British theme parks: what's new for 2013 As Britain's theme parks begin to reopen their doors, we round-up the best new rides and attractions for 2013. Thorpe Park Reopened on March 14. The newest rollercoaster at Thorpe Park is THE SWARM. Although it opened last year, it has been tweaked for this season. Those sitting in the last two rows get to ride it backwards. "Be dragged into a blind 127ft drop before hurtling through the wasted landscape in a series of gut-wrenching near misses, including, new for 2013, the mangled metal of a devastated billboard," says the publicity. Gnarly.