Adventure Island/Thorpe Park trip in April - any tips?

[Matt N]

It’s looking increasingly likely that I will have a bit of time to kill in April, so combined with me also having money to burn, I’m thinking of doing a theme park trip! I have a Merlin pass this year, so I’d like to put Thorpe Park somewhere in the mix, but I also have an aspiration to hit 150 coasters in 2026 and I’m not sure that my trip to France alone will necessarily guarantee that, so with new pickings in the UK being increasingly slim for me, I’ve decided that I’d quite like to go to Adventure Island in Southend for my first ever visit and visit Thorpe on my way back home to make use of that Merlin pass and get back on some of my favourite coasters in the UK.

I’ve provisionally pencilled in Sunday 12th April/Monday 13th April for this trip, with my plan being to visit Southend on the Sunday and Thorpe on the Monday (AI seemingly doesn’t open on the Monday). I would stay in the Premier Inn in Staines to put me in good stead for an early start at Thorpe.

I don’t need any advice on Thorpe (I know Thorpe backwards almost as much as I do Towers at this point, and have done the public transport journey there and home multiple times now), but with Adventure Island being a park I’ve never been to before, as well as Bristol to Southend and Southend to Staines being public transport trips I’ve never done before, I had a few questions that I was hoping people who are local to the park, or even just people who’ve visited before, might be able to help me with. These are:

1. I’m aware that there are two train stations in central Southend; Southend Central, with services primarily run by C2C, and Southend Victoria, with services primarily run by Greater Anglia. I was erring towards Southend Central, as it is seemingly slightly closer, but I was wondering; is this the right choice? Is there some reason why Victoria might be better? They both seem pretty close at first glance.
2. If I leave Bristol on the earliest train out on Sunday, it can get me to Southend at 11:55, likely getting me into AI at just after 12:00. If I book a train out of Southend at just after 17:00, is leaving between 16:30 and 17:00 likely to give me ample time in the park to see everything it has to offer?
3. As I would always ask when visiting a new park; is there anything non-coaster that is not to be missed? I’m aware that Adventure Island has a couple of drop towers, so I might quite like to ride those as someone who loves a good drop tower, but is there anything else of note that I should make time to ride?
4. As someone who doesn’t like riding bonafide kiddie coasters that much, are any of the family coasters at Adventure Island that bad to ride as a solo adult guest? The two Zierers look like they should be fine, as does the Pinfari, and even the Zamperla looks like a coaster where I’ve ridden more embarrassing rides, but I wondered whether AI is the type of park where the staff might make a big deal out of me riding a small family coaster alone or where it might be embarrassing to ride a small family coaster alone. When I went to Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, I didn’t find riding even their wacky worm embarrassing in the slightest, whereas I found the rides at Joyland down the road a little bit more embarrassing, so I know parks vary in this regard.
5. For any transport nerds on here; is there likely to be an easier way to get to Staines from Southend than getting the tube between Liverpool Street and Waterloo and staying on trains the whole way? The nerd in me would quite like the idea of visiting 3 London rail termini in one day (Paddington, Liverpool Street and Waterloo), but I’m wondering if getting the train to somewhere on the Elizabeth Line like Slough and Ubering to Staines might be easier. What does anyone else think?

Even if the time I expect to have in April doesn’t materialise, I will likely do a trip of this nature at some point in 2026, as I’d like to hit 150 and Adventure Island is probably the easier option of the two semi-major parks in Britain I’m yet to visit (with the other being Fantasy Island, which is further away and less easily combinable with other things). I am interested to see what Adventure Island is like; it’s always interesting seeing a new park, it does have a coaster of some significance in Rage, and that whole area of the country is one that I haven’t greatly explored!

Any advice or tips anyone has would be greatly appreciated!

 

[East Coast Mariner]

Hello Matt. It's not the sort of park I can give a lot of advice for, to be honest, but two rides I think you wouldn't want to miss are the dark rides - Spooksville and AdventureVille. In particular, don't be put off riding the latter, as it's quite interesting, and is on the location of something I used to ride in the 1980s - the Jigsaw Train (a little train ride that went back and forth through tunnels)!

I'm in the same boat as you with the coasters, as Kiddie-Koasta is the one I haven't been on myself. I do know what you mean, funnily enough, about how different parks have different feels, but my advice is the same as ever - just ride what you want to ride! If anyone thinks you're strange for riding the small coasters, it really is their issue.

As ever, I look forward to reading your report!

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

I wouldn’t concern myself about the distance from Adventure Island that the two Southend stations are, it’s negligible and you’ll probably want to call in to the High Street/Shopping Precinct anyway to get refreshments before walking down to the park. Just go for whichever train station makes for the easiest journey (or cheapest) to where you will be coming from and going to even if it’s different for arriving and leaving.

 

[Bowser]

If I book a train out of Southend at just after 17:00, is leaving between 16:30 and 17:00 likely to give me ample time in the park to see everything it has to offer?

We usually get there between 11:00-1130 and are finished by 1pm. Obviously we aren't going on all the rides but the vast majority at that time are walk on or 5 minute waits. In fact a fair few don't open till after 12 (Spooksville, Pirate Ship and Mini Mega spring to mind, probably more, though with it being Easter Holidays they might open on time as time is money... the joys of pay-per-ride).

is there anything non-coaster that is not to be missed?

There are some brutal funfair style flat rides so depends on your appetite for those. And there are those who claim Adventureville is a cred... i am certainly not one of them and that's probably the only ride i'd draw the line at going on alone. Spooksville is fine though.

As someone who doesn’t like riding bonafide kiddie coasters that much, are any of the family coasters at Adventure Island that bad to ride as a solo adult guest?

Nope, this will be fine but my only warning is the young staff at Adventure Island are made to be extremely enthusiastic, encouraging guests to take part in songs and dance routines as the rides go round. Always feels a bit awkward when i'm the only rider alongside my son who takes zero notice of such matters but the staff member still does it (presumably as they'll be in trouble if they're caught not doing so). So if you end up as a solo rider on something it can feel a bit strange! Again, with the date you're going you'll probably be safe to ignore them if you wish as there will be enough other passengers.