AJ

The last day of BelGerAnd is here! And unfortunately it's not ending with a bang, but rather a slur of 'b's and 'a's in one word - Bobbejaanland. For those curious, it's pronounced Bob-e-yan-land (we didn't fully know this until about half way through the day).
Being close to the park meant that after our free breakfast, we arrived with plenty of time for the 10am opening. We got there at about 9:45 and let through the main gates, where we were immediately bombarded by a costumed character and member of staff forcing us to having a photo with them. Whilst this was happening, Adam had seen a hidden A4 sign saying that the park was closing at 6pm, instead of 7pm as advertised on the site. This filled us with some hope, since it indicated that the park might be quieter than the park originally expected, especially for a lovely (33 degrees) Saturday in July.
The entrance area can be likened to Towers Street at Alton I guess, in that there's a street with a few shops and stuff. At the end of the street, they had gates which would open at 10, after a little intro show my The Smurfs (yeah, bit random). So whilst we waited for the gates to open, we went to the customer service kiosk to ask where we got maps; turned out they were 2 euros each!? Fortunately I had some loose change I was trying to get rid of, so did get one, but the cost for a map is ridiculous.

My 'How on earth do I pronounce this?' face.


Even the Smurfs had no clue why they were there.
With the entrance show done, we headed into the park. We realised that a map wasn't really needed for the park quickly, since the park was just based around an oval lake, with nothing particular hidden. So we essentially just went round the lack and ticked off the rides as they came. Bobbejaanland had the most coasters out of all the parks on the trip, with 7. Just a shame that none of them were very good...
Our first ride of the day was Typhoon, the world's second Gerstlauer Eurofighter built. I was quite keen to try out another Eurofighter, and was looking forward to it. But the ride just doesn't really do a lot. After the standard (and VERY slow!) vertical left and 97 degree drop came a vertical loop, which was actually very intense and the highlight of the ride. The rest of the ride slowly meanders abouts, doing some turns, some twists and some inversions, but it just feels slow and boring. A real shame.
The coaster opened on 3 cars (out of a possible 5 by the looks of things), but at one point in the day, was down to 1 car it was so quiet! We didn't bother riding it again because there were other, better rides, on park.



We had planned to do the nearby Dizz, the Maurer spinner, afterwards, but since it opened at 10:50, apparently, we moved onto Revolution, the indoor coaster with a rather impressive 30 car train (and thus being able to hold 60 people per train), and a very long-winded spiral lift hill. I was expecting a coaster with such a ridiculous gimmick to be a bit boring, but it was surprisingly fun. It wasn't a 'good' ride (indeed, it just about scrapped onto my 'Top 20' list for coasters ridden during this trip), but it was fun.
The remaining coasters quickly followed. Speedy Bob, a Wild Mouse, was very meh, and it really shows how much theming can do to a ride, as it feels completely different to Rattlesnake. Dream Catcher, a suspended Vekoma coaster, was next, and was very forgettable. The junior coaster Oki Doki was a surprise; a nice fun coaster. The powered coaster Bob Express was also pretty neat, featuring an interesting enough layout. We eventually rode Dizz in the afternoon, but it was by far the worst spinning coaster I've done; the layout doesn't lend itself to allow the cars to spin that much..




Bob Express geek board.


We also watched the first showing of their new show, featuring magicians Rob and Emiel. I don't know how big they are in Belgium / Netherlands, but they have their own website, so they must have made a bit of a name for themselves I guess? Unfortunately the show wasn't very good (a lot of the stuff was very visual, so the language barrier wasn't much of an issue), though they did seem to be a bit nervous, and there were some crowds troubles. They did speak to us before the show though, after noticing we were English, and did have a bit of a chat with us.

The redeeming feature for Bobbejaanland though is in some of its other rides and, surprisingly, their indoor attractions. The park has many small attractions, like boat rides, water slides, slidey slides, and a few flat rides / dark rides. However, there are four that really stand out:
The first of which is El Rio, a park's rapids. With the majority of the layout hidden away, it was hard to tell what to expect. But the ride had a decent layout - featuring a whirlpool! - and got you a good level of wet. It was nice to see a decent rapids at the park.
What is most interesting about this ride though is the ferris wheel feature on its ride:

Don't get too excited; it's not in operation. Essentially, what would happen is a boat would travel onto a platform, the wheel would rotate, and the boat would go down a long, steep-ish drop, likely making a very nice splash. Unfortunately, the wheel hasn't been in operation for about 9 years, according to TPR, because it was an operational nightmare. Boats instead take a route around the wheel.
The next stand out ride was Indiana River, an indoor log flume. This is one of two log flumes on the park, though the second, outdoor, one is very meh. Given the looks of the outdoor rides on park, it was a pleasant surprise to see this ride so well themed. It was very jungle-like, and the majority of the route had some nice features to look out. The ride seems to get the front of the boat soaked, and the back of the boat stays dry (we tried a couple of different seating configurations on our goes and this always seemed to be the case), which is a bit odd.


(Above photo taken with flash on; the place feels a lot more atmospheric in low light!).
Another water ride which stands out is Banana Battle, an indoor splash battle. The layout has LOADS of interaction points, meaning that you get drenched. It's a great ride all in all, and even if it's a bit too wet for my liking, I still enjoyed it. The ride smelt a bit too much like chlorine for my liking though..

Finally, the best attraction on park is, by some way, The Forbidden Caves (warning: spoilers!). New for this year, it's an immersive tunnel ride. In a similar vain to Hex, the ride has 2 pre shows before the main ride. The premise of the ride, from what I gathered/remember, is that we're going on a Cave Tour, inspired by explorer Jasper Dubois. He had many adventures, but got lost on one whilst trying to find some treasure, so we're going to go find him.
The group is taken around by a 'tour guide' during the pre shows. Usually this is in Dutch, but on our second go, it was only us and an English-speaking French couple, so we were fortunate enough to be given the pre shows in English (lucky that the staff member spoke very good English too!). The first pre show takes place in an elevator, descending us down "several thousand meters very quickly", and the guide tells a few jokes. It was a standard effect, but done well. The second one involves a lot of talk about the treasure and the guide touches a found gem, which, in turn, activates loads of effects, with things shaking of the walls, loud noises, smoke, lights, and a evil force warning us to go away. It was very dramatic and very well done.
The ride itself then follows. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a letdown. It's either too hard to see the screen (if you sit too far back), or all the immersion is ruined if you sit too close to the front (you see the trough the ride carriage travels in, etc.). The video itself is alright and it's not a bad simulation experience, it's just that the ride hardware is very meh and average.
All in all, Forbidden Caves was a fab attraction, and its overall quality feels out of place at an average park like Bobbejaanland. Indeed, in terms of quality, and even theming, it wouldn't have felt out of place at some major parks that I've now visited! So kudos really need to be given to the park for opening such a solid attraction! The one thing which was a bit of a shame was that is opened at 1, and closed just before the park closed.



Overall Bobbejaanland thoughts: Bobbejaanland is a very odd park, and it's not surprising that a park of this size and quality cut it's opening times by an hour at such short notice; they clearly weren't getting the guests to warrant it. But, despite its overall average-ness, there are a couple of neat little rides there, and if Forbidden Caves is the sort of level of theming and quality we can expect from the park in the future, it might be one to surprise us all in a few years time.
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And so that's it! We left Bobbejaanland and hit the road for the long drive back to Calais. Funnily enough, we actually passed Plopsaland on the way, which made the trip feel nice and closed in a way. Unfortunately, when we got to Calais, we were told that no ferries had gone to Dover all week (because of the immigration problems at the time), and so we had to try our luck at Dunkirk. Fortunately we managed to get on a ferry there, but it meant we didn't get back till rather late (I tucked myself into bed at the cool time of half 3 in the morning...).
Thanks to anyone that did read all the entries or leave comments; t'is greatly appreciated!

So, spooning.
I've tried to describe this to many people without it sounding completely strange, and failed miserably. It is bizzare, but definitely fun. Especially if you win on your first ever time
Hold onto a spoon at a theme park all day. How? Oh and come 3pm people can attack your spoon. What?! Those are the rules, but they aren't always stuck to. Shoutout to J.S217 who managed to go through three spoons in one day... Whereas I was the first person ever to finish the day with a complete spoon... With only one crack from where I had chewed it at the beginning of the day
It was great to go to a proper meet as a full member with lots of others there. I was at Guildford but wasn't a full member and there weren't that many people. And I was there at the beginning of the London Christmas meet but had to go do other things
I was surprised how nice everyone was. I felt like I could just go up to anyone in that group (all 25ish people) and have a conversation with any of them reasonably easily, and the group feeling was great
Oh and thanks for the Easter egg Peaj, I know I should have shared I with SCB for protecting me all day from attacks, but I got really hungry on Monday...
As for I'm a Celebrity, I was pleasantly surprised. The whole thing looks amazing, and considering how many effects it relies on the fact that (as far as I know) only two of them weren't working (and one was some of the time) was great. I wasn't keen at the start, I only really went for four extra hours of ride time and the first dark rides of the season. But I did quite enjoy it... And would probably go again if there wasn't much of a queue
Though why all the actors had to pretend to be past winners is beyond me...
Anyway, to the priorities, only four days til me and SCB go to Alton Towers, my first time ever. But after all the troubles every park has had this season part of me doesn't want to go, not wanting to be disappointed. I've always wanted to go to Towers... Since I was a kid.
Ah well, I'm sure it will still be amazing

WARNING: High Liam content.
Well, what an amazing day this was! It was a joy to see everyone again and to meet some new faces
(Btw, I got the xmas smilies by googling them, started typing this during xmas, was gonna remove them since but meh, it's a Christmas meet )
After being greeted with hugs and smiles at Waterloo station, it was off to The Eye (and that wonderful 4D experience). It was a clear day so we got some great views, could even see Stealth! Liam was such a tourist (actually, he was for the whole day) and came out with a great response to The Shard: "It doesn't look real! It looks like it's been painted on!"
Seflie time!

Next up was The Dungeons, which were a great laugh as usual, and with it being Liam's first time, we were provided with much entertainment in the form of his vocalizations. Such as: jumping on the boat ride; screaming in the plague doctors scene when the leeches crawl under your bum, and just general camp reactions. The highlight was, of course, when he got picked in the torture device scene Just...perfect! Shame we couldn't take any photos! Although...
Our ORP from Drop Dead with Luke (and some random lady) was quite something...

Luke's face!
We skipped SeaLife and headed straight to Nandos, about an hour before our booking We managed to lose Peaj on the underground, whilst gaining Mark9 and Dan9...but were eventually reuinited in Nandos. Secret Santa was fun as always (but did we actually finish it?!), I think Liam was most impressed with his sexy fireman calendar
At this point, I had intended on going around and handing all my Christmas cards out...not really sure what happened! So instead, I just went to people individually throughout the rest of the day and gave them their cards. But because of this, there were some people who I didn't get round to giving their cards to, so major apologies!
BUT I did bring loads of candy canes And I tried to make sure everyone got one lol!
After this cheeky dessert of candy canes, it was off to Madame Tussauds for most of us while the rest headed to the pub. A few bits (and groping of!) from Tussauds:

Santa Banter!
(In full HD 60fps, as are all my videos)


http://youtu.be/FWs9qD1OAro

I also added some silly/amusing annotations And it appears that our meet organiser was clearly still in shock after becoming seperated from us on the underground, and couldn't even catch a giant box
A few stills from that footage:


W're royal, ya know

Erm, I still have no words...

Aww I do love this photo!

Soon, it was time for The Spirit of London!
Here's some stills from my on-ride footage ...Because the detail in this ride is just brilliant.
Luke popped his head round to tell us something important...

(Watch the video that I have included further down to find out what, I didn't upload them for nothing )
Rebuilding London and St Paul's



#Lad

Hmm, this reminds me of a particular coaster...

Only just realised when watching the footage back that this helter skelter is also Big Ben!

Where did everyone go?!

Plot twist: they were taken by the creepy fireman!

I think it's partly the fact that his right eye just stares straight ahead which makes him creepy (ish).
I thoroughy enjoyed the ride as always, as did Liam!

Why not see (and hear!) for yourself?
http://youtu.be/boytOANK8_E


I was a bit sheepish about being too obvious filming it, hence why the view seems quite low down at points. But it's the things that are said/the reactions (again, mainly from Liam) that are the highlights of the video, really! "WHO'S THAT?!" "Oh my god we're going down...OOOH!" "We're going oop...WE'RE GOING OOP!"
Winter Wonderland
Well, once we'd eventually got inside and shuffled painfully to the Carousel Bar, we could enjoy ourselves (as much as humanely possible). Myself and some others did Wild Maus XXL, which was even more insane, hardly seemed to trim! There's a particular corner which is ridiculously fast - you can actually see people being thrown to the side when watching!
Then while some others did Barrel of Laughs, we did XXL. It was definitely worth it! Far more than just a giant Freakout or better version of Vortex It was fast, pretty intense, had both great force and great airtime, and when I thought we'd reached full height, it still went higher! Pretty sure I shouted "What the f**k?!" a few times!

Winter Wonderland off-ride footage
http://youtu.be/E3htSa9TRvU


At 14-15 seconds in, watch the corner just above the blue sign - that's the corner I just mentioned, you'll see how fast the car flies through! You also get to hear the wonderful operator on XXL, who kept repeating the same things over and over again. OH and watch (and listen) out for my little edit at the end
It was eventually time to say goodbye It really was lovely to see people again, especially people like Liam who I haven't seen in a long time and live bloomin' miles away! Actually had to hold back from crying when hugging goodbye
Although, it was nice to go to the pub after with some peeps and just chill, was a nice way to finish such a good day!
Here is the album with all my photos in for any who want to see the rest of them: Christmas London Trip 2014
Oh and any photos with people in are set to private (the above link is a guest pass, so only those who I share the link to can see the private photos)
So thank you to everyone for making it such a great meet, and of course to Peaj! Last year's meet unfortunately ended up on a very sad day for me and my family, so I don't have great memories from it. And for various reasons, 2014, up until around late October/November, was a pretty awful year for me personally. BUT (cue happy/triumphant music), since November-time I've finally been on the mend, and for the first time in a very long time (a few years perhaps!) I feel back to my old self - if not, better than that! Something must have shone through as I was often the one the actors spoke to at The Dungeons Seriously though, I feel so alive and more chatty, and I was eager to see how I'd be at a meet (especially with so many people), and I'm very pleased to say that I felt amazing!
So here's to 2015 Happy new year! x

It's been a long 14 years since my first trip to Phantasialand and despite my love affair with the park when I visited in 2006, It hadn't been a park on my radar to revisit. All it took though was a read of Benin's August trip report, some willing volunteers with the cash and just like that, it was off to Germany. For those that have never been, getting to the park is as easy as pie and incredibly cheap. I heartedly recommend it, despite having to fly on Easyjet at 7:05 in the morning as the train/bus system in Germany gets you to the park in less then an hour from the airport.
For less then £200 we got two nights in Hotel Matamba, two days on the park and two fastracks for each of us. One thing we concluded on the trip was that the park is amazing value. Sure, it is one of the more expensive parks in Europe to get into but for the quality of ride you get and the cheapness in the park itself (5 euros for on ride photos, meals at fast food resauraunts for less then 8 euros, even better cocktails in the bar were cheap for European standards).
With us all checked into the stunning Matamba (it really is stunning) we were off to the park. Despite some of the quality attractions held within, there is an aspect to the park that is stuck within the eighties. The entrance for instance is quite basic for example and doesn't look like it's seen any changes since the park opened. Reminded us of Epcot. We decided for our first ride would be the 2006 inverter, Black Mamba. Back when it first opened I thought it was a fantastic piece of work with a fast, intense ride cacooned within some intricate, detailed and beautiful theming. I'm happy to report, time has been kind to this ride and we all thoroughly enjoyed our rides. I disagree deeply with Benin on his analysis of the ride however. This is no Silver Bullet or Inferno that peeters out heavily at the end, this is a ride that maintains its intensity, speed and enjoyment from start to finish. The four inversions are taken right at the start of the ride, almost to get them out of the way quickly. The ride then takes on three high speed helices which I found pretty intense as the ride was running so well. I was even surprised to find a nice pop of air time as the ride dips into the first helix. The general ambience of the ride is the greatest of any B&M out there with only Oz'Iris giving any real competition. The level of detail is franklyy stunning so even if you aren't a fan of the ride itself, the theming and feel of the ride more then makes up for it. My only criticism is the aggressive staff. One actually pushed me backwards causing me to hit my head on the top of the train. Completely unnecessary on a walk on, one train operated ride.




With the Biting ride done, we headed to the new for 2013 but actually opened in 2014 ride, Chiapas. First and foremost, this is for me, is the most beautiful ride in Europe. Everything about it has been designed to the nth degree. From the surrounding pathways which afford great views of the ride, to the queueline and ride itself intertwined so perfectly into a neat little package, there is nothing else quite like it. Even the queue itself, with the batching lanes being divided into fastpass, single riders, groups of twos and everyone else shows that thought has been put into how this ride is operationally run. Well it's top level and shows effort unmatched by anywhere else. But what about the ride itself? I have never come across a water ride run in such a precise and technically perfect way anywhere. Intamin have worked magic here with the different ride systems running perfectly in sync so that the ride show never feels under threat by the ride mechanics. The backwards room in particular is a highlight as is the final drop that feels far steeper and longer then it looks. Everyone comes off of this ride with a smile because it's fun. I in general hate Log flumes, but this goes to the top of my class and is easily my favourite water ride.


Talocan was our next ride. I've never done a floorless top spin before as the one at Knotts was closed on my visit. Suffice to say, the theming and ride show really helps to push Talocan as a top tier attraction because the ride itself isn't as grand as everything else around it. That being said, this was one of the better ride cycles I've done but I still can't rate this as high as other much more appropriate and interesting flat rides. The restrain in particular was slightly odd as the bottom has a nice sharp pointy bit that could cause a lot of men to be unable to have children in the future. You have been warned.


Back in 2000, Colorado was the main attraction if you like. Now, with Mamba, Winjas and Chiapas to help lighten the load, Colorado Adventure takes president as the main family rollercoaster on site. And it truly is a wonderful Vekoma mine train. The only real problem for it though is the first part of the ride. With the removal of other attractions and the addition of Chiapas, half of the indoor area has been removed exposing the ride itself. The job is clearly half finished as well as corregated steel sticks out over pathways and the shed area is completely on show. Which is a true shame as it ruins the illusion that this is a western themed ride. Luckily the ride after the second lift hill is intact and what follows in the dark is hair-raising. Truly scary with the ride jerking you around back and forth and you have no idea where you are going. Part of Colorados charm is that it can go from sedate little mine train to throwing you back and forth with no warning. The final helix in particular is excellent. I felt like I was dying or about to. It's fantastic.

On our travels we took on the omnimover which can be descibed as Chinese Haunted Mansion. It's main flaw was that it was way to light in there at one point the view is solely a fire exit, illuminated up all nicely for your pleasure. River Quest followed which is a terrifying experience for all involved and makes it the only rapids ride that I'm not a fan off. We next ventured onto Mystery Castle which was terrifying as a 12 year old, but completely underwhelming as an adult. I like the idea of all of us strapped to the castle walls but the ride itself isn't scary enough. Nice concept blown by a rather blase ride.

With this side of the park done, we went over to the Berlin and Wuze Town. Our first port of call was Winjas, the Maurer spinners featuring trick track. I was suitably impressed with Fear in particular but this time I was a bit more warey. When it comes to spinning rides, I expect a little bit of spinning but these two don't spin too well. Fear I found was better at it but both have a severe lack of it. The other thing is the trick track of the see saw and moving track kind of threaten the flow of the ride, they break the pacing and the rhythm. Thankfully, Fear has a surprise immelman.

With Phantasialand, there is a real drop on quality on this side of the park probably to do with its location near local housing. Temple of the Knight Hawk is a dismal attempt at a Space Mountain rip off. It doesn't impress and left 'Fred', Dan9 and Tom feeling ill. The problem is it just isn't interesting enough and just goes round and round almost bored of itself. A similar effect can be felt on the Hollywood Ride, a rather dismal attempt at evoking Hollywood glamour but just coming across as cheap and run down. Sad and terrible is the only words I can use to describe it as. We tried on other rides in the area such as the Splash Battle which features no splash battling and nothing to really aim at, no effects whatsoever. We also tried out the Race to Atlantis which might have been good back in the eighties but is no longer relevant. Pirates 4D was a nice kick back to Thorpe when it was an up and coming theme park in the 2000's and the final ride to really talk about is Maus de Chocolat. I don't like the shooting system really in the same way that I don't like Toy Story Manias shooting style. I just can't get the hang of it which means I always lose. Sad times. I love the theming around it even if it is just a Ratatouille film rip off.
So thats the theme park. A wonderful place to visit with half the park being ahead of the game and the other half sadly lacking. Luckily, the awesomeness of Mamba, Chiapas and Colorado really stick in the mind. The management here know what they're doing and it's a joy to visit. I recommend staying at Matamba as well, with a true ambience and joy to it. I even tried Zebra in the hotel restauraunt.


A yummy Black Mamba cocktail!
Thanks foe reading.

Hi and welcome to Part 4, the final instalment of Creaky Northern Adventure. After a pleasurable day at the pleasure beach, a night of exploring two of Blackpool's [best] piers and a not so bright Coral Island, the trip was set to continue on the 2nd day which would conclude the trip. The big question, where would be heading to next?

With so much to do at Blackpool, you'd struggle so much to find any exciting attractions and ones that stand out from the others, after all it's not there's any other tall landmarks on the seafront.




Of course, there's one thing there we should visit. The Blackpool Tower AKA Merpool Tower, because of the fact it's located in Blackpool and owned by Merlin, it even holds two typical traits two by having not the longest of opening hours and includes it's own bed of scaffolding.

However before we go up to the eye of the tower, I think it's time to go and explore a pretty common Merlin chain attraction that seems to be getting around a lot of places these days. This place is, The Burger Kitchen
Of course it wasn't [although FYI there actually is a Burger Kitchen on the 2nd floor of the tower] as we explored Blackpool's take on the Dungeons. So, What did I think? I thought they were actually very good actually, a lot of the scenes have the same high quality, gross, immersive experience the ones in London have [and in some ways a little better too]. The drop tower was certainly better at this one and despite getting more of a ride at the London one, it certainly feels a lot more coherent here as it feels like you're actually going up to be executed and then dropped when you're sentenced.
A very decent attraction, not to be helped by the wonderful Natalie on tickets . The only flaws in the whole attraction for me was the bit with the Saxons/Vikings felt a bit meh due to it mostly being a cinema screen with things going and bits moving [though it's good they added that bit of history though], the stairs going down in the forest which detracted things a little, I'm sure not much could've been done in the building, but still not forest in the world has stairs [a slope would be a better option IMO] and the arcade at the entrance which just detracts a little [there's video arcades everywhere].

A tasty Fish & Chips for lunch and admiring of the sea front and it was time to experience the Blackpool Circus. Unfortunately cameras/photos were not allowed [another typical Merlin trait] and anyone was caught with one, they would stop the show and get a staff member to take it off you and give it back at the end .
The circus was great fun, filled with humour, excitement and amusement throughout. I did particularly enjoy Mooky the clown with his funny jokes and interactions, especially at the end when they got members of the audience involved to act out a simple silent movie/play which was such fun to watch [WHY WHY WHYYYYY Delilah].
The rest was good too. With BMX cyclists, strong man, motorbike ball racers, synchronised swimmers/acrobats, beautiful gorgeous showgirls and even a working fountain [Merlin aren't good with working fountains], it made an amazing show to experience that definitely reflected and summed up the life, soul and atmosphere that Blackpool provides. I can definitely see why they call it Vegas of the north now.

Once we fountained out of the fairly big top [but it's actually on the lowest level of the tower], it was time to have a look at the Blackpool Ballroom, which despite not being the cup of tea for most of group was certainly a grand gem located there, with it's grand old fashioned decor, sea side/old time atmosphere and the grand Wurlitzer with it's distinctive rich tone playing out throughout the dance floor. Tpm's Mer and Peaj even took a dance on the floor of this famous ballroom.

Waltzing away from the ballroom now and it was time to complete the tower's attractions with a flight to the top of the tower itself. Built in 1894 [100 years before Nemesis was awakened back down at Towers], the tower was born. Standing at a staggering 518ft [480 accessible to the public], the tower can be seen for miles. It's design was also inspired from the Eiffel tower in Paris too [near Euro Disney].

The tower offers some simply breathtaking views from above giving sights for many miles of the surrounding area which is so beautiful to see. I'll let you see for yourself rather than bore you with more talking.




You can even see the big One.








You get some beautiful views, until the [Merlin] safety net obstructs [for safety of course] and getting good pics is then a lot harder to achieve.












The viewing platform



It's a bit like a prison. A pretty prison in the sky.





And that was it! Blackpool tower offers some truly remarkable views of the whole surrounding area. I may have wandered back to the Merlin circle, but it was well worth it for this jewel and new credit, not to mention I've now got myself another new resin and souvenir from my fantastic trip here. Legoland Discovery Centre & Warick Castle are now the only unique Merlin attractions I'm yet to do in UK aside from the countless Dungeons and Sealifes [JoshC].
Blackpool also has a sea life and Madame Tussauds I hear you say? Unfortunately we didn't manage to try these attractions as not everyone in our party had a MAP at the time and also it was time call Blackpool time as it was getting late and as most had school, uni or work the next day none of us wanted to be too late! These weren't the big losses at the end of the day as the Sealife is probably similar to the one in London and much of the Madame Tussaud's material are items no longer needed from the London attraction.
Once walking back to our cars, we said our farewells and it was time to say goodbye to Blackpool and hello to the long journey home with hours of motorway, traffic, seating with only company, ride themes and a cheeky mcdonlads on the way to keep me going.
I had a fantastic trip in Blackpool and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Pleasure Beach was brilliant, The tower was Brilliant, The Cirucs was brilliant and the Dungeons, Ballroom, Piers and the rest were also very good, not to mention the great company I had up here that weekend too, with some great laughs, TPM Twister, Late Dominoes pizza etc. If amusement parks, Video arcades, sea sides, exciting nightlife and impressive shows,illuminations and random midway attractions are your thing, Blackpool is the place for you!
It would be very easy to spend a week or even a fortnight out here as there's so much to do. Two days at the Pleasure Beach, One day at the waterpark and Piers, two at the Tower and surrounding midways along with another two chilling, visiting the arcades and more of the night life and culture and you're easily already got plenty to do with a week's visit here, plus there's plenty of hotels and BNB's near or along the seafront.
One day I hope to return here again for another visit and re-experience the great things I did on the last trip and some ones I didn't do last time, including the missed out ride creeds at the Pleasure Beach [River Caves, Flying Machines, Nickland etc.] among others. The only problem with Blackpool is it's such a b**** to get to as it takes 4-5 hours each way to get as it's so far away, not to mention the horrendous traffic on the road and you need to really stop a couple of times on the way to get food rest your legs and use the facilities once in a while, but apart from that, it's good.
Big Thanks goes to Peaj, Scary Coasterboy, Mr Fish and many others for making this trip possible and helping arrangements towards the fantastic weekend it became. Hopefully I'll be reporting on another major park someday outside the Uk Merlin circle again, although if it's a while then it could well take the Mickey .

Hi and welcome to this third part of my exciting weekend in Blackpool. Here's how the story continues after our wet immersive ride on Valhalla.


It's heading towards the end of the day and twilight has arrived [no the ride sadly].




The park looks really beautiful at sunset, and despite being the tail end of the day it just makes the park come to life, it looks just as beautiful as Thorpe does at this time of day.
By now it was time for some final evening/ twilight rides. Another round on the Grand National was first which provided an even more amazing experience this time, as our train was literally flying through the circuit giving lots of airtime and excitement, helped by the fact we won the race too. We had another go on Big Dipper was very good again, but not quite on Grand National's reign. Another go on Wallace and Gromit was taken, I'm just a very big fan before our final final ride during our trip. But which Big attraction did this turn out to be?








For a brief moment, I would just like to mention just how beautiful the park looks at night, it's amazing and quite possibly the best park I've seen at night.
Anyway back on topic, I'm sure you've guessed the final ride of the day [or should that now be night?] and that's The Big One. The ride at night was both very good and very bad this time. Very good in the remarkable night time views you see below, the racing around the track at night and the first drop being even more intimidating at night. The drawbacks of course were the ride still lacks force in most parts and the ride was also surprisingly rough too as it was rather violent and jerky TBH [who said you need shoulder restraints for a rough ride?].



And the day was over. Blackpool is a really good park despite the place getting a lot of slack as they seem to try and put a lot of effort in to the place despite the amount of empty and SBNO ride spots. Apart from the slightly grumpy cleaner lady at the end, It was an absolutely fantastic day and I get to return here again one day. For the 4-5 hour drive up here, the journey was just about worth it. Another thing here is just how many firsts and records I have achieved during this trip including my first wild mouse, first racing Steel & Woodie, Tallest coaster in the uk [and tallest one I've done yet] plus doing my first SLC.
Moving on, our trip at the Pleasure Beach may be finished but our trip and time away certainly isn't. Whilst having some chips, cheese & Gravy up the promenade whilst looking at the beautiful illuminations which just look amazing along with the occasional dressed up and lit tram which was a magical experience, we headed to the South Pier. While most headed for the Waltzer, I headed for the Log Flume with Toofpik which cost a fairly reasonable £3. The ride was alright, just a standard general compact two drop log flume you see at many fairs and small parks. Good for another ride credit, although it does make The Flume look like Chipas.
We then headed to Central Pier where there were more fairground rides around, but none of us could be bothered to do any more and just had a cheeky drink at the bar at the back of the pier. When finished, we set off back down the pier to head to one of the best themed and looking amusement arcades on the whole promenade, Coral Island.

Full of many amusements and video game machines, I was quite excited of visiting this place at first, plus not to mention what makes this place look better than most other arcades is it includes a couple of rides including a Pirate monorail and ghost train ride. Walking you do feel quite excited and with rides and arcades over here it's almost like going in the indoor bit of Fantasy Island or the Trocadera [in it's hey day when it was open]. Sadly the Ghost Train was closed when we arrived meaning we first headed for the Pirate Monorail which for £1 was quite a bargain.

And so began the ride. It's not a bad little attraction, which goes around most of the floor space of the building giving some ok views of the surrounding area, plus there's also a brief random inside section which is separated from the rest of the arcade which includes some pirate theming elements and random audio music too. There's also guns to shoot random targets along the ceiling too although sadly the scores were turned off at the time we were riding.
It's a very lucky we were actually able to ride this in the end as the lady operating this was a bit funny as she said this was a kids ride and weren't able to go on it without children. Luckilly Peaj managed to talk with the op and we were all finally to get on the ride. The events with staff didn't get much better as the time progressed as security guards pushed us on from a couple of video machines for no reason which gave me quite a bitter taste in my mouth. They're supposed to be bringing in customers, not scaring them away! decent arcade, unpleasant staff.
After walking back to our hotel where dominoes pizza, TPM twister and general meet chat and banter occurred it was time for bed as we headed off in preparation for the second and final day that awaited us in the morning.
But what towering events await us? When will the trip excitement unravel like a circus and who's waltzing off in a magical world only Merlin could control? Wait and see in Part 4.

Welcome back to part 2 of my exciting trip report at Blackpool.

Lego Spongebob welcomes you to this next big instalment of the blog [Wow! are we at Legoland now?]

Speaking on Big, I think it's finally time I give this giant a ride then! It's a massive beast that dominates the whole park, so it should an amazing ride then ;]?


And it's time to review, Vertical Reality!
In 1994, the big one was a massive tall beast that was major large scale ride and investment along with being the tallest coaster in the world and being only second to Nemesis in greatness. 20 years later though and much of the greatness has dried up. Whilst the big one is far from being an absolute awful ride, it's also a long way from being an amazing one too.
The ride starts rather well, with a brief pre-lift section and then the long lift which offers some great views of the pleasure beach and surrounding area as the world beneath gradually disappears. Once reaching the top, the ride goes down the drop suddenly swerving right and the ride speeding up as it's drops to the bottom, which is a thrilling and intimidating experience with the gust of speed, smallish restraints and massive drop. Since the ride has started so well it will continue with this greatness during the remainder of the experience.
The answer to that unfortunately is no! After the first drop, the ride loses much excitement and force as the ride climbs it's first hill, which unlike most hyper rides it doesn't fly over it but instead gradually reaches it whilst losing speed along the way until it's almost crawling when it reaches the top. The rest of the ride doesn't really fulfil much either as there isn't much force or too much thrill for the rest of the ride which is quite disappointing, also there isn't a great deal of airtime on this ride which considering I was sitting towards the back and these types of rides should feed upon it was also disappointing too.
It does well in taking you up a great height with an intense first drop along with giving good sights of the park and area, but apart from that it doesn't quite fulfil the greatness in the giant dinosaur it first appears. That being said I shouldn't really complain too much as it is the uk's tallest and perhaps largest roller coaster [ultimate is of course the longest] and that we've actually got a large ride on this scale on our island, considering how little space we have and so many of our parks are heavily restricted on what they can actually build [especially Legoland, Chessington & pretty much almost every park]. I think it will be a long time before we see another massive ride on this scale [if ever].

From one Arrow to another Arrow, it's time to ride the one and only Steeplechase, because no other rides of this type no longer exist in the world apparently,







So what are my thoughts on this ride rarity? whilst it looks rather average and generic off ride, it's actually a great roller coaster ride, it doesn't have any gimmick, it doesn't have any unique elements, nor does it need any of these as it's such a great all round ride, with it's fun racing element, scenic views and interaction with other surrounding rides and it's loose and open restraints as only a seat belt holds you in, a fun and slightly scary experience.
From one horse race to another, it was time to experience the Grand National, our fifth and final wooden roller coaster on the trip, one that was highly appraised by many park and coaster fans alike. But would this be the ride to top my coaster list at Blackpool or even take the crown away from Megafobia as best woodie?


Can't believe I didn't take more pictures of the ride, I guess the rush around riding at the park and the fact most of the ride can only be seen outside the park are the main reasons I didn't. Anyway, what did I think of the ride?
Grand National was amazing, it was such a fantastic great fun ride with it's racing coaster element, multiple drops and hills which give quite a lot of airtime [ more than Big One ever will] along with a great paced layout makes this a great fun thrilling ride. But the big question, has it become my favourite my favourite all top time woodie? The answer to that is yes, however only to the ones in the park. It's such an incredible ride and there's not really a bad thing I can say about this ride [apart from the loud station brakes maybe] as it doesn't fail to deliver greatness during it's ride experience. Megafobia still holds on to no.1 woodie [for now] as that ride is just so intense. We need more woodies here in the uk [Merlin take note].

Before we move to our next ride, I KNOW A GUY THAT WILL GET ON YOUR NERVES! GET ON YOUR NERVES! GET ON YOUR NERVES!

Time for another ride which will also be another first for me, my first bobsled coaster and NO! We are not at Europa before you ask!



So, what did I think of Avalanche then? I thought it was a really good ride actually, gains a lot of speed in it's circuit and flies through those helixes which is just an incredible experience with the train coasting down the tube rather than the usual track setting on many other coasters. Just wish the ride was longer really as it ended just as I was really getting in to it [love Mack rides]. Hope to try the other few mack bobsleds one day!

I had really been through quite a roller coaster revolution on my trip to Blackpool and the final new coaster had to be the appropriately named, Revolution.


And that was all the Blackpool coasters completed. Despite looking like a mediocre one trick pony, this ride is actually pretty good. You're thrusted forwards first of all in to the loop the first time which is quite good, but then the backwards launch is a feeling like nothing else, the feeling of being pushed in to your restraint during the loop is such a strange and slightly scary experience as you feel like you're going to fall out!

Moving on from the coasters now and it's time to take a trip in to wonderland, I've a golden ticket


And what a wondrous ride this turned out to be. Whilst in no way is this a ground breaking or top notch, it's fun little dark ride, full of charm, humour along with being a generally pleasant attraction to experience. Incidently, this ride is a sort of knock off from the original Alice In Wonderland ride at the California Disneyland with it's cheshire cats style vehicles,indoor-out door dark ride sections and storyline which opened seven years before this one [why am I referencing so many other parks on this TR, especially Disney]?

From one extreme to another and now it's time to enter Valhalla. Wait a moment, the waterfall isn't running, I hope it isn't closed.



That Looks more like it! The ride was closed during most of the day and didn't actually open until quite late in the afternoon, we must've meant it had quite a few problems as it broke down several times after that as well. We decided to join the extremely long queue for the ride which cost us around 90 minutes of time [we could've used for other rides]. But was it worth the extra long wait?
The answer here actually is Yes, but just about. Valhalla is a very long and very wet water/dark attraction which features an array of drops, effects and a drenching. Some of the thing included on this ride are just incredible! going in to a long hot room with heat and fire one minute, then entering a freezing cold one with ice,misters and the like the next is absolutely incredible, is this is before I get on to the backwards drop, immense sound track and other elements too.
Valhalla is an absolutely amazing ride and experience, it's so breath taking when you see it all and everything inside unfolds and well worth the time. The ride makes almost every other water ride in the country look like a travelling Zamperla log ride [even Loggers] and is something that wouldn't really look out of place at a park like Efteling, Phantasialand or even Europa. Absolute masterpiece. Hex however is still my number one dark ride for the story and towers alone, but Valhalla comes in at a very close second.
Moving from a breath taking experience which despite being ringing wet, I still couldn't get over, we headed off to get some final rides at the park whilst it was gradually getting dark before closing. But the question is, which rides did we finally ride, or even re-ride during the twilight hours and which Big addition would be chosen as the finale and first proper night ride of the trip? Only time will tell, but you'll just have to wait until Part 3 submerges.

It's been my intentions over the last few years to try and visit to try and visit a new theme park or attraction each year, which started with Alton Towers in 2012 and Harry Potter Studio Tour, Madame Tussauds, The Dungeons along with a return to Oakwood [after 15 years] in 2013. At first I wasn't expecting to receive any new park credits for 2014 with Paultons Park called off and Euro disney put on hold.
This year it was my intentions to visit a park that was of the following, 1/ was a major place with top class rides, 2/ was outside the Merlin circle 3/ a place outside of the uk. On this trip, I was able to achieve two of these, by finally visiting Blackpool Pleasure Beach, a park I have been wanting to visit for some time and home to a large collection of prominent rides to the uk/world theme park industry [though some are hit and miss in places] where I would gain a whole new list of ride credits [and first].


Upon entering the park, you are greeted by a number of different things, one is the sheer prominence of rides that appear in front of you towering in the back ground, particularly the Big One which pretty much dominates the whole park, the second is the amount of former rides laying dormant at the park. The monorail and ark are two of these, both of which I saw before even getting properly through the gates which isn't the greatest thing to see.

The first ride/new cred of the day was the infamous Wild Mouse. First opinions of the ride describe it as a small compact and doesn't look too exciting, however this ride has some tricks up it's sleeves!
Despite first appearances, the ride is surprisingly good, very fun and quite scary at a few occasions too, with its sharp tight turns, bumpy rattle through the track and it's sharp and sudden drops, an experience with just seat belts and no restraints is quite intense. A great classic that shouldn't be overlooked despite first appearances, plus my second ever woodie!

From one classic to another [most of Blackpool's rides are classics], it was time for the one and only Ghost Train.

A few minutes later and my spooky distraction was over. I quite enjoyed this ride and it's got got quite a few interesting elements to the ride including the roller coaster like drops, moments of the ride going outside and the spinning tunnel with train lights [which seem common to some ghost trains]. Whilst it's not on the leagues for rides such as Hex & Duel, which may be a bit of an unfair comparison to begin with, this ride wins it over for novelty and ride length and is an example of what a traditional Ghost Train ride should incorporate. It's certainly better than Castille Del Terror at Tivoli and Spooky 4D, both of which probably aren't as old as this which already states it's point.

From one dark ride to another, our next attraction was Impossible, which comprised a set of indoor attractions all joined up together, starting with a mirror maze, a series of strange objects and illusions and a small haunted swing style ride where the room spins around. This wasn't the best of attractions as it mostly felt like a cluster of attractions just stuck together to make one big ride. The Mirror maze was alright, but the swing ride was so dull it was laughable. I'm sure 30 years ago [long before Hex] the swing element would've actually looked pretty but now, it's so bad it's good!

After a random mediocre experience, it was time for some white knuckle fuel on Ice Blast, which is now the only non coaster thrill ride in the park with Bling gone. The ride starts with the seats raising up slightly and then lowering gradually where riders are instructed to secure all loose valuables [like there's chance now], before the capsule is thrusted upwards, then downwards and then up again, until height is lost and the pod gradually lowers back to the ground.
The ride is ok, the launch is pretty fun and thrilling as you are pushed in to your restraint flying up followed by some small hits of air time and the then the end. Not a bad drop tower, however it certainly doesn't beat Detty but is much better than Bounce!

After launching back to earth, it was time to take on another woodie who is the grand daddy of them all at 91, it's time to take on the Big Dipper.



The Big Dipper is such a fun coaster to ride, as it leaps from hill after hill during it's circuit, offering a reasonable supply of air time, whilst it's not as good as Megafobia back in Oakwood, one must remember for a ride of this age it still provides an excellent experience which is great fun with lots of thrills along the way. Another great woodie.
By now on the trip it was time to take on a ride that I and many had been strongly anticipating during our trip, one that would offer an immense ride experience and tick quite a few boxes for firsts. This ride was known as [drum roll].

Infusion








Well first things first, it sure looks rather pretty for an SLC. This is the first one I've actually ridden. Having heard of many of these ride's being rather rough and uncomfortable [including this one], I set my expectations for this ride rather low. But would my opinions be just as rough once I had finally ridden it?
The answer to this in most ways is NO! Whilst the ride was in no way perfect or in anyway a patch to a B&M invert, this ride was surprisingly good and did beat my expectations. The first half for me was quite fun actually, it rolled through twist, turns and inversions whilst over a large lake of water and fountains. It wasn't really rough at all infact I could almost call it smooth.
The second unfortunately wasn't as the ride did seem to get noticeably rougher, as I bashed my head in to the restraint outside of choice several times, making the ride a little painful towards the end. Not a bad ride really and I enjoyed most it. The end is certainly rougher than Colossus but maybe not as much as Saw.

Following on from my hit and miss SLC, it was time for ride on the Grand Prix, which is sort of Blackpool's equivalent of Autopia, although this ride existed before any of them were built as I'm aware!



Not a bad little ride, but not remarkable either. The ride pretty much takes a journey down a spiralling descent passing nearby rides such as Avalanche & Revolution among others, gradually turning around ascending back up the spiral to the station where the ride finally finishes.

Time for another cracking ride, me thinks!


Technically Blackpool's newest contraption, unless you count it as a retheme from when it was the Gold Mine [something I never got to try unfortunately].
Despite getting very mixed reviews [some loving it and others hating it], I'm going to definitely say I love this ride. I've always been quite a fan of Wallace & Gromit [especially growing] and used to watch the movies on VHS on a fairly regular basis [wow do I sound old] and would enjoy seeing all the action whether it be the penguin train chase or Gromit flying in the red plane.
For me, the ride has captured the world of Wallace & Gromit very well, which is full of funny gags, rich detail in theming and settings along with high quality scenes and animation throughout the whole ride, also including plenty of audio dialogue and of course the catchy theme tune as well. In terms of overall quality, this ride does kick all of Merlins other existing uk dark rides to the curb [at least in their current forms], with Hex being the only exception.
It may lack the originality of many other rides out there, but it's a great fun family attraction and whilst the ride mostly consists of prominent scenes from the four shorts and film, I think it's paced very well and fits together perfectly. The ride is such high quality that I would say it's almost at the league of some of disney's dark rides [something I cannot properly clarify currently] and the only slip up on the whole dark ride is the scene where the penguin is falling in which the movement mechanism came be seen!
Currently my 3rd favourite dark ride at the moment of writing. You'll find out what my top 2 favourite are shortly.

Leaving Wensleydale behind us, we set off to Nick Land and decided to take a ride on the big orange track thing in the distance known as Nicklodeon Streak [formerly Roller Coaster].



It was quite a fun and enjoyable ride with quite a few bits of airtime and force. I wouldn't say it was as good as Dipper and Mouse but it still a great ride, I'd put it on top of Infusion anyway. Also this ride running just one train [with the state of the 2nd not looking ready for adding]. Apparently this ride is almost always on just one train [unlike the others], at least the queue wasn't too long and it was more pleasant than waiting for one train Colossus.
I think it's time to jump on another coaster now. I'll say Blue Fire!

oops, I meant Blue Flyer, just remembered I'm in Blackpool not Europa [one can dream]. This is not a bad little, quite a fun little woodie for kids to do, certainly not my favourite by far and perhaps my least favourite coaster, but then it's aimed more for kids and young families. Still it's another credit and woodie to add to the collection.
By now, all these woodies and other rides made us a bit hungry so we decided to grab some lunch at the park, where we decided to head over to the conveniently named Coaster bar, positioned on one of the pathways between Dipper and Avalanche.

I went in for the Chicken Fajita in the end which was ok [sadly the picture didn't turn out as well as hoped] , not the most amazing thing but it edible, good enough and not bad value for money, plus the wedges were pretty decent [beats Oakwood's offering by a country mile though].
Whilst eating, we were all amused by a selection of songs playing from a slightly quiet and muffled speaker here. But these weren't ordinary songs though as these were intact all songs from Disney movies [snow white, Pochahontis, Enchanted etc.] which was certainly something I didn't expect especially in Blackpool. This made me rather happy whilst eating my food, having always a rather big fan of Disney [one day Disney].
And that concludes part 1 of my exciting trip and weekend away in Blackpool, but Which big ride had a very big queue which became a big surprise? Which ride had a big trick and which big disney character sort of has their own big take at Blackpool? Stay tuned for some big updates in part 2!

Welcome to the theatre. Please take your seats, the show is about to begin!


This will definitely be the Big One.

Orchestra ready!

Water effects ready!

It's time to...

Immerse your senses in the biggest spectacular of all time!

The 4D experience with a Blackpool Tower Post Show!

It's a small world from up here. Only the most realistic effects are used within this show.

Quick the bad guys have arrived! (sorry I didn't have time to finish this set off)

Vikings are bad guys with a hatred for pirates.

A fight scene so early on you ask? The ending won't be that good so it's okay.

Take to your horses

And ride away like brave cowards.

Watch out for the flying dog though!

NOT SHAUN

Dora has finished exploring though and finally saves the day!

And all is calm in Lancashire Town Play once more.

Too quiet for Wallace and Gromit...

Streak away!

And no, this isn't a family friendly play.

Because we have the biggest big one

Impossible speed effects being used

But don't worry, we have lights

Waltzer

Pleasure!

Sorry about the lack of intervals. The show loses speed if it takes a break.

Like it's just trying to fill time

The interval would be boring anyway. Would definitely try and kill you.
Time for the sparkling dazzling all glitzing finale!

Tadah.

Here comes the staff bus to take all the alcoholics who wrote this beautiful production home.

BYE!

Come back next year or we'll come get you...

Me and Toofpikk thought we'd head down to Paramount Park last Friday. It STILL isn't ready, clearly didn't get ultimate planning fastrack, only standard. So we went on a random adventure through a £2 tunnel to some place. We had no idea where though.

They had delicious milkshakes but that didn't help.

This place was obsessed with pink and yellow.

Like this Fireball thing.

Look at the pink and yellow!

We just couldn't think what theme park was obsessed with pink and yellow.

They had an Elvis. Must be America

And a BIG wheel. But that doesn't mean anything, loads of places have these.

See. Pink and yellow.

Back here again. Not sure where this was but we found it 9 times.

Ohhhh. We were at Rage Southend On Sea. No that's not right.

WHY IS THIS PLACE SO BADLY ADVERTISED

All day we were confused. No idea where we were.

Thorpe Park have dodgems. Maybe I was at Thorpe Park.

No Thorpe Park doesn't have the only Archelon in the UK! But I don''t know which park does

Railway. Useful that.

Vortex. It would be so easy to brand this ride with the park it's at!

This is a Gerstlauer. It says so on the seats.

Why would I take a selfie with a bunny when I can't even check in on Facebook as I've no idea where I am!

It's okay though, we found our answer.

We were at a 5 star loo all day I feel so privileged!

Bye bye 5 star loo! Was a great day out.

Yesterday we decided to take an important English man to a place of Lego. Mr Lego William Shakespeare. I'll hand him over to you for this report

Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind. And this hand is suspicious, but I'm not guilty.

Welcome to the very merry land of Lego. Let's not read that rubbish book though, lets read a few of my plays.

This life, which had been the tomb of his virtue and of his honour, is but a walking shadow.

Certainly a big walking shadow!

Look mum it's Darth Vader!

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? He's right next to you! It's like they've never seen the play.

OMG it's a train! Like a real train!

Though shall not ask.

Or pass.

My hair's bad in this one

How'd I get up here?

I'm full of words. You don't want to eat me.

If food be the food of food, eat on!

Oh hi there

I'm safe here... right? Don't want me dying for a second time!

His colour choice is amazing.

Do you think he's seen me? Hope not

RUN! (Look at that blur... so much speed!)

They'll never find me here.

Or here.

Definitely won't expect me here!

I settled in to my hotel room and got it ready for my new girl.

The course of true love never did run smooth. Especially not in Legoland.
Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.

As we know, next month will see Thorpe Park give a slight retheme to their 115ft drop tower, Detonator. A general shift in target market has to led to the perhaps knee-jerk reaction to bring in a family-themed area, and the easiest way to go about that would be an IP. So we have 'Angry Birds Land', and Detonator will become 'Detonator: Bombs Away'. Who knows what this slight retheme will bring? Well, we will find out in little under a month's time anyway.
With most eyes focused on the future, I've decided to turn my head and look back on the past. Detonator opened 13 years ago and is a staple thrill ride within the heart of the park. The ride and its overall experience have remained pretty much constant, so the ride's history seems far from exciting. However, the circumstances in which the ride even came to the park and the behind the scenes stories are far more interesting...
The story starts on a Friday afternoon, in July 2000. A smoker discarded their cigarette into some bushes, which quickly started a fire; 'The Thorpe Park Fire'. Slight damage was done to Mr Rabbit's Tropical Travels. However, substantial damage was done to the nearby Wicked Witch Haunt ride.
Wicked Witch Haunt was so severely damaged it could not be saved; the building was completely destroyed. Of course, the ride needed replacing. At this time, there were very few major rides at Thorpe, and the multi-million pound, record-breaking Colossus was in its planning stages. So the ride had to be cheap and not steal the limelight from that. Also, Thorpe were still very much a family-park, with a big focus on family rides. So the ride had to appeal to a large audience.
The park's first choice was, however, not Detonator. Instead, it was this:

Photo from Wikipedia
It was a standard Vekoma SLC! The photo shows Traumatizer at Pleasureland Southport, and was later moved to Blackpool Pleasure Beach and named Infusion. The ride is a family roller coaster, very simple, nothing too special or exciting. Plus, it was quick and easy to construct. At the time, it would have fit the park perfectly. The plans were very quickly rushed together and submitted to the council (in fact, Traumatizer was used to judge noise levels for this new coaster). And, from what I can gather, they were approved. Unfortunately, the plans themselves are not online at all, so the exact look, location of the ride is unknown to me! But why was no such coaster built?
Well, very simply put, it came down to troubles with the energy supply! The plan was to get the ride opened for summer 2001. However, associated costs with the ride and power supply for the ride (whatever that means) meant it wouldn't open by then. So the plans were shelved.
At this point, we're in October 2000. The 2001 season would start in March; a mere 5 months away. So Thorpe's management decided to go for a drop tower. Due to the naturally thin structure, it would have little 'visual pollution', it was quick to construct and, though quite thrilling, did temporarily fill in a missing part of the park's line up at the time. Note - temporarily. The original plan was the have the ride operating for 1 season, then replace it with what another coaster. This is why Detonator 'broke through' Thorpe's height ceiling of 100ft - it was only meant to be around for a year and it was under special circumstances!
Everything was all approved and everything was all good. Detonator opened at the start of the 2001 season, along with Zodiac and Vortex (funnily enough, Vortex opened rather late and the park were investigated by Watchdog for misrepresentation. Oops). Colossus was under construction and was hoped to put Thorpe Park 'on the map'. Behind the scenes, plans for a new roller coaster, namely Nemesis Inferno, were well underway.
However, something unexpected happened. Detonator was popular. Really popular. In fact, it averaged "over 9 out of 10" on customer reviews. No park can afford to get rid of a ride that is THAT popular. It had to stay. So the utmost was done to ensure allowed for the ride to stay. Fortunately, the layout allowed for this to be the case.
There was still one more problem though. The ride only had temporary planning approval. By the end of 2001, they would have to take it down. So an extension to this application was sought after. It was by no means a guarantee approval would be given, due to the fact the ride was tallest on park. But, fortunately, the ride was approved for another, temporary, 5 years.
Why only 5 years? Well, Detonator was not in Thorpe's long term plans and it's a fairground ride. Could 6 years of constant operation be too much it? Would it maintain popularity for 5 more years? Would it fit in with the park then? The park weren't too sure.
Of course, the ride stayed, and the park applied for permanent approval of the ride, which was granted. In fact, the MTDP at the time even indicated a second drop tower joining Detonator, but alas, it never happened.
Detonator is, in terms of G-forces, the most intense ride on park. It's regarded as one of the better drop towers in the world and works so well within Thorpe Park. Yet the ride only arrived due to a series of accidents and misfortunes that the park had to get over. Had those accidents never happened, the park could well be very different and - in my opinion - worse off. Would we ever had gotten Inferno if a Vekoma SLC was put in place? Would said SLC still be here today? Would Thorpe be as popular as it is now? Who knows! All I know is that, 13 years later, Detonator remains a favourite to all. How nice, ey?
May Detonator stand tall for many more years, regardless of theme...

"Detonation...complete"
Disclaimer: I cannot guarantee 100% accuracy behind this information. A lot of the information was deduced from past planning applications and, in some cases, such applications were not always complete. Should there be any information which you believe to be incorrect, please feel free to leave a comment and say so!

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble, the next trip report has come, which will make your blood bubble. But what tales will unfold as some of you grow stubble, well come on sit down before you get a nubble
Camera, Set, Action! For the TPM Crew: Pumpkin Man, Peaj, TNJonny, StevenVig, James & Co, Ryan, Mr. Fish, Han30, J.S217 & ScaryCoasterBoy

Plus this will be the last Official Meet before this gem gets taken into the movie land of the Angry Birds

The Queue Line's await and due to the horror of the popularity of the event it's something our devil's will need to get used to today

So to start off with they all spring into action by rushing to rush!

On standby for when the victims get off. The two newest Ministry of Joy's recruits Cornflakes & Mer, get ready to Marmalize anyone who dares cross them

But the biggest question remains Who is that pumpkin guy standing next to James & Co.

Styles in a bid to find out, uses the internet on his phone in search for the answer whilst Cornflakes remains in deep thought

Watch out it's the pumpkin guy again! Take cover Oh....actually forget what I said, It's only Han30 sporting her new clothing line.

As it's still quite early in the morning, StevenVig is too tired to work out this mystery, so has a snooze in Logger's Leap whilst he waits for the others

More members of the TPM Crew arrive led by a very eager Liam_T You'll also find EC!, Luke_A, Ricky & Marc

They seem to take so long to be released but Part 1 of 5 always seems to end so quickly. However, who is the identity of Pumpkin Man? Who is Liam_T Scared of? Who will be greeting you back for Part 2? I must get going as my cauldron is boiling and the last thing we need is my potions mucking up the adventure!
Scooby Scooby Doo, Where Are You? We've have a mask to uncover. Scooby Dooby-Doo Where are you? Who is under the pumpkin? So now after the lovely little intro let's get on with Part 2 of 5 of the Bloody Valentine Trip Report.
Cornflakes welcomes you back to this part in the hope you will join him in the Ministry of Joy

Next on our journey, TNJonny, J.S217 & James & Co are getting ready to be spun on the Metallic Monster of Zodiac

Just look at that Metallic Monster spin! (Mind even after all this time I still miss the old colour scheme )

With all the defying gravity spinning the pumpkin mask is blown off to reveal TopsyTurvy15 Peaj begins to cry over the news.

ScaryCoasterBoy cannot believe it was the joint sexiest male of 2013 under the pumpkin mask.

Now that everyone knows who is who - It's off to Vortex & Ryan, StevenVig & TopsyTurvy15 wait patiently for it to begin

However afterwards they all go to Rocky Express & TopsyTurvy15 is not impressed

Suddenly from nowhere whilst Rocky was in Motion a flesh peeling monster named DaddysLittlePrincess appeared

Liam_T was horrified of the monster that appeared, but couldn't run away as Rocky has trapped him

TNJonny, James & Co, TopsyTurvy15, Matt Creek, Cornflakes, Peaj, ScaryCoasterBoy, J.S217 & StevenVig then run to the safety of the SAW Queueline

There we have it another chapter is complete. But why will Mer threaten to kill someone? What is StevenVig trying to smuggle? Where do ghouls go in their spare time when they are taking time off from scaring people? All these will be revealed on the release of Part 3. However right now I managed to download this app called Cartoon HD and it has given me loads of free series & movies and one of the series I've just realised that is on this app is Scooby Doo, so ummmm Laterz
By the end of this part of the journey you would of seen 'Vun, Too, Free' legs of the Bloody Valentine Adventure as the Sesame Street Count would say. But we are not of Sesame Street Nooooo We are part of TPM so let's get back to what they are doing.
The crew have ventured onto Loggers Leap & TNJonny leads the way, hoping no one has seen any blood stains

Han30 is still sporting her new fashion line with Mr. Fish close behind. Marc is still on the phone trying to work out pumpkin man Has no one told him yet!

Another boat of the Maniacs comes down the chute They just keep on coming and coming.

Suddenly the water sprayers turned on (at no cost) and so those off the ride could not resist giving the others a good soaking

Mer then threatens to kill the culprits

It was then time for lunch and so Ghouly Peaj takes a timeout from scaring and tries to blend into the crowd

After being fed, all the Maniacs started getting ready for the Bloody Valentine Tour. On the way though who couldn't resist getting a snap of Inferno

We then waited and waited some more for the tour to start & Cornflakes, Mer, J.S217 & ScaryCoasterBoy wonder what the heck is happening

Whilst the crew were working things out, StevenVig found it the most opportune time to secretly eat some Milkybar Buttons

This menacing bunch would like to eat you in this panoramic shot starring: TNJonny, James & Co, Topsyturvy15, Matt Creek, Cornflakes & Peaj

Then on.....oh wait we have gone past our appointment for today. I will just have to continue this after the weekend. But who are the better ghouls, the ones from TPM or the wandering actors? Who ends up getting an ASBO put on them? Do monsters need a bit of love and care once in a while? The answer to these riddles will be solved after I've got back from Euro Disney! Yes I said those filthy words - Shoot Me
I was working on the web late one night, when my mouse clicked on an eerie sight, For TPM from their slab began to rise, and suddenly to my surprise - They did the mash, Was a TPM Mash, TPM Mash, It was a Blair Witch Smash, They did the Mash, It caught Asylum's flash, They did the mash, Was a TPM Mash..... . Hope you enjoyed that sing-a-long. Now however Part 4 which is the penultimate episode of the Bloody Valentine trip report continues.
Peaj dares anyone continuing onto part 4 to cross his path onto Detonator

Marc is too scared with the dare and hopes Peaj will go away by closing his eyes. However Liam_T is not impressed

Whilst Styles determines if he will live or die - James & Co shows that he can be scarier than the actors

As seriously a cat with a plastic machete just leaves me shaking No seriously.......

However none of them are a match for Ryan, who easily wins the best scarer Poor Fishy his time is near....

All of a sudden StevenVig & J.S217 were plunged into darkness and a mysterious blue light took hold of them

The light teleported them to extra terrestrial race of X where the found other members captured within the ship headquarters

After being experimented on a sliding slope appeared which directed them to freedom.

Ryan who got traumatized over the experience, acts out and soon received an ASBO by not using the given slope

Now escaping to freedom, the ghouls from TPM give each other a reassuring hug to come to terms of what they endured

This chapter must now sadly come to an end as the TPM Mash is played back once again on the radio. But what happens in the finale now all the lights have gone out? Why are TPM members attached to the derriere of TopsyTurvy15 ? Is it that time to release the official group photo for the Bloody Valentine Meet? Come back soon otherwise I'll be coming to get you...
For our conclusion of the Bloody Valentine Meet (Part 5 you know ) Darkness falls across the land, The Midnight hour is close at hand, TPM go search for blood, To terrorize Amusement Park....
And Liam_T has now been found

Cornflakes soul is hard getting down

Whilst Ryan stands and face the hounds of hell and rot's inside a corpse's shell

Liam_T & Mer has found the foulest stench within the air

StevenVig's funk of forty thousand years

And these three ghouls from every tomb

Are closing in TNJonny to seal your doom

And though the maniacs fight to brave it alone, their bodies start to shiver

As no mere mortal can resist Topsyturvy15's human centipede

The evil that is The Official TPM Group Photo Thriller.....

May I take this opportunity to Thank Vincent Price for providing the commentary for the conclusion Part 5 of 5 for the Bloody Valentine meet. Also a big Thank you to all those attended as at the end of the day you are what make the meets happen and also a huge thanks to THORPE PARK for giving us this amazing opportunity of the back stage tour of the Bloody Valentine maze. For me I must admit as the park is extremely busy on Fright Night days, it seemed quite hard to keep everyone together and happy on this meet due to the limited rides we could do together so If anyone has any suggestions of how it could be carried out for next Fright night will be much appreciated . But even so Fantastic meet and so glad that everyone has been having a great time over year and may it long continue!

In 2012, I was assigned to write a feature for Colossus's tenth birthday. The article itself was my best work if I don't say so myself. It was my intention that I would be able to do a similar piece when it came to 2003's blisteringly hot but underwhelmingly* tepid Nemesis Inferno in 2013. But this did not happen. No matter what I wrote, constructed or thought about, inspiration abandoned me and I just couldn't put together a piece that would do Inferno justice. And the problem comes down to one sticking point;
There is just nothing special about Nemesis Inferno.

Nemesis Inferno, distinctly middle of the road.
But worry not fellow Thorpe fanboys and coaster nerds for the story doesn't end there. It is for that reason that for me, Nemesis Inferno is one of Thorpe's very best roller coasters and one that I get the most pleasure out of riding during a visit. Let me tell you a tale about a ride that was hyped to the max, but could never reach those lofty heights.
Back in 2002, Colossus had done unexpected things for Thorpe, it's visitor numbers rising and rising and the construction of a brand new Inverter would have been a spectacular thing indeed for English enthusiasts. Remember, we are talking about a time when Nemesis most definitely ruled the roost in the UK and unless you were up for travelling to America, Italy or Spain, chances are it was your only shot. The hype surrounding Inferno was definitely something different, particularly when it was associated with the Nemesis name. I can remember at the time, discussion on Inferno's finale helixes being discussed as potentially as intense as Nemesis's helix after its first inversion. Talk about building the hype.

Of course, come April 2003, Inferno opens and it isn't quite as good as it's predecessor. My favourite description at the time was a ride on Inferno's front row was not as intense as a ride on the Happy Halibuts of Octopus Garden. Talk about damning a product.
At the time, with only Colossus complimenting Inferno, it came under harsher criticism then it probably deserved. With only two major roller coasters** to keep customers happy, Inferno came under the limelight in a way that many rides do not. After all, inverters had really boomed in the 90's with the Batman clones being installed all across America and rides that dominated their respected parks like Katun, Montu and Alpengeist. By 2003, with new types of rides starting to dominate such as sky hogging mega coasters and Intamin's brand new launch technology breaking record after record it's easy to see why Inferno was not enough and why Inferno could actually be seen as a bit, old hat.

This is all hindsight of course. With the addition of Stealth, Saw: The Ride and The Swarm, things have increasingly changed at Thorpe and of course, so has Nemesis Inferno. As higher, faster and more attention grabbing rides have been added, Inferno has become more of a support roller coaster. When everything else goes to hell in a hand basket, Inferno is the old reliable. Always the ride with minimal queues, always the ride that eats through queues like it's going out of fashion and always the ride that delivers a smooth, intense experience. Never really pushing its customers too far but always delivering its promise of an enjoyable and satisfying ride. I know there are those that will disagree. A B&M inverter should be the absolute pinnacle of intensity, nothing should be considered more when riding this ride type. If that is the promise then Inferno doesn't deliver. Luckily, just up the M1 and left a bit is another roller coaster that does fulfil the necessary criteria.

At Thorpe however is a ride built on the tail end of a coaster boom, one that is loved by a small but vocal minority. And for me personally, it holds some very special memories. It was my very first B&M and by default my first B&M inverter, it was the first ride that I really followed construction of and I know full well that it is my most ridden ride thanks to many Single rider sessions in 2004.
More then most then, I can say that Inferno is an average ride at best. But even average is better then the majority of roller coasters out there. And that's good enough for me.
Thanks for reading, Mark9

*I made up a word just for this review. Now that is dedication for you
**I know people will say X:/ No Way Out was a major roller coaster. it just isn't OKAY!

Once upon a time a couple of months ago, TPM ventured to the outer whelms of the Northern Hemisphere to an alien species where people's speak a different accent in a land named Alton Towers. There was much excitement and amazement that these Maniacs were for the first time ever having an official overnight stay. So what adventures and situations will we see unfold in the upcoming 5 part adventure? It's 10th episode you know
On Arrival TPM came across this huge mansion - where it was decided they will spend the night

To celebrate Peaj gets the 'soft' drinks out for Mer & TopsyTurvy15 to get the weekend going

Suddenly celebrations stopped when DaddysLittlePrincess, James & Co, Mer & TopsyTurvy15 are held hostage by a zombie

This zombie put TPM all at gun point until they were all strapped into a Ripsaw

Han30 & Myk brace their heads for cover as the terrifying water comes to soak all of TPM

They somehow manage to escape and Mr. Fish, Han30 & James & Co. decide to ride into the Sky to look for safer turf

Luke_A, Peaj, Styles & Hacksaw are extremely glad they can start to relax after that morning ordeal

Suddenly the group came across a magic mushroom so they decided to ride it

TopsyTurvy15, Styles, Peaj & Alpengeist then get high on the magic of the spinning mushroom

As our group was so large - a big achievement for going to a land far far away - the 2nd half of the group had their turn

Everything seems like at the moment it will all end on a 'happy ever after' note. But No that would be too simple. In the next chapter you will see that one member in particular needs to be marmalised but who? Who gets upset for eating in the cold? Is there another member trying to set up an evil plan and strip IanNem of his evil persuasive powers? Well if you come back tomorrow this fairy tale adventure will continue.
You want a Part 2 I hear you say, well as a genie once told me - Your wish is my command ? We last left you with the maniacs getting high on Spinning Mushrooms. But after getting so high will the moods go over the moon or will they drop to the inner earths crust?
EC! Welcomes you back and after the spinning mushroom he's just smouldering

But then so would you if you knew your next adventure will be on THE SMILER. Fantastic photo Stretchy took I have to say

J.S217 Looks like he needs to be Marmalized We can't have these advocates standing in the queue with that type of face

Luke_A was very pleased with The Smiler - It is Gerstlauer after all Liam_T is also quite smug about it as well at his First TPM Meet

After being marmalized. There was only one thing that could be done next - Eating some lovely greasy chicken

Due to space Mr. Fish, EC!, Alpengeist (who is not afraid to show his displeasure being shoved outside), Stretchy & Han30 have a chit chat in the cold.

Bloody Nora - Look who's showed up! Smidget, Iannem & Marc come and join the party

Before we go any further into this fairytale - just one more look at this gorgeous tangled mess

As the waterpark was on the horizon the group split into 2. J.S217 leads the way by going into the woods, he just better not go alone....

As Myk seems to be plotting something by phoning ahead to his fellow demons in the Dark Forest to capture whoever goes there

At this point the story must drive and brake hard on this cliffhanger of an ending. It's just unbearable to have to wait for Part 3 to see what Myk has plotted. But to add even more things into the mix. For those who stayed in Park, what did they have to go through to try and survive Myk's schemes? What is the leaning tower of Burger? Who will be stripping off for the pleasure of some of the readers on the board? Yes I hear you want to know now, but you'll just have to wait until next time....Now where did I put that Babybel!
Your back already to see Part 3 of the 5 Part northern fairytale! You must be mad thinking I will just give you another dose of your trip fix. Lucky for you I'm in a good mood and will continue this story for you now.
Plus Alpengeist is really happy to have you back here, it's brought him to tears Then again he may still be upset about being shoved outside

Alpengeist soon cheers up though when he arrives at the warm Caribbean with TopsyTurvy15 & Styles

Whilst the lads enjoy the Waterpark, Smidget who forgot her swim gear, looks longingly out the window, wishing to be swimming with those gorgeous hunks

Meanwhile back at the Towers, Myk tries to hide himself whilst he captures the group in the woods. Hacksaw, Mr. Fish, Han30 & EC! are scared

Back in the tropical Caribbean, Topsyturvy15, Styles, Liam_T, Peaj, DaddysLittlePrincess, James & Co & Alpengeist show their hunkiness to the world

Enough of that already and get some clothes on I tell ya! However Styles & Alpengeist have a bit TOO much fun with the Blow Dryers

Back in the Towers, the group decide to try and defeat Myk, however Stretchy turned on Han30 & Han30 turned on Mr. Fish allowing Myk to escape!

Back at the Caribbean, everyone got their umbrellas out as it started to rain quite heavily , before making their way to dinner

The Rain brought them to eat at the Titanic (Pub ) and I commend these Northern Creatures for creating the tastiest lovely towering Burgers

Time to finish off this Part with a nice small group photo of minions enjoying food

I will have to stop you there! If I continue there will be nothing else to put into the last 2 parts of this Northern journey. But I will reveal 3 clues of what to expect. What antics will happen at the hotel on the first official overnight stay? What will the Maniacs see when the lights go on? Who is trying to take on MattyMoo's title of holding the most bags? You'll just have to find out when Part 4 is released on a forum board near you
So we last left you with a happy well fed group after a thrilling 1st day of going to that foreign country of Northern people However we still have a sleepover and ANOTHER day of antics to get through. My head is spinning with all this excitement. So what will have in this penultimate part 4 of 5!
Darkadder312 is asleep and this muppet welcomes you back by having some mischievous fun

Topsyturvy15 & Peaj fight to the death, for their right to the bed (Peaj eventually wins)

However DaddysLittlePrincess & Mer are unsure of what to make of the events that were unfolding that night

The next morning the maniacs woke up by dropping into Oblivion

Peaj & Styles found it the best way to wake up in the morning

After the Maniacs were alert, Hex took a scary turn and decided to also wake up allowing us to see the Towers with the lights on

But then this could be just a figment of the imagination as Alpengeist couldn't resist another fix of that magical spinning mushroom.

Even Mer needed her daily fix. Who needs marmalisation when you have a spinning magical mushroom

Unfortunately Stretchy couldn't get his fix and was dumped with all the bags - Where's MattyMoo when you need him?

All these mushrooms started affecting part of the group's eyesight who then needed glasses However they complained things popped out at them

But their is still a chance that this fairytale could have a happy tired ending but you won't find out today. No you won't . You'll find that out at some point in time. You will also find out some answers to these questions. What happens when you send some Maniacs to battle? Who is Styles new friend? What is the Official Group Photo for this Fairytale? Toodle Pip Y'all....
Now the time is near, the time has come, the final curtain ......well for this fairytale adventure it is anyway. Admit it, some of you were singing that first bit in your head before you moved on with this paragraph. In true traditional fairytale style towards the end their will be the action packed finale where it looks like our heroes may not live happily ever after. We have already had 1 day covered but all good things must come to an end as Part 5 concludes.
Stretchy welcomes you back but is worried that the end is nigh due to the oncoming battle...

The battle of the galleons where 6 Brave Maniacs go to war on the mighty pirate boats

Just look at the rage and concentration coming from Styles, Alpengeist & Peaj

TopsyTurvy15, DaddysLittlePrincess, James & Co, Alpengeist, Peaj & Styles eventually make a truce after getting soaked

Before turning on Mer to ensure she got her own personal moisturiser

As things started to settle, Nemesis struck and caused chaos to the surrounding area

However Styles made a friend with one of the army commando's who protect the public from the Nemesis

Who helped Mer, Styles, TopsyTurvy15 & Peaj to freedom and lived happily ever after. The others did not survive

After all that excitement and fighting for survival, TopsyTurvy15 passed out with exhaustion on the way home

Finally here it is, the one and only Official Group Photo :friends:for this trip

Thank you for all those who attended and from what I can tell from people's responses since is one of the best meets that we have had this year. These meets would not be possible if it wasn't for all those who attend to make it as magical as it can get sometimes. The thing I loved about this trip was even though it was much further away than what we were used to the number who attended was still large which and this trip confirmed that longer distant trips will work in the future, so time for some experimentation in 2014. Now this is done it's time soon to head to the spooky happenings of the Fright Night Meet.

Once upon a time a couple of months ago, TPM ventured to the outer whelms of the Northern Hemisphere to an alien species where people's speak a different accent in a land named Alton Towers. There was much excitement and amazement that these Maniacs were for the first time ever having an official overnight stay. So what adventures and situations will we see unfold in the upcoming 5 part adventure? It's 10th episode you know
On Arrival TPM came across this huge mansion - where it was decided they will spend the night

To celebrate Peaj gets the 'soft' drinks out for Mer & TopsyTurvy15 to get the weekend going

Suddenly celebrations stopped when DaddysLittlePrincess, James & Co, Mer & TopsyTurvy15 are held hostage by a zombie

This zombie put TPM all at gun point until they were all strapped into a Ripsaw

Han30 & Myk brace their heads for cover as the terrifying water comes to soak all of TPM

They somehow manage to escape and Mr. Fish, Han30 & James & Co. decide to ride into the Sky to look for safer turf

Luke_A, Peaj, Styles & Hacksaw are extremely glad they can start to relax after that morning ordeal

Suddenly the group came across a magic mushroom so they decided to ride it

TopsyTurvy15, Styles, Peaj & Alpengeist then get high on the magic of the spinning mushroom

As our group was so large - a big achievement for going to a land far far away - the 2nd half of the group had their turn

Everything seems like at the moment it will all end on a 'happy ever after' note. But No that would be too simple. In the next chapter you will see that one member in particular needs to be marmalised but who? Who gets upset for eating in the cold? Is there another member trying to set up an evil plan and strip IanNem of his evil persuasive powers? Well if you come back tomorrow this fairy tale adventure will continue.
You want a Part 2 I hear you say, well as a genie once told me - Your wish is my command ? We last left you with the maniacs getting high on Spinning Mushrooms. But after getting so high will the moods go over the moon or will they drop to the inner earths crust?
EC! Welcomes you back and after the spinning mushroom he's just smouldering

But then so would you if you knew your next adventure will be on THE SMILER. Fantastic photo Stretchy took I have to say

J.S217 Looks like he needs to be Marmalized We can't have these advocates standing in the queue with that type of face

Luke_A was very pleased with The Smiler - It is Gerstlauer after all Liam_T is also quite smug about it as well at his First TPM Meet

After being marmalized. There was only one thing that could be done next - Eating some lovely greasy chicken

Due to space Mr. Fish, EC!, Alpengeist (who is not afraid to show his displeasure being shoved outside), Stretchy & Han30 have a chit chat in the cold.

Bloody Nora - Look who's showed up! Smidget, Iannem & Marc come and join the party

Before we go any further into this fairytale - just one more look at this gorgeous tangled mess

As the waterpark was on the horizon the group split into 2. J.S217 leads the way by going into the woods, he just better not go alone....

As Myk seems to be plotting something by phoning ahead to his fellow demons in the Dark Forest to capture whoever goes there

At this point the story must drive and brake hard on this cliffhanger of an ending. It's just unbearable to have to wait for Part 3 to see what Myk has plotted. But to add even more things into the mix. For those who stayed in Park, what did they have to go through to try and survive Myk's schemes? What is the leaning tower of Burger? Who will be stripping off for the pleasure of some of the readers on the board? Yes I hear you want to know now, but you'll just have to wait until next time....Now where did I put that Babybel!
Your back already to see Part 3 of the 5 Part northern fairytale! You must be mad thinking I will just give you another dose of your trip fix. Lucky for you I'm in a good mood and will continue this story for you now.
Plus Alpengeist is really happy to have you back here, it's brought him to tears Then again he may still be upset about being shoved outside

Alpengeist soon cheers up though when he arrives at the warm Caribbean with TopsyTurvy15 & Styles

Whilst the lads enjoy the Waterpark, Smidget who forgot her swim gear, looks longingly out the window, wishing to be swimming with those gorgeous hunks

Meanwhile back at the Towers, Myk tries to hide himself whilst he captures the group in the woods. Hacksaw, Mr. Fish, Han30 & EC! are scared

Back in the tropical Caribbean, Topsyturvy15, Styles, Liam_T, Peaj, DaddysLittlePrincess, James & Co & Alpengeist show their hunkiness to the world

Enough of that already and get some clothes on I tell ya! However Styles & Alpengeist have a bit TOO much fun with the Blow Dryers

Back in the Towers, the group decide to try and defeat Myk, however Stretchy turned on Han30 & Han30 turned on Mr. Fish allowing Myk to escape!

Back at the Caribbean, everyone got their umbrellas out as it started to rain quite heavily , before making their way to dinner

The Rain brought them to eat at the Titanic (Pub ) and I commend these Northern Creatures for creating the tastiest lovely towering Burgers

Time to finish off this Part with a nice small group photo of minions enjoying food

I will have to stop you there! If I continue there will be nothing else to put into the last 2 parts of this Northern journey. But I will reveal 3 clues of what to expect. What antics will happen at the hotel on the first official overnight stay? What will the Maniacs see when the lights go on? Who is trying to take on MattyMoo's title of holding the most bags? You'll just have to find out when Part 4 is released on a forum board near you
So we last left you with a happy well fed group after a thrilling 1st day of going to that foreign country of Northern people However we still have a sleepover and ANOTHER day of antics to get through. My head is spinning with all this excitement. So what will have in this penultimate part 4 of 5!
Darkadder312 is asleep and this muppet welcomes you back by having some mischievous fun

Topsyturvy15 & Peaj fight to the death, for their right to the bed (Peaj eventually wins)

However DaddysLittlePrincess & Mer are unsure of what to make of the events that were unfolding that night

The next morning the maniacs woke up by dropping into Oblivion

Peaj & Styles found it the best way to wake up in the morning

After the Maniacs were alert, Hex took a scary turn and decided to also wake up allowing us to see the Towers with the lights on

But then this could be just a figment of the imagination as Alpengeist couldn't resist another fix of that magical spinning mushroom.

Even Mer needed her daily fix. Who needs marmalisation when you have a spinning magical mushroom

Unfortunately Stretchy couldn't get his fix and was dumped with all the bags - Where's MattyMoo when you need him?

All these mushrooms started affecting part of the group's eyesight who then needed glasses However they complained things popped out at them

But their is still a chance that this fairytale could have a happy tired ending but you won't find out today. No you won't . You'll find that out at some point in time. You will also find out some answers to these questions. What happens when you send some Maniacs to battle? Who is Styles new friend? What is the Official Group Photo for this Fairytale? Toodle Pip Y'all....
Now the time is near, the time has come, the final curtain ......well for this fairytale adventure it is anyway. Admit it, some of you were singing that first bit in your head before you moved on with this paragraph. In true traditional fairytale style towards the end their will be the action packed finale where it looks like our heroes may not live happily ever after. We have already had 1 day covered but all good things must come to an end as Part 5 concludes.
Stretchy welcomes you back but is worried that the end is nigh due to the oncoming battle...

The battle of the galleons where 6 Brave Maniacs go to war on the mighty pirate boats

Just look at the rage and concentration coming from Styles, Alpengeist & Peaj

TopsyTurvy15, DaddysLittlePrincess, James & Co, Alpengeist, Peaj & Styles eventually make a truce after getting soaked

Before turning on Mer to ensure she got her own personal moisturiser

As things started to settle, Nemesis struck and caused chaos to the surrounding area

However Styles made a friend with one of the army commando's who protect the public from the Nemesis

Who helped Mer, Styles, TopsyTurvy15 & Peaj to freedom and lived happily ever after. The others did not survive

After all that excitement and fighting for survival, TopsyTurvy15 passed out with exhaustion on the way home

Finally here it is, the one and only Official Group Photo :friends:for this trip

Thank you for all those who attended and from what I can tell from people's responses since is one of the best meets that we have had this year. These meets would not be possible if it wasn't for all those who attend to make it as magical as it can get sometimes. The thing I loved about this trip was even though it was much further away than what we were used to the number who attended was still large which and this trip confirmed that longer distant trips will work in the future, so time for some experimentation in 2014. Now this is done it's time soon to head to the spooky happenings of the Fright Night Meet.

Once upon a time a couple of months ago, TPM ventured to the outer whelms of the Northern Hemisphere to an alien species where people's speak a different accent in a land named Alton Towers. There was much excitement and amazement that these Maniacs were for the first time ever having an official overnight stay. So what adventures and situations will we see unfold in the upcoming 5 part adventure? It's 10th episode you know
On Arrival TPM came across this huge mansion - where it was decided they will spend the night

To celebrate Peaj gets the 'soft' drinks out for Mer & TopsyTurvy15 to get the weekend going

Suddenly celebrations stopped when DaddysLittlePrincess, James & Co, Mer & TopsyTurvy15 are held hostage by a zombie

This zombie put TPM all at gun point until they were all strapped into a Ripsaw

Han30 & Myk brace their heads for cover as the terrifying water comes to soak all of TPM

They somehow manage to escape and Mr. Fish, Han30 & James & Co. decide to ride into the Sky to look for safer turf

Luke_A, Peaj, Styles & Hacksaw are extremely glad they can start to relax after that morning ordeal

Suddenly the group came across a magic mushroom so they decided to ride it

TopsyTurvy15, Styles, Peaj & Alpengeist then get high on the magic of the spinning mushroom

As our group was so large - a big achievement for going to a land far far away - the 2nd half of the group had their turn

Everything seems like at the moment it will all end on a 'happy ever after' note. But No that would be too simple. In the next chapter you will see that one member in particular needs to be marmalised but who? Who gets upset for eating in the cold? Is there another member trying to set up an evil plan and strip IanNem of his evil persuasive powers? Well if you come back tomorrow this fairy tale adventure will continue.
You want a Part 2 I hear you say, well as a genie once told me - Your wish is my command ? We last left you with the maniacs getting high on Spinning Mushrooms. But after getting so high will the moods go over the moon or will they drop to the inner earths crust?
EC! Welcomes you back and after the spinning mushroom he's just smouldering

But then so would you if you knew your next adventure will be on THE SMILER. Fantastic photo Stretchy took I have to say

J.S217 Looks like he needs to be Marmalized We can't have these advocates standing in the queue with that type of face

Luke_A was very pleased with The Smiler - It is Gerstlauer after all Liam_T is also quite smug about it as well at his First TPM Meet

After being marmalized. There was only one thing that could be done next - Eating some lovely greasy chicken

Due to space Mr. Fish, EC!, Alpengeist (who is not afraid to show his displeasure being shoved outside), Stretchy & Han30 have a chit chat in the cold.

Bloody Nora - Look who's showed up! Smidget, Iannem & Marc come and join the party

Before we go any further into this fairytale - just one more look at this gorgeous tangled mess

As the waterpark was on the horizon the group split into 2. J.S217 leads the way by going into the woods, he just better not go alone....

As Myk seems to be plotting something by phoning ahead to his fellow demons in the Dark Forest to capture whoever goes there

At this point the story must drive and brake hard on this cliffhanger of an ending. It's just unbearable to have to wait for Part 3 to see what Myk has plotted. But to add even more things into the mix. For those who stayed in Park, what did they have to go through to try and survive Myk's schemes? What is the leaning tower of Burger? Who will be stripping off for the pleasure of some of the readers on the board? Yes I hear you want to know now, but you'll just have to wait until next time....Now where did I put that Babybel!
Your back already to see Part 3 of the 5 Part northern fairytale! You must be mad thinking I will just give you another dose of your trip fix. Lucky for you I'm in a good mood and will continue this story for you now.
Plus Alpengeist is really happy to have you back here, it's brought him to tears Then again he may still be upset about being shoved outside

Alpengeist soon cheers up though when he arrives at the warm Caribbean with TopsyTurvy15 & Styles

Whilst the lads enjoy the Waterpark, Smidget who forgot her swim gear, looks longingly out the window, wishing to be swimming with those gorgeous hunks

Meanwhile back at the Towers, Myk tries to hide himself whilst he captures the group in the woods. Hacksaw, Mr. Fish, Han30 & EC! are scared

Back in the tropical Caribbean, Topsyturvy15, Styles, Liam_T, Peaj, DaddysLittlePrincess, James & Co & Alpengeist show their hunkiness to the world

Enough of that already and get some clothes on I tell ya! However Styles & Alpengeist have a bit TOO much fun with the Blow Dryers

Back in the Towers, the group decide to try and defeat Myk, however Stretchy turned on Han30 & Han30 turned on Mr. Fish allowing Myk to escape!

Back at the Caribbean, everyone got their umbrellas out as it started to rain quite heavily , before making their way to dinner

The Rain brought them to eat at the Titanic (Pub ) and I commend these Northern Creatures for creating the tastiest lovely towering Burgers

Time to finish off this Part with a nice small group photo of minions enjoying food

I will have to stop you there! If I continue there will be nothing else to put into the last 2 parts of this Northern journey. But I will reveal 3 clues of what to expect. What antics will happen at the hotel on the first official overnight stay? What will the Maniacs see when the lights go on? Who is trying to take on MattyMoo's title of holding the most bags? You'll just have to find out when Part 4 is released on a forum board near you
So we last left you with a happy well fed group after a thrilling 1st day of going to that foreign country of Northern people However we still have a sleepover and ANOTHER day of antics to get through. My head is spinning with all this excitement. So what will have in this penultimate part 4 of 5!
Darkadder312 is asleep and this muppet welcomes you back by having some mischievous fun

Topsyturvy15 & Peaj fight to the death, for their right to the bed (Peaj eventually wins)

However DaddysLittlePrincess & Mer are unsure of what to make of the events that were unfolding that night

The next morning the maniacs woke up by dropping into Oblivion

Peaj & Styles found it the best way to wake up in the morning

After the Maniacs were alert, Hex took a scary turn and decided to also wake up allowing us to see the Towers with the lights on

But then this could be just a figment of the imagination as Alpengeist couldn't resist another fix of that magical spinning mushroom.

Even Mer needed her daily fix. Who needs marmalisation when you have a spinning magical mushroom

Unfortunately Stretchy couldn't get his fix and was dumped with all the bags - Where's MattyMoo when you need him?

All these mushrooms started affecting part of the group's eyesight who then needed glasses However they complained things popped out at them

But their is still a chance that this fairytale could have a happy tired ending but you won't find out today. No you won't . You'll find that out at some point in time. You will also find out some answers to these questions. What happens when you send some Maniacs to battle? Who is Styles new friend? What is the Official Group Photo for this Fairytale? Toodle Pip Y'all....
Now the time is near, the time has come, the final curtain ......well for this fairytale adventure it is anyway. Admit it, some of you were singing that first bit in your head before you moved on with this paragraph. In true traditional fairytale style towards the end their will be the action packed finale where it looks like our heroes may not live happily ever after. We have already had 1 day covered but all good things must come to an end as Part 5 concludes.
Stretchy welcomes you back but is worried that the end is nigh due to the oncoming battle...

The battle of the galleons where 6 Brave Maniacs go to war on the mighty pirate boats

Just look at the rage and concentration coming from Styles, Alpengeist & Peaj

TopsyTurvy15, DaddysLittlePrincess, James & Co, Alpengeist, Peaj & Styles eventually make a truce after getting soaked

Before turning on Mer to ensure she got her own personal moisturiser

As things started to settle, Nemesis struck and caused chaos to the surrounding area

However Styles made a friend with one of the army commando's who protect the public from the Nemesis

Who helped Mer, Styles, TopsyTurvy15 & Peaj to freedom and lived happily ever after. The others did not survive

After all that excitement and fighting for survival, TopsyTurvy15 passed out with exhaustion on the way home

Finally here it is, the one and only Official Group Photo :friends:for this trip

Thank you for all those who attended and from what I can tell from people's responses since is one of the best meets that we have had this year. These meets would not be possible if it wasn't for all those who attend to make it as magical as it can get sometimes. The thing I loved about this trip was even though it was much further away than what we were used to the number who attended was still large which and this trip confirmed that longer distant trips will work in the future, so time for some experimentation in 2014. Now this is done it's time soon to head to the spooky happenings of the Fright Night Meet.

It's been a long time coming, but then you have been getting a lot of trips recently However FINALLY the Trip report Part 1 of 5 for the Nemesis Inferno ERT event has come to hit a web page near you! On our 7th Adventure of the year - I wonder what new stories will come about and old stories that make a slight return......
THORPE PARK know we hold events so they have so kindly made a sign for us for a meeting point

To Start this event off J.S217 would like to say Hi

We start off this story with some fun socialising in the Colossus queue line, Michelle laughs whilst Mer's neck curves

When we see Slammer is actually open - Naturally we go to ride it - EC! has a wonderful tongue you know

After Han30's ingenious invention at Legoland, she shows off her new range of colours she is bringing out.

Sarah, Michelle & Peaj seem happy to take the first drop on Loggers Leap

However Han30 is distraught her invention is starting to turn into a mini paraglider

The group containing J.S217 & KingNemesis make a huge splash - Big enough to make a wave come overboard

In the Saw queueline - Stretchy is deep in thought whilst EC! starts to enjoy the first bit of sun we have had this year.

Marc, Mr.Fish & Han30 scream in pain going through a blade to escape the deep thinkers, whilst Peaj smiles ecstatically

It's the end of Part 1 already! Damn, time does go quick after a good read huh But there's still so much more to tell you. So I'll tell you what - come back tomorrow for Part 2 and you'll wonder - Why is Mer disgruntled? Is there actually people terrified of the Flying Fish? And what is so special about chilli? Smell you laterz!
After finishing 4 hours worth of exams at work today - I can finally start my lunch at 16:45 and write you Part 2 of 5 of this wonderful, amazing, scrumptious and delightful trip report for the Nemesis Inferno Birthday ERT Event. So what will unfold in the next chapter?
Before we continue R1C4Y would like to say Hi

Mr. Fish, Peaj, J.S217 (wondering why R1C4Y is so happy ), Mer & KingNemesis get ready to Rush...

All the way to the Flying Fish (Like the way how I used a ride name to link the story ) to greet TobyNBZ & ScaryCoasterBoy

However as soon as the ride starts ScaryCoasterBoy gets upset as he gets scared of the flying fish forces

However he is not he only one when we also find out Mark9 & Pluk find the Flying Fish too much to handle

As the ride comes to a stop however, IanNem, Mer & J.S217 get really upset that the ride is coming to an end

You know what goes well with Fish? Chilli Sauce so Mark9 decides to eat a pot of it

J.S217 jumps at the opportunity to eat some chilli sauce raw

Mer - Like she was at the London trip - is not impressed!

Before the group get ready to dance - a nice mini group photo appears by Stealth

And there we have it, Part 2 of 5 is complete. But I hear you say 'The last photo says before they go dancing, are you confused with your trips? I thought the next trip was the ministry of sound?' And also Why are so many people becoming ill in part 3? And is Pluk starting another fight? You know what I'm gonna say? You guessed correctly - come back tomorrow to find out more. Now it's the end of the day time to go home for a nap
Get the drums rolling Part 3 of 5 is ready to roll out onto your screens We finished off part 2 with the TPM explorers getting ready to Rave even though it's still a few days to go before the Ministry of Sound....
But the refurbishment of X has opened up another clubbing spot, Michelle gets into the groove

In every club you will always find a young couple smooching over each over Like Smidget & IanNem foor example...

Likewise you will always find someone smelling of B.O. Poor ThrillseekerAlex is subjected to Han30's armpits

Generally the smelly one's are always the one's who get drunk licking the walls on the way home.

Phill Pritchard & DarkAdder312 are delighted the taxi has arrived whilst KingNemesis is looking after Han30.

After arriving back at THORPE PARK from the club, Mad Hatter Han30 is feeling the after effects from her rave

However Peaj, Pluk & Matt Creek still seem a bit dazed drinking all that Tetleys at the club

Having all that drink once again gets Pluk fired up and once again tries to start another fight in THE SWARM queueline.

However TP1214 & Darkadder312 did the sensible thing and flew away

Before we headed for the Nemesis Inferno celebrations, another not so mini group photo took place awwww

So wish I got into that last photo - I love it! However there are more important things in life. The next chapter in this story being one of them! But who steals the camera and takes cheeky shots whilst we are riding Inferno? Is there time for one last group ride before the ERT event starts? And why is their an emotional farewell that says goodbye to the majority of the group? You just have to come I tell you. YOU MUST COME BACK TOMORROW!!!!!!
So you did come back! You follow instructions well . Your reward you get to enjoy Part 4 of 5 of the Official Nemesis Inferno Celebration Trip Report.
We start off this part when we jump into the future when some of the hosts Nath & Megan steal my camera to say Hi

Coming back to the present, Han30 channels the spirit of Sidders and refuses to budge until the ERT starts.

So the rest of us went off to Rumba Rapids where ThrillSeekerAlex practices his modelling skills J.S217 is just there!

This half of the group seem to be calm & content with their Rumba experience

However Peaj is over excited knowing that the Nemesis Inferno Celebrations is about to begin

And so it begins - First Front Row consists of the excited ScaryCoasterBoy, ThrillSeekerAlex, DarkAdder312 & TobyNBZ

Thorpe Park Mania have filled up a whole train you know!

Getting some back row action you will find Michelle, Sarah, TP1214 & ThrillNation. With my old mate Nath jumping into view

Whilst riding our hosts played with my camera & took a sneaky shot of Dan & Francis who were great operators that night

After the ERT finished, the majority of the group walked away crying After being told they couldn't go up the lift hill.

So the penultimate part of this adventure concludes. But the last picture says the majority of the group - So who stayed Behind? Why should you never let enthusiasts left to their own devices by themselves in the Nemesis Inferno Station? Why has Mr. Fish turned into an Alien? All of these answers that you need to know for you to be able to move on comfortably with your life will be given to you at the latest on Monday. MONDAY! you say 'but a part is revealed every day.' Well my fellow chums - I'm off to a drinking marathon over the weekend and all the files for this report are saved at work. But you know what If your nice you MIGHT get it a bit earlier than I promised. But for your troubles of waiting I will reveal the OFFICIAL GROUP PHOTO at the end of the next chapter
Welcome back to the final part - 5 of 5 of the official Nemesis Inferno Birthday Celebrations Report. Congratulations you survived the weekend hanging on the verge of existence wondering what will happen. You can now take a breather as your about to see the conclusion.
The Secret Six - Peaj, Darkadder312, Matthew, J.S217, Han30 & Michelle got to stay in the station for the Lift Hill walk

With no one around, Han30, Michelle & J.S217 touch Nemesis Inferno in a way that no one should....

Michelle & Peaj then pose outside the railings - Just because they could

After the behind the scenes tour, some lucky TPM Adventurers got to also go up the lift hill. Lucky #@$!% getting everything

Whilst waiting to leave the park a game of Drink Capsule Jenga erupted to loads of interest

However R1C4Y was more interested in playing ping pong and losing the balls on top of the games machines

There is also a new claw machine game in the dome where you can win Mer as a prize

After the adventures, classic panoramic view of a meal at Frankie & Bennies & Mr. Fish starts morphing into an actual fish

J.S217 struggles to keep his drink down, with the shock of what is happening in front of him

Finally we are at the end of the adventure so that only means one thing. THE OFFICIAL GROUP PHOTO!!!!!

I would like to finish this off with a huge thumbs up for everyone sticking together. It was an extremely big group that stayed together for the entire day, so that's no mean feat! The crowds have been as good as always and a few people even mentioned on this trip (One's who can remember the meets of the old days) that the overall people on the meets have matured and everyone seems relaxed and is turning into one big happy family. To get it to that point we can only Thank You! As without you, things like this would not be happening. Once again, also a HUGE thanks to THORPE PARK for putting this together for us and in helping make these meets so special! So with all these last few meets being so close together, I now have the Ministry of Sound report to put together. I can already see your trembling with excitement.

So here is my first Post on my first ever blog. If you are here by mistake have a look around(when I actually have posts) otherwise you are free to leave.
A bit about me:
I live near Thorpe, and currently a standard merlin annual pass holder(soon to expire). I am 15 years of age, and love anything coaster related, to the records and heights to just the pure fun of riding them. I have many other hobbies which include, music, and theatre. I do a bit of dance, where most notable people met doing so are Louis Smith, Wayne sleep, and The groups Flawless, and Alleviate. I hope to talk more about coasters in my next post in the mean time, I hope you enjoy this post!

It's been a long time coming, but then you have been getting a lot of trips recently However FINALLY the Trip report Part 1 of 5 for the Nemesis Inferno ERT event has come to hit a web page near you! On our 7th Adventure of the year - I wonder what new stories will come about and old stories that make a slight return......
THORPE PARK know we hold events so they have so kindly made a sign for us for a meeting point

To Start this event off J.S217 would like to say Hi

We start off this story with some fun socialising in the Colossus queue line, Michelle laughs whilst Mer's neck curves

When we see Slammer is actually open - Naturally we go to ride it - EC! has a wonderful tongue you know

After Han30's ingenious invention at Legoland, she shows off her new range of colours she is bringing out.

Sarah, Michelle & Peaj seem happy to take the first drop on Loggers Leap

However Han30 is distraught her invention is starting to turn into a mini paraglider

The group containing J.S217 & KingNemesis make a huge splash - Big enough to make a wave come overboard

In the Saw queueline - Stretchy is deep in thought whilst EC! starts to enjoy the first bit of sun we have had this year.

Marc, Mr.Fish & Han30 scream in pain going through a blade to escape the deep thinkers, whilst Peaj smiles ecstatically

It's the end of Part 1 already! Damn, time does go quick after a good read huh But there's still so much more to tell you. So I'll tell you what - come back tomorrow for Part 2 and you'll wonder - Why is Mer disgruntled? Is there actually people terrified of the Flying Fish? And what is so special about chilli? Smell you laterz!
After finishing 4 hours worth of exams at work today - I can finally start my lunch at 16:45 and write you Part 2 of 5 of this wonderful, amazing, scrumptious and delightful trip report for the Nemesis Inferno Birthday ERT Event. So what will unfold in the next chapter?
Before we continue R1C4Y would like to say Hi

Mr. Fish, Peaj, J.S217 (wondering why R1C4Y is so happy ), Mer & KingNemesis get ready to Rush...

All the way to the Flying Fish (Like the way how I used a ride name to link the story ) to greet TobyNBZ & ScaryCoasterBoy

However as soon as the ride starts ScaryCoasterBoy gets upset as he gets scared of the flying fish forces

However he is not he only one when we also find out Mark9 & Pluk find the Flying Fish too much to handle

As the ride comes to a stop however, IanNem, Mer & J.S217 get really upset that the ride is coming to an end

You know what goes well with Fish? Chilli Sauce so Mark9 decides to eat a pot of it

J.S217 jumps at the opportunity to eat some chilli sauce raw

Mer - Like she was at the London trip - is not impressed!

Before the group get ready to dance - a nice mini group photo appears by Stealth

And there we have it, Part 2 of 5 is complete. But I hear you say 'The last photo says before they go dancing, are you confused with your trips? I thought the next trip was the ministry of sound?' And also Why are so many people becoming ill in part 3? And is Pluk starting another fight? You know what I'm gonna say? You guessed correctly - come back tomorrow to find out more. Now it's the end of the day time to go home for a nap
Get the drums rolling Part 3 of 5 is ready to roll out onto your screens We finished off part 2 with the TPM explorers getting ready to Rave even though it's still a few days to go before the Ministry of Sound....
But the refurbishment of X has opened up another clubbing spot, Michelle gets into the groove

In every club you will always find a young couple smooching over each over Like Smidget & IanNem foor example...

Likewise you will always find someone smelling of B.O. Poor ThrillseekerAlex is subjected to Han30's armpits

Generally the smelly one's are always the one's who get drunk licking the walls on the way home.

Phill Pritchard & DarkAdder312 are delighted the taxi has arrived whilst KingNemesis is looking after Han30.

After arriving back at THORPE PARK from the club, Mad Hatter Han30 is feeling the after effects from her rave

However Peaj, Pluk & Matt Creek still seem a bit dazed drinking all that Tetleys at the club

Having all that drink once again gets Pluk fired up and once again tries to start another fight in THE SWARM queueline.

However TP1214 & Darkadder312 did the sensible thing and flew away

Before we headed for the Nemesis Inferno celebrations, another not so mini group photo took place awwww

So wish I got into that last photo - I love it! However there are more important things in life. The next chapter in this story being one of them! But who steals the camera and takes cheeky shots whilst we are riding Inferno? Is there time for one last group ride before the ERT event starts? And why is their an emotional farewell that says goodbye to the majority of the group? You just have to come I tell you. YOU MUST COME BACK TOMORROW!!!!!!
So you did come back! You follow instructions well . Your reward you get to enjoy Part 4 of 5 of the Official Nemesis Inferno Celebration Trip Report.
We start off this part when we jump into the future when some of the hosts Nath & Megan steal my camera to say Hi

Coming back to the present, Han30 channels the spirit of Sidders and refuses to budge until the ERT starts.

So the rest of us went off to Rumba Rapids where ThrillSeekerAlex practices his modelling skills J.S217 is just there!

This half of the group seem to be calm & content with their Rumba experience

However Peaj is over excited knowing that the Nemesis Inferno Celebrations is about to begin

And so it begins - First Front Row consists of the excited ScaryCoasterBoy, ThrillSeekerAlex, DarkAdder312 & TobyNBZ

Thorpe Park Mania have filled up a whole train you know!

Getting some back row action you will find Michelle, Sarah, TP1214 & ThrillNation. With my old mate Nath jumping into view

Whilst riding our hosts played with my camera & took a sneaky shot of Dan & Francis who were great operators that night

After the ERT finished, the majority of the group walked away crying After being told they couldn't go up the lift hill.

So the penultimate part of this adventure concludes. But the last picture says the majority of the group - So who stayed Behind? Why should you never let enthusiasts left to their own devices by themselves in the Nemesis Inferno Station? Why has Mr. Fish turned into an Alien? All of these answers that you need to know for you to be able to move on comfortably with your life will be given to you at the latest on Monday. MONDAY! you say 'but a part is revealed every day.' Well my fellow chums - I'm off to a drinking marathon over the weekend and all the files for this report are saved at work. But you know what If your nice you MIGHT get it a bit earlier than I promised. But for your troubles of waiting I will reveal the OFFICIAL GROUP PHOTO at the end of the next chapter
Welcome back to the final part - 5 of 5 of the official Nemesis Inferno Birthday Celebrations Report. Congratulations you survived the weekend hanging on the verge of existence wondering what will happen. You can now take a breather as your about to see the conclusion.
The Secret Six - Peaj, Darkadder312, Matthew, J.S217, Han30 & Michelle got to stay in the station for the Lift Hill walk

With no one around, Han30, Michelle & J.S217 touch Nemesis Inferno in a way that no one should....

Michelle & Peaj then pose outside the railings - Just because they could

After the behind the scenes tour, some lucky TPM Adventurers got to also go up the lift hill. Lucky #@$!% getting everything

Whilst waiting to leave the park a game of Drink Capsule Jenga erupted to loads of interest

However R1C4Y was more interested in playing ping pong and losing the balls on top of the games machines

There is also a new claw machine game in the dome where you can win Mer as a prize

After the adventures, classic panoramic view of a meal at Frankie & Bennies & Mr. Fish starts morphing into an actual fish

J.S217 struggles to keep his drink down, with the shock of what is happening in front of him

Finally we are at the end of the adventure so that only means one thing. THE OFFICIAL GROUP PHOTO!!!!!

I would like to finish this off with a huge thumbs up for everyone sticking together. It was an extremely big group that stayed together for the entire day, so that's no mean feat! The crowds have been as good as always and a few people even mentioned on this trip (One's who can remember the meets of the old days) that the overall people on the meets have matured and everyone seems relaxed and is turning into one big happy family. To get it to that point we can only Thank You! As without you, things like this would not be happening. Once again, also a HUGE thanks to THORPE PARK for putting this together for us and in helping make these meets so special! So with all these last few meets being so close together, I now have the Ministry of Sound report to put together. I can already see your trembling with excitement.

First off, I understand that the Blogs feature was introduced with the intention of Trip Reports going here, but I'm still going to continue these sorts of blog entries here and in my other blog from time-to-time (if that's okay of course!)

Anyways, as most will know - or have worked out - I'm a university student, and I've just finished my first year (woo!). I decided just to do a quick entry just going through what it's been like, the ups and the downs and such, and just give a small insight into 'uni life'. Hopefully it'll be interesting to some, and may even help people who are thinking about going to uni / going to uni this year in some way. Either way, hope you enjoy!

So yeah, despite missing my offer effectively by two whole grades, I got accepted by my first choice - the University of Warwick, to do Maths. It's regularly ranked in the Top 10 universities in the country, and the Maths Department was this year ranked 23rd in the world. Personally, I don't like the idea of university rankings, as there's no fair way, in my eyes, to rank universities, as many surveys will focus on student satisfaction (and so students could just rate highly to improve post-university prospects), research successes (which has little to do with degrees) or results (and due to the wide range of courses and their difficulties at all the universities, that just seems silly). Nevertheless, it's nice to see 'my uni' ranking well..

The Maths department is also home to one of the country's more famous mathematicians - Ian Stewart. Not only has he had many successes with his research, he's also a popular science author, with a ridiculous number of books to his name (80 something I think), and has also worked with Terry Prachett on the 'Science of Discworld' books. Whilst he's now retired, he still hangs around the department a lot and gives the occasional talk, and he's always happy to have a little chat with people and sign a couple of his books (which I've taken advantage of). I guess you could say he's one of the 'John Wardleys' of popular Maths. I also found out my Personal Tutor before arriving at Warwick, and after a minute of research, I found his Wikipedia page(!) and it turned out he has had a few prizes for his research - found that a bit daunting to be honest!

Now, before arriving to uni, I didn't know what exactly to expect. I was moving 100 miles way from home, and whilst I knew 1 person on my course, I didn't really like them, so wanted to try my best to avoid them. So, I was in the usual uni position - moving a long way away from home, knowing no one, not really knowing how to cook, afraid of budgeting properly, as well as being not so confident and having a difficult course looming! I do think some people, especially in the media, forget just how much students have to deal with when moving to uni, and make it seem much simpler than it really is.

But, strangely, when I had moved in and everything, it all just seemed to work. Everyone was nervous, in the exact same position, and even if they were a confident person, being plunged into that sorta situation brings most people to jelly. One thing which scared me was the fact that I didn't drink, and feared that would hinder my chance to make friends with people / I'd be forced into drinking. That did not happen. A fair few people were similar to me, so it really was no biggie. So, seriously, anyone who's thinking about uni and doesn't fit the 'media-portrayed student' of loving to go out get smashed every night - don't worry, uni is not really like and that, and if you're not that sorta person, you will be fine!

Now, unlike most unis, Warwick doesn't have a traditional 'Fresher's Week' (ie the first week of first term has no lectures, and you can party and get to know people and stuff). Instead, we have lectures from the start, but have a 'Fresher's Fortnight', where there's loads of special events to help people adjust to uni life, but still have lectures and classes and whatever else. Seems nasty, but that's university!

So, for my first two terms, I had in the region of 20-24 hours of contact time a week (may not seem a lot to those outside of university, but trust me, it is a lot for university. For example, History students and Warwick have 8-10 hours!). I had 2-4 assignments due a week, which for the most part was just a series of questions. Usually, an assignment would take me 3-6 hours, depending on difficulty and length, and that's whilst working with others. Each assignment counted to each individual module, and each module counts to my overall grade for first year, which was 10% of my overall degree (despite first year for most degrees not counting). So, needless to say, it was essential to do them well! I'd also spend a few hours a week going over notes, writing them in neat, etc. So, some weeks, I could be working up to 55-60 hours a week; even then, I always felt like I 'could be doing more'.

I'd like to point out that's probably not the norm for your average student (in case anyone is getting a bit scared or put off!). Maths at university is EXTREMELY different to at GCSE and A-Level, and so at any uni requires a lot of contact time to explain and teach everything, and a lot of time outside of lectures to actually understand what you need to. Other subjects tend to have less contact hours (except science subjects, which have lab sessions, which can last several hours at once!), but a lot more reading material to be read in your own time (so whilst people doing History have 8 hours of lectures a week, they could spend 5-10 hours reading and making their own notes, for example). Then they'll have essays and such as well, so probably a rough estimate would be about 40 hours a week working, in theory.

The third and final term of the year at any uni is defined by one thing - exams. It's a shame that exams are the easiest way to grade somebody (which, after all, is one of the key points of uni - to get a graded degree), as it doesn't always reflect somebody's true potential; whatever level. At least at university, the lecturer will write the exam, rather than a group of old farts in some office, and so reflects what you have been taught directly, but still. So, I had a whole one hour contact time a week with my supervisor, where with 4 other people, we could ask questions on stuff we were stuck on. It wasn't particularly helpful, as there's so much stuff and so little time, and everyone struggles with different things. So, basically, I'd spend all day revising, and about 2-3 evenings a week, I'd relax and watch a film or something.

When I wasn't working, I'd normally just be relaxing with my flat mates. Normally we'd watch a film or a few episodes from a TV series a couple of nights of a week, play board games, etc., some people would go out a couple of times a week to the Students' Union (personally, I went out about two or three times in the first two terms, and not once in the last term), or pop down to the pub every now and then. It may not sound like much, but you can spend so many hours just doing stuff like this, before realising it's 2am and you probably should get some sleep 'cause of a dreaded 9am lecture!

When it came to things like shopping and cooking, I was fine with that. I was able to get my weekly shopping bill to about £20-£25, sometimes cheaper, but was still able to have a variety of food, which was healthy as well. More importantly, I pretty much stayed away from all ready meals, apart from an Iceland pizza once every couple weeks (which I'd highly recommend btw - only £1 and absolutely brill!). I was able to find time to cook decent, healthy meals every day, and quickly found myself to really enjoy cooking, and to be pretty decent at it. I did briefly turn into one of those people that takes photos of their food and shares it all over Facebook; I am no longer one of those people thankfully!

I guess one of the last things to talk about should be results. For those a bit unsure, the classification of results goes:
-First (at least 70%)
-2.I: two-one (60-69%)
-2.ii: two-two (50-59%)
-Third (40-49%)
-Fail (less than 40%).

I was disappointed to find out I'd gotten 56% for my first year, which after all the work I had put in, I felt wasn't a true reflection of my ability. However, I did find that this did include an exam I missed due to breaking my ankle, which for the time being has been scored a 0%. So, when I sit the exam in September, as long as I pass the exam, I'll just sneak in a 2.I (with my grade probably bumping up to 61-62%). Whilst I would have wanted higher, I was hoping for 68%+ honestly, it is something I will take. It was first year of uni, and some modules didn't play to my strengths, and so dragged me down quite a bit. Other years are worth more overall, and I have more choice in modules, so I can focus of my strengths - focus on the positives I guess.

Well, that ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated - sorry for the rambling, and congrats if you read that all! But yeah, hopefully that has given a bit of insight into the world of being a student. Just a couple of final points - what you tend to hear about university is it's the best time of your life, you'll look back fondly of it, etc., and the media focuses a lot of the partying side of it. However, what tends to be mentioned very little is how hard it can be away from the academic side. University is emotionally draining - you're away from home, and so much is piled on you so quickly at times. If you go to university, whatever you do, wherever you go, it's difficult to cope, and mild depression is more common than you may think. I hate to practically finish on such a down note, but I do remember Benin (I think) saying something similar when the topic of uni was being discussed on the forums before Sidders, Smidget and I started, and I admittedly thought it was an over-exaggeration. However, it's true - university is extremely tough in a personal sense, as well as an academic sense, and there's no way you can prepare for that in my eyes. It's something that's sometimes forgotten in the stress of it all, but I think it's safe to say that, at some point during a student's life at university, there'll be tough moments where you feel you can't deal with uni, for whatever reason, and you need to try and work your way up from what can feel like rock bottom. Though, I guess university is meant to help prepare you for life. And, well, that's life.
(Again, sorry about the length of this. Really did not expect to ramble on this long! :S )

Hello all, here is my picture story of what happened on the lovely day in London - It was a briliant day and here it is in pictures
Part 1 of 5
At the beginning of the day, the group has these wonderful glasses on ready for the London Eye Experience (Talk about first impressions)

As the experience with the seagulls has finished Mark9 looks like he has some serious doubts coming onto the London eye!

Dan9 thought it would be a good idea to scare Turtle.

Because of this Mer thought she would plot her own evil masterplan...

And some lovely chatting followed

After the chat Luke_A became thoughtful and reflected on what was said

Here is a random view from the top of the eye

After the eye we thought let's go Sealife. Naturally Tommy sprawled himself over the floor to look like he was floating

Here is a Jellyfish

And to finish Part 1 I thought I'd pop into a photo with everyone with some fishes in the background

Part 2 will most likely be up on my lunchbreak tomorrow
Hey all because of the great help received to me in getting the pictures up properly, I thought tonight I'd give you Part 2 of 5 of the London trip (and basically so I can catch up and be on track once more) You may remember we left the story with a few of us smiling in front of fishes - well the story continues....
Into the depths of SeaLife, Tommy (a bit nervous on the wheel) and Mark9 (with glee) found a motorcycle to help us through our journey

After the motorcycle lift we found a Blue light which hypnotized everyone with its spinning spiralling coins...

But not Luke_A...He escape the evil claws of the blue light and laughed at us in a trance

Good thing though Luke_A was on the board so we could warn us about the CROCODILE!!!!

However we escaped with our life as it was no match when faced with the Wall Of Ice.

Penguin!

After SeaLife we decided it was time to go to Madame Tussauds - however on the way to the tube New Years Eve happened all over again...

On the tube Mark9 has some crazy urges for the Spirit of London which leaves Mer scared

However no need to fear - Mark9 is only a Light Flyweight (however the scales were broken that day so who knows)

To finish Part 2, I thought it was fitting to show how much love Mer & Luke_A have for Boris Johnson!

Hope you enjoyed Part 2 & Part 3 will be released tomorrow to find out the next chapter of what happened on the TPM London Meet
It's the Wednesday after the meet - which means part 3 is here. We left part 2 showing the amount of love for Boris Johnson, let's continue our journey through Madame Tussauds...
Myself & Mer always have trouble deciding between good and evil, so spent a bit of time speculating

Meanwhile Tommy was playing a game showing off his reflexes - How triumphant he looks

However after all this, Myself & Mer finished speculating and kidnapped everyone into the taxi!

You may be surprised with the kidnap but it was all predicted in the stars

However detective Luke, was on our case and managed to save the day and got photographic evidence of the kidnap

Who just so happened to work for Nelson who oversaw the whole investigation

This resulted in the rest of TPMs freedom and they were left to enjoy the Spirit Of London

After the kidnap, the boys play with their toys, to recover and have lots of fun!

After he had finished the investigation, Luke_A did too

This left Mer extremely unimpressed

Join me tomorrow, when the adventure continues after Madame Tussauds and some more people come to play!
A bit delayed today I'm afraid as I've been sorting out Carpet Laying & Wall Building at work! However welcome to the penultimate post for the TPM London Meet. What will our TPM adventurers face today, especially as we last left it with a very disappointed Mer!
Why Nando's of course! And this being the first photo where the entire group (at that point) were all seen together

After the gorgeous Nando's meal, we made our way to the London Dungeons - But Mer was still hungry

However she then choked and went into one of her giggle fits whilst thinking about onion rings...

Everyone was really excited for the dungeons and will most likely be the last time in it's old location for most. Don't Fret Tommy & Dan9

How of course - sadly no photo's can be taken in the dungeons as it's mysterious! But we do however have one 'sinister' photo

After the dungeons we made our way to Winter Wonderland and Luke_A & Mer LOVE this queueline for teh Wild Maus

OMG Look who's arrived it's Pluk! Steady boy you don't want to fall now...

Boy George even Jaymie has appeared in this queueline - where's the mouse hole

Due to all the excitement of these new arrivals it sends Tommy all in a spin!

However too much spinning can make you sick you know

There it is, a delayed rushed job of Part 4 but still with it's quirkyness - Join me tomorrow when the final part of our story is released and the Official Group Photo will be there for all to see
Hello and welcome back to the conclusion of our story - and also to my first ever double post Who will we meet in the final chapter of the TPM London Meet?
Before we continue, Jaymie, Myself & Mer would like to raise a glass to all the fantastic people who came & for also sticking together for the WHOLE day

Look who it is - It's Mia-Louise - So that's where she has been hiding

Mer, Myself & Mark9 naturally break out into a celebratory dance to mark the occasion

Mia-Louise always one to quickly aquaint herself starts wrapping her legs around Tommy

I am completely terrified to witness this and wonder who's next...

To calm myself down, I moved everyone onto Winter Wonderlands very own Tower Of Terror

Mer9, Pluk & Luke_A even thought it was better than the real version!

After the 'Tower of Terror' we needed to calm down so back to the waltzer & carousel bar for what is my favourite photo of the whole meet

You may have noticed Marc didn't turn up so before we departed we hunted him down and gave him what he deserved Detective Luke_A couldn't stop us!

And finally the photo where every single person who attended appears in so your Official Group Photo is

I can't thank the people who attended enough for sticking together and I for one thouroughly enjoyed myself and really cannot wait for Guildford now to collect even more memories. For those who have not yet come to a meet, I hope these past photo's have shown a little insight into what we get up to. If you want to see a few more photos you will see them on my Facebook page and I see a lot of tagging has already been going on - at least that's one less job to do Now for quite a few of you - I will see you next month!

Hello all you TPM Explorers as we take you down into the magical Chessington where many stories and memories were formed for Part 1 of 5 of the official trip report. It was a fantastic day and it was so lovely to see all the new faces and I have to say probably one of the nicest crowds we have had so far this year.
Thank you for your patience whilst I've been slaving away at the office, so without further ado, it's what a few of you have all been waiting for - The Official Chessington Trip Report 2013. What will happen on the TPM Explorers 5th adventure of this year?
What a way to start the morning, meeting all these new faces who all happen to wear glasses...

Before you TPM Explorers start your adventure can you please read this safety sign first please

Whilst It's dark, so he thinks no one will notice - Matt Creek gets pleasure from pressing a lot of buttons!

Han30 on the other hand gets pleasure from releasing an epic fart, and then blames it on the farting chair to hide her crime

It may be a bumpy ride, but Jaymiee looks a tad bored whilst Mr.Fish is on the lookout for the ladies

With the Runaway Train off limits - Phill Pritchard tries his best to get a sneaky look in

However Matt Creek uses his brain to go up some stairs and around the fence to see the full picture

Can I please re-introduce to you all the wonderful Jackstevens217, this time sporting some smexy glasses

This is a Sealion you know, not a seal!

Before some Tomb Blasting action, everyone gathers around to get ready to compete in this trips game Empire

So believe it or not, but we are already at the end of Part 1 of 5 of the Official Trip Report. But what will happen tomorrow. Will someone else join the explorers? Do the TPM explorers really know what the new attraction Zufari is after chatting about it on forums for the last few months? What animals will come out to play? Plus some bromance starts to form Everyone go awww....
All these answers and more revealing fun will be out just after midnight tomorrow (That's just under 24 hours you know )
See you then!
Part 2
So hello everybody - all of you TPM explorers. Part 2 of 5 is later than I said in part 1, but as many people know the plans in the evening change when your out and about and I have to say, I did get this done last night but fell asleep at me laptop whilst writing the conclusion
So yesterday we left you with a nice photo outside the tomb blaster after people have found out about the rules of the game empire but what will we find today in the early time of the morning .
With Jackstevens217 and JamesC now reunited. It was the beginning of the hourly bro hugs

EC! feels left out, so thought he'd find love with his biscuit

It was now time to try out the new attraction Zufari and as you can see everyone is getting immersed into the experience when they see a giraffe

On Zufari we came across some Zebras

What you doing on Safari you fools, In this trip report I said we are currently at Zufari You cannot get the members these days I tell you.

That's better! Get yourself off Safari Skyway and see the rest of us back at Zufari

Now we are back all together, Did I say we came across some white rhinos

After having our first Zufari experience, Mr. Fish would like to show how happy he found the experience (and yes ladies he has chest hair - can you see it? )

From a few animals to a reptile, this photo makes it appear we have taken over the Kobra - where everyone is anticipating the force of the back rests

To finish Part 2 off, I would like to introduce to you MarkC who has come to join us for the second half of the day

Tomorrow, what will we find in part 3 now the TPM explorer gang is complete? Has Mr. Monkey from Thorpe Park been eyeing out the competition? And how do the explorers gather their energy to defeat the competition in Empire? Well you can find out tomorrow when the you will find out the answers to these thought defying questions
Part 3
Hello you scrumptious TPM explorers for Part 3 of 5 of the Official TPM Chessie Trip report. We last left you with the crew getting confused between a Safari & a Zufari, whilst meeting the last member to join the gang. So what will we find today I wonder...
On the way to Black Buccaneer, TopsyTurvy15 practices his rock climbing skills by jumping the pool of death

TopsyTurvy15 looks relieved to of made it to the boat, whilst Jaymiee still looks unimpressed (even though we have taken up half the boat!)

However MarkC is way too short to ride and is refused entry before this lovely ride attendant announced the '4th rule' of our ride

Meanwhile the banana boat, being really small in comparison to Black Buccaneer, tries to act BIG by chilaxing with a spiff overlooking the ride...

ScaryCoasterBoy really wants to win the game empire so decides to recharge his batteries ready for the battle ahead

ThrillSeekerAlex on the other hand does not need solar power to re-energise for the oncoming battle

TopsyTurvy15 eyes out the competition, and works out how he can defeat ScaryCoasterBoy

ScaryCoasterBoy however finds an opportunity to finish off TopsyTurvy15, EC!, Jonny392 & TP1214 before TopsyTurvy15 defeats him....

And pushes them all to their death down a gigantic slope, to the deadliest bath time in existence!

To celebrate some people getting defeated out of the game, everyone went for a calming spin on the monkey swinger

And there we have it - just over half way through our trip report and there is unbelievably still 2 more parts to go . But who will win the Empire game? Why did Peaj get so down? And who out of the explorers worships the vampire? I have no idea how you will find out unless you come back tomorrow to find out. You do not want to miss it
Part 4
So you cheeky TPM Explorers, we have reached the 4th part of 5 at this early hour which means we are at the penultimate episode. Previously we have seen how our explorers get their energy in preparation for battle and a banana overseeing the events - so what will we find today...
Phill Pritchard, Jaymiee & ScaryCoasterBoy are the last 3 muskerteers standing in battle (With EC! Trying to get in on the shot )

To be honest, it's amazing how Jaymiee has got so far - just look at him

Mer, JamesC & ....EC! Again... get ready to help knock out the last contenders with some tuk tuks

TopsyTurvy15 back from the grave and ThrillSeekerAlex are getting geared up and ready to crash into everyone

After the final battle on the dodgems, the leader of the empire came through.....It was...Jaymiee , who donated his prize to the very chuffed ScaryCoasterBoy

Peaj is completely devastated that Jaymiee won - he designed the game to be to hard for Jamiee to win....

Meanwhile whilst this fiasco was going on. MarkC gets really excited like a kid in a candy store and holds up the entire queue for 5 years

This is one groovy talented Vampire with his organ - It's just so lucky he has no followers or he'll take over the world

Oh No! I didn't know Han30 worshipped the evil vampire EC! Catches her praying/ meditating to the vampire and screams as he cannot escape!

To finish off part 4 after all the drama that has happened today - I thought It would be nice to show a lovely photo from the fury queue line EC! AGAIN!!!!

And there we have it Part 4 of 5 is complete and we have found out a member who likes to hog the limelight , But will he hog any more photo's on this adventure? What happened to some of the explorers after they left Chessington? And who ends up needing to be claimed? I don't know how you'll find out these answers but what I do know is that if you come back at trip'o'clock tomorrow you will find the conclusion to the adventure and the Official Group Photo will be available for all to see I can just hear the screams of excitement...
Part 5 (The Final Part)
So....All you TPM Explorers, it is the time you have all been waiting for. The conclusion - Part 5 of 5 of the Official TPM Chessington Trip Report. We have founf out who won Empire and yes the Lost Coaster Of Superstition Mountain DOES exist (good one ThrillSeekerAlex) and yes the end is nigh but what will we find on the last leg of our journey? Just remember we last left the adventure with that calm photo in the Dragon's Fury Queue line.
EC! The photo hogger and Peaj get spun around in shock as the dragon unleashes it's anger on them

ThrillSeekerAlex, JamesC & JackStevens217 appear relaxed and pleased that they have slayed the dragon

Everyone loves it when the dragon gets furious - Thumbs up everyone

After our spin we found out Zufari was still open. We sprinted as fast as we could to get there for a last ride, Only to find...the gates were still thankfully open

After our sprint to Zufari, we were hungry, so then ran full pelt until we got to the Monkey Puzzle Beefeater

With all this running around, it was too much for Han30, who collapsed out of breathe

The super fit Phill Pritchard was disappointed with Han30's Stamina - but was even more disappointed with 3 other Individuals

Mr.Fish, Peaj & ThrillSeekerAlex to be precise - Who were all eating a lovely big Chocolate Brownie Sundae

Before we leave this adventure, we are sorry to report that a kid has been sent to Lost & Found - Does anyone know anyone who can claim him

And now the photo everyone has been waiting for - The Official Chessington 2013 Group Photo

Can I just say how much of a great day this had been. Everything just seemed to work - The sun was out, there was an extremely good crowd that attended and the day just seemed to flow naturally with ease. One of my favourites of the year for me come to think of it. So this adventure has come to a close, but for those who came to this meet also know that another adventure is looming before we go clubbing at Thorpe Park. But where? Only one way to find out and that is to wake up on Thursday Morning to find an Official TPM Announcement
Peace People x x x

Hello all you TPM Explorers as we take you down into the magical Chessington where many stories and memories were formed for Part 1 of 5 of the official trip report. It was a fantastic day and it was so lovely to see all the new faces and I have to say probably one of the nicest crowds we have had so far this year.
Thank you for your patience whilst I've been slaving away at the office, so without further ado, it's what a few of you have all been waiting for - The Official Chessington Trip Report 2013. What will happen on the TPM Explorers 5th adventure of this year?
What a way to start the morning, meeting all these new faces who all happen to wear glasses...

Before you TPM Explorers start your adventure can you please read this safety sign first please

Whilst It's dark, so he thinks no one will notice - Matt Creek gets pleasure from pressing a lot of buttons!

Han30 on the other hand gets pleasure from releasing an epic fart, and then blames it on the farting chair to hide her crime

It may be a bumpy ride, but Jaymiee looks a tad bored whilst Mr.Fish is on the lookout for the ladies

With the Runaway Train off limits - Phill Pritchard tries his best to get a sneaky look in

However Matt Creek uses his brain to go up some stairs and around the fence to see the full picture

Can I please re-introduce to you all the wonderful Jackstevens217, this time sporting some smexy glasses

This is a Sealion you know, not a seal!

Before some Tomb Blasting action, everyone gathers around to get ready to compete in this trips game Empire

So believe it or not, but we are already at the end of Part 1 of 5 of the Official Trip Report. But what will happen tomorrow. Will someone else join the explorers? Do the TPM explorers really know what the new attraction Zufari is after chatting about it on forums for the last few months? What animals will come out to play? Plus some bromance starts to form Everyone go awww....
All these answers and more revealing fun will be out just after midnight tomorrow (That's just under 24 hours you know )
See you then!
Part 2
So hello everybody - all of you TPM explorers. Part 2 of 5 is later than I said in part 1, but as many people know the plans in the evening change when your out and about and I have to say, I did get this done last night but fell asleep at me laptop whilst writing the conclusion
So yesterday we left you with a nice photo outside the tomb blaster after people have found out about the rules of the game empire but what will we find today in the early time of the morning .
With Jackstevens217 and JamesC now reunited. It was the beginning of the hourly bro hugs

EC! feels left out, so thought he'd find love with his biscuit

It was now time to try out the new attraction Zufari and as you can see everyone is getting immersed into the experience when they see a giraffe

On Zufari we came across some Zebras

What you doing on Safari you fools, In this trip report I said we are currently at Zufari You cannot get the members these days I tell you.

That's better! Get yourself off Safari Skyway and see the rest of us back at Zufari

Now we are back all together, Did I say we came across some white rhinos

After having our first Zufari experience, Mr. Fish would like to show how happy he found the experience (and yes ladies he has chest hair - can you see it? )

From a few animals to a reptile, this photo makes it appear we have taken over the Kobra - where everyone is anticipating the force of the back rests

To finish Part 2 off, I would like to introduce to you MarkC who has come to join us for the second half of the day

Tomorrow, what will we find in part 3 now the TPM explorer gang is complete? Has Mr. Monkey from Thorpe Park been eyeing out the competition? And how do the explorers gather their energy to defeat the competition in Empire? Well you can find out tomorrow when the you will find out the answers to these thought defying questions
Part 3
Hello you scrumptious TPM explorers for Part 3 of 5 of the Official TPM Chessie Trip report. We last left you with the crew getting confused between a Safari & a Zufari, whilst meeting the last member to join the gang. So what will we find today I wonder...
On the way to Black Buccaneer, TopsyTurvy15 practices his rock climbing skills by jumping the pool of death

TopsyTurvy15 looks relieved to of made it to the boat, whilst Jaymiee still looks unimpressed (even though we have taken up half the boat!)

However MarkC is way too short to ride and is refused entry before this lovely ride attendant announced the '4th rule' of our ride

Meanwhile the banana boat, being really small in comparison to Black Buccaneer, tries to act BIG by chilaxing with a spiff overlooking the ride...

ScaryCoasterBoy really wants to win the game empire so decides to recharge his batteries ready for the battle ahead

ThrillSeekerAlex on the other hand does not need solar power to re-energise for the oncoming battle

TopsyTurvy15 eyes out the competition, and works out how he can defeat ScaryCoasterBoy

ScaryCoasterBoy however finds an opportunity to finish off TopsyTurvy15, EC!, Jonny392 & TP1214 before TopsyTurvy15 defeats him....

And pushes them all to their death down a gigantic slope, to the deadliest bath time in existence!

To celebrate some people getting defeated out of the game, everyone went for a calming spin on the monkey swinger

And there we have it - just over half way through our trip report and there is unbelievably still 2 more parts to go . But who will win the Empire game? Why did Peaj get so down? And who out of the explorers worships the vampire? I have no idea how you will find out unless you come back tomorrow to find out. You do not want to miss it
Part 4
So you cheeky TPM Explorers, we have reached the 4th part of 5 at this early hour which means we are at the penultimate episode. Previously we have seen how our explorers get their energy in preparation for battle and a banana overseeing the events - so what will we find today...
Phill Pritchard, Jaymiee & ScaryCoasterBoy are the last 3 muskerteers standing in battle (With EC! Trying to get in on the shot )

To be honest, it's amazing how Jaymiee has got so far - just look at him

Mer, JamesC & ....EC! Again... get ready to help knock out the last contenders with some tuk tuks

TopsyTurvy15 back from the grave and ThrillSeekerAlex are getting geared up and ready to crash into everyone

After the final battle on the dodgems, the leader of the empire came through.....It was...Jaymiee , who donated his prize to the very chuffed ScaryCoasterBoy

Peaj is completely devastated that Jaymiee won - he designed the game to be to hard for Jamiee to win....

Meanwhile whilst this fiasco was going on. MarkC gets really excited like a kid in a candy store and holds up the entire queue for 5 years

This is one groovy talented Vampire with his organ - It's just so lucky he has no followers or he'll take over the world

Oh No! I didn't know Han30 worshipped the evil vampire EC! Catches her praying/ meditating to the vampire and screams as he cannot escape!

To finish off part 4 after all the drama that has happened today - I thought It would be nice to show a lovely photo from the fury queue line EC! AGAIN!!!!

And there we have it Part 4 of 5 is complete and we have found out a member who likes to hog the limelight , But will he hog any more photo's on this adventure? What happened to some of the explorers after they left Chessington? And who ends up needing to be claimed? I don't know how you'll find out these answers but what I do know is that if you come back at trip'o'clock tomorrow you will find the conclusion to the adventure and the Official Group Photo will be available for all to see I can just hear the screams of excitement...
Part 5 (The Final Part)
So....All you TPM Explorers, it is the time you have all been waiting for. The conclusion - Part 5 of 5 of the Official TPM Chessington Trip Report. We have founf out who won Empire and yes the Lost Coaster Of Superstition Mountain DOES exist (good one ThrillSeekerAlex) and yes the end is nigh but what will we find on the last leg of our journey? Just remember we last left the adventure with that calm photo in the Dragon's Fury Queue line.
EC! The photo hogger and Peaj get spun around in shock as the dragon unleashes it's anger on them

ThrillSeekerAlex, JamesC & JackStevens217 appear relaxed and pleased that they have slayed the dragon

Everyone loves it when the dragon gets furious - Thumbs up everyone

After our spin we found out Zufari was still open. We sprinted as fast as we could to get there for a last ride, Only to find...the gates were still thankfully open

After our sprint to Zufari, we were hungry, so then ran full pelt until we got to the Monkey Puzzle Beefeater

With all this running around, it was too much for Han30, who collapsed out of breathe

The super fit Phill Pritchard was disappointed with Han30's Stamina - but was even more disappointed with 3 other Individuals

Mr.Fish, Peaj & ThrillSeekerAlex to be precise - Who were all eating a lovely big Chocolate Brownie Sundae

Before we leave this adventure, we are sorry to report that a kid has been sent to Lost & Found - Does anyone know anyone who can claim him

And now the photo everyone has been waiting for - The Official Chessington 2013 Group Photo

Can I just say how much of a great day this had been. Everything just seemed to work - The sun was out, there was an extremely good crowd that attended and the day just seemed to flow naturally with ease. One of my favourites of the year for me come to think of it. So this adventure has come to a close, but for those who came to this meet also know that another adventure is looming before we go clubbing at Thorpe Park. But where? Only one way to find out and that is to wake up on Thursday Morning to find an Official TPM Announcement
Peace People x x x

Hello all you TPM Explorers as we take you down into the magical Chessington where many stories and memories were formed for Part 1 of 5 of the official trip report. It was a fantastic day and it was so lovely to see all the new faces and I have to say probably one of the nicest crowds we have had so far this year.
Thank you for your patience whilst I've been slaving away at the office, so without further ado, it's what a few of you have all been waiting for - The Official Chessington Trip Report 2013. What will happen on the TPM Explorers 5th adventure of this year?
What a way to start the morning, meeting all these new faces who all happen to wear glasses...

Before you TPM Explorers start your adventure can you please read this safety sign first please

Whilst It's dark, so he thinks no one will notice - Matt Creek gets pleasure from pressing a lot of buttons!

Han30 on the other hand gets pleasure from releasing an epic fart, and then blames it on the farting chair to hide her crime

It may be a bumpy ride, but Jaymiee looks a tad bored whilst Mr.Fish is on the lookout for the ladies

With the Runaway Train off limits - Phill Pritchard tries his best to get a sneaky look in

However Matt Creek uses his brain to go up some stairs and around the fence to see the full picture

Can I please re-introduce to you all the wonderful Jackstevens217, this time sporting some smexy glasses

This is a Sealion you know, not a seal!

Before some Tomb Blasting action, everyone gathers around to get ready to compete in this trips game Empire

So believe it or not, but we are already at the end of Part 1 of 5 of the Official Trip Report. But what will happen tomorrow. Will someone else join the explorers? Do the TPM explorers really know what the new attraction Zufari is after chatting about it on forums for the last few months? What animals will come out to play? Plus some bromance starts to form Everyone go awww....
All these answers and more revealing fun will be out just after midnight tomorrow (That's just under 24 hours you know )
See you then!
Part 2
So hello everybody - all of you TPM explorers. Part 2 of 5 is later than I said in part 1, but as many people know the plans in the evening change when your out and about and I have to say, I did get this done last night but fell asleep at me laptop whilst writing the conclusion
So yesterday we left you with a nice photo outside the tomb blaster after people have found out about the rules of the game empire but what will we find today in the early time of the morning .
With Jackstevens217 and JamesC now reunited. It was the beginning of the hourly bro hugs

EC! feels left out, so thought he'd find love with his biscuit

It was now time to try out the new attraction Zufari and as you can see everyone is getting immersed into the experience when they see a giraffe

On Zufari we came across some Zebras

What you doing on Safari you fools, In this trip report I said we are currently at Zufari You cannot get the members these days I tell you.

That's better! Get yourself off Safari Skyway and see the rest of us back at Zufari

Now we are back all together, Did I say we came across some white rhinos

After having our first Zufari experience, Mr. Fish would like to show how happy he found the experience (and yes ladies he has chest hair - can you see it? )

From a few animals to a reptile, this photo makes it appear we have taken over the Kobra - where everyone is anticipating the force of the back rests

To finish Part 2 off, I would like to introduce to you MarkC who has come to join us for the second half of the day

Tomorrow, what will we find in part 3 now the TPM explorer gang is complete? Has Mr. Monkey from Thorpe Park been eyeing out the competition? And how do the explorers gather their energy to defeat the competition in Empire? Well you can find out tomorrow when the you will find out the answers to these thought defying questions
Part 3
Hello you scrumptious TPM explorers for Part 3 of 5 of the Official TPM Chessie Trip report. We last left you with the crew getting confused between a Safari & a Zufari, whilst meeting the last member to join the gang. So what will we find today I wonder...
On the way to Black Buccaneer, TopsyTurvy15 practices his rock climbing skills by jumping the pool of death

TopsyTurvy15 looks relieved to of made it to the boat, whilst Jaymiee still looks unimpressed (even though we have taken up half the boat!)

However MarkC is way too short to ride and is refused entry before this lovely ride attendant announced the '4th rule' of our ride

Meanwhile the banana boat, being really small in comparison to Black Buccaneer, tries to act BIG by chilaxing with a spiff overlooking the ride...

ScaryCoasterBoy really wants to win the game empire so decides to recharge his batteries ready for the battle ahead

ThrillSeekerAlex on the other hand does not need solar power to re-energise for the oncoming battle

TopsyTurvy15 eyes out the competition, and works out how he can defeat ScaryCoasterBoy

ScaryCoasterBoy however finds an opportunity to finish off TopsyTurvy15, EC!, Jonny392 & TP1214 before TopsyTurvy15 defeats him....

And pushes them all to their death down a gigantic slope, to the deadliest bath time in existence!

To celebrate some people getting defeated out of the game, everyone went for a calming spin on the monkey swinger

And there we have it - just over half way through our trip report and there is unbelievably still 2 more parts to go . But who will win the Empire game? Why did Peaj get so down? And who out of the explorers worships the vampire? I have no idea how you will find out unless you come back tomorrow to find out. You do not want to miss it
Part 4
So you cheeky TPM Explorers, we have reached the 4th part of 5 at this early hour which means we are at the penultimate episode. Previously we have seen how our explorers get their energy in preparation for battle and a banana overseeing the events - so what will we find today...
Phill Pritchard, Jaymiee & ScaryCoasterBoy are the last 3 muskerteers standing in battle (With EC! Trying to get in on the shot )

To be honest, it's amazing how Jaymiee has got so far - just look at him

Mer, JamesC & ....EC! Again... get ready to help knock out the last contenders with some tuk tuks

TopsyTurvy15 back from the grave and ThrillSeekerAlex are getting geared up and ready to crash into everyone

After the final battle on the dodgems, the leader of the empire came through.....It was...Jaymiee , who donated his prize to the very chuffed ScaryCoasterBoy

Peaj is completely devastated that Jaymiee won - he designed the game to be to hard for Jamiee to win....

Meanwhile whilst this fiasco was going on. MarkC gets really excited like a kid in a candy store and holds up the entire queue for 5 years

This is one groovy talented Vampire with his organ - It's just so lucky he has no followers or he'll take over the world

Oh No! I didn't know Han30 worshipped the evil vampire EC! Catches her praying/ meditating to the vampire and screams as he cannot escape!

To finish off part 4 after all the drama that has happened today - I thought It would be nice to show a lovely photo from the fury queue line EC! AGAIN!!!!

And there we have it Part 4 of 5 is complete and we have found out a member who likes to hog the limelight , But will he hog any more photo's on this adventure? What happened to some of the explorers after they left Chessington? And who ends up needing to be claimed? I don't know how you'll find out these answers but what I do know is that if you come back at trip'o'clock tomorrow you will find the conclusion to the adventure and the Official Group Photo will be available for all to see I can just hear the screams of excitement...
Part 5 (The Final Part)
So....All you TPM Explorers, it is the time you have all been waiting for. The conclusion - Part 5 of 5 of the Official TPM Chessington Trip Report. We have founf out who won Empire and yes the Lost Coaster Of Superstition Mountain DOES exist (good one ThrillSeekerAlex) and yes the end is nigh but what will we find on the last leg of our journey? Just remember we last left the adventure with that calm photo in the Dragon's Fury Queue line.
EC! The photo hogger and Peaj get spun around in shock as the dragon unleashes it's anger on them

ThrillSeekerAlex, JamesC & JackStevens217 appear relaxed and pleased that they have slayed the dragon

Everyone loves it when the dragon gets furious - Thumbs up everyone

After our spin we found out Zufari was still open. We sprinted as fast as we could to get there for a last ride, Only to find...the gates were still thankfully open

After our sprint to Zufari, we were hungry, so then ran full pelt until we got to the Monkey Puzzle Beefeater

With all this running around, it was too much for Han30, who collapsed out of breathe

The super fit Phill Pritchard was disappointed with Han30's Stamina - but was even more disappointed with 3 other Individuals

Mr.Fish, Peaj & ThrillSeekerAlex to be precise - Who were all eating a lovely big Chocolate Brownie Sundae

Before we leave this adventure, we are sorry to report that a kid has been sent to Lost & Found - Does anyone know anyone who can claim him

And now the photo everyone has been waiting for - The Official Chessington 2013 Group Photo

Can I just say how much of a great day this had been. Everything just seemed to work - The sun was out, there was an extremely good crowd that attended and the day just seemed to flow naturally with ease. One of my favourites of the year for me come to think of it. So this adventure has come to a close, but for those who came to this meet also know that another adventure is looming before we go clubbing at Thorpe Park. But where? Only one way to find out and that is to wake up on Thursday Morning to find an Official TPM Announcement
Peace People x x x