FABULOUS THEME PARKS AROUND THE WORLD
BUSCH GARDENS United States
If the Disney World concept of talking mice and wishing upon stars is a little sugary for your tastes – and you are just as sceptical about the Harry Potter overload at Universal Orlando (universalorlando.com) – Florida has a theme park that makes a play for the grownup dollar. Busch Gardens (buschgardens.com) serves up steel and speed aplenty in roller coasters such as SheiKra and Kumba, without a puppet turned real boy in sight.
A week at Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, flying direct from Gatwick on Nov 20, costs from £1,305pp, with British Airways Holidays (0344 493 0787; ba.com/holidays).
SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE United States
The Six Flags group is a serious player, with 27 resorts across the US, Canada and Mexico. Its Great Adventure park, at Jackson in New Jersey (sixflags.com/ greatadventure), is particularly notable thanks to Kingda Ka. Although since its launch in 2005 it has lost the “world’s fastest” record, this is a roller coaster of superlatives – both the tallest, at 456ft (139m), and the ride with the longest drop, at 418ft (127m). And with a top speed of 128mph, it is still pretty fast. The theme park is an easy 65-mile drive from New York. A seven-night getaway to the five-star Mondrian Park Avenue, flying in from Heathrow on Dec 1, costs from £1,668 per person, through Virgin
Holidays (0344 472 9646; virginholidays.co.uk).
CEDAR POINT United States
You can combine glorious scenery with stomach-churning lurches at this fun zone in northern Ohio. Cedar Point (cedarpoint.com) sits on a low spur of land that juts out into Lake Erie at Sandusky. It also sells itself as “the roller coaster capital of the world” – no mean boast when you consider it has 17 of them. Its newest, Steel Vengeance, lives up to the dramatic name – with four inversions and a mile of track. America As You Like It (020 8742 8299; americaasyoulikeit.com) offers a 12-day The Best of Cities and Lakes road trip around Ohio. From £1,470pp with flights.
NAGASHIMA SPA LAND Japan
You can enjoy a similar alliance of outrageous engineering and widescreen water at what is one of Japan’s best theme parks – when we can visit the country once more. Nagashima Spa Land (nagashima-onsen.co.jp) is built at the spot where the Ibi and Kiso Rivers meet the sea, near Nagoya. And, like Cedar Point, it offers much more than a fine setting. Steel Dragon 2000, one of its 12 roller coasters, is the world’s longest, unrolling over 1.5 miles of metal.
Inside Japan (0117 244 3380; insidejapantours.com) offers a 15-night Japan
Arts Trail trip that spends two days in Nagoya. From £2,780pp; flights extra.
CHIMELONG PARADISE China
Another country that is off limits for now, China has – of course – embraced the theme park, and Chimelong Paradise (gz.chimelong.com), in Guangzhou, is its biggest. Attractions include the panda triplets that were born at its safari park in 2014. But thrill-seekers tend to search it out for a headline act that has been titled with brutal accuracy, the “10 Inversion Roller Coaster”. Bamboo Travel (020 7720 9285; bambootravel.co.uk) offers a 15-day Active China tour of the south that visits Guangzhou. From £4,145pp, flights included. However, if you don’t fancy the long journey, you can find an exact replica of the “10 Inversion Roller Coaster” in Surrey – Colossus, at Thorpe Park (thorpepark.com).
FERRARI WORLD United Arab Emirates
Nominally a tribute to the venerated Italian car manufacturer, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (ferrariworldabudhabi.com) is part of a concerted attempt to prove that there is more to the biggest emirate than scorching heat and luxury hotels. It succeeds in this because it has Formula Rossa – the world’s fastest roller coaster, which hits 149mph in five seconds.
A week at the nearby Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, flying from Heathrow on Dec 11, starts at £1,849 per person via Destinology (01204 874514; destinology.co.uk).
DISNEYLAND PARIS France
The days when Disney’s French satellite was viewed not so much as a white elephant but a grey one, skulking under wet skies, are long gone. Born as “Euro Disney” in 1992, the park has bloomed since its rebranding as “Disneyland Paris” (disneylandparis.com) in 1994. In being a potted version of its Florida cousin, with a Space Mountain rollercoaster and a Cinderella Castle, it reinvents no wheels. But this scarcely matters. It is by far the most visited theme
park in Europe (15 million guests a year), and it has just donned its spookiest rags for a Halloween Festival that will shiver and shake until Nov 7.
It is still possible to visit in October half-term. A three-night stay for a family of four at the four-star Magic Castle hotel, just outside the resort, with a train out on October 28, costs from £1,234 in all, through Eurostar (0343 218 6186; eurostar.com).
EUROPA-PARK Germany
Europe’s second most popular theme park (six million visitors a year) lies just over the Rhine from France, in the German town of Rust. Europa-Park is a giant, with a series of areas devoted to different nations (including an “England” with a go-kart version of Silverstone). It also has 13 roller coasters. Among them is Silver Star, which, at a height of 240ft (73m), was the tallest ride on the whole continent when it was launched in 2002.
Returns to Strasbourg (35 miles from the park) from London start at about £225 via SNCF (en.oui.sncf ). A threenight stay for a family of four at the resort’s four-star Hotel Colosseo, checking in on Dec 16, costs from £1,312 in total (europapark.de).
GRONA LUND Sweden
Europe’s – and perhaps the planet’s – most photogenic amusement park may be the star that shines (almost) at the heart of the Swedish capital. Grona Lund (gronalund.com) has held a prime waterfront position on the island of Djurgarden since 1883. But while it adds a winsome gleam to the Stockholm skyline, it also delivers screams and shocks. Its Jetline roller coaster unleashes a G-force of 4.5 as it roars about a half-mile of track (at 56mph).
When the Swiss open their gates to us once more, a three-night stay at the four-star Victory hotel in Gamla Stan costs from £796pp, with flights and transfers, via Kirker Holidays (020 75931899; kirkerholidays.com).
ALTON TOWERS United Kingdom
Britain also has amazing theme parks. Alton Towers is one of them. Perched in rural Staffordshire (in the grounds of a former seat of the Earl of Shrewsbury), it is best known for its high-velocity roller coasters – the likes of Galactica, Oblivion and Nemesis. But it can also lower the pace. Scheduled for Nov 27 through December, its upcoming Lightopia Seasonal Wonderland will cast the park in the soft glow of lanterns and light installations.
An overnight stay in November for a family of four at the on-site Alton Towers Hotel costs from £135 in total. Park passes cost from £34 (0300 332 1422; altontowers.com).
Overseas holidays are currently subject to restrictions. See Page 3