Thorpe Park and other stuff
Mar. 27th, 2005 11:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slycatIt's the end of my Easter holiday as I opted to work tomorrow rather than sit at home relaxing. This doesnt really bother me as I have next week off work anyway :). Despite my weekend being cut short, I've managed to make good use of my time.
Friday
On Friday I went to Thorpe Park and despite a few hiccups, had a great time. I hadn't been in around 10 years and so there were many new rides there. In fact there were only 4 rides still standing which I could remember, those being Loggers Leap, Depth Charge, Rumba Rapids and the Teacup ride :P. I said there were a few hiccups, well before we had even got into the park, the automated ticket machine printed out our tickets incorrectly. We basically bought tickets which included guaranteed prebooked times for rides so we could skip the queues, however the tickets printed out blankly. We had a word with an attendant there and after a while were in the possession of 4 "Queue Buster" tickets each, which basically allow you to go in the exit of any ride at any time and skip the queue. These were effectively better than the tickets we should have had anyway so we were happy.
The first ride we went on was called "X:/ No Way Out", which is relatively an old ride at the park despite it not being there in my previous visit. The queue seemed to be moving rather swiftly until we got so far we would be the next ones on the ride. However, the car with the last lot of people wasn't going anywhere. About 30 mins (or at least it felt like it) passed and eventually the ride started up again. It had either broken down or someone had brought their bag on the ride and lost it mid ride... Either way, the ride itself was quite good. It's basically one of those rollercoasters which are fully enclosed in a building and is in the dark, however the ride was also all backwards!
After that, we decided to use our first Queue Buster for Nemesis Inferno, touted as the most thrilling rollercoaster there. Using the Queue Buster went fairly smoothly and we were soon on the ride. Despite it taking us all of 5 mins to get on the ride, the ride was over in less than that. It was a very fast and quite exhillerating ride with it's inverted loops and the like, but all over far too quickly. After the ride, it took me a short while to get my balance back ;). Had some lunch at the KFC before going on our next ride, the Rumba Rapids. It was much like I remember, quite a relaxing ride compared with the rides we had already been on. There were bits of the ride where you get sprayed with water but the sun was starting to come out so it didn't matter.
The next ride we were going on was the Colossus, the 10 loop rollercoaster. Using another Queue Buster, we entered through the exit to skip the 60 minute queue which was rather satisfying. However, once I had sat in the ride, the guy there couldn't clip the harness in, meaning that quite embarrassingly, I had to get out of the ride with many people watching... Now, I was quite convinced that my chest wasn't too large for the ride and it was just because I had stuff in my pockets (sweets and wallet, etc). So we wondered round to the test chair, I took all the stuff out my pockets and had a go. The harness could be clipped in, it was tight, but I would fit without it being uncomfortable. So I had to go back round to the exit with now empty pockets, explain the situation and get on the ride again. As my friend had already been on, I had to ride solo, with a random stranger next to me. However, that wasn't a huge problem as the ride was very fun, although I couldn't help feeling it could be faster in places.
I wanted to go on the Samurai which had been moved from Chessington a couple of years ago. Mostly because I wanted to try it again without crying like a baby like I did last time. However, it was not to be as the ride was closed. I think it may have broken down or something cos they were running tests on it. The new ride for 2005, Slammer, was also closed which was a bit rubbish as that would have been one of the reasons for coming to the park. However, we didn't let that get us down and wondered round the park a bit and ended up going on Loggers Leap, which is hidden away in the corner of the park. It's your typical Splash Mountain sort of log slide which climaxes in a big drop at the end. I was at the back of the log however so didn't get wet ;).
We next went over to where they were showing Pirates 4D, there was 25 mins to waste so we used another Queue Buster to get on the vertical drop ride, Detonator. Much like the Tower of Terror at Disney or the Dr. Doom's Fearfall at Islands of Adventure, however it only drops once which was a disappointment. The Pirate 4D show was much like any other 3D theme park theatre based show. However, I was pleased to see that Leslie Nielsen and Eric Idle were in the film. The film itself being cheese on a stick but it suited the theme well. They didn't seem to have too many poke-you-in-the-eye type 3D effects or make much use of the 3D at all, but there was good usage of air jets, water jets and vibrating chairs throughout the performance!
The day was getting on and the sun had gone into hiding above the clouds so we decided not to bother with the water based rides, Tidal Wave or Depth Charge and instead, we had another go on Nemesis Inferno as it was over so quickly last time. However this time round it wasn't so easy to use the queue buster as the ride attendants at first didnt seem to know how they were used and after they let 5 or so lots go before us, we finally got on the ride. It seemed faster and more exhilarating the second time round.
Once the ride was over, we decided to call it a day... however my friend though he wasn't happy with the way we were treated at Nemesis Inferno and wanted to make a complaint. In doing so, we mentioned the problems with the broken down rides, the problems with the tickets, the humiliation on Colossus, etc and came away with complimentary tickets to visit again for free. Proof that it pays to complain!
Saturday
Didn't do a heck of a lot, wondered round town and got Splinter Cell for the Xbox so I could soft-mod it (modify the console so I could play import and copied games). Also picked up The Futureheads, Portishead - Dummy and Air - Talkie Walkie CD albums. In the afternoon, I went to a LAN party near Winchester with my brother but it wasn't as fun as when we went last time. Probably because we ended up on a table of our own and no-one else was really at our end of the hall... might as well have been playing on the internet. We left early and got invited by my brother's friend to go to the pub. Only had time for 2 pints but I felt it was time better spent than in the geeky company of a LAN party.
Sunday
Today I went to a pub for lunch with the family as Dad wanted to treat us. Had a delicious roast chicken followed by an equally delicious belgian chocolate fudge cake. In the evening, went to see Constantine with my brother. Whilst it had great visuals, the story didn't really grab me and the action wasn't constant enough to keep my attention on an action film level. As I had presumed from the trailers, it was more the latest Keanu Reeves hype vehicle than anything else.
That pretty much brings me up the the present. Back to work tomorrow... should be relatively quiet, I'll use the time to catch up with work and make sure everything's up to date. Then only the rest of the week until I'm off for a further week! It'll be nice to have the chance to relax properly and not worry about work. I worry too much I think.
Friday
On Friday I went to Thorpe Park and despite a few hiccups, had a great time. I hadn't been in around 10 years and so there were many new rides there. In fact there were only 4 rides still standing which I could remember, those being Loggers Leap, Depth Charge, Rumba Rapids and the Teacup ride :P. I said there were a few hiccups, well before we had even got into the park, the automated ticket machine printed out our tickets incorrectly. We basically bought tickets which included guaranteed prebooked times for rides so we could skip the queues, however the tickets printed out blankly. We had a word with an attendant there and after a while were in the possession of 4 "Queue Buster" tickets each, which basically allow you to go in the exit of any ride at any time and skip the queue. These were effectively better than the tickets we should have had anyway so we were happy.
The first ride we went on was called "X:/ No Way Out", which is relatively an old ride at the park despite it not being there in my previous visit. The queue seemed to be moving rather swiftly until we got so far we would be the next ones on the ride. However, the car with the last lot of people wasn't going anywhere. About 30 mins (or at least it felt like it) passed and eventually the ride started up again. It had either broken down or someone had brought their bag on the ride and lost it mid ride... Either way, the ride itself was quite good. It's basically one of those rollercoasters which are fully enclosed in a building and is in the dark, however the ride was also all backwards!
After that, we decided to use our first Queue Buster for Nemesis Inferno, touted as the most thrilling rollercoaster there. Using the Queue Buster went fairly smoothly and we were soon on the ride. Despite it taking us all of 5 mins to get on the ride, the ride was over in less than that. It was a very fast and quite exhillerating ride with it's inverted loops and the like, but all over far too quickly. After the ride, it took me a short while to get my balance back ;). Had some lunch at the KFC before going on our next ride, the Rumba Rapids. It was much like I remember, quite a relaxing ride compared with the rides we had already been on. There were bits of the ride where you get sprayed with water but the sun was starting to come out so it didn't matter.
The next ride we were going on was the Colossus, the 10 loop rollercoaster. Using another Queue Buster, we entered through the exit to skip the 60 minute queue which was rather satisfying. However, once I had sat in the ride, the guy there couldn't clip the harness in, meaning that quite embarrassingly, I had to get out of the ride with many people watching... Now, I was quite convinced that my chest wasn't too large for the ride and it was just because I had stuff in my pockets (sweets and wallet, etc). So we wondered round to the test chair, I took all the stuff out my pockets and had a go. The harness could be clipped in, it was tight, but I would fit without it being uncomfortable. So I had to go back round to the exit with now empty pockets, explain the situation and get on the ride again. As my friend had already been on, I had to ride solo, with a random stranger next to me. However, that wasn't a huge problem as the ride was very fun, although I couldn't help feeling it could be faster in places.
I wanted to go on the Samurai which had been moved from Chessington a couple of years ago. Mostly because I wanted to try it again without crying like a baby like I did last time. However, it was not to be as the ride was closed. I think it may have broken down or something cos they were running tests on it. The new ride for 2005, Slammer, was also closed which was a bit rubbish as that would have been one of the reasons for coming to the park. However, we didn't let that get us down and wondered round the park a bit and ended up going on Loggers Leap, which is hidden away in the corner of the park. It's your typical Splash Mountain sort of log slide which climaxes in a big drop at the end. I was at the back of the log however so didn't get wet ;).
We next went over to where they were showing Pirates 4D, there was 25 mins to waste so we used another Queue Buster to get on the vertical drop ride, Detonator. Much like the Tower of Terror at Disney or the Dr. Doom's Fearfall at Islands of Adventure, however it only drops once which was a disappointment. The Pirate 4D show was much like any other 3D theme park theatre based show. However, I was pleased to see that Leslie Nielsen and Eric Idle were in the film. The film itself being cheese on a stick but it suited the theme well. They didn't seem to have too many poke-you-in-the-eye type 3D effects or make much use of the 3D at all, but there was good usage of air jets, water jets and vibrating chairs throughout the performance!
The day was getting on and the sun had gone into hiding above the clouds so we decided not to bother with the water based rides, Tidal Wave or Depth Charge and instead, we had another go on Nemesis Inferno as it was over so quickly last time. However this time round it wasn't so easy to use the queue buster as the ride attendants at first didnt seem to know how they were used and after they let 5 or so lots go before us, we finally got on the ride. It seemed faster and more exhilarating the second time round.
Once the ride was over, we decided to call it a day... however my friend though he wasn't happy with the way we were treated at Nemesis Inferno and wanted to make a complaint. In doing so, we mentioned the problems with the broken down rides, the problems with the tickets, the humiliation on Colossus, etc and came away with complimentary tickets to visit again for free. Proof that it pays to complain!
Saturday
Didn't do a heck of a lot, wondered round town and got Splinter Cell for the Xbox so I could soft-mod it (modify the console so I could play import and copied games). Also picked up The Futureheads, Portishead - Dummy and Air - Talkie Walkie CD albums. In the afternoon, I went to a LAN party near Winchester with my brother but it wasn't as fun as when we went last time. Probably because we ended up on a table of our own and no-one else was really at our end of the hall... might as well have been playing on the internet. We left early and got invited by my brother's friend to go to the pub. Only had time for 2 pints but I felt it was time better spent than in the geeky company of a LAN party.
Sunday
Today I went to a pub for lunch with the family as Dad wanted to treat us. Had a delicious roast chicken followed by an equally delicious belgian chocolate fudge cake. In the evening, went to see Constantine with my brother. Whilst it had great visuals, the story didn't really grab me and the action wasn't constant enough to keep my attention on an action film level. As I had presumed from the trailers, it was more the latest Keanu Reeves hype vehicle than anything else.
That pretty much brings me up the the present. Back to work tomorrow... should be relatively quiet, I'll use the time to catch up with work and make sure everything's up to date. Then only the rest of the week until I'm off for a further week! It'll be nice to have the chance to relax properly and not worry about work. I worry too much I think.
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no subject
Date: 2005-03-28 07:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-28 05:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-29 03:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-28 07:45 am (UTC)I must head over to Thorpe again, I've still 2 months left on my Tussauds pass! :)
no subject
Date: 2005-03-28 05:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-28 11:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-29 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-29 06:08 pm (UTC)I recall you were going to Thorpe Park on the Thursday, were you able to go on the Slammer or was it out of action then too?
And it's worth noting that as you share my interest of rollercoasters (albeit, you're evidentally a much bigger fan than I), we should organise a trip up to Alton Towers some time as I've never been and it looks like it's home to the UKs best rollercoasters :)