UK THEME PARKS >


Many theme


parks have their own branded hotels which aim to continue the park experience beyond the rides


knights, animals and rollercoasters. Great for younger children is LEGOLAND Windsor which features over 53 million Lego bricks, used to create attractions like Adventure Land and its Dino Safari by jeep and the Wave Surfer water ride, as well as Duplo Land for kids under four. Remember that picturesque Windsor and its castle are next door for the adults in the group. Many theme parks have their own


branded hotels which aim to continue the park experience beyond the rides. The Alton Towers Resort is themed around fi ctional explorer Sir Algenon. There are explorer-themed rooms with map carpets, bunk beds and patchwork quilts, plus other rooms themed around characters like Peter Rabbit, as well as a sleepover room with multiple beds. There is also the Caribbean-themed


Splash Landings Hotel, overlooking the waterpark with pirate-themed rooms. Hotel guests for both get privileges like exclusive early access, free parking, evening entertainment and optional extras like bike hire and archery. Whichever hotel you stay in, you can frequent any of the restaurants or bars. Chessington World of Adventures


is true to its zoological roots with the safari-themed Holiday Inn Chessington, which has an indoor pool & spa and the Zafari Bar & Grill. Short break packages include an overnight stay with English breakfast, park tickets with the second day free, free access to the Leisure Club, family fi lm showings at the Movie Club, early park access, character breakfasts on Sundays with cuddly meerkats Pip or Titch and animal meet and greets.


UK Theme Parks What’s New?


The Drayton Manor Hotel was due to open on August 15 at the time of writing. The 150 rooms will include


themed Thomas and Friends family rooms, interconnecting family rooms, standard rooms, business rooms, super rooms, which can sleep four, and presidential suites. There will be two restaurants, with character breakfasts available, an indoor Thomas & Friends play room, four bars, an outside play area and video games room. The theme park also has a new


ride in Thomas Land called The Blue Mountain Engines and earlier in the year opened the Ben 10 - Ultimate Mission rollercoaster, based on the TV series by Cartoon Network. It’s the fi rst of its kind in Europe and launches riders forwards on their fi rst run of the 180m track, hitting speeds of 55kph and a g-force of 3, before returning travelling backwards along the same route. The park also recently acquired a wedding licence. Paulton’s Park recently opened its


new Peppa Pig World, which brings to life one of TV’s most popular children’s characters. There are seven whimsical rides, including Windy Castle, George’s Dinsosaur Adventure and Miss Rabbit’s Helicopter Flight, as well as indoor and outdoor areas like the Muddy Puddles


water play area, a Peppa-themed toy shop and eateries like Daddy Pig’s Big Tummy Café. Brand new for 2011 at Alton Towers is


the GoGoGo Show live at Cloud Cuckoo Land Theatre, throughout the theme park season. Fresh out of London’s West End, the all-new pop musical for kids stars fi ve new pop stars, with ‘catchy songs, magic and laughter’. Throughout summer 2011, Alton


Towers has staged some high profi le pop acts at Alton Towers Live, like JLS, the Saturdays and the Black Eyed Peas. LEGOLAND Windsor recently opened


its new £8 million attraction Atlantis Submarine Voyage. It’s the fi rst LEGO- themed aquarium tank and comes with eight custom-built yellow submarines, each one transporting up to 14 passengers on a track. The tank holds over a million litres of water and over 50 species of sharks, ray and tropical fi sh amongst LEGO fi gures. The LEGOLAND Windsor Hotel is due to open in 2012. New for 2011 is Camelot Theme Park’s


Birds of Prey and Animal Centre. Visitors can get up close to many the resident birds of prey as well as witness two


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