Zeock
TS Member
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I feel that Drayton is inbetween a top tier and a second tier park. Perhaps Paultons could overtake them with a few more good investments.
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Is there a future for second tier parks in the UK?
Jb85
TS Member
Litteraly down the road and never heard of this6 years ago there was plans to build a Digger land in Evesham
Theme park bosses no longer dig Evesham as plans for Diggerland withdrawn
Diggerland bosses have withdrawn their plans to open a theme park at The Valley due to unexpected and unforeseen circumstances.eveshamobserver.co.uk
It’s a risky business to enter and you need at least a billion to get it up and running.
John_P
TS Member
I'm confused by what the criteria is for a 'top' tier theme park is if I'm honest.
Think the UK is pretty good when it comes to sustaining smaller theme parks what with the Gullivers chain, plenty of seaside parks around the place as well. Drayton and Paultons really good parks both hopefully with good futures ahead.
Think the UK is pretty good when it comes to sustaining smaller theme parks what with the Gullivers chain, plenty of seaside parks around the place as well. Drayton and Paultons really good parks both hopefully with good futures ahead.
Words like ‘world class’ and ‘top tier’ are clearly very subjective. You could argue that Efteling, Phantasialand and Europa Park are the top tier of European theme parks, and then places like Parc Asterix and Liseberg are second tier. Given that this topic stemmed from a discussion about Lightwater Valley, that’s clearly not what we’re talking about here.
Most of the Lightwater Valley sized parks have already closed (Loudoun Castle, Camelot, Pleasure Island, American Adventure etc) and the future of the others doesn’t look too rosey. Parks like Fantasy Island and Pleasurewood Hills do seem to be well run and have owners with good intentions. At the same time, neither of them seem to be in a position to add major new rides, meaning they’re relying on an aging stock of rides to do the heavy lifting. Over time these rides will cost more to maintain and getting parts will start to become harder. Cannonball Express could be one of the first rides to go. These smaller parks have small management teams, and can also rely on individual heroics from stand out managers, which can also be unsustainable.
The children’s parks like Gullivers, Twinlakes, Crealy etc have generally fared better, and have a different set of challenges and opportunities compared to somewhere like Lightwater Valley.
Most of the Lightwater Valley sized parks have already closed (Loudoun Castle, Camelot, Pleasure Island, American Adventure etc) and the future of the others doesn’t look too rosey. Parks like Fantasy Island and Pleasurewood Hills do seem to be well run and have owners with good intentions. At the same time, neither of them seem to be in a position to add major new rides, meaning they’re relying on an aging stock of rides to do the heavy lifting. Over time these rides will cost more to maintain and getting parts will start to become harder. Cannonball Express could be one of the first rides to go. These smaller parks have small management teams, and can also rely on individual heroics from stand out managers, which can also be unsustainable.
The children’s parks like Gullivers, Twinlakes, Crealy etc have generally fared better, and have a different set of challenges and opportunities compared to somewhere like Lightwater Valley.
Themeparksandy1981
TS Member
Gulliver’s really is the park all young families go to as most of their rides are 1m or less and you don’t have to wait long in queues. It’s the views from Matlock that I loved the most.