April 2, 2023
Adventure World was the only fun park in Australia I had yet to visit, so in 2023 I decided to fix that. There was only one decent roller coaster at the park (Abyss), and this was not amazing enough to warrant a long trip to the other side of Australia just for Adventure World alone. Therefore, my sister Justine and I decided on a short 4-night experience, taking in all the usual touristy things for our first trip to Perth, Western Australia.
As it was school term, the park was only open from Fridays to Mondays. I had planned our itinerary around a visit to Adventure World on Friday, hoping that with kiddies still at school our queue times would be minimal. We also planned a ferry trip to Rottnest Island and short visits to Cottesloe and Scarborough beaches. A full day was set aside for a trip North for sandboarding and 4WDing at Lancelin followed by some time at the Pinnacles (beautiful limestone rock formations in the middle of the desert). Justine had booked us tickets to an Australian Football League (AFL) match on our final day, so our schedule was nicely packed!
The weather was looking ideal, but then reports started trickling in about a cyclone causing heavy rain off the coast. Friends assured me it hardly ever rained in Perth, and when it did, it was often short lived. However the night before Adventure World, a storm swept through. Close to 7.30am, the rain had stopped and the radar showed that nothing else was coming. The website showed the park was open, but my instincts told me to message the park just in case! Sure enough, the park was closed. All my planning was foiled! Luckily I had messaged, otherwise would have spent 1.5 hours making my way to the park for no reason. The park’s communication was pretty average!
The weather ended up being fine all day with some slightly windy patches, so it seemed very impulsive for the park to close. I wondered if the attendance predictions were too low to warrant paying staff, if the park was short staffed, or if they had just made a bad call and then couldn’t take it back? The park also had minimal food and shopping outlets, and zero indoor attractions to keep patrons amused during wet weather which may have influenced their decision. Either way, the only option I now had was to pack Adventure World in on Sunday morning before the AFL and my flight home!
This ended up being quite stressful as there was no luggage storage at the park. Justine kindly agreed to transport both our suitcases to airport lockers, so I could go to the park solo and cram in as much as possible. A 20-minute walk into the city was followed by an easy train from Perth to Cockburn, and then a 20-minute bus ride. Because public transport was on the Sunday timetable, buses were infrequent meaning I had to get the 12.33 bus back to Perth. So, with only 2.5 hours, I purchased a ticket ($65) and a fast pass ($40), and decided against going on any of the water slides. Fast passes are often a gamble. They are cheaper online and if you wait until you get to the park, they can sell out on busy days. However, for this day, the pass was totally unnecessary! I only waited for one ride, and crowd numbers were very low. They would likely come in handy on busy days, especially because they can also be used with the waterslides.
No hard copy maps were available, but the park looked small and easy to navigate without one. I spent about five minutes looking in the “souvenir shop” prior to opening. Honestly this was the smallest and most basic gift shop I have ever come across at a park. Lots of lollies and soft toys mixed in with some little trinkets usually reserved for a $2 shop. They did at least have shot glasses though, which is my souvenir of choice for fun parks.
My watch said 10am, but the park opened a few minutes late. I was getting a strong vibe that this was a pretty laid-back family park that liked to save on costs.
I headed straight to Abyss, the main attraction! I was the first person in the queue area, but there was a 15-minute delay while staff completed their ride tests. I wandered around looking at the horror themed ghosts and ghouls, and admired the twisting steel track. I started Googling the coaster and realised the track was very similar to other Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter models I had been on like Novgorod and Karan in Germany, Takabisha in Japan, Predator in Dubai and Saw in England. Should be a great ride then!
I was impressed with the quick load time, which would certainly help keep things moving on busy days. The ride started with a dark indoor area complete with hidden drop and inline twist. I set myself up to pull a stupid face for the camera in this section, but there were no options to purchase on-ride photos as the booth was closed. The indoor section was good fun, although sadly there was no fast launch to the outdoor area which I had experienced with other similar models. Once you were blinded by the sun on the vertical lift hill, I was hoping the ride would drop backwards before repeating its journey over the hill, but it wasn’t to be. Don’t get me wrong, Abyss was such a great addition to the park, but it missed an opportunity to make the most of the track like in other countries. I loved the inversions and little airtime hill, but I did find it particularly rough at the end of the airtime hill into a banked right-hand turn. My head smashed into the harness each time, with my ears feeling pretty bruised. Abyss was a great little coaster but would be made much smoother with lap bars instead of the chunky old-fashioned harnesses.
With 4 seats in the front row and 4 in the back, you lined up for either the front or back row experience. I had several turns on each row, but preferred the back as you enjoy a little extra drag. I found the front right seat to be the roughest option.
With the Turbo Mountain coaster (originally from Luna Park Sydney) removed in 2009, there were only two other coasters in the park which were both for little adventurers. Dragon Express sat in a cute dragon themed kids area filled with lots of carnival style rides and a few water play areas. It was the roughest kiddy coaster I have ever ridden, so I enjoyed the Rail Rider a lot more. This sky cycle was a self-pedalling ride which provided a good overview of the park from above. Rail Rider was the only ride at the park not included on the fast pass list, and was the only ride I waited for (around 20 minutes). I really felt for the solo staff member who was doing her best to keep things moving along. The load was completely manual, requiring her to constantly move poles to get the carts to stop and go. The flow was also dependent on how fast/slow guests pedalled, so if they were taking their sweet time the wait increased.
With the coasters ticked off, it was time to experience as many of the other rides as I could within a short time frame. The park was set out in a unique way, with the water sections mixed in between the ride areas. It was common for people to alternate between slides and rides in their swimmers, meaning the ride seats were often wet. Even with a wet bum, I really enjoyed the Intamin gyro swing Goliath. I have been on a tonne of these, but Goliath was surprisingly one of the best. My bum was out of the seat a lot so there was quality airtime! A little girl a few seats down was in tears the whole time. After a few swings, her dad went from “whoa,” to “Jesus” and then revealed a spectacular vocabulary. At the end, the little girl was inconsolable, crying “I died daddy.” Her dad gave her a big hug and said “no you didn’t darling, it was just a bit scary.” “No, I really did die daddy!” I am fairly sure they went to the safety of a waterslide after that!
Next was Rampage, a super intense top spin ride. There were 4 major spinning sections, and the ride felt like it would never end. I really enjoyed Rampage and was sad to see a recent Facebook post saying the ride would close forever at the end of the 2023 season. I made a poor choice by going on Black Widow directly afterwards, which was a spinning carnival style ride with rotating seats.
With dizziness setting in, the last ride was Inferno. As there was no line, I jumped right on without seeing what the tower did first. I assumed it was a drop tower, but it ended up being a reverse bungee model. I was rather relieved! As it turns out, Inferno was a bit of a guessing game. There was a count down at the beginning, with the ride shooting up randomly on numbers between 10 and 1. Some riders also got a bonus drop tower at the top. From this area I could see a tall yellow tower that looked like it could be an attraction. Another guest told me this was not actually part of the park. It was a former bungee jumping site that had closed down. Google tells me that some urban climbers still trespass to make their way up to the top, but it seems to have been closed for a while.
I also noticed chairlift wires throughout the park, but no chairlifts. Apparently in 2016 a woman fell off the Sky Lift after not following staff instructions. I am unsure if this is why it was closed but it was a shame as it would have been nice to float over the pools. Sadly that was not the last of the incidents at the park. A child broke his leg on the Kraken waterslide after a second raft apparently hit his raft, which sent him flying out.
In 2021, Adventure World copped some negative press after they were hit with accusations of body shaming as people were weighed prior to going on slides. I think the negativity was completely unfair, as it has become standard practice for weigh-ins on water slides. Yes it sucks when the red light goes off saying you and your friends are too heavy, but safety is important. The red light went off for a friend and I at Wet n Wild a couple of years ago, but we sucked it up and rode something else instead. As Adventure World is the only fun park on the Western side of Australia, perhaps the locals aren’t used to this kind of technology being employed?
I had a quick look at the small wildlife park, but then it was time to head home. I was very happy to get a lot of rides in with a 2.5 hour visit, and was pleasantly surprised I had enough willpower to avoid the $14 hot dog and drink combo.
Adventure World is on par with Gumbuya World in Victoria in terms of size and variety of attractions, and certainly a step up from Aussie World in Queensland. There were plenty of lovely grass areas for picnics, and a giant pool area which would be great on a hot day if you were sick of waiting in lines.
Abyss was an excellent investment, but the park still felt like it lacked direction. It was unclear whether Adventure World wanted to be a water park, a small family friendly park, or a place for thrill seekers. I appreciate that it attempted all three, as the park felt quite unique compared to everything else in Australia. If the park wants to charge significant ticket prices, sell fast passes, and expect guests to cope with maximum capacities and long waits in peak season however, it seems like it wants to play with the big kids. In that case, another world class attraction would be an awesome addition.
Roller Coaster Ramble 