Video to come soon!!
But... WOW!! What a cracking VM Live!!
I can't remember the day's rota minute by minute as the day just flew by and the group just had so much fun.
It was great to meet the usual attendees and was also nice to meet James (crossleyland) who quickly settled in with the group.
Okay, onto the highs and lows (though the highs heavily outweigh any lows). The low of the day was the miserable ride op on Dodgems who told off Mark (Mushroom) for crouching down under the height stick. On an event like Frightwater, that particular ride op should have just gone with the flow and had a laugh with Mark. Still, it didn't overshadow the ride and with the whole group on the ride at the same time, we had a blast trying to catch each other and bish bash!!
One other low of the day was perhaps the Raptor Attack: Live which didn't really cut it as a horror attraction. Zombie actors were dotted about the entry and exit tunnels and just wandered around like they didn't know what to do. One even started laughing, kind of killing the atmosphere. From an adult's perspective RA: Live wasn't that convincing, however from a child's point of view, I think it is a good starter and a good way to introduce them to Halloween horror attractions. So it was only a low point from an experienced enthusiast's point of view. I think the theme of the zombies needs tinkering with and Nathan's idea of the zombies being infected miners would work better than scientists.
Right, onto the highlights!!
Draculas Labyrinth... was... Fantastic!! Very, very well done to all concerned from the designers to the set makers to the actors. I will be honest, I was expecting the maze to be a series of black wooden board panels set out with actors jumping out here and there but I was delighted to see that the maze is completely themed, with trees, cobwebs and eerily lighted scenes. The actors were on form (even though we heard that they were the same actors as RA: Live) and there were many heart stopping, jumping moments. I would love to see this maze extended a little more for next year, it would be a contender for the best scare maze in the country!!
We were lucky to be treated to an extra special view of the fireworks. Simon (Symaxius) led the group to the top of Falls of Terror where we were allowed to watch the fireworks from by far the best seat in the house, and the fireworks did not disappoint, truly astounding, ear blasting stuff!!
I'm sure Simon's mum and dad were proud to hear their son as the voice of the story narrative. Testament to Simon's hard work for the park and its improvements. With him on board in marketing, Ashley has a very solid team and long may their ideas see light of day!!
Finally, I managed three rides on Whirlwind and all three proved yet again that 'legend' John is THE man that can make this ride work its stuff. Some of those flips were relentless yet completely thrilling at the same time, utter brilliance.
I can honestly say I thouroughly enjoyed it and it was nice that some parts of the day were high octane and some were just chilled out (loved the time-out at the Pub in the Wood! )
So, a massive thank you to Nathan for organising the day, Ashley and Simon for their continued friendship and of course all the people at LWV involved!! Well done guys and gals!!
