So - what are you top 5 parks? Iff you'd like to give a brief reason why, go ahead!

also - if alton towers its outside - what does it need to do to get in your top 5?

me:

1 - Europa park - They really spoil you with attention to detail, totally immersive theming, plenty of smaller attractions to back up the major rides, great customer service, and superb ride throughputs- Easily the best family park, just needs a few big thrill rides to make it perfect....

2 - Phantasialand - Again, totally immersive theming, in a surprisingly compact park - it's amazing how they've crammed everything in - and a good variety of rides for all.

3 - Alton Towers - My scarefest visit convinced me that the place has a magic about it which very few parks manage - also a good selection of rides, and vastly improving customer service. Could do with updating some of the flat rides, and getting in a good show or 2. I don't think the difference between AT and phantasialand is that great, and if something worthy replaces corky, then it could overtake.

4 - Universal Islands of Adventure- Very technologically advanced, nicely themed, good shows, Dueling dragons, hulk and spiderman - what more do you need?

5 - Blackpool pleasure beach - It's difficult to argue with the variety and history on offer - even if customer service can be a bit lacking, and they usually close earlier than they say, and they have the odd no food rule...


Just outside...

Parque Warner - Madrid.
Great theming, 2 great coasters, great madhouse, decent shows, lovely water rides, could do with an improved tower ride, 1 more family thrill coaster, and a dark ride or 2...

1. Disneyland Paris
I love this place, stunning scenery, fantastic atmosphere, some amazing attractions :)

2. Europa Park
Stupidly silly throughputs, large number of attractions, great atmosphere, some fantastic theming.

3. Phantasialand
Only afew attractions but what there is is pure gold, fantastically themed areas too!

4. Portaventura
Great rides, lovely themed areas, really nice and relaxing park. Fantastic location.

Only just making it into this top 5
5. Alton Towers
Some of the best rides on this list and probably the best location too, just the general park upkeep could be better, theming is rather average compared to the other parks on here though and attractions like Air, Nemesis, Haunted House and Oblivion shouldn't be left to rott!

Just missing out was
Disneyland California
Some incredible attractions but it just all looks a little dated now.

Top 5

Alton Towers - Best in UK, nice selection of big rides and dark rides, great for whole family. As Skelvin has mentioned, upkeep is not the best, parts run down that need addressing.

Thorpe Park - Top notch for thrill seekers, brill water rides some nice flats. Needs more for the family, mainly lacking any decent dark rides. Alton Towers watch your back!!!

PortAventura - Best themed park I have ever been to, perfect for the whole family, in this aspect better than AT. Good few thrill rides, another one wouldn't go a miss though.

Disneyland - I'm including Paris and Orlando here, very magical places and the theming is some of the worlds greatest. Great experience for all. Lack of new attractions in recent years.

Islands Of Adventure - Some brilliant attractions, although not a great deal of them; all the parks attractions are of top quality.

Have no particular order for these 5, they're all great! :D

Other good parks

Oakwood - For the entrance fee and a park of its size, some really quality attractions. All of its major attractions kinds AT do not have. (Woodie, Eurofighter, Shoot-the-chutes, drop tower).

Terra Mitica - Nice for whole family, on par attraction wise with PortAventura but not quite as good.

Legoland - A paradise for the under 12s and their parents, but no-one else! Fairly large park, nice selection of attractions for kids.

Haven't really been to many other parks!

Ok, so this is pretty much going to be the 5 parks I have ever been to but I'll put them in order of preference.

1: Alton Towers
I have a great passion for Alton Towers so it has to be in top place. A really good selection of rides complemented by a fantastic location steeped in history.

2: PortAventura
A fantastic park with great theming throughout and in a fantastic location. It is however missing an top quality inverted coaster which I believe would make the park.

3: Thorpe Park
A decent selection of rides with thrill being number one on the menu. The theming is fairly decent throughout the park.

4: BPB
Only rode a couple of rides on my one and only visit but they were decent and there is a lot to choose from.

5: Pleasurewood Hills
Not a fantastic park by any means but great for youngsters. Not a lot for thrill seekers but the Vekoma Boomerang is definitely worth a visit. The theming has been much improved over the past few years but some areas of the park really need some TLC.

1. Cedar Point – one word for this park: WOW! Before I went, I was worrying I was going to be disappointed as the park is really hyped up, but I defiantly wasn’t. The park has an amazing atmosphere, and all of the rides are just spectacular. My top 2 coasters live here, Maverick and TTD, and it is also home to 4 of my top 10 coasters, with Magnum and millennium. The staff were all really enthusiastic, and the park looked very nice and was extremely clean with some decent themeing in places.
2. Islands of Adventure – I just really love this park to bits. The themeing is amazing, and the rides are out of this world. Home to my favorite 3 water rides, my favorite ride of all time which is Spider Man, and two… well, three awesome coasters. The park entrance is my favorite park entrance ever, and the park is very well set out.
3. Alton Towers – well it is the park I visit most, and I have very fond memories of the place. I think it is a magical place, with a brilliant atmosphere. The staff are always very nice, and the place is very well managed. Themeing is of a decent standards, and there are some good rides. Home to my 3nd favorite dark ride, Hex, as well as two coasters in my top 10, Nemesis and Rita.
4. Pleasure Beach Blackpool – I slag this park off, but deep down I do like it. Grand National and Revolution are two of my favorite coasters in the UK, and I love them both to bits. All the other rides at the park are also pretty good, and Valhalla is my favorite water ride in the UK. I think the park has a buzzing atmosphere, especially at night. There are a few things that let the park down, like the staff and some of the stupid policies they are bringing in, but I do love the place.
5. Bush Gardens Africa – well, it has 3 amazing coasters, with Shakira and Montu in my top 10. The park is very nice looking, and the animals are also nice to see. The shows in the park are quite good as well. themeing is pretty good, and the park just has an overall good feel to it.

1 - Cedar Point, simply the most mind blowing collection of rides that any park has, I cant believe it can be bettered.

2- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, not as many rides as Cedar Point, but what they have are just amazing. A great chill out day from the other Orlando parks.

3- Magic Kingdom WDW, Ok not a white knuckle paradise, but it does have some really good rides like space mountain, but rides like splash mountain are all what magic kingdom is about, you feel like a child again :D

4 - Islands of adventure, really great rides and just the most over the top themeing you have ever seen. The water rides are simply the best.

5 - Alton Towers, this is one decision that made me think, change my mind, re think and change my mind again, I am not even sure now I have got it right but that is my feeling at the moment. Let me explain. I have always prefered BPB to Alton, but this year BPB has done a lot of things that I have not liked, while Alton has operated the park well and given great value for money with the merlin pass.
In my heart I my say BPB, nut my head says Alton at the moment. One thing I do know though is that Alton has my favourite UK rollercoaster, Nemesis.

In no particular order (out of ones I've been to) :D

1. Heide Park
2. Port Aventura
3. Warner Bros Australia & Dreamworld
4. Alton Towers/Thorpe Park
5. Pleasure Beach Blackpool

Simply..

1. Alton Towers
2. Chessington
3. Drayton Manor
4. Thorpe Park
5. Pleasure Beach

1 - Europa Park

Absolutely brilliant place, would love to be a regular visitor there. Massive number of attractions that everybody can go on, some amazing themeing and the staff are the best! Brilliant hotels that you can stay in every visit, or an amazing Tipi Village for cheaper nights.

2 - Alton Towers

Need I say more? :wink:

3 -Disney's Hollywood Studios

Out of all of the Disney Parks in Florida, this is my favourite. Tower of Terror is simply mind blowing. Love it!!! Toy Story Mania and Rock 'n' Rollercoaster, the hugh attention to detail in the themeing, Lights Motors Action is one of the best shows i've seen too!

4 - Phantasialand

Again, themeing in this place is awesome. Just look at pictures of Black Mamba and Wuze Town, and imagine seeing it in person, its 10x better. Brilliant selection of thrill rides too, Talocan, Black Mamba, Winja's, Mystery Castle and more! Will definately visit again.

Universal's Islands of Adventure

Now this was a hard one to put here. Its mainly due to the rides. SO many thrill rides and the best rapids ride....Popeye! Can't believe how crazy that rapids ride is. Dueling Dragons is one hell of a coaster, especially fire. And the queueline for it.....WOW!!!!

Just missing out on my top 5 would be...

- Epcot
- Magic Kingdom
- Busch Gardens Africa

1. Universal's Islands of Adventure
Everything about it is perfect - just needs more rides which there doing, so it's great to be honest. I can't fault it one bit. Queues are not bad, rides are 1st class, theming is spot on, effects and technology is just great.

2. Cedar Point
Not good enough for number 1 due to the themeing and theme park feel, but the rides are just out of this world, and ace!!! Love it, one place to make me feel a bit on the edge.

3. Disney's Hollywood Studios
Same reasons Nick said above really. The shows are world class shows running day in day out. The rides are just out of this world in terms of effects and Tower of Terror, just arrr yeah man!!!!!

4. Busch Gardens Africa
The rides are great, the park is lovely... great mixture of rides all about the park and there always pushing the border for new roller coasters and rides. The rides are always mind blowing, and it being themed on Africa is just lush.

5. Alton Towers
Great world class rides, theming is decent in most places. Park i visit the most, feels like home now haha, but it seems there on the up and looking great! Keep it up!

1. Port Aventura
2. Alton Towers
3. Oakwood
4. Thorpe Park
5. Europa Park

1. Alton Towers
2. Thorpe Park
3. Holiday Park
4. Drayton Manor
5. BPB

Shows the lack of decent parks I've been to :(

1) Alton Towers
Pretty obvious. Lovely location, world class rides, general brilliance.

2) Disneyland Paris
Gosh where do I start? This is one of the best European parks I have been to, and it certainly rejuvenates the child inside. I simply love it! Rock'n'Roller Coaster and Space Mountain definitely did it for me, along with general Disney-ness.

3) Chessington
Yeah sure it needs perking up but it is great. The mix of rides and animals is good and it means the only attractions aren't only the coasters and flats. Plus it's the closest park near me in the UK, seeing as I'm just an hour away.

4) Efteling
Only been once and once only but it got into my top 5 anyway. As I remember, Efteling was like a fairy-tale land come true in the middle of lush greenery and the European feel was wow! And none of the buildings are fake either.

5) Thorpe Park
A lot of fun on one small island. This also managed to get into the top 5. Mainly because it does do the trick for me when it comes to fast, themed rollercoasters and I want to be somewhere close to home.

1> Europa Park
It's an amazing park that puts on some of the best events you'll ever find. Not a white knuckle paradise, but somewhere that staying for 5 days would work quite nicely. Wonderful hotels, unique rides, amazingly efficient staff, good food and drink and a massive (nearly 50) number of rides! A Looping Coaster opening in 2009 will also add to the appeal.

2> Alton Towers
It's my favourite park in terms of what it means to me, but pretending it's on a par with Europa-Park really would just be fanboy-ism for me now. However, Alton retains charm and beauty, and some of the best coasters in Europe. It also has two good hotels, and you can get away from things in the Gardens, Spa or Water Park.

3> Phantasialand
Not as high as EP or AT because it lacks attractions, but what is there is stunning and beyond anything at EP/AT. Mystery Castle, Talocan, Colorado Adventure and Black Mamba are truly inspired, with some of the best theming I have ever seen. Talocan has to be one of my favourite rides!

4> Disneyland Resort Paris
An individual park probably wouldn't make it into this place, but overall, DLP is a great resort. It's a little on the pricey side for food, drink, merchandise and tickets, but there are some world class attractions. It does lack something though, but i'd be kidding myself if I didn't put it in 4th place as it's still one of the best places I have visited.

No other park I have yet visited warrants a 5th place.

The parks have all been talked about, so outa where i have been

1-Port Aventura
2-Alton Towers
3-Phantasialand
4-Blackpool
5-Thorpe(lots of you guys are not fans but what a park and cant wait to visit again)

1. Universal Resort Florida (Islands Of Adventure & Universal Studios)
2. Alton Towers
3. Disney's Animal Kingdom
4. Disney's Epcot&MGM&Magic Kingdom
5. Flamingoland/Drayton Manor

Shows my serious lack of Theme Park visits!
:P

In Order

1. Disneyland Resort Paris - Nothing else compares at the moment for me It's a masterpeice, a complete stunner Disney dont do anything by half literally, it's another world.

2. Alton Towers - The Park I have visited all my life since I was a bambino, I may slate it but of course I loves it, It's the best britain has to offer!, I want to see it get better and better.

3. Europa Park - Love it, a great all round Resort,Mr Mack has hit all the right buttons, a lovely place to be, apart from the Disney on a low budget Ripoffs :cry:

4. Phantasialand - A Quality little park, Black Mamba is up there with Disney and other world class resorts theming stunner, a fantastic selection of other rides also deffo a park to keep an eye on

5. Chessie - Looking outdated but still a great place, somegood classics and it's the only other UK park where I feel at home.

:D

1.Cedar Point
2.Six Flags Great Adventure
3.Disney's Hollywood Studios
4.Epcot
5.Islands Of Adventure

Just outside are Busch Gardens, Europa and Phantasialand

"DanB" wrote:

1.Cedar Point
2.Six Flags Great Adventure
3.Disney's Hollywood Studios
4.Epcot
5.Islands Of Adventure

Just outside are Busch Gardens, Europa and Phantasialand

No alton?? Heresy - burn him at the stake!!!!

:firebounce: