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Rank the Merlin theme parks

Matt N

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Hi guys. I know I’ve created a lot of ranking threads over the years I’ve been here, but I thought it might be interesting to rank the theme parks operated by a theme park operator very close to this site; Merlin Entertainments! Merlin operate numerous different parks across the world (even if a large percentage of those are Legolands), but I thought it might be interesting to discuss how we’d go about ranking Merlin’s theme parks. I can already sense which one will top most lists, given the focus of the site, but I’m interested to see the order of what comes below, or if anyone here does have a different Merlin park as their favourite!

I’ll get the ball rolling with my personal ranking of all the Merlin parks I’ve visited (only the 4 British ones):
  1. Alton Towers - The park that started it all for me, and it just had to be on top of my list! The ride selection is one I’m a huge fan of; Wicker Man is one of my all-time favourite coasters, and the rest of the selection is great too, and even in terms of non-coasters, the park has quite a bit to offer; rides like Hex, Duel and Congo River Rapids also add some variety and round the selection out. Regardless of age, Alton Towers truly offers something for everyone! I think the park also has some great theming in places, and I think the forest setting and Victorian ruins really add something to the whole experience! Overall, I think the park has a huge amount to offer!
  2. Thorpe Park - For all the flack that Thorpe Park often gets, I have a huge soft spot for it; it grows on me every time I visit! The park has a lot going for it from my perspective, because the coaster selection is great, and they also have quite a few filler thrill rides too; the flat ride selection is pretty good and varied, and they also have 3 water rides as well! I’ve also got to say that I do think Thorpe Park, although possibly lacking some of Alton’s grandiose, still has a nice vibe, in my opinion, with some very nice theming and landscaping; even though the park doesn’t really go down the areas route, the ride theming is fantastic on some of their rides, and I’d actually argue that it might be stronger than that of Alton Towers’ (Wicker Man aside); Saw and The Swarm in particular are fantastically themed, in my opinion, and rides like Colossus and Nemesis Inferno also have really nice landscaping! However, I think the park does lack the grandiose and quantity that Towers does, and I’d perhaps argue that Towers possibly has a more well-rounded lineup of rides. I do definitely have a soft spot for Thorpe, and I think it’s an absolutely fantastic park, seemingly in contrast to the status quo!
  3. Chessington World of Adventures - Now I haven’t visited Chessington since 2014 (I’m hoping to revisit in the not too distant future, so I can gain a new perspective), but from memory, while the park was nice for a park aimed at young children, it didn’t really live up to the hype for me. Don’t get me wrong, I think Chessington was quite nice for what it was, but it didn’t really blow me away. Even for family attractions, nothing there really hugely stands out in my mind as something I really enjoyed. The park has some great family rides; Dragon’s Fury was pretty good, from memory, and ZUFARI was a nice safari ride, but Vampire really disappointed me, from memory. The theming was, I’ve got to say, pretty good, and the park had clearly defined themed areas, and the zoo was quite nice too, but again, it didn’t really stand out to me from a visual standpoint either. It might simply be that there wasn’t much there for my age range and personal taste in rides (and to be fair, I don’t think the park even tries to cater to thrill seekers; I’m not sure my review of Chessington can be entirely fair, as the park is very much centred towards young children), it might be because I went 6 years ago and my memories of it are getting a little hazier, but while it was perfectly nice for a park aimed at young children, Chessington didn’t really live up to the hype for me. Maybe revisiting it and viewing it through an older pair of eyes might make me view it more favourably?
  4. Legoland Windsor - Now again, Legoland is not a park aimed at my demographic, so my review might not be entirely fair. Also, circumstances on the day of my visit in 2017 (namely the combination of huge crowds and my mum in a wheelchair with a broken ankle) will probably have discoloured my view of Legoland somewhat. I must admit that I did not have the most pleasurable of experiences at Legoland, however; while the park seemed like a really nice park for young children, with nice landscaping, a lovely location, and a good selection of family rides, I struggled to enjoy myself somewhat because the crowds made me very anxious (being autistic, I’m someone who gets quite anxious in huge crowds), and combined with wheeling our mum around the park proving easier said than done, my time at the park was quite stressful. I’ve got to admit, the park itself was very nice, with good theming, a nice selection of family rides (Dragon, which was the only ride I went on, was a real pleasant surprise, I must admit!) and lots of brilliant LEGO (Miniland was huge, with quite a few impressive models). However, while I’ve been to busy theme parks before, it’s the only time I’ve ever been to a park that’s literally overwhelmed me with how busy it was; it seemed like it was at bursting point. I’m revisiting the park in October, so hopefully I can gain a fresh perspective and be able to give a better review of the park.
But how would you personally rank Merlin’s theme parks, of the ones you’ve been to?
 
I've done all the RTPs and one Legoland (Windsor), and from an operational standpoint I would say:
  1. Gardaland
  2. Alton Towers
  3. Heide Park
  4. Thorpe Park
  5. Legoland Windsor
  6. Chessington
Though to be honest, the bottom 3 could change around from visit to visit.
 
1 - Towers
2 - Chessington
3 - Thorpe Park

Only because I've only visited Chessington once and had a good day.
Been to Thorpe a few times now but the 1st time was a miserable day with an empty park yet slow moving queues all with just the one train going round.
 
1. Gardaland (got a good selection of water rides, coasters, entertainment and dark rides)
2. Alton Towers (has a level of 'magic' that the other UK Merlin parks lack, although the park does need some more supporting attractions)
3. Legoland Windsor (there's a fair amount of attractions to do and it's somewhere where the entire family can do most attractions, especially with the amount of dark rides)
4. Thorpe Park (certainly some decent coasters but some of the park does feel a bit too depressing at times)
5. Chessington World of Adventures (for some reason, I've always found the park just ok, with just a few standout attractions)
 
1. Alton Towers, their flagship park, a masterpiece with something for everyone
2. Legoland Windsor, brilliant for its age group, just needs to open up to older children a bit
3. Thorpe Park, nice rides but a reputation for poor reliability and poor guest satisfaction and safety.
4. Chessington, down the pan, how is it still going?!
 
I've only done the UK ones

1. Alton Towers (Always a beautiful and magical place, even if Merlin is trying to drain the fun from it)
2. Chessington (It's not always about the rides, thanks to John Wardly, the themeing is what a theme park should be all about, just a shame that money pinching Merlin has gotten their hands on it)
3. Legoland (Again it's not always about the rides, it's about the Lego)
4. Thorpe Park (I've never been a fan of Thorpe (even back in the 80's), it's the only park that I feel that I've had enough by lunch time, it draws the wrong type of crowds, I find the rides make me sick and are not re-ride-able. Just don't like the atmosphere, quiet loud, feels more like an amusement park as appose to a theme park. I feel Alton has everything that Thorpe has, plus much more and all in a nicer setting.
 
Slightly different selection visited from me to others, but a fairly predictable order.

1. Alton Towers
2. Thorpe Park
3. Chessington
4. Legoland Billund
5. Legoland Windsor

Billund a much nicer park than Windsor for me. Less crowded, a fresher feeling Miniland and some genuinely good rides including a Roboarm (that you programme yourself so it can be crazy intense) and a freefall drop track ride that gives Th13teen a run for its money.
 
1) Alton Towers the only park I been to at least once since my 1st visit in 1993. The rides are excellent and it’s less than 90 mins away from me.
2) Thorpe Park the other 3 were hard to put in order but I put Thorpe next as it’s king of the flat rides. I not been since 2011 and I doubt I be going to my daughter 1.4m tall (currently roughly 1.25m) as it’s just over 2 hours drive away and the offering for under 1.3m isnt that good.
3) Chessington I not been since 2008 but it’s only been the past few years they started adding attractions regularly but there’s nothing big been added to make me drive roughly 5 hrs there and back in a day.
4) Legoland only been once back in 2008 with my sister and husband and it had nice theming but the rides are basic rides but a lot has changed there in 12 years. My daughter been watching that Lego program on channel 5 with me and she wants to go so may make a long weekend trip there next year.
 
Oh, how this ranking could so easily change based on what factor one decides to rank them by. Let's go by the general upkeep, presentation, and just all-round atmosphere:

1. Gardaland
2. Alton Towers
3. Legoland Windsor
4. Thorpe Park
5. Chessington
6. Heide Park
 
I've only done the UK ones

1. Alton Towers (Always a beautiful and magical place, even if Merlin is trying to drain the fun from it)
2. Chessington (It's not always about the rides, thanks to John Wardly, the themeing is what a theme park should be all about, just a shame that money pinching Merlin has gotten their hands on it)
3. Legoland (Again it's not always about the rides, it's about the Lego)
4. Thorpe Park (I've never been a fan of Thorpe (even back in the 80's), it's the only park that I feel that I've had enough by lunch time, it draws the wrong type of crowds, I find the rides make me sick and are not re-ride-able. Just don't like the atmosphere, quiet loud, feels more like an amusement park as appose to a theme park. I feel Alton has everything that Thorpe has, plus much more and all in a nicer setting.

I pretty much agree with you Roy, that would be my order too.
Although I think the bad management at Chessington had set in under Tussauds anyway and then it just got worse under Merlin. They have had some great ideas at Chessington, Zufari should have been great but its obvious the budget wasn't there to give it the finale it needed.

The theory of Chessington is generally the one of the best parks, a good mix of zoo and rides with things spread out so it doesn't feel like the zoo is completely separate (as it is at Drayton Manor). But it just isn't designed for the number of guests they get, it could be said the annual pass and the nationwide vouchers mean a small park is being sold as something bigger than it is. Or that they haven't added the right restaurants and rides to cope with higher crowds.
 
1. Alton Towers
2. Gardaland (actually the best presented and best "all round park", but lacks the hardware of ATR)
3. Heide-Park (would have been a place higher until they shut all the support rides)
4. Thorpe Park (would be a place higher if it were well run)
5. Chessington (would be a place higher if it were not for the operations disaster that has besieged the place recently)

Legoland's are all very much of a muchness as far as I am concerned, but of the LL parks I have done:

1. Legoland Billund
2. Legoland Germany
3. Legoland Windsor (would be a place higher if it were not for the dire rollercoaster hardware)
4. Legoland Florida
 
1. Legoland Billund
2. Legoland Germany
3. Legoland Windsor (would be a place higher if it were not for the dire rollercoaster hardware)
4. Legoland Florida
What is it you don’t like about Windsor’s rollercoaster hardware, out of interest? Is it the fact that they have marginally less than some of the others (many of the others have a Mack wild mouse themed to Lego Technic; Windsor used to have one called Jungle Coaster, but it got removed due to noise complaints and got replaced with the first hotel), or is it something else?
 
The Windsor dragon is fairly poor, and they lack the mouse too. In addition, Dragon's Apprentice and the Duplo coaster are obviously designed for early years aged kids - whereas the small coasters at places like Germany, Billund and Florida are suitable for older guests, too. However, Windsor is quite a nice park.
 
Of the ones I've been to:
  1. Alton Towers
  2. Gardaland
  3. Thorpe Park
  4. Chessington
  5. Legoland Windsor
Gardaland is a bettered theme park than Alton Towers and has a better variety of rides, however the quality of the coaster at Alton Towers is vastly superior.

I've not spent enough time in Legoland to really make a proper judgement on the park.
 
Of the ones I've been to:
  1. Alton Towers
  2. Gardaland
  3. Thorpe Park
  4. Chessington
  5. Legoland Windsor
Gardaland is a bettered theme park than Alton Towers and has a better variety of rides, however the quality of the coaster at Alton Towers is vastly superior.

I've not spent enough time in Legoland to really make a proper judgement on the park.
Tbh nor have i and same with Thorpe. I haven't been since they stopped properly investing. I've only been to Alton and Chessington recently out of the Merlin parks though I'm planning to do the abroad ones in the future!
 
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