Thorpe Park is a theme park in Chertsey, Surrey, England.
Thorpe Park is situated on the site of a former quarry on the border between Chertsey and Egham in Surrey. Then owners Ready Mixed Concrete Limited flooded the site after the quarry's closure in the late 1970s, with the intention of opening an educational leisure park. When Ready Mix Concrete sold out to CEMEX, a CEMEX UK office opened on grounds owned by the park. On 24 May 1979, Thorpe Park was officially opened by Louis Mountbatten who lent his name to the Mountbatten Pavilion, a large domed structure located at the entrance to the park.[4][5] At this early stage in the park's history, the complex consisted of educational exhibitions such as Model World, a collection of famous structures from around the world built in 1:36 scale, with the Mountbatten Pavilion housing a standing aircraft display.
In 1998, the park was bought by The Tussauds Group, owner of Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures. Due to the latter's proximity to Thorpe Park, Tussauds embarked on a strategy to allow the two parks to cater to different markets: Chessington would be transformed into a family park, and Thorpe Park would cater for the teenage/young adult market.
http://www.thorpepark.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorpe_Park less