| Product: |
Fantasy Island Skegness |
| Date: |
31/07/03 (3255 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Great day out for all the family, easy access, wheelchair friendly
Disadvantages: crowded, too much to see and do in one day
If there are two words that sum up the summer holidays for me it is these two....."I'm Bored!"
During the summer holidays we like to take the children out and about as much as possible. Not only is it a great opportunity to spend quality time together as a family, it also means that the kids argue less and as I am usually the unofficial referee, I am all in favour of that.
Deciding where to go is always a difficult decision. My youngest likes nothing more than bouncing around in the sea for hours on end, showing off to every female that wanders past. My eldest though thinks she has outgrown the beach and would prefer the thrills of Alton Towers if she were given the choice.
On the East coast, a few miles from Skegness, is a holiday resort that has it all. Situated 5 minutes from the beach, Fantasy Island is a great day out for all the family, from Tiny Tim to Granny and Grandad.
I remember visiting Ingoldmells with my friend and her family many years ago when I was a child. Back then it was just a sleepy little seaside village, consisting of a main street and a beach walk. Now it is more popular than Skegness with the daytripping tourists, is heaving with caravan parks and is home to the biggest looping rollercoaster in Europe. A fun experience for all the family, Fantasy Island mixes all the fun of the fair, with great shopping, entertainment and special places to eat.
At the centre of the fantasy Island experience is a huge pyramid that houses an entertainment centre, various shops, a centre stage and some great indoor rides. The pyramid used to be the feature that was the most visual about the resort as it lit up the night sky with its pulsing light display. It is now overshadowed, by the two huge rollercoasters that can be seen for miles around, straddling the resort in a menacing yet inviting style.
For the kids it is the rides that hold the most attraction and Fantasy island has rides that would ma
ke your hair curl.
The Millennium Rollercoaster circumnavigates the whole of the resort. I stands over 150ft and as I have already said,
it can be seen be seen for miles. Its red and yellow structure is both huge and impressive.
It has three huge loops and hits speeds of 90khm.
My daughter has ridden this monstrosity. (I couldn't watch and closed my eyes as she thundered past.)
She loved every minute of it.
There are height restrictions on this ride and children under the age of 10 have to be accompanied by an adult. To ride you need a Jubilee token. This will cost you £4.
If it is windy then you might find that this ride is not running, for safety reasons.
Odyssey is the new boy. Standing even higher than the Millennium coaster this is the worlds longest suspended rollercoaster. It has six inversions and also boasts the steepest drop of any rollercoaster in Europe. Hitting speeds of up to 100mph this red and white monster made me sick just watching it. My two went on this. I wanted to buy the photo that was taken on it but they were pressed so far back into their seats that all we could see were teeth. There were lots of pictures of people crying, so I imagine that it is one hell of a ride. It costs the same as the Millennium and the same restrictions apply.
G Force is another attraction that would have the toes of the most daring rider curling up.
G Force is described as Butt Clenching. It definitely had me wanting the toilet and I was just watching. Do you remember the old rockets at the fair? I am talking about the huge rotating arm with the revolving rocket at each end. This is a new take on that idea, but much scarier. Instead of the rockets you have a set of four seats, suspended seats, so your feet are dangling. The long arm of this baby is way longer than the old rockets and this thing swings much faster. My children were not brave enough for this one, much to my relief.
Volcanic eruptio
n was one of the first big rides at Fantasy island and my children had been there, done that. I was really impressed to see that rather than just leav
e it be, the ride inventors at Fantasy island has taken this ride a step further this year. I am sure you have all seen rides like this one at the fair. You sit in the seat and it shoots you skyward. The volcanic eruption at Fantasy island shoots you out from a massive volcano, with smoke and lights providing great effects, but the difference this year is that as you shoot up your seat tips forward giving you a feeling like you are falling. It looked spectacular. My youngest didn't approve however as he was now too young to go on it. There are age, as well as height restrictions on this one and you have to be 12 to get on. It costs 3 tokens (Each token costs 60p) So I think that that was a really reasonable price for a ride that gave you fantastic views as it shot your guts out of the top of your head.
All of the rides at fantasy island were impressive, regardless of the age they were aimed at. All of them were adorned with clever statues and scenes from far away lands, carrying the fantasy theme throughout the resort. Inside the pyramid is a novel take on the umbrellas ride. In this one you go up in ships with balloons attached to them. Its a novel idea to fly around the inside of a pyramid and although this is in-fact a gentle ride, it is still a great favourite.
The smaller rides are usually priced at around 2 tokens (£1.20) I was impressed with the pricing of the rides here.
The great thing about fantasy island is that it has something for everyone. For the children and those with strong stomachs there are the thrills of the fair. For those that like a quiet drink, or great entertainment, there are the bars and the centre stages where you can often find a great singer, or the Jellykins or Pinky and Perky to entertain the kids. (Free of charge.)
For those of you that, like me, lov
e to shop on a hot summers day then Fantasy island has the biggest market I have ever seen and I have to tell you I got some real bargains there. There are
hundreds of stalls selling everything from rock and toys to fishing rods and garden ornaments. I love it here. Lots of shopping and the great thing about this one is that its open 7 days a week.
All that shopping and high flying has to make you a bit hungry. If the cafés and specialty stalls, selling pizza, crepes, kebabs and good old fish and chips don't do it for you, then there is always a Burger King and a drive through MacDonald's. Chinese and Indian food is on offer on the resort and tea and coffee, all with seating are abundant.The prices at the MacDonald's were the same as here in Nottingham, which was good.
If you need to get at more cash there were Nat West, Yorkshire Bank, Halifax, Barclay's and Lloyd's cash points. We spent a small fortune, what with the rides and all that shopping.
Toilets were great and there were lots of them. The children all wanted to go at different times so it was nice that there were so many to choose from. All of the resort was wheelchair friendly and I did notice that where there were steps, there were wheelchair ramps too.
Baby changing facilities were visible everywhere and there were plenty of staff around, happy to help if we got lost or needed pointing in the right direction.
The resort was very clean. Lots of waste bins and they weren't brimming over either.
Fantasy Island has two large car Parks (charges apply). We paid £3 to park for the day. Thats less than we would pay here in Nottingham.
Fantasy island was a really great day out. The resort is free, you just pay for your rides. I liked the fact that you paid per ride here. I don't like the rides and when we go to theme parks I rarely get my moneys worth because I would rather shop than ride. When the bustle of the fair got too mu
ch, we walked down to the beach and cooled off in the sea for an hour or two.Then it was back to the fair for a few more hours before heading home, shattered bu
t Satisfied.
It's amazing how well the mix of traditional seaside town and high tech theme park go hand in hand so comfortably. Whether you prefer riding the coasters or riding a donkey, you have loads of fun if you come here for the day.
Open weekends - from 10am - (closing times subject
to seasonal variation)
Open every day from 10am
Main Season Park & rides operational until 11pm (Cool riding at night!)
November 2nd
Season close
I would definitely recommend fantasy island. A great day out for all the family, with something to do for everyone, young or old.
We had a great time and will be back next year to see what other riches Fantasy Island has to offer.
Getting there by road.....
From A1/M Northbound take the Junction to Lincoln (A46) Heading towards Skegness (A158).
At Skegness, take the A52 towards Mablethorpe. Fantasy Island is signposted from Skegness.
Fantasy Island can be accessed from most major towns & cities throughout mainland Britain via National Express.
Getting there by rail.....
From London / Scotland change at Grantham for connection to Skegness.
Several bus routes serve Fantasy Island leaving from the bus stop in the Rail station at Skegness.
*Taxi rank is also available
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