Tuesday, 21 September 2021 21:00

Winners of the UK Theme Park Awards 2021

The winners of the UK Theme Park Awards 2021 have been announced, with Alton Towers in Staffordshire named Theme Park of the Year. Storm Chaser at Paultons Park wins Best New Attraction and Thorpe Park awarded Best Theme Park for Thrills.

For the second year, the British public were invited to vote for their favourite theme parks in national awards recognising the best rides and attractions, shows and events, as well as the theme parks offering the best customer service and value.

The awards are organised by ThemeParks-UK.com, an independent guide to UK theme parks, and the Expert Judges include Paul Kelly, Chief Executive of the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions.

There are 21 categories this year including Theme Park of the Year, Best New Attraction, Best Customer Service and Best Value.

176,370 public votes were combined with the scores from the Expert Judges to determine the winners in each category.

The biggest winners in the awards were Alton Towers in Staffordshire (15 awards), Paultons Park in Hampshire (9), Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Lancashire (7), Thorpe Park in Surrey (5) and LEGOLAND Windsor in Berkshire (5). The other theme parks with multiple awards were Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey (4) and Drayton Manor in Staffordshire (3).

Also winning awards this year were Adventure Island in Essex, Fantasy Island in Lincolnshire, Flamingo Land in Yorkshire, Pleasurewood Hills in Suffolk and Twinlakes in Leicestershire, as well as the various Gulliver's Theme Parks.

For theme park fans, there were also awards for Blogger of the Year, YouTuber of the Year and Instagrammer of the Year.

Watch the 20-minute virtual event on YouTube

Expert Judges

  • Paul Kelly (Chief Executive - British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions)
  • Andy Hine MBE (Chairman - Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain)
  • Rachel Read (Director & Co-Founder - Blooloop)
  • Mark Locker (Founder & CEO - Attractions.io)
  • Lawrence Roots (Editor - ThemeParks-UK)
  • Justin Garvanovic (Editor - First Drop)

Winners

Best New Attraction, presented by Storyland Studios

  • GOLD: Storm Chaser (Paultons Park)
  • SILVER: Flight of the Sky Lion (LEGOLAND Windsor)
  • BRONZE: Gangsta Granny: The Ride (Alton Towers)

Best Theme Park for Families (Large), presented by Blooloop

  • GOLD: Alton Towers
  • SILVER: Paultons Park
  • BRONZE: LEGOLAND Windsor

Best Theme Park for Families (Small), presented by Semnox

  • GOLD: Gulliver’s Theme Parks
  • SILVER: Pleasurewood Hills
  • BRONZE: Fantasy Island

Best Theme Park for Toddlers, presented by BALPPA

  • GOLD: Paultons Park
  • SILVER: Alton Towers
  • BRONZE: Drayton Manor

Best Theme Park for Thrills, presented by Attractions.io

  • GOLD: Thorpe Park
  • SILVER: Alton Towers
  • BRONZE: Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Best Classic Coaster, presented by the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain

  • GOLD: Nemesis (Alton Towers)
  • SILVER: Grand National (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
  • BRONZE: The Big One (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

Best Family Coaster, presented by the European Coaster Club

  • GOLD: Wicker Man (Alton Towers)
  • SILVER: Vampire (Chessington World of Adventures)
  • BRONZE: Flight of the Pterosaur (Paultons Park)

Best Interactive Ride

  • GOLD: LEGO NINJAGO The Ride (LEGOLAND Windsor)
  • SILVER: Duel (Alton Towers)
  • BRONZE: Tomb Blaster (Chessington World of Adventures)

Best Food & Drink

  • GOLD: Alton Towers
  • SILVER: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
  • BRONZE: Paultons Park

Best Merchandise

  • GOLD: Alton Towers
  • SILVER: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
  • BRONZE: Thorpe Park

Best Live Entertainment

  • GOLD: Hot Ice (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)
  • SILVER: Return to Skeleton Bay (LEGOLAND Windsor)
  • BRONZE: ALIVE! Dinosaur Encounter (Paultons Park)

Best New Event

  • GOLD: Oktoberfest (Alton Towers)
  • SILVER: Mardi Gras (Alton Towers)
  • BRONZE: Oktoberfest (Thorpe Park)

Best Halloween Event

  • GOLD: Scarefest (Alton Towers)
  • SILVER: Fright Nights (Thorpe Park)
  • BRONZE: Xtreme Scream Park (Twinlakes)

Best Animal Experience

  • GOLD: ZUFARI: Ride into Africa (Chessington World of Adventures)
  • SILVER: Tiger Rock (Chessington World of Adventures)
  • BRONZE: Lost River Ride (Flamingo Land)

Best Social Media Engagement, presented by Pure Glow Media

  • GOLD: Alton Towers
  • SILVER: Thorpe Park
  • BRONZE: Drayton Manor

Best Customer Service, presented by Vennersys

  • GOLD: Alton Towers
  • SILVER: Paultons Park
  • BRONZE: Adventure Island

Best Value

  • GOLD: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
  • SILVER: Paultons Park
  • BRONZE: Drayton Manor

Blogger of the Year

  • GOLD: Thrill Nation
  • SILVER: Theme Park Guide
  • BRONZE: Cupcakes & Coasters

YouTuber of the Year

  • GOLD: Theme Park Worldwide
  • SILVER: Pleasure Beach Experience
  • BRONZE: TheJackSilkstone

Instagrammer of the Year

  • GOLD: Thrill Riders
  • SILVER: Roller Coaster Rachel
  • BRONZE: Cupcakes & Coasters

Theme Park of the Year, presented by Storyland Studios

  • GOLD: Alton Towers
  • SILVER: Paultons Park
  • BRONZE: LEGOLAND Windsor

Nominees

See the full list of nominees.

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