UK Theme Parks, Thorpe Park

By Jerome Carter

Thorpe Park's Colossus, until recently, held the record for being the world's first roller coaster to feature 10 inversions - a Vertical Loop, Cobra Roll (with 2 inversions), 2 Corkscrews and 5 Inline Twists. A clone of Colossus was constructed at a park in China in 2006.

At the moment, Stealth is Europe's tallest and fastest launched roller coaster. It is Thorpe Parks newest roller coaster and opened in 2006. An accelerator coaster which features a hydraulic 80 mph (128 km/h) launch up a 205 ft top hat incline with approximately 3gs. Upon the upgrade to Stealth 1.1, it now launches to 80mph in 1.9 seconds compared with the previous 80mph in 2.5 seconds.

Another record held by Thorpe Park is for Loggers Leap which is the tallest log flume in the UK. It lost this record for a while, but regained this record after its rival was removed from service.

The world's only backwards in the dark roller coaster is X:/No Way Out. It opened in 1996 and was the first "Thrill Seeker" ride to be installed at Thorpe Park.

Like any good theme park, Thorpe Park is split up into eight distinctly themed areas. 1. Port Atlantis - a marine theme; 2. Lost City - Mayan Temple theme; 3. Calypso Quay - a calypso theme; 4. Canada Creek - themed around a Canadian Creek; 5. Amity Cove - a 1950s New-Hampshire fishing village theme; 6. Ranger County - themed around the "Thorpe Park Rangers" mascots; 7. Neptune's Kingdom - the mythical Neptune theme; 8. Octopus's Garden - small aquatic theme.

Because Thorpe Park was built on the site of a gravel pit, it was partially flooded to make a water theme park, hence the many water and marine-based themes. The Octopus's Garden area is home of the small rides for the very young children.

Obviously, not everybody wants to experience extreme thrill rides and this is where Thorpe Park comes into its own. The park offers many rides that are for people who prefer to laugh rather than to scream on a ride. These are rides which the whole family can enjoy, but bear in mind, some of them require a minimum height. If you are concerned about the height of your child and not being able to go on the rides, there is a one-time height check available at the Gueset Services.

Eating and drinking is no problem at Thorpe Park. There are loads of places where you can enjoy meals and drinks that are suitable for all ages and tastes. There is an outdoor barbecue which serves char-grilled ribs, burgers, salads and jacket potatoes. There are hot dogs and nachos. Fresh hot donuts, ice cream, hot and cold drinks. Fish and chips. Juices. Mexican. And these are just a few of the many dishes available.

There are numerous facilities at Thorpe Park which will make the family outing even more pleasurable. There is a hire a Buggy facility for young children who are getting too tired to walk any more, there is a wheelchair hire facility for people wishing to borrow a wheelchair. There are also Shopping facilities where you can buy gifts.

Thorpe Park is one of my family's favorites as it doesn't involve too much travelling. For more information on the pricing and opening times check out Thorpe Park [http://www.thorpepark.co.uk].

http://www.uk-theme-parks.com provides information on everything related to UK Theme Parks. If you stop by our site you will get some education on some of the best theme parks in the UK. Be sure to check out our page on UK Theme Parks - Thorpe Park.

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