What is your favourite coaster lineup in the UK?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. The UK has a surprising amount of parks for a relatively small country in terms of landmass, and this naturally means that the UK has quite a number of coaster lineups. These vary in quantity and variety, but there are a surprising amount of coasters in the UK nonetheless. After a furious debate in the Blackpool Pleasure Beach topic yesterday regarding its coaster lineup vs Alton Towers' (amongst other things), it got me thinking about my favourite UK coaster lineups. As such, my question to you today is; which coaster lineup in the UK is your favourite?

 

Personally, I would vote for the coaster lineup of Alton Towers as a gut instinct answer. Their top coaster for me (Wicker Man) is one of my favourite coasters in the UK and sits firmly in my top 10, Oblivion isn't at all far behind (it's at #11 and the very top of my 9/10 tier, in fact!), and overall, the park has a number of very solid headliners, in my view!

 

However, I'd be interested to work out the answer to this statistically based on my coaster rankings and ratings from my spreadsheet...

My UK parks ranked by measures of central tendency of all ridden coasters

Mean Rating

Ranking	Park	Mean Rating out of 10 (to 1dp)	Number of Ridden Coasters
1	Alton Towers	6.5	10
2	Paultons Park	6	5
3	Thorpe Park	5.7	7
4	Oakwood Theme Park	5.3	4
5	Drayton Manor	4.8	4
6	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	4.5	10
7	Legoland Windsor	4	1
8	Chessington	4	4
9	West Midlands Safari Park	3	2
10	South Pier Blackpool	2	1

Median Rating

Ranking	Park	Median Rating out of 10 (to 1dp)	Number of Ridden Coasters
1	Alton Towers	6.5	10
2	Paultons Park	6	5
3	Thorpe Park	5	7
4	Oakwood Theme Park	5	4
5	Drayton Manor	4.5	4
6	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	4	10
7	Legoland Windsor	4	1
8	Chessington	4	4
9	West Midlands Safari Park	3	2
10	South Pier Blackpool	2	1

Mean Ranking

Ranking	Park	Mean Ranking out of 99 Ranked/Rated Coasters (to 1dp)	Number of Ridden Coasters
1	Alton Towers	39.4	10
2	Paultons Park	45.4	5
3	Thorpe Park	47.1	7
4	Oakwood Theme Park	51	4
5	Drayton Manor	60.5	4
6	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	61.8	10
7	Legoland Windsor	67	1
8	Chessington	69.3	4
9	West Midlands Safari Park	78.5	2
10	South Pier Blackpool	93	1

Median Ranking

Ranking	Park	Median Ranking out of 99 Ranked/Rated Coasters (to 1dp)	Number of Ridden Coasters
1	Alton Towers	33	10
2	Paultons Park	40	5
3	Thorpe Park	47	7
4	Oakwood Theme Park	49	4
5	Drayton Manor	61.5	4
6	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	65.5	10
7	Legoland Windsor	67	1
8	Chessington	71.5	4
9	West Midlands Safari Park	78.5	2
10	South Pier Blackpool	93	1

By the measures of central tendency for all UK parks, Alton Towers wins for me by mean and median rankings and ratings, with Paultons Park and Thorpe Park coming 2nd and 3rd in all measures respectively.

 

However, I would say that measures of central tendency across a whole lineup are not necessarily an accurate indicator of how much I or anyone else likes a park's lineup, as for me (and I'm sure this is the case for many others), I can look past some slightly weaker links if the park's top few coasters are really good. Measures of central tendency for the whole lineup doesn't take the top-ranking coasters into account, purely considering what things look like at the centre of the park's ranking. They are quite good for determining how consistently strong a lineup is, but perhaps not for how much one personally likes a park's lineup. For instance, all of these measures have Paultons Park as my 2nd favourite coaster lineup in the UK. Would I personally say that was the case if asked? No, I wouldn't. This isn't a slight against Paultons by any means, but I'd say that its lineup lacks a few thrill headliners compared to some of my personal favourite parks in the UK.

 

With this in mind, I'll try this out looking solely at the parks' top 3 coasters...

My UK parks ranked by measures of central tendency of the top 3 ridden coasters

Mean Rating of Top 3

Ranking	Park	Mean Rating out of 10 (to 1dp)	Top 3 Coasters and their Ratings
1	Alton Towers	9.3	Wicker Man (10/10) Oblivion (9/10) Rita (9/10)
2	Thorpe Park	8	Nemesis Inferno (9/10) Stealth (8/10) The Swarm (7/10)
3	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	7.7	Icon (10/10) Avalanche (7/10) Nickelodeon Streak (6/10)
4	Paultons Park	6.7	Flight of the Pterosaur (7/10) Storm Chaser (7/10) Cobra (6/10)
5	Oakwood Theme Park	6	Megafobia (8/10) Speed (5/10) Treetops (5/10)
6	Drayton Manor	5	Accelerator (6/10) Troublesome Trucks (5/10) Shockwave (4/10)
7	Chessington	4.7	Dragon's Fury (6/10) Vampire (4/10) Scorpion Express (4/10)
8	Legoland Windsor	4	Dragon (4/10)
9	West Midlands Safari Park	3	Rhino Coaster (4/10) Monkey Mayhem (2/10)
10	South Pier Blackpool	2	Crazy Coaster (2/10)

Median Rating of Top 3

Ranking	Park	Median Rating out of 10 (to 1dp)	Top 3 Coasters and their Ratings
1	Alton Towers	9	Wicker Man (10/10) Oblivion (9/10) Rita (9/10)
2	Thorpe Park	8	Nemesis Inferno (9/10) Stealth (8/10) The Swarm (7/10)
3	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	7	Icon (10/10) Avalanche (7/10) Nickelodeon Streak (6/10)
4	Paultons Park	7	Flight of the Pterosaur (7/10) Storm Chaser (7/10) Cobra (6/10)
5	Oakwood Theme Park	5	Megafobia (8/10) Speed (5/10) Treetops (5/10)
6	Drayton Manor	5	Accelerator (6/10) Troublesome Trucks (5/10) Shockwave (4/10)
7	Chessington	4	Dragon's Fury (6/10) Vampire (4/10) Scorpion Express (4/10)
8	Legoland Windsor	4	Dragon (4/10)
9	West Midlands Safari Park	3	Rhino Coaster (4/10) Monkey Mayhem (2/10)
10	South Pier Blackpool	2	Crazy Coaster (2/10)

Mean Ranking of Top 3

Ranking	Park	Mean Ranking out of 99 Ranked/Rated Coasters (to 1dp)	Top 3 Coasters and their Rankings
1	Alton Towers	13	Wicker Man (#10) Oblivion (#11) Rita (#18)
2	Thorpe Park	21.3	Nemesis Inferno (#17) Stealth (#19) The Swarm (#28)
3	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	28.7	Icon (#8) Avalanche (#32) Nickelodeon Streak (#46)
4	Paultons Park	36.3	Flight of the Pterosaur (#34) Storm Chaser (#35) Cobra (#40)
5	Oakwood Theme Park	40.7	Megafobia (#24) Speed (#48) Treetops (#50)
6	Drayton Manor	55.7	Accelerator (#44) Troublesome Trucks (#59) Shockwave (#64)
7	Chessington	62	Dragon's Fury (#43) Vampire (#69) Scorpion Express (#74)
8	Legoland Windsor	67	Dragon (#67)
9	West Midlands Safari Park	78.5	Rhino Coaster (#61) Monkey Mayhem (#96)
10	South Pier Blackpool	93	Crazy Coaster (#93)

Median Ranking

Ranking	Park	Median Ranking out of 99 Ranked/Rated Coasters (to 1dp)	Top 3 Coasters and their Rankings
1	Alton Towers	11	Wicker Man (#10) Oblivion (#11) Rita (#18)
2	Thorpe Park	19	Nemesis Inferno (#17) Stealth (#19) The Swarm (#28)
3	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	32	Icon (#8) Avalanche (#32) Nickelodeon Streak (#46)
4	Paultons Park	35	Flight of the Pterosaur (#34) Storm Chaser (#35) Cobra (#40)
5	Oakwood Theme Park	48	Megafobia (#24) Speed (#48) Treetops (#50)
6	Drayton Manor	59	Accelerator (#44) Troublesome Trucks (#59) Shockwave (#64)
7	Legoland Windsor	67	Dragon (#67)
8	Chessington	69	Dragon's Fury (#43) Vampire (#69) Scorpion Express (#74)
9	West Midlands Safari Park	78.5	Rhino Coaster (#61) Monkey Mayhem (#96)
10	South Pier Blackpool	93	Crazy Coaster (#93)

So by the measures of central tendency for the top 3, Alton Towers won those too, closely followed by Thorpe Park and Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

 

As I can never resist a ranking, I also thought I'd have a go at ranking the UK coaster selections I've done by gut feeling and explain my reasoning for each placement:

1. Alton Towers - This is definitely top dog for me. Wicker Man is right up there in my top 10, Oblivion isn't far behind, Rita closes out the top 3 nicely, Nemesis is great, Thirteen is good fun... the park has a lot of excellent draws, and to be honest, there's not much that's overly low-ranking. 7 of the 10 coasters I've ridden in the park are in my top 50%, which is no mean feat!
2. Thorpe Park - Thorpe has a really good, solid coaster selection; Stealth, Nemesis Inferno and Swarm all make my top 30, and 4 out of 7 of the coasters I've ridden at the park make my top 50%. However, there aren't quite as many coasters as at Alton, and unlike Alton, I think they lack a 10/10 tier draw for me at present, if I'm being really pedantic. I'm optimistic that Exodus could end up being that draw, and if it is, it will make Thorpe and Alton a slightly closer match for me. At present, though, the slightly lower quantity of coasters compared to Alton and the fact that the park lacks a 10/10 tier draw for me does put its coaster selection below Alton, in my opinion. Colossus in particular also ranks pretty lowly for me.
3. Blackpool Pleasure Beach - Blackpool starts off really well, with Icon being my top coaster in the UK and firmly placed within my top 10 and 10/10 tier overall, and the breadth, variety and uniqueness of the selection is undeniable. However, if I'm talking honestly from the standpoint of my personal preferences, I'd argue that the park's coaster selection is a bit of a one-hit wonder, with Icon being the only coaster of Blackpool's that I rate overly highly. It's the only coaster at the park that makes my top 10%, my top 25% or my top 30, and only 3 of the park's 10 coasters make my top 50%. It's a somewhat weak selection overall given the size of it for me (joint with Alton for the most ridden coasters of any UK park, at 10), and there are a few coasters that rank pretty lowly in my list, but I think that is more down to my personal preferences, as the park undeniably has some impressive rides. I'm probably being overly harsh, so I'm sorry for that.
4. Paultons Park - Paultons sits lower than the other 3 by virtue of it lacking thrilling headliners that make my top 10%, top 25% or top 30. Nonetheless, the park has a very solid, fun selection of family rides and nothing that ranks overly lowly, so I think it does a great job given the target demographic. Pterosaur and Storm Chaser are a very solid one-two punch of family thrill headliners, sitting just outside my top 30, and Cobra and Velociraptor aren't half bad, either; 4 out of the 5 coasters I've ridden at the park make my top 50%.
5. Oakwood Theme Park - For a park of its calibre, I've always felt that Oakwood has some impressive coaster hardware. Megafobia is a great headliner, sitting solidly in my top 25% and top 30, and Speed (and possibly Treetops depending on whether I consider 49 or 50 to be the cutoff) also makes my top 50%. However, you still cannot get past the fact that the park does not have many coasters, and that Megafobia is the only coaster there that I rate particularly highly, which will inhibit it compared to the others.
6. Drayton Manor - I'd say that there's quite a notable drop off here. If I'm being honest, I would have said that Drayton Manor's coaster selection was one of its weak links, and I think my deserted day there last June brought this to the fore for me; when I had no queues at Drayton, the lack of a great, rerideable headline coaster did stand out. The park's main thrill coaster, Shockwave, is not a ride that I personally rate, and beyond that, you have a family boomerang, a junior coaster and a relatively weak powered coaster. None of the park's 4 coasters make my top 10%, top 25% or top 30, and only 1 of the park's coasters makes my top 50%. I'm very conscious of the fact that Drayton Manor is not aimed at my age group, so I'm probably being far too harsh, but I would say that I've ridden numerous coasters for the family thrill demographic that I would rate notably higher than any of Drayton's coasters, and I've also been to parks that have what I would consider to be superior selections of family and family thrill coasters. Time will tell whether the new-for-2024 coaster improves Drayton's selection, but personally, I would have said that Drayton had a relatively weak coaster selection, if I'm being completely honest. Admittedly, the park does have a coaster in my top 50%, and there's nothing there that rates overly lowly for me, but there's also nothing there that rates especially highly for me either, and as I said, only one of the park's 4 coasters is even in the top half of my rankings.
7. Chessington - I admittedly haven't been to Chessington for 9 years, but I remember my overriding feeling towards Chessington's coaster selection being very similar to my overriding feeling towards Drayton Manor's, except for the fact that Chessington has a very lowly ranking coaster for me in Rattlesnake. Granted, I will reserve judgement on Mandrill Mayhem until September, but I don't remember Chessington's coaster selection being one that I overly rated; none of the park's coasters are in my top 10%, top 25% or top 30, and only 1 of the 4 coasters I've ridden there is in my top 50%. I'm probably being overly harsh on Chessington given it's a family-focused park, but even for the demographic, I would say that I've been to parks with stronger coaster selections and ridden higher-rating family thrill coasters than any of Chessington's.
8. West Midlands Safari Park - This park has a perfectly adequate junior coaster and a Reverchon spinner, a ride type that I rate very lowly. There's not much more to say than that, really.
9. Legoland Windsor - I've only ridden Dragon of the coasters here, and I wouldn't have said it was an overly exceptional family coaster. There's not much more to say than that, really.
10. South Pier Blackpool - Like with Legoland, I have only ridden one coaster here, and it's a Reverchon spinner that I rate very lowly. There's not much more to say than that, really.

It would seem that based on gut feeling, I agree a lot more with my ranking of the parks' top 3s by measures of central tendency than I would with my ranking of their whole selections by measures of central tendency. Doing measures of central tendency for the whole selection will always negatively impact a park with one or two lowly ranked coasters even if the top few are relatively strong. It also negatively impacts parks where you've ridden all of the coasters compared to parks where you've only ridden a select few of the top draws.

 

So overall then, I think I can conclude that Alton Towers is definitely my favourite coaster lineup in the UK! I apologise for the long and likely somewhat uninteresting statistical and ranking-based detour, but I thought that it might be interesting to delve through my rankings and see empirically how the UK's lineups stack up with each other. But I'd be keen to know; what is your favourite coaster lineup in the UK?