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Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo

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Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo is a popular English amusement park.

The current official logo of Flamingo Land
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The current official logo of Flamingo Land

Contents

Contemporary overview of the site

The park is set in 375 acres of North Yorkshire countryside, in the Ryedale district with views of the Yorkshire Moors. The park is adjacent to the small village of Kirby Misperton and can be located off the A169, almost immediately between the towns of Malton to the south of the park and Pickering to the north of the park.

Flamingo Land is noted for being the only site in the country which contains a theme park, a zoo and a holiday resort all in one location. Flamingo Land's theme park area contains more than one hundred "white knuckle" rides and slides, there are at least five shows (including the favourite sea lion and parrot performances) and the zoo displays wildlife from all over the world. With over 1,000 exotic animals of all varieties, the zoo claims to be the largest of its kind in Europe.

As well as being the largest amusement park in North England by quite a size, the park is also the largest and most popular privately-owned amusement park in the whole United Kingdom, and relies solely on its own revenue (in competition with larger English theme parks that are owned by national corporations and which rely on capital raised by stock market flotations, such as Alton Towers and Thorpe Park.)

During the 2005 season (April until October) the park attracted over 1.4 million visitors (up 11% on the previous season); mostly visitors from the North East of England but also including many from the rest of the country and abroad. At any one time were an estimated 4,000 holidaymakers staying in the holiday village.

The park made a profit of over 700 million pounds during the 2005 season.

History of the park

The Flamingo Park Zoological Gardens were founded within nine acres of land in 1959 by a resident of Scarborough; an entrepreneur in the cinema and theatre industry by the name of Pentland Hick. Hick has been described as both an eccentric and a visionary by his critics. Hick organised expeditions to many locations around the world to capture bottlenose dolphins and sperm whales, including to the Indian Ocean and off the coast of Greenland. Hick was commended for his treatment of the animals, which were fed well and kept in expansive enclosures.

A colony of pink flamingos were among the first animals to be housed on site and, remaining one of the most popular group of animals in the zoo, the flamingos became a kind of mascot for the entire park (hence Pentland Hick's choice of name for the park.) The descendants of the original flamingos are still resident in the zoo today, and the flamingo colony at the park remains the largest in the country.

Throughout the 1960s a small fun fair began to be held on the site, only to steadily gain momentum and bring more and more visitors to the site. In the 1970s, the fun fair was well established and amusement rides had become a permanent fixture of the park simultaneous to the zoo.

The ownership of the site began to shift about with the steady growth of the park. Pentland Hick sold the site in 1965 to Pleasure Parks Ltd, who officially renamed the site Yorkshire Zoo on Monday July 12, 1968. Again, with the continued growth of the park, the site was sold again, this time to Scotia Leisure, a company which dealt mainly with bingo halls and package holidays.

However a director of that leisure company was Robert Gibb, who cared for the park greatly and decided to buy the park from the company in 1978 and set up his own board of directors. Gibb renamed the park Flamingo Land and developed the complex so that it was more suited to be a nation-wide instead of a local tourist attraction, including developing the growth of the amusement rides and the uniqueness of the animals cared for in the zoo. It was slow process, but a successul one.

The year 1991 (whilst still under Robert Gibb's management) was one of the most productive in the park's history; it was in this year that the famous rides Bullet and Thunder Mountain were constructed.

Robert Gibb tragically died in a car accident in 1995, and his nineteen-year-old son, Gordon Gibb, became chief executive of the park. Gordon Gibb is currently overseeing some sweeping developments to the site for the 2006 season (which is part of a five year plan on the part of Mr Gibb.) In 2003, the intrepid Mr Gibb was nominated the Yorkshire Evening Press "Business Personality of the Year". Gordon ranks 60th in the UK rich list for individuals under 30, with a £20 million stake in the park, and he has been said to have a personal worth of £6 million (although this is undoubtfully more.)

Gordon Gibb is known for being a down-to-earth and pleasant man, is respected by the park staff, and can often be seen walking his dogs on the site and socialising with visitors to the park himself. Gordon has a young family, is an avid football fan, and is a former chairman of Bradford City A.F.C..

Zoo

For a time the Yorkshire Zoo, Flamingo Land's zoo claims to be the largest of its kind in Europe, housing over 1,000 animals. This zoo is widely praised and houses exotic birds, rare fish and sea-life, mammals and reptiles. Examples of animals kept there are camels, zebras, bison, guanaco, wapiti, hippos, giraffes, meerkats, monkeys, lions, rhinoceros, tigers, polar bears, sea lions, birds of paradise, peacocks and penguins. The animals are of course treated with exceptional care and many of the animals are endangered species and would be threatened in the wild. #redirect
Sealion
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Sealion

Bird show
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Bird show

Flamingo Land's zoo has a few connections to the largest zoo in England, Chester Zoo (which itself houses over 7,000 animals.) Many years ago one of the older Flamingo Land elephants, Jangoli (now deceased), went on to give birth to calves at Chester Zoo. In this manner the elephants at Chester Zoo are descendants of Flamingo Land's elephants.

Historically speaking, Neville Wilby was the chief curator of the Zoo from the 1960s onwards, and held this position for 34 years, until he retired in 1996. He then returned for a few years as a consultant before his death in 2004. Sean Drayton was the keeper for over thirty years also, roughly simultaneous to Wilby's career. Drayton died in November 2005. These men, among others, are well known amongst park staff and more established visitors to the park alike, many of the latter having had the childhood experience of feeding the animals or taking care of them under the supervision of these men.

Amenities

There are a number of facilities around the park including a first aid centre manned by an on-site doctor; toilets with disabled and baby changing facilities; themed gift shops; food outlets and a number of themed diners, the most famous of which is a 1950s themed diner. Four entertainment venues provide entertainment and host all manner of shows, catering to different audiences, throughout the day and into the night. There is also a fast food outlet near the holiday village. Within the holiday village there are leisure facilities including a leisure centre, a swimming pool and a café.

On the outskirts of the park lies a nine-hole golf course. Also adjacent to the park runs Costa Beck, a stream with noted crystal-clear water and fly fishing is available by arrangement, usually free of charge. Trout, Dace, Grayling, Salmon, Kingfisher and Pike can all be found in Costa Beck.

Current areas

Plaza

Dr. Bubbles dream machine at the entrance to Flamingo Land. The Corkscrew can be seen in the background.
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Dr. Bubbles dream machine at the entrance to Flamingo Land. The Corkscrew can be seen in the background.

The Plaza is the entrance area to Flamingo Land and is often used as a meeting place. It contains a number of features such as snack bars, gift shops, cash machines, general fun stalls and shooting galleries. Also in the Plaza are such rides as The Wave Swinger, as well as one of the clubs which regularly holds the popular Professor Bubbles Jungle Jive Show.

Metropolis

This area is themed as a busy city. It contains such rides as Velocity, Navigator, and Corkscrew. Corkscrew was first built in 1980 with a design similar to the Corkscrew at Alton Towers before being relocated to Flamingoland where it has operated since 1983.

Seaside Adventure

This area is themed on the ocean and a seaside resort with such themed stores and a seafood restaurant. It contains Europe's highest drop tower, Cliff Hanger, which is themed as a lighthouse. Over the past years it has been called naked because of it lack of panels (Ryedale Council considered it an eyesore which spoilt the image of the countryside), but the park has recently won the right to again cover up the ride with bright red and white panels.

Carnival Fair

Temporary area, this has such rides as the Sky Flyer. The Wagon Wheel is returning after years at Flamingo Land's sister park Pleasure Island Family Theme Park in Cleethorpes. Also new for the 2006 season is Corporate Hospitality Tent. Sadly though, the park's one time signature rides - the Bullet and Magnum Force which were housed on this site have left the park.

Little Monsters Den of Mischief

This area is mainly aimed at children, including the Dragon Coaster, Little Monster's Wacky Races and Mischief Mansion. There is also a Transylvanian-themed diner. New for 2006, in the same area, is the Muddy Duck Farm which will contain a tractor ride. The famous Dead Man's Drop, a giant indoor slide, was also once in this area (next to the small fish and chip shop) but eventually removed due to safety fears.

Lost Kingdom Reserve

Holds Flamingo Lands most ambitious projects ever with such rides as Lost River Ride and Voodoo. In 2006 Kumali was built in this area.

African Planes

An all Zoo area

Previous attractions

The face of the park is constantly changing; with old amusement rides being removed and new ones being constructed in their place on a regular basis. Top thrill rides of yesteryear (rides which remain well recognised despite having been dismantled) include:

The Terroriser was not actually removed - it is still at the park under the name of Circulator. The ride was re-located, re-painted and re-named for the 2005 season. It was previously located in the center of the Plaza by the park entrance. It now forms one of the attractions in the Metropolis area which was new for the 2005 season. In the plaza now, where the ride once stood, is the Wave Swinger Ride.

Current attractions

Current prominent rides at Flamingo Land are: A number of popular attractions are still operational after many years, such as:

Kumali is a custom Suspended Looping Coaster, opened in 2006
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Kumali is a custom Suspended Looping Coaster, opened in 2006

Changes for 2006

The future of the park

Flamingo Land in Other Media

2004 Yorkshire Television Docusoap

In 2004, the park was the subject of a Yorkshire Television docusoap following the behind the scenes activities of management and employees. It particularly followed the development of the new water ride, The Lost River, which replaced the previous log flume Klondike Creek. The Lost River was Flamingo Land's most ambitious project ever when it was undertaken in 2004. The water ride was a concept attraction which was to form the center piece of the Lost Kingdom themed area of the park. The idea was to create a safari style ride which also had a thrill element.

Accidents

2004

A male worker on the Magnum Force ride was critically injured on June 1 2004, after jumping over the safety railing so that he could take a shortcut to the toilet over the track. The man was hit by a carriage at 54 miles per hour. A spokesman for the Great North Air Ambulance service said the man had been treated at the scene by the on-site doctor, before being air-lifted by helicopter to the The James Cook Hospital on Teesside.

Fortunately, the story didn't have a tragic ending. The man made a full recovery and a year later and met up with the emergency service workers who had saved his life. [BBC news article]

2006

The cable car transport ride at Flamingo Land that takes passengers over Carnival Fair to the other side of the Lost Kingdom has had an accident. It is believed that one of the cars collided with a post near the station after visitors were swinging the car from side to side. The roof broke off the car in the accident. It is currently unknown how serious the incident was.

See also

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
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