Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park

Location	Chertsey and Staines, Surrey, England
Coordinates	51°24′17″N 0°30′47″W / 51.40472°N 0.51306°W / 51.40472; -0.51306
Status	Operating
Opened	24 May 1979; 45 years ago (1979-05-24)
Owner	LXi REIT[1]
Operated by	Merlin Entertainments
General manager	Neil Poulter (Divisional Director)
Slogan	The Home Of Feel-Good Thrills
Operating season	Theme Park March - November Thorpe Shark Cabins March - November / December (Private Events) Thorpe Park Marquee March - November / December (Private Events)
Attendance	2023: 1,500,000 (23%)
Area	410 acres (1.7 km2; 170 ha) *Total combined area including Lakes and all back of house areas
Attractions
Total	27
Roller coasters	8
Water rides	4
Website	www.thorpepark.com

Thorpe Park, formerly also known as Thorpe Park Resort, is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertainments and includes rides, themed cabins, live events and Hyperia, the United Kingdom's tallest and fastest rollercoaster. In 2019, Thorpe Park was the UK's third most visited theme park (1.9 million visitors), behind Alton Towers and Legoland Windsor.^[2] However, in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the park only had a 125-day operation season, along with limited capacity, leading to massively reduced visitor numbers.

After demolition of the Thorpe Park Estate in the 1930s, the site became a gravel pit, but in the early 1970s part of that gravel pit was flooded, creating a unique water-based environment for the park, with the intention of building a leisure attraction on it. Thorpe Park resort was built on that site in 1979, and being partially flooded it allowed visitors to view Thorpe Park as an island. It has since grown into a major theme park in the UK and one of the top 10 theme parks in Europe. Major attractions include Tidal Wave, a large water ride; Ghost Train, a dark ride; as well as a number of rollercoasters including Colossus, Nemesis Inferno, Stealth, Saw – The Ride, The Swarm, The Walking Dead: The Ride, and Hyperia.