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Adventure Island (amusement park)
Encyclopedia
Adventure Island is a free-admission amusement park in Southend-on-Sea
, Essex
, UK
which has 33 different rides and attractions as well as a gift shop and catering outlets. The current 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 was previously known as Peter Pan's Playground and latterly Peter Pan's Adventure Island before becoming simply Adventure Island. The site is currently owned and managed by Stockvale Limited.
Some past rides include:
Mr Smee's Boat Ride,
American Freeway,
Barracuda,
Space Chase,
Fantasy Dome,
Pirate Galleon,
Beelzee Bob's Trail,
Raging River
Adventure Island currently has five roller coasters in the park.
The Green Scream is a Zierer
custom design and was constructed in the late 90s. It was once described as their 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 however it is an all round family ride. The Green Screams 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.
The second roller coaster at the park is the Barnstormer, which opened in 2000. It is the same design of coaster, a custom Zierer
, and 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 fiberglass pilot at the front, a dog at the back, with propellers mounted at each end.
The third roller coaster is named the Mighty Mini Mega, a Pinfari
MM29, which opened in 2003. This coaster 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. It is suited on top of the Mega City prize arcade.
There is an article on the fourth roller coaster below. It has been named Rage after a competition in southend echo to decide a name for the ride. The slogan is "For Superheroes only!" which is said before the first drop of the rollercoaster.
The Fifth roller coaster is called Kiddi Koasta, a Zamperla Speedy Coaster which opened to the public on April 30th 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.
is a Gerstlauer
Euro-Fighter 320+. It opened in February 2007. It is one of the biggest investments the park has ever made.
The ride cost in the region of £3million and is located on the former Raging River Log Flume site, Sky Drop and Vortex were relocated to new positions in the park to make way.
The ride is about 75 ft in height and has a 97 degree drop, a vertical lift hill, a vertical loop and a Zero G Roll, as well as a host of other elements and tight turns that make it a short but extreme ride.
In 2011 a crow built its nest at the top of the loop gathering attention from tabloid newspapers.
Two such events are the Green Scream Marathon and Rage Relay.
The Green Scream Marathon was held on 18 June 2005. Three people took part and rode the Green Scream coaster for 12 hours solid, raising over £700 for Make Poverty History
.
On 28 April 2007, a group of five coaster enthusiasts took part in the Rage Relay event, where they each rode ride Rage in total of 4 hours each doing hourly shifts on the ride in pairs, they raised over £500 for the local charity StrokeBusters.
On 8 August 2010, 102 people rode the Green Scream rollercoaster to break a new world record of the most naked people (nude/o naturall) on a rollercoaster. The sponsorship money from this event was given to Southend Hospital.
Most recently two Adventure Island staff members spent 24 hours on the Big Wheel in November 2010 and raised over £800 for StrokeBusters.
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
which has 33 different rides and attractions as well as a gift shop and catering outlets. The current site of the amusement park flanks the north end of Southend Pier
Southend Pier
Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea. Extending into the Thames Estuary, it is the longest pleasure pier in the world. Sir John Betjeman once said that "the Pier is Southend, Southend is the Pier". The pier is a Grade II listed building....
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 was previously known as Peter Pan's Playground and latterly Peter Pan's Adventure Island before becoming simply Adventure Island. The site is currently owned and managed by Stockvale Limited.
History
In 1976 the land to the west of the pier was purchased by the Miller family and they developed their amusement park on the site from the rudimentary original. The site was redeveloped extensively and in 1995 the park was vastly expanded when the land to the east of the pier was purchased to form part of the park.Some past rides include:
Mr Smee's Boat Ride,
American Freeway,
Barracuda,
Space Chase,
Fantasy Dome,
Pirate Galleon,
Beelzee Bob's Trail,
Raging River
Roller coasters
The Green Scream is a Zierer
Zierer
Zierer is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hextentanz and Kontiki rides...
custom design and was constructed in the late 90s. It was once described as their 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 however it is an all round family ride. The Green Screams 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.
The second roller coaster at the park is the Barnstormer, which opened in 2000. It is the same design of coaster, a custom Zierer
Zierer
Zierer is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hextentanz and Kontiki rides...
, and 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 fiberglass pilot at the front, a dog at the back, with propellers mounted at each end.
The third roller coaster is named the Mighty Mini Mega, a Pinfari
Pinfari
Pinfari is an Italian brand of portable roller coasters found at travelling fairs. The Pinfari company was founded by Daniel Pinfari in Mantua. The brand has been especially known for compact models with small footprints, such as the popular ZL42. Pinfari was liquidated on 15 July 2004, due to the...
MM29, which opened in 2003. This coaster 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. It is suited on top of the Mega City prize arcade.
There is an article on the fourth roller coaster below. It has been named Rage after a competition in southend echo to decide a name for the ride. The slogan is "For Superheroes only!" which is said before the first drop of the rollercoaster.
The Fifth roller coaster is called Kiddi Koasta, a Zamperla Speedy Coaster which opened to the public on April 30th 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.
Rage
RageRage (roller coaster)
Rage is a Gerstlauer Eurofighter roller coaster situated at Adventure Island in Southend On Sea, United Kingdom. It opened on 10 February 2007. It is one of the biggest investments the park has ever made. It features three inversions: a Vertical loop, Immelmann and a Zero-G roll.Its one of the most...
is a Gerstlauer
Gerstlauer
Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany.-History:...
Euro-Fighter 320+. It opened in February 2007. It is one of the biggest investments the park has ever made.
The ride cost in the region of £3million and is located on the former Raging River Log Flume site, Sky Drop and Vortex were relocated to new positions in the park to make way.
The ride is about 75 ft in height and has a 97 degree drop, a vertical lift hill, a vertical loop and a Zero G Roll, as well as a host of other elements and tight turns that make it a short but extreme ride.
In 2011 a crow built its nest at the top of the loop gathering attention from tabloid newspapers.
Charity events
The park does a lot for local and national charities.Two such events are the Green Scream Marathon and Rage Relay.
The Green Scream Marathon was held on 18 June 2005. Three people took part and rode the Green Scream coaster for 12 hours solid, raising over £700 for Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland...
.
On 28 April 2007, a group of five coaster enthusiasts took part in the Rage Relay event, where they each rode ride Rage in total of 4 hours each doing hourly shifts on the ride in pairs, they raised over £500 for the local charity StrokeBusters.
On 8 August 2010, 102 people rode the Green Scream rollercoaster to break a new world record of the most naked people (nude/o naturall) on a rollercoaster. The sponsorship money from this event was given to Southend Hospital.
Most recently two Adventure Island staff members spent 24 hours on the Big Wheel in November 2010 and raised over £800 for StrokeBusters.
Other major rides
- Archelon, a ZiererZiererZierer is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hextentanz and Kontiki rides...
Wave Swinger - Dragon's Claw, a Tivoli Spin-Out.
- Pharaoh's Fury, a Sonacase Twister
- Fireball (A Home Built Ride)
- Big Wheel
- Crooked House(Home built ride)
- Devil's Creek Gold Mine
- Ramba Zamba, a ZamperlaZamperlaZamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....
Disk-ODisk-OThe Disk'O is a type of flat ride manufactured by Zamperla of Italy. The ride is a larger version of a Rockin' Tug, also manufactured by Zamperla.-Versions:-Ride:... - Scorpion, a Tivoli Scorpion
- Sky Drop, a ZamperlaZamperlaZamperla is a designing and manufacturing company in Vicenza, Italy. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls....
Skydrop - Tidal Wave
- Vortex, a Tivoli Orbiter
- Sk8borda
- Dragon, a ZiererZiererZierer is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hextentanz and Kontiki rides...
roundabout - Over The Hill (A Home built Dark ride)
- Time Machine (Home built spinning ride) (Opening 2012)