Camelot Theme Park

Infobox Amusement park
name = Camelot


caption = Camelot's logo, 2006
location = Charnock Richard, Lancashire
location2 =
location3 = England
opening_date = 1984
previous_names =
season = April - October
area =
rides = 26 attractions in
coasters = 5
water_rides = 2
owner = Prime Resorts
slogan = The land of great knights, and amazing days
homepage = [http://www.camelotthemepark.co.uk www.camelotthemepark.co.uk]

Camelot Theme Park is a resort and Theme Park in Charnock Richard, Chorley, Lancashire, England based on the legend of Camelot. The site is owned by Prime Resorts. The park is home to many rides, taking a target audience of families and younger children, however the park also boasts numerous thrill rides and roller coasters, including Whirlwind (a Maurer Söhne spinning coaster), Knightmare and Excalibur.

The park opened in 1984 and has been operating seasonally since then. In 1986 it was bought out by The Granada Group, and operated by them alongside its now defunct sister parks American Adventure and Granada Studios Tour. In June 1998 the park was subject to a management buyout in which the park went to the current owners Prime Resorts.

Past

Ride Removals

*Tower of Terror was a steel sit-down roller coaster manufactured by Schwarzkopf. It was removed in 2000 to make way for a Vekoma Invertigo, and also due to cost issues as the ride was leased along with the original Excalibur from the Bembom Brothers. However, planning permission was denied for this ride so the park was forced to replace the ride with a Pinfari ZL42, "The Gauntlet" (since closed). While the ride was being taken down, a polystyrene castle which was part of the rides theming was burned down when some sparks from a saw hit it. The ride itself was unscathed, and is now operating as Twist N' Shout at Henk Bembom's Loudoun Castle.

*Excalibur Was a Weber Dreamboat (Traumboot) and was removed with the Tower of Terror. It stood originally on the site of the Whirlwind, however the space the Tower of Terror originally took up was more than enough space for the replacement Gauntlet Pinfari roller coaster and the Excalibur 2 (Fabbri Evolution). This left a site vacant, which was later used for the Whirlwind

*Venom was a steel powered dark-roller coaster. It was removed in 2005 due to increasing safety regulations with indoor roller coasters. While operated, the ride was enclosed inside a building and kept in the dark. When first opened, the ride was originally called "The Beast" and kept inside a mountain themed building. This building was removed in 2001 to make way for an extension to the castle, which would have created a new indoor entertainment centre. However, when it became apparent the park could close within the next few years the plans were largely scaled back, leaving room for the ride to stay. The building and ride were then rebuilt, but was themed as a snake, in a snakes lair. The ride is now owned by Williams Amusements and the castle was extended to include the new indoor entertainment centre and Dodgems ride.

*The Sorcerer was a roller coaster manufactured by Pinfari. It was installed in 1995 however removed in 1997 to make way for The Quintain. The park also considered it too small a roller coaster and it was not as popular with guests as the park hoped. Its presence was faded by the ever popular Tower of Terror.

*The Quintain was a Huss Flipper and was removed before the 2006 season started and was replaced by a carousel. It was thought by many guests that the ride was not suitable for the target audience of the park.

*The Gauntlet, a Pinfari ZL42, was removed after the 2006 season in order to make room for Knightmare. The ride was renowned for operational problems and midway through the 2005 season, a non standard train was purchased to replace the ageing original trains. During 2005 the ride experienced significant downtime. A worker also once died while maintaining it. The ride is now named 'Storm' and is at New Pleasureland in Southport.

*Carousel, the smaller of the two Carousels in the park was removed after the 2006 season due to its age and being shaded by the much more extravagant carousel located close by. The Junior Galleon has been moved to the front of the Playland building to occupy the Carousels central spot.

*Leverets, A small children's ride located at the side of the Rack (previous locations include the side of the original Excalibur, and at the front of the park - under a different name). It was removed after the 2006 season due to the cars and track becoming unreliable. The ride was often closed when the park was open, and has not been replaced.

Accidents

*On 22 October 2001, a park employee was struck by The Gauntlet roller coaster and was killed. [cite news | title=Death at theme park | publisher=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1614118.stm | accessdate=2007-01-22] The park was fined £40,000 as the park had no written safety procedures for its staff. [cite news | title=Theme park fined over ride death | publisher=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/3130684.stm | accessdate=2007-01-22]
*On 18 April 2004, a boy was hit by a bus in the theme park's car park and was killed. [cite news | title=Camelot bus death boy is named | publisher=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/3638277.stm | accessdate=2007-01-22] The driver was charged with death by dangerous driving, [cite news | title=Bus driver facing death charges | publisher=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3663498.stm | accessdate=2007-01-22] the case was later dropped due to legal arguments. [cite news | title=Driver's death charge is dropped | publisher=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/4085911.stm | accessdate=2007-01-22]

Present

Rides

*Knightmare a custom Schwarzkopf / Zierer roller coaster.
*Excalibur 2 a Fabbri Evolution.
*Whirlwind a Maurer Söhne Xtended SC 2000.
*The Rack a Vekoma Canyon Trip.
*Dragon Flyer a very rare diesel powered roller coaster manufactured by S.C. Italy that loops the lower section of the park.
*Junior Dragon Coaster.
*Caterpillar Capers a Pinfari Big Apple MB28.
*The Galleon a swinging pirate ship.
*Falcon’s Flight Zamperla Balloon Ride.
*Go Karts (extra charge).
*Pendragon’s Plunge A three tube water slide.
*Log Flume.
*Cup & Sorcerer a teacup ride.
*Kingdom in the Clouds a Ferris wheel.
*Bertie’s Driving School (extra charge).
*Playland Express. IE Park Train
*Junior Galleon Smaller version of the Galleon ride.
*Sir Lancelot’s Chargers a two tier carousel.
*Jousting Horses Zamperla Horse Ride.
*Human cannonball.
*Clown around!.
*Sky divers.
*Towers of Fun A soft play area.
*Jousting Knight Dodgems.
*Merlin’s Indoor Playland.
*Dungeons of Doom a ghost train ride.

hows

*Jousting Tournament A live joust performed by Camelots own Knights, led by an actor playing King Arthur. Performed in the Avalon Arena. The park hosts the UKs only full time jousting arena.
*Merlin's Magic Show Performed in Merlin's castle this show demonstrates some of Merlin's magical skills
*Merlin's School of Wizardry Performed in Merlin's castle, Merlin's School of Wizardry teaches some of Merlin's magic to the audience.
*Cats of the Round Table An animatronic cats show in the dark. Visitors can witness singing and dancing cats in the old family restaurant, located at the front of the park.

Declining attendance

Camelot has seen a major downturn in attendance in recent years. In 1995, Camelot's attendance was 500,000 visitors throughout the season. [cite web | title=Visits to Tourist Attractions in Lancashire, 1995-2004 | publisher=Lancashire County Council | url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/lancashireprofile/sectors/attendance.asp | accessdate=2006-09-19] In 2005 Camelot's attendance was only 336,204 visitors. [cite web | title=Major Attractions in the Northwest | publisher=NWDA Research Team | url=http://www.nwriu.co.uk/tourism/2391.aspx | accessdate=2006-09-19]

Future

Closure

It is believed Camelot may close in the coming years, due to dropping attendance figures and lack of income. There are plans from current owners, Prime Resorts, to obtain planning permission for a new housing and leisure development. [cite news | title=Proposals for Camelot redevelopment | publisher=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/5048858.stm | accessdate=2007-01-26] Currently, the park owners deny any chance of closure in the near future, stating that the park is taking on major new projects, such as the new roller coaster 'Knightmare'. [cite web | title=Camelot Theme Parks opening times & new ride announcement | publisher=Camelot Theme Park | url=http://camelotthemepark.co.uk/opening_times/ | accessdate=2006-09-19] It is therefore reasonable to assume that Camelot's future is dependent upon how it fares for the next few seasons, and it is expected that if visitor numbers start to rise, then more investment will follow and its future will be safeguarded.

New Rides

Camelot has opened a new ride for the 2007 season, [cite web | title=BMRX at Camelot? | publisher=UK Rides | url=http://ukrides.info/camknightmare.htm | accessdate=2007-02-08] a roller coaster that they have named 'Knightmare'. The ride has been relocated from Kobe Portopialand in Japan, where it was known as BMRX. The roller coaster is highly regarded and was recently rated 36th best steel coaster in the Mitch Hawker poll.

Criticism

In a survey of healthy food available at leading tourist attractions in the UK, Camelot came joint bottom scoring only one point. [cite news | title=Tourist attractions 'unhealthy' | publisher=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/5285920.stm | accessdate=2006-09-19]

References

Links

[http://www.camelotthemepark.co.uk www.camelotthemepark.co.uk] - Camelot Theme Park Offical Website.
[http://www.camelotonline.co.uk www.camelotonline.co.uk] - The first and only online forums dedicated to Camelot Theme Park.