UK Coaster Trip

[Harpo]

Thought I'd start a new topic to avoid letting that one get too far off topic!

Originally posted by leonardofury
Warrington is quite nicely in between Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach. It is also near Pleasureland Southport and Camelot. You might find the following page helps although the map is a bit rough and ready.
http://www.coasterforce.com/uk/uk.php

Gulliver's Warrington is in the middle of the cluster of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Camelot and Pleasureland Southport. Gulliver's Milton Kenyes is north of London (Thorpe Park and Chessington) and Gullivers Matlock is roughly to the left of Ligh****er Valley.

Also you may be interested in the following new coasters British parks are getting this year

Alton Towers, UK - Rita, Queen of Speed, an Intimin Rocket Coaster in Ug Land, replaces Boneshaker. This coaster has no inversions but should launch you up to 62mph in 2.8secs! It opens just before Kanonen allowing Alton Towers to claim the first Rocket Coaster in Europe.

Blackgang Chine, UK - Is getting an I.E.Park JR30 family coaster. I.E.Park appears to be an Italian company who have recently started building kiddie and family coasters. They use the same style of track as junior Pinfari's and have built 4 coasters (3 in the UK, 1 in Germany). No idea of location.

Drayton Manor, UK - Barnstorm, a Maurer-Sohne X-car Coaster. I don't know where this will go but I suspect it will go on the old Klondike site as this coaster is leaving the park (see below)

Funland Amusement Park, UK - They have bought the old Klondike Gold Mine from Drayton Manor and installing it as their second coaster. Being as the Klondike Gold Mine (a Pinfari ZL42) has a loop, the park also gains it's first inversion. Location unknown to me.

Flamingo Land, UK - Is aquiring TWO new coasters for 2005, A Vekoma SLC and Booster Bike. No names have been released and I don't know the locations, but again I would suspect one on the Thunder Mountain site and one replacing Magnum Force and Bullet all of which close this year.

This is From the larger European Coaster post you will find in the forum

Thanks for the info! All of those parks except Blackgang Chine were on my list of parks to "investigate."

Ideally, I want to ride on every coaster I can. Doesn't mean it'll happen, but I'll try to pull together the best possible route to get on as many coasters as possible. My motto: Fast or slow, big or small, short or tall, I ride 'em all!

I would very much like it if time would allow me to visit every UK park, but I doubt that'll happen, which is why I'm prioritizing, and that means investigating the parks. Sometimes, even a small park has some features that are of interest, even if it doesn't have a major coaster. Following is the list of parks that I know about with at least one coaster. For ones I've already investigated, I put the current priority in parentheses. Can you (or anyone else) see any parks that I may have missed?

Investigating for UK trip (Items marked with * -- still trying to find out operating hours for June and July 2005 -- any assistance is greatly appreciated!):

Legoland Windsor (medium)
Gulliver's Milton Keynes (medium to low)
Gulliver's Warrington (medium)
Flambards Village (low)
*World In Miniature (medium)
*American Adventure (medium to low)
Gulliver's Matlock Bath (medium to low)
Crealy Park - Exeter (low)
Milky Way (low)
Alice In Wonderland (low)
Brighton Pier (medium)
*Fort Fun (low)
Adventure Island (medium)
Clacton Pier (very low)
Clarence Pier (medium to low)
*Funland Amusement Park (Hayling Island) (low)
Paultons Park (medium to low)
*Bridlington Experience (low)
Needles Park (very low)
*Dreamland (high)
*Blackpool Pleasure Beach (high)
*Camelot Theme Park (medium to low)
*South Pier (medium to low)
*Botton's Pleasure Beach (medium to low)
*Cleethorpes Beach (very low)
*Dunes Leisure (low)
*Fantasy Island (medium to high)
Pleasure Island (medium)
*Adventureland (very low)
Knowsley Safari Park (medium to low)
*Pleasureland Southport (high)
Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach (high)
*Joyland Amusement Park (medium to high)
Pet****s Animal Adventure Park (low)
Flamingo Land (high)
Ligh****er Valley (medium to high)
*Wicksteed Leisure Park (low)
Wonderland Pleasure Park (very low)
Brean Leisure Park (medium to low)
Alton Towers (high)
Drayton Manor Park (high)
*New Pleasurewood Hills (medium)
Chessington World of Adventures (medium to high)
Thorpe Park (high)
New Metro Land (medium to low)
*Ocean Beach Pleasure Park (South Shields) (low)
*Seaburn Fun Park (very low - email response from Sunderland indicated 0 coasters)
West Midlands Safari Park (low)
*Tramore Amusement Park (very low)
Barry's Amusement Park (low)
*Aberdeen Fun Beach (low)
*Codona's Amusement Park (low)
Loudoun Castle (medium)
M&D's Scotland's Theme Park (medium)
*Ocean Beach Amusement Park (Wales) (medium to low)
*Grove Land (low)
Oakwood Leisure Park (high)
Green Wood Forest Park (medium)
*Coney Beach Pleasure Park (low)
*Barry Island Pleasure Park (low)
Blackgang Chine (low)

Two of the parks are in Ireland -- I'm very doubtful that I'll actually go to Ireland on this trip, but I'm not yet ruling it out.

How easy is it to get to and from Ireland via car? Are there car ferries that run frequently? Or would it be better to take a boat and rent another car in Ireland?

It's highly unlikely that all these parks will actually make it into my trip, but they're a starting point for my investigation and planning. Some of them will surely wind up as "optional" visits, where they will be visited if time allows due to running ahead of schedule.

I'm intending to add some other sights into the trip, as well, so that's going to impact just how many parks get thrown into the mix.

[BorisTheFish]

if its a coaster trip, you can cross Funland Park off the list, their only coster is SBNO and looking for a new buyer.

[Harpo]

That's too bad about Funland (aka Rotunda). I did place on my notes that it was an "endangered" park. I also recorded the number of coasters at the park as "?," so I was aware that there was an issue there. I have the same "endangered" note for Dreamland. I've only been on one side friction coaster, and I thought it was quite neat, even if it wasn't particularly thrilling. (Leap The Dips at Lakemont Park, Altoona, Pennsylvania, built in 1902)

Gee, I wish I had the funds to buy the ride and a place to put it -- I'd snap it up in a second!

Thanks for the info, although I wish the news about the park had been better! But, it's very helpful to me to find out such information before getting too far in the trip planning.

From a couple of pictures I saw, it looks like Rotunda/Funland had a beautiful location. It's too bad that the park is going away.

[BorisTheFish]

i'd only ever been to the park once myself about 12 years ago, and it is indeed a shame it ended up this way. Dreamland too has a very large question mark over its future - the Wooden coaster there is down as a listed building, but planning permission has been granted i believe to build on the dreamland site, so nobody is really sure about what will happen there.

[David Ellis]

The news is more positive re Dreamland - see the Save the Scenic (http://www.scenicrailway.co.uk/) website for the latest news.

Regards,
David.

PS You are really ambitious with that tour. I haven't done half of those parks and I live in the UK!

[Squid2]

Okay, David, Harpo, you to have got to meet on this trip! The two of you in the same park, discussing the same coasters... now, if we just can get Chris Sawyer on the trip as well... (insert evil laugh here.)

Squid2

[David Ellis]

I don't think we will get Chris along...but when you have firmer details I will try to meet up with you in the UK, perhaps at one of my local parks (Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach or Pleasurewood Hills).

David.

[Harpo]

Originally posted by David Ellis
PS You are really ambitious with that tour. I haven't done half of those parks and I live in the UK!

I'm glad there's positive news about Dreamland.

Yes, that's a very ambitious load of parks to investigate! I'm positive they won't all be on the trip, so the question comes down to just how many will be on the trip. After all, that is 61 parks (if I counted right!), and my most productive single trip so far had 45 parks. Plus, I really want to do some non-amusement park sightseeing, as well.

However, that long list is a starting point to see what will develop.

I'll be sure to post my schedule once I have it finalized, and hopefully we can meet up somewhere! I should caution, however, that I'm not planning on doing any riding au naturel! :D


EDIT: Anyone have any information about Bridlington Experience? From RCDB, I see that they have 1 adult and 2 family coasters. But, apparently, they don't have a website, so I can't find any information about their operating hours or their admission prices. Right now, I'm putting it as a low priority, although I generally do like Wild Mouse-type coasters.

I've also put Needles Park as a very low priority -- their website doesn't make any mention of the coaster that is mentioned in RCDB. Anyone know anything about that? (Even if their website did mention the coaster, it looks like it's just a kiddy coaster, so it's likely to be skipped, anyway.)

EDIT 2: Hmmm, looks like information for Dreamland's hours and prices is also hard to find. I've sent an email to the Save Dreamland folks, hoping that they might at least know who I could contact. In the meantime, does anyone have any info on the hours and prices for Dreamland for last two weeks of June and first week of July?

Thanks!

[David Ellis]

Regarding the Dreamland opening hours it is far too early to say. The news that the park will open this year at all was only received two days ago...hopefully Nick or Sarah at the Save Dreamland site may get some information for you.

Don't worry about the nude riding though! I am pretty certain I won't be doing any of that this year...but you never know!

Regards,
David.

[BorisTheFish]

Dreamland is normally charged on a Token basis, though there has been talk of charging for entrance to the park instead to keep the park family friendly

[Harpo]

Information seems to be getting harder to find!

Cleethorpes Beach info seems to be non-existent. But, based on the info from RCDB, I suspect I won't be visiting Cleethorpes.

I filled out a form for Blackpool Pleasure Beach, so hopefully I'll get some useful information coming back from them.

I also sent emails to Camelot Theme Park, South Pier, and Botton's Pleasure Beach, since there wasn't enough info on tneir websites, either. But, at least I did find email addresses to contact! Hopefully I'll get some good info. Since South Pier is near BPB, that one's got a fairly good shot at a quick visit, even though I've got it as "medium to low" priority.

By the way, I'll update the priorities in the first post as I manage to do more research, so you can keep track of how the trip is coming together!

David, have you looked into any water park experiences in the buff? Water slides in the raw just seems like a natural fit! :D

[leonardofury]

I can tell you a bit about Camelot. I live fairly close to it. Their latest coaster is a Maurer-Sohne XC3000 Spinning Wild Mouse. They also have a Pinfari ZL42 called the Gauntlet, a powered family coaster and a kiddie coaster (I think its a Pinfari Big Apple from what I can remember). They have a couple of good flat rides there as well and they had a go kart track last time I visited. The whole park is themed around camelot and they have a live medival show. The park should be signposted off the M60 (We did have a period where people where stealing road signs for the aluminium in them). They used to have a Schwarzkopf looper called Tower of Terror but they exchanged it for The Gauntlet after the scenery was damaged by fire while it was being refurbished(they were originally going to get the UK's first Vekoma Invertigo to replace Tower of Terror but they were refused planning permission. We still haven't got one :( ). I may try and visit it again this year its rumoured to be closing soon.

Alton Towers should be on the top of your list of parks to visit, Harpo. You have the world's first B&M flyer Air, Nemesis (Still my favourite coaster) and Oblivon the world's first B&M dive machine.
Oh year and Rita is arriving this year and that looks fun too. You also have The Beastie (Pinfari Super Dragon), Spinball Whizzer (Maurer-Sohne custom spinning coaster), Runaway Mine Train (Mack custom Powered mine ride) and Corkcrew (Vekoma Corkscrew with Bayerncurve, and the first ride in Britian with an inversion).

American Adventure is another park that may close soon. They haven't added anything new for a second year. They have the world's tallest triple drop log flume, The Nightmare Niagara, that's worth a ride. They have a decent rapids there too. The coasters are nothing special. They have a Skycoaster (The slingshot thing), Missile (Vekoma Boomerang), a Power Buffalo Coaster (I think Zamperla make these?), a double looping coaster a powered mine train and a kiddie coaster(I think). If you've never been it's probably worth a visit if you are nearby but don't expect it to be as good as Alton Towers or Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

IMO Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Oakwood, Fantasy Island, Flamingoland, Drayton Manor, Thorpe Park and Chessington are all parks you should aim to see.
If you have time Pleasureland Southport, Camelot, Gulliver's Warrington, American Adventure, Rhyl Ocean Beach Park, Dreamland Margate and Legoland Windsor are all worth a look each having a perk or unique point.

The rest I would class as a fairly low priority though if you're at Fantasy Island Botton's is fairly close so you might like to nip there. Make sure you get some fish and chips on the seafront!

[Harpo]

Thanks for the info!

You wouldn't happen to know typical park hours for any of those parks, would you? Park hours are very helpful in my planning, since I often will visit multiple parks in one day.

The order in which the parks were placed in the above list was somewhat random. Alton Towers is one of the parks I fully intend to visit.

Legoland Windsor does appear very similar to Legoland California, so I expect it would be a short stop, but one I'd still like to make.

Even though I know where Legoland Windsor is located, it still throws me off a bit when I see the name. I keep thinking, "Wait, there's no theme park in Windsor!" Living in a northern suburb of Detroit, Michigan, I can drive directly south and visit Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

That's a trivia question answer, by the way. "What is the northern-most country south of the continental United States." The correct answer is Canada, as Windsor is due south of Detroit. The cities are directly across from each other on the Detroit River. (You'd be amazed how many Michigan residents even get that question wrong!)

Whoops, got to get to lunch -- I have to get some laundry done in order to pack for my trip to Knott's Berry Farm for this weekend! I'm going to ride roller coasters for my birthday, which is tomorrow! If I don't have time to check the message board before I go, have a great weekend! (I'll probably stop back a couple more times today, but I can't be certain.)

[leonardofury]

Sure, Alton Towers open the gates at 10 and close most of the rides at 5:30 during the summer. Gates shut at 6 though I don't think they let any new guests in after 4. If you stay at the hotel you have access to the rides from 9 although I've heard rumours that they only open the more popular rides.

Camelot, I'm not sure of, but I think it's 10 till 5-6ish

EDIT Blackpool Pleasure Beach, opened from 12 till 8:30pm today (Sat). I would expect it to open slightly earlier in the summer but with the same closing time.

American Adventure is another 10 till 5-6ish park, I'm pretty sure but I'll find out for sure in a couple of days.

To be honest most main parks in Britian are 10 till 5-6ish except on special occasions like Halloween or Bonfire Night. The seaside resort, pay per ride type parks, act more like funfairs and are open for more of the evening. South Pier is one of these types and being as it's only one coaster (Revechon Spinning Wild Mouse called Crazy Mouse) and so near Blackpool Pleasure Beach (200m) there's really no reason not to visit that in the same day! South Pier does seem to shut before the Pleasure Beach however, so you may be best going on the coaster first. It should cost about £2 for a ride. Another point to note on Blackpool is as it faces the Irish sea it does get some strong winds. The Crazy Mouse was shut today (sat, edited again sorry) due to high winds and if it gets really windy the Pleasure Beach do sometimes close The Pepsi Max Big One.

EDIT just discoved that Flamingoland's new inverted coaster has been delayed till 2006 and they are only getting the Motorbike coaster, which will be called Velocity.

[Harpo]

Thanks for the info! That's helpful!

I've updated my investigation notes to reflect that information. If you find out anything more, I'd be delighted to hear about it!

Thanks!

[Chris J]

You HAVE to visit Thorpe Park! It has the world only 10 looping coaster :D

I'd say the parks you should visit in England are:

Alton Towers
Drayton Manor
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Thorpe Park
Chessington

These are the best in the country IMO. The first 2 are quite near to eachother (Staffordshire) and Blackpool is to the West of these parks. Then you could make your way down South to Surrey and do Thorpe Park and Chessington. They are about 15 minutes away from eachother.

Then make your way over to Wales to get to Oakwood in Pembrokeshire. :D

[BorisTheFish]

Originally posted by Chris J
I'd say the parks you should visit in England are:

Alton Towers
Drayton Manor
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Thorpe Park
Chessington



i think really Flamingo Land should be added to this park - after all, they have more coasters than Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington & Drayton Manor + they are getting a world second coaster (booster bike), just like Drayton Manor (x-car)

[leonardofury]

Then you have Fantasy Island (tallest inverted in Britian and I think in Europe) and Ligh****er Valley (World's second longest rollercoaster and longest in Europe). I think these parks would be on Harpo list anyway.

Glad to help, Harpo.

[BorisTheFish]

technically Ultimate is the third longest coaster in the world. Its just number 1 is SBNO

[Harpo]

As I continue my investigation into my 2005 trip, I noticed Cyclone at Pleasureland Southport. From the photos I saw, that looks like a pretty good old wood coaster, and it is the reason I've ranked Pleasureland as a High priority.

Any opinions of that ride?

While I really enjoy the modern scream machines, with Cedar Point's Raptor, Millennium Force, and Top Thrill Dragster being tied for my favorite coaster, followed by Magnum XL-200, I also tend to really enjoy the old coasters, when the design was more art than science.

I must say, it's very convenient to have the 4 favorites of the 493 coasters I've been on all located at my home park! My two favorite wood coasters are a longer distance away, however -- one at Knott's Berry Farm, and one at Hersheypark.

Anyway, that's entirely beside the point. How does Pleasureland Southport's Cyclone stack up against other old coasters from the 1920's and 1930's? Any opinions?

I'd also like to find out information about Joyland in Great Yarmouth. Looking at RCDB, it appears to have a Virginia Reel-style coaster. Having never been on one of those, I'd love to try it out! However, I can't find any information at all about Joyland. Anyone have any information they can share about that park? (Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach will surely make my trip, so I'm guessing it wouldn't be too tough to add Joyland, as well, being that it's also in Great Yarmouth. Would that be a good guess?)

Thanks!

[David Ellis]

I like the Cyclone. It is rather strange in that, unlike most woodies, it starts out slowly and builds up to a faster finish, with some nice pops of airtime. The third drop is the biggest as I recall.

Joyland's virginia-reel type ride is a great fun ride. It is powered, so not a genuine reel coaster, but it is the only ride of its type left in the world. Joyland also have a junior steel coaster although most of the rides there are designed for children.

Joyland is 20-30 minutes walk down the seafront from the Pleasure Beach...you can easily do them together.

David.

[leonardofury]

Unfortunately I've not ridden the Cyclone (a mistake I intend to rectify this year) but I have heard good reports about it.

[Harpo]

Thanks, David!

Any idea of the operating hours for Joyland?

[David Ellis]

In the summer months I believe it is open daily 10am until teatime.

David.

[Harpo]

Forgive me for not knowing -- just what time is teatime? Would it be around the same time that I drink my afternoon Dr. Pepper? :D

I do recall going to a teatime when I visited the UK in the summer of 1989 on a (primarily) golfing trip, but I don't recall what time it was. I'm thinking it was somewhere in the 3:00-ish time frame, but I just don't recall for certain. (I really enjoyed playing the Old Course at St. Andrews!)

[David Ellis]

Sorry for using my local terminology! Some people refer to the main meals of the day as Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner...others say Breakfast, Dinner and Tea.

My "teatime" was referring to the end of the afternoon...say 5 or 6pm.

Regards,
David.

[Harpo]

Actually, I'm glad to see you use local terminology, as long as I can learn from it! For me, part of the fun of traveling is seeing different cultures, and hearing differences in speech. I've done some travel with people who wanted everything to be the same as it is in the United States, hence they were upset with anything that was different. To them, I said, "If you want everything to be the same as home, why not just stay home?"

Some of the most fun I've had on a trip stemmed from hearing some of the dialog of the caddies at St. Andrews. It was very memorable to me when I nearly sank a very long putt, and one of the caddies said, "Ah, laddie. Had you sunk that one, we'd a pulled out the cup and given it to ya!"

Anyway, my point... please feel free to keep the local terminology coming! If I don't understand something, I'll be sure to ask, in which case I'll be learning, and that, to me, is a good thing!

Thanks!

[Harpo]

Well, the planning is still coming along, albeit slowly!

I'm just hoping it doesn't wind up for nothing... there's talk that I might have to have surgery, which could squelch a roller coaster trip this year. But, if I'm lucky, either the surgery can be completely avoided through finding a better solution, or it'll happen soon enough that I can expect to be fully recovered by June.

Any updates on Magnum Force at Flamingo Land? Will it be there this summer? Also, for the new coaster, I noticed that it is scheduled to have an opening party on July 2, which is cutting it VERY close to the end of my trip. Any idea if it'll have a "rolling" opening before that?

Thanks!

[leonardofury]

Ok, this isn't comfirmed but I would suspect this. Flamingoland was originally intending to get both Velocity (the Booster Bike) and a Vekoma SLC for this year. They planned to scrap Magnum Force, Bullet and Thunder Mountain for these two rides. The SLC was delayed by a year till 2006 so I would suspect that they are keeping Magnum Force and Bullet for another year until they get the SLC. Thunder Mountain has gone however. Hope someone has more solid info than this.

[Harpo]

Well, I finished the rankings. Whew, that was a lot of effort! I still have a lot of parks where I'm trying to find out more information via emails, but at least I've looked into every one of the parks.

For those who have been to any of the parks listed in the first post, I'd appreciate any feedback you have on how I ranked them. Keep in mind that parks marked "high" are very likely to be visited, as are parks marked "medium to high." I would also consider parks marked "medium" to be probable. Parks marked "very low" are highly unlikely. Parks marked "low" will probably be listed as "optional," meaning that they'll be visited if they are on the way between two other points on my trip AND I am running ahead of schedule.

The park in Ireland and the park in Northern Ireland are both ranked as "low," so I expect that I'll be sticking to England, Wales, and Scotland. Loudoun Castle actually managed a "medium" because of my interest in seeing the ruins of the castle.

That's where feedback from those familiar with the region can help -- are there any unusual, particularly beautiful, or particularly interesting features near any of the above parks that might make a stop at those locations even more desireable?

As an actual schedule comes together, I'll be sure to post that in the forum, too.

Thanks for your help!

[BorisTheFish]

i see dreamland is marked as high...and that opening hours are unknown - i may be in Margate over the weekend, so i may be able to try and find out what they are, though i am a little sad today - it was finally announced that Dreamland has been fully sold off to developers
:mad:
nearby there is Canterbury Cathedral within a 30min drive, and also the famous White Cliffs & the castle at Dover which is another 30mins away...
if you wanna go to Dreamland, both of these sites are on the one of the only two main roads to my end of the country, there are also things like maritime museums along the other main ride to Dreamland, and then beyond that are all the London attractions...

[Harpo]

I knew Dreamland was very much endangered, which is part of the reason it's High on my list. I'm desperately hoping I can ride the Scenic Railway. I really enjoy the historic old coasters, and I hope that the developers who bought the property are smart enough to realize the potential of such an historic attraction.

If you are able to find out the hours for the June 17 through July 3 timeframe, that would be exceptionally helpful!

It's also very helpful hearing about other sights nearby -- thanks! I've marked them down in my notes as other items of interest!

[leonardofury]

Well I'm sure you'll visit London anyway but that's near Thorpe Park and Chessington. Apparently there is a recreation of TV's 'The Crystal Maze' set next to Oakwood, but this is only a rumour I've heard, though it may be worth researching.

Alton Towers has the towers and is also near the Peak District National Park, quite nice for a walk. Along with Drayton Manor, Alton Towers is also fairly near Chester, which has some old city walls and Roman remains.

Blackpool has it's famous tower, promenade and trams.

[leonardofury]

Sorry to dig this thread up again but I have some more info for you, Harpo. I went to Barry's Amusement Park in Northern Ireland over easter and if you've ridden a Pinfari ZL42 and Pinfari Big Apple, you won't be missing much.

American Adventure has decided to reinvent itself after a few years of neglect as a children's park for 4 to 14 year olds. I suspect this is more because it can't afford the maintainance on it's high thrill rides anymore. Anyway the upshot of this is that The Missile, a vekoma boomerang has been sold (Probably to a scrap merchant by the amount of rust on it). The log flume Nightmare Niagara is being ripped out before it falls apart and the Rapids are having a year long overhaul. The only thrill rides left are the JCB Twin Looper (though I have heard a rumour that this is only still there because they can't find a buyer for it, it's high station infringes disability laws if it is moved) and the Sky Coaster for which you will be charged and extra £15 per ride on top of the £15 you paid to enter the park. The other coasters are Buffalo Stampede, a powered Buffalo Coaster and Runaway Train, a powered Mine Train. Opens from 10 onwards although I hear it shuts at 5. I suspect this might put it to low on your list of priorities.

RITA is up and running at Alton Towers, be prepared for large queues however it has had a 2 hour queue both times I have visited so far.

The S&S flat rides at Thorpe Park have been installed. Thorpe Have a Sky Swat (Slammer) working and should soon have a Screaming Swing (Rush) in operation.

Drayton Manor's new X-car coaster should be opening in July. Open 10:30 till 5 or 6.

Also opening in July is Flamingoland's booster bike coaster, Velocity. Magnum Force is now unfourtunately closed although The Bullet is still open. There is also a zoo here.

Hope this helps

[Harpo]

Thanks for the info!

I'm still struggling to pull together this trip. My recent health issues have thrown some difficulties into the mix. (I had abdominal surgery in April.) The health is doing much better, but I'm having trouble getting my employer to commit to giving me the time off due to the time I had to take recovering from surgery. But, I'm still hoping I'll successfully make it happen.

[David Ellis]

Originally posted by leonardofury
RITA is up and running at Alton Towers, be prepared for large queues however it has had a 2 hour queue both times I have visited so far.

Also opening in July is Flamingoland's booster bike coaster, Velocity. Magnum Force is now unfourtunately closed although The Bullet is still open. There is also a zoo here.


Rita has a single rider queue which will speed things up if you are visiting alone, or don't mind riding separate from friends.

Magnum Force I believe is open and will be staying until the end of the season. The Bullet is open but will close in August.

David.

[Harpo]

Thanks, David.

Say, did you ever try talking the RCT3 folks into including an "au naturel" rider into the model? :D

Of course, to keep the "E" rating, they may need to add a fig leaf.

As it stands right now, my girlfriend wants to join me for about half the trip. I don't yet know which parks would be included in that half. (Her work requires her to be back for the last week of the month, hence she'd join me for the first week of the trip.) Depending on the wait, we may still be willing to split up to get on the ride faster, although I know we'd both prefer sitting together.

[leonardofury]

David, I thought Magnum Force was open to but the park map on the Flamingoland website says 'open till April 2005'. I'm pretty sure this is where the new vekoma SLC is going so it would make sense for them to close Magnum Force early to prepare the site? Does anyone have any info on this?

Regarding the new single riders queues at Alton Towers, I think they'r great, I've walked onto Nemesis on them and I've got on the back row of RITA using them both times I've rode (Fluke I know, but I wasn't complaining)

[David Ellis]

I think Flamingoland originally planned to get ride of both steel Schwarzkopfs at the beginning of the year...hence the mention on their website. I have been informed by members of the European Coaster Club that, despite the website saying to the contrary, Bullet will operate until August (when the booster bike opens) and Magnum Force will operate until the end of the year. The SLC will then be built in the closed season.

Regarding Alton Towers SRQs, I used the Nemesis one to death in March, getting 46 rides between 1.30pm and 5pm. SRQs are also on Spinball Whizzer, Air, Oblivion and Rita.

David.

[David Ellis]

Originally posted by Harpo
Say, did you ever try talking the RCT3 folks into including an "au naturel" rider into the model?

Depending on the wait, we may still be willing to split up to get on the ride faster, although I know we'd both prefer sitting together.

Regarding the nude rider, I don't have any contacts to speak to now, other than Chris Sawyer, who is not directly involved anymore. He of course added me to RCT2 as a cheat name, but at that time I wasn't famous for naked riding!

When I rode Nemesis 46 times in a few hours, for much of that time I was with another Coaster Club member, and in about a third of those rides we sat next to each other anyway. Towards the end of the day you are likely to get a lot of opportunities to use SRQ and still sit adjacent.

David.

[Alderson2080]

Originally posted by leonardofury
Ok, this isn't comfirmed but I would suspect this. Flamingoland was originally intending to get both Velocity (the Booster Bike) and a Vekoma SLC for this year. They planned to scrap Magnum Force, Bullet and Thunder Mountain for these two rides. The SLC was delayed by a year till 2006 so I would suspect that they are keeping Magnum Force and Bullet for another year until they get the SLC. Thunder Mountain has gone however. Hope someone has more solid info than this. yeah they have got rid of the thundermountain but r keeping magnum force nd there not sure wot to do with the bullet but they r gettin a new inverted ride next year n it is going to the back of the park to atrract people to the back of the park :D