Chessington World of Adventures named Britain’s No.1 theme park in awards that also declares Wicker Man at Alton Towers the best themed roller coaster

• The winners of the 2023 UK Theme Park Awards have been revealed 
• More than 220,000 votes were cast by the public to help determine the winners  
• READ MORE: Inside the amazing lives of nannies to the super-rich

Chessington World of Adventures has been named Britain’s best theme park.

The Surrey attraction has taken the top prize at the UK Theme Park Awards 2023, an annual awards that invites members of the public and a panel of theme park experts to crown the best theme parks and attractions across Britain. This year, more than 220,000 public votes helped to determine the victors. 

‘Theme Park of the Year’ Chessington World of Adventures, which lies on the outskirts of London, is tailed by Staffordshire attraction Alton Towers in second place and Hampshire’s Paultons Park in third.

There are 22 categories across the awards, one of which crowns the best thrill ride in the UK – Maelstrom at Staffordshire’s Drayton Manor, billed as a ‘stomach-churning, head-turning gyro swing’.

It’s followed by the ‘spinning G-force thrill ride’ Samurai at Thorpe Park (second) and Red Arrows Skyforce (third), a 72ft- (22m) high ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach that allows riders to feel like they’re in flight.

Chessington World of Adventures has been named Britain’s best theme park at the UK Theme Park Awards 2023. Above is the park’s Scorpion Express ride

The prize for the best new attraction goes to World of Jumanji (above) at Chessington World of Adventures

The awards also reveals the best theme park for thrills overall, with that accolade going to Thorpe Park in Surrey.

The prize for the best new attraction goes to World of Jumanji at Chessington World of Adventures, a £17million themed enclave within the resort that features the world’s only Jumanji roller coaster and two more rides – ‘Mamba Strike’ and ‘Ostrich Stampede’ – based on the hit Jumanji film franchise.

The Viking-themed ‘Valhalla’ log flume ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach has been named the best water ride, while ‘The Curse at Alton Manor’ – a ‘haunting’ ride through a ‘cursed’ manor – at Alton Towers takes the gong for ‘best-reimagined attraction’. 

REVEALED: WINNERS OF THE UK THEME PARK AWARDS 2023

THEME PARK OF THE YEAR

GOLD: Chessington World of Adventures

SILVER: Alton Towers

BRONZE: Paultons Park

BEST NEW ATTRACTION

GOLD: World of Jumanji (Chessington World of Adventures)

SILVER: Thomas & Percy’s Submarine Splash (Drayton Manor)

BRONZE: LEGO Ferrari Build & Race (LEGOLAND Windsor)

BEST REIMAGINED ATTRACTION

GOLD: The Curse at Alton Manor (Alton Towers)

SILVER: Valhalla (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

BRONZE: Nemesis Sub-Terra (Alton Towers)

BEST LARGE THEME PARK FOR FAMILIES

GOLD: Alton Towers

SILVER: Paultons Park

BRONZE: Chessington World of Adventures

BEST SMALL THEME PARK FOR FAMILIES

GOLD: Gulliver’s Theme Parks

SILVER: Adventure Island

BRONZE: ROARR! Dinosaur Adventure

BEST LARGE THEME PARK FOR TODDLERS

GOLD: Paultons Park

SILVER: Drayton Manor

BRONZE: LEGOLAND Windsor

BEST SMALL THEME PARK FOR TODDLERS

GOLD: Sundown Adventureland

SILVER: Blackgang Chine

BRONZE: Crealy

BEST THEME PARK FOR THRILLS

GOLD: Thorpe Park

SILVER: Alton Towers

BRONZE: Blackpool Pleasure Beach

BEST THEME PARK WITH ANIMALS

GOLD: Chessington World of Adventures

SILVER: Flamingo Land

BRONZE: West Midland Safari Park

BEST SEASIDE PARK – NORTH

GOLD: Blackpool Pleasure Beach

SILVER: Fantasy Island

BRONZE: Ocean Beach Pleasure Park

BEST SEASIDE PARK – SOUTH

GOLD: Adventure Island

SILVER: Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach

BRONZE: Dreamland Margate

BEST THEMED COASTER

GOLD: Wicker Man (Alton Towers)

SILVER: Mandrill Mayhem (Chessington World of Adventures)

BRONZE: The Swarm (Thorpe Park)

BEST THRILL RIDE

GOLD: Maelstrom (Drayton Manor)

SILVER: Samurai (Thorpe Park)

BRONZE: Red Arrows Skyforce (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

BEST WATER RIDE

GOLD: Valhalla (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

SILVER: Stormforce 10 (Drayton Manor)

BRONZE: Tidal Wave (Thorpe Park)

BEST NEW EVENT – LARGE

GOLD: Night at the Manor (Drayton Manor)

SILVER: Eggsplorers (Chessington World of Adventures)

BRONZE: Springfest (LEGOLAND Windsor)

BEST NEW EVENT – SMALL

GOLD: Festival of the Dead (Robin Hill)

SILVER: BeWILDerwood Presents Christmas (BeWILDerwood)

BRONZE: Jurassic June (Pleasurewood Hills)

BEST LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

GOLD: Hot Ice (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

SILVER: Return to Skeleton Bay (LEGOLAND Windsor)

BRONZE: Sooty’s Big Top Showtime (Crealy)

BEST LIVE ENTERTAINMENT – SEASONAL

GOLD: Amity High vs LycanThorpe (Thorpe Park)

SILVER: Banyan – The Circle of 8 (Chessington World of Adventures)

BEST ADVENTURE GOLF

GOLD: Extraordinary Golf (Alton Towers)

SILVER: Lava Creek Adventure Golf (Fantasy Island)

BRONZE: Adventure Golf (Adventure Island)

BEST THEME PARK FOOD

GOLD: Route 83 Diner (Paultons Park)

SILVER: Rollercoaster Restaurant (Alton Towers)

BRONZE: Loki’s Après Ski Bar (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

BEST THEME PARK HOTEL

GOLD: Boulevard Hotel (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

SILVER: LEGOLAND Castle Hotel (LEGOLAND Windsor)

BRONZE: Chessington Safari Hotel (Chessington World of Adventures)

BEST THEME PARK MUSIC

GOLD: The Curse at Alton Manor (Alton Towers)

SILVER: World of Jumanji (Chessington World of Adventures)

BRONZE: Haunted House Monster Party (LEGOLAND Windsor)

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE

GOLD: Paultons Park

SILVER: Adventure Island

BRONZE: Drayton Manor

BEST VALUE THEME PARK

GOLD: Drayton Manor

SILVER: Paultons Park

BRONZE: Crealy

BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN

GOLD: World of Jumanji (Chessington World of Adventures)

SILVER: The Curse at Alton Manor (Alton Towers)

BRONZE: Rebuilding Nemesis (Alton Towers)

BEST SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT

GOLD: Drayton Manor

SILVER: Thorpe Park

BRONZE: Chessington World of Adventures

CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR

GOLD: DigitalDan

SILVER: Theme Park Worldwide

BRONZE: Diary of a RollerCoaster Girl

Source: UK Theme Park Awards 

‘The Curse at Alton Manor’ – a ‘haunting’ ride through a ‘cursed’ manor – at Alton Towers takes the gong for best-reimagined attraction

The prize for the UK’s best themed roller coaster goes to the wooden ‘Wicker Man’ roller coaster at Alton Towers (above) 

Another category crowns the UK’s best themed roller coaster, with the wooden ‘Wicker Man’ roller coaster at Alton Towers topping the podium. 

Alton Towers has also been named the best theme park for large families, while Gulliver’s Land Theme Park Resort in Milton Keynes has been revealed as the best for small families.

Meanwhile, Paultons Park, home to the popular Peppa Pig World attraction, has been named the best theme park for toddlers.

The theme park also bags the prize for the best food, thanks to its Route 83 Diner, which serves classic American dishes such as burgers and hot dogs. 

For those hoping for a budget day out, Drayton Manor is the UK’s best value resort, the awards reveal. 

Maelstrom at Drayton Manor, billed as a ‘stomach-churning, head-turning gyro swing’, has been named the best thrill ride in the UK

Paultons Park, home to the popular Peppa Pig World attraction, has been named the best theme park for toddlers 

Alton Towers has been named the best theme park for large families. Above is the theme park’s ‘The Smiler’ roller coaster

Awards have also been handed out for the UK’s best seaside theme parks – Blackpool Pleasure Beach is top in the north, while Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea reigns supreme in the south. 

And the best theme park for animals? That title goes to Chessington World of Adventures, which has its own zoo and sea life centre.

The awards, presented in association with AttractionTickets.com, is organised by ThemeParks-UK.com, an independent consumer guide to UK theme parks. 

This year’s ceremony was held at Chessington World of Adventures and was attended by more than 100 representatives from the UK theme park industry.

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