Alton Towers Resort is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, mini golf and hotel complex. In 2021, it ranked first for attendance among amusement parks in the UK, with an estimated 1.8 million visitors.
A pirate ship is a type of amusement ride based on pirate ships, consisting of an open, seated gondola which swings back and forth, subjecting the rider to various levels of angular momentum. A variant where the riders must pull on ropes to swing the ride is known as a swing boat.
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a 128 acres theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Central London. The complex originally opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931; the theme park aspect was developed by The Tussauds Group, debuting on 7 July 1987 as one of the first combined animal-amusement parks in the UK. The theme park, which features over 40 rides, is now owned by Merlin Entertainments, following its merger with The Tussauds Group in 2007. Under Merlin, Chessington has been increasingly developed into a resort and tourist destination, including two on-site hotels, swimming pools, a campground, spa and wellness amenities, and fitness facilities, including a high ropes course.
Spinball Whizzer is a spinning roller coaster located in the Adventure Land area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. Built by Maurer Söhne, it was previously sponsored by Sega, the company that created the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise, and was known as Sonic Spinball from 2010 to 2015.
Dragon's Fury is a steel spinning roller coaster located at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in southwest London, England. Manufactured by Maurer AG, the ride opened on 27 March 2004 and features individual four-person cars that spin independently on a horizontal axis.
Vampire is an Arrow suspended swinging roller coaster at Chessington World of Adventures theme park in London, England. It opened in 1990 in the new Transylvania area and is the only Arrow Dynamics suspended roller coaster still operating outside of North America.
Rattlesnake is a steel wild mouse style roller coaster ride which opened in 1998 at the Chessington World of Adventures Resort in southwest London, England.
Samurai is a Mondial Top Scan ride located at Thorpe Park in the United Kingdom. It was originally installed at nearby Chessington World of Adventures in 1999, being transferred to Thorpe Park at the end of the 2003 season, and has operated at Thorpe Park since 2004. The song played on the ride is a modified version of "Burly Brawl", from the soundtrack of The Matrix Reloaded.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a 135-acre (55 ha) animal theme park located in Vallejo, California, off of Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento. The park includes a variety of roller coasters and other amusement rides. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has been part of the Six Flags chain of amusement parks since 1999.
Tomb Blaster is a dark ride that opened in 2002 at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in London. Riders travel in trains through a series of crypts, shooting laser guns at targets for high scores.
Siam Amazing Park, more commonly known as Siam Park City or Suansiam, is an amusement and water park located in the Khan Na Yao district of Bangkok, Thailand. It was founded in November 1980 and remains the oldest amusement and water park complex in Southeast Asia. Located near Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, it contains attractions such as Southeast Asia's first suspended looping coaster with five inversions, a large wave pool, and seven-story slides.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a motion-based dark ride located in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-themed areas of Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida; Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California; Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan; and Universal Studios Beijing in Beijing, China. The ride takes guests through scenes and environments in and around Hogwarts Castle from the Harry Potter series of books and films. Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative, described the ride as an in-depth look at the world of Harry Potter, which utilizes never-before-seen technology which transforms "the theme park experience as you know it". The ride first opened at Islands of Adventure with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on June 18, 2010; subsequent versions opened at Universal Studios Japan on July 15, 2014, at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 7, 2016, and at Universal Studios Beijing on September 20, 2021.
Bubbleworks was a dark water ride opened in 1990 at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in Greater London, England. It took riders through animated scenes of a comical factory producing fizzy pop. The original ride closed, to be redesigned in 2006 with a sponsorship by Imperial Leather toiletries, with the majority of the animations removed. The new Bubbleworks then closed in September 2016 to be replaced by The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure.
Ripsaw was a Top Spin ride at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. It opened in 1997 and closed at the end of 2015.
Dynamo was a Huss Breakdance ride located in the Forbidden Valley area of the Alton Towers theme park. It was the first ride seen to the left when entering the area, and was opposite to Ripsaw, which was a Huss Top Spin.
Elmer's Flying Jumbos is a Red Baron ride operating at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in London. Originally in the area of Toytown, it later moved to the Zufari area and then finally Adventure Point. In the spring of 2020, it was renamed Elmer's Flying Jumbos. As of May 2023, the Chessington ride continues to operate after a long 36 years.
Scorpion Express was a mine train themed powered roller coaster at Chessington World of Adventures in Greater London, England. It opened with the theme park in 1987 as the Runaway Train. The original ride was closed in 2012 for refurbishment and reopened on 14 March 2014, with the same track layout but new name and theming. Scorpion Express is set in a small mining village, featuring an animated metalwork scorpion.
Black Buccaneer was a swinging pirate ship that operated at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in southwest London, England from 1988 to 2018 in the Pirates' Cove section of the park. After operating for 30 years, the ride has been replaced by Blue Barnacle in 2021.
Croc Drop is an SBF Visa drop tower flat ride, which opened in April 2021 at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in southwest London, England, forming part of the park's Forbidden Kingdom section.
The ride in 2010
Water element
The ride in 2014
Fastrack available
