Your 2011

[Martyn B]

So the year is almost up, and most parks have closed already. You may still have some visits to come this year, but oh well...

How was your year? Did you do everything you wanted to? Or the complete opposite?

What has been the highlight of your year? and Lowlight?

My year was good, by my standards. My CC has grown by 26 so far (plan to visit Hyde, so possible 3 more), and I got to ride a few new ride type's for the first time; Star Flyer, Topple Tower, Bat Flyer and a Gestlauer Launch coaster.

There's 2 highlights for my year, both coming at de Panne in Belgium. Plopsaland on the whole is just such a fab park, and Anubis is such a fab coaster. The park has everything, great theming, great rides, great food, and most importantly, a great atomsphere. The only thing it lacked was decent merchandise.

I also have 2 lowlights, both coming from the same weekend away. Firstly, Barry Island Pleasure Park. I have never in my life seen a park in such despair. Looking so abandoned and destroyed, yet open to the public. The place wasn't just a dump, it was a place that was clearly a good day out in its hayday, that has literally been left to rot, whilst having travelling rides dumped infront of the derelict permanent rides. Needless to say, it was quite sad and depressing seeing a park in such a state. Still, got the cred though <3

Oh, and the other lowlight was Brean. Need I say more?

 

[nadroJ]

Oooh good topic =D

Highlight was definitely the Germany/Holland/Belgium trip. It was actually amazing and the further into the past it goes the better it seems it was. I really miss it!

Italy was fun but didn't live up to the fabness of the above trip and Denmark. I know I shouldn't compare but it is hard not to.

Seeing a lot more of the smaller British parks was fun. I finally got to Brean (which is gross but fab), the small Welsh seaside parks and GreenWood, which was also amazing!

The Lives were fun this year and it's been a good year for making good friends with people.

Still didn't get to bloody Wicksteed and isle of Wight. Next year for sure! (I say that EVERY year haha).

Ooh, and I didn't get spited by ANY creds this year, so yay!

I started this year on 213 coasters and have ended on 278. So not bad I think =] 65 new creds.

 

[Will]

Yeah, it's the time of year when I guess I have to start thinking about these things, I guess...
In terms of park trips, it's been a year of two good months - April and October. April 2nd's Alton trip kicked off the season proper perfectly, followed by the Chessington vampire trip the following weekend, and rounded off by the year's best theme park day - Toverland on the 30th...
And from thereon in, it all turns a bit meh, save picking up a decent clutch of relatively obscure credits in Finland in late July, but it wasn't until October when things turned awesome again, with the usual Halloween brilliance at Alton Towers, 2 very strong days on the 16th and 19th, followed the next week by easily the best GhosterForce Live in recent memory <3
As far as credits go, I'm far too lazy to work out exactly how many I've acquired this year - it's not been as prolific as some recent years with the lack of a big Europe trip, which hopefully I'll make up for next year, and the only thing above a 7 that I picked up was Anubis in June, though some of the newer constructions at Linnanmaki were suprisingly decent, but despite the setting, it's not a park I'm in any hurry to get back to.

Basically, when 2011's been good, it's been incredible - but for the most part, it was a bit meh. If anything though, the 2 months of hibernation at the end of Summer made the Halloween phase all the better. Alas, it's left me rather looking forward to Swarm :?

 

[Rach]

2011 for me has easily been the best year for me since it all started back in 2006! At the start of the year, my enthusiasm for it all had been dwindling a lot and looking at the point of no return, but that could've been down to the overkill of visiting UK parks in the last couple of years. It got to a point where Alton became boring (I only went once this year, back in April and left at like 3 as I had work that night) and no other UK park had much appeal to me.
So for 2011, I barely visited UK parks, I only done Alton, Thorpe, Chessie & Drayton (an ungodly 3 times..)

By doing that, my enthusiasm has well and truly returned and I noticed that as the Italy Live progressed.
I had no plan whatsoever for what I wanted to do this year, instead I planned things out either over the year or very last minute making the whole year incredible! Between April and September, I went over to Europe 5 times just for the parks! 3 of those trips were in the space of a month!

It's hard to pinpoint any lowlights as I don't actually think there were any over the year. For me, it's all about the highlights and there were a load of those!

The Germany, Holland, Belgium long weekend trip back in April showed me what European Parks are like. Phantasialand stunned me, such a fantastic park and made me eager to see what other parks on the continent were like. Toverland and Efteling were again great parks and with the right company made it fantastic. Although Troy didn't deliver as I wanted it to. Bobbejaanland was not as good as it could have been, but it did boost the old CC by 7 so it weren't all that bad.

Had a break then until Italy. That was a trip and a half and one I really enjoyed and wish I could go back and do it all again now! Seeing the moody ass weather in the UK just a day before I went and knowing that some good coasters, good weather and amazing company wasn't far away made me all excited. At the start of the trip, my enthusiasm for coasters was again.. low, but by the end of it, it was back up again. I so didn't want to go home after that! Mirabilandia was a bit of a disappointment, but iSpeed made up for that. Then there was Gardaland, Movieland and Rainbow that can all have a great big <3, all with come cracking rides (Raptor, Magma 2, death slide, Shock, Huntix etc...)
I made new friends on that trip that went onto making the rest of the year what it was for me!

A month after Italy... day trip to Liseberg! Why the hell not?!! Yes it rained a lot on that random day out over there, but it was so good to go back over. Balder wasn't as good as what I remember, but Lisebergbanan exceeded everything I remembered it being back in 2010! Random trips like that made the year for me. Book some flights 2 weeks before and then jump on a plane <3

10 days after the Liseberg day, it was time to see what Port Aventura was like! Cheap 4 day trip over there, but if there was to be a lowlight of the year it would have to be here. I didn't really enjoy the park (apart from the odd rides like Condor and Baco) as much as I thought I would. It was certainly nice to get away again for a bit, especially with the weather but 4 days at PA is just too much! Thank god Tibi was only up the road and bonus creds happened! Still, it looks like I'll be back next year, but only for a day or two!

2 weeks after that and yet another spontaneous trip happened, this time to Heide Park and it was easily the best trip of the year! Over there for 2 days just before my 19th birthday, the park is stunning with come incredible rides like Krake and Colossos and everything else being decent! Heck even Limit didn't hurt!
Everything over there was just perfect, the staff were awesome, the park fantastic, the hotel immense, the ridiculously cheap €55 AP that makes it certain I'll be back there next year, the €28 Q-Bot between 2 people, easy transport from Hamburg just made it all fantastic! <3

Actually gutted that the year is over already having had such a great time. Coaster count started at like 117 and is now on 178 after the years events! It's clear from that, that the year was full of highlights and the only lowlight being that it's all over! It's all made me quite excited about 2012, even though the trips will be fewer than this year. But Denmark, Germany and Spain (probably) are on the must do list and I'm excited about Swarm!

 

[Mushroom]

Year started in Feb with a trip to Holland with Matt and Sue. Had a random trip to Terra Mitica in May. End of June I went to the southern Germany parks.

Start of July I managed to get to the opening of Zooom at Flamingo Land. Then obviously the Italian live. Went up to Lightwater Valley a few times with Valley Mania, and for the re-branding photo shoot (you are going to see my face on the Ultimate photo quite a bit I think!)

So to sum up:

44 New coasters, Master Thai (miri), Freischütz & Butterfly (Bayern Park) and Vliegende Hollander (Efteling) All spited me.

Amsterdam Dungeon, Efetling, Toverland, Flamingo Land X4, Lightwater Valley X6, Alton Towers X3, Terra Mitica, Drayton Manor, Skyline Park, Bayern Park, Legoland Deutschland, Gardaland, Movieland Studios, Mirabilandia, Rainbow Magic Land, Thorpe Park X2, Pleasure Beach Blackpool, CWOA

 

[Venom2053]

This year I didn't end up getting too much done when it came to the coaster count. I did how ever visit Europe and got a good feel for the culture. While I was there I had some time to visit Thorpe Park which was a very well rounded park. I enjoyed it very much, and some of the coasters made my top 10. I also visited the 3rd Oldest operating theme park in the world, in Barcelona Spain it only had 1 cred but i was still a nice little fair ground park. In total I picked up 8 creds this year which is pretty bad :S Hopefully next year i'll have time to visit a Six Flags Park.

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

2011 has been a great year for me. I’ve packed so much in. My trip to Gardaland in September was amazing, and Raptor really did live up to my expectations.

I’ve had some truly memorable days out at Alton Towers this year, but the Scarefest trip was the best ever. A ride count of 26 is pretty good, but the best bit was doing Ripsaw, Oblivion and Th13teen in the dark. It was just something else.

I bought a Drayton Manor Season Pass in May, and not living too far away meant I could visit whenever I wanted to. Some days the park was deserted, so I had Apocalypse and Maelstrom to myself.

2012 is going to be even better. I'm definitely going to Thorpe Park, but would also like to take in some of the northern parks. Blackpool and Lightwater Valley are high on my list.

Stats:

Grand Ride count
Apocalypse 257
Maelstrom 36
Shockwave 32

Oblivion 36
Nemesis 27
Th13teen 9
Rita 23

Raptor 6

Park visits
Drayton Manor 18
Alton Towers 7
Gardaland 1

 

[Treeis]

I hate to dampen the mood, but my 2011 was pretty rubbish...

Countless attempts to get a job at Chessington and all failed. I never got an anual pass, and subsequently never went to a Merlin park.

My highlight would probably be my trip to Paris with the school in easter. It was baking hot and I went to Disneyland Paris for the first time which was epic. Tower of terror especially!

2012 will be one of the best years ever if I can just...get...a...job at Chessington! Then everything will fall into place...

 

[Brookes]

This year wasn't the best for me in terms of theme parks, but I never expected it to be due to A-level exams and starting uni etc. It was the first time in 6 years I haven't been to a park abroad (unless Wales counts :lol but I did get to go to a few UK parks I've been wanting to go to for a long time.

The year started off with a few trips to Alton as always, but my enthusiasm for it seemed to decrease as the year went on. It was ridiculously busy just before the summer holidays, but, even though I visited less in the summer holidays, I had a couple of my favourite visits then. I went 8 times in total this year, which is pretty dire for me but I managed to get to Oakwood, Camelot, Thorpe and Brean. It definitely broadened my spectrum of UK parks and the highlight of the year for me was definitely Megafobia. Other notable mentions go to Speed, Knightmare and random antics at Alton! Total new coasters this year was 11 which I'm happy with, as I knew it wasn't going to be a year full of parks for me.

 

[rich210uk]

Fairly quiet year compared to the last few. We got to Gardaland, Disney Paris, Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. Gardaland being the highlight of the year, although not loads of good rides, the park itself is a nice place to be and being somewhere, unlike the UK, thats warm and sunny

 

[Lofty]

I finally got a chance to ride an actual Airtime Machine this year. Goliath. Loved it to bits too.

On a kind of related note, this year is the main year that due to the Magazine, i've actually been in contact a lot with management and such of parks. It's actually got me quite a lot and such so far. An example would be at Walibi Holland, I got in for free (plus my Dad) and got to meet the Creative and Design Managers of the park, plus the entertainment manager. They then took me on a tour of one of their attractions. It was fantastic. This year's been good and due to the involvement with Marc Terenzi and Europa Park, next year can only get better.

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

A good year all in all, my decision early on to not go to Thorpe at all hasn't really affected me one way or the other, but in amongst that it was the usual mob with a sprinkling of foreign parks...

Hightlights

- Ben 10, such a brill little coaster and could certainly work in a number of parks.
- Fluch von Novgorod, BEST EUROFIGHTER EVER! Just pure perfection from Hansa.
- Katun, what needs to be said?
- Rainbow Magicland, was so glad to see the park packed and whilst it has some issues, I will back it to have a bright future, especially when it holds...
- Huntik, the future of dark rides? Quite possibly, literally no flaws with it and easily the best Italian dark ride which is a difficult area to win.
- Krake and Raptor, merge these together because they effectively show how Merlin are designing rides for the future, if all Merlin additions are to be like these (and Swarm) then they are defo on the right track.
- Scarefest trip, 30 minutes of pure Nemesis bliss with no queue. And a rather fab day in general tbh.
- Ghosterforce/Midland Mayhem, reminding me HOW good CF lives can be after my hiatus after THAT GF, might go to a few more this year if time allows.

Lowlights

- Chessington in general, after an absolutely AWESOME year last year it seems the park decided to take two steps back, the only improvement seemed to be the costumed characters, yet the rides department was absolutely awful the entire year. Really disappointed in the park after an optimistic 2010.
- 2 trips to Drayton AND Lego, I must have been ill on THAT front
- Camelot, Knightmare aside, what a horrid place.
- Heide Park, the sudden appearance of lots and lots of Germans mixed with outrageous heat did not do me any good. As well as the numerous Vekomas, a park that will benefit would rebranding.


All I can think of atm, but all in all a decent enough year... 2012 should be better though

 

[owentaylor121]

2011 has been the best year for me :

HIGHLIGHT: Flamingo Land what a great place.
LOWLIGHT:Alton Towers It was my 7th trip this year and Oblivion is jiust boring , nemesis is mehh , thi3teen need I say more , Air its the slowest , boringest roller coaster I've ever been on and good old little Rita got my 60th ride on her and she still packs an amazing punch.

 

[kimahri]

Well... I managed to come out of being a reclusive hobo stuck in my own room staring at a computer day in day out and travel really far from home and meet a bunch of awesomesauce people for the lives especially ones that I've been talking to for like **** years... **** yur.

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

Well... I managed to come out of being a reclusive hobo stuck in my own room staring at a computer day in day out and travel really far from home and meet a bunch of awesomesauce people for the lives especially ones that I've been talking to for like **** years... **** yur.

HOW DID I FORGET THAT MEETING YOU WAS ONE OF MY HIGHLIGHTS?!!!

 

[Lofty]

Sorry, I know we're meant to be "Nice and friendly to the new members", But, this just has to be said:

nemesis is mehh

Ok, coming from the one who's got his name dedicated to the most "Mehh" (as you put it) right going, we agree......

thi3teen need I say more

Just, what?

Air its the slowest, boringest roller coaster I've ever been on

Do I even need to comment? Boringest? Please tell me you're not actually THAT "special".

good old little Rita got my 60th ride on her and she still packs an amazing punch.

I wish she **** would.

 

[kimahri]

Well... I managed to come out of being a reclusive hobo stuck in my own room staring at a computer day in day out and travel really far from home and meet a bunch of awesomesauce people for the lives especially ones that I've been talking to for like **** years... **** yur.

HOW DID I FORGET THAT MEETING YOU WAS ONE OF MY HIGHLIGHTS?!!!

Not coming down on feb any more. Going to hang self... *despair*

 

[rich210uk]

Oblivion is jiust boring , nemesis is mehh.

:shock:

 

[Colossus]

I have had a good 2011, added 24 to the coaster count, and actually achieved almost everything I set out to do for the year.
Highlights - My 7 parks in 8 days road trip back in June was awesome and finally visiting Blackpool.
- Valhalla - simply blew my mind, for me there`s no non coaster ride better then that.
- Finally getting on JO, every time I have been to FI it has been shut, it did not disappoint.

Lowlights - Missing out on Scarefest yet again, still never made it to one.
- Fright Night this year was the worst I have been too, the atmosphere just was not the same.

 

[gavin]

I had a completely Merlin free year, which was nice. I can't really remember dates of stuff, but some of the things I did were:

Germany and The Netherlands with CF. I went out there about ten days before I met up with everyone and spent some time in Amsterdam and Belgium. I went to a few parks, but I'll stick a list at the end of this post. Amsterdam was a lot of fun, I liked Antwerp a lot, and I LOVED Bruges. Brussels is a **** ing dump though.

Finland with Ben and Jake, which was fab! Both parks we went to were decent, Tampere itself was a nice little city and Helsinki was fun. We did a day trip to Tallinn as well, which was gorgeous.

Italy for about 2 weeks: Venice (lovely), Verona (gorgeous), Rome (Fab), Florence (Amazing!), Pisa (just for the afternoon, more than enough), Bologna (not much to see, but fun nights out) and Rimini (knackered by this point, but fun), with a day trip to San Marino (gorgeous). The CF Live was sandwiched between the Verona-Rome part. I'll list the parks later.

Somewhere in there I went up to Glasgow for the weekend and had the pleasure of experiencing M&Ds. Yuck. The only other new UK park was Lightwater Valley I think. I really liked it; it was much nicer than I was expecting. Got a free trip to Blackpool with school, so polished off the credz I needed there.

Just got back from Athens a couple of weeks ago. I've got mixed feelings to be honest. All the old **** was really cool, but the city itself is mostly a bit of a dump. I managed to get to a couple of parks, but really nothing special there at all. I had a great few days though because I'm interested in all the old stuff. I went out to Delphi for a day as well which was stunning.

Have a list!

Parks

Amsterdam Dungeon
Duinrell
Drievliet
Plopsaland
Bobbejaanland
Phantasialand
Efteling
Toverland
Walibi Holland
M&Ds Scotland
Linnanmaki
Sarkenniemi
Gardaland
Movieland Studios
Mirabilandia
Rainbow Magic Land
Fiabilandia
Lightwater Valley
Flamingoland
Ta Andovlakia (or something)
Allou Fun Park#

I've probably forgotten something in there, but **** it. So yeah, quite a productive year really, both in terms of travel/sightseeing and parks. I'm not sure about how many I added to my coaster count. It's on 604 now, so I think about a hundred or so.