Fantasy Island (UK amusement park)
 | |
| Slogan | The magical world of Fantasy Island |
|---|---|
| Location | Ingoldmells, Skegness, Lincolnshire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°11′29″N 0°20′52″E / 53.19139°N 0.34778°ECoordinates: 53°11′29″N 0°20′52″E / 53.19139°N 0.34778°E |
| Opened |
1995 Owner: Mellors Group Events Previous owner(s): Blue Anchor Leisure, Conduit Leisure, |
| Operating season | March to October |
| Rides | |
| Total | 24 |
| Roller coasters | 5 |
| Water rides | 3 |
| Website | www.fantasyisland.co.uk |
Fantasy Island is a family amusement park in Skegness on the East Coast of England. It sits in the middle of one of the biggest spreads of holiday parks in the United Kingdom. Whilst entry to the park is free, guests either pay per ride or purchase an unlimited ride wristband. The pay-per-ride option uses a live ticket, which has a printed bar code that can be scanned to gain access to rides. This option allows credit to be added to the ticket to be able to ride rides in the park. Rides are priced at £1.50, £2.50, or £4.00 per ride depending on the ride type.[1]
Wristbands with a printed barcode on are sold at a cost of £20 for adults. This code must be scanned by a bar code reader which unlocks the turnstile at each ride platform. The design technique means that riders are unable to access the ride unless having first scanned their specially printed day-code. Each day a new code is printed on the wristband, meaning wristbands from previous days become invalid.
Many of the smaller rides are indoors. Fantasy Island also premiered the IMAX ridefilm attraction "Fun House Express: Jimmy's Clown Chaos" in its IMAX ridefilm theatre. This attraction has since been closed, though "Fun House Express: Jimmy's Clown Chaos" has been show in IMAX ridefilm theatres around the world, including Las Vegas.
The Mellors group, who acquired Fantasy Island in 2016 following the park going into administration in 2014, have confirmed the re-installation of a Fabbri Giant Booster flat ride for 2016, which previously operated at the park from 2002 to 2003, called G-Force.
Attractions
The Odyssey
- The Odyssey opened on 23 May 2002 by Amar Dhokia and is named to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. It is a custom, steel roller coaster made by Vekoma with five inversions; loop, cobra roll, sidewinder and corkscrew. Standing at 167' (50.9m) tall, it is the third tallest coaster in the UK after The Big One and Stealth. It has a drop of 141' (42.98m) and speeds of up to 68 mph are achieved with a G-force of 4.8. The ride has one train which seats riders in twos across ten cars with a maximum number of 20 passengers. Initial plans for Jubilee Odyssey in 2001 indicated an inverted roller coaster, 290' (88.39m) in height. These plans were rejected due to complaints from local residents; limiting the construction to a maximum of 180' (54.86m). http://airgates.co.uk/2015/10/01/fantasy-island-confirm-makeover-for-the-odyssey/ Based on the plans, Jubilee Odyssey would have been the tallest inverted roller coaster and ranked 7th tallest roller coaster in the world. A year after Jubilee Odyssey opened; the cobra roll and the horse shoe were lowered. This was intended to prevent the train stalling; as it had done numerous times within the first year. For the 2016 season it has been repainted yellow with dark grey supports.[2]
Millennium Roller Coaster
- The Millennium Roller Coaster opened on 22 May 1999 is a steel roller coaster made by Vekoma. It was the first rollercoaster to feature an inversion at Fantasy Island. The ride is 150' tall with a loop at 100'. The ride has three inversions; loop, sidewinder, loop and a speed of 55.9 mph.[3] Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult before boarding the ride. The minimum height requirement for this ride is 1.2m. It previously had its own token but was replaced by the Jubilee token in 2002.
The Volcano
- The Volcano is a 200 ft S&S Space Shot which has been operating at the park since 1998. In 2003, the park equipped the ride with tilting seats. However, these were removed for the 2006 season due to the tilting mechanism causing several technical problems.[4] The minimum age to board this ride is 12 and the minimum height required is 1.32m. The ride reaches 183 ft in the air at a high speed of 50 mph.
Amazing Confusion
- Amazing Confusion, the world's first Mondial Ultra Max opened in 2003, this ride acts as a smaller frisbee ride but gains momentum and ends up swinging upside down several times before doing the same in the other direction.[5] You must be 12 years old or over to board this ride. The minimum height requirement is 1.39m and the maximum height requirement is 1.95m.
The Beast
- The Beast is a Mondial Top Scan.[6] The Beast uses more power than any other attraction in the park. You must be aged 12 or over to be able to board this ride and the minimum height requirement is 1.4m. In 2016, the ride was moved to the east side of the park, following the relocation of Fantasy Mouse.
Fantasy Mouse
Fantasy Mouse is a Reverchon Spinning coaster which arrived at the park in 2000. It has the lowest height out of the thrill rides. In 2015, the ride underwent a repaint that saw the orange track with blue supports replaced with a purple and green colour scheme. For the 2016 season, the ride was moved to the west side of the park and is now located by The Odyssey & Amazing Confusion.
G-Force
G-Force is a Giant Booster manufactured by Fabbri. It is the only one in the world and originally appeared in the 2002 and 2003 seasons before being traded for The Eye On The Coast, a Mondial ferris wheel. It returned in the first few weeks of the 2016 season and G Force is now open to the public.
Rhombus Rocket
Rhombus Rocket is the parks powered coaster similar to the layout of the standard mack powered coasters such as flying fish at Thorpe Park.
Retired Rides
Absolutely Insane
Opening in April 2004, Absolutely Insane was the UK's only Sky Sling. The ride was manufactured by S&S Power and launched riders to 240ft into the air at speeds of up to 40mph. In 2007, towards the end of the season, the ride was left standing, but not operating, until the ride was removed from the park in March 2010.
The Eye on the Coast
When The Eye on the Coast opened at the park in 2004, it was Europe's tallest ferris wheel, standing at a mammoth 196 feet. Consisting of 40 gondolas, the ride could hold a total of 240 passengers a time. Unfortunately, the ride was closed after just two years and was removed in 2006.
Topsey Turvey
Topsey Turvey was a Top Spin type ride manufactured by Fabbri and was located where The Beast stands today. It opened in the park's opening year in 1995. It was purchased from Pat Evans who had toured it during the 1994 season. It was sold to travelling showman Evan Moran in 1998, and has since been exported.
Hoola Kula
This was a Superbowl ride at Fantasy island from 1995-2000 after not being there for the 2001 season it returned under a new name and theme Crazy island and it had an island theme .Even though it was called Hoola kula on the park map (1995-2001) it was stylised in the park as Superbowl and was (Under Crazy island) the only superbowl ride in the world Not based around the game . It now travels around the UK after leaving the park it travelled around Sweden as Crazy Island before returning to its original theme.
Administration
On August 5, 2014, Fantasy Island announced that it had entered administration. The park continues to operate normally whilst the finances are being reviewed. Duff & Phelps Ltd was appointed as Fantasy Island's administrator. It has since been bought by Mellors Group, Who also own a Fantasy Island in Dubai. Mellors hope to improve and add new rides and attractions in the near future.
See also
References
- ↑ "Park Prices". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ↑ "Jubilee Odyssey (Fantasy Island)". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ↑ "Millennium Roller Coaster (Fantasy Island)". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ↑ "Impact's Tilting Era Comes to An End". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ↑ "Amazing Confusion". Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ↑ "The Beast". Retrieved 2009-04-21.