Adventure Land
Launched yourself into Adventure Land and take a spin on the park's giant pinball table. Spinball Whizzer whirls around the area, surrounded by giant pinballs, scorepads and bumpers scattered throughout the area.
Don't fancy pinball? Adventure Land is also home to the Lakeside Suite the park's conference and events space that hosts a range of private hire, events and family fun days near the park's main lake.
Area History
The area Adventure Land currently occupies was first developed in 1986 under the name of Kiddies Kingdom. The area was essentially a giant playground, with various climbing structures and children's play equipment.
Over the years, many of these facilities came and went and 1992 saw the relocation of the Big Top to sit alongside Kiddies Kingdom, bringing the park's ice shows to the area. In 1996 that the area was split in two, with the area around the Big Top becoming Storybook Land, whilst the original playground area became Adventure Land
In 1997 The Beastie and The Gallopers carousel both moved to Adventure Land, replacing much of the original play equipment. The remaining equipment was replaced in 2002 when the area became New Adventure Land, with three new play areas arriving, including Space Adventures. New Adventure Land however was short-lived as 2003 saw the other two play areas removed and The Gallopers moved back to Cred Street, in preparation for the 2004 project.
The arrival of Spinball Whizzer in 2004 dramatically changed the look of Adventure Land and broadened its appeal. The construction of the new coaster also saw the addition of the distinctive pinball themed structures that housed its on-ride photo unit and the Refresh@Spinball food outlet (later Spinball Noodles).
Sonic the Hedgehog arrived in 2010, seeing Spinball Whizzer transformed into Sonic Spinball and repainted into much darker colours. That season would also be the last for the Beastie, after which the classic children's coaster sat behind a wall for several seasons awaiting removal. Spinball Noodles also closed in 2012.
More recently, half of Adventure Land was fenced off to become part of CBeebies Land. This transition culminated in 2015 when Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure was built on the former site of the Beastie. This development also saw Space Adventures removed.
2016 saw Sonic spin out of the park, with the coaster once again becoming Spinball Whizzer. Between these developments and the Long Term Development Plan earmarking Spinball Whizzer for removal from the park, it is clear that Adventure Land is one area of the park that is ripe for redevelopment sooner rather than later.
