Fantasy Island (UK amusement park)

Updated on Oct 02, 2024

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Total 24 Phone +44 1754 615858 Roller coasters 5		Opened 1995 Operating season March to November Water rides 3

Slogan The magical world of Fantasy Island Location Ingoldmells, Skegness, Lincolnshire, England Website www.fantasyisland.co.uk Address Sea Ln, Ingoldmells, Skegness PE25 1RH, UK Rides Millennium Roller Coaster, Jubilee Odyssey, The Balloon Ride, The Dodgems, Seaquarium Similar Hardys Animal Farm, Millennium Roller Coaster, Natureland Seal Sanctuary, Jubilee Odyssey, Butlins Skegness Profiles Facebook Twitter

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.

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.

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). 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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 a WGH Transportation powered coaster, first opening in 1995 with the rest of the park.

In 2007 it received a major refurbishment changing the train,station and track.

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.

Administration

On 5 August 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.

References

Fantasy Island (UK amusement park) Wikipedia

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