Adventure Island (amusement park)

Adventure Island is a themed amusement 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. The park contains thirty six rides, retail outlets, and numerous catering outlets. History 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. In 1995 the park was vastly expanded when the land to the east of the pier was purchased to form part of the park. 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. 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. The fifth roller coaster, Rage, opened in February 2007. It is one of the biggest investments the park has ever made. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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!". 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. 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 Fairytale weekend, Superhero weekend, a Halloween themed week during October half term, Christmas Wonderland, and Islandfest. On 17 July 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. In 2024 and 2025, the park was named the "Best value theme park" in the United Kingdom by VIP Grinders. Controversy Adventure Island has been involved in various controversies, in particular between 2023-2025. In 2023, rides were subject to stoppages and emergency incidents. For example, the Rage rollercoaster broke down leaving passengers hanging at near 90-degree angles on the 72-foot high rollercoaster for 40 minutes . A similar incident took place earlier in the year in July, with passengers stating the ride "shook violently" before the ride ground to a halt leaving passengers suspended midair and requiring rescue from trained professionals. Adventure Island has been the subject of controversy owing to actions and statements of Philip Miller (CEO and director), in particular for his post on X (formerly Twitter) following the England Lioness' World Cup semi-final win against Australia. Alongside an image of a pile of dirty dishes, Philip posted "The tragic unseen side effects of the women's world cup". In response to widespread condemnation of the post as sexist, Philip then sought to defend his comment by referring to it as "tongue-in-cheek", further doubling down by stating that "I do have the feeling the worlds going mad and being taken over by the noisy minority". Miller has also been criticised for his self-interest in criticising the £50m Seaway leisure development, which was expected to create around 500 jobs. Miller stated "It's not the development we are against...The reason we are so adamantly against is it will lead to the extinction of our business". Council leaders criticised the remarks, adding that Miller failed to provide any substance to why he believed Seaway to have led to the collapse of the business. 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. 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. 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 Thrill rides Family rides Kids' rides Other attractions Adventure Golf – two different courses available; extra charge. Sealife Adventure – not in Adventure Island but in an adjacent area. Funtopia Arcade – amusement arcades open when Adventure Inside is open. MegaCity Arcade – amusement arcades open when the park is open. Past rides A list of the past rides include: Devils Creek Gold Mine – was a Red Wristband children's track ride, which had a train of spinning barrel cars taken along by a train-like front carriage. The ride featured a rock tunnel and an outdoor section with much devil-theming scattered around the ride. The ride was originally known as the Jigsaw Train but over time received many theming updates until its eventual removal at the end of 2015 to be replaced by Adventureville in 2016. It is also referenced in Adventureville. American Freeway – a spinning ride similar to a Matterhorn ride but without the swinging cars. The ride type is almost the same as the Dragon that is now at the park, however this ride had large seats featuring high railings attached to the top of each seat for safety. Barracuda – an inverter ship style attraction with a white and brown colour scheme. It was located near the area of where Axis is now. Beezlee Bob's Trail – Currently Over The Hill 2: Spooksville – Was a Dark Ride built in 1999 and closed down in 2007 to make way for Over The Hill. The ride featured many whacky characters and had a spooky feel to it Blackbeards: All at Sea – was a cinema attraction located on the current site of the Adventure Inside section. Blackbeards Pirate Adventure Fantasy Dome – a large dome attraction. Golden Hind Helter Skelter - An iconic red and white slide that stood for nearly forty years at the western end of the park. Closed in 2024. Mr Smee's Boat Ride Pirate Galleon – a typical pirate ship ride Raging River – Raging River was an Interlink IG flume ride that opened in 1996 and closed in 2006. The ride featured 2 drops and had a track length of 270 and was replaced by Rage the following year. Sea Serpent Sky Lab – a thrilling flat ride that is similar to an Enterprise ride but the cars where similar to that of a Matterhorn ride. Space Chase – a shuttle rollercoaster identical to Roller Coaster owned by Beeches Fun Fair on the UK travelling circuit. The ride had light blue track and white supports. Over The Hill – Over The Hill was the replacement ride for Beelzee Bob's Trail. Over The Hill was designed InHouse and many Audio-Visuals were produced by Sarner. The ride shut down in 2017 and was rethemed into Over The Hill 2: Spooksville. Scorpion – a Tivoli Scorpion that opened in 2001; height limit 1.2 m and was a Blue Band ride. The ride closed near the end of 2018 to make way for Axis. Its site is now occupied by Dragon's Claw, which was moved from elsewhere in the park. The Scorpion ride has also featured at Gillwell 24 2019 after being removed, suggesting it is still in operation Vortex – An orbiter that opened in 2001; height limit 1.2 m and was a Blue Band ride. The ride closed in 2022 and was sold. Jungle Express – mini train ride; height limit 1 m. Falgas Formula 1A Karting – go karts, extra charge. Dodgems – bumper cars; extra charge, Closed in October 2022 Magic Monsters – Small roundabout ride, opened in 1999 closed October 2022 Gallery References External links 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