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Adventure Island (amusement park)

Adventure Island is a theme park in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. The site of the theme park flanks the north end of Southend Pier and has been a theme 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 six rides, retail outlets, and numerous 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. It is known to have been originally owned and run by a Mr Maxwell, who also injected capital into and became one of the first co-directors of the EKCO Company in Southend. In 1976, the land to the west of the pier was purchased by the Miller family. They developed the amusement park on the site from the rudimentary original and the entire site was redeveloped extensively.[1][2]

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 runs both east and west sides of the pier. The park's mascots are called Snappy, Rage Man, Jakey and Jan.[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 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 2002. 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.[3] It is one of the biggest investments the park has ever made.[4] 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.[3] 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!"

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]

In September 2020, Adventure Island temporarily closed, following advice from Essex Police after a traveller encampment was set up in the nearby Kursaal car park.[6] In an update on the company's Facebook page, Adventure Island told visitors that they had been "advised to close early due to traveller invasion!" and that it was "best to be safe than sorry!".[7] The language used in the post was criticised by Traveller Rights organisations as reinforcing negative stereotypes about Traveller communities. The post was later deleted, and the company apologised for any offence caused.[8]

In 2021, the park hosted the first Pride event to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, that hosted local drag queens performing. They also hosted their first annual Islandfest that celebrates local talented artists and musicians by showcasing their talents. Their yearly events include Fairy-tale weekend, Superhero weekend, a Halloween themed week, a Christmas Grotto, pride and Islandfest.

On July 17 2023, Adventure Island decided not to host future Pride events after a controversial performance by drag queen Crystal. The drag queen expressed disappointment, accusing corporations of exploiting Pride for profit. Crystal defended the act, involving an angle grinder, stating it was similar to performances on shows like Britain's Got Talent or by pop stars like Lady Gaga. However, theme park owner Philip Miller cited confusion over acceptable content and emphasized the park's family-friendly focus. Miller apologized for any offense caused and announced the park's decision not to participate in future Pride celebrations.[9]

Features

Adventure Island is not divided into specific areas but divides its rides into height restrictions: no height limit, must be over 1 metre, must be over 1.2 metres, must be over 1.3 metres.[10] Before 2021, the park sold colour coded wristbands depending on height. Red bands would be for under 1m tall, green for under 1.2m tall, and blue for over 1.2 metres tall. The park is separated into the East side of the pier, and the West side of the pier.[1] There is also an inside area in the middle called Adventure Inside with a 5 storey softplay centre, 4 rides Funtopia arcade and a café.

Rides and attractions

Rollercoasters

1.2 Meter + Rides

[16]

1 Meter + Rides

[16]

No minimum height Rides

[16]

Other attractions

Formula 1A Karting

Past rides

A list of the past rides include:

Gallery

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

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "About us | Adventure Island". adventureisland.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Old pictures of Adventure Island in Southend through the decades". Southend Echo. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b Marden, Duane. "Rage  (Adventure Island)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  4. ^ Sehlinger, Bob (2011). The Unofficial Guide to Britain's Best Days Out, Theme Parks and Attractions. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Son. pp. 222–223. ISBN 1119971136. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Adventure Island one of friendliest of world's parks". Echo. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  6. ^ Jennings, Ryan (7 September 2020). "Southend seafront: attractions close early amid 'traveller encampment'". Clacton and Frinton Gazette. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  7. ^ ""Not much of an apology" – Adventure Island still under fire for 'traveller invasion' FB post". Travellers' Times. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  8. ^ Whitehouse, Ellis (8 September 2020). "Adventure Island apologises for 'offensive' post on travellers". Southend Standard. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Southend Adventure Island says Pride 'not for us' over drag act". BBC News. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  10. ^ Andrew Stokes. "How The Ride Bands Work". Adventure Island. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Barnstormer - Adventure Island (Southend On Sea, Essex, England, UK)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Green Scream - Adventure Island (Southend On Sea, Essex, England, UK)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Kiddi Koasta - Adventure Island (Southend On Sea, Essex, England, UK)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  14. ^ a b "Mighty Mini Mega - Adventure Island (Southend On Sea, Essex, England, UK)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  15. ^ a b "Rage - Adventure Island (Southend On Sea, Essex, England, UK)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  16. ^ a b c Andrew Stokes. "The Rides". Adventure Island. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  17. ^ "'Over the Hill' at Southend's Adventure Island". Sarner. Retrieved 12 January 2024.

External links

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