Discover the 6 Best-Value Amusement Parks in the UK
Updated on 28/05/2024
By Mackenzie
Adventure and fun are often the first things that come to mind when we hear amusement park. However, savings and value are two words that should also be considered. Our savings experts have compiled a list of the 6 best-value amusement parks. We will explore not only incredible adventure parks but parks that are valuable regarding ticket prices, rides, reviews and more.
- Southend Adventure Island is named the UK’s best value amusement park with some of the cheapest costs per ride, high star ratings, and value-praising reviews.
- Woodlands Family Theme Park, Totnes, Devon, ranks second and has some of the cheapest ticket costs compared to the number of rides.
- Drayton Manor, Tamworth, ranks third
Thanks to new research, the best-value amusement parks in the UK have been determined with Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea ranking first.
The 6 Best-Value Amusement Parks
Our saving experts here at BravoVoucher have analysed the ticket price, star rating, review sentiment, and the number of rides and attractions of the UK’s top 60 amusement parks to determine the top 6 Adventure Parks with the best value. Whether you're a thrill-seeker or just want a fun-filled day out, these parks will not disappoint.
1. Adventure Island, Southend-on-Sea, Essex - The Top Ranked Park!
Adventure Island comes in first as the UK’s best-value park and for some good reasons. This park has 38 rides and attractions, the ninth most in the UK, and with a £20 ticket price (bought online in advance), it has the fifth cheapest cost per ride in the country, working out at around 53p, over half the national average of £1.30. Adventure Island ranks among the top ten parks with the most frequent positive mentions in TripAdvisor reviews. Over one in five guests praised its “value” (22%), and almost one in six mentioned the “free” admission (14%), the sixth and eighth-highest nationally, with an average rating of 4.5 stars.
2. Woodlands Family Theme Park, Totnes, Devon - Best Price per Attraction!
Woodlands Family Theme Park is the second best-value park on our list. A ticket costs £13.95, and the park has 46 rides and attractions making it the sixth-cheapest park and fourth-highest in the UK for rides and attractions. That works out at just 30p per ride, the third-best value for a ticket overall. The park also ranks among the top 20 whose guests praise its great value. Over one in six (17%) reviewers use the word “value” when describing the park, and almost one in ten (9%) used “free” with an average star rating of 4.2.
3. Drayton Manor, Mile Oak, Tamworth, Staffordshire - More Variety!
Drayton Manor comes in third overall amongst our top parks. It has 44 rides making it the sixth-best for variety. The park has a £29.50 ticket price, it costs around 67p to try each attraction once. Drayton Manor also has the sixth-highest percentage of reviews praising its customer “deals” (4%), with an average rating of four stars.
4. Paultons Park, Romsey, Hampshire - Best Reviewed!
Fourth on our list is Paultons Park. While its tickets are one of the UK’s priciest at £43.50, the park contains 39 rides and attractions ensuring that the admission price stretches, costing around £1.12 per ride, which comes out below the UK average. It ranks among the highest-rated parks online, with 4.7 stars on Google, making it the second-highest reviewed in the UK. Also, almost one in ten reviews praised its “value” (9%).
5. Fantasy Island, Skegness, Lincolnshire - More Rides, More Bargains!
Coming in fifth on our list is Fantasy Island. While admission sits slightly above the average cost at £29.50, the park makes up for it with its 34 rides and attractions, making it the 12th-most in the country. That means it would cost you around 87p to try everything once, well below the £1.30 national average. Fantasy Island has some of the most frequent mentions in reviews praising its value. It has the highest number of “bargain” mentions in the country, found in seven in 100 reviews (7%), and almost one in ten used the word “cheap” (9%), the third-highest nationally.
6. Flambards Theme Park, Helston, Cornwall - Cost Effective!
Finishing off the list is Flambards which takes sixth place. Guests enjoy a below-average cost per ride at around £1.09. Thanks to an analysis of TripAdvisor reviews, it was found that park guests frequently compliment its cost-effectiveness, with over one in six mentioning the word “free” (17%), followed by “value” (14%).
We haven’t just stopped at the top 6 best-value parks. The ranks seventh through tenth go to Alton Towers, Gulliver’s Kingdom, Chessington World of Adventures, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Although we have mentioned the 6 best adventure parks based on values we must also mention the worst park. The UK’s worst-value park is Clarence Pier in Southsea, Hampshire. This park offers day rider wristbands for £30, the same as an advance ticket at Alton Towers or Thorpe Park (from £29pp). Clarence Pier has among the fewest rides in a UK park, resulting in the nation’s third-highest cost-per-ride; setting you back £2.50 each time.
Marco Farnararo, CEO and Co-Founder of Bravo Savings Network commented on the findings:
“With cost-of-living pressures hitting UK households and families feeling the squeeze during school holidays and weekends when kids want to go out, our research aims to help families decide which days out will help their money stretch the furthest.
“By looking at multiple factors beyond the ticket price, we can better evaluate where guests of all ages are most likely to enjoy their time and feel the cost was worth it.
“While it’s true some of the UK’s best-loved parks like Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures rank among the ten best value, residents living near the more local parks can still enjoy a great day out. Some even have a much cheaper price per ride than some of the bigger parks”.
If you use these insights, please provide a hyperlinked credit to https://www.bravovoucher.co.uk/, who commissioned the data. A linked credit allows us to keep supplying you with content that you may find useful.
The UK’s 10 best-value theme parks
Rank | Theme Park | TripAdvisor rating | Google rating | Reviews containing "bargain" (%) | Reviews containing "cheap" (%) | Reviews containing "deal" (%) | Reviews containing "free" (%) | Reviews containing "value" (%) | Day ticket price | Total rides | Cost per ride |
1 | Adventure Island | 4.50 | 4.10 | 1% | 2% | 3% | 14% | 22% | £20.00 | 38 | £0.53 |
2 | Woodlands Family Theme Park | 4.00 | 4.40 | 1% | 3% | 2% | 9% | 17% | £13.95 | 46 | £0.30 |
3 | Drayton Manor | 4.00 | 4.30 | 1% | 2% | 4% | 7% | 11% | £29.50 | 44 | £0.67 |
4 | Paultons Park | 4.50 | 4.70 | 0% | 2% | 3% | 10% | 9% | £43.50 | 39 | £1.12 |
5 | Fantasy Island | 4.00 | 4.30 | 7% | 9% | 1% | 6% | 14% | £29.50 | 34 | £0.87 |
6 | Flambards Theme Park | 3.50 | 4.20 | 1% | 3% | 3% | 17% | 14% | £20.66 | 19 | £1.09 |
7 | Alton Towers | 4.00 | 4.40 | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | 5% | £35.00 | 42 | £0.83 |
8 | Gulliver's Kingdom | 4.00 | 4.30 | 1% | 3% | 3% | 9% | 15% | £26.00 | 38 | £0.68 |
9 | Chessington World of Adventures | 3.00 | 4.10 | 0% | 2% | 4% | 8% | 6% | £34.00 | 45 | £0.76 |
10 | Blackpool Pleasure Beach | 4.00 | 4.40 | 1% | 3% | 3% | 7% | 7% | £35.00 | 38 | £0.92 |
Methodology:
- Bravo Voucher sourced a list of the top 60 UK theme parks and their websites from TripAdvisor.com.
- Researchers recorded the average TripAdvisor and Google Review rating for each park.
- The percentage of TripAdvisor reviews containing the words “bargain”, “cheap”, “deal”, “free”, and “value” were recorded.
- Ticket prices and the number of rides and family attractions were sourced from each park’s website.
- An overall index and ranking were generated using the indicators.
- Theme parks were ranked from highest to lowest index score to determine the final ranking.
Sources:
- TripAdvisor
- Google Reviews
- Company website (for example, paultonspark.co.uk)
We use a third party provider, MailUp, to deliver our newsletter. We gather statistics based on email openings and clicks using industry standard technologies to help us monitor and improve our newsletter.
For more information, please see our privacy notice.