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Midland Mayhem IV Trip Reports

AJ

Giga Poster
It's that moment none of you have been waiting for.... :D



THE WORLDS BEST EVER LIVE VIDEO

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWHHaeHWIrc[/youtube]


<3<3<3<3<3
 

Mysterious Sue

Strata Poster
My weekend really started Friday afternoon with a trip to Legoland avec Ian and Peep:
http://www.coasterforce.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=31699&p=737192&hilit=atlantis#p737192

followed by a **** fabulous Suede gig at Brixton (including much abuse of phone lights with Brett acousting it up, 10 minute guitar solos and much dancing around like a mad thing <3). Peep will concur the absolute faff I had that afternoon trying to renew my driving license after stupidly letting it expire, booking coaches and then not using them, and being all manner of stressed. In the end, I got my license sorted, stayed at a friend’s house near Heathrow after the gig and got four hours sleep (interrupted by a maniac dog and a now ex-friend calling me up at half past two). When I woke up at some ungodly hour, I stood up and slid epically across a wet patch on the floor (that I hope was due to the wet washing and not the dog) and really hurt my arse. I then drove up to Stone Cold’s house, where he kindly lifted me to Alton and I tried to forget the pain in my arse. I spent a very pleasant and informative drive being taught about the tax benefits of being a live in landlord – very useful, cheers hun!

We got to Alton fairly early and went to find the shark meeting point. ‘I think it’s that fossil thing in Mutiny Bay’ I said, and off we went. Hmm…no CFers here, and that is definitely not a shark. One checking of emails later and we discover the shark has something to do with the Sunday meeting place at DM (FAIL), and trek on back to the grassy area by the lake. Here we met a few CFers and a multitude of ducks. Some had ducklings which were adorable *eeeiiigghh*.

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Richard then decided to have duckling rage and threatened to stamp on them every time I cooed like a girl. Maddie presented me with some chocolate (thank you x) which I shared round with the arriving CFers and ducks. We sat in a large circle while the rest arrived, and a brave duck waddled in through a gap in the circle and sat right down in the middle; however he quickly realised this was a compromising position and legged it out again! More people arrived, including newbie James and his dad Steve. I also met Benin (who I’m sure I’ve met before but never really said hi to), and Joey’s Kyle. Hi all! :--D It was a huge turnout (+40 people?) gathered together that morning. Let the antics begin…!

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Once the welcoming faff was over, furie called X-sector and we all went off to Oblivion. We walked through a gaggle of little ducklings conveniently located next to the pancake counter!

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In perhaps a bad omen for the day, ‘Blivy was running empty trains, so we decided to hit up enterprise. I couldn’t find an empty carriage, so jumped in with Ian. This turned out to be a very big (or maybe that should be small) mistake as I got to know Ian a little better than I’d wanted to during the ride! By then Oblivion had opened and we sauntered over there (except AJ who sashays everywhere at the moment). During the queue, Neal, Will, Stone Cold and I put JayJay in a bin for his Maroon Five crimes against music and humanity in general. Oblivion was fantastic! I always forget how much of a punch it has. We also shouted our hatrid towards the vile new orange paint job whilst waiting in the station.

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‘We love Oblivion, we hate Fanta…’

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The world is AJ's mirror!

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'insert joke about entering a hole here'

The group then headed down towards the Dark Forest en masse, via furie’s short-cut through the Towers. This was great because I love being nerdy and I’ve never had a good look round the Towers before. We gathered by the fountain before carrying on to Rita.

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Fountain Force!!

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WTF?

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Run.....

I think this was when we did Toilet:The Ride and even though I wasn’t the last out, I had to suffer clapping. It was at this point that I realised just how busy the park was :twisted: as you can see from Rita’s queue:

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We therefore decided to skip the Queen (we never did make it back that day) and carry on to Th92476een. The queue was long...

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...but the company was grand. We ate disgusting things pretrending to be starbursts that made my mouth pucker and hob knob innuendo reached unprecedented levels as I tried and failed to prise one from Neal. I have this to say about the thir508709-085650-79n queue, it is beautiful this time of year, with millions of purple rhododendrons :--D .

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Pretty <3

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I ‘ve only been on Thir39479n a handful of times and was interested to see if there were any additions to the theming/improvement since my last ride. I’m pleased to say that the fake station area looked much better (I’m sure it has more figures and vines things in it now). The ride is ok, but I still had immense rage at the trims :evil: . I was riding in front of the same randomer that Hixee mentioned, and it was great to see his shock at the drop! It was at this point that I broke my phone and ink started to pour through the screen :( so apologies for the lack of photos from this point on.

Then I think lunch was called. A few of us headed to the pub and were caught up later by another lot, so that I think CF took over about 3 tables in all! The queue was abysmal and Will got spited by moving queues half way through (hee hee). However, the food arrived like magic about 2 or 3 minutes after ordering. The fact that it was cold was a bit of a let-down, but kinda explained the speed! I ate my chicken breast to the sound of Stereophonics chorusing by Neal and Richard, and had a beer, which was awesome.

We still had ages left till the meet-up time, so the three of us went off to find the fabled ‘house in Alton’s woods’. We found it and spent a while trying to find a way in, creeping round the grounds and playing the Fair Warning game where I hilariously ended up actually IN a conifer! Thanks boys! My arms then went bright red because I’m allergic to conifer and I spent the rest of the day finding bits of twig in areas where there really shouldn’t be twig! Ouch! We rushed back in time for the photo. No-one else seemed like they wanted to bother for the silly one, so I was kinda alone sticking my foot on someone’s head.

Rapids were first up after lunch. I didn’t get very wet which was nice for a change - Bobby Jobby Land’s log flume has scared me for life! It was here that Furie remembered he’d lost his son and had to run back for him, so I ended up in a boat with the family Furie and AJ and Maddie. The mine train was next and didn’t have much to say for itself (except Richard and I trying to figure out if the railway that can be seen was real and abandoned or just theming). Then we trekked off to Duel where I battled with Andrew. I love Duel, it’s music and its theming are excellent, and I had a big smile all the way round <3.

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Have a random picture from earlier to break up the text

People were then crying for more coaster action, so Nemesis was called. I walked off to get an ice cream while people were gathering and faffing, but when I turned round, everyone had gone :( ! I thought I’d spied Ian heading back towards the lake and ran off after him, but when I caught up it was just another bald guy – not THE IanFromCoasterForce! Damn! I ran back and on to Nemmy and found everyone already deep in the queue! So I joined the single rider queue which took ages as they kept forgetting we were even there. Luckily I made it onto the train just after everyone else and people were kind enough to wait for me :oops: Nemesis was **** awesome as usual. I got the back left seat of <3. Roarrrr!!!-times were had.

By then, the day had gone by way too fast and soon the last ride of the day was called; it was to be Errr. We got about a third of the way round the queue when it decided to have a hissy fit. AJ and I sat on the floor ready to camp out, and got yelled at by some vile woman from the other side of the fence for holding up the queue by about two metres! We then shouted abuse back until she left the queue! The wait was long, but cheered up by people’s antics. I managed to break a piece of the queueline fence, but discovered I wasn’t goony enough to take it home! Finally we made it to Err. Despite the threat of heckling I’m going to state again my love of Air. It’s not very intense, but it does do what it says on tin very well indeed – makes you feel like you are flying and soaring. So a great end to the day for me.

We all wandered back to the entrance to say our goodbyes. I had a lovely day despite the crowds, and think Furie did a great job of getting such a huge crowd around the park. I still have yet to do the Flume though! Also, I’d quite like to pop back to Alton one day just to have a better look round the Towers and to explore the Valley properly. Richard and I were staying at Karen and Phil’s house that night (thanks guys, very much appreciated). We beat them back home by quite some time, so headed off into town. We found an awesome Chinese buffet, and by the time we got back carrying beer and cider, I was so tired and stuffed that I was ready for bed. We chatted for a while about aliens, earthquakes and conspiracy theories until sleep got the better of us, our eyes began to close and our thoughts turned to Drayton….
 

MouseAT

Hyper Poster
There are some excellent videos and trip reports there people. I'd like to try to follow up with a full trip report of my own, but as I've had a really busy week and just don't have the time at the moment, you'll have to make do with my Sunday evening Facebook post:

had a fantastic day at Drayton Manor today with CF. It involved a wet arse on the rapids, utter terror on Apocalypse, much boredom on the pirate dark ride, and rescuing Mysterious Sue from a bin.

It was a great weekend, and it's been wonderful to see everyone, both old faces and new members alike.

Anyway, here's my collection of Live photos. Those of you on Facebook have probably already seen these, but for the benefit of everyone else, MouseAT presents:

Alton Towers

Drayton Manor

Oh, and a random video of CFers on Drunken Barrels:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlLeMwTn0_E[/youtube]
 

bazpa

Hyper Poster
Hopefully I can stay awake long enough to write this, never felt as tired as I have this week.

So, my return to the fold after a few years of debt and ill health. Somehow I seem to have slipped back into my shell and found myself as quiet as I was before my first meet up, don't know how that happened and I was intending to surprise a few people with how outgoing I've got over the last couple of years. Gawd even with people I already know & consider friends I just clammed up, but still managed to have a good time in spite of myself.

I started badly by working the night before and then walking an hour home to be able to get the train on time, no problem walking then but then I took my nice comfortable trainers off and wore a brand new pair I'd barely even tried on before, not a good idea and by the time I got to the towers I could hardly walk. Couldn't find anyone to BOGOF with so had to pay the full entry price, but when I finally got to the front and asked how much he said £19.80 I thought there must be some special offer on but no, when I looked on my ticket it said admit one senior citizen - Nice to get in cheap of course but I didn't ask for it he just thought I looked over 65 :-(

I finally got to join the group and off we went to Oblivion via a quick trip on Enterprise, what a great way to kick start the day, I'd certainly forgotten just how good Oblivion was. Then it was off on another long trek to Rita which was way too busy so we got in the queue for Thirteen instead. I was new to the ride and disappointed about the brakes on the first drop and even if I'd managed to avoid any spoilers about what was to happen inside the building the person sitting next to me was determined to ensure nobody got a surpeise. But although I've seen a video of the ride it still managed to give me one surprise with the reverse bit - I was expecting it to be a straight flat reverse section.

Lunch time after that and I was quickly lost and ended up paying £8+ in burger king then like a few others I decided to go ride Nemesis via single rider, but found myself near Air so decided to do that instead of walking round. Got straight to the front of the single rider queue and stood there for 25 minutes being totally ignored before they let anybody through, and breakdowns were the norm for it even then so it was well past meetup time when I finally got off, by the time I made it round to Katanga everyone was just getting off the rapids so I managed to join up again.

Runaway mine train next then off to shoot dots of light in duel before finally getting to Nemesis which is still as great as ever, hell of a long queue though. Then off to our final ride of the day - Air - that sure left me wishing I'd given it a miss at lunchtime and the breakdowns were just as bad second time around.

Time to leave then via a long long walk which my poor feet didn't enjoy, big thanks to Ian here for the lifts and room share, the end of the world came and went without so much as a whimper so we were still around to enjoy day 2 at Drayton Manor. Good start there with front row on Shockwave and then we - well I can't remember much about what order we did everything after that, all just a blur about too tight restraints and painfull rides especially G force - didn't think I was gonna survive that ride and I think I will make that one my last ride on there.

Lunchtime I had my first look round the zoo and didn't think it was very impressive but it passed an hour and I got back in time for the group photo this time. Even though I had the strap on they still made me take my glasses off for Apocalypse. I'm looking down on the photo Mushroom posted but just look like a dead body they forgot to take off. Pirate ship was fun but Pirate adventure was just wet thanks to a big splash in a fat boat, we sure made a big splash there and I ended up sitting in a puddle for the rest of the ride.

Ben 10 was a great new addition to the park and the coaster I found most surprising was the Troublesome Trucks one in Thomas land, for a kiddie coaster it packs a good punch.

All too soon it was time to leave and being a pensioner I got offered the last seat on the train home - no complaints from me then and I probably did look old enough by then, got a free trip to Derby too as no guard came round collecting fares, probably too many people sitting on the floor for him to get round.

One thing I would like to see for next time though is the return of the name badges - I know I didn't know who a lot of people were and lots of times I heard others asking "who's that?" must make it a bit daunting for anyone new to mix in when they have no idea who anyone is. Forum name and real first name on a badge would have solved all that.

Big thanks to furie for organising everything and to Ian again for the lifts and room share and for just being Ian from coaster force.

Here's to the next one and I'll hopefully see everyone in Blackpool
 

EnigmaHyena

Hyper Poster
The only things I can really complain about is that the weekend went too fast and that I spent 2 hours tarting my hair up and getting it dead sleek and straight only for Nemesis to instantly spite it...although I guess front-right seat first thing in the morning will do that.

Turns out Ben 10 is actually quite good! And it's a lot higher than I thought it would be - not that I'm scared of heights or anything...

Fantastic weekend as per usual. And since no one else has pointed it out (unless I've read it but forgotten already) I'd just like to add that Shockwave is definitely running way smoother and just generally better than before...which still doesn't stop it from being a bit of a pants coaster though.

The best thing about the entire Live was getting to spend more quality time with Ian from CoasterForce, obviously.
 

Ian

From CoasterForce
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Social Media Team
bazpa said:
Even though I had the strap on they still made me take my glasses off for Apocalypse.
I kept mine on (with a strap-on), maybe you need to perfect that "I'm right, you're wrong" glare that I give any op who questions my right to wear glasses on ride!

Great videos, Karen and AJ!

This "Ian from CoasterForce" malarkey is starting to make my eyes roll, but I guess it's here to stay so I may as well embrace it. :roll:
 

Nemesis Inferno

Strata Poster
bazpa said:
Pirate adventure was just wet thanks to a big splash in a fat boat, we sure made a big splash there and I ended up sitting in a puddle for the rest of the ride.

OMG... That bloody splash... Somehow evading Ian From Coasterforce and landing right on my lap, so not impressed, but still bloody hilarious...


Drayton is weird, people say they dislike it, but the only time people were bleh (in my observations) was in the G-Force queue, which regardless of Portal 2 graffiti, is dull as hell...

Drayton lacks an amazing coaster... Shockwave and G-Force are both worse off rides than Trucks and the great Ben 10 (with it's cannon noise of awesome), and maybe they'll get sommat in the future...

I'm weird in that I enjoy Drayton, and the CF trip was no exception, with minimal queues bar G-Force, Chuff Nuggets, Bat-on-a-stick (with Kim's raping of me in the corridor and the applause of the bat), listening to the Pirate Ship, Kaz's saving of the gosling, Pirate Adventure, and the zoo of depression where Tayna's cry of "I'm not letting my child be born in Birmingham!" produced much amusement and angry looks towards her... Brilliant...

Can't remember many other stand-out moments really... But overall the weekend was amazing... Been a long 3 years out of it and was good to actually be back...

Plus, eating with Ian From Coasterforce <3
 

kimahri

CF Legend
Nemesis Inferno said:
Bat-on-a-stick (with Kim's raping of me in the corridor and the applause of the bat)

What about SPYYYDUURRR dancing in the Disco room with lousy anamatronic DJ?
 

Hixee

Flojector
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Social Media Team
Good work Mushy! Although, that song... :?

:lol:
 

jayjay

Giga Poster
Great video. Although the choice of music was... interesting. Portal's great, but I never noticed how odd the song sounds without context.
 
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