Funland Hayling Island is an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Hayling Island Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth. History An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island was later developed into a Roman temple in the 1st c ...

, near

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Funland Hayling Island contains 18 rides, an amusement arcade (as well as various independently operating arcades nearby), Diane's Diner, a kids' play area and a pirate-themed golf course. The park is a typical funfair-styled park with the rides mainly being travelling rides from various independent funfair operators, with some rides sourced from other amusement parks.

History

Funland amusement park opened in 1984 on the site of a former

Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...

which dated back to the 1930s. In 1977 the

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...

for the land was passed from Billy Butlin to the Hill family who had been tenants on the land since the 1940s. The Hills built the park and upcycled signage from a nearby closed amusement arcade known as Funland. The modern Funland has survived three generations with the Hill family and is currently operated by Marshall Hill.

2000's

The 2003 season saw the addition of some brand new rides: The first was Tornado, a frisbee ride. Other rides that were added were a Breakdance, and a themed Teacups ride called Cannibal Pots. The park's Pirate Ship was also removed that year. In 2004, a new larger Pirate Ship ride named Galleon was added to the park, replacing the older smaller ship. The Park's Zyclone coaster was removed from the park that year. For the 2005 season, after the Zyclone coaster was sold to Tier Prince Fun Park, the park purchased

Drayton Manor Drayton Manor, one of Britain's lost houses, was a British stately home at Drayton Bassett, since its formation in the District of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. In modern administrative areas, it was first put into Tamworth Poor Law Union ...

Klondike Gold Mine Klondike Gold Mine was a roller coaster at Funland Hayling Island. It was previously installed at Drayton Manor Theme Park, and transferred in 2005. History The ride was originally installed at Drayton Manor Theme Park in 1984, where it wa ...

coaster. The Drop Tower formerly sourced at the Trocadero was finally added to the park after two years of troubled planning permissions. In 2006, the park added a second smaller Log Flume in the park's former car parking lot called Blizzard Falls. In 2007, the Tornado Frisbee ride was replaced with a new model called Tornado 2. In 2008, Funland purchased many rides from

's Robinsons Land section after its transformation into Thomas Land. Rides that were added were the Super Dragon coaster, the Whirlycopters, the Frog Hopper, Cadbury's Junior Pirate Ship and the Samba Balloons. At the end of the season, the Galleon Pirate Ship and the Junior Pirate Ship were closed and sold. For the 2009 season, a Plane Ride was added.

2010's

No new rides were added in 2010, however Tornado 2 was sold onto independent operators after that year. A traveling orbiter ride named Speed Flip was added to the park for the 2011 season alongside 2012 to replace it. The 2013 season saw the park purchase a Miami Extreme ride from an independent operator, while the 2014 season saw the park purchase a traveling Twister ride, named Cyclone, which was added to the park that year replacing Breakdancer, which was sold to Luna Park Sunny Beach. 2014 also saw the removal of Toy Town Express. The 2015 season saw two-new rides added to the park; A pirate-ship-themed Galleon ride, alongside a new addition to the park's Dinosaur-themed section called Jurassic Safari, a car ride that replaced the Toy Town Express convoy ride. The Blizzard Falls log flume was renamed to Dino Falls in order to match the theme. In 2016 a new roller coaster replacing the

, which is called Runaway Mine Train, originally located at Gulliver's World as the ''Wild Mine Ride''. In June, the park added a new Snake Helter-Skelter ride replacing the old one, and the Super Dragon returned after a refurbishment with a new dinosaur theme and name; Funlandosarus. After the 2016 season ended the Woody Coaster was removed from the park. In 2017, two new rides were opened: A Tilt-A-Whirl called Neptune's Fury, which replaced the Woody Coaster, and a Mini Paratrooper ride. Both had been acquired from

Pleasure Island Family Theme Park Pleasure Island Family Theme Park was a theme park in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England. It was commonly known as Pleasure Island. The park opened on 27 May 1993. It was originally a subsidiary of Flamingo Land Ltd. Pleasure Islan ...

after its closure in 2016. The Mini Paratrooper was later replaced with a Carousel that was purchased from the Liseburg amusement park in Sweden, which the park has since purchased some rides from. The Drop Tower was removed from the park after the end of the 2017 season after standing there but not operating. For 2018, a caterpillar-themed Rock 'n' Tug ride was added to the park. No new rides were added in 2019. After the 2019 season the Super Dragon was removed from the park and sold.

2020's

In 2020, Funland purchased a Flying Elephants ride and a Viking ride from Liseburg. In 2021, the tarpaulin was removed from the middle of the park. a Ghost Train called "Destination Z" was added to the park upon opening for the 2021 season.

Rides

Rollercoasters

Dark Rides

Flat Rides

Water Rides

Children's Rides and Attractions

Removed Attractions

Incidents

On 17 September 2015, a 47-year-old Romanian workman fell 23 metres from the Kondlike Gold Mine ride, as he was taking the coaster down for its sell-out to Euroshow, breaking his arm and leg in the process.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Amusement parks in the United Kingdom, state=autocollapse Amusement parks in England Buildings and structures in Hampshire Tourist attractions in Hampshire Hayling Island