Coaster Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 PARK OPEN: 11am - 6pm RIDES CLOSED: None! Adventure Island is a park I have had on my "must visit" list for several years, so despite having planned a weekend trip to Blackpool, we decided to scrap the visit to BPB after the poor events from the first two weekends in favour of trying a new park. Overall, I was very impressed with Adventure Island. It's a smallish, colourful seaside park which is split into two sections (with the middle of the park being "Adventure Inside" - an inside section with a few rides and other things). Whilst the rides aren't by any means the best on offer in the UK, they are great for a small seaside park and the selection of flat rides is brilliant. The best thing about Adventure Island is that they care about their customers! The staff were absolutely fantastic - interacting with the guests, counting down before dispatching the rides and generally being really happy! A simple thing such as encouraging staff to be happy goes a long way in making the day out good for people, and the sense of fun and wanting the customer to have a good time is something that a lot of parks are missing at the moment, so well done to AI for getting this right. I would also like to point out how efficient they were at running the rides, and they were pushing throughputs - even with no queues at all, they were running around checking the belts and sending the rides quickly which was great to see. The park as a whole looked well kept however there are a few areas which could do with a bit of paint, but it's worth remembering that it is a seaside amusement park rather than a theme park, and it was actually quite well presented on the whole. I did find it a bit odd that three coasters are painted the same track colour though! For the benefit of others who haven't visited Adventure Island, and because it was my first visit, I'll review a few of the rides. Time Machine is insane - on first appearance, it looks like quite a tame flat ride, but the force it exerts on your body for a sustained period of time as well as the change in direction makes for a fantastic ride experience, and for that reason it is now my favourite flat ride! Rage is a decent enough coaster which makes use of limited space very well, with some forceful moments (bottom of the first drop, corners) as well as some brilliant hang-time on the loop. With that said, I do prefer Speed at Oakwood due to the fact that it's much more intense, and Rage lacked an airtime hill. Mighty Mini Mega (weird name) is nothing spectacular but for the tiny amount of space it takes up, it's not half bad! Also, it's built on top of an arcade which is interesting. Green Scream and Barnstormer are fairly similar family coasters, but they were both good fun and efficiently operated. Dragon's Claw is, in my opinion, vile. Generally I can cope with uncomfortable rides, but the way that this turned you upside-down whilst spinning put an enormous amount of pressure on your shoulders and the blood rushed to my head. I just wasn't a fan of it. Over The Hill is a strange ghost train style dark ride with a long train rather than several small ones, and it's actually quite good! It's not scary but it is well themed with several different effects, and the lighting used in the ride was fantastic and hid the warehouse roof really well, so very impressed overall. The "trick" ending was a good concept, however it could be executed better IMO. Also, two trains were running which was good! RIDECOUNT: Rage x9 Time Machine x5 Mini Mega x5 Over The Hill x4 Barnstormer x4 Tidal Wave x3 (Two on the green tunnel slide, one on the blue open slide). Green Scream x3 Crooked House x3 American Whip x2 (This was fantastic, like the old junior whip in Beaver Creek at BPB!) Kiddie Koasta x1 Scorpion x1 Skateboarder x1 Ramba Zamba x1 (Zamperla Disko that rode poorly, but at least it was open! ) Pharaoh's Fury x1 Dragon's Claw x1 The Dragon x1 Ferris Wheel x1 Vortex x1 Archelon x1 Sky Drop x1 Fireball x1 Serpent Slide x1 Helter Skelter x1 TOTAL: 52 Highlights: - Nice seaside park with a good selection of flat rides and a good headline coaster. - Best staff at any park in the UK, can't fault them at all! - Good atmosphere even on a quiet day. - Park looked great during the last hour when it was lit up. - 6pm close! - Fantastic ride availability, there was only one breakdown which was Time Machine for 5 minutes! Lowlights: - Queues closed 5 minutes early. - Due to the park being quiet, we were forced to sit near the front of every coaster (bar Rage), which was a shame as I prefer most coasters in the back row. - Extra charge for Dodgems (we didn't pay as it was a £5 upgrade on the wristband). I just don't agree with this, whilst I can understand Go Karts being upcharge, all standard rides should be included in the wristband price IMO and I don't know of any other park that charges extra for Dodgems. - Gutted I missed out on Devil's Creek Gold Mine (haven't visited before this year). Photos! Rage; Time Machine was lit up really well (this was taken during its lengthy 5 minute closure!) Exterior of Over The Hill; Finally, a construction update from the new dark ride replacing Devil's Creek (which I believe is opening in the summer); Thanks for reading. Han30, CharlieN and Cal 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 Glad you enjoyed the park! Time Machine is bonkers, like totally. Can't ride it more than twice a visit OTH I believe always has two trains out, just the way it is the riding at the front thing is to do with stalling I think as Green Scream etc. Have quite long trains so all the weight at the back wouldn't be great so they load from the front. Dodgems is interesting. They've always been a pay extra and it may be because they're by the sea so treat it more like a funfair as obviously you can buy tokens for just one ride (Rage is like 2 or 3 pounds). But I do get your point. Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieN Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Great report! Thanks Jamie. I used to go to this park a lot however I haven't been for a year. I love this parks flat rides - scorpion, vortex and pharoah's fury always really surprise me with their forcefulness. (I haven't been since the arrival of time machine) Did you go on the strange pirate themed indoor 4d cinema? That was my first childhood attraction and I'll always love it's little charm! Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Han30 Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Good trip report - and some nice pics! When I went to AI I found the staff to be really friendly - one in particular who was busy singing and dancing away! Is it a typo or did you actually go on Time Machine 5 times?! Are you insane? That is the most intense ride I've ever done and I was convinced one (or all) of three things would happen - 1) I would vomit 2) I would faint or 3) I would die Only ridden in once - never again, could barely walk afterwards! Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 They've got rid of Devils Creek! I'm now very sad Graw, Matt 236 and Coaster 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Great report! Thanks Jamie. I used to go to this park a lot however I haven't been for a year. I love this parks flat rides - scorpion, vortex and pharoah's fury always really surprise me with their forcefulness. (I haven't been since the arrival of time machine) Did you go on the strange pirate themed indoor 4d cinema? That was my first childhood attraction and I'll always love it's little charm! Must have missed that - where is it located in the park? Good trip report - and some nice pics! When I went to AI I found the staff to be really friendly - one in particular who was busy singing and dancing away! Is it a typo or did you actually go on Time Machine 5 times?! Are you insane? That is the most intense ride I've ever done and I was convinced one (or all) of three things would happen - 1) I would vomit 2) I would faint or 3) I would die Only ridden in once - never again, could barely walk afterwards! Haha, no it's not a typo, I really enjoyed Time Machine and it didn't make me feel sick at all which is strange as Dragon's Claw did! Lots of staff were dancing yesterday, it was quite funny really - but it adds so much to the enjoyment of a park if the staff are friendly and happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 They've got rid of Devils Creek! I'm now very sad All the Creeky things seem to be disappearing at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercameron98 Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Did you go on the strange pirate themed indoor 4d cinema? That was my first childhood attraction and I'll always love it's little charm! Must have missed that - where is it located in the park? They removed it a few seasons back and Adventure Inside now takes its place Coaster and Graw 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieN Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 The pirate 4d cinema is located under the bridge in the section that is now Adventure Inside. I haven't been for a long while so it may have been destroyed in favour of AI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 It's a shame that they have to remove attractions to build anything new but they really are limited for space - as is proven by Mini Mega being located on top of an arcade! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paige Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 I completely forgot the 4D cinema was a thing until reading this! I only slightly recall venturing in there once when I was very little, the whole ship and dungeon thing terrified me (obviously) Graw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graw Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 I completely forgot the 4D cinema was a thing until reading this! I only slightly recall venturing in there once when I was very little, the whole ship and dungeon thing terrified me (obviously) yeah, the dungeon/ship were there before it got converted into the ship with the 4D cinema. the dungeon/walkthrough used to terrify the hell out of me, I remember being carried through it crying and then I was terrified of models/ghost trains/themed attractions for years after until I was about 12 lmao. it's sad AIGF is gone now, I had no idea that Devils Creek was going, if that site was still up I would....sad times. does anyone know what's replacing it? I know it's a dark ride but is there a theme/name for it yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pognoi Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Good trip report. Nice to see you say lots of positive things, it's giving me a warm fuzzy feeling. PS. I should mention that your pictures tickled me a little. They are really well balanced, but what's up with the quirky angles? All your pictures would be great because they've got a naturally full screen, but I'm like twisting my head upside down to appreciate them. That's just a small thing though. Ryan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Thanks for the feedback, I'm experimenting with photographing rides currently so was just trying some different angles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GladiatorFanKyle Posted February 28, 2016 Report Share Posted February 28, 2016 Glad you enjoyed the park!! Although it would be fab for Rage to have an airtime hill the layout they bought is a bog standard preset one by Gerst! saying that if you keep your safety bar a little loose you do get amazing airtime on the first drop!!! also time machine 5 times?! are you made of steel or something?! with being made to sit at the front of the coasters Green Scream tends to stall a lot during testing if the weather is windy or rainy so they need all the weight at the front! great trip report! Coaster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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