Rob Coasters
Rob Poster
It was finally time for my first ever trip where I would be hitting several parks over several days. To be more specific this would be 5 parks over 4 days, the majority of them being fairly small 15-minute jobs. This trip would take place over the East Coast of the UK.
What makes this trip even more special is that I'm returning to a couple old parks I haven't seen for years, and I would snag my 100th credit.
Day 0: Hemsby Fun Park
The first park I arrived at 8:40pm and left at 8:50pm, tying for the shortest time I've ever spent in a park (the other being South Parade Pier). During those ten minutes I eyed upon #96 Caterpillar which ended up in my friend bursting into laughter after looking at the miniscule size of the thing. But soon we were on, and by far the oldest people on the train. We sat at the back thinking "good little sit down" while the toddlers at the front were freaking out as the ride hit a blistering pace of 'just above average walking speed'. As we got off the toddlers jumped into the arms of extremely proud parents (hopefully they're anticipating them to be future enthusiasts) while we just made our merry way back to where we were staying. There was an incredible looking Waltzer but my friend can't stomach those, so skip.
Day 1: Pleasurewood Hills
I last visited this place eight years ago in 2013 where I enjoyed roller coasters but it didn't really go any further than that. I rode their Boomerang, Kite Flyer, watched a magic show, rode a Chairlift then abruptly left. Their Jumbo V was down for the day and I didn't really care about the fact I missed three coasters.
Fast forward and I'm not thinking that - I will go to this park, I will get the three credits, and I will be happy. Mission start.
Things practically come to a screeching halt within seconds of entering the park - their Schwarzkopf Jumbo V, Cannonball Express, is closed. Again. There's an op outside watching me make a beeline for the ride and tells me "It's closed right now". "Alright mate, I'll check back in a bit."
Change of plan, I'll do the drop tower instead. Jolly Roger both has a surprisingly forceful drop and a great view of a big red closed roller coaster. Instantly one of my favourite drop towers.
It's been five minutes - checking Cannonball's availability again would just be nagging so it's straight to #97 Marble Madness which was a fairly miserable hour long queue. I saw the trims hit. Hard. Several times. And I thought to myself "this isn't going to be very good, is it?" And I'd be correct. While the hairpins and the not-airtime hills are fun, the trims ruin the whole experience and drag the thing down pretty far. At least the trims didn't full-on stop the train for me like it did for an unlucky family. That would have been terrible.
With Cannonball still closed I headed for Wipeout for my token lap. Lucky me managed to walk straight past an entire group of 12-ish people to fill the last row. That thing is damn intense, and much more intense than I can remember. And I have no (good) photos of it.
You know what we're doing now. We're doing the Tivoli now. We're doing #98 Egg-Spress now. And it might be my personal favourite Tivoli, along with Green Scream. I love these things to death, I always have, and row 16 of a 20 car train is a massive bonus in my book.
With that over and done with I had one more token lap on Wipeout, held a bird, then looked into the trees to the right of the park entrance. With unfathomable timing I've managed to catch the tiny singular train of Cannonball Express testing. I was in shock and I was over within the minute. Since they were still prepping things up I decided for one more lap of Jolly Roger which admittedly wasn't as good as the first. Probably because I got stapled.
I'm unreasonably excited for #99 Cannonball Express. I watch every train like a hawk while I'm in the ten minute queue. And then I'm in the station. The very back seat is free and I take it. The ride itself, was bloody fantastic. It absolutely shattered my expectations. After being spited eight years ago I'm finally on it. The drops are beautiful, the turns are perfect retro coaster, the whole experience was just carnage. I've watched it offride but never seen a POV so maybe that contributes. I fold into the brakerun in tears and laughter and straight into the top 10 it goes. The ride does things to you. Incredible things to you. I genuinely can't remember the last time I was thrown around like that. And if people brush off coasters like these as "just your average Jet Star, really" then I'm in for a treat and a half with this hobby.
Well now was time for a sea lion show which was pretty fun and oddly reminiscent of really every other sea lion show I've watched, but still felt strangely new at the same time. Overall I enjoyed it and got a photo with the star of the show (which was a sea lion called Claudia, I think).
To end off the day I went for one more lap on Cannonball Express (which had a decent queue now) out of pure enjoyment, but also partially wondering "did I overrate it heav---" No I did not. It's still hauling ass and it's still an incredible ride. This is a lovely park too, I wish I had time to do more, I'd be more than happy to return.
Stay tuned for tomorrow where I get my 100th credit, revisit my first coaster, and go to a farm. Thank you for reading so far!
What makes this trip even more special is that I'm returning to a couple old parks I haven't seen for years, and I would snag my 100th credit.
Day 0: Hemsby Fun Park
The first park I arrived at 8:40pm and left at 8:50pm, tying for the shortest time I've ever spent in a park (the other being South Parade Pier). During those ten minutes I eyed upon #96 Caterpillar which ended up in my friend bursting into laughter after looking at the miniscule size of the thing. But soon we were on, and by far the oldest people on the train. We sat at the back thinking "good little sit down" while the toddlers at the front were freaking out as the ride hit a blistering pace of 'just above average walking speed'. As we got off the toddlers jumped into the arms of extremely proud parents (hopefully they're anticipating them to be future enthusiasts) while we just made our merry way back to where we were staying. There was an incredible looking Waltzer but my friend can't stomach those, so skip.
Day 1: Pleasurewood Hills
I last visited this place eight years ago in 2013 where I enjoyed roller coasters but it didn't really go any further than that. I rode their Boomerang, Kite Flyer, watched a magic show, rode a Chairlift then abruptly left. Their Jumbo V was down for the day and I didn't really care about the fact I missed three coasters.
Fast forward and I'm not thinking that - I will go to this park, I will get the three credits, and I will be happy. Mission start.
Things practically come to a screeching halt within seconds of entering the park - their Schwarzkopf Jumbo V, Cannonball Express, is closed. Again. There's an op outside watching me make a beeline for the ride and tells me "It's closed right now". "Alright mate, I'll check back in a bit."
Change of plan, I'll do the drop tower instead. Jolly Roger both has a surprisingly forceful drop and a great view of a big red closed roller coaster. Instantly one of my favourite drop towers.
It's been five minutes - checking Cannonball's availability again would just be nagging so it's straight to #97 Marble Madness which was a fairly miserable hour long queue. I saw the trims hit. Hard. Several times. And I thought to myself "this isn't going to be very good, is it?" And I'd be correct. While the hairpins and the not-airtime hills are fun, the trims ruin the whole experience and drag the thing down pretty far. At least the trims didn't full-on stop the train for me like it did for an unlucky family. That would have been terrible.
With Cannonball still closed I headed for Wipeout for my token lap. Lucky me managed to walk straight past an entire group of 12-ish people to fill the last row. That thing is damn intense, and much more intense than I can remember. And I have no (good) photos of it.
You know what we're doing now. We're doing the Tivoli now. We're doing #98 Egg-Spress now. And it might be my personal favourite Tivoli, along with Green Scream. I love these things to death, I always have, and row 16 of a 20 car train is a massive bonus in my book.
With that over and done with I had one more token lap on Wipeout, held a bird, then looked into the trees to the right of the park entrance. With unfathomable timing I've managed to catch the tiny singular train of Cannonball Express testing. I was in shock and I was over within the minute. Since they were still prepping things up I decided for one more lap of Jolly Roger which admittedly wasn't as good as the first. Probably because I got stapled.
I'm unreasonably excited for #99 Cannonball Express. I watch every train like a hawk while I'm in the ten minute queue. And then I'm in the station. The very back seat is free and I take it. The ride itself, was bloody fantastic. It absolutely shattered my expectations. After being spited eight years ago I'm finally on it. The drops are beautiful, the turns are perfect retro coaster, the whole experience was just carnage. I've watched it offride but never seen a POV so maybe that contributes. I fold into the brakerun in tears and laughter and straight into the top 10 it goes. The ride does things to you. Incredible things to you. I genuinely can't remember the last time I was thrown around like that. And if people brush off coasters like these as "just your average Jet Star, really" then I'm in for a treat and a half with this hobby.
Well now was time for a sea lion show which was pretty fun and oddly reminiscent of really every other sea lion show I've watched, but still felt strangely new at the same time. Overall I enjoyed it and got a photo with the star of the show (which was a sea lion called Claudia, I think).
To end off the day I went for one more lap on Cannonball Express (which had a decent queue now) out of pure enjoyment, but also partially wondering "did I overrate it heav---" No I did not. It's still hauling ass and it's still an incredible ride. This is a lovely park too, I wish I had time to do more, I'd be more than happy to return.
Stay tuned for tomorrow where I get my 100th credit, revisit my first coaster, and go to a farm. Thank you for reading so far!
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