The ranking, created by JeffBet, assigned each theme park a score out of ten based on their amenities, attractions, availability of their Halloween event, crowd levels, price, seasonal popularity, spooky theming, and value for money.
Amenities looked at the number of onsite restaurants, food stalls, and gift stops. Attractions relate to the number of rollercoasters, their wait times and their ratings, while availability is based on the number of days the Halloween event runs and the park’s opening times.
Crowd levels consider queue times and footfall, price refers to tickets and parking, seasonal popularity looks at the visitor reviews for each park, while theming refers to the number and variety of Halloween attractions available and how much demand increases in October.
Meanwhile, value for money scaled ticket price by the number of attractions and the hours each guest can spend in the park to see where their money will go the furthest.
A JeffBet spokesman said: “Halloween is one of the most in-demand events at UK theme parks, as they take the opportunity to attract visitors with live-action scare shows, pumpkin carving competitions, and fancy-dress parties.
“However, the big names like Thorpe Park and Blackpool Pleasure Beach tend to overshadow smaller providers like Flamingo Land and Fantasy Island, making it easy for visitors to end up overpaying for an experience that may actually be better elsewhere.”
1. Alton Towers Resort
Alton Towers Resort, in Alton, Staffordshire, scored 5.7/10. The theme park and resort in Staffordshire soared to the top thanks to its extensive spooky theming, with eight Halloween-specific attractions available - including their new Daz Games escape room - compared to just three at Drayton Manor. However, Alton Towers was let down by its price and, subsequently, its value for money, as it’s the second-most expensive park in the ranking as tickets retail for £73 online. (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images) Photo: PAUL ELLIS
2. Legoland Windsor
Legoland in Windsor rated 5.6/10. This was largely due to its variety of spooky-specific events, including The Great Monster Chase and a Haunted House Monster Party, and its attractions, where the park performed better than Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, and Lightwater Valley. Despite having just three roller coasters, Legoland’s attractions are among the highest-rated and benefit from low queue times, which is great news for visitors. The park also scored considerably better than Alton Towers and Thorpe Park for crowds, with queue times kept low despite a higher volume of daily average attendees and a predicted crowd level of 75 per cent throughout October, compared to Alton Towers’ 82 per cent. Photo: Katherine HM
3. Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park in Chertsey, was rated 5.3/10. Thorpe Park rounds out the top three best parks to visit this Halloween, coming out as the top performer for availability as their event runs for 25 days, each up to 11 hours long. The park also performed well for theming, as their Fright Nights include six specific attractions that prompted a high level of interest last October, with this year’s top events including riding rollercoasters in the dark and attending one of their four live scare shows. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images) Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS
4. Flamingo Land
Flamingo Land in Kirby Misperton, Malton, was rated 5.1/10. Photo: Google