Adventure Island (amusement park)

Adventure Island

Location	Southend-on-Sea, England
Coordinates	51°31′57″N 0°42′57″E / 51.53250°N 0.71583°E / 51.53250; 0.71583Coordinates: 51°31′57″N 0°42′57″E / 51.53250°N 0.71583°E / 51.53250; 0.71583
Owner	Stockvale Ltd
Opened	1976 (1976)
Previous names	Peter Pan's Playground, Peter Pan's Adventure Island
Operating season	February – November
Rides
Total	33
Roller coasters	5
Water rides	1
Website	www.adventureisland.co.uk

Adventure Island is a free-admission amusement park in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The site of the amusement park flanks the north end of Southend Pier and has been an amusement park since 1976 when the land now forming the west side of the park was purchased by the Miller family. The park used to be known as Peter Pan's Playground and later Peter Pan's Adventure Island before becoming Adventure Island. The site is owned and managed by Stockvale Limited.^[1] The park contains thirty two rides, a gift shop, and catering outlets.

History

Adventure Island at night

Adventure Island started out in 1918 as Sunken Gardens, a sea-side garden that in the 1920s installed a few children's rides. In 1976, the land to the west of the pier was purchased by Philip Miller and his family. They developed the amusement park on the site from the rudimentary original and the entire site was redeveloped extensively.^[1]

In 1995 the park was vastly expanded when the land to the east of the pier was purchased to form part of the park.^[1]

Complementing the park is Southend Pier, the longest pleasure pier in the world (built in 1830 as a wooden pier, rebuilt as a steel pier in 1889); it extends more than a mile (1,34 miles/2,16 km) toward the ocean. The pier train runs the entire length of the pier to the Lifeboat Museum. The park's mascot is called Snappy.^[1]

Adventure Island is not divided into specific areas but divides its rides into the following categories: Big Adventure (blue rides), Junior (green rides) and Mini (red rides). The park is separated into the East side of the pier and the West side of the pier.^[1]

In 1999, the park debuted the roller coaster Green Scream. It was once described as the park's signature ride, but this title has now been taken by Rage. The Green Scream does not have any inversions and the drops are quite tame. The second roller coaster at the park is the Barnstormer, which opened in 2000. The third roller coaster is named the Mighty Mini Mega, which opened in 2003. Kiddi Koasta, a children's roller coaster, opened to the public on 30 April 2011.^[1]

The fifth roller coaster, Rage, opened in February 2007.^[2] It is one of the biggest investments the park has ever made.^[3] The ride cost in the region of £3 million and is located on the former Raging River Log Flume site. The Sky Drop and Vortex rides were relocated to new positions in the park to make way. The ride is about 75 feet (23 m) in height and has a 97 degree drop, a vertical lift hill, a vertical loop, a zero-g roll and tight turns.^[2] It was named Rage after a competition in the newspaper Southend Echo to decide a name for the ride. The slogan is "For Superheroes only!" which is said before the first drop of the roller coaster. In 2011 a crow built its nest at the top of the loop, gathering attention from tabloid newspapers.^[4][1]

In 2014 Adventure Island demolished the Pirate Boat, which was one of their oldest attractions, to make way for Adventure Inside in spring 2015.^[1]

In September 2016 the park retained a top five status in the “Friendliest Park In The World" category at the annual Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards.^[5]

Rides and attractions

Rollercoasters

Name	Picture	Type	Year	Manufacturer	Additional information
Barnstormer		steel sit down	2000	Zierer[6]	Reaches a speed of 39 km/h (24 mph) on a 222 m (728 ft) and a height of 9 m (30 ft); height limit 1 m (3 ft 3 in). Small Tivoli model.[6] It looks quite tame although it has what has been called one of the best helix curves on a mini coaster. The train is half the length of that of the Green Scream and has a fibreglass pilot at the front, a dog at the back, with propellers mounted at each end.
Green Scream		steel sit down	1999	Zierer[7]	A family rollercoaster; height limit 1 m (3 ft 3 in). No inversions[7] and the drops are tame. The Green Scream's train is green with a red interior, apart from the first car which is red and has a fibreglass crocodile to represent Snappy, a park mascot. The back of the rear car has the tail of the crocodile. The train is quite long, comprising 20 cars seating two people each.
Kiddi Koasta		steel sit down	2011	Zamperla[8]	A children's rollercoaster; height limit 1 m (3 ft 3 in). A speedy coaster which opened to the public on 30 April 2011. This rollercoaster is basically a starter coaster for young children and people who are not used to more larger and faster rollercoasters, due to its gentle drops, twist and turns.
Mighty Mini Mega		steel sit down	2003	Pinfari[9]	Built on top of the Mega City arcade for added effect; height limit 1 m (3 ft 3 in). MM29 model.[9] Has six cars each with two rows of two, seating 24 riders in total. The ride itself is quite short however it is quite intense in some places with a helix towards the end and quite a sharp brake run.
Rage		steel sit down	2007	Gerstlauer[10]	Reaches a speed of 70 km/h (43 mph) on an 361 m (1,184 ft) long track and a height of 22 m (72 ft) with 3 inversions (loop, immelmann, zero G roll) and a 97° drop; height limit 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in). Eurofighter 320+ model.[10]

Other major rides

Archelon swing

• American Whip – spinning cups that opened in 2009; height limit under 1 m. Adventure Island Workshop.
• Archelon – a Zierer Wave Swinger; height limit 1.2 m.
• Big Wheel – a Ferris Wheel; height limit under 1 m.
• Crooked House – funny house that was originally built in 1953; height limit under 1 m. Adventure Island Workshop.
• The Dragon – a Zierer roundabout ride that opened in 1995; height limit 1 m+.
• Dragon's Claw – a Tivoli Spin-Out ride; height limit 1.2 m.
• Fireball – a Ferris wheel-type spinner ride that opened in 2006; height limit 1 m+. Adventure Island Workshop.
• Over the Hill 2: Spooksville – This ride opened on the 15th July 2017. To give us an insight as to what the ride is about Adventure Island's Creative Director Paul Clapp did an interview with Essex Live and said "Spooksville is not a ghost train, but a scenic journey with a spooky feel. There are still some characters and scenes remaining from Over The Hill, hence we're branding it as 'Over the Hill 2: Spooksville', but we have deliberately given this version a more traditional feel in comparison to its predecessor".
• Pharaoh's Fury – a Sonacase Twister that opened in 1998; height limit 1 m+.
• Ramba Zamba – a Zamperla Disk-O that opened in 2004; height limit 1.2 m.
• Scorpion – a Tivoli Scorpion that opened in 2001; height limit 1.2 m.

Sk8borda

• Sk8borda – a rocking tug that opened in 2008; height limit 1 m+. Zamperla/Adventure Island Workshop
• Sky Drop – a 70 ft (21m) tall Zamperla drop tower that opened in 2004; height limit 1.2 m.
• Tidal Wave Blue – water dinghy ride that opened in 1995; height limit 1.2 m. Interlink.
• Tidal Wave Green – water dinghy ride that is located adjacent to the Blue Tidal Wave. Minimum height limit 1.2 m.
• The Time Machine – giant swing that opened in 2012; height limit 1.2 m. Adventure Island Workshop.
• Vortex – a Tivoli Orbiter spin ride that opened in 2001; height limit 1.2 m.
• Smiles-Per-Gallon – Pirate Ship ride located in Adventure Inside. Minimum height limit 1 m.
• The Pirate Plunge – a SBF Visa drop tower located in Adventure Inside. Minimum height limit 1 m.

Children's rides

• Adventureville – an indoor mini adventure ride, opened in Summer of 2016 and replaced Devil's Creek.
• Choo Choo Train – mini train ride; height limit 1 m.
• Cow Jump – magic carpet ride that opened in 2003; height limit 1 m. Adventure Island Workshop.
• Drop n´ Smile – mini drop tower that opened in 2001; height limit 1 m. Adventure Island Workshop.
• Flying Jumbos – flying elephants ride; height limit 1 m. Modern Products.
• Jumpin Jolly Rogers – roundabout ride that opened in 2004; height limit 1 m. Adventure Island Workshop.
• Jungle Express – mini train ride; height limit 1 m. Falgas.
• Lighthouse Slip – mat slider; height limit 1 m. Adventure Island Workshop.
• Magic Monsters – roundabout ride; height limit 1 m. Modern Products.
• Viking Boats – boat roundabout; height limit 1 m. Zierer.
• Dune Buggies – a SBF Visa bounce spin located in Adventure Inside.

Other attractions

Formula 1A Karting

• Adventure Golf – 2 different courses available; extra charge.
• Dodgems – bumper cars; extra charge.
• Formula 1A Karting – go karts, extra charge.
• Sea Life Adventure – not in Adventure Island but in an adjacent area.
• Mega City/Feelgoods Prize Arcades – amusement arcades.

Past rides

A list of the past rides include:

• Devils Creek Gold Mine
• American Freeway
• Barracuda
• Beezlee Bob's Trail
• Blackbeards: All at Sea
• Blackbeards Pirate Adventure
• Fantasy Dome
• Golden Hind
• Mr Smee's Boat Ride
• Pirate Galleon
• Raging River
• Sky Lab
• Space Chase
• Over The Hill

Gallery

Main gallery: Adventure Island at WikiCommons

• 
  Aerial photo of Adventure Island
• 
  The pier
• 
  Rage
• 
  Pirate's Cove
• 
  Pirate ship
• 
  View from water

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adventure Island (amusement park).

• Adventure Island official website
• Interview with the park's owner, Philip Miller
• Adventure Island at ThemeParks-UK
• Adventure Island Review and Photos at T-Park