The Demise of the American Adventure (American Adventure Theme Park)

Member Name: mreyre

Product:	American Adventure Theme Park
Date:	13/09/05 (4700 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Still some rides left!

Disadvantages: Only half a theme park!

Oh, what have they done to the beloved American Adventure Theme Park? If you haven't visited this attraction within the last couple of years then I advise you to read this review before you set foot anywhere near it.

I live about 5 minutes drive away from the American Adventure and have visited the attraction on many occasions. I even remember when it was called Britannia Park - this was an ill-fated theme park which closed and went massively bankrupt within a year of its opening and it looks like the AA is soon to follow suit. A lot of my friends worked at the AA in its heyday in the early nineties. We loved going as students and would go at least three times during the season.

The Wild West shows were fantastic - unfortunately the gun culture soon took over and these were deemed to be politically incorrect, so the format of the shows were changed to more of a Stunt Riding Show, with a little bit of comedy thrown in. The guys still fell off the buildings onto "concealed" mattresses below, but this was little consolation. Nowadays the show is less than half an hour and the park must be making so little money that they can't even afford radio mikes for the (four) actors.

The other main attraction to the AA was the three major rides, namely The Missile (this is a loop - the loop rollercoaster, you go one way then all the way back in reverse), The Log Flume (re-named Niagraaaa Falls at one stage - this boasts the longest drop in Europe) and the Rapids ride (you know the one where you get soaking wet in a big round raft-type thing). Imagine my surprise when I visited the park in August of this year (2005) and I was told that the major rides had now closed! The reason for this is that the American Adventure is currently undergoing a period of change and the park will now be suitable for children aged under 12. In other words, NO "White Knuckle" rides of any kind.

This is fine, but Derbyshire already has a kiddies theme park called Gullivers Kingdom in Matlock Bath about half an hour away (which, incidentally, is far superior to the current AA). There's also Wicksteed, which at about 1 hour and a half away is well worth the petrol, and indeed Drayton Manor which again is a far superior full day out, with much more to do. There's no need for another kiddies theme park! People only went to the AA for the big rides!

The Log Flume is currently being bulldozed (I nearly cried when I went past in the train that circulates the park) and the whole area with the rapids ride and Missile (and some other attractions on that side of the park) are completely fenced off - the train just drives straight past. There are no plans at all to redevelop this area, in the words of the lady on the Reception desk, "It's all up in the air at the moment" - words which do not fill one with optimism.

OK, lets look on the positive side for the kiddies. It's £11.99 to get in, or if you get a "flyer" from our local libraries or tourist information offices, £9.99 for children (I'll come to the adult price in a minute). So what does little Johnny get for your hard-earned tenner? Well, the highlight of my daughter's trip (she is 6) was the indoor play area, which has a slide, which is almost vertical, as well as two other slides. However, this area is to be rebuilt in time for October half term, so this may make it better or worse, who knows. The new rides are also quite good, there's a Bouncing Buggies ride, a Space Shuttle ride, a weird ride where you get in a fire engine and have to put out a pretend fire with your water hose and finally, the ubiquitous Rockin' Tugboat ride, which I have seen in four different parks this year. Quite what all these new rides have to do with America (remember this is the "American" Adventure folks), I just don't know, I think they just got a cheap deal from the manufacturers in Italy, or are now just making it all up as they go along.

The old faithful rides are still there, though for how much longer I don't know. The Runaway Train still survives for this season, though I don't think it will be there much longer. The Buffalo train is good, and the Wagon Wheel gives you great views of what used to be a fine theme park for all ages. The Mississippi Boat no longer sails across the reservoir, even the Pirate Ship was being taken to bits on my trip. The JCB ride (which is the Twin-Looper coaster in disguise, fact-fans) is still there, as are some JCB's for you to play on, but only half the quantity as they had before. The JCB's and the Sky Bouncers are now free, whereas you used to have to pay extra for them, so that's a good thing.

If you recall the AA in its glory days, you used to enter via the magnificent front entrance, with a quadrangle of fine shops and kids would pelt down the stairs to be first on the Log Flume. However, in recent years, this entrance closed due to mining subsidence and this whole area has also gone to ruin, as have the shops and bars along the "New England" area.

So basically, there's about half a theme park left now. For kids under 10, at £10 for the day (although we had finished all the rides by 2pm - the park opens at 10am) it's not too bad value. My daughter went on about 20 rides so this works out at 50p a ride, when you compare this to the Pier at Skeggy or Fantasy Island, that's good value. You also have to think that the indoor play area could cost about £4 if it was separate - this is of course a bonus if it rains as there's not a lot else to look at if it pours down.

However, it costs £14.99 per adult on top of that £10. My wife and I went, so that's another 30 quid = £40 for the day out. I went on The Runaway Train, the Buffallo, the Fire Engines and the train that takes you round the park. Now my Maths ain't great, but that's a heck of a lot more than 50p a ride. My wife went on the Runaway Train and the normal train ride - that's even less value for money. There's hardly anything for adults (or teenagers) to do in the park now, so why do we have to pay £15 each? At Wicksteed (a much more superior kids theme park) it costs £6 to park your car (fair enough - go with your mates in your people carrier) and then you just buy wristbands for the day or tokens - no charge for adults. Even with the petrol cost from Derbyshire it's much cheaper for a far better day out.

I, like many others think that the directors in charge of the AA are making a huge mistake and expect the park to close within the next year. The debate rages on our local BBC Radio Derby pages, with many postings giving extremely negative feedback. I would like to know what other Dooyoo users think of the AA, past or present, and it's chances of success.

One consolation is that we actually used our Tesco vouchers to get in, so the day cost us nowt in actual fact, but the point is that we could have used these to save money off a better tourist attraction! I shall be using my vouchers for Drayton Manor or Wicksteed next summer!

Summary: I don't expect the park to last much longer - what do you all think?