Fantasy Island

[chapmanmania]

It's independently operated, so isn't included in the new wristbands that they've launched this year.

[RyanY]

Anyone else heard of it. Is actually got 2 good coasters Millenuem Coaster and jubilee odeysey.

Discuss

[themealgang]

I think this is the only "major" park in the UK I have never been to... and I don't intend to visit either in the near future.

Even though I think their arsenal of rides is quite impressive, I am put off by the reviews; even fellow enthusiasts have given the place a big "thumbs down". I have heard that their customer service is non existent, it's run by a bunch of under aged chavs, its rare that all their rides are open at once, and thumping chart music creates a very threatening atmosphere around the place.

I have always been tempted to visit, but with that reputation, I for one will not be visiting for some time.

[The its man]

I certainly wouldn't call Fantasy Gashland a 'major park', more of a potentially good day out that is usually spoilt by one factor or the other. The only claim to fame the 'plot of concrete' has is Jubilee Odyssey that was lowered early on in its career due to many guests complaining that the restraints were too harsh on some parts of the body. Albeit a good ride that can usually be seen from miles around, it is still a Vekoma SLC and is as comfortable as a bike ride on a cobbled street. After all that, you're very lucky if you turn up on the day and for the ride to actually be open.

I would advise you to visit on a saturday in the summer holiday because it's usually this time that they NEED to have most of their rides up and running to keep some sort of reputation. Worth one or two visits in your life, but not worth the grief of travelling from far and wide to reach it.

[Bote]

[quote=""themealgang""]Even though I think their arsenal of rides is quite impressive, I am put off by the reviews; even fellow enthusiasts have given the place a big "thumbs down". I have heard that their customer service is non existent, it's run by a bunch of under aged chavs, its rare that all their rides are open at once, and thumping chart music creates a very threatening atmosphere around the place.
[/quote]

This is Fantasy Island. Not Thorpe Park

But as said above, I have no desire to visit the place. In general it looks dire, with only two notable attractions that spring to mind, but nothing that really appeals to me.

Given it has both Millenium and Jubilee (Regardless of if they ride well or not) there could be pottential in the place. I just doubt personally we'll ever see any of it. Another opotunity for a good park that's wasted

[meames]

Agree with the above, we keep going every couple of years, its a nightmare to get to, but I need to ride the SLC, which I did this year, and its brilliant! Their other coaster is poor and boring, and you always get some overweight chain smoking beer driking chavette abusing you for crossing her path or something equally as minor!

[Blaze]

All the major rides are always closed.

The SLC looks pretty great, but flawed. Better than the standard one at Mandyland and Shenlin model one at Mingerland probably, but not that amazing.

Millenium coaster doesn't look quite as bad as some say, but still pretty diabolical.

It's not somewhere I'm interested in going to, and it doesn't help that Skegness is a dump.

I'll probably go one day, but it's not worth the cost and time of driving there or getting the train. I'm much more interested in going to Greater Yarmouth for the Scenic Railway, but that's not going tohappen any time soon either.

[djtruefitt]

I went here as a child when it opened (or within the first year or two) and the place was really nice. It opened as an indoor theme park (great with the UK weather) and it had the markets and stuff outside. The majority of the rides were family rides or children rides. But over the years its got bigger and bigger with all the rides built outside and chucked in anywhere.

I went back last year and I have to say I didnt really enjoy it, I had great memories of it as a child, but now it just seems like a cheap and tacky park, with the majority of the space filled with tacky markets and knock off stalls. Nothing new at all has happened to the inside and the rides that have been built outside have simply been built over the carparks or spare land.

It could be quite nice if they kept to how it opened being an indoor family theme park, but now its just a miss match of lots of markets, kids rides and some big rides.

[Finally...]

I agree with themealgang.

I've been once and it was the last day of a road trip of some of the northern UK parks. I remember our group thinking, this is basically a shanty market town with a park built in the middle and above it. We rode the credits then got the hell out of there.

The one saving grace, skegness has a drive-thru fish and chips right outside it. Never seen one of those before

[Tom G]

I live an hour from this park and have visited numerous times.

The park is run in a questionable manner, but from easter to the end of August, the rides have been open during most of my visits. They've improved on the whole this season.

Jubilee Odyssey is cruelly underrated and dismissed because of its manufacturer. There are many enthusiasts that have never been on it (despite maybe trying once or twice). The original horseshoe was that high and overbakned that it was virtually an inversion, it was lowered after its opening year and it frequently failed to get past it. The drop is not your typical #### swooping SLC drop either, its around 140 feet with a very steep angle and then immediately flies into a 124 foot loop. I am a big fan of the ride, I know many are not, but for those of you who haven't tried, you really should. It is closed occasionally due to weather, it is next to the sea and already takes some elements slowly - trust me you wouldn't want it to stall if you were on it.

Their Top Scan is the best in the UK by far, it is freqently run on 5+ minute cycles and has some crazy operators.

Their Mondial Ultra Max is the first of its kind in the world and can also be quite intense!

Millennium is one of the smoothest rollercoasters in the UK, and yes it is a Vekoma - it is an absolute freak. It's not thrilling, but is extremely unusual and worth a few rides.

I can't be bothered to go on further but they should be enough reasons to visit at some point.

[RyanY]

Nerd moment but 1 point of jubilee odeysey is that its the most expensive ride in the UK costing an impressive £28million with the 2nd most expensive being th13teen costing £15million. The reason for this vast sum of money is because its run on methane so its the most eco friendly coaster.(in the words of jeremy clarkson) In the World!

I agree with Tom G In the way that Jubilee odeysey is underated because of its manufucture (Vekoma) If you think of it, Jubilee Odeysey would be one of the best rides in the world if it was a B&M.

The only reason that Fantasy Island wont improve much in the near future is because they dont have much more land (unless they get rid of there horrid market).

Some of the staff at the park dont make it much better, because as someone else has said that they are chavs who have come out of school.

[ReZourceman]

I went in 2009 and had a fantastic time.

Jubilee Odyssey is excellent, I agree wholeheartedly with the two above posts. It is high, it is unique and its suspended...its awesomeness.

[WildMouse]

I went to Fantasy Island on what I thought was an almost perfect summer day back in August 09. Someone must have farted when I arrived in Ingoldmells though, as Jubilee Odyssey was shut all day. Millennium Coaster was open though. And yes, the ride experience is 'mostly' mediocre (I had more fun on Rhombus Rocket!). BUT it was great to finally ride it in the flesh (rather than via the RCCGB's Coaster Crazy VHS ). The highlight of the day was an extremely long and intense cyle on The Beast. I can totally see why people rave about this ride!

I made the soul destroying journey back up through the dull (and what felt like never ending) Lincolnshire countryside a couple of weeks later as wind speeds were predicted to be pretty low.

Thankfully the gamble paid off and Jubilee Odyssey was running. The ride blew me away. It's my 2nd favourite UK steel coaster after Nemesis.

With JO conquered, I've no desire to return to that place any time soon!

[AstroDan]

Isn't JO meant to be really rough??

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[Tom G]

It's worth a few disappointments to experience it. The drop is just ridiculously good and you could fit Infusion under its loop!

[Tom G]

Yes it is rough but it can still be rode ten times in a day unless you're made of porcelain!

[WildMouse]

Personally, I didn't find it rough at all. I did ride it first thing though.

[DiogoJ42]

I've nly been there once, and JO was closed. MC on the other hand, is a great ride, if only because it looks like it was designed in RCT

They have a couple of good dark rides inside the pyramid, including a bubbleworks style ride system.

But yeah, there is a rather nasty astmos to the place. Worse than Blackpool and Thorpe.

[Tom G]

I may be semi-biased (Pleasure Island is actually my local park, but I kind of divorce myself from that) but I think the attitude of many guests is much worse at Thorpe Park and Fantasy Island's is comparable to Blackpool's most of the time.

I know location is important but it's worth a re-visit or a debut one to anyone I always say.

The park was owned by a multi millionaire until just a few years ago. Frankly he had money to burn and indulged his passion by bringin in some great rides that a park of that size wouldn't typically be able to buy.

On 29 October, all day wristbands are £5 and all rides will be open (weather permitting) 10am-10pm. They're also having fireworks apparently.

[The its man]

From previous years, it has improved slightly in introducing a wristband system and a fireworks display later this year (that is, if it's not cancelled). However, since I visited this April, there still seemed to be the same old problems. Engineers would tend to work on one ride for 10 mins, then walk off to another, then another, etc, managing to only be able to fix MC by 14:00 while JO's lift hill was still knackered. The staff were reasonably friendly, even though most could fit into the bracket of chav-with-GCSE.

The main problem for me with FI now is the management behind it. The engineers are badly managed and should work on one ride until it is fixed and not just leave it looking like a construction site. The ride hosts/ops have no understanding into the technicality of the ride they are working with, leading to rides easily being classed as 'broken, awatiting technical assistance' and the words 'new theming' haven't seemingly passed through the main office for many years now.

The blindingly obvious, most infamous attraction of FI is the market, which clings onto the side of the ride area like a bubonic infection. Once they get rid of this and the vast amount of old, cracked concrete then that would immediately be a vast improvement for them. Perhaps then they would have space for the rides to breath, rather than being cramped all together as they are now, allowing for theming and more permanent rides.

The new splash zone, if it goes forward, could be a nice addition to the park (whatever they're classing as a 'splash zone'). However, from the plans sent through to the council, the entrance doesn't look all that appetising.