2021 is so very nearly over and whilst there's been a lot of awful things happen this year (we don't mention the months January - March ok), for me and the rest of the UK theme park community there has also been so much to celebrate! Rather than do a complete run-down of everything I loved this year which would take approximately 30 hours to read, I thought I'd keep things simple with a quick highlights reel. So, without further ado... my 2021 Top Five Theme Park Experiences:
5. Howl-o-Ween at Chessington World of Adventures
Back in 2020, I made my first visit to Chessington's Howl-O-Ween event and from what I can remember it pretty much consisted of some actors in queue lines (we waited the best part of an hour for Rattlesnake but had an absolute blast due to these legends), Creepy Caves Resurgence and night-rides. Whilst we had a fantastic day, it felt as though we could have experienced the event in a few hours and been satisfied. With that in mind, we planned a half-day at Chessington to experience the 2021 event. What a mistake! Chessington truly pulled out the stops for Halloween this year, with the park overflowing with entertainment (I genuinely can't think of a land that didn't have either a show or roaming characters... land of the dragons maybe??), the return of Creepy Caves and best of all scarezones. On paper it seems truly mad for a park with Chessy's demographic to be running scarezones, but the actors were very good at choosing their marks and I never saw the hysterical children I expected. The absolute best of these was Vile Villagers which was almost like getting a free run-through of Platform 15. We visited on a Monday afternoon and were able to enjoy a private run and with just three grown adults to prey on the actors may have cranked things up because holy crap, I would have been quite happy had that been a paid maze. I found myself screaming, running, looking for my friends and most of all having the best time. I can't believe this was included with admission, and you could just go through as often as you want? Please bring this back next year Chessington!
4. The Fantasy Island Pyramid
I just cannot believe this place exists. Had you told me years ago that up in the deepest darkest North East there was an enormous pyramid full of theming, music and rides I would have... okay let's be honest I'd have reacted the exact way I did this year and booked a trip immediately (then watched every vlog I could possibly find).
Despite the preparation, nothing could prepare me for Fantasy Island itself. A definite contender for weirdest park I've visited, Fantasy Island contains not just an enormous pyramid but also the world's tallest SLC, a gloriously smooth Vekoma sit-down as well as Europe's largest seven-day market. As in, an actual market. Being hawked 3 towels for £5 whilst walking between rides was certainly a new experience for me.
Despite all the weirdness, this pyramid ranks pretty high in my favourite 'lands'(?) in this country. The background music is magnificent and combined with the lighting, really does make the entire place feel magical. The layout is a bit confusing but that just adds to the sense of discovery! The rides found inside are a bit special too. The Magical Seaquarium is genuinely up there with my favourite dark rides, it's just full of puns and jaunty music and has changed the way I say 'goodbye' forever. The entrance and queue for Millennium - one of the smoothest coasters I've ever ridden - are here too. Then there's Mystical Dragon Mountain, a dinghy slide, but a dinghy slide with an amazing queue up a 'mountain' and across rope bridges. Plus so much more (and two more coming soon!)
With the UK weather the way it is, I wish more parks would follow Fantasy Island's lead and create whole areas of their parks indoors - god knows we need them!
3. Lego Mythica
This year Legoland leapt up my UK park rankings for one huge reason - Lego Mythica. To say there was hype surrounding this land opening would be an understatement. 'Legoland's biggest ever investment!' 'The UK's first flying theatre!' There were a lot of reasons to be very, very excited. I just can't believe the land lived up to them. I managed to grab a ticket for the VIP event on the morning of opening day and had the absolute pleasure of wandering around a brand new very quiet Mythica and I honestly nearly cried. The land is small, but it's almost perfectly rounded in a way that we don't get very often here in the UK. Three rides, two (themed!!!!) food outlets, a character meet, a play area and a themed Lego building opportunity all held together with gorgeous theming around the land (look at the floor!) and some of the best theme park music I've heard. Then there are the attractions themselves. What can I say about Flight of the Sky Lion? As someone who didn't enjoy Soarin' much, I was probably less excited about this than most other fans but holy crap it blew all my expectations out of the water. Sure, the queue line is rough and the ceiling inside the theatre is too obvious but the smells and the story more than make up for it. I genuinely can't believe we have this in the UK! The other two attractions in the land are massively fun too and ensure that there's something for everyone in this fantastical place.
2. Tornado Springs
It's mad to me that Tornado Springs hasn't been here forever. It already feels like such an essential part of the UK theme park landscape. In my opinion the best themed land in the country, Tornado Springs is absolutely packed with rides, theming, themed food, landscaping and beautiful music. With Storm Chaser and especially Cyclonator, Paultons has added some fantastic thrills widening the appeal of this brilliant park far beyond families with small children. Storm Chaser is a lot of fun and whilst it looks like a tame family coaster, that ground-level helix is intense! My only criticism of the ride is that for a spinner, I've not really felt too much spin. I keep hoping that I'll get one of the mythical spinny rides, but after 15 rides I've still not had any luck! The Route 33 diner has become one of my theme park mainstays, with a very strong Moving Mountains burger served with very good Tornado (curly) fries. Sure, it's theme park food but it's theme park food done very well.
Tornado Springs is one of those places that I step foot in and immediately forget about everything bad in the world, it's escapism at it's finest and I bloody love it.
Also, the soundtrack is on Spotify and it slaps.
1. Zadra
Of all the amazing experiences I've had this year, none come close to this. I didn't even know that rollercoasters could feel this way. Pure, relentless, unrestrained madness. Just element after mind-blowing element and yet never too much. That's the craziest part. Zadra looks intimidating. It's fast, tall and absolutely packed with inversions, but never did the ride progress from 'this is so much fun' to 'wow ok that's intense'. It's just infinitely re-ridable - especially if you're lucky enough for the side gate to be open! Our front-row night-ride on this masterpiece stands as the single greatest experience I've ever had on a ride, and our back-row ride is right there behind it.
That trip to Energylandia changed my life. I know that sounds hyperbolic, but hear me out. Before stepping foot in the park, I considered myself a theme park enthusiast - just a theme park enthusiast. I've always loved rollercoasters and spent hours as a teen browsing Coasterforce, playing Rollercoaster Tycoon and planning fantasy road trips. But despite the fascination they've always scared the hell out of me. Over the years I've overcome my fear and made my way through the UK coaster line-up (except you PMBO, I'll be seeing you next season) and whilst Stealth was a huge milestone for me, I remained nervous about the thought of a proper big drop (Stealth's launch scrambles my brain so much that I never really process the drop). Riding both Hyperion and Zadra changed everything. Those drops are nuts, and holy cow I loved them with every fibre of my body. After those my fear at the idea of riding things like Fury 325 or I305 has melted away and been replaced by pure excitement. Roll on 2022 - it's time to go full coaster enthusiast!
Honourable Mentions
Oziris.
Very briefly my number one coaster, what an absolute beauty this thing is. I visited on a sold-out summer day and thus only got to ride once, but thankfully got placed back-row and I just laughed all the way round. Glorious.
Thorpe Park Fright Nights.
This year marked my first visit to this legendary event - and what a year to start! Between The Crows, Trailers and some amazing night-rides I had the absolute best time.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
I finally visited BPP for the first time and immediately fell in love with Icon (now my #1 UK coaster), Wallace and Gromit, River Caves, Avalanche, Revolution... I just bloody loved this park and can't wait to go back when PMBO is operating!
Finally, if you're reading this there's a good chance that you're someone within the theme park community that I interact with regularly online. If so, thank you so much for making this year as much fun as it has been. I hope you have a fantastic new year.
Speak soon,
Claire
x
Comments