After bringing global IP The Walking Dead to its popular Fright Night events last October, Thorpe Park has upped the ante yet again, utilising the popular brand as part of a world-first rollercoaster currently under development at the British theme park and resort.

The first rollercoaster to ever feature The Walking Dead as its theme, the ride experience will be multi-sensory and comes complete with terrifying special effects and a replica of the show’s iconic watch tower.

Thorpe Park has declared 2018 its “Year of The Walking Dead”, with the new ride at the centre of the park-wide experience. In addition to the new rollercoaster, the park is hosting a number of experiences through the year, including a live action maze, a zombie hunt in the woodland on the park’s outskirts, and its ever-popular Fright Night events.

“The Walking Dead: The Ride is a completely immersive experience, with state-of-the-art special effects and iconic scenes from the TV series,” said Dominic Jones, divisional director at Thorpe Park, speaking to Attractions Management.

“The rollercoaster is at the heart of our Year of The Walking Dead series of unmissable events, running throughout the 2018 season. We can’t wait for our visitors to come back to see us when we reopen on 23 March, with the new ride available from Easter.”

In an exclusive deal with US television network AMC, two new live-action attractions based on the globally-renowned series debuted at the park last year during the month of October. The first maze, called The Walking Dead: Living Nightmare, saw visitors experience iconic scenes seen in season 7 of the show, with the maze centred around the series antagonist, Negan. The second maze, The Walking Dead: Sanctum, had guests following in the footsteps of survivors, as they attempt to navigate their way past the roaming walkers.

Use of the The Walking Dead IP has proved a great success overseas, with Universal’s version of the horror maze proving so popular, that it became a permanent attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood.