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 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 {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Name ! class="unsortable" |Picture ! Type ! Year ! class="unsortable" | Operational Status ! Manufacturer ! Minimum Height ! class="unsortable" |Additional information |- | Barnstormer || || Tivoli || 2000 || Operating || Zierer || 1 Meter + || Reaches a speed of on a and a height of ; height requirement . Small Tivoli model. It 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 fibreglass pilot at the front, a dog at the back, with propellers mounted at each end. |- | Green Scream || || Tivoli || 1999 || Operating || Zierer || 1 Meter + || A family rollercoaster; height requirement . No inversions and the drops are tame. 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. |- | Kiddi Koasta || || Speedy Coaster || 2011 || Operating || Zamperla || No minimum height || A children's rollercoaster; no minimum height. A speedy coaster which opened to the public on 30 April 2011. This rollercoaster is aimed at young children and people who are not used to larger and faster rollercoasters, due to its gentle drops, twist and turns.. It now operates on top of a building located in the park. |- | Mighty Mini Mega || || Mini Mega Coaster MM29 || 2003 || Operating || Pinfari || 1 Meter + || Located on top of the Mega City arcade for added effect but was originally built on ground level with the arcade being built after and then the ride was placed on top; height requirement . MM29 model. Has six cars each with two rows of two, seating 24 riders in total. The ride itself is short, however it is quite intense in some places with a helix towards the end and quite a sharp brake run. |- | Rage || || Euro-Fighter || 2007 || Operating || Gerstlauer || 1.2 Meter + || Reaches a speed of on an long track and a height of with 3 inversions (vertical loop, cutback, heartline roll) and a 97° drop; height requirement . Eurofighter 320+ model.
Thrill rides NamePicture Model Manufacturer Year Operational Status Additional informationArchelon Wave SwingerZierer 1997 Operating Height requirement 1.2 m.Axis Maxi Dance Party 360 SBF Visa 2019 Operating Height requirement 1.3 m. Age requirement 10. It is in the original space of Dragon's Claw.Devil's Dance Spin-Out Tivoli 2024 Operating Height requirement 1.2 m. Opened as Dragons Claw in 2001, Refurbished to Devil's Dance in 2024The Screature Orbitor Tivoli 2021 Operating Height requirement 1.3 m. Now sits in the space of Scorpion/Claw.Pharaoh's Fury Twister Sonacase 1998 Operating An Egyptian themed twister ride located next to Axis; height limit 1.2m.Ramba Zamba Disk-O Zamperla 2004 Operating Height requirement 1.2 m.Sky Drop Drop Tower Zamperla 2004 Operating A 70 ft (21m) tall drop tower that is located near the exit of Rage and faces towards the park; height requirement 1.2 m.Tidal Wave Blue Water dinghy ride Interlink 1995 Operating A dinghy slide located near Vortex, the ride shares a building, and partly a queue, with Tidal Wave Green; height requirement 1.2 m.Tidal Wave Green Water dinghy ride Interlink 1995 Operating A dinghy slide that is located adjacent to Blue Tidal Wave. Minimum height requirement 1.2 m.Time Machine Giant Swing Adventure Island Workshop 2012 Operating A thrill ride built internally at the park, that is located in the original space of Vortex; height requirement 1.2 m.Vertigo Drop Tower SBF Visa 2024 Operating A 38m drop tower thrill ride, that is located on the West side of the park, next to the Crooked House; height requirement 1.2 m.
Family rides NamePicture Model Manufacturer Year Operational Status Additional informationCow Jump Mini Miami Ride Adventure Island Workshop 2003 Operating A mini Miami ride themed to "Hey Diddle Diddle"; height requirement 1 m.Drop n' Smile Mini Drop Tower Adventure Island Workshop 2001 Operating A small drop ride located next to the American Whip; height requirement 1 m.Fireball Ferris wheel-type spinner ride Adventure Island Workshop 2006 Operating A ride built internally at the park and is located opposite The Screature; height requirement 1 m+.Sk8borda Rocking tug Zamperla/Adventure Island Workshop 2004 Operating A rocking tug themed to a skateboarder. The ride sees all riders face the same way, unlike most Zamperla versions of the same model; height requirement 1 m+. Zamperla/Adventure Island Workshop.Smiles-Per-Galleon Pirate Ship SBF Visa 2015 Operating A pirate ship located in Adventure Inside. Minimum height requirement 1 m.Sea Dragon Roundabout Ride Zierer 1995 Operating A roundabout ride that goes both forwards and backwards; height requirement 1 m+.The Pirate Plunge Drop Tower SBF Visa 2015 Operating A drop tower located in Adventure Inside. Minimum height requirement 1 m.
Kids' rides