There are brand new rides and attractions coming to many of the UK's most popular theme parks in 2018.

New additions are coming to Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, LEGOLAND Windsor, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Paultons Park.

If you are planning days out at theme parks in the UK this year then these are the new rides and attractions that should be at the top of your list...

Alton Towers has confirmed the opening date of their latest attraction Wicker Man, the first new wooden roller coaster to be built in the UK for 21 years, with the unique thrill of fire.

The brand new ride opens on Saturday 17th March 2018.

Thorpe Park Resort has now announced The Walking Dead: The Ride, the world’s first roller coaster themed around the global TV phenomenon, to open this Easter.

The Walking Dead: The Ride is the latest new attraction for the Surrey based theme park and replaces previous ride X.

Chessington World of Adventures has now announced the opening date for new multi-million pound Land of the Tiger, featuring an innovative enclosure and Europe’s first overhead trails, all set to welcome the four endangered Amur Tigers.

The foursome – currently living in Sweden – will soon be making the big move to Land of the Tiger at the Surrey park, where their new specially designed home awaits that will allow the world’s largest tiger species freedom to roam with a cat’s-eye view of the whole area. 

Alton Towers has released first-look images of their latest attraction Wicker Man, the first new wooden roller coaster to be built in the UK for 21 years, with the unique thrill of fire.

The dramatic images reveal a spectacular six-story (57.7ft) structure, featuring an impressive human face on one side and ram’s head on the other, which bursts into flames as the train races through its chest.

The final piece of ICON, a new £16.25 million roller coaster, has been installed at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

The track completion in the build of what the park are calling "the world’s most interactive roller coaster" was conducted by a 50-strong team, using a crane to hoist the final piece of grey steel track into place.

This sees a key section of the roller coaster complete which will see riders catapulted forward at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour ahead of soaring to heights of 82 feet.

A new themed animal attraction, Little Africa, has opened at Paultons Park - just in time for February Half Term in 2018.

Little Africa is home to a number of animals native to the continent, including fennec fox, African crested porcupines, meerkats, Savannah monitor lizards and giant train millipedes, as well as one of the largest rodents in Africa, the Gambian pouched rat, and also the smallest, the African pygmy mouse.

Thorpe Park has announced The Year of The Walking Dead, a series of new unmissable events throughout the 2018 season from when the theme park re-opens on 23rd March.

An invasion of Walkers descended upon the Island during Fright Nights last year and we thought the battle against the dead was won… we were wrong.

This season, the apocalypse is nigh at Thorpe Park with a deadly calendar of unmissable events.

Although the main theme park season may still be a little way off, there are plenty of special events at UK theme parks for February Half Term in 2018.

Here's our pick of all the highlights, including where to get your tickets or book a short break.

Merlin are offering some great savings on short breaks across their 4 theme parks in the UK.

These offers end very soon, so see the websites below for all the details and don't miss out!