Camelot

[Benzin]

Heard it a while back, might not be applicable now since the park stay opened, but oh wells...

Knightmare would suit Lightwater definitely... Case of whether or not they could afford it though...

[madziee]

There are no news sources on this yet,  I live near by. Yesterday they took down the reopening signs and gave the jousting team who live onsite 4 weeks to leave,  including the horses. Other staff have been told it is closing. They're saying no chance of recovery like in 2009. It's sad to see it go having spent so many years there during childhood,  but it feels like it's time,  everything was run down and stale.
Thoughts?

[stu1980]

There are no news sources on this yet,  I live near by. Yesterday they took down the reopening signs and gave the jousting team who live onsite 4 weeks to leave,  including the horses. Other staff have been told it is closing. They're saying no chance of recovery like in 2009. It's sad to see it go having spent so many years there during childhood,  but it feels like it's time,  everything was run down and stale.
Thoughts?

Camelot is now closed for the winter and will be re-opening on 29th March 2013

http://www.camelotthemepark.co.uk/opening-times.php

[axel35]

Good news for visitors. Camelot is an awesome and really enjoyable place and there are a lot of big trips, but there are just as many little one's P.S, i suggest the Excalibur.

[Themeparksandy1981]

I'm sorry but no new attractions for 5 years now it really needs to hire some rides from a travelling fair next year. I been twice in 10 years with no plans to go back to they add any new rides or attractions.

[stu1980]

I'm sorry but no new attractions for 5 years now it really needs to hire some rides from a travelling fair next year. I been twice in 10 years with no plans to go back to they add any new rides or attractions.

The issue you have with this place and if you dont really know let me fill you in.

They hire all the rides in - they dont own any at all - The reason for this is they find it very hard to bring guests into the park when you have 1 hour down the road alton towers and 30 mins away pleasure beach blackpool - they have said this alot that they dont have the cash flow to reinvest back into the park so people have a choice new rides or a good looking park.

The park also dose not own the land its owned by a pvt company who keep shutting it down then reopening it as they want to build houses on it.

The park opened in 1983 and has been operating seasonally since then. The park is based on the story of 'Camelot, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'. The local area was once covered by the largest lake in England Martin Mere, which was first drained in 1692 by Thomas Fleetwood of Bank Hall in Bretherton. (The story is that Sir Lancelot's parents King Ban of Benwick and his queen Elaine escaped to Lancashire from their enemies in France. Elaine went to help King Ban who had fallen and put Lancelot down on the shore of the lake, by where he was abducted by nymph Vivian who vanished into the waters of the lake with him. Vivian brought up Lancelot and when he went to King Arthur's court he was knighted as 'Sir Lancelot of the Lake'.) Martin Mere has been locally known as the 'Lost Lake of Sir Lancelot' following the myth.[2]
In 1986 it was taken over by The Granada Group and operated by them alongside its now defunct sister parks American Adventure and Granada Studios Tour. In June 1998 the park was subject to a management buyout in which the park went to Prime Resorts Ltd.
Camelot has seen a downturn in attendance in recent years. In 1995, Camelot's attendance was 500,000 visitors throughout the season.[3] In 2005 Camelot's attendance was only 336,204 visitors.[4]
In a 2006 survey of healthy food available at leading tourist attractions in the UK, Camelot came joint bottom scoring only one point.[5]
In February 2009, Prime Resorts announced that the park was in receivership and would not reopen for the 2009 season.[6] The hotel was bought by Lavender Hotels in March 2009,and in April 2009, it was announced that a buyer had been found for the park and that it will reopen in May 2009 - NB: The park was noted to be open on 20 July 2009.
The theme park was purchased by Story Group, a construction company based in Carlisle and leased to Knight's Leisure who run the park. The site's future remains uncertain as the new owner is planning to redevelop the site. Current indications are that this will be a housing development.

So while i see the point of no new rides if im very honest here the park are probs just keeping there head above water as it is.

[ThrillJunkie]

I visited Camelot for the first and only ever time last year and if I'm honest was amazed the place was still open.

Most of the rides were basic and not very entertaining (apart from The Knightmare), They we're breaking down a few times a day (The Wirl Wind only opened for about an hour all day!), The whole site looked run down to a state that it would need more than a lick of paint to tidy the place up. The show was the best part of the day and that could only be described as average if I'm honest.

So although I hate to see Theme Parks closing down I think it's inevitable for this park and I don't mean to sound to harsh but it won't be a huge loss the the UK leisure industry.

[Themeparksandy1981]

I'm sorry but no new attractions for 5 years now it really needs to hire some rides from a travelling fair next year. I been twice in 10 years with no plans to go back to they add any new rides or attractions.

The issue you have with this place and if you dont really know let me fill you in.

They hire all the rides in - they dont own any at all - The reason for this is they find it very hard to bring guests into the park when you have 1 hour down the road alton towers and 30 mins away pleasure beach blackpool - they have said this alot that they dont have the cash flow to reinvest back into the park so people have a choice new rides or a good looking park.

You say they hire the rides so why rent other rides. Also should the owners of the rides paint them and keep them to a high standard? Has anything been put on the old Rack site?

The park also dose not own the land its owned by a pvt company who keep shutting it down then reopening it as they want to build houses on it.

The park opened in 1983 and has been operating seasonally since then. The park is based on the story of 'Camelot, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'. The local area was once covered by the largest lake in England Martin Mere, which was first drained in 1692 by Thomas Fleetwood of Bank Hall in Bretherton. (The story is that Sir Lancelot's parents King Ban of Benwick and his queen Elaine escaped to Lancashire from their enemies in France. Elaine went to help King Ban who had fallen and put Lancelot down on the shore of the lake, by where he was abducted by nymph Vivian who vanished into the waters of the lake with him. Vivian brought up Lancelot and when he went to King Arthur's court he was knighted as 'Sir Lancelot of the Lake'.) Martin Mere has been locally known as the 'Lost Lake of Sir Lancelot' following the myth.[2]
In 1986 it was taken over by The Granada Group and operated by them alongside its now defunct sister parks American Adventure and Granada Studios Tour. In June 1998 the park was subject to a management buyout in which the park went to Prime Resorts Ltd.
Camelot has seen a downturn in attendance in recent years. In 1995, Camelot's attendance was 500,000 visitors throughout the season.[3] In 2005 Camelot's attendance was only 336,204 visitors.[4]
In a 2006 survey of healthy food available at leading tourist attractions in the UK, Camelot came joint bottom scoring only one point.[5]
In February 2009, Prime Resorts announced that the park was in receivership and would not reopen for the 2009 season.[6] The hotel was bought by Lavender Hotels in March 2009,and in April 2009, it was announced that a buyer had been found for the park and that it will reopen in May 2009 - NB: The park was noted to be open on 20 July 2009.
The theme park was purchased by Story Group, a construction company based in Carlisle and leased to Knight's Leisure who run the park. The site's future remains uncertain as the new owner is planning to redevelop the site. Current indications are that this will be a housing development.

So while i see the point of no new rides if im very honest here the park are probs just keeping there head above water as it is.

[Themeparksandy1981]

I'm sorry but no new attractions for 5 years now it really needs to hire some rides from a travelling fair next year. I been twice in 10 years with no plans to go back to they add any new rides or attractions.

The issue you have with this place and if you dont really know let me fill you in.

They hire all the rides in - they dont own any at all - The reason for this is they find it very hard to bring guests into the park when you have 1 hour down the road alton towers and 30 mins away pleasure beach blackpool - they have said this alot that they dont have the cash flow to reinvest back into the park so people have a choice new rides or a good looking park.

The park also dose not own the land its owned by a pvt company who keep shutting it down then reopening it as they want to build houses on it.

The park opened in 1983 and has been operating seasonally since then. The park is based on the story of 'Camelot, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'. The local area was once covered by the largest lake in England Martin Mere, which was first drained in 1692 by Thomas Fleetwood of Bank Hall in Bretherton. (The story is that Sir Lancelot's parents King Ban of Benwick and his queen Elaine escaped to Lancashire from their enemies in France. Elaine went to help King Ban who had fallen and put Lancelot down on the shore of the lake, by where he was abducted by nymph Vivian who vanished into the waters of the lake with him. Vivian brought up Lancelot and when he went to King Arthur's court he was knighted as 'Sir Lancelot of the Lake'.) Martin Mere has been locally known as the 'Lost Lake of Sir Lancelot' following the myth.[2]
In 1986 it was taken over by The Granada Group and operated by them alongside its now defunct sister parks American Adventure and Granada Studios Tour. In June 1998 the park was subject to a management buyout in which the park went to Prime Resorts Ltd.
Camelot has seen a downturn in attendance in recent years. In 1995, Camelot's attendance was 500,000 visitors throughout the season.[3] In 2005 Camelot's attendance was only 336,204 visitors.[4]
In a 2006 survey of healthy food available at leading tourist attractions in the UK, Camelot came joint bottom scoring only one point.[5]
In February 2009, Prime Resorts announced that the park was in receivership and would not reopen for the 2009 season.[6] The hotel was bought by Lavender Hotels in March 2009,and in April 2009, it was announced that a buyer had been found for the park and that it will reopen in May 2009 - NB: The park was noted to be open on 20 July 2009.
The theme park was purchased by Story Group, a construction company based in Carlisle and leased to Knight's Leisure who run the park. The site's future remains uncertain as the new owner is planning to redevelop the site. Current indications are that this will be a housing development.

So while i see the point of no new rides if im very honest here the park are probs just keeping there head above water as it is.

You say they hire the rides so why rent other rides. Also should the owners of the rides paint them and keep them to a high standard? Has anything been put on the old Rack site?

[Dara]

The park is very close to Blackpool which I guess is its biggest problem. I went back in the 90s just once, I've often considered going back, particularly with the threat of closure hanging over the park, but with the lack of rides and poor reviews it just doens't seem worth it with Blackpool so close.

Every year we seem to hear rumous that it wont re-open so I wouldn't take anything too seriously, however with the poor weather and general recession, it seems that 2012 has been a pretty bad year for all UK parks, I can't think of a single one that I've heard has had a good season.

[stu1980]

The issue you have with this place and if you dont really know let me fill you in.

They hire all the rides in - they dont own any at all - The reason for this is they find it very hard to bring guests into the park when you have 1 hour down the road alton towers and 30 mins away pleasure beach blackpool - they have said this alot that they dont have the cash flow to reinvest back into the park so people have a choice new rides or a good looking park.

The park also dose not own the land its owned by a pvt company who keep shutting it down then reopening it as they want to build houses on it.

The park opened in 1983 and has been operating seasonally since then. The park is based on the story of 'Camelot, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'. The local area was once covered by the largest lake in England Martin Mere, which was first drained in 1692 by Thomas Fleetwood of Bank Hall in Bretherton. (The story is that Sir Lancelot's parents King Ban of Benwick and his queen Elaine escaped to Lancashire from their enemies in France. Elaine went to help King Ban who had fallen and put Lancelot down on the shore of the lake, by where he was abducted by nymph Vivian who vanished into the waters of the lake with him. Vivian brought up Lancelot and when he went to King Arthur's court he was knighted as 'Sir Lancelot of the Lake'.) Martin Mere has been locally known as the 'Lost Lake of Sir Lancelot' following the myth.[2]
In 1986 it was taken over by The Granada Group and operated by them alongside its now defunct sister parks American Adventure and Granada Studios Tour. In June 1998 the park was subject to a management buyout in which the park went to Prime Resorts Ltd.
Camelot has seen a downturn in attendance in recent years. In 1995, Camelot's attendance was 500,000 visitors throughout the season.[3] In 2005 Camelot's attendance was only 336,204 visitors.[4]
In a 2006 survey of healthy food available at leading tourist attractions in the UK, Camelot came joint bottom scoring only one point.[5]
In February 2009, Prime Resorts announced that the park was in receivership and would not reopen for the 2009 season.[6] The hotel was bought by Lavender Hotels in March 2009,and in April 2009, it was announced that a buyer had been found for the park and that it will reopen in May 2009 - NB: The park was noted to be open on 20 July 2009.
The theme park was purchased by Story Group, a construction company based in Carlisle and leased to Knight's Leisure who run the park. The site's future remains uncertain as the new owner is planning to redevelop the site. Current indications are that this will be a housing development.

So while i see the point of no new rides if im very honest here the park are probs just keeping there head above water as it is.

You say they hire the rides so why rent other rides. Also should the owners of the rides paint them and keep them to a high standard? Has anything been put on the old Rack site?

all the rides on the park bar two are hired in - the way it works with them is they pay a hire rate every 4 weeks even in the closed season - please dont ask me for numbers i do not know and then after so many years the park owns them - The two they own outright are the dragon and knightmare. The rest are still on hire but it is up to park for the upkeep becasue even though they are hiring they are also buying at the same time and as they say time and time again with the little return they do get they can not afford to go out and buy a new ride or summit so they have to keep hiring.

[Colossus]

Just been confirmed, the park will not be opening in 2013.  Not known at this stage what will be happening to the park and rides...

http://ukrides.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3753

[stu1980]

same here local press am today

http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/business-news/local-business/sadness-over-camelot-axe-1-5093634

[Themeparksandy1981]

Do you think that Any of the rides will end up at another park? I guess the rented ones will go back to the owner and done up to maybe go on the funfair circuit again but what about knightmare and the petrol powered dragon coaster. Would look to see the bumper cars go to West Midlands Saferi Park to replace there poor 1,s

[stu1980]

KM is only on a 5yr lease and the lease runs outs dec 31st so that should be back to japan.

However on a + note the local council have said it must only be used for a theme park the land which is good and nothing else so hopefully it will block the plans to build houses

[sku11dude123]

Camelot theme park is now being deconstructed, Discuss here.

P.S: Anyone got any deconstruction photo's or sources?

[jackcullen]

Bit late to the party, all the good stuffs gone lol

[stu1980]

knightmare and spinning coaster are still fully up

[Themeparksandy1981]

Can you still see most of the park up from the M6 Motorway?

[Dara]

You can! I also paid a visit to the hotel about a week ago to have a nosey.

It's all pretty much exactly the same as the last day of their season as far as I can see. Knightmare and Whirlwind are both still standing in their entirety, no deconstruction at all with them, the Dragon coaster, water tube rides and pirate ship were all still there (Sorry my last visit to Camelot was in the 90s so I don't know alot of the ride names) Also, the entrance castle, jousting arena and alot of buildings (and signs) are still in place.

In terms of deconstruction, from what I can see, not much has happened.