Han30

Ah - well to be honest, for me I find flat rides a lot scarier than coasters. I flat out refuse to do Detonator ever again and I’m not a massive fan of Rush and Vortex either. I know it’s not easy but you might have to just grit your teeth and go for it. When I took my niece on her first upside down coaster (Pinfari ?), she freaked out going up the lift hill so I just stayed calm, got her to sing and scream and it worked. Stealth used to scare the ? out of me until my 20ish ride on it and the only thing that helped was screaming/swearing on the way up - not very ladylike but it worked. Inferno is a great one to start with - it’s the first one I did at Thorpe and the same with my niece. I remember being scared of the vertical loop going up the lift hill on my first go thinking “sh£&& that’s high” but you really don’t notice it - as in it feels a lot different to how you would expect it to. If you are concerned about motion sickness I can highly recommend cinarazine (Stugeron) - without that stuff I would be so unwell on rides. Obviously you are anxious but if you can get hold of some, Rescue Remedy is really good.. I’ve probably repeated myself from older posts but I’m too lazy to go back and check ? so apologies. Finally go with someone who understands your fear and will reassure you but not bully you or pressurise you to do something if you’re not ready. If someone had told me 6 years ago that I’d ride all the coasters at Thorpe, Towers and BPB (plus Efteling and Phantasialand) I would have laughed in their face but I’m glad I took the plunge - it’s just that first step to overcome then I’m sure you’ll be hooked

Definitely worth thinking about - if it wasn’t for the guys on here I would never have got over my fear of big rides. Did you manage to do Rameses?

Was this at Stealth? ?

That was a lovely post @alexander - it’s taken me until now to reply so apologies. Adams funeral was a lovely service but very emotional, as funerals are. I think I’m still in shock with the speed that everything happened. I struggle daily but I guess that’s to be expected. Right now I have little interest in theme parks - this time last year, Adam and I were planning our trip to Blackpool and talking about going to Phantasialand and Efteling (been meaning to make a blog about our Euro trio but it’s too hard at the moment). I’ve visited just one park this year and that was because my niece wanted to go - and that was emotional. We had talked about going back to some of the places we visited last year and it hurts that he isn’t able to do that, that he’s gone and that his kids and his family have lost a brilliant person so young I’m not sure how active I’ll be on the forums in the foreseeable future but I just want to thank people again for their donations, people who have left lovely messages and the community in general because I know Adam enjoyed attending the meets and chatting to you guys. Special thanks to @he who shall not be named who has been a brilliant friend throughout everything. Cancer is such an evil illness and hospices and charities do so much. I lost my mum to cancer in 2011 and now Adam so I’m thinking of ways to fundraise for MacMillan or Cancer Research - any ideas would be great. I considered sky diving but I have a fear of heights....and planes.....and falling ?. I did look into abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower but that things massive.

@ChessingtonSam I have a huge fear of heights but will go on pretty much any coaster - I won’t however go on the London Eye again. With coasters you actually don’t really notice the height much and you are only at the highest point for a few seconds. I did Rameses Revenge before I conquered my fear of big coasters so might be a good start - but honestly the best thing (which I know isn’t easy) is to just do it. It was the guys here at TPM that helped me get over my fear of big rides - even holding my hand! My niece was absolutely terrified when I took her to Thorpe for the first time but started her off on Inferno which I think is a good starting point - it took a couple of visits but now she goes on all the coasters without holding on and is a mini geek. Would you ever consider going to a TPM meet? No one would pressurise you to go on anything but you’d have support there from people who’ve ridden the coasters countless times which might put your mind at ease. You can conquer your fears - I did it at 32 years of age and used to be terrified of pretty much any ride - I’d be the one holding the bags and waiting for my sister to come off the big rides

A little bit! Got some more pins on Saturday - Roodie and I started collecting them last year and Gawd it’s both addictive and expensive Need to put them on a lanyard which is a nightmare as my OCD takes over as I try to have a lanyard with pins for each park....I now have a few too many TP ones so need to rearrange my others. Yeah I need help. My sister got the Monopoly which looks good but I can’t play that game as it gives me severe anger issues. I didn’t properly look at the other merch except the Top Trumps which I might get at some point. Does DBGT shop have any new interesting stuff? Didn’t go in there on Saturday to have a look

Matt that is a beautifully written post - Roodie never realised how well liked he was - he had low self confidence which I think he disguised with humour - when he was in hospital I showed him the lovely things that you kind people had said and I know he was touched by the donations that people made. It is hard now knowing he won’t get a chance to make some memories with his 2 boys and it’s heart breaking that they have lost their father. But the donations made will go directly to his boys. He was a lovely guy and would do anything for anyone and was completely selfless - he handled his diagnosis with both dignity and bravery and I feel privileged to have got to know him well. 39 is such a young age to pass away. I wish I was able to write such a lovely post as Matt has but emotions take over and make it difficult but I want to thank you all who met him - he really enjoyed the meets and getting to know people and just having a nice time with people who have similar interests. He felt accepted very early on within the community which is what it’s all about. Xx

Unbelievably sad ?

Hi all - it saddens me to say this but Adam (Roodie) has passed away - thank you to those who have donated via the just giving page - hopefully this money will go to his 2 boys and their mum to help at this difficult time x

Thank you so much for your lovely words and donation

Thank you ? shares of the link are fab for reaching more people Just wanted to say thanks again - I’m not sure if Adam (Roodie) has seen this topic (he knows I’ve posted as I checked with him first) but I’ll let him know people are thinking of him at this difficult time xx

Hey fellow maniacs - I just wanted a say a huge thank you to people who have taken a look at the link I posted, those who have shared the link and to the people who have kindly made a donation. I’m sure people will understand that no one wants to be in the situation of trying to raise funds to be able do such simple things that we all take for granted - I know that Adam is incredibly touched by the support he has been shown throughout this tough time. Being able to make memories with his 2 lovely boys and of course their mum is something very important to him and with the generosity of people this is looking more and more likely which is wonderful. Once again thank you so much x Hey stranger! Thanks for your response - a share of the link would be fantastic if you could do that (no worries about donating - sharing is just as helpful)! the more shares, the more people we can reach ?

Hey guys - hope it’s ok to start a new topic here as there was no where else I could find to put this. Many of you will have met @Roodie at various meets over the past 17 months. His first meet was Fright Nights 2016 and the day I first met him. Since then I’ve got to know and spend time with this wonderful member of TPM - the reason I’m posting this is because sadly Adam (Roodie) has recently been diagnosed with incurable cancer and has spent the past 5 weeks in hospital. Adam has 2 young sons (ages just 6 and 4) and is desperate to spend the time that he has making memories with them while at the same time raising money for MacMillan. His illness has forced him to quit work and so financially he is currently unavailable to do much in the way of taking his boys out (and while he recovers from surgery to his spine). His niece today set up a just giving page and it would mean a massive amount if you guys could take a look, share, or make a small donation (every penny counts). Thanks so much for reading this post xx https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/hannah-tutt?utm_id=1&utm_term=Ab9bDrkdE

I’ve often felt like this in my younger years - giving all I could within friendships etc only to be treated like crud and people just walking away. It used to upset me a lot but now I just think screw it. People can be sh!t holes but don’t let that stop who you are as a person - don’t change for anyone

Fruit BASTILLES?! ?

Umm wow - I guess it's going to stop people standing up but jeez - also makes for a rather crappy ORP Its sad when measures like this have to be put in place because a few people can't follow instructions or use basic common sense. Edit - how the hell do you get in the boats?

Merlin seem intent on ruining Towers - so many peeved people on FB and quite rightly so. 4pm closures for a park the size of AT is daft and staggered opening times this year are ridiculous - seriously Nemmy and Galactica not open until midday?! Nemmy is generally the first ride I head to when I visit and get a few rides in on that to start the day off- I wonder if they are opening that area at midday to get more business for the rollercoaster restaurant?! ?

Yes - the space they used for Island beats was small (where big top goes) - but aside from the marquee they don't really have the space (unless you count the dome)

I would prefer just Summer Nights to return but that's mainly based on when I was at Summer Nights one evening when Little Mix were playing Island Beats and there was SO many teenage girls everywhere - and singing their songs ?? I'm guessing it wasn't hugely popular - I went to quite a few summer nights back in 2015 and on one occasion when we were picking up our wristbands the lady serving us mentioned that they still had tickets for Pro Green left so my sister and her boyfriend went to watch it while my niece and I rode the coasters. I personally think merging Summer Nights and Island Beats was confusing but that might just be me. I'm assuming they didn't make much money from it either as I'm sure they would have brought it back if it was profitable?

Yeah I think you might be right sadly - Summer Nights were great while they lasted yet they scrapped them so I can't see why they'd introduce something similar - would be fab if they did but not holding my breath

Happy birthday @MarkC ?

I hate winter and have done before I got into theme parks but anyway, reflecting back on this year I've done a lot more than I usually would - less visits to Thorpe but 3 new parks visited (2 abroad) Thorpe Park X 9 Chessie X 4 Legoland X 1 Alton Towers X 3 Adventure Island X 1 BPB X 1 Efteling X 2 Phantasialand X 2 Tulleys X 1 Total 24 Next year will be the usual Merlin stuff - Thorpe and CWOA are fairly close to me and would love to go back to BPB as I really enjoyed it there plus with ICON opening next year (and my love for Valhalla) I'm hoping it will be possible. Also Towers for SW8. I would love to go back to Phantasialand and Efteling but in terms of European parks, Europa is one I would love to visit but I have a huge fear of flying ?. Edit - forgot to add Tulleys ?