Nominees Announced for the UK Theme Park Awards 2026

We're pleased to announce the nominees for the UK Theme Park Awards 2026, with the public able to vote from 20 July at ukthemeparkawards.com.

For the seventh year, the British public will be able to vote for their favourite theme parks in national awards recognising the best rides, attractions, live entertainment and events.

The awards are organised by Theme Parks UK, an independent consumer guide to UK theme parks. In 2026, the awards are presented in association with AttractionTickets.com and TAG Live®.

There are 22 categories this year, including Theme Park of the Year, Best Customer Service and Best Value. The 10 new categories include Theme Park Personality of the Year, Waterpark of the Year, Scream Park of the Year, Best Landscaped Theme Park, Best Theme Park Animal Exhibit, Best Theme Park Holiday Village, Best Halloween Event and Best Christmas Event.

In advance of the public vote, a shortlist has been compiled using public nominations and with the help of a panel of judges including Paul Kelly (Chief Executive of the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions), Andy Hine MBE (Chairman, Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain), and Sue Macmillan (Chief Executive Officer, Mumsnet). 28,275 nominations were received, with a total of 36 theme parks nominated for awards in 2026.

The major contenders for the awards include Alton Towers and Drayton Manor in Staffordshire, Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Lancashire, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey, LEGOLAND Windsor in Berkshire, Paultons Park in Hampshire, and Crealy in Devon.

The other UK theme parks to receive multiple nominations include:

Adventure Island in Essex
Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight
Camel Creek in Cornwall
Fantasy Island in Lincolnshire
Flamingo Land and Lightwater Valley in Yorkshire
Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach and Joyland in Norfolk
Gulliver's Theme Parks in Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire
Pleasurewood Hills in Suffolk
Sundown Adventureland in Nottinghamshire
Twinlakes Park in Leicestershire
West Midlands Safari Park in Worcestershire
Wicksteed Park in Northamptonshire
Woodlands Park in Devon

The awards will also recognise digital creators, with Content Creator of the Year celebrating bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, and those creating standout content on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

The public vote will take place from 20 July until 28 September. These votes will be combined with those of the Expert Judges to generate the final results, which will be announced at this year’s awards event on 10 September at Blackpool's Pleasure Beach Resort.

Theme Park of the Year

Alton Towers Resort
Chessington World of Adventures Resort
Crealy Theme Park & Resort
Drayton Manor Resort
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort
Lightwater Valley
Paultons Park
Pleasure Beach Resort
Pleasurewood Hills
Thorpe Park

Best New Attraction

Aviktas (Pleasure Beach Resort)
Bluey the Ride (Alton Towers Resort)
Chase's Mountain Mission (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)
Drakon (Paultons Park)
Fossil Falls (ROARR!)
Pirates' Plummet (Crealy Theme Park & Resort)
Rotor (Crealy Theme Park & Resort)
Spinning Coaster (Lightwater Valley)
Vild Swing (Paultons Park)
Zuma's Hovercraft Adventure (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)

Best Theme Park for Families

Adventure Island
Alton Towers Resort
Chessington World of Adventures Resort
Crealy Theme Park & Resort
Drayton Manor Resort
Fantasy Island
Flamingo Land Resort
Gulliver's Theme Park Resorts
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort
Paultons Park
Pleasure Beach Resort
Wicksteed Park

Best Theme Park for Toddlers

Alton Towers Resort (Cbeebies Land)
Chessington World of Adventures Resort
Crealy Theme Park & Resort (Sooty Land)
Drayton Manor Resort (Thomas Land)
Gulliver's Theme Park Resorts
Joyland
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort (DUPLO Valley)
Paultons Park (Peppa Pig World)
Sundown Adventureland
The Big Sheep
Twinlakes Park
Wheelgate Park

Best Theme Park for Thrills

Adventure Island
Alton Towers Resort
Drayton Manor Resort
Fantasy Island
Flamingo Land Resort
Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
Paultons Park
Pleasure Beach Resort
Pleasurewood Hills
Thorpe Park

Seaside Park of the Year

Adventure Island
Blackgang Chine
Brighton Palace Pier
Clacton Pier
Codona's
Dreamland Margate
Fantasy Island
Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
Joyland
Harbour Park
Pleasure Beach Resort
Skegness Pleasure Beach

Waterpark of the Year

Alpamare
Alton Towers Waterpark
Blue Lagoon Water Park (Bluestone)
Coral Reef Waterworld
Robin Hood's Splash Play (Wheelgate Park)
Sandcastle Waterpark
Splashdown Poole
Splashdown Quaywest
Splash Waterworld (Butlin’s)
Subtropical Swimming Paradise (Centre Parcs)
The Wave
Waterworld

Scream Park of the Year

Dr Frights Halloween Nights
Farmaggedon
FEAR Scream Park
PrimEvil
Psycho Path
Scare Kingdom Scream Park
Screamfest
The Howl Scream Park
Tulleys Shocktober Fest
Xtreme Scream Park
York Maze Hallowscream
Yorkshire Scare Grounds

Best Halloween Event

Brick or Treat (LEGOLAND Windsor Resort)
Fairground Frights (Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach)
Fear Island (Fantasy Island)
Fright Nights (Thorpe Park)
Halloween Spooktacular (Paultons Park)
Howl’o’ween (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)
Journey to Hell (Pleasure Beach Resort)
Monsters & Magic Halloween (Drayton Manor Resort)
Scarefest (Alton Towers Resort)
Spook-Fest (Crealy Theme Park & Resort)

Best Christmas Event

A Celebration of Christmas (Paultons Park)
Christmas at Alton Towers (Alton Towers Resort)
Christmas Grotto (Pleasure Beach Resort)
Christmas Spectacular (Sundown Adventureland)
Christmas Wonderland (Drayton Manor Resort)
LEGOLAND at Christmas (LEGOLAND Windsor Resort)
Magical Christmas Nights (Woodlands Park)
Santa Safari (West Midlands Safari Park)
Winter's Tail (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)
Wonderland (Adventure Island)

Best New Entertainment

A Celebration of Valgard (Paultons Park)
Alice: Frozen in a Wonderland of Dreams (Pleasure Beach Resort)
Creature Campus: Shock to the System (Thorpe Park)
Dark Hollow (Alton Towers Resort)
Edge of the Forest (Alton Towers Resort)
K-Pop Party (Crealy Theme Park & Resort)
K-Pop Takeover (Drayton Manor Resort)
Monsters & Magic Spectacular (Drayton Manor Resort)
Rising Flame: Shadows of the Tomb (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)
Spelltacular! (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)

Best Brand Activation

Animal Crossing: New Horizons at SEA LIFE (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)
Care Bears Spring Celebration (Drayton Manor Resort)
Chupa Chups x Stranger Things (Thorpe Park)
LEGO NINJAGO Celebration (LEGOLAND Windsor Resort)
Meet Baby Evie Pig at Peppa Pig World (Paultons Park)
Minecraft: Meet the Mobs (Alton Towers Resort)
PAW Patrol Autumn Adventure (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)
See Dennis & Gnasher (Gulliver's Theme Park Resorts)
See Bing & Flop (Gulliver's Theme Park Resorts)
The Bing Experience (Camel Creek)

Best Landscaped Theme Park

Alton Towers Resort
Blackgang Chine
Chessington World of Adventures Resort
Drayton Manor Resort
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort
Lightwater Valley
Paultons Park
Thorpe Park
Wicksteed Park
Woodlands Park

Best Theme Park Animal Exhibit

LEGO City Deep Sea Adventure (LEGOLAND Windsor Resort)
Lion Coast (Flamingo Land Resort)
Lion Ridge (West Midlands Safari Park)
Meerkat Manor (Wicksteed Park)
Sharkbait Reef (Alton Towers Resort)
Tiger Tropics (West Midlands Safari Park)
Valley Wildlife (Gulliver’s Valley)
Wanyama Reserve (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)
Wild Lands (Paultons Park)
ZUFARI: Ride into Africa (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)

Best Theme Park Holiday Village

Alton Towers Enchanted Village
Camel Creek Camping & Glamping
Crealy Resort
Fantasy Island Holiday Park
Flamingo Land Holiday Resort
Folly Farm Holiday Park
LEGOLAND Windsor Woodland Village
Safari Lodges (West Midlands Safari Park)
Wild Acre Village (Sundown Adventureland)
Woodlands Caravan & Camping

Best New Accessibility Initiative

ASN Family Festival (M&D’s Scotland’s Theme Park)
Cut Short Promise (The Milky Way Adventure Park)
Knights' Kingdom Changing Place (LEGOLAND Windsor Resort)
Merlin Ride Access Pass App (Merlin Entertainments)
Pre-Arrival Accessibility Videos (Merlin Entertainments)
SEND Christmas Grotto (Drayton Manor Resort)
SEND Days (Crealy Theme Park & Resort)
Wheelchair Adapted Ride Vehicles (Merlin Entertainments)

Best Social Media Content

Adventure Island
Alton Towers Resort
Blackgang Chine
Chessington World of Adventures Resort
Crealy Theme Park & Resort
Drayton Manor Resort
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort
Paultons Park
Pleasure Beach Resort
Pleasurewood Hills
Thorpe Park
Wicksteed Park

Best Marketing Campaign

Aviktas (Pleasure Beach Resort)
Bluey the Ride (Alton Towers Resort)
Building Memories for 30 Years (LEGOLAND Windsor Resort)
Fright Nights (Thorpe Park)
Paultons Park 2026 TV Advert
Pirates' Plummet (Crealy Theme Park & Resort)
The Wave Coaster Track Walk (Drayton Manor Resort)
Valgard: Realm of the Vikings (Paultons Park)
West Midlands Safari Park 2026 TV Advert
World of PAW Patrol (Chessington World of Adventures Resort)

Best Customer Service

Adventure Island
Blackgang Chine
Crealy Theme Park & Resort
Drayton Manor Resort
Fantasy Island
LEGOLAND Windsor Resort
Paultons Park
Pleasure Beach Resort
Sundown Adventureland
Thorpe Park

Best Value Theme Park

Adventure Island
Crealy Theme Park & Resort
Drayton Manor Resort
Fantasy Island
Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
Gulliver's Theme Park Resorts
Paultons Park
Pleasure Beach Resort
Sundown Adventureland
Twinlakes Park

Theme Park Personality of the Year

Amanda Thompson (Pleasure Beach Resort)
Andy Hygate (Pleasure Beach Resort)
Howard Ebison (Alton Towers Resort)
Josh Haywood (Crealy Theme Park & Resort)
Laura Baxter (Blackgang Chine)
Lawrence Mancey (Paultons Park)
Mia Haggar (Wicksteed Park)
Norman Wallis (Adventure Coast Southport)
Philip Miller (Adventure Island)
Ross Ballinger (Drayton Manor Resort)

Content Creator of the Year

Amy and Mel
Attractions Beyond
Chessington Buzz
Coaster Chall
Coastertog
Dan Does Theme Parks
Parkcast
PlanIt Park
Ride Comparisons
Theme Park Dash
Theme Park Kate
Theme Park Round-Up

The winner of Content Creator of the Year will join the previous winners in the Content Creator Hall of Fame.