Yorkshire and lincolnshire (main parks)

[CookieCoasters]

On this trip I visited the following parks:

Lightwater Valley
Flamingo Land
Pleasure Island
Fantasy Island
Botton's Pleasure Beach


Lightwater Valley: I had actually been too Lightwater valley about 4 years ago, but it was a really cold day and I only rode the ultimate, sewer rat and the dingy slides and I had to say I was disappointed with the park. I wanted to back so I could get on some of the coasters and rides I did not ride last time and to re-ride the ultimate. I thought the park was better than last time, but really the parks only strong point is that they have some pretty good flat rides as I think none of the coasters are that good. Basically if you don't like the ultimate than the park is quite poor coaster wise. The entrance area is decent and the park it's self is quite nice too walk round because of all the grassy areas, but the indoor eating area in the pirate themed land was pretty standard and quite cheap looking. My 3 favourite rides at the park were: Whirlwind, Eagles Claw and the Black Pearl. Overall it's a very pleasant and relaxing park, but needs a few more decent coasters. Park Rating: 6/10


Coasters:


Twister: Just a normal spinning mouse layout, and I have been on a few so they don't get me very excited, but I do actually enjoy them and this one was smoother than most thus making it more fun. Coaster Rating: 6/10


Raptor Attack: I did ride this back when it was sewer rat, but I honestly could hardly remember anything about it. It's a decent coaster, but enclosed coasters like: vogel rok, eurosat and space mountain are considerably better. The only thing the ride has going for it really is the unique setting underground, but it that doesn't really add to the ride, more the walk through to the station. Coaster Rating: 6.5/10


The Ultimate: I remembered from when I rode this on my last visit that the ride was quite rough, but I really didn't know what I was in for. The first part is alright, but not particularly exciting which is a shame because I used to think it was quite good. The second part is just REALLY BRUTAL!!!! and bruising because you are just flung from side to side frequently as you shoot through the craply built turns. I just don't understand how anybody can enjoy it.Coaster Rating: 3/10


Ladybird: Just a typical tivoli model coaster that is a bit of fun. Coaster Rating: 3/10


Caterpillar: My first normal wacky worm! (the one at gardaland is different). Coaster Rating: 1.5/0


Flat rides:


Eagles Claw: This KMG afterburner had some serious airtime and was so much fun, vortex at thorpe is pale in comparison. Could have had a longer cycle though since there was hardly anybody waiting. Flat Ride Rating: Good/Great


Powder Kegs: A throughbly enjoyable Huss breakdance, but I can't wait to ride one of the fair ones because they look insane. Flat Ride Rating: Good


The Black Pearl: I didn't think I would like this ride before going on it because I had ridden a similar one at BGT which had really uncomfortable restraints, but the lap bars on this ride were quite comfortable. I find these rides actually quite scary actually because they go upside down slowly and the restraints are quite free in that they are only lap bars. Flat Ride Rating: Good


Whirlwind: This top scan ran had an amazing cycle and was seriously fun. I thought Samuarai was great, but this is incredible and by far the best ride the park has to offer. My second favourite non drop tower flat ride after Air. Flat Ride Rating: Great


Water rides:


Wild River Rapids: I find these fairground rapds rides pretty pointless and the only thing that makes them slightly interesting is the slide section. Water Ride Rating: D


Ride count:

Eagles Claw: 1
Twister: 1
Raptor Attack: 1
The Ultimate: 1
Powder Kegs: 1
The Black Pearl: 1
Ladybird: 1
Whirlwind: 3
Caterpillar: 1
Wild River Rapids: 1

Total: 12


Flamingo Land trip report will be coming soon.

 

[Mushroom]

When did you goto Lightwater??

 

[CookieCoasters]

Last Tuesday (April 2nd)

 

[Mushroom]

Should of said something! Would of been able to get you in a lot cheaper. Shame you didn't enjoy lwv =[ just expecting a crap report of Flamingo Land

posting from somewhere in the world...

 

[CookieCoasters]

^ Me and my family used tesco vouchers to get in cheaper, so price wasn't an issue. I actually did enjoy Lightwater Valley, i just thought there were a few things they needed to add or improve before it became a really good park.

 

[CookieCoasters]

Flamingo Land: I was actually pleasantly surprised by Flamingo Land as i actually thought it had some nice theming and did not appear run down at all. Obviously it's not as good as top parks like Europa, BGT and IoA, but it's still a nice park and from what some other people say about i would say that it is quite underrated as a park. Most of the park felt very modern even though there was couple of rides that were clearly from the parks 'fair in a car park' type days, but i did not feel that it spoilt the overall park. The park has some pretty good flat rides and coasters and the queues were minimal so i managed to ride them as many times as i wanted. I would say that the parks main negatives were: poor operations which were not too much of a problem on the day i visited, but could be on busier days and they should have a few more food options because all you could seem to get was pizza, fish and chips, ice cream and pancakes which wasn't a problem for me, but could be for some. My three favourite rides at the park were: Mumbo Jumbo, Kumali and Cliffhanger. Overall, the park is pretty good, as are the rides and the staff were friendly which for me makes it is best park in the UK after the main three. Park Rating: 7.5/10


Coasters:


Mumbo Jumbo: This ride is a lot of fun and was quite unique to me because i had previously not ridden an el loco model. The first drop is great and gives some good airtime, but would be even better if it was a longer. The inversions have amazing hangtime which is awesome and the tight turns do give off some decent laterals. The ride is very smooth all the way through which makes it very enjoyable and addictive, however the main negative for the ride is the definite lack of passing because of all the constant breaking, but i guess that cannot be helped in that this is a low capacity ride. Coaster Rating: 8/10


Kumali: I got pretty much what i expected from this ride in that the layout although very unique for a Vekoma SLC was a bit on the short side and not particularly exciting, but the ride was very smooth unlike any of the ones i have previously ridden which did make it fun and re-rideable. My advice for you about this ride would be not to go on it expecting an intense ride because then you will be disappointed, but the ride does have some decent hangtime on the inversions and the zero g roll is unique for a Vekoma which is interesting. If you want the better and smoother ride than sit near the back. Coaster Rating: 7.5/10


Zooom: I think this is pretty much the same ride as Turblencia at Parque de atracciones in Madrid and i think there quite cute rides for for kids. Coaster Rating: 2.5/10


Runaway Mine Train: This was one of the roughest kiddie coasters i have ridden and it definitely looked like it needed a bit of maintenance. Coaster Rating: 2/10


Velocity: Another ride i was looking forward too because i had not been on one of these bigger motorbike coasters as i had only been on the one at Knott's. The ride was a bit of a disappointment for me because even though the launch was actually really good as was the following airtime hill, the rest of the ride was quite uncomforable and a bit rough which made the ride not very enjoyable. I would have probably enjoyed the ride more if it had normal upright seating. Coaster Rating: 5.5/10


Flat Rides:


Cliff Hanger: This S&S tower was better than most because it was one of those shot and drop towers which meant a longer ride and also the launch section had good floating airtime at the top which most of them fail on.Flat Ride Rating: Good/Great


Flip Flop: I'd be really curious to find out who made this (I'm guessing its an intamin gyro swing) because even though it did not go very high it was spinier than most and had a really great cycle, so much so i did not feel the need to ride it again (if that makes sense). Flat Ride Rating: Good/Great


Kamikaze: This is one of the rides that i thought probably dated back to the parks older days as it was very rickety which made me feel quite unsafe when riding, but that brought a bit more excitement to the ride for me. Flat Ride Rating: Good


Pterodactyl: An okay star flyer, but it was not very tall which meant it wasn't as exciting as the one in Madrid. I found it interesting how the middle structure rotated, but i did not think it added anything to the ride. Flat Ride Rating: Okay/Good


I did not ride the Lost River Ride because it was pretty cold and it looked like it was going to be very wet.


Ride Count:

Mumbo Jumbo: 4
Kumali: 3
Cliff Hanger: 3
Flip Flop: 1
Kamikaze: 1
Pterodactyl: 1
Zoom: 1
Runaway Mine Train: 1
Velocity: 2

Total: 17


Pleasure Island trip report will be coming soon

 

[MouseAT]

Flip Flop: I'd be really curious to find out who made this (I'm guessing its an intamin gyro swing)

I believe it's a Fabbri.

 

[CookieCoasters]

^Thanks

 

[caffeine_demon]

Yup - fabbri it is, and it's great! Knocks spots of maxair at cedar point!

 

[CookieCoasters]

Pleasure Island: I thought that this was quite an odd park as even though it is pretty small it just has loads and loads of flat rides which I thought was really good because it meant there were quite a few different rides to ride and some that we're unique to me because I'd never been on one of the same type. I thought the entrance area had some nice theming as did the indoor kids area which I walked through when finding the toilet. Coaster wise the park is pretty poor as it consists of a boomerang and roller skater neither of which were very good so that's the main thing the park needs to improve on. I really enjoyed walking round the park as it had a very relaxed vibe and it was really, really quiet which was a big plus. My three favourite rides were: hydromax, alkazaam and pendulus. Overall the park is really lovely and has the best selection of flat rides at any park I have been too, but to become a top notch UK park it needs to get at least two decent coasters. Park Rating: 6.5/10


Coasters:


Boomerang: My fourth standard Vekoma boomerang and the only part of these rides I really like is the sudden feeling of being of dropped at the top of each hill. It was fairly rough, but not too bad. Coaster Rating: 5.5/10


Mini Mine Train: I think this is one of the medium sized Vekoma roller skaters and is really no different from any others I have ridden, so nothing much too report. Coaster Rating: 3/10


Flat Rides:


Hyperblaster: Originally I thought this small tower was going to be pretty boring compared to the larger ones but actually I would go as far to say it was better than most of the bigger ones because it has two good pops of airtime. Flat Ride Rating: Good


Hydromax: I have been on these rides before but never in a theme park so naturally I thought the cycle would be shorter, but this ride was seriously long and intense which made this my favourite booster out of all the ones I have ridden. Flat Ride Rating: Great


Alkazaam: This was the ride I was most looking forward too becaus of now unique it is. I have to say that it is uncomfortable waiting for the ride to start was you are trapped in quite a small space, but when the ride is going you don't notice and it is just loads of fun, so much better than a standard enterprise. Flat Rid Rating: Good/Great


Terror Rack: This weird top spin like ride did not stop shacking and rattlin. It did not flow at all like any of the Huss top spin. It just moved back and forth constantly at the top of the ride while occasionally turning you upsidedown. It was just really strange and very tedious. Flat Ride Rating: Okay


The Obliterator: This evolution ride was really scary as the restraint was quite loose and even though they had put a cage over the compartment because I was literally hanging far out of my seat onto the restraint. I did find the ride exciting though. Flat Ride Rating: Good


Pendulus: I was never very interested in these inward facing frisbee's with floor since a dull ride on the one at SFNE, but this one was long and was very intense, even though it did not go very high, it spun around much more than other frisbee or afterburner I have ridden. Good/Great


Ride Count:

Hyperblaster: 2
Hydromax: 1
Alkazaam: 1
Boomerang: 1
Terror Rack: 1
Obliterator: 1
Pendulus: 1
Mini Mine Train: 1

Total: 9

My fantasy island trip report will be coming soon.

 

[Martyn B]

On paper Pleasure Island has quite a decent line up, but IMO it suffers badly from having too many rides that make me want to DIE.

I love Boomerang's, and Hydro Max is the best thrill ride in the UK, but when you ride them as well as Alakazam, Pendulus, Oblitorator, Terror Rack and Gravitron (and even that Century 2000), you just feel like **** and never want to ride anything ever again! :lol:

Did you ride the dark rides? They're both quite neat, especially Shrieksville, it's good well themed little ghost train for such a small park.

 

[CookieCoasters]

^ I'm not really a dark ride fan.

 

[CookieCoasters]

Sorry i have taken so long to come back with this final report, i just completely forgot about it.

Fantasy Island: After an hour drive from pleasure island i arrived at fantasy island. The two vekoma coasters really do paint a nice picture against the sky from a far, its just a shame one of them showed no signs of operating. I was fully prepared that JO was not going to be open, but i was under the impression that there was something wrong with the ride although when my mum asked one of the staff about it, they just said that it was too expensive to run when it is not their peak season, which had never really crossed my mind. I wasn't too dissapointed though because my parents said we might be able to return sometime in the summer to ride it. The park was pretty much what i expected really, a typical seaside park, but that was not bad thing as it had a nice atmosphere. My favourite rides at the park (that were open) were amazing confusion and millenium coaster. Overall, the park was decent enough, it was just a shame that both JO and the Beast were closed. Park Rating: 6/10


Coasters:


Millennium Coaster: I wasn't expecting much from this ride as most people say it is not very exciting. I actually thought it was better than expected because it was impeccably smooth, was relatively intense and i really liked how it kind of traveled around the park. Overall i just found it quite a fun coaster, but nothing really special. Coaster Rating: 7/10


Rhombus's Rocket: One of the more boring powered coasters i have ridden mainly because of it's length and because of a lack of theming, but it was still an okay family coaster. Coaster Rating: 4.5/10


Fantasy Mouse: Not much to say about this ride as their is so many of them, but this one seemed a bit more rough than the one at LWV which is probably just down to maintenance. Coaster Rating: 6/10


Flat Rides:


Amazing Confusion: This was actually a really amazing flat ride. It ran a really, really long cycle and had great hangtime every time you were held upside down at the top. It is very unique, not just to me, but in the world as it is the worlds only Mondial Ultra Max which i guess doesn't carry much weight as there is flat ride models that do pretty much the same thing from other manufacturers, but it was still a great ride. Flat Ride Rating: Great


Volcanic Impact: This was probably the worst S&S space shot i have ridden to date. Granted a lot of them don't have much airtime, but this one seemed to have absolutely none which kind of makes the ride redundant in that the launch isn't very thrilling. Flat Ride Rating: Okay


Water Rides:


Fantasy Flume: A very average log flume which is really all you can expect from a small seaside like this. Water Ride Rating: D


Ride Count:

Amazing Confusion: 2
Millennium Coaster: 2
Rhombus's Rocket: 1
Fantasy Mouse: 1
Fantasy Flume: 1
Volcanic Impact: 1

Total: 8 rides



Botton's Pleasure Beach: This was an extra park that i did straight after Fantasy island. There's not much really to say about it and i won't go into each ride individually so i'll just say that the park very much caters to families and small children, there are lot's of small creds which i got, plus a fabbri mouse which i didn't think was as exciting as the zamperla/reverchon ones. Extreme was probably the most extreme ride there and although these rides are fun, i do find them a bit uncomfortable. This was also my 50th park. Park Rating: 4/10

Thank you for reading my trip reports.

 

[furie]

Oh Fantasy Island, why do you have to be like this? Although it could have been worse - you could have gone when it was busy enough to open and been surrounded by the dregs of society who go there for the market.