CF:LIVE "Wet & Wildlife" Trip Reports
- Thread starter Mark
- Start date
Tomatron
Giga Poster
Well I missed the rides at West Mids, but Alton was a lot of fun. Can't wait to see the Sharkbait group pic again! :lol:
A branch off a tree hit Myk's car when driving round the Safari!
And the weather was well random. Blazing sunshine one minute, pissing it down the next!
It wasn't a classic Live, but all in all, I really enjoyed myself.
Thanks again to Phil for putting it all together.
I'll write more later.
A branch off a tree hit Myk's car when driving round the Safari!
And the weather was well random. Blazing sunshine one minute, pissing it down the next!
It wasn't a classic Live, but all in all, I really enjoyed myself.
Thanks again to Phil for putting it all together.
I'll write more later.
Lain
Giga Poster
I think I missed out on the best bits by not attending on Saturday. Alton isn't really a place that's suited to Lives - it's too big and involves far too much walking.
Having said that, I didn't have a bad day - Nemesis and Oblivion were running very well, and it was fun to go exploring in the Towers, which is something I wouldn't usually think to do.
Many thanks to Furie for the organisation, and to Stone Cold for transportation.
Woop.
Having said that, I didn't have a bad day - Nemesis and Oblivion were running very well, and it was fun to go exploring in the Towers, which is something I wouldn't usually think to do.
Many thanks to Furie for the organisation, and to Stone Cold for transportation.
Woop.
divvie_dave
Mega Poster
Not even any reports yet, but im still so jealous that i couldn't go to either day 
... but yeah... i'm revising so ner!
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend
... but yeah... i'm revising so ner!I hope you all had a fantastic weekend
caffeine_demon
Strata Poster
Had a nice day today. highlights..
Oblivion stilll gets me
the nemesis roar was great!
Fitted on the regiular b and m seats for the first time in about 3 years!
nemesis is running very well
Rita seems to be growing on me - really liked the airtime. (and it seems to look bigger without corkie there)
lowlights
doing the walk of shame on spinball! (too big)
Oblivion stilll gets me
the nemesis roar was great!
Fitted on the regiular b and m seats for the first time in about 3 years!
nemesis is running very well
Rita seems to be growing on me - really liked the airtime. (and it seems to look bigger without corkie there)
lowlights
doing the walk of shame on spinball! (too big)
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
I've had an amazing week-end and it was great to see so many faces, old and new.
I'm not going into a full TR at the mo so I'll post ride counts and highlights/lowlights:
WMSP
Venom x10
Rhino Coaster x3
Wall's Twister x2
Dodgems x2
Black Fly x2
Tarantula x2
Flying Jumbo thingies x2
The other flying thingy x1
Big Apple x1 (And a half - Overshot station xD)
Rapids x1 (100% Dry)
Flume x1 (!00% Dry)
Ghost Ride thingy x1
And I think that was it.
High points:
Safari = Fun
Whoring Venom
3 credits
Meeting again
Low Points:
Annoying ride-ops
Slow loading at times
Food was ****e
**** weather
Alton
Nemesis x7 (x1 Front Row)
Oblivion x4
Rita x4
Air x2 (x1 Front row, train to ourselves, last train of the day)
Spinball x1
RMT x1 (and a half - overshot station xD)
Duel x1
Hex x1
Monorail x1
Skyride x1
Heave-Ho! x1
Sea-Life x1
And I think that's it.
High Points:
Just fun filled and quite relaxing for Alton
I never have to go on Air again now
Duck with tiny duckings = <3
Low Points:
Being grouchy getting food.
Rubbish weather
I'm not going into a full TR at the mo so I'll post ride counts and highlights/lowlights:
WMSP
Venom x10
Rhino Coaster x3
Wall's Twister x2
Dodgems x2
Black Fly x2
Tarantula x2
Flying Jumbo thingies x2
The other flying thingy x1
Big Apple x1 (And a half - Overshot station xD)
Rapids x1 (100% Dry
)Flume x1 (!00% Dry
)Ghost Ride thingy x1
And I think that was it.
High points:
Safari = Fun
Whoring Venom
3 credits
Meeting again
Low Points:
Annoying ride-ops
Slow loading at times
Food was ****e
**** weather
Alton
Nemesis x7 (x1 Front Row)
Oblivion x4
Rita x4
Air x2 (x1 Front row, train to ourselves, last train of the day
)Spinball x1
RMT x1 (and a half - overshot station xD)
Duel x1
Hex x1
Monorail x1
Skyride x1
Heave-Ho! x1
Sea-Life x1
And I think that's it.
High Points:
Just fun filled and quite relaxing for Alton
I never have to go on Air again now
Duck with tiny duckings = <3
Low Points:
Being grouchy getting food.
Rubbish weather
A
Anonymous
Guest
Yeah, quoting on what shockwave said a branch hit my car, and somehow my car wasnt even scratched, surprising by the noise it made, and size of it.
Had to get home early today so only went to AT for ERT and couldnt make the live im afraid although got some good footage at WMSP and some dangerous footage at extraordinary golf. They use proper golf balls now instead of ping pong balls and they get so much loft its dangerous, but you'll see for yourselves I guess when i get round to posting a video. lol. All in all a good day at WMSP and a coupon for free entry to safari next time I go, not bad.
Thanks for organising furie *thumbs up*
*Also got to ride in the driver's section on the monorail, which I also have footage of XD *
Had to get home early today so only went to AT for ERT and couldnt make the live im afraid although got some good footage at WMSP and some dangerous footage at extraordinary golf. They use proper golf balls now instead of ping pong balls and they get so much loft its dangerous, but you'll see for yourselves I guess when i get round to posting a video. lol. All in all a good day at WMSP and a coupon for free entry to safari next time I go, not bad.
Thanks for organising furie *thumbs up*
*Also got to ride in the driver's section on the monorail, which I also have footage of XD *
I'll start with the Alton Towers day report, seeing as I was only there for the morning part!
I arrived after meet-up time due to toilet queueing at Karen's, but hey, I only missed the spinny rides so I'm not that bothered!
The day only really started with the early morning faff waiting outside the skyride station. Not too bad, had a chance to chat and eat wedding cake. Nom.
Sky ride was quite entertaining. few laughs on the way over. I like the new sky rides, better seating arrangement.
Our first stop was Err/Air.
Glad to see that Dan/Caffine-demon made it into the test seat!
I used to the queue time to lighten my bag of the park maps I collected over the weekend. I placed these on the queue line wire fences. Don' know why really, it just happened.
Jessica the op working the station gates was amazing. Really cute and friendly. Apparently we were the biggest group she's ever had!
The rain started to hammer down at this point. Thankfully I was in the station so didn't manage to get too wet.
For the actual ride, I pulled my hoodie over my head and went blindfolded. It was straneg really, I dodn't really feel anything or enjoy the ride. It felt like havinga restless night on a sofa. You know the feeling, where you're really tired and you keep moving about without realising. I know the ride quite well so knew what part I was experincing. I've come to the conclusion that Err/Air can only really be enjoyed in the sunshine. I need to look up and see clear blue skies to get the most out of it, it's the only way I can get the illusion of flight.
I put my poncho on as it was pissing down and yes, ten mins later it was dry again :lol:
I think because I whored Inferno eight consecutive times on Friday, Nemesis felt bland. Sure, it's a brilliant ride and still my #1, but I didn't feel anything from it on Sunday. Just went through the motions.
I sat out of Duel and had a hot chocolate. Made small talk with furie , Rach and madame_furie before moving on to the Mine Train.
Big John and I managed to squeeze into one car for the ride. Was nice to get a bonus lap after the ride op overshot the station. Pretty average ride. Worst part was entering the station platform after the third lap and seeing Willy's bum crack as he was tying his shoelaces. If I had 50p to hand I would have put it in there to see if he didn't any special tricks.
As I waited for the second lot of CFers to finish, I went to the smoking area inside the turnound outside the RMT station. What a waste of a smoking area. The little area there is a great place for a picnic area, not a smoking area. There's a family coaster going round and all you can see is puffs of smoke. A wasted area if you ask me.
Furie called lunch here and as Vadge was feeling off, we called it a day so we said our goodbyes and left. It's a shame to see the group pics without me in it. First one without me since the UK Lives begun
Before me and Vadge left, we did the Fish Life Centre with Karen, Phil and Katie. I found it quite impressive, certainly worth a look.
Just to point out that when I got home I watched Robson Green's Extreme Fishing on Fiver. So with that programme, the Fish Life Centre and spending a weekend with Vadge, it's been a veyr fishy weekend for me!
I'll do a WMSP report (the better day IMO, although I did miss half the AT day) when I've done my video.
Cheers to Vadge for the company and driving, Karen for the sofa and breakfast, furie for organising and everybody that came for doing what we do best as a group!
I arrived after meet-up time due to toilet queueing at Karen's, but hey, I only missed the spinny rides so I'm not that bothered!
The day only really started with the early morning faff waiting outside the skyride station. Not too bad, had a chance to chat and eat wedding cake. Nom.
Sky ride was quite entertaining. few laughs on the way over. I like the new sky rides, better seating arrangement.
Our first stop was Err/Air.
Glad to see that Dan/Caffine-demon made it into the test seat!
I used to the queue time to lighten my bag of the park maps I collected over the weekend. I placed these on the queue line wire fences. Don' know why really, it just happened.
Jessica the op working the station gates was amazing. Really cute and friendly. Apparently we were the biggest group she's ever had!
The rain started to hammer down at this point. Thankfully I was in the station so didn't manage to get too wet.
For the actual ride, I pulled my hoodie over my head and went blindfolded. It was straneg really, I dodn't really feel anything or enjoy the ride. It felt like havinga restless night on a sofa. You know the feeling, where you're really tired and you keep moving about without realising. I know the ride quite well so knew what part I was experincing. I've come to the conclusion that Err/Air can only really be enjoyed in the sunshine. I need to look up and see clear blue skies to get the most out of it, it's the only way I can get the illusion of flight.
I put my poncho on as it was pissing down and yes, ten mins later it was dry again :lol:
I think because I whored Inferno eight consecutive times on Friday, Nemesis felt bland. Sure, it's a brilliant ride and still my #1, but I didn't feel anything from it on Sunday. Just went through the motions.
I sat out of Duel and had a hot chocolate. Made small talk with furie , Rach and madame_furie before moving on to the Mine Train.
Big John and I managed to squeeze into one car for the ride. Was nice to get a bonus lap after the ride op overshot the station. Pretty average ride. Worst part was entering the station platform after the third lap and seeing Willy's bum crack as he was tying his shoelaces. If I had 50p to hand I would have put it in there to see if he didn't any special tricks.
As I waited for the second lot of CFers to finish, I went to the smoking area inside the turnound outside the RMT station. What a waste of a smoking area. The little area there is a great place for a picnic area, not a smoking area. There's a family coaster going round and all you can see is puffs of smoke. A wasted area if you ask me.
Furie called lunch here and as Vadge was feeling off, we called it a day so we said our goodbyes and left. It's a shame to see the group pics without me in it. First one without me since the UK Lives begun
Before me and Vadge left, we did the Fish Life Centre with Karen, Phil and Katie. I found it quite impressive, certainly worth a look.
Just to point out that when I got home I watched Robson Green's Extreme Fishing on Fiver. So with that programme, the Fish Life Centre and spending a weekend with Vadge, it's been a veyr fishy weekend for me!
I'll do a WMSP report (the better day IMO, although I did miss half the AT day) when I've done my video.
Cheers to Vadge for the company and driving, Karen for the sofa and breakfast, furie for organising and everybody that came for doing what we do best as a group!
Mark said:
Shut up!
A stag attacked my car and scratched the crap out of the wing mirror :lol:
I'll do a report after, once I've caught up. Had a cracking weekend though, but a bit knackered now.
I'll just put up the Sea Life ORP though first so everyone has it.
And a big version for people to download!
www.coasterforce.com/images/cflive/midl ... oupbig.jpg
Photos and report then I suppose. I'm going to spread these out a bit
West Midlands was a bit of an odd one really. Very quiet, very wet and very young child oriented. We managed to fill in the time pretty well I thought, not rushing too much to get everything done
It's unremarkable really ride wise, but as usual, company was good. Was nice to meet our new "live" member, Dan (small world though as it was a remeet for us). The spinning mouse was actually really good, and I enjoy Black Fly.
Rapids were mad and wet - dodgems dull and wet. The ops were good enough to let us go on the rides (lucky is was busy, I suspect they wouldn't have been so generous if there'd been kids about).
The op of the gay lion ride looked really worried! :lol:
So, first part is up until lunch before the safari. Good fun, very wet.
Raybould goes for a swim! Not skinny dipping Mark!!!
The Leopards were kept next to the goats, right next to them! They kept looking longingly at the fresh meat. The goats simply bleated smugly.
Goon train!
Vadge taking Ian up the rear [/obvious joke]
The first time will has been cornered by pussy.
Goon train!
One for Wat ya finkin!
Nadroj being a goon!
That's about it. I'll post the next part when I can be arsed
Big thanks though to!
Natalie at WMSP for giving us cheap bands
Everyone giving me the correct change (evene though it meant I had ten pounds in 5p pieces!
Rach for doing the graphics on the Credit Crunch badge - she didn't have much to work with from em and did a great job
Everyone for putting up with the rain and enjoying it even though there weren't any major rides.
West Midlands was a bit of an odd one really. Very quiet, very wet and very young child oriented. We managed to fill in the time pretty well I thought, not rushing too much to get everything done
It's unremarkable really ride wise, but as usual, company was good. Was nice to meet our new "live" member, Dan (small world though as it was a remeet for us). The spinning mouse was actually really good, and I enjoy Black Fly.
Rapids were mad and wet - dodgems dull and wet. The ops were good enough to let us go on the rides (lucky is was busy, I suspect they wouldn't have been so generous if there'd been kids about).
The op of the gay lion ride looked really worried! :lol:
So, first part is up until lunch before the safari. Good fun, very wet.
Raybould goes for a swim! Not skinny dipping Mark!!!
The Leopards were kept next to the goats, right next to them! They kept looking longingly at the fresh meat. The goats simply bleated smugly.
Goon train!
Vadge taking Ian up the rear [/obvious joke]
The first time will has been cornered by pussy.
Goon train!
One for Wat ya finkin!
Nadroj being a goon!
That's about it. I'll post the next part when I can be arsed
Big thanks though to!
Natalie at WMSP for giving us cheap bands
Everyone giving me the correct change (evene though it meant I had ten pounds in 5p pieces!
Rach for doing the graphics on the Credit Crunch badge - she didn't have much to work with from em and did a great job
Everyone for putting up with the rain and enjoying it even though there weren't any major rides.
The earliest I'm going to be able to post epic trip reports of funness is Thursday, so until then have some highlights and lowlights!
West Mids
Highs
- Public transport not epically failing and actually getting to the park before most of the members in cars!
- Riding the mouse in the rain and getting an epic spin like what you get on waltzers!
- The rapids were really painful, but really fun at the same time. Sitting on a poncho on wet seats is not the best idea as I ended up almost sitting on furie and squashing SSIL_furie.
- Lunch time and the singing on In For the Kill by La Roux, it's still stuck in my head now. :lol:
- The actual safari was very amusing with the vibrating bottom grills and the animals! Tres cute.
- Stone Cold giving me, Will and caffeine demon a lift back to the station and nearly ending up back at the safari park after realising we got a little lost. :lol: Poor Dan had no idea what was going on!
Lows:
- Venom not living up to my expectations
- Leaving
Alton
Highs
- ERT on Rita and Oblivion
- Pizza and Pasta Buffet thing, that was NOM especially with unlimited drinks. Pizzas were a little on the cheesy side though =[
- Sitting out of Rita and sheltering under a dinosaur from the rain
- Oblivion in the afternoon had a fantastic amount of power behind it.
- Smallish queues
- Riding Air in the torrential rain and hiding under a blue plastic bag that stayed up all through the ride apart from on the fly to lie.
- The cheese in the car on the way home
Lows
- The two very nasty downpours that made us all sad and wet
- Nemesis making me feel icky
- Returning home and soon realising it was Sunday and that I have exams this week.
And some thanks
- Will for keeping me company on the trains and taxi
- Stone Cold for the very amusing journey back to Kidderminster
- Vadge and Ian for the lift around the safari park
- Leighton for the lift to and from Alton and Slayed and Kraken for making it amusing
- Everybody that went
- And last but not least, furie for organising us all around the parks! Crackin' job.
West Mids
Highs
- Public transport not epically failing and actually getting to the park before most of the members in cars!
- Riding the mouse in the rain and getting an epic spin like what you get on waltzers!
- The rapids were really painful, but really fun at the same time. Sitting on a poncho on wet seats is not the best idea as I ended up almost sitting on furie and squashing SSIL_furie.
- Lunch time and the singing on In For the Kill by La Roux, it's still stuck in my head now. :lol:
- The actual safari was very amusing with the vibrating bottom grills and the animals! Tres cute.
- Stone Cold giving me, Will and caffeine demon a lift back to the station and nearly ending up back at the safari park after realising we got a little lost. :lol: Poor Dan had no idea what was going on!
Lows:
- Venom not living up to my expectations
- Leaving
Alton
Highs
- ERT on Rita and Oblivion
- Pizza and Pasta Buffet thing, that was NOM especially with unlimited drinks. Pizzas were a little on the cheesy side though =[
- Sitting out of Rita and sheltering under a dinosaur from the rain
- Oblivion in the afternoon had a fantastic amount of power behind it.
- Smallish queues
- Riding Air in the torrential rain and hiding under a blue plastic bag that stayed up all through the ride apart from on the fly to lie.
- The cheese in the car on the way home
Lows
- The two very nasty downpours that made us all sad and wet
- Nemesis making me feel icky
- Returning home and soon realising it was Sunday and that I have exams this week.
And some thanks
- Will for keeping me company on the trains and taxi
- Stone Cold for the very amusing journey back to Kidderminster
- Vadge and Ian for the lift around the safari park
- Leighton for the lift to and from Alton and Slayed and Kraken for making it amusing
- Everybody that went
- And last but not least, furie for organising us all around the parks! Crackin' job.
caffeine_demon
Strata Poster
Oh yeah - I'd almost forgotten how much fun the spinning mouse in the rain was!
What a wicked weekend. It's a shame about the rain but the CF spirit still made it a great weekend.
I'm going to put a highs and lows list as after today I don't think I'll remember everything.
WMSP Highs
+Great company
+The safari was great fun, both times
+Credits
+Watching everyone on the gay lion ride
WMSP Lows
-Rain
-Mud spraying from bumpy thing in the safari and going all over me
-Getting soaked all the way through on rapids ride
Alton Highs
+Exploring the towers, was fun (apart from the spiral staircase)
+Finally doing Hex
+Pizza buffet, that was amazing
+Minor Furie making the queue lines fun
Alton Lows
-More rain
-Rita being worse than I remember
-Only getting on Nemesis once
Thanks to Furie for organising the Live and to Jordan for the lift over the weekend.
I'm going to put a highs and lows list as after today I don't think I'll remember everything.
WMSP Highs
+Great company
+The safari was great fun, both times
+Credits
+Watching everyone on the gay lion ride
WMSP Lows
-Rain
-Mud spraying from bumpy thing in the safari and going all over me
-Getting soaked all the way through on rapids ride
Alton Highs
+Exploring the towers, was fun (apart from the spiral staircase)
+Finally doing Hex
+Pizza buffet, that was amazing
+Minor Furie making the queue lines fun
Alton Lows
-More rain
-Rita being worse than I remember
-Only getting on Nemesis once
Thanks to Furie for organising the Live and to Jordan for the lift over the weekend.
I got back about 11:30pm yesterday, completely shattered, after having only about 7 hours sleep since Friday morning, and driving 600miles. :lol:
Excellent weekend again. Thanks to Furie and everyone else involved in organising it. I would say that i'll post a full trip report later, but I know that I won't ever get around to doing it.
In the mean time, here are some of my pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=115342&id=758612976&l=4881a11b0d
Feel free to tag yourself.
I didn't take that many pictures so don't expect much. A few more might pop up later though.
Excellent weekend again. Thanks to Furie and everyone else involved in organising it. I would say that i'll post a full trip report later, but I know that I won't ever get around to doing it.
In the mean time, here are some of my pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=115342&id=758612976&l=4881a11b0d
Feel free to tag yourself.
I didn't take that many pictures so don't expect much. A few more might pop up later though.
robbeal
Hyper Poster
I had a really fun day at Alton on sunday! Its been a while since I went on a fully-open day (the live last year being the last time) and it was quite exciting to be back. We arrived a bit late and somehow missed the group at the Skyride and went straight over to Forbidden Valley. Err was first, and I don't think i'd ridden Air for about 2 years before the weekend! Typically, it began raining before we rode, and just as we got strapped in, the rain got a lot heavier, to the joy of everyone who wasn't on that train! I still enjoy Air, i'm one of the weird ones who does, but its not pleasant on your back in the rain! Nemesis after was running a bit mentally (I thought) in the rain, and was good fun.
Over to Duel, and I could've had a good score if I hadn't wasted half the ride faffing with my camera.
We had a laugh at the ride-op on the Mine Train, who sounded really enthusiastic, but looked bored as hell, and I shouted at some rapids boats in memory of Martyn. Rape-ids were fun, not particularly wet even with the waterfalls on but still decent.
We'd been all organised and brought a packed lunch, so we sat outside the Sealife Centre and had that, but ended up being tempted by Ian and his kebab, and having one of those too. We wandered around the Sealife Centre afterwards, which looks cool and everything, but does seem to be about 12 different views of the same big tank at times.
After lunch, Rita was next, and i've given that a miss a few times recently too. It was still fun, and I still don't mind Rita really, but it does seem to be rougher these days, and it stings in the rain! Hex was next, and no matter how many times I ride it, it still messes with my head!
The rest of the group went to do Oblivion next, and we sat out and wandered round the arcade with Jordan, Ali, Tom and Dan, and then shortly later made our exit. I think we were both a bit shattered, and I was ill yesterday, so i'll blame the lovely Alton weather for that too.
The one thing that was a bit disappointing was the cost of it all. Me & Lucy had a BOGOF voucher, so that saved us some, but it was still £18 to get in, essentially the cost of a more budget theme park. The thing that surprised me more was the parking cost. Having had the luxury of an annual pass in recent years, parking costs haven't affected me, but £5 to park now was a bit of a bodyblow at the end of the day! I had to go and get some change from the Towers Street shop, and ended up buying some extortionate sweets as well lol. At full price, for a family of three, Alton Towers is now over £100 for a day out. I won't be having any family days out there this year (apart from the one using the free tickets from Thorpe), nor until the prices become more affordable, because I can go somewhere else more family-friendly, and pay a lot less. Sorry Alton, you're losing my custom at the moment.
Thanks to Phil for organising the day though, it was nice to have a fun day at Alton, despite the weather and the cost of stuff there!
Over to Duel, and I could've had a good score if I hadn't wasted half the ride faffing with my camera.
We had a laugh at the ride-op on the Mine Train, who sounded really enthusiastic, but looked bored as hell, and I shouted at some rapids boats in memory of Martyn. Rape-ids were fun, not particularly wet even with the waterfalls on but still decent.
We'd been all organised and brought a packed lunch, so we sat outside the Sealife Centre and had that, but ended up being tempted by Ian and his kebab, and having one of those too. We wandered around the Sealife Centre afterwards, which looks cool and everything, but does seem to be about 12 different views of the same big tank at times.
After lunch, Rita was next, and i've given that a miss a few times recently too. It was still fun, and I still don't mind Rita really, but it does seem to be rougher these days, and it stings in the rain! Hex was next, and no matter how many times I ride it, it still messes with my head!
The rest of the group went to do Oblivion next, and we sat out and wandered round the arcade with Jordan, Ali, Tom and Dan, and then shortly later made our exit. I think we were both a bit shattered, and I was ill yesterday, so i'll blame the lovely Alton weather for that too.
The one thing that was a bit disappointing was the cost of it all. Me & Lucy had a BOGOF voucher, so that saved us some, but it was still £18 to get in, essentially the cost of a more budget theme park. The thing that surprised me more was the parking cost. Having had the luxury of an annual pass in recent years, parking costs haven't affected me, but £5 to park now was a bit of a bodyblow at the end of the day! I had to go and get some change from the Towers Street shop, and ended up buying some extortionate sweets as well lol. At full price, for a family of three, Alton Towers is now over £100 for a day out. I won't be having any family days out there this year (apart from the one using the free tickets from Thorpe
), nor until the prices become more affordable, because I can go somewhere else more family-friendly, and pay a lot less. Sorry Alton, you're losing my custom at the moment.Thanks to Phil for organising the day though, it was nice to have a fun day at Alton, despite the weather and the cost of stuff there!