ALTON TOWERS
The UK's most popular theme park will reveal Wicker Man, a brand new wooden roller coaster.
A ground-breaking new ride development that is being described as the "world's first roller coaster experience fusing wood and fire" and is being built by Great Coasters International.
It will incorporate a giant flaming Wicker Man standing six-stories high. The wooden track will race through the flaming structure three times. It's the UK’s first new wooden roller coaster in 21 years.
The ride, previously known as SW8, follows a long line of Secret Weapon projects including SW3 (Nemesis), SW4 (Oblivion), SW5 (Air), SW6 (Thirteen) and SW7 (The Smiler).
Wicker Man opens on Saturday 17th March 2018.
BLACKPOOL PLEASURE BEACH
Welcoming nearly 6 million visitors annually with over 125 rides and attractions, this year Blackpool Pleasure Beach adds the UK's first double launch roller coaster: ICON.
The new ride will feature 2 inversions; an in-line twist and an immelmann. It will take just 161 seconds for the roller coaster to complete the 1,143 metres of track.
The £16.25 million roller coaster will be the UK’s first ever with a double launch, with riders experiencing two powerful thrusts of acceleration during the ride, reaching up to 80km/h.
It will feature "the most number of interactions in the world" with 15 interactions involving five different rides and two tunnels.
ICON opens in Spring 2018.
THORPE PARK
Thorpe Park will open The Walking Dead: The Ride, the world’s first roller coaster themed around the global TV phenomenon.
The exclusive immersive and terrifying experience comes complete with state of the art special effects, a replica of the iconic watch tower, and will be the ultimate test of riders’ mettle.
As the UK’s first and only multi-sensory and multi-part roller coaster, the experience invites thrill seekers to flee The Walking Dead in a relentless and terrifying ride for survival.
Travelling through the deepest, darkest tunnels, it will feature extensive and realistic theming to bring some of the most compelling and gruesome scenes from all seasons of The Walking Dead to life.
CHESSINGTON WORLD OF ADVENTURES
The UK's ultimate family theme park is set to open the new look Land of the Tiger featuring Tiger Rock, a family-friendly log flume surrounded by beautiful Amur Tigers.
Breathing new life into the former Mystic East area of Chessington World of Adventures, the Amur Tigers will be housed in three new animal enclosures and there will be a re-theme of the Dragon Falls log flume.
The enclosures will be connected with Tiger Tunnels, special elevated walkways allowing the big cats to move between them, and providing viewing opportunities for visitors.
Tiger Rock will act as the centerpiece for the area, which the log flume will pass through and tigers will be able to cross over the ride. The area will also include a highly themed entrance portal, viewing shelter and demo area, as well as extensive landscaping and planting.
Tiger Rock in Land of the Tiger opens on Saturday 5th May 2018.
LEGOLAND WINDSOR
The UK's most unique theme park expands its best asset in 2018, with over 2 million LEGO bricks being installed into LEGOLAND Windsor’s world famous Miniland attraction and the new LEGO Reef.
Visitors will be delighted by iconic new additions from across the globe, as Miniland expands to include landmarks from India, Russia, Australia, and China for the very first time. Miniland Explore the World will feature sights such as the Taj Mahal, St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Sydney Opera House and the Forbidden City.
Over at the new Miniland USA little ones can also get a taste of the American dream as a miniature LEGO version of the USA comes to Miniland in 2018. Iconic American landmarks recreated from hundreds of thousands of LEGO bricks will include a New York cityscape, with the Empire State Building standing at a huge 5 metres tall, and an epic journey along the famous Route 66, taking in Chicago and Arizona.
An awesome digital aquarium, LEGO Reef, also joins the line-up of exciting new attractions at LEGOLAND Windsor in 2018. Families can dive deep under the sea and build colourful sea creatures out of virtual LEGO bricks using touch screen technology.
PAULTONS PARK
Paultons Park is a popular theme park in the New Forest, Hampshire, with more than 60 wonderful rides and attractions included in the admission price. The world’s first Peppa Pig attraction, Peppa Pig World, is getting bigger and better as the park will open a significant extension in 2018 with fun new rides and facilities.
Fans of the hit TV series will be snorting with delight when the two new rides, The Queen’s Flying Coach Ride and Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club, are unveiled to the public on May 16th.
The Queen’s Flying Coach Ride will take families on a tour around the newly extended part of Peppa Pig World in individual coaches on a monorail that starts from the top of the Queen’s castle, a signature point of the attraction.
Children and parents will also be able to hop aboard boats at Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club where they can cruise along the new water route around Peppa Pig World.
