It doesn't come from that era.

My point is the first wave of UK theme parks happened in the 1980s. The first ones, like Pleasurewood Hills (1983), really were built from the word go to be scaled-down versions of the American ones, with shows, characters, lands etc. Parks like Alton and Chessington also began adding rides. Since these two had previously been a historic house/gardens and zoo respectively, they weren't brand new theme parks, but it was theme parks they aspired to.

Our unthemed, rural theme parks like Oakwood and Lightwater Valley were completely influenced the 1980s theme park movement, not traditional parks like BPB, Belle Vue or Battersea. They were created to enjoy the success of this new theme park culture, all copying the car park, entry fee, queue system etc of Alton Towers, Pleasurewood & co.

> For me, the only true Theme Parks in the UK are Legoland,
> Thorpe Park, Camelot and Chessington.

Interestingly, when we do get something extremely well-themed, it tends to be called a Fantasy Park! Eg. Blackgang Chine.

> I have very strict personal rules about what constitutes a
> theme... whatever happened to themed costume characters,
> themed restaurants and shows?

Perhaps British society just isn't keen on all that? I never watch shows and was never particularly interested in costumed characters as a child (Woody Bear is by far the best though!) This is why I say although our theme parks may not have everything the US ones do, perhaps we just see rides as the main thing, and therefore that's the only criterion we need to think of something as a theme park?