Thorpe Park was not always a successful Theme Park. It was once disused flood land, and has changed over the years to become the fantastic leisure attraction it is today.

How Thorpe Park has evolved

1930 - 1940: The bulk of land that occupies the Thorpe Park site is purchased from the Lord of the Manor. Discussions take place as to what to do with the flood land.

1940 - 1970: The site becomes a "wet-working" gravel pit, owned by the Ready Mix Concrete Group. Excavation of the site for the gravel commences, leaving behind the large lakes that are still mostly present today.

1970: RMC wants to develop the land into a leisure attraction. Planning permission is granted for the whole pit to be filled with land. This would take anything up to 20 years.

1971: Planning conditions are changed, and the site is to be filled with water. This would
take a lot less time. Landscaping work commences.

1972-1978: A water park is built on the filled in water. It is to be half an exhibition, half an amusement park. The theme of the park is to be: "The History of the British People as a
Maritime Nation". 10,000 trees and plants are planted on the site.

1979: The late Lord Mountbatten, Godfather to Prince Charles, opens Thorpe Park. What is today known as the Park "Dome" - Port Atlantis - is named after him, as "The Mountbatten Pavilion". A WW1 aircraft display is one of the main attractions on Park, situated where Calypso Quay lies now. Another similar attraction is the Schneider Trophy aircraft exhibition, which lies on what is now Canada Creek. Model World is also present at the opening.

1980: Thorpe Park adds Waterbus Trips and Windsurfing opportunities to its collection of attractions.

1981: Cinema 180, a 3D Cinema is opened (nothing to do with today's Pirates 4D!). Thorpe Park's initial landscaping is complete.

1982: Thorpe Farm is opened to the public. As a working farm, Thorpe Farm offers more interactivity with Thorpe Park's visitors than the other attractions.

1983: Magic Mill, a water ride is opened (later to become Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels). Riders sit in boats with canopies and meander around a gentle course. Space Station Zero (rethemed in 1990 to the Flying Fish) is opened. Treasure Island Railway also opens this year (demolished 1993).

1984: Phantom Fantasia is this year's new attraction. It is a haunted house ride (rethemed to Wicked Witches Haunt years later).

1985: Cap'n Andy's Revue is opened to the public this year at Thorpe.

1986: Teacup Twisters is 1986's new attraction. This ride is rethemed to Storm in a Teacup in 2004.

1987: It's decided that Thorpe Park would seriously compete in the leisure industry, and is to start building more intense and exciting rides. 1987 is the year where Thunder River (now Ribena Rumba Rapids) is to be built, costing £2 million.

1988: The 360 seat Palladium Theatre opens.

1989: Logger's Leap and Rocky Express are both opened in this year, in the newly created area: Canada Creek. Canada Creek, with the exception of the instalment of Slammer, remains to this day largely unchanged.

1990: Space Station Zero is rethemed to the Flying Fish. Carousel Kingdom and Drive in the Country are opened - Carousel Kingdom is demolished in 1999 and Drive in the Country is rethemed to Miss Hippo's Fungle Safari in 1995.

1991: Following on from Canada Creek, 2 years later Thorpe Park adds Fantasy Reef as another new area in 1991. Depth Charge and the pools open in this area.

1992: Hudson River Rafters and Viking Rowers are both added to Thorpe's collection of rides. The children's area is redeveloped to the current Octopus Garden.

1993: Calgary Stampede opens in Canada Creek, along with a virtual reality area.

1994: The Vekoma Pirate Ship, Mr Monkey's Banana Ride opens in the new area, Ranger County, alongside Chief Ranger's Carousel.

1995: Miss Hippo's Fungle Safari is added to Ranger County. Magic Mill is revamped to Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels to fit in with Ranger County, too.

1996: Thorpe Park boosts its credibility as a Park with the opening of the World's first (and even now, the World's only) backwards Roller Coaster in the dark: X:\No Way Out.

1997: Thorpe Park is voted the most parent friendly park in the UK. No new rides this year.

1998: Wet! Wet! Wet! torpedo slides appear in the pool area, and the Dino Bumper Boat Ride is also opened. Dare Devil Drivers is opened (demolished 2000). The Palladium Theatre is demolished, and the Ranger's Show gives its final performance. The Tussauds Group buy Thorpe Park to join CWoA, Alton Towers and Madame Tussauds, the company having just changed hands from Pearson to Charterhouse Capital Partners.

1999: Tussauds install their first ride at Thorpe, Pirates 4D, a 3D film with special effects,
starring Leslie Neilson. Viking Rowers is demolished to make way for Tidal Wave, to open in 2000.

2000: New for the Millennium is Tidal Wave - Europe's highest water ride at the time. Advertising is heavy for the ride. However, a fire sweeps through the Park in July 2000 due to a careless smoker, which destroys one of the best themed attractions, Wicked Witches Haunt. Nobody is injured. Jungle Zone Family Golf, Dare Devil Drivers, Cap'n Andy's Revue and Dino Bumper Boats are all demolished.

2001: Tussauds continue investing, installing 3 new thrill rides into the Park: Zodiac (an Enterprise), Vortex (a KMG Afterburner) and Detonator (a 100ft Fabbri Megadrop). Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels is demolished.

2002: Colossus opens to the public: the World's first and only Roller Coaster with 10 inversions - which still is a record. The ride is a stunning icon ride for the Thorpe, and puts the Park on the map. Visitor numbers boom, and the ride is a success. The High Dive Show has its last year at Thorpe Park.

2003: Tussauds follow up Colossus and its success in 2002 with another Roller Coaster, sister to Nemesis at Alton Towers - Nemesis Inferno. The ride is also a great success. Spiderman Shows start to take place in Thorpe's Arena this year.

2004: Samurai, a Mondial Topscan, comes to Thorpe from it's sister Park, Chessington World of Adventures, and replaces the ageing Calgary Stampede. The Spiderman Show has another year at Thorpe and Teacup Twisters has a retheme to Storm in a Teacup.

2005: 2 new rides arrive at Thorpe Park this year; Slammer, a Sky Swatter, and Rush, a Giant Swing, both from S&S. Slammer, which was supposed to open on opening day, opens late, and Rush opens as expected in June. StuntzMania is this year's new show. Flying Fish and Model World are removed to make way for the 2006 Icon Coaster. The Tussauds Group changes hands once again from Charterhouse Capital Partners to Dubai International Capital.

2006: For their biggest Season yet, Thorpe Park open Stealth, a 205ft Intamin Rocket 'Coaster. This is Europe's tallest and fastest Launch 'Coaster (0-80mph in 2.3 secs), with the 4th steepest drop in the world. StreetXtreme opens in the Arena.

2007: Due to popular demand, Thorpe Park reinstall Flying Fish, in a new location in between Tidal Wave and Depth Charge. Stealth is "tweaked" to accelerate trains from 0-80mpg in under 2 seconds.

This brings us to present day.