Matt 236

Okay so this is the penultimate in trip reports of Europa, this will be dedicated to the best woodie and best steel coaster I have ever been on and also the best river raft ride haha!
We shall begin..... With Euro-Mir's soundtrack, I love it !!!!


Ok, here we go!

I cant remember the name of this splash battle ride but it was fun just like battle Galleons! EC! RATING: 7/10
But what is looming in the background I wonder.....

ITS WODAN!

Wodan and Blue Fire interlocked together!

First train I see. By the way this had the longest queue of the rides I went on with 65minutes!

Going in the longest queueline I have ever been in!

Inside the indoor queue!

Blue ICE!

Cool Roof effects!

SPEED!! and lots of it too!

A train going down the drop incredibly fast!! The whole structure shook which I think is normal....

Such an imposing structure!!



The Creepy Goddess woman thing!

Train going in Wodan Style!

More indoor queue. Its soooo long

Wodan Dragon

God Odin!

Almost there!

Wodan Complete!!
Right I have said this to a few people now but Wodan is the best roller coaster I have EVER EVER been on! Its fast, its long, it has mega fast turns, it has an abundance of airtime and it everyone even enthusiasts screaming their head off, I can't say how wonderful this ride is, Like Thrillseekeralex I thought as it was a 1.2m restriction I thought it would be mundane but I was SO wrong Its the only ride that has made my gramps cry and scream in terror! Its everything I wanted and more from this ride so I am technically cheating here but Wodan get an EC! RATING:11/10 Its that good it deserves an extra point!

Next up Blue Fire!

More Blue Fire!

The Banked turn!

The Review
Ok So this is the Best Steel coaster I have been on, the fact it has lapbars makes it so much fun and you can flail your arms as much as you please, The launch is Rita Intense which is fun but it runs rings around Stealth and Rita. The loops are intense and the vertical loop gives great hangtime! The themeing is also fantastic and it offers great headchoppers like the diving under the Wodan structure and the rock tunnel between the vertical loop and the backed turn. it is such a fantastic coaster and I just wish one day the UK gets a mack coaster as they are Class EC! RATING: 10/10

MY 2 old men on Fjord rafting! Dad and gramps got absolutely soaked on this ride almost Tidal wave soaked !
The Review.
This is by far the best river rafting ride I have been on you get so wet and it so really well themed and has a decent length, its better then congo river rapids at alton because of the sher abmount of water feature on the ride to make you wet, funny thing was I was the only dry one, my cousin got soaked too haha EC! RATING: 8/10
Okie dokie I shall end this part here, the last part will be tomorrow, when I finally ride a certain Silver Star! untill then toodel hoo!

Ok so part 2 is here and I shall start with this photo

Poseidon It is In this photo in all it Greeky glory!

Later on in the day because I took barely any snaps of this ride. SO onto the review
POSEIDON
This was a very good ride and was quite fun BUT and its a big but.... it had some of the worst jolts I have ever come across, one was so violent I headbutted my gramps who was sitting next to me and we both came off saying "well that hurt alot!" Apart from that I liked it I didnt love it but I liked it and the 2nd part was fun also but I was expecting to get wetter tbh EC! RATING: 6.5/10

Lovely Historama monorail that enters england and all

A very good replica of the the Golden globe and a Massive pink bear seems to be in mid flight!!

SILVERSTONE!! By this point we had food, Fish and Chips to be exact! I know very German but it was very good and tasty EC FOOD RATING: 8/10

The historama with the Food Loop inside but it had a 40 minute queue just to get a seat!!! So I thought sod that and had me fish and chips

We are in Russia as this is their russian satellite thing.

On to Euro Mir! in all of its spinny twisty hugeness.

Twisty Train!

THE REVIEW!!
Well I thought This was to be a slightly mundane coaster with a fancy lift hill.... Boy was I wrong, it feels so much higher then it looks and you look like your sitting over the edge of the track which makes it more terrifying and the most fun thing was that we took the drop backwards which was terrifying the trains then turned forward and then all hell broke loose it was SO INTENSE and I'm not joking the speed it took those turns was absolutely insane, the G-force felt Nemesis intense which is a bonus, I can safely that this ride made my gramps and my Dad a bit sick afterwards but they loved it and were laughing at the end which makes it such an enjoyable ride! EC! RATING:9/10

I shall leave you with a ride I didn't go on which was a shame but in the penultimate Installment you shall see me on the best wooden coaster and best steel coaster I have EVER been on! (Blue Fire and Wodan: Timburcoaster ) Until then toodal pip

After trawling through the planning portal again, which is always interesting I find, I came across the original plans for Colossus. Much like with the http://forum.maniahub.com/topic/151-tidal-wave/page-30#entry164771]original Tidal Wave plans, they are quite different. But before I divulge into that further, let's look at how a new coaster came about in the first place...

As is well known, in 1997, the Tussauds Group took over Thorpe. Prior to that, as you'd expect, it was hard for the park to get serious funding for any major development or investment into the park. In the 10 years prior to that, there had only been two 'major' investments - Canada Creek and X:\NWO. Due to the otherwise low investments, and local competition from Chessington and the newly opened Legoland Windsor, guest numbers were declining and the park was not making profits. In fact, the park themselves describe it as a "spiral of decline", and between 1993 and 1998, visitor numbers had dropped from 1.35million to 0.8million; quite a significant drop really!


This shows the number of visitors, in millions. This was made sometime during the 1999 season, so any figures for 1999 and after are predictions / hopes (with a coaster opening in 2001).


Thought this might be of interest too. Attendances at the Tussauds parks and Windsor Safari Park on a similar timescale.

The introduction of Pirates 4D and Tidal Wave was aimed to be, if anything, a 'quick fix', to boost visitor numbers in the short term. Pirates had the intriguing tagline of 'the UK's first 4D cinema', and Tidal Wave could pretty much sell itself, so those investments spread over two years would help attract some people to the park. However, more is of course needed, especially as Tussauds aimed to turn the park into a profitable, year-round business. Of course, as it is, Thorpe still isn't a year-round park.

The aim was, just after the turn of the century, to introduce two big, huge new rides. This would, essentially, be the first step in truly turning the park around. Tussauds noted that, following the introduction of Nemesis at Alton Towers, that park turned around, and it was hoped the same could happen with Thorpe. Two rides were applied for in 1999, to open in 2000 and 2001 - what is described as a "45m elevator ride" and a 40m coaster respectively. Both plans were withdrawn following discussions with the council (and, as such, plans for the rides are not available online). Despite the council advising the best location of the coaster - the current location of Colossus - it was said to be difficult to get approval for the coaster. Whilst it was probable they could have gotten approval for the 45m ride, they decided to withdraw that application too to help with the approval of a revised, 30m tall coaster - what we now know to be Colossus. I can't quite figure out where this elevator ride would have gone, but by the sounds of it, the area would have been close to the coaster, and were to be developed soon. So, I'd guess we'd be looking at where the Lost City flat rides are (which makes sense with rumours I've heard of Detonator originally being planned for Lost City).

So, the park didn't just want this new coaster, they needed it. Without it, the park would struggle and continue its spiral of decline quicker than a helter-skelter. It was projected that an additional 200,000 people would visit the park thanks to the new coaster; a quarter of their current visitors. Can you imagine a ride now where the park hoped they'd get almost an extra 500k visitors thanks to it? So, it was a huge risk in one way; if they didn't get the visitors, it was huge amount of money pretty much chucked down the drain.

So, that's enough background I reckon. But, with all that in mind, what sort of ride do you go for? Well, the park's first choice was, interestingly, a LIM coaster (just to be clear, this coaster had a maximum height of 30m. As I mentioned earlier, the plans for a 40m coaster aren't anywhere online, unfortunately). A brief outline of the coaster itself: The actual launch mechanism was to be inside a tunnel, for protection apparently. After the launch, the train would dip down slightly, and then enter a cobra roll, which would be the high point of the ride, and a vertical loop would follow. Some strange, twisty meandering in the air, an airtime hill and another weird twisty bit and the ride ends. It covers almost the exact same area as Colossus I believe, though a bit shifted about of course.


A side on view of the coaster.


A view from where, I think, Rush or Quantum is now situated. Looks...interesting.

However, for reasons I can't find, the plans changed, despite approval of this coaster. I'd assume one reason the plans changed to what we now know to be Colossus is to get the world record inversion count. If you're gonna do something big, you may as well do something massive, right? Personally, I think I prefer what we have now. Colossus really was, and always will be, the ride which 'put the park on the map'. Whilst it might now be uncomfortable and not highly rated - especially amongst enthusiasts - it did the job, and still does to this day.



A couple of badly-edited pictures showing the difference of how the coasters would have looked.

As some may know, and as I mentioned to earlier, Colossus was intended to open for 2001. However, due to this change in plan, the project was pushed back a year. Perhaps this was fortunate for the park; 2001 brought instead 3 new attractions, bringing in more guests, and adding to people knowing of the big, brand new coaster coming next year.

So, we now have the coaster we know and 'love' as Colossus applied for and approved. Yet what we have today is still slightly different to what was originally planned! The entrance was is a completely different place to where it is now - though the cobra roll. The queue would start there, go down into the pit (similar to Smiler's entrance in a way I guess), and then meander around in a similar, but shorter, fashion to as it does now. The shop also bordered directly with the station, instead of its current location.


I've - badly - shown the queue layouts; black is ordinary, red is Fastrack (then known as Virtual Q). Interestingly, approx maximum queue times were 40mins and 15mins respectively!


This is a RCT screenshot made by John Wardley, where you can see the entrance through the cobra roll. (Photo taken from Thorpe Park Guide Archives).

I'd guess the changes to the queue line and shop location were more cosmetic more than anything else. Again, I think I prefer what we have now, specifically the pit, than what we could have had.

So that's about it really. If you read through all that ramble, I hope it made sense. I just thought I'd share the wondrous history of Colossus which I've pieced together - from the initial reasons and vision, to design and to what we have got today.

Before you read this is a very tongue in cheek report.
There is a well known phrase that often gets thrown around regarding Thorpe, "If I wanted to look at trees I'd go to a garden centre." So I decided to visit Thorpe and see what gardeny stuff it has to offer.

First of all you're greeted by this lovely lake surrounded by trees!

More of this lovely lake and the trees.

Lots of foliage...

Even more!

Some nice trees with decorative rocks.

An array of trees, I'm spoilt for choice.

Another lake and you guessed it, trees!

They even tried to make it like an experience with the dense foliage.

And more with a scaled up volcano piece that you'd put in your fish tank.

This bunch of trees looks interesting, like they're shaped around an entrance

These trees look well cared for.

TREES!

Even a baby tree!

And themed trees for that ultimate devastated look in your garden!
So maybe the "tree" statement should be more like "If I wanted to look at plants I'd go to a garden centre" because you don't really go out to buy a tree.
So plant wise...

Some nice flower boxes.

Nice selection of potted plants.

Lovely flower bed. The colours are very enticing!

More flower boxes

A nice array of plants and flowers with another decorative rock!

Simple yet very effective.

Look at them all, so pretty

There's so much it's having to fight for space!
So I think that saying about Thorpe is well and truly rubbish. I had a better day looking at the trees and plants at Thorpe than at any garden centre! The only similarity is this...

They had this very expensive ornament called "Slammer." I was going to buy one but apparently it's currently unavailable even though it's sitting right there! The labels on items always lie.
Thanks for reading

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.

As we'd expect, 30 years ago, Thorpe Park was a very different place. In fact, it wasn't really until 1983 that the park saw investment in 'theme park rides'; until then, the park was a more educational/leisure area. One attraction which opened in 1983 saw Phantom Fantasia - the first incarnation of what many knew as Wicked Witches Haunt. The ride was rethemed into WWH in 1994, before its untimely closure in 2000 due to the infamous Thorpe Park Fire.
Whilst I never got a chance to ride the original Phantom Fantasia (would be a bit difficult considering I hadn't been born then ), I've heard / read a couple of accounts of the ride, and it seemed to be a very British attraction - it had that eerie / scary tone, yet had humour to it as well. It was a ride which sounded fun for everyone, and was just spot on. When we remember that at this time, Thorpe was a small business, and the idea of a theme park wasn't really around in Britain (something which Wardley discussed about so well in his autobiography I thought), it's - in a way - an astounding achievement.
Here's a few photos of the original Phantom Fantasia, from either 1983 or 1984 (put in spoilers to save on space and such):
Unfortunately, I can't really offer much explanation into the scenes and such. However, Neilfever added a brilliant video of the ride onto his Youtube account a few years ago...

One final Phantom Fantasia photo to leave you with is this one...

Anyone recognise him?

You walk past him as you exit Nemesis Inferno! I think after the fire, he appeared in MHFS, and now keeps guard of the now abandoned area...
Wicked Witches Haunt
I did get a chance to go on WWH, however. Several times. My memory of it is rather hazy, seeinghow the last time I went on it I was barely 6, but there are some scenes that I remember. I think that in itself speaks volumes of this attraction - for me to remember it 13 years after my mind shows that it was an attraction that stayed with you. It might not have been the best dark ride, but that doesn't mean it didn't affect you.
My personal memories of the ride was that it was one of the attractions you 'love to hate'. Not in Storm Surge way, but in a way that it always left me scared or spooked out, I'd have to close my eyes really tightly or cover my eyes and I'd sometimes let out a scream. As a child, it was ride that scared me, but that's why you like it. The best way I can word it is that it's the child-equivalent of a scare maze, or watching a horror film.
The witches didn't scare me really. I guess at that age, you're introduced to stories that split opinions on witches - some seem horrible, but are actually nice and vice versa. The thing was though, it did give me a 'feeling'; something bad could well happen here. The scenes that never failed to scare me were the ones with spiders - there were big, fair, ugly hairy spiders. They jumped out at you and stuff. I was petrified. I think the finale, or a scene very close to it, involved the carriage turning to face a wall, and then the biggest spider there was jumping out at you. Scary stuff. For the family audience the park had at the time, it must have been a huge hit.
So, that's really all I have to share. Whilst the ride was not 'iconic', it certainly played its part in Thorpe's history, and is probably something that will be mentioned for years to come. I do doubt that the ride would have stayed at the park much longer anyway, due to the shift in target market, the age of the attraction and such, it is a true shame it burnt down. But c'est la vie.
A couple of links which show of PF/WWH really nicely -
http://www.memoriesofthorpepark.co.uk/phantomfantasia.html
http://www.baffles.me.uk/features/tpg/features/wwh/index.html
Would be great to hear others' memories of the ride too!

On Sunday 7th July I took my first trip to Alton Towers - I had the opportunity to go way back in 2002 when Air opened but I chickened out because I was a massive wuss back then and the thought of being miles from home scared me
I was REALLY anxious about going - mainly because of my anxiety issues and also, as before, the thought of being so far from home was pretty scary (furthest I have ever been is DLP back in 2000 before my panic attacks began). But I bit the bullet and went and am SO glad that I did (even if it did mean me needing to take a fair amount of medication).
After a 3 and a half hour drive we arrived and I was feeling really excited. We parked up and got the monorail into the park entrance and myself, Mr Fish and Matt Creek met up with Stretchy. Once the kiosks opened we got our tickets (Mr Fish and I do not have MAPs so we BOGOF'ed). Went through the turnstiles and were approached by a member of staff asking if we wanted to buy a photo pass - gutted that you only get 4 photos when it used to be 5 but we wanted some ORP's - The photo passes were £25 BUT that included a free digital download for each ORP so Mr Fish and I went halves (I couldn't justify spending £25).
We tried several times to contact Marc who was joining us along with Ricky & Chris, Thrillseeker Alex and Liam but had no luck so we headed straight to The Smiler. Luckily the queue wasn't too long by the time we reached it and we stood watching it testing - the dummies have smiley faces on them . At one point, one of the trains stopped almost at the top of the second lift hill and I thought "uh oh" we are doomed but the ride opened and we walked through the queue line which took about 2 years (slight exaggeration!) I looked back at the queue which was trailing right up the hill and was thankful that we got there when we did. The inside section of The Smiler is HOT - not helped by the fact that it was a boiling day anyway!
We got on the ride and had the front row which was really good although I felt a bit stupid when I started screaming like a lunatic when the train had only just started moving
My only concern with the ride was my fear of vomiting on people - and because the ride goes SO close to the queue line I would have been mortified had I been ill and not only sprayed my fellow riders but also potentially those waiting to go on the ride. Luckily this didn't happen (I take some amazing anti-sickness pills). I really enjoyed the ride even though it does leave you feeling more than a tad disorientated . Without that second lift hill I think I would have felt pretty ill. Speaking of which, the vertical lift hill - not keen on them to be honest because I have a crazy fear of looking up at the sky (odd I know - that is the only part of Saw: The Ride that I dislike - that, and that puppet thing ). Having been on Saw, I kind of expected a massive drop at the other end but I can't complain given that you are inverted 14 times
We went back on The Smiler at the end of the day for another go - Marc and the others had bought fast track tickets for their first ride so our second ride, we all went on together.....and queued for 2 hours (although I am pretty sure it was longer than that as there were a couple of announcements apologising for delays due to queue jumpers - naughty!). So being in the queue line for a fair amount of time (whereas the first time I rode we were on the ride fairly quick) you realise just how close the ride goes - it made me jump several times! The ride also seems to roar - it is so loud and me being pretty much deaf as a post I could barely hear what the others were saying . However, being in the queue for so long gave me the opportunity to get a load of photo's and vids of the ride - which I would post here however I STILL haven't figured out how to do so
When we eventually got onto the ride, I sat in the third row on the far right - Alex wanted to sit between myself and Liam to compare what we were both like regarding screaming - again I began screaming as the train left the station and as the ride left the first lift hill I think I may have come out with some unsavory language . I don't know if it was the train we got or the fact that I was sat in the 3rd row but - it was PAINFUL and I came off with a massive headache .
Overall I really do like the ride and the fact that when you are in the queue line, the trains go so close to where you are standing. I thought the queue line would freak me out as you are penned in with fencing above your head but I felt ok about it. The inversions are good, a couple which are really intense and at points you don't know what the heck is going on (or that might just be me as I generally don't know what is going on at the best of times).
This is the second Gerstlauer coaster I have ridden and I would say (although I don't like to compare) that I prefer Saws inside section (although not keen on the puppet!) and the drop after the lift hill, but both are brilliant rides.
Ok so I appear to be waffling.....
As I said before, it was really hot on Sunday which meant that the park was pretty busy - meaning that my ride count was low, however, that didn't affect the fact that I had an amazing day and also conquered my fear of one particular ride that the thought of bothered me.....OBLIVION.
After riding The Smiler we headed over to Oblivion which had quite a short queue - I was feeling really anxious, bordering on a panic attack. I really hate the feeling of falling - although I have been on Detonator 3 times and panicked on the way up but each time loved it. The ride decided to have some technical issues whilst we were queuing so some people decided to leave the queue line but we remained in it even though I was desperate to run off . It didn't take long before the ride was up and running again and I was getting closer to having a heart attack. We got front row (yay) and I was almost in tears going up the lift hill - I just wanted it to be over and done with ASAP which it was and I actually loved it! I thought it would be far worse than detonator but you don't get the same force so I would have happily gone on again had there not been a queue. I felt really pleased that I did it - not only because I was bricking it, but also because I had only previously ridden 2 B&M coasters (Inferno and Swarm) - I would love to ride every B&M coaster but my fear of flying plus lack of money is a bit of a block to this!
So after riding my 3rd B&M, myself, Stretchy, Mr Fish and Matt Creek headed off to meet up with Marc and the others (who had already managed to get on Nemesis, Nemesis Sub-Terra Battle Galleons and Th13teen! Whilst waiting for them they had 3 staff members entertaining the crowds and I had to restrain myself from joining in. So I stood there watching (and singing into my microphone aka water bottle) whilst they were dancing along to "You Can't Stop The Beat" - would be great if Thorpe did similar stuff to this as it was really entertaining and a group of girls joined in and were obviously having fun (not that I was jealous)
Marc and the rest of the group arrived and we headed off to ride Th13teen. The queue times were clearly not updated as we were in the queue for what seemed like forever - but we played Mr Fishs game which consisted of picking an envelope which contained the name of a theme park and then having 30 seconds to name as many rides as you could. I got Thorpe Park but confused myself as they have way too many rides which begin with letter S, so I lost to ThrillseekerAlex who got Alton Towers and beat me - then went on to win the prize which I had my eye on - a pacman soap on a rope. Stretchy made me laugh when he genuinely didn't believe that Monkey Swinger at CWOA used to be called Billys Whizzer - the look on his face classic! To be fair, Stretchy has never been to Chessington which I think needs to be sorted out - however with the current state of the park I wouldn't suggest he visit any time this year
We eventually got into the Th13teen station and I was slightly scared because I think it was Ricky who informed me that you get electrocuted or something (or I may have just made that up). There was an amusing moment when both myself and Alex counted 10 people in our group when there was actually 9 of us (my excuse is that I counted my imaginary friend ). I sat next to Alex who I think could tell I was a bit anxious (not helped by the fact that, whilst going up the lift hill he told me that the ride has 2 loops - NOT funny when you are sat there with just a lap bar - if I am going upside down I wanna be fully secured thank you very much) Thankfully I had already ruined the element of surprise by watching the ride on the internet so I knew what to expect however this didn't stop me screaming - A LOT! I think my screaming got worse when the first mini drop happened followed by the slightly bigger one then I began screaming like a complete lunatic when the ride went backwards - I HATE going backwards, even on a train but screaming actually helped otherwise I may have been a bit
We had lunch at Woodcutters which was really nice and the service was good in there, and then headed to Hex - when we got inside, the ride was having issues - typical, but it was sorted fairly quickly. I had NO idea what to expect from this as it is one of the rides I hadn't really read much about. Whilst the first film was playing I could feel a breeze on my neck and felt a bit anxious, then turned around and realised it was Liam!
The end bit of the ride seriously disorientated me - we walked into the last room and I said "Oooh we can sit down" - then when the lap bars came down I began to wonder what the hell was occurring (no one in the group warned me about it) - holy cack, I nearly pooped myself (yes I am a bit of a wimp) - and things that mess with your mind (especially mine as it is a tad bongled already) I am not keen on and it got to the point where I had to close my eyes and lean my head on the lap bar thing.
After Hex, Marc, Ricky, Chris, Alex and Liam went to use their fast track on the Smiler, so myself and the others heading towards Nemesis - we were going to catch the sky ride but thankfully it was busy (the thought of cable cars scare me senseless) - however, after trekking what felt like 20 miles I would have happily got on a cable car just for a rest . So, after taking about 5 hours to walk to Nemesis I was just about ready to collapse - stretchy and Matt Creek were walking way faster than myself and Mr Fish - I am so unfit I had to take my inhaler(!). Nemesis had a bit of a queue but it seemed to go down quite quick, and we decided to go front row - I am always a bit anxious on rides I have never been on before (I even screamed on the dragon coaster at legoland ) but I felt pretty much okay about Nemesis having ridden Inferno 5 times in a row at the ERT event. I sat front row, far left and absolutely LOVED it - B&M coaster count up to 4 and I have to say that you would never know that the ride will be 20 next year - it was pretty smooth and just amazing! Although I have only ridden Nemesis once and Inferno about 14 times, I would probably rate Nemesis higher in terms of intensity and general enjoyment. Again as I have said before, I don't like to make comparisons with rides but they are both B&M inverted coasters and have the same blinking name in them. I personally think Thorpe should have called N:I just Inferno because people are naturally going to compare the two, even those who aren't particularly enthusiasts.
Although I do prefer Nemesis to Inferno, I like that on Inferno you have the pre-lift hill section and the tunnel with the mist darkness which I think is pretty enjoyable but the ride layout of Nemesis in my opinion is far better - plus actually has theming. I was a bit worried about feeling rough after Nemesis but I felt completely fine - Inferno leaves me feeling dizzy for some reason and I am not sure how I managed 5 consecutive rides on it although I had to run off after ride no. 5 as I thought I was going to be ill.
I really wanted to get an ORP from Nemesis but some of the flaming screens weren't working grrrrr so our picture didn't come up. Random thought here (my ride knowledge is extremely limited) - is the vertical loop on Nemesis bigger than Inferno?! It has to be - it looks mahoosive in comparison.
Ok so I am still waffling and on my way to typing a flaming essay/novel.....
I really wanted to ride Air but it had a 60min queue and we needed to meet up with the rest of the group. Ripsaw was looking quite tempting with those water fountains but we made our 5 hour journey back to meet up with the others - the sky ride was busy so we burnt off about 2000000 calories by trekking it back
We all met outside Battle Galleons and as, by that point I had already sweated off about half a stone I was in desperate need of refreshment so myself and some of the others went on. Wow - I had NO idea I would get SO wet. It also made me realise that some kids can be completely annoying as we had a bunch of them in the boat in front shouting at us - just spray the water people, and shut ya cake holes
Again I screamed on this every time I got pelted with water when I wasn't expecting it - at one point I was the only person in our group on one side of the boat so I attempted to multi-task and use 2 guns at the same time but then realised that it didn't work out so well as I couldn't move the guns unless I had a 3rd hand
Towards the end of the ride we spotted Liam and Alex waiting to drench us so we were on a mission to get them as soaked as possible - however, they were no where near as soaked as us when we got off the ride - I was literally drenched - almost "Tidal Wave" drenched but it helped to cool me off . I didn't realise that you can get an ORP from this so when we walked past the screens, the pic had been taken when I was on one side of the boat by myself so all you could see was me looking tired and behind me, the other guys backs!
By now it was just gone 5pm so we all headed over to The Smiler for our last ride of the day. I really wanted to do Oblivion again but it had a long queue and we didn't want to risk not getting another chance to be corrected flung around and upside down 14 times. I won't repeat myself (for a change) as I have already typed up a bit about the second ride but all I would say is - first row was great - third row = massive headache!
Smiler merch is.....not cheap, although I quite fancied the onesie they do. However Stretchy pointed out that a lot of the products are poor quality so I just bought a small bag (which would probably break if I put anything more than a bog roll in it) and a Smiler wristband. The teddies in there are something ridiculous like £15 = daylight robbery!
Due to delays and the massive queue line (I have always said I would never queue longer than an hour for any ride but a lot of people sat down in the queue line - myself included) so we didn't leave the park until gone 7ish. The monorail was closed so we had to walk about 200 miles to the car park. I was exhausted, sweaty but so happy that I had FINALLY gone to Alton Towers
As I said before, my ride count was low but this didn't put a dampener on the day at all - it would have been nice to try out Air, The Flume and Rapids (we didn't even go to Katanga area ), Rita and Duel but on a busy hot day it was impossible. Being so far from home (Ok not massively far, but just short of 200 miles) I dealt with pretty well and even getting there was a huge achievement for me.
It was lovely seeing Stretchy, ThrillseekerAlex, Ricky, Mr Fish, Matt Creek and Marc again fantastic to meet the lovely Liam aka LIMA and Chris. We went to Harvester afterwards where I suspect we all stunk as they put us on a table away from everyone else and underneath air conditioning - I was SO cold. Ricky made me laugh when he asked for a side order of no air con .
All in all a brilliant day with lovely people - I am hoping to be able to go back to Towers when it is much quieter so I can go on all the rides (if that is even possible in a day) - I had NO idea how big AT is but I love the fact that one minute you are at a ride, then you are walking through what appears to be a forest, then you see how lovely the gardens are. THEY HAVE TREES!!! Thorpe Park could definitely do with a bit of greenery! Having visited Towers it really does make TP look like a concrete jungle - BUT in Thorpes defence, they have a better selection of flat rides IMO.
I thought the staff at Alton Towers were really friendly which definitely makes the day that little bit better when they seem happy and chatty. Though I feel sorry for the guys working on the Smiler - I still have the song stuck in my head - it is like "It's a small world" all over again but the tune is rather catchy even if it does make me feel like I am going insane®
Really glad that I got the opportunity to ride The Smiler - it is a good ride but not something which I would count as world class (but then the only other theme park I have been to outside the UK was DLP over 10 years ago) - it certainly attracts the crowds but for me Nemesis was far superior although I did enjoy the Smiler (first time more so).
So I shall leave my wafflage here and sign off by saying.....SMILE.....ALWAYS!

Whilst this isn't a theme park it is definitely a great tourist attraction and definitely deserves a trip report.
The tour is well known globally with people travelling from all over the world to visit. We saw: English, German, Hungarian, Argentinian, South African, Turkish, Japanese and many more people of different origins. So it is certainly a well known tourist attraction!
So where do we begin? Well firstly, this may contain spoilers for those of you who haven't been and may like too. You have been warned. Secondly, this is very picture heavy.
You arrive at the studios and unsurprisingly they look like film studios. This is because they are, or were.

This lovely sign greets you before you join a lovely cattle pen queue to enter the VT room. Us Brits really love queuing!

The queue has a bit of theming though with Harry's under stair cupboard.
You watch a lovely video about the success of the Harry Potter franchise. Then you move into a seated area and sit before the entrance to Hogwarts! The seating was a bit strange as almost as soon as you were seated you had to move to the doors.

These guards take no prisoners when it comes to protecting Hogwarts!

Then all of a sudden you enter into the Great Hall.

All the teachers are here to keep us safe.

But watch out for the fiery gargoyles!
After a staff member talking to you about the Great Hall you are free to wander the rest of the tour at your own pace. Within this part are many of the props and rooms from the films. This is also where you see how the special effects are done with the use of green screen.

This table looked nice.

Watch your heads, these may fall on you.

Tic toc.

Snape, the good baddy.

The Goblet of Fire with a lack of fire.

An awful panoramic of Dumbledore's office.

I like this door.

Gringotts vehicle.

Tim Burke tells us the magic behind the flying broom, and they really use magic!

Decapitated Hagrid, his dog and their home.

Professor Umbridge has an unhealthy cat obsession.

The Death Eaters disapprove of this.

So create a very strange statue.
From here you go outside to see some of the larger props, very nice of a nice day but I doubt it's much fun in the rain.

This is a purple bus with three floors, your eyes aren't deceiving you.

The houses on Pivet Drive look very nice.

Some work could be done here though.

The bridge.

Certainly a memorable grave.

Wizard chess anyone?

These guys are ready!

And battle commences.
You return inside to the more technical side of Potter with all the costumes, animations, models and drawings.

Who doesn't love Dobby?

The secret behind Hagrid.

Such an innocent looking dog.

Lovely Buckbeak, he means no harm.

Why are people afraid of spiders? This one isn't scary at all.

And Dementors, they're not exactly big, more a nuisance.

Wizard humour...

I just don't get it!

Wizard ice creams on the other hand.

Quite a nice street.

Paper Hogsmeade.

And the tree.
From here there is only two things left, the wand shop Ollivanders which was quite good, and the most spectacular bit of the whole tour.
THE MODEL OF HOGWARTS! Pictures just don't do this justice, it is amazing to think that this was built in only 40 days and used for any of the overview shots of Hogwarts.



Then the lights went and it looked even better!





The whole tour is amazing and whilst it is expensive it is definitely worth visiting once. It is a great hit with people worldwide and with good reason. I'm not a massive Potter fan but still found this tour and look behind the magic great fun and very interesting. I recommend it to everyone!
Thanks for reading

Today I went to Thorpe for the afternoon mainly to get my new pass for my trip to Towers on Sunday but also to explore what the park has to offer for kids as they try to shift their target market to include families.

New pass, check. Drinks capsule, check. And away we go!

Flying Fish is always a good start for your family adventure.

Storm Surge is always good for families, and well liked. Why I don't know but the customer is always right.

Look! Another family coaster and it seems popular today.

And of course there is the good old teacups, even with Tetley sponsorship for all you tea drinking adults.

Then you can continue spinning on the waves of Calypso (but not today as it was closed)

Mr Monkey welcomes you to his banana boat. Yep, not just a pirate ship, a banana boat!
There's also a Carousel behind me but forgot to get a picture of it, thought it might be to extreme for families.

Children can then go on a great fun log flume, but with a double drop!

Next up you can ride a wild train to some awesome music. Provides a great thrill for people of all ages.

Speaking of trains, hopefully these will once again go down allowing families to go on a bear hunt.

Now for the more thrill seeking youngsters Zodiac is a suitable option with only a 0.9 restriction!

And the wild ride that is Quantum which even makes my stomach churn.
Children between over 1.3 but not quite tall enough for the large coasters can also enjoy Rush and Detonator which both offer great thrills for their height restriction.

To end your family adventure you can take a slide down Depth Charge and relax on the beach which is brilliant in nice weather!
Overall, it isn't going to be impossible to shift the target market with lots of it going to be down to marketing as they have a handful of suitable family attractions. I'm sure in a couple of years with the proper hotel and a few years of investment in the park a change will have successfully occurred, and all for the best! As long as they don't lose sight and go too soft with their additions. I am very excited to see how this change turns out!
Note, my day did not consist of riding these rides

So, you may or may not know, but I went to Europa Park recently. If you get a chance to go here then by all means DO IT, such an amazing park. The whole surrounding town area is just so nice also, really feels welcoming! Here's just a few pictures from my trip there:
Milka factory

SELFIE (in random German woman's car edition)

Part of our room, we paid 150 Euros each for 2 nights here, with our own bathroom/kitchen/balcony, just a 10 minute walk to the park, absolutely amazing value!

One of the beautiful hotels at Europa Park


Entering the park has that magical Disney feel about it

Amazing ride with an entrance to match!

The roughest ride I've ever been on, fun, but very rough (Euro-Sat)

Even Europa has scaffolding rides


Food Loop is such an amazing experience for a restaurant

Food Loop menu screen

Got my souvenir

Nice little panorama




Bench ride win

Bench ride selfie

My new favourite ride at any park ever



REAL LIFE DUFF BEER

Lots of Milka

Hotel Colosseo


What a wonderful, wonderful park.
I'll do another blog post when my friend who I went with uploads his pictures

I had a final destination type near death experience the other day.
Driving to work along an A road a hail storm of biblical proportions suddenly fell out of an otherwise sunny sky, accompanied by a bit of thunder. I've never seen a lightning bolt hit the ground close up before, so when one hit a wooden power cable post about 20 ft in front of me a very nearly **** myself, such a blinding light and deafening crack of thunder that I could feel in the air as much as hear. The post exploded in an enormous shower of sparks which really filled the sky, followed almost instantly by another post on the opposite side of the road which the bolt must have traveled to along the cable to. It was like driving through an 80's car advert.
I was doing about 60 at the time when amongst the chaos I noticed out of the corner of my eye something falling towards me from above. The power cable between the two posts was dropping out of the sky onto the road below and I was driving towards it. Now I know that you are insulated from electricity in a car but at that moment you don't think that rationally and I was convinced I'd explode like the posts if it touched my car. It flashed through my mind whether to slam my brakes on and hope I stopped in time or put my foot down and try to get under it.
Not wanting to come to a stop right underneath it I slammed my foot on the accelerator. The power cable bounced off my windscreen and into the floor behind me in another huge shower of sparks. I guess if had smashed through I'd have been a goner but it didn't even make a mark, I survived. That was an exciting couple of seconds I can tell you.

After reading a few posts about posting trip reports as blogs I have decided all of my 2013 Thorpe trips will be in this blog thread. Each one will have the date of visit in the title making it nice and easy for those of you who want to view certain ones etc.
It was a beautiful Saturday morning when we set of for Thorpe. We were spited by intermittent rain throughout the morning but it ended out being a lovely day. For a Saturday with nice weather the queues weren't too bad with the longest we queued being 30 minutes for Swarm backwards. It was a thrill packed day from 10-6:30 and a great way to end the life on my MAP (as I'm unlikely to use it again before it runs out due to exams). I love the way the park is being run this year with operations on top notch that I saw yesterday. Everything was running full capacity (except Stealth) and the only 'breakdowns' I witnessed were twice on X due to 'essential cleaning.' Even on 1 car though Stealth was running brilliantly and the staff were very efficient as the second car was obviously broken as they did bring it out but it went straight back in after 1 test run. But the main reason for visiting was to use the brand new queue line signs which I have to say are great and only have a few downsides which I'll get to later.

We started and ended the day on Stealth which reminded me where I was. Without this I would have been lost. When the time is shown it says (I think) 'Stealth launching in T-minus ## minutes.'

We then went to feel the heat on Inferno (don't know why this picture is so small)

Followed by riding on a wave of sound and light on X (not sure there are enough X's in this picture)
This was followed by Colossus and Saw both with these lovely scrolling signs. Colossus' is related to the power of 10 and Saw's is about making your choice of life or death in ## minutes.

At this time the sun had come out so we went on our wild, wet adventure on Loggers Leap

Then Thorpe Mega Store. I wasn't going to queue 50 minutes for a soakin'

With lunch settled it was time for the flat rides. Simple signs work well.

Quantum doesn't get enough attention but I'm sure with its brand new sign it will receive all the attention.

And then all of a sudden it was the end of the day and rides were close d
The new signs are great and seem to update more often (or have the chance to if the time changes). The only 2 negatives are the fact that closed can't fit properly on the flat ride signs and Nemesis Inferno is referred to as Nemesis on the big boards because it wouldn't fit otherwise. May seem a bit picky but it will just add to the 'never knew Thorpe had the same ride as Alton' discussion. To make up for this though Swarm forwards and backwards times are on the large boards.

Trip report time!
After being picked up from East Croydon by Peaj, along with Jaymiee and Ben (TopsyTurvy), we set off to Chessie. But not without picking up from Han from Wimbledon station; she got the train there by herself! Well done Han!
Once arriving at the park, Peaj received a text from Mr Fish saying that “the car park is closed” – he’d gone to the wrong entrance, bless him While Peaj went to collect him, JamesC, Phill and Matt arrived! It was easy to tell that Matt was a TPM member with his annual pass and lanyard! However, Jaymiee had never met Phill before, so as he was arriving said “Who’s that man walking towards us?” Once Peaj returned with Fish, the entrance had opened and in we went, bumping into Adam (scarycoasterboy) on the way in! After initially losing James (his new MAP didn’t let him through the turnstiles at first!) we headed over to Hocus Pocus Hall and met up with Alex (ThrillseekerAlex), Jonny and Chris *I think* (TP1214). We did Hocus Pocus as we were right next to it and it was a good laugh, been ages since I’d done it! Han jumped a few times though bless her!
After this we had a bundle of laughs on Rattlesnake! I shared a car with Peaj, James and Matt and made sure we screamed the loudest! As the years have gone on I love this ride even more; not that I ever disliked it but every time I ride, I find it more and more fun! I also adore the queueline as it just reminds me of my first ever visit to the park, and Rattlesnake was my first ride (this was back when it had its original height restriction of 1m 17)!
While waiting for Jack and Ethan (EC!) to arrive, we had a ride on Safari Skyway. Nice way to chill and enjoy the views of the zoo. As you can see I was super excited to see the animals!

We then met Jack (and his mum) at the entrance and headed over toward Land of the Dragons to meet Ethan. Peaj got a nice photo of us 3 plus James in the sun here!

We then headed over to Tomb Blaster where Peaj explained the rules of the game “Empire” and where we had one of our group photos. Then it was off to Tomb Blaster for some fun! Really enjoyed the ride, and also while walking through the queueline, I was reminded of how good it all is! Good fun ride, sat with Ethan, James, Han and Fish and I beat all of them with a score of 13900! Not sure what my highest score on this is but I tend to score higher on Duel. Overall, out of the whole group, I came fourth with my score, not bad at all!
Don’t we look good

The time then came to try out the new ride…ZUFARI! The queue wasn’t too bad and at this point the sun really came out, so off came the layers! There is a photo point in the queue where some of us were given hats and snakes to hold for the shot. It’s a bit of a shame to have something like that in the middle of a queue as in some ways it just screams out money making, plus causes some delays. Then again it did provide extra amusement and any income to the park is positive I guess.
Now, onto the ride itself. Let’s start with the preshow…errrm It’s great for interaction and the children seemed to enjoy it, but it was also quite cringey, especially Ghozi the lemur (who is apparently male but has a female voice?!). And the animation of its mouth is rather terrible! We did have a laugh though, even if it was for the wrong reasons! So then it was time for our adventure to begin! I must say it was nice to have a different experience to the usual rides by being in a vehicle driven by someone, something about it is good fun! Ethan thought so too!

We were lucky that we had nice weather too as it meant the animals were all out; flamingos, giraffes, zebras and white rhino. There’s not really much else I can say about those parts of the ride, other than that you can get nice photos of the animals if they’re out. And they seemed pretty happy too which is nice to see. But we soon arrived at the Danger Cave! Having heard about this from others (well the whole ride in general to be precise) I lowered my expectations. And I found it to be better than I expected! As others have said, for something in the UK it really isn’t bad at all. The water effects were good and the children were all screaming The waterfall as you exit provided a good laugh too! Everyone in the group came off smiling and saying it was good and better than they’d heard! Hurrah!
My happy mood after the ride quickly left me as I had a mini heart attack at the exit; my phone was missing! It had been in my jeans pocket but I checked my bag thoroughly incase I had put it in there and not remembered (yes, I do that). But it wasn’t there so I figured it had fallen out of my pocket into the vehicle. Now at this point the rest of the group were slowly disappearing from the exit. I did call after them but they didn’t hear, yet there was too much of a crowd to go after them, explain and then return to the ride; I didn’t want to risk someone finding my phone and taking it! As Sheepie would put it – I was flapping! I asked the staff members if they could look for my phone and luckily, they found it! Phew! But the bad news? The guy who found it then dropped it! I’ve only had it 6 months and up until now was in pristine condition, but it now has some lovely scuff marks on But I was flippin’ relieved that it wasn’t lost, and I guess if I’d had a cover on it, it would have helped
I breathed a huge sigh of relief, checked it still worked after its dramatic turn of events, and thought that by now, the group would realise they were missing one person and one or two might have come back to see where I was. But NO! Never fear, I did eventually catch up with them by Rameses and of course, I could’ve contacted Peaj or someone if I couldn’t find them. But it’s a bit disheartening when nobody realises you’ve disappeared I know I’m small but I’m not THAT small am I?
But never mind, it was time to ride an old, creaky top spin! The queue wasn’t too bad and I chose to sit on the edge as I just wasn’t in the mood for a face full of water. I’ve not ridden Rameses (or Ripsaw) for a few years as I just don’t find top spins that fun, plus the restraints try to knock the wind out of you! But this meant that I did enjoy it, and I’ll always remember my first trip to Chessie when I was too short to ride it, watching it and thinking how big and scary it looked!
We then went towards Mystic East as we had seen Dragon Falls running earlier on in the day. However we were greeted with a sign informing us that the area was closed off while they updated the theming, and the ride was empty of water. Mystic East is one of, if not the best, themed areas of the park and it was rather saddening to see its main ride in such a state
But as Peaj would say, “Hey ho!” And off to Wild Asia we went. We did Monkey Swinger first, taking advantage of its short queue. Speaking of Peaj, it was time for my traditional “Peaj Hug!”

Love how I’m being used as a head rest! It was going nicely until Ethan decided to start his evil kidney jabbing! Had a fun ride as always but the water jets weren’t on which was a shame, but it was fun waving at Han every time we whizzed past her. While we were in the mood for spinning we headed over to Kobra, which had quite a queue but as always when you’re with such a great bunch of people, it doesn’t matter. Had a lot of laughs in the queue – to the point where I ended up collapsing onto the floor! - with conversations ranging from saggy melons to soggy biscuits (!), to whacking one out Don’t worry – it was just my mind being dirty! And I was appropriately named a “Dirty minded individual.”
We had a good ride on Kobra, and after finding it uncomfortable previously (not the back rests, but the fact they pushed me into the front part, crushing my stomach) I was determined to not suffer again, however I think I made my leaning back a bit too obvious and the staff member asked me to lean forwards. As you can see, I was not impressed...

I did try to lean back as much as I could though, and I think I know why I have an issue but no one else does; my height! The bottom of my rib cage – so roughly where the diaphragm is – gets pushed into the front part of the seats. Whereas for others who are taller, the front part would push against their belly instead, thus causing less or no discomfort. But this leaves me wondering what it’s like for children. It’s not awful, I mean if I brace myself I can push myself back and be fine, but I would like to be able to put my arms and legs up without feeling suffocated!
After our ride, MarkC had finally arrived and was waiting with Han! And what better ride to do for our first one as a full group than Tuk Tuk Turmoil! I really do love this as a group ride, it is so fun and I could easily do it more than once purely for that reason!
Group photo time by the talking elephant tree thing (forgotten its name)! Won’t post it as you’ve already seen it in Peaj’s trip report.
Our bellies were rumbling so it was time to eat. It went well considering people went off separately, no faff or disagreements or standing around for a thousand years debating where to eat I went with some of the others to Creaky Café, which is a lovely little place and not bad for money. I literally walked in and exclaimed to James “OOOH this is nice!” We sat outside to eat, where the others who had gone elsewhere joined us. It was at this point that I felt even more happy and excited about the whole day and how awesome it had already been!
We paid a visit to Bubbleworks while our food went down and experienced the new music. I have to say, it was quite jolly and some of us were dancing/bobbing around to it! Me and Peaj got right into it, so much so that I ended up marmalised!


Joining me in my tub were Han, Jaymiee and Alex. Ooh cosy! I know this is so repetitive to say but I miss the original ride so much, it hurts to see how different it all is when all I can think of is how good it was! Particularly the fountain finale, gaah I miss those strobes! It made me so mad I turned rather demonic!


Jaymiee decided we should scream as loud as possible when going down the drop and see if Peaj’s boat did the same in competition – and sure enough, they did! God knows what the operator thought!
Vampire was up next Again, it’s such a shame to see it like it is when remembering how great it used to look. The queue was quite long but as usual we all made it good fun, and got some funny photos!

And our game of Empire finished with Adam winning the flag! It was also funny when MarkC asked if my name was Meryl I nearly collapsed onto the floor again! Was a fun ride as usual, and I’ll always love that lift hill noise and the roar of the trains
Time was running out so we decided to go on Black Buccaneer and make Dragon’s Fury our last ride of the day. Whilst chatting in the Buccaneer queueline, I discovered that Alex is from Horley. Horley! Somebody on TPM is from where I am from It might not seem much of a deal to some, but hardly anyone I know has heard of the place! Small world, eh? We soon got on the ride, where we could smell weed, which led to me and James trying to guess who it was I still say the lady on the opposite side wearing the pearls looked pretty out of it Got some good interaction on the ride too; the operator asked how we all knew each other due to our large group size, and we explained. The ride start announcement turned out to be “No standing up, no throwing up, no touching the cross bars if you are sat in the back rows, and if you plan on writing about this on the internet later, please say good things!” We certainly have!
So it was time for our last ride of the day (or so we thought…) on Dragon’s Fury. The queue was long-ish, made worse by Mark’s sugar addiction I hate to moan (and contradict my statement about positive feedback), but the operation of the ride was pretty dire, with cars stacking up outside the station – there were four stacked at one point! This man certainly wasn’t impressed:

Han, Fish and Chris look on in disgust:

Ooh er! We planned our seating arrangements strategically, and I shared with Peaj and Ethan. This resulted in some epic spinning on the first half of the ride! Not so much after the second lift hill, but then again I’ve noticed that cars never seem to spin as much on that part. But yeah, it was brilliant fun and probably the best ride I’ve ever had on Fury!
At this point, we had to say goodbye to Jack and Adam, and had found out that Zufari’s queue was still open! So there was only one option…LEG IT! Han wasn’t up for the mad sprint so decided to go for a mad spin on Rameses instead! We made it to Zufari in one piece, albeit breathless, and had another good ride on it. Some of us sat in the front for the preshow and JamesC was cheeky to Ghozi and got to do a monkey impression! We didn’t see as many animals this time around but it was still good.
We then made our way out of the area and said our goodbyes to those who weren’t coming to the meal. It really had been a fantastic meet and I was glad it still wasn’t yet over. Mark clearly didn’t want it to be over either; while walking back to Peaj’s car, he came after me for more hugs, bless him! This frightened Han so much she pooped bricks:

We had to sit outside at the Monkey Puzzle as there were no tables inside, and it was getting a tad chilly. Nevertheless, it was a nice meal, a nice way to relax after the day and to have a chat. I had paprika chicken and spicy chips which was yummy, although part of my breast was overdone

James and Ethan soon had to leave, and the rest of us headed inside to the warmth where we found some tables, and Peaj, Alex and Mr Fish found themselves eating an enormous sundae between them! We chilled for while then decided it was time to leave and end our day
And wow, what a day it was! Firstly, I’d like to say that it was a fantastic group of people that attended, as Peaj said. It was different, as there were quite a few newbies/new-ish to meets members, but it was great to see so many new faces and that everyone joined in and felt comfortable
Mark isn’t as bad as he is online (I’m sure he won’t mind me saying that as I said it to him in person and he admitted it ), he is adorable! Meryl indeed! Apologies to Matt, Adam, Jonny and Chris who I didn’t get round to speaking to that much, but as I said it was nice to meet you guys! The same goes to Alex although we did speak a bit at the meal, and also thank you for offering me a lift home I would have taken it but as you know, I had to stay in Peaj’s car and be a good friend James and Ethan are as lovely as they are online – James, you’re a total geek for walking around with your drinks capsule and Ethan, despite being an evil kidney jabbing gremlin, you did make me laugh when you said “For some reason I thought Mer would be taller.”
It was lovely as always to see everyone else again and that the whole group in general got on well and stuck together. So thank you all for being so awesome! This was definitely one of the best meets
Finally, as always, thank you to Peaj for organising this meet and running it so well. Empire was a great game to play throughout the day and really helped everyone get to know each other. The meets actually feel like meets again, which is how it should be I can’t thank you enough!
Thanks for reading! x