| Previously known as Alice in Wonderland Park | |
 Entrance to Adventure Wonderland | |
| Location | Hurn, Dorset, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°46′34″N 1°50′42″W / 50.776°N 1.845°W / 50.776; -1.845 |
| Status | Defunct |
| Opened | 1992 |
| Owner | Wonderland Park LLP |
| Slogan | Whatever the weather ... guaranteed fun! And 'A full days fun at Dorset's number one!' |
| Operating season | March - October (full park) November - March (indoor play) |
| Area | 10 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Attractions | |
| Total | Over 30 rides and attractions |
| Roller coasters | 0 |
| Water rides | 0 |
| Other rides | 0 |
| Website | www |
Adventure Wonderland was a family theme park situated in the village of Hurn, near Bournemouth, United Kingdom. The park offered rides and attractions aimed at families with children up to the age of 10. It drew much of its theme from the novel Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and Alice, The Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, The Cheshire Cat, and The White Rabbit make appearances throughout the day around the park and in the theatre shows.
In September 2023, the park announced it would be closing all outdoor rides but retaining its indoor play centre, with birthday parties and Christmas attraction. It plans a return to its roots of a traditional family park in 2024 with the Maze at its centre. The indoor play centre closed in January 2024.
The park also hosts a number of special character day events as well as seasonal Halloween and Christmas themed events.
Geography
Adventure Wonderland is situated in Hurn, Dorset. The park features 1.5 miles of pathways, covering 20 acres of land, adjacent to Bournemouth International Airport. The site is also home to Bournemouth's Aviation Museum, situated on land opposite the car park, having moved there in Autumn 2008.
History
Adventure Wonderland was created by the farmer Russell Lucas-Rowe. The third generation of a local farming family based at Hurn, the origins of Adventure Wonderland started in approximately 1971, when the site was originally a pick your own strawberries and raspberries.
Whilst parents were picking fruit, Lucas-Rowe wanted an area of the site for children's entertainment, so created a garden and maze. On first thinking about a design, Lucas-Rowe chose the theme of the Lewis Carroll children's novel, Alice In Wonderland, realising there was a local connection (Alice Pleasance Liddell, the inspiration for the title character lived in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, approximately 21.9 miles away).The name was later altered to 'Adventure Wonderland' in order for the park to appeal to boys and slightly older children.
The site originally opened as The Alice in Wonderland Maze and by the end of the first season, 54,000 people had visited. This encouraged Lucas-Rowe to gradually expand the children's park, which having taken off, resulted in the closure of the pick your own fruit.
In 2005, Adventure Wonderland opened a £1million Aztec-themed indoor play area named 'Wild Thing!' This allowed Adventure Wonderland to stay open year round, as they would previously close for the winter due to being an outside park.
By July 2011, Adventure Wonderland was one of Dorset's most popular attractions, with approximately 100 staff employed during the peak season and 180,000 visitors each year.
Attractions and rides
Attractions
The park featured outdoor play areas and features. There was also a cafe and gift shop. Visitors could meet live characters, such as Alice and the Mad Hatter. Other live characters would visit, including from local holiday parks, such as Shorefield.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Adventure Wonderland Maze | |
| Alice at the Movies (Mini Golf) | 9-hole crazy gold course with a theme of favourite family films |
| Battle Boats | Guests board boats equipped with water jets they can use to shoot other riders with water |
| Charlie Cool's Driving School | Guests drive kart-style safari jeeps around a racetrack |
| Dig for Gold | Guests sift through sand to find gold nuggets which can be exchanged for a free gift |
| Mr Rabbit's Big Bouncy Burrows | Six trampolines |
| Pony Palace | Stables of horses and donkeys, with availability for pony rides |
| Shetland World | Guests can cuddle a range of animals, including alpacas, pigmy goats, lambs, chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs |
| Shrinking Mirror Hedge | Guests walk through a series of pathways with various mirrors that distort their reflections |
| The Happydrome Theatre | A 300 seat theatre with live shows, including pantomimes, magic shows, singing and dancing, with an Alice in Wonderland theme |
| The Web | A large climbing structure |
Rides
| Name | Manufacturer | Type | Description | Opened | Closed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flying Elephants | Modern Products | Junior Jets | Visitors sit in elephant carriage that spin around a roundabout | 2000 | 2023 | Unknown |
| Curvy Caterpillars | Modern Products | Track Ride | Visitors sit in a yellow caterpillar from the Alice in Wonderland story and travel around a circuit track | 2001 or earlier | 2023 | Unknown |
| Space Orbiter | Modern Products | Major Orbit | Visitors sit in train carriages that speed along the twists and turns of a coaster track twice | 2001 or earlier | 2017 | Unknown |
| Wild Bill's Runaway Train | Unknown | Sit Down | 2004 | 2023 | Unknown | |
| Ghostly Galleon | Metallbau Emmeln | Pirate Ship | Visitors sit in rows in a large boat that hangs and swings back and forth from a central structure | 2005 | 2023 | Relocated to Southport Pleasureland |
| Turbo Teacups | Zamperla | Teacups | Visitors sit in coloured teacups that spin individually and around a large roundabout | 2006 | 2023 | Unknown |
| Shark Island | Shenyang Chuangqi Amusement Equipment | Shark Island | 2009 | 2010 | Unknown | |
| Jabberwocky | Zapfun | Tube Slide | A huge spiral slide | 2015 | 2023 | Relocated to Southport Pleasureland |
| Jungle Falls | Pinfari | Junior Log Flume | A Cambodian jungle-themed log flume | 2017 | 2023 | Relocated to Southport Pleasureland |
| Giant Yo-Yo | S&W Amusement Sales | Junior Chair-O-Plane | Visitors sit in pairs on swings that hang from the roof and bob up and down as they go round | Unknown | 2023 | Relocated to Funland Hayling Island |
Hedge maze
The park includes an octagonal, 240 ft × 240 ft (73 m × 73 m) beech hedge maze of 5,200 bushes, designed by Adrian Fisher. It was planted in 1990 and opened to the public in 1992.The maze has 1.75 miles of paths. As of 2011, it was four times the size of Hampton Court Palace's maze and the third largest maze in the UK, after Longleat Safari and Adventure Park and Blenheim Palace's maze. The Maze uses a 'left turn' route to complete.
Awards
Hedge maze
References
- "Theme park to close most outdoor rides after surge in costs". Bournemouth Echo. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- "Dorset disability charity launch new centre in Hurn". Bournemouth Echo. 7 January 2024.
- ^ Findley, Nicky (2 August 2011). "How Adventure Wonderland park has been charming us over the years". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- "About Us". Bournemouth Aviation Museum - Hurn. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Adventure Wonderland". Best of Dorset Attractions. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "All Rides At Adventure Wonderland: Reviews and Ratings". www.themeparktourist.com. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- Knight, Hannah (9 September 2023). Residents angered after Adventure Wonderland announces ride closures. Daily Echo.
- "Adventure Wonderland (Christchurch, Dorset, England, United Kingdom)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- Winner of the Institute of Directors / Echo Marketing Challenge title in the 1994 Dorset Business Awards Archived May 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine