26 fantastic photographs of The American Adventure as theme parks prepare to open

If you grew up in South Yorkshire in the 1980s or 1990s, chances are you probably visited The American Adventure.

As popular theme parks such as Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach prepare to open up again for the new season after their winter shutdown, we’ve delved into our archives to find old photos of The American Adventure to take you on a trip down memory lane.

The theme park was originally called Britannia Park and opened in 1985, but closed after just 10 weeks with huge debts.

It was then bought by Derbyshire Council for £2.5 million in 1986, and sold to Grenada, which reopened the park under the name ‘The American Adventure’ in June 1987.

The American Adventure was hugely popular in its heyday and new rides were introduced over the years to keep up with the times. Unfortunately the announcement came in 2007 that the park would not be reopening that year, and the rides were sold off to various amusement parks and attractions around the world.