Adventure Island September photo TR

Last weekend I visited Adventure Island located on the coast of the Thames Estuary. It was a surprise trip which I only really knew I was going the day before. At the start of the year I went as a surprise as I was really close to it, and just rode Rage four times and that is it, however this time I got a full look around the park and got a feel for what it is really like. There is a decent selection of rides, including a Gerstlaurer Euro-fighter called Rage, two Zierer family coasters, green scream and Barnstormer (I prefer Barnstormer) a Zamperla coaster called kiddi coaster, a Pinfari/ie park rollercoaster called Mighty Mini Mega (very self contradictory) and a handful of fun fair rides.

All the coasters were pretty tame, but still really fun, and did not feel like credit whoring, more like actually wanting to ride the rides. Of course the best rollercoaster was Rage, which is a nice compact smooth and twisty ride. The 95 degree drop gives a nice pop of airtime and creates lots of speed very fast. it lacks the intensity of bigger Euro-fighters, but fits the park perfectly. If you are looking for intensity, there is however one place in the park you can go, and that is Adventure Island's own Time Machine. The ride is very hard to explain, but it delivers constant and high G-Force comparable to the steep helix on Nemesis.

Enough talking, on to to the pictures.

I have arrived and the second fastest tide in the world is doing its thing.

I ... see ... Gerstlauer.

A short and pleasant walk along the seafront, I arrive at one of the entrances. Damn sun was in the wrong place for taking pictures, which can be seen by this picture where I tried to get a roller coaster and sing into one picture.

It was a long car journey there and I was hungry and wanted to worm up on some smaller rides, so i saved this contraption for later. Honestly, it looks as bad as feels.

Mighty Mini Mega is the weaker of the three of these style of coaster I have been on, not as good as Cliffhanger at Blackgang Chine. However it is really cool how it is on top of the building.

First ride for me, Barnstormer. Oh! It is good for such a small ride, especially in the back.

Ride in the back and it this Intamin like twisty drop delivers some really good forces. It was my first ever Zierer coaster except for Lisebergbanan. It gets really close to the terrain and took me by shock the first time.

Next up a strange ride, Scorpion.

Is it mighty?

Is it mini?

Or is it mega?

It cannot be all of them? So which one is it? Comment what you think it is! Whatever it is, here is a control panel for the ride. A very embarrassing thing that happened on the ride is that my beloved Helix hat which I forgot to take off flew off during the ride into the ride zone. When the ride came to a stop I asked the ride op if it could be retrieved, and he was like, it is only a hat. Eventually after stopping the ride for ten minutes, a massive security guard bloke appeared and walked into the ride area and got my hat. Yay.

Scorpion doing its thing. I wish it went faster, but it was fun and you could really feel the 90 degree tilt.

After those three rides, I went into town and got some food. Essex is just like any TV show or film you have ever seen about Essex, the people are elaborate to say the least.

I ... See ... Gerstlaurer.

First some relaxing on the beach. The park did not close until 10pm so it was fine.

Twisty Rage goodness.

Nice hang time here.

The loop on Rage feels more like an extended loop due to the shape and speed it is taken. At the top there is a nice feeling of upside down weightlessness.

The top of the drop.

Probably the roughest part of the ride, but smoother than any part of Saw.

Aaaand, into the breaks.

This ride looks so nice in the sun light.

Then a ride on Sky Drop, which was pretty bad. It was like a slightly bigger frog hopper. Very tame and I would prefer a ride on something else. Not worth wasting five minutes to ride.

That's better

Oh my! I have been calling IT Gerstlauer my whole life, when it is Gerstlaue! Either way here is the control panel.

Really good drop. This ride has somehow made it into my top ten (10)

Green Scream which is not very green, is the parks other Zierer.

It has 20 carriages. TWENTY. I tried to show the length in some of the pictures.

Not as good as Barnstormer but still fun.

A It was tall, and the lift hill was long, yet the train was still longer than the lift hill. Due to the length of the train, there were some strange forces.

And the back. I liked the feel of the curves which were not as rough as I expected.

Even the station is big and is very well themed. There is even an unload and load platform.

SPOILER FOR THE ENDING!!! Some cool stuff happens which I will not spoil as it would ruin it, however this depicts what happened.

It is time to go over the hill. It is a pretty nice family friendly dark ride ghost train, in which the gates were actually open, which is always a bonus. **Cough** Thorpe Park, **Cough**

Now it is time for some G-Force.

This guy will follow you and try to stop you from escaping. The area this ride was built on is really tiny. You have to see it to believe how small the plot is, yet the ride makes it seem like you are in a huge mansion.

I scream, you scream we all scream for green scream!

"Wow, that long, how does it even fit!" That is definitely not what she said.

Proper sustained G-Force on this ride. It is very intense and you feel the pull everywhere from your cheeks to feet.

Correct me if I am wrong but I think this ride is made in house by the park. There is nothing like it that I have ever seen.

The pictures don't really show this ride very well, but basically it spins. Fast. And the seats occasionally rotate.

Seeing as I was in Southend and wanted to see the sea, I ventured out onto the 1.3 mile pier into the middle of the 'sea'.

It was a nice walk and was very atmospheric.

And if I got bored, I could always look at this view.

Typical Eurofighter drop.

Tp paraphrase slightly, "Through the roofs!"

So twisty, so fun.

After the walk I am back again for some more rides. Why not?

Ramba zamba was OK, but it was one of the rides which really needed some life given to it and for it to feel more permanent.

Last credit for me. Number 53 in you were wondering. It was nice and had two airtime hills at the bottom.

This was the scariest crooked house I have ever been in. I was the only one in it and it was so creepy and disturbing it made me want to crawl up into a ball and cry.

Yeah. No. Ow. This slow lateral g and hang time effect really does not work with KMG harnesses. Really painful and it never ended.

Barnstormer!!!

The propeller on the front even moved. I liked this ride as you may be able to tell.

Is it an inversion? The thought gives me so much ... Rage.

While queuing for Time machine again, I tried some artistic photography, so enjoy some colors!

Red

Blues.

Final ride of the day is Rage

So patriotic it is untrue.

Undoubtedly the bast ride at the park.

I have a thing for small fun intense coasters. I just find them so addictive. It is why I am sad to see Kanonen at Liseberg go.

I did not ride their new ride, but here is a picture of it none the less. ]

Thanks for reading.

A you tube video I took of Barnstormer:

Off ride video of Rage:

My daughter is a annual pass holder so we go quite a lot, they build a lot of their rides. Both the new dark ride Adventureville and Over the Hill are in house, Time Machine, Cow Jump. It's a great little park, really friendly staff.

Enjoyed the pics and narrative from far away...! I'm guessing its a popular spot in the Summer months...

My daughter is a annual pass holder so we go quite a lot, they build a lot of their rides. Both the new dark ride Adventureville and Over the Hill are in house, Time Machine, Cow Jump. It's a great little park, really friendly staff.

Fireball as well! If you were wondering about Over the Hill, Henry, it winds it way towards the entrance of the Vortex waterslides near Rage's cutback and final helix then snakes back to the end of the Vortex waterslides.

In the paper that they are going to stop investing in the park till the council sort out the roads into the town and the parking situation. In the summer months it's absolutely crazy.

I expect they have made this threat because they have just made a significant investment in the park with the addition of the excellent Adventure Inside and Adventureville so they probably weren't going to invest anyway.

I also notice on top of the new Adventureville ride is quite a large flat concrete slab which I expect could be a place for either the Southend Eye big wheel or the large starflyer they got planning permission for the other year.

^ very possibly. The park is very compact and most rides are built on top of each other.

Off ride video of the painful Dragons Claw with lighting effects:

Nice TR but what is Adventureville? The photo shows just the ride's (?) name and the queue. Just curious, thanks.

It is essentially a small friendly darkride where you travel through this perfect land. I find that sort of thing enjoyable and patronizing, so i did not ride, but it would be perfect for families with small children.

^ Ah, understood. But heck, I'd still ride it, LOL! I believe us old people are allowed to do that, right?

(I visited Adventure Island twice; 2006 on my own, and with a TPR UK Tour in 2010.)

I was not allowed to ride by myself on some rides, but I think you would. They have some strange policies at the park. Take an on ride video with a DSLR, "Why not??" But then ride Dragons claw with long hair not tied back "ma'am, you may want to check out some of your other attractions." Ask to sit back row when there are only three other people on the ride "No," and leave it empty (And look at you like you are some sort of weirdo). Although the park staff are very interactive, they seem to have so many messed up rules which prevented me from feeling like I was at the fifth most friendly park in the world.

I've never visited this park, but I've heard good things about Rage.

Nice trip report. You had some great photos in there!! Looks like a decent little park with a great location. I'm a sucker for parks near water!!

Nice trip report. You had some great photos in there!! Looks like a decent little park with a great location. I'm a sucker for parks near water!!

Haha, thanks. You get some really good views over the beach on all the coasters. MMM gives great views as it is on top of a building, which is a nice effect.

Nice TR on Adventure Island.

I have ridden a ride like Dragon Claw at Morey's Pier a few years ago. A ride like that should have been named "The Intimidator"!