Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, west-southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertainments and features rides, themed cabins, live events, and Hyperia, the United Kingdom's tallest and fastest rollercoaster at over 236 feet and 129 km/h. The ride also includes Europe's tallest element and the world's first outer-banked airtime hill. In 2019, Thorpe Park was the United Kingdom's third most visited theme park, behind Alton Towers and Legoland Windsor.
After the demolition of the Thorpe Park Estate in the 1930s, the site was used as a gravel pit. In the early 1970s, part of the pit was flooded, creating a distinctive water-based environment intended to support the development of a leisure attraction. Thorpe Park Resort was subsequently constructed on the site in 1979, and its partially flooded setting led to the park being perceived as an island. It has since expanded into a major theme park in the United Kingdom. Major attractions include Ghost Train, a dark ride; Tidal Wave, a large water ride; Vortex, a KMG Afterburner; as well as a number of roller coasters including Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, Saw – The Ride, Stealth, The Swarm, and The Walking Dead: The Ride.

History

Gravel pit and water sports resort

The demolition of the Thorpe Park Estate in the 1930s resulted in the grounds being converted into a gravel pit, originally owned by Ready Mixed Concrete Limited. RMC extracted gravel from the site for thirty years, from 1941 until 1970, at which point the company began planning to transform the area into a leisure-based visitor attraction. Early concepts proposed theming the development around the "History of the British People as a Maritime Nation", which was to be achieved by flooding the exhausted gravel pits.
In 1975, the Water Ski World Championships were held on the lake. RMC subsequently established a subsidiary, Leisure Sport Limited, to operate the park for water sports, leisure activities, and heritage exhibitions, at a cost of £3 million.
The park was formally opened to the public by Lord Louis Mountbatten on 24 May 1979, in what would be his final public appearance before he was assassinated later that year by a bomb planted by the Provisional IRA on a fishing boat in Mullaghmore, Ireland. In addition to its lakes and parkland, the site featured a replica Stone Age cave, a Celtic farm, a Norman castle, and a Viking camp, as well as exhibits of historic watercraft and aircraft.

Operation as a theme park

In the early 1980s, the park was redeveloped into a theme park with permanent themed rides and attractions. New attractions were introduced throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Space Station Zero was the park's first roller coaster, opening in 1984. The last major attraction opened by the park's original owners was X:\ No Way Out in 1996. Both attractions continue to operate, now known as Flying Fish and The Walking Dead: The Ride respectively.
Between 1983 and 1989, the park was also used as a filming location for The Benny Hill Show.
In 1998, The Tussauds Group purchased the park. This period saw considerable investment, with major attractions opening such as Tidal Wave in 2000, Vortex in 2001, Colossus in 2002, Nemesis Inferno in 2003, and Stealth in 2006.
In May 2007, the Blackstone Group purchased The Tussauds Group for US$1.9 billion, and the company was merged into Merlin Entertainments, who took over operation of Thorpe Park. Dubai International Capital also acquired a 20% stake in Merlin Entertainments.
On 17 July 2007, as part of the financing for the Tussauds acquisition, Merlin sold Thorpe Park to the private investment firm Prestbury under a sale-and-leaseback agreement. The site is operated by Merlin under a renewable 35-year lease. As of 2023, the site is owned by LXi REIT plc.
The resort's target audience is primarily teenagers and young adults, with rides such as Saw – The Ride and The Swarm being introduced. In 2014, Merlin also sought to broaden the park's appeal to families with additions including Angry Birds Land and the park's onsite hotel.
On 20 February 2019, Thorpe Park's official Twitter account confirmed the permanent closure of Logger's Leap, a log flume that opened in 1989 but had remained closed since 2015 following the Smiler accident at Alton Towers that year.
In 2021, Thorpe Park announced plans for a new rollercoaster in the Old Town area of the park under the working title "Project Exodus". During the 2023 Fright Nights event, the ride was officially revealed as Hyperia, planned to become the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the United Kingdom, reaching 236 feet in height and speeds of up to 81 mph.

2024 revamp

In preparation for the opening of Hyperia, Merlin announced major new investment in the older areas of the park to bring them up to standard ahead of the record-breaking new rollercoaster. This began on 30 October 2023, when Thorpe Park announced that Angry Birds Land would be permanently closing. The park closed for the 2023 season on Tuesday 31 October following the conclusion of that year's Fright Nights event. Over the closed season, the Sparkle Project began, which comprised a large refurbishment of many areas of the park. This included the refitting of several shops, repainting works for Colossus and Stealth, the installation of a new footbridge over Tidal Wave, and various other improvements. On 16 November 2023, the park revealed that Angry Birds Land would be rethemed as Big Easy Boulevard, and on 30 November 2023 Thorpe Park unveiled revitalised branding, including a new logo and slogan. This rebrand marked the retirement of the park's long-used "infinity" symbol and its light-hearted An Island Like No Other tagline, instead positioning the park as The Home Of Feel-Good Thrills. The new logo is accompanied by six colour palettes and patterns for marketing materials and merchandise, which the park stated "encapsulate the spirit of Thorpe Park".
The park re-opened for the 2024 season on 24 March, with Big Easy Boulevard opening and construction on Hyperia completed. On 27 March 2024, Thorpe Park announced the opening date for Hyperia as 24 May 2024. The rollercoaster began testing on 16 April and cycled almost daily until its press event on 23 May, when the first public riders were allowed on.
Hyperia, the United Kingdom's tallest and fastest roller coaster, opened to the public on the planned date. However, on the morning of 25 May 2024, the park announced on social media that Hyperia would be closed until 29 May due to "unforeseen circumstances". The re-opening was subsequently delayed until 8 June via another social media update. A further delay pushed the reopening to 12 June, when the ride successfully resumed operations. The coaster would valley twice during the 2024 season, on 19 June and 2 October, but otherwise operated reliably thereafter.
In 2025, the ride experienced significant downtime due to an issue with one of the drive tyres before the lift hill, and subsequently valleyed again on 2 April. This incident occurred under different conditions to previous cases, as the train valleyed during a delay while operating as a test car, unlike the earlier occurrences during morning testing.

Rides and attractions

Roller coasters

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Territory	Manufacturer	Additional information
Hyperia		Hypercoaster	2024	Fearless Valley	Mack Rides	A Mack Rides Hypercoaster themed around Hyperia, the "Golden Goddess," who is depicted as being trapped on an island due to her fear of water. Inspired by the birds flying above, she fashioned wings of unbreakable golden steel to soar above the waters and overcome her fear, hence the slogan "find her fearless." It is currently the tallest, fastest, and most weightless roller coaster in the United Kingdom, reaching a maximum height of 236 ft and speeds exceeding 81 mph. The minimum height requirement is.
The Swarm		Wing Coaster	2012	Swarm Island	Bolliger & Mabillard	The United Kingdom's first winged coaster, opened in 2012. It was the first winged coaster to feature an inverted "wing-over drop". Between 2013 and 2016, the rear two rows were modified to face backwards. The ride is themed around a post-apocalyptic universe in which Thorpe Park is under attack by aliens. The Swarm is the only attraction on Swarm Island. The minimum height requirement is, and the maximum height limit is.
Saw – The Ride		Euro-Fighter	2009	Old Town	Gerstlauer	A custom Euro-Fighter featuring a beyond-vertical drop of 100 degrees and drop. It is themed to the Saw film franchise and was marketed as the world's first horror-film-themed roller coaster. The minimum height requirement is.
Stealth		Accelerator Coaster	2006	Amity Speedway	Intamin	An Intamin hydraulic launch Accelerator Coaster standing tall and capable of accelerating from in 1.8 seconds. It is the third-tallest roller coaster in the United Kingdom and the second-fastest, having been surpassed by Hyperia. It is often regarded as having the fastest acceleration of any roller coaster in the world. Stealth was previously recognised as the park's flagship attraction prior to the opening of Hyperia. The ride features a loose 1950s-style drag-racing theme. The minimum height requirement is, and the maximum height limit is.
Nemesis Inferno		Inverted roller coaster	2003	The Jungle	Bolliger & Mabillard	A B&M inverted roller coaster that opened in 2003, named after Nemesis at its sister park, Alton Towers. The ride has a loose volcano theme and features the first interlocking corkscrews on an inverted coaster. The minimum height requirement is. It was filmed for The Inbetweeners episode "Thorpe Park".
Colossus		Multi Inversion Coaster	2002	Lost City	Intamin	Opened in 2002, the ride achieved the world record for the most inversions on a roller coaster, featuring ten inversions. This record was surpassed in 2013 by The Smiler at its sister park, Alton Towers, which includes fourteen inversions in 2013. Marketed as "the world's first ten-looping roller coaster", it is loosely themed around traversing the ruins of a lost Atlantean civilisation. The minimum height requirement is, and the maximum height limit is.
The Walking Dead: The Ride		Sit-down roller coaster	1996	The Dock Yard	Vekoma	Situated at the centre of the park within a pyramid-shaped structure, the attraction is based on The Walking Dead franchise. On peak days, the ride's exit features live actors. It was previously known as X, which had a rave and dance-music theme, and originally as X:\ No Way Out, which featured a computer-virus theme. The minimum height requirement is.
Flying Fish		Powered roller coaster	1984	Amity Cove	Mack Rides	A powered roller coaster. It originally opened in 1984 as an indoor attraction named Space Station Zero. The ride was moved outdoors in 1990, to the site now occupied by Stealth. It reopened in its current location next to Amity Beach in 2007. The minimum height requirement is.