From Outer Space to Deep Sea: the history of Thorpe Park’s most iconic rollercoaster (yes, really!)

Thorpe Park is one of the largest and most well-known theme parks in the UK, up there with the likes of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures. And with over forty years of successes, failures and everything in between, the park is of course home to plenty of nostalgic and iconic attractions. But this post is talking about Thorpe’s MOST iconic coaster- and the holder of that title isn’t The Walking Dead, Stealth, or even Nemesis Inferno. There’s only one rollercoaster on the Island Like No Other worthy of holding such a title: and, believe it or not, it’s Flying Fish.

Although at first glance the ride appears to be nothing more than a kiddie coaster we enthusiasts might ride “just for the cred”, Flying Fish is actually massively significant to Thorpe Park’s history. The fishy family coaster has been open almost as long as the park itself, and while it might not have Stealth’s height and speed, Swarm’s smoothness or Saw’s, well, pure nightmare fuel- but it has still earned a special place in the hearts of many riders, whether it be their first time, or their thousandth. Cross the bridge, pass through the Dome and make your way to Amity Beach, as we explore the history of Thorpe Park’s beloved Flying Fish!

A New Park in the South

Today the UK is home to a wide range of amusement and theme parks across the country, but not too long ago they were few and far between. It wasn’t until the 1970s and 80s that the concept of a modern theme park really began to take hold, mostly with existing attractions being transformed with rides and theming. Thorpe Park was a little different however. The area that the park now stands on was once an empty gravel pit: all that remained of the old Thorpe Park estate that was demolished in the 1930s.

Thorpe Park’s location wasn’t the only thing that set it apart from other emerging theme parks at the time. While Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures were aiming for all audiences with a range of different attractions and themed lands with no overarching theme, the earliest version of Thorpe Park was almost entirely dominated by water attractions! The gravel pit was flooded to make this possible, and with five different artificial lakes, the park was a great place to cool down on a hot sunny day. And if the weather wasn’t hugely pleasant… well, there were some indoor exhibitions too.

As the years passed and the UK theme park scene evolved, Thorpe Park began to move away from its original water park-esque structure, and more towards that of a family theme park. Newly opening attractions from dark rides to petting zoos helped to solidify this, but it wasn’t long before there was demand for something with a bit more of a fear factor. Plans began for a new ride, one that would take guests by storm, and put Thorpe Park on the map as a park to be watched.

Take Off To Thrills

Today Thorpe Park is known for its collection of thrilling and immersive rollercoasters, but every park has to start its legacy somewhere, and for Thorpe, it started way back in 1983. Up until this point, the majority of the park’s attractions were either water rides or rides targeted almost solely towards families. However, with demand growing for a thrilling attraction, Thorpe Park were ready to deliver.

In the early 1980s, construction began on a new Mack powered coaster, that would twist and turn through a tent filled with flashing lights, and themed as a futuristic space station. Does the concept of an indoor coaster themed to space sound familiar? Well, that is probably because it’s a very similar idea to that of Space Mountain at the Disney parks! Disneyland was the trailblazer for many of the theme parks we know and love today, and was the place many of the most popular ride types originated, from mine trains themed as runaway trains, to water-based dark rides used to tell a story, to indoor space coasters using lights and strobes. Space Mountain actually provided inspiration for another iconic (though now closed) UK coaster a bit further North: the Black Hole at Alton Towers!

But while the Black Hole was and Space Mountain still is futuristic on the inside and out, this ride’s façade was a little unexpected. Rather than being in a tent or minimalist dome, Thorpe Park’s space coaster was located in a replica of a Georgian mansion! The ride, named Space Station Zero, made its debut in 1984, and being Thorpe’s first ever rollercoaster, brought something unique to the park. Up until this point, Thorpe Park had been seen solely as a family-friendly attraction, and while Space Station Zero was technically a family coaster, the fact that it took place mostly in the dark made it a lot more thrilling.

Riders would board their brightly coloured spaceship-style ride vehicles, and take off into the dark for a two-lap adventure: one lap in complete darkness, the other illuminated by sparkling glitter balls to create the illusion that you are flying by bright stars. Just like most real space flights, Space Station Zero was a success, but every mission must come to an end. For this ride the end came with the beginning of the 1990 season- but all was not lost for fans of this classic powered adventure.

Dropping Under The Sea

When some rides close, they are scrapped altogether. Others might be relocated or rethemed, but its rare for an attraction to be rethemed, relocated, and kept in the same park. This however was the case for Space Station Zero, when it closed at the end of the 1989 season. When it returned the following year, the intensity, length, height and track structure were all exactly the same as before… but the experience itself was very different.

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A lot of the ride’s thrill factor had been created by the darkness and the isolated lights, whereas now it had been stripped of all of this and moved outside! What was at the time Thorpe Park’s only rollercoaster could now be found where Stealth is now, and the outer space theme had been traded in for an aquatic, underwater theme. The rocket-style trains were repainted to become a giant, slightly unsettling green fish, and the ride was renamed Flying Fish.

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As mentioned before, everything about the ride was the same, and yet it was also completely different. Many people couldn’t believe it was the same coaster: it felt a lot tamer and smaller when outside and marketed as a family attraction. Throughout the 1990s, it was mostly smooth sailing for Thorpe Park, but the new millennium brought new challenges and a whole new journey for the park, and eventually for Flying Fish too.

A New Direction

On the 21st of July 2000, a fire broke out at the Mr Rabbit’s Tropical Travels outdoor boat ride at Thorpe Park, which subsequently spread to the adjacent dark ride Wicked Witches Haunt. Thankfully the park was evacuated quickly and no one was hurt, but with a large area damaged or destroyed, a visible and lasting mark was left. Wicked Witches Haunt was ruined beyond repair, and had to be demolished, leaving a large, empty space.

With one ride gone, and Tropical Travels remaining closed for several months after the fire, Thorpe needed to bring up the ride count again, and installed an Enterprise flat ride in the place of the destroyed dark ride, naming it Zodiac. No one knew it back then, but this was the start of something big for Thorpe Park. Over the next few years, more and more thrill rides began to open around the park, and before long it was no longer aimed at families only; Thorpe was becoming a bucket-list theme park for thrillseekers too.

With the recent openings of Nemesis Inferno and Colossus, by the mid-2000s Thorpe Park had gained a bit of a reputation for intense and thrilling rollercoasters. So it would only make sense for them to continue this reputation by opening another coaster- one that would be taller and faster than anything most guests at the park had ever ridden before. Manufactured by Intamin and inspired by rides like Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka, Stealth opened on the 15th of March 2006, not-very-stealthily launching riders 205ft up at a record-breaking 80mph.

Today, Stealth has become pretty much as iconic as Flying Fish, and the two rollercoasters have a bit more history together than you might expect. This is because Stealth was built in the exact spot that Flying Fish once operated! When construction began on Stealth in 2004, Flying Fish was removed, and placed into storage. After three years the ride was reopened in the Amity area of the park, to the delight of fans. While before, Flying Fish had been themed to a swamp, now it was repainted in order to fit in with the beachside theme of the land.

In a park that is now almost dominated by thrill rides, Flying Fish is a nostalgic reminder of what once was, and provides a fun break from the airtime and inversions of the larger coasters. And with this ride still being a favourite among guests, lets hope this fish will continue to fly for years to come!

Have you ridden Flying Fish? Or did you get the chance to ride Space Station Zero when it was open? Let me know in the comments below!

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Photo credits:

-@the_thorpe_park_guy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_thorpe_park_guy/

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