| Flamingo Land Resort | |
| Location: | Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire |
| Location2: | England |
| Owner: | The Gibb Family |
| Operator: | The Gibb Family |
| General Manager: | (2023–) Gordon Gibb (1999–to present day) |
| Previous Names: | Yorkshire Zoo Flamingo Park |
| Visitors: | 895,000 (2021) |
| Season: | Theme Park March – November Zoo Year-round The Club March – November Accommodation Year-round Parkland Golf Course Year-round The Splash Zone Year-round |
| Rides: | 52 |
| Coasters: | 10 |
| Water Rides: | 2 |
| Slogan: | "Wild Animals, Wilder Rides" |
| Status: | open |
Flamingo Land is a theme park, zoo, and resort located in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, England. Opened in 1959, it has been owned and operated by The Gibb Family since 1978.
| Tenure | Staff | |
|---|---|---|
| 1978–1995 | Robert Gibb | |
| 1995–to present | Gordon Gibb |
Flamingo Land Resort was established in 1959 when a cinema entrepreneur, Edwin Pentland Hick, sold his cinema chain and used the funds to purchase a bankrupt country club to use the land for a zoo.[1] The site, which occupied nine acres, was initially called The Yorkshire Zoological Gardens. A colony of flamingos were among the first animals to be housed on site.
In 1963, the gardens became home to the UK's first captive bottlenose dolphins – one of whom was given the name Sooty after the children's TV puppet. During the 1960s a small funfair began to be held on the site. In 1965 the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange as Associated Pleasure Parks and, in 1968, the park was renamed to Flamingo Park Zoo.
In 1968, the park purchased a killer whale from an aquarium within Seattle. Flamingo Park became the first within the UK to house a killer whale, who lived alongside the bottlenose dolphins. Cuddles soon became aggressive towards both the dolphins he lived with and the trainers he worked with and was sold to Dudley Zoo in 1971.
In the 1970s, amusement rides had become a permanent fixture of the park along with the zoo, becoming the first site in Europe to combine the attractions in one location.
The park was losing money by 1974 and underwent a major revamp when it was renamed Flamingo Land. More emphasis was placed on the "day out" experience – with fairground rides, a haunted castle, model railway and a jungle cruise raft ride on the lake. Despite a more professional marketing approach that saw regular guest appearances by celebrities and stars of the day (including the racehorse Red Rum), Flamingo Land continued to lose money.
The owners, Scotia Leisure Ltd., sold the site in 1978 to Robert Gibb – himself a former director at Scotia leisure. He put a team in place to develop the complex as a national, rather than local, tourist attraction, including investing in amusement rides. Many staff were made redundant with most re-engaged on seasonal contracts.In 1995 Robert Gibb died in a car accident. His son Gordon Gibb, only 18 at the time, and his two sisters, Vicky and Melanie, took over the running of the park.
Some of the major attractions at Flamingo Land include:[2]
Also on the site is a gym, a leisure centre, a spa, a golf course and a large collection of log cabins and static caravans.
Flamingo Land also operated sister park Pleasure Island Family Theme Park in Cleethorpes, from its opening on 23 May 1993 until April 2010, when it became independently operated.[3]
On the former site of Cleethorpes Zoo, construction for an amusement park began in the 1990s, managed by RKF Entertainment. During this time RKF went into administration and Robert Gibb purchased the site as a second park to complement Flamingo Land. When his son Gordon Gibb became chief executive of the company, his sister Vicky Gibb and later, his other sister Melanie Wood took responsibility for the Cleethorpes park.
In 2010 Melanie Wood attained her goal of taking ownership of the park herself, separating it from the rest of the family company. Pleasure Island was then operated by Dewarsavile Enterprises Ltd, directed by Wood. This marked the end of the association between Pleasure Island and Flamingo Land. Pleasure Island closed down at the end of the 2016 season.
Flamingo Land houses exotic animals, including camels, Brazilian tapirs, zebras, Vicuñas, hippopotamus, giraffes, meerkats, baboons, chimpanzees, lions, rhinoceros, tigers, sea lions, parrots, and peafowl. The park takes part in breeding programmes. A mangabey breeding project was featured in the 2006 series of ITV1 show Theme Park.In 2010 Flamingoland started work on a penguin enclosure.
Flamingo Land is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and has connections to other parks in the country:
The park's emphasis is on their collection of African animals, housed in the Lost Kingdom and African Plains. The Lost River Ride was designed to give a safari experience before its final drop, and meanders through Savannah-style grasslands with giraffe, ostrich, zebra, antelope, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, tiger and lion. The Forgotten City Lion Reserve is also located in the middle of the ride.
The park has a large holiday village with static caravans and log cabins, a leisure centre, a swimming pool, and a café.
There is also The Club and Zoo Bar, an entertainment venue which is exclusive for caravan owners and people staying on site overnight. It is a venue capable of holding over 1000 people and boasts a large stage and resident shows as well as light entertainment performed by visiting cabaret acts. There is also a small supermarket for guests to buy their own supplies.
In the past, Flamingo Land never contained any themed areas and was very much an amusement park. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the park has developed several themed areas.
An area known as River Side One opened in 2014. This part of the resort is open to all visitors. This area contains The Club, Pizza Pie Takeaway Shop, the Gourmet Grill, Frog Hopper and Eleven rides and the American Diner. It also is the name of the outside concert stage which is home to their popular Party In The Park[4] events which happen once a month at the park during the summer period. It normally has a famous artist or band headlining the show. When the concerts started they were originally hosted by Ryan Swain and Frank Lamingo.[5]
Metropolis contains food outlets such as the Metropolis Bar and Grill, gift shops, cash machines, and pay-to-play game stalls. In 2016, the Mia and Mylo Show moved with the Farewell Show from the Riverside One to the Plaza, along with the new attraction – the Pirates of Zanzibar, an all-day interactive live show stylized as a large pirate ship. This area also features the rides Velocity, Navigator, "Sik", "Hero" and Vortex.
This area is themed on racing and cars, as shown by its centrepiece ride Flamingo 1 Cars, a small go karting track. It also contains There is also the Upper Deck fish and chip restaurant (which also incorporates the children's play area HMS Bouncy), Jolly Sailor2Go, Fortune2Go (a Cantonese takeout hut), Cool Fuel, the Fuel Stop Cafe and Top Gear, all of which are contained in the brand new 'Hub' entertainment complex. This area is also the location of Fabrizio's Ristorante and Pizzeria.
This area was introduced for the summer of 2007 and features a water playground with squirting jets and water-dropping palm trees. Flip Flop is a gyro swing over a man made lake with water effects. Splash Battle is a submarine themed ride where ride cars and off ride posts around the ride are equipped with water cannons.
Dino Stone Park is a prehistoric dinosaur-themed land which features five rides including the high altitude star flyer ride Pterodactyl and spinning family coaster called Twistosaurus, which opened in 2013.
Formally known as the 'Little Monsters Den of Mischief', this area is mainly aimed at children, and includes the attractions Little Monster's Wacky Races and Mischief Mansion. This part of the park has been slowly phased out to make way for an area themed around farm animals, such as the Tractor Ride where children 'drive' the tractors around the farm animals' pens, incorporated into the small Children's Planet area.
This area contains such rides as Lost River Ride, Kumali, and Voodoo. When it was built in 2009, Mumbo Jumbo had the steepest drop of any roller coaster in the world, at 112 degrees. This area is circled by the Daktari Express, a double-00 gauge railway that transports visitors around the reserve stylized as an African express train.
This is an all-animal area containing various animal paddocks and is located in a quiet, secluded area of the zoo. The monorail offers a bird's eye view of the animals, as does the elevated pathway that goes over a small lake to the Penguin Coast.
This children's area was opened in 2011 and combines both play areas and animal enclosures.
In 2014 a new area in the park called The Riverside One was built. The River Side One area consists of an undercover outdoor stage which has the capacity to hold over 2000 people and consists of an outside cocktail bar called the R-Bar, a pizza shop, gourmet grill, American Diner and amusements.[6] Flamingo Land Resort announced it was to host a brand new event called Party In The Park which was to take place monthly during the high season on the outdoor stage. The shows have become very popular over the recent years, with thousands of visitors and holiday guests enjoying a 3-hour live concert featuring live acts, bands, acrobats, dancers and celebrity guests on stage. Over the recent years it has seen the likes of Tinchy Stryder, Scouting for Girls, Heather Small, Union J, Venga Boys, Calum Scott, Sam Bailey, Peter Andre and many more headline the show.[6] [4] [7] When the shows first started they were originally fronted and presented by local entertainer and presenter Ryan Swain and his puppet Frank Lamingo.[5] After 3 consecutive years of fronting the events Ryan passed over the microphone to Dan Metcalf who currently presents the events. The stage used to host daily farewell show which features acrobats called The Bongo Warriors, live music and dance and special guests and Flamingo Land Resort mascots Mia & Mylo Meerkat, this has now been branded the sailaway show and relocated to the pirate ship stage in plaza square . In 2018 for the first time it held first auditions for Britain's Got Talent.[8]
| Name | Type | Opened | Manufacturer | Themed Land | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Velocity | Motorbike | 2 July 2005 | Vekoma | Flamingo 1 | A motorbike launched coaster that reaches a speed of 54 mph (87 km) on a 2109 ft long track (643 m) and a height of 57 ft (18 m); height limit 1.37 m. |
| 2 | Kumali | SLC/Inverted | 2006 | Vekoma | Lost Kingdom | Reaches a speed of 55 mph (88 km) on a 2203 ft long track (672 m) and a height of 118 ft (36 m) with 4 inversions (loop, cobra roll, zero g-roll); height limit 1.37 m. Train 2x10, SLC shenlin model. |
| 3 | Mumbo Jumbo | El Loco/ Sit Down | 4 July 2009 | S&S Worldwide | Lost Kingdom | The steepest rollercoaster in the UK, reaches a speed of 41 mph (66 km) and a height of 98 ft (30 m); height limit 1.21 m. Train 2x6, El Loco model. |
| 4 | Hero | Volare/Flying | 16 July 2013 | Zamperla | Flamingo 1 | Suspended above the busy streets of Metropolis, on the site of the old Wild Mouse. Identical layout to Soarin' Eagle at Luna Park in Coney Island. |
| 5 | Sik | Sit Down | 2 July 2022 | Intamin | Multi Inversion Coaster similar to Colossus at Thorpe Park, but features a steeper drop, trains with lapbars, thicker steel track and a cable lift hill. The ride has been named ‘Sik’ in honour of the local clothing brand ‘Sik Silk’. | |
| 6 | Zooom | Air Force/ Suspended | 2011 | Zamperla | Splosh! | An aeroplane-themed junior suspended coaster. Train 2x5, Air Force model. |
| 7 | Twistosaurus | Spinning | 25 May 2013 | Zamperla | Dino Stone Park | Twisting around the old Jurassic jungle. Family spinning rollercoaster. |
| 8 | Runaway Mine Train | Family Gravity/ Sit Down | 2007 | Zamperla | Splosh! | A junior mine-style coaster for children; height limit 1m. Train 2x6, 80STD Gravity Coaster. Previously at American Adventure. |
| 9 | Dino Roller | Family/ Sit Down | 1988 | Cavazza Diego | Dino Stone Park | Train 2x10, super Nessi junior coaster was originally named as Dragon Coaster has been rethemed in 2013 as Dino Roller as part of Dino Stone Park. |
| 10 | Go Gator | Miner Mike/ Sit Down | 1982 | Wisdom Rides | Muddy Ducky Farm | A very small coaster intended for younger children. Train 2x7, go gator model. |
| Name | Opened | Manufacturer | Themed Land | Additional Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Cliff Hanger | 2002 | S&S Worldwide | Flamingo 1 | The UK's only S&S combo drop tower ride. The ride is themed like a lighthouse; height limit 1.3m. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group.[9] A year after it was installed, the park had to remove the red and white cladding due to complaints from neighbours.[10] |
| 11 | Navigator | April 2005 | Zamperla | Flamingo 1 | The first 'Mega' "Disk 'O'" type of ride ever to be built; height limit 1.21 m. |
| 12 | Flip Flop | 2007 | Fabbri | Splosh! | A gyro swing over a man made lake with water effects; height limit 1.37 m. |
| 13 | Pterodactyl | July 2012 | Zamperla | Dino Stone Park | A 151 ft (46m) tall vertical spinning swing tower; height limit 1.21 m |
| Name | Opened | Manufacturer | Themed Land | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Splash Battle | 2007 | Preston & Barbieri | Splosh! | The first interactive water ride in the UK. Ride cars themed as submarines travel along a track where targets must be hit to prevent the riders from being soaked; height limit 90 cm. |
| 15 | Lost River Ride | 2004 | BEAR GmbH | Lost Kingdom | A 335 m spillwater ride that gently meanders through animal enclosures such as rhinos, hippos, giraffes and lions before taking an 18 m high plunge into a pool of water; height limit none / 1.2 m without adult supervision. |
| Name | Opened | Themed Land | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Voodoo | 2003 | Lost Kingdom | A VEKOMA swinging Pirate ship ride; height limit 1.07 m. | |
| 17 | 2001 | Muddy Duck Farm | A ghost train suitable for families, it features horror characters including Frankenstein's monster, ghost, yeti, Dracula, and mummy as kids. | ||
| 19 | Balloon Race | 1987 | Riverside one | A balloon themed gondola. | |
| 20 | Rotataur | 1980's To 1998 & 2006 To Present Day | Dino Stone Park | A wheel themed Zamperla Ferris wheel, originally named Wagon Wheel. | |
| 21 | Tractor Ride | 2006 | Muddy Duck Farm | A Metallbau Emmeln Tractor ride; height limit 1.07 m. | |
| 22 | Gallopers | 1984 | Metropolis | A set of Savage gallopers, previously located at Butlin's, Filey. | |
| 23 | Vortex (formerly Rockin' Tug) | 2005 | Flamingo 1 | A Zamperla rockin' tug ride; height limit 90 cm. | |
| 24 | Frog Hopper | 1990's or 2010's | Flamingo 1 | Junior drop tower; height limit 90 cm. | |
| 25 | Helitoys | 2001 | Muddy Duck Farm | Helicopter ride for kids; height limit 90 cm. | |
| 26 | Fun Slides | 1990's | Muddy Duck Farm | Slides for kids. | |
| 27 | Swoosh Air | 1980's | Splosh! | Airplanes; height limit 90 cm. | |
| 32 | Pedaloes | 1980's (SBNO as of early 2020) | Lost Kingdom | Pedal boats; height limit 1.21 m. | |
| 33 | Wacky Races | 1985 | Muddy Duck Farm | On track Ford T-models, manufactured by Big Country Motioneering. Height limit 1.07 m. | |
| 34 | Jungle Carousel | 2007 | Muddy Duck Farm | Carousel. | |
| 35 | Flying Clowns | 1980's | Splosh! | Suspended roundabout. | |
| 36 | Crazy Combat laser battle | 2011 | Splosh! | Laser battle pay to use | |
| 37 | Cable Cars | Lost Kingdom | Takes guests on a chair lift for an elevated view of the park each gondola is a different African animal ; height limit none / 1.4 m alone. | ||
| 38 | People Mover | 1990 | Flamingo 1 | Travels from Seaside Adventure to Muddy Duck Farm. Built by Severn Lamb. Height limit none / 1.3 m alone. | |
| 39 | Daktari Express | 1970's or 1980's | Lost Kingdom | Train ride that takes visitors around the zoo; height limit none / 1.3 m alone. | |
| 40 | Zoo Monorail | 1984 | The Zoo | Gives a bird's eye view of the animals. Built by Big Country Motioneering. Height limit none / 1.3 m alone | |
| 41 | HMS Bouncy | 2011 | Flamingo 1 | Indoor play area. | |
| 42 | Pink Elephants | 1980's or 1990's | Flamingo 1 | Roundabout. | |
| 43 | Playground | 2011 | Children's Planet | Play area. | |
| 44 | Reptile Encounter | 2011 | Children's Planet | Reptiles. | |
| 45 | Sand Play | 2011 | Children's Planet | Sand play area. | |
| 46 | Splish Splosh | 2007 | Splosh! | Water play area. | |
| 47 | Otter Water Play | 2011 | Children's Planet | Water play area. | |
| 48 | Cyclosaurus | 2013 | Dino Stone Park | Small cycling roundabout |
There are more 120 different species of animals in the park, including hippos, camels, meerkats, reptiles, exotic birds, giraffes, lions, tigers, sea lions, baboons, zebras, rare fish, penguins, otters, and many others.
| Name | Opened | Closed | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnum Force | 2000 | 2005 | A Triple Loop Coaster built by Anton Schwarzkopf that originally toured German funfairs as Dreier Looping & Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia. Now located at Indiana Beach in the United States under the name All American Triple Loop. | |
| 2 | The Bullet | 1991 | 2005 | A shuttle loop style coaster designed by Schwarzkopf. Originally known as Wiener Looping and previously operated in Austria, Florida, and on the German travelling funfair circuit before arriving at Flamingo Land. The ride was sold in 2012 to Selva Magica in Mexico, and opened in December 2013. | |
| 3 | Corkscrew | 1990 | 2011 | A Vekoma corkscrew roller coaster that was one of the first rides to arrive at Flamingo Land, originally from Spanish City, Whitley Bay (1983 to 1989). The ride was dismantled in January 2012 and was relocated to Luna Park Cap d'Agde in France. Replaced by SIK | |
| 4 | Thunder Mountain | 1991 | 2004 | Enclosed within a rock themed structure to create a dark roller coaster. The track system was a Pinfari Z40. | |
| 5 | Frank's Exploratorium | 2001 | 2017 | Magic House to explore; height limit none / 1.07 m alone. Replaced by peter rabbit show | |
| 6 | Sky Flyer | 1993 | 2015 | A Vekoma double inverted swinging ship style ride, formerly located in the Swoosh area. Relocated to Pleasure Island Theme Park. | |
| 7 | Flying Trapeze | 1998 | 2001 | One of the world's most relocated coasters. The Four-Man Bob coaster was built by Zierer and previously operated in Movie Park Germany, Trentham Gardens, Alton Towers, and Pleasure Island before arriving in Flamingo Land. It was then moved to Grove Land then Loudoun Castle before coming to Family Park in France, where it has operated since 2020.[11] | |
| 8 | Crazy Loop | 1986 | 1995 | A coaster was built by Pinfari was relocated to former sister park Pleasure Island. It has been operating as Shockwave and later Crazy Loop in Brean Leisure Park since 2003. | |
| 9 | Wild Mouse | 1997 | 2012 | A Maurer Söhne Wilde Maus Classic roller coaster. Removed in 2012 to make way for the new flying coaster, Hero, and now operates in Pleasurewood Hills under the name of Marble Madness. | |
| 10 | Top Gun | 1996 | 2004 | Unique attraction where riders sat inside two-seater plane themed cars that spun around the centre tower while moving toward the top. The riders could choose to turn their cars up-side down during the ride. It was built by Intamin and based on the film of the same name. Relocated from Kings Island, USA. | |
| 11 | Klondike Creek | 1980s | 2003 | Triple drop log flume with a mine theme, believed to have been extended with sections of the removed Log Flume from Drayton Manor.It met the same end as the Drayton Manor attraction because it was replaced by a Bear Rides Chute the Shoots (Lost River Ride). | |
| 12 | Waikiki Wave/Tidal Wave | 1993 | 2008 | Vekoma Waikiki Wave ride, removed to make way for Mumbo Jumbo. | |
| 13 | Terroriser/Circulator | 1995 | 2007 | A Fabbri Group evolution ride, moved to Pleasure Island in 2007. | |
| 14 | Enterprise | 1985 | 1994 | An Enterprise ride, built by HUSS Park Attractions. Previously operated at Blackpool Pleasure Beach from 1979. | |
| 15 | Junior Driving School | 1999 | 2012 | A ride in which kids could drive electric buses. | |
| 16 | Circus World | 1990 | 2000 | A circus show which featured acrobats and animals. | |
| 17 | Dolphin Show | 1980s 1990s | 2001 | A dolphin show. | |
| 18 | Log Flume | 1980s | 1998 | An original water ride. | |
| 19 | Dive Booster | 1980s or 1990s | 2000s or 2010s | A spinning thrill ride | |
| 20 | Waltzer | 1991 | 2006 | An A.R.M. waltzer ride. | |
| 21 | Zig Zag | 1994 | 2006 | A P.W.S. twist ride. | |
| 22 | Formula Car | 1990s | 2000s or 2010s | A go karts ride. | |
| 23 | Cine 180 | 1980s | 1900s or 2000s | A cinema. | |
| 24 | Flying Carpet | 1991 | 1992 | A Weber 1001 Nacht. Later operated at Pleasure Island Family Theme Park from 1993 to 2001. | |
| 25 | Ferris wheel | 1970s or 1980s | 1990s or 2000s | A Ferris wheel and is one of the parks first permanent rides. | |
| 26 | High Flying Jets | 1982 | 2003 | Lang Wheels manufactured 'vampire' jets. Previously located at Peter Pan's Playground, Brighton. | |
| 27 | Century 2000 | 1980s | 1995 | A Bakker Denies ramba zamba ride. Later operated at Pleasure Island Family Theme Park. | |
| 28 | Razzle Dazzle | 1986 | 1993 | An A.R.M. satellite/trabant ride. Later operated at Pleasure Island Family Theme Park. | |
| 29 | Sherlock Showtime | 1996 | 2000 | A Sherlock themed show | |
| 30 | Clown Slide | 1990 | 2000s | A Modern Products astroglide slide. | |
| 31 | Dead Man's Drop | 1980s | 2000 | A near-vertical steep slide that was located in the current Exploratorium. | |
| 32 | The Rock A-fire Explosion | 1990 | 1990s | Animatronic robot band entertainment show. | |
| 33 | Gravitron | 1994 | 1994 | An A.R.M. manufactured rotor ride. | |
| 34 | Flamingo Star | 1995 | 2004 | A HUSS Park Attractions Tri-Star. Operated at Alton Towers from 1991 to 1992. Moved to Pleasure Island. | |
| 35 | Octopus | 1987 | 1994 | A Robles Bouso polyp ride. Previously operated at Coney Beach Pleasure Park. Moved to Pleasure Island in 1995. | |
| 36 | UFO | 1995 | 2004 | A HUSS Park Attractions UFO. Was sold to showman John Wesseldine. | |
| 37 | Rock Slide | 2013 | An Ivan Bennett astroglide slide. Last located at Seaside Adventure beside the Cliff Hanger. | ||
| 38 | Professor Bubble's Seaside Adventure | 1990 | 2016 | Removed to make way for Daytona Bridge go karting track. It was a small Modern Products tracked ride. | |
| 39 | Cycle Monorail | 1980s | 2018 | A monorail where it was manually operated by two people cycling around a course. It was located near Velocity. It was removed to make way for the construction of Flamingo Land's 10 Inversion rollercoaster. | |
| 40 | The Swan | 1980s | Roundabout. | ||
| 41 | Spotted Cow Ride | 1990s | Junior carousel. |
In 2012, park owner Gordon Gibb appeared in court charged with the assault of a ticket seller outside the entrance of the park.[12]
On 22 May 2015, a teenage girl was injured and had to be taken to hospital when a footrail fell from a car of the Hero roller coaster and cut her head. Another person was treated at the scene. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation into the incident. Hero reopened in early June.[13] [14]
Flamingo Land Limited have donated £185,999 to the Conservative Party since 2014.[15]