Best non-Merlin UK park & coaster

[gavin]

Re: Best non-Merlin UK park & coaster

Yeah, Blackpool for me as well. Some really good coasters (wild mouse and nash), best water ride in the country (possibly Europe thinking about it) and **** loads of quirky, random stuff to do.

 

[Smithy]

On paper it should be Blackpool.

But there's just something about Flamingo Land that I loved. It's a bit like a modern Blackpool, only clean and colourful. Loads of random rides you don't necessarily see elsewhere in the country, that just sort of work. The zoo's decent, the coasters are good, there's a handful of decent flat rides and there's enough to enjoy a full day there without feeling like you've been ripped off as can happen with other parks.

Would probably still give coaster to PMBO, as much as I loved velocity, the lift and first drop on PMBO is nearly without equal.

 

[Thekingin64]

Favourite park has to be Blackpool. The mix of old and new-ish, The amount of rides and the uniqueness of the rides makes it for me. Plus, Valhalla is just amazing.

Favourite coaster is Megafobia. I can't really explain why but I loved it. Front row at night is amazing.

 

[Martyn B]

I have to say I'm not following the Flamingo Land buzz here.

I read that and thought "probably another LWV fanboy.... :roll: "

Carried on reading...

Finally Lightwater Valley. My favourite.

What are the chances?! :lol:

 

[T0M]

Blackpool
The Ultimate

 

[MouseAT]

Bear in mind that I've not been to Oakwood, so Oakwood/Megaphobia aren't in the running for me.

The Ultimate has to take the position of best coaster. It's mental, it's great fun, it's somewhat painful, but for some reason this is one of the few rides where the discomfort makes the ride better, not worse. None of the other non-Merlin UK rides come close.

As for best park, Blackpool has to be the winner. Unfortunately, it's a park that I feel is getting worse, not better as attractions are closed, and vain attempts are made to modernize rather than restore existing rides, but there's plenty of "good" stuff there, even if there's very little (other than Valhalla) that I'd rank as exceptional. It's a fun park to spend a day at, has something for everyone and as such gets a thumbs up from me.

A couple of years ago, Flamingo Land would have been in the running. Not any more.

I kinda agree with what people have said about Flamingoland. There's a lot there, and I love their bravery to choose really mental things, whilst still managing to stay on budget and on message. I also like that they have at least a small stab at theming stuff. The first couple of visits I had there were really enjoyable, and I came away with an affection for the park. However, my last visit pretty much undid all of that. As Ian said, the state of operations was appauling. All themed music had gone, replaced by ride ops' iPods. Many ops/hosts were more interested in chatting to mates than doing their job, and in the worst cases were actually pretty rude to guests. The time taken to batch and dispatch rides was unaceptably long, leading to ridiculous queues. Rides were being run on worse cycles, such as Cliffhanger running shot only rather than shot and drop. So yeah, given all that, they can't have my vote.

I think Nic summarised it best. I remember talking to Jerry that year about how he'd had a terrible day at Flamingo Land, and how terrible he thought the place was. I knew the place never had the greatest staff or operations, but I'd had a good day there with Mushroom earlier in the year and couldn't understand why he'd been so negative about the place... until the CF Live in the autumn.

It was exactly as Nic described it, and left me with no desire to go back to the park any time soon. I didn't visit at all last season, and I'll only be returning this year to get the credits and to spend time with CF, not because I particularly want to spend a day there. No new attractions, no MouseAT.

 

[Nemesis of oblivion]

Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Great rides and still has that good, old fashioned sea side feeling. The Big One still for me is a great coaster. Not just the ride but it's character. The ride that brought life back to the Pleasure Beach.

 

[Ian]

Yeah, Blackpool for me as well. Some really good coasters (wild mouse and nash), best water ride in the country (possibly Europe thinking about it) and **** loads of quirky, random stuff to do.

Whoa! A gavin post without a hint of irony, sarcasm or belittling! There's even a compliment in there. Blackpool must be doing something right.

 

[Beans]

It has to be Megaphobia at Oakwood, never laughed so much as I did going round that one...pity the rest of the park is boring.
So Park has to be Blackpool and Pepsi Max