Leighton said:
The park are really onto a winner with that ride and I think it could do to Plopsaland what Megafobia did for Oakwood, and what Expedition Geforce has done for Holiday Park.
Well it got
us over there!
Good job too, Plospa is a really lovely park - kind of the serenity of Oakwood mixed with high quality theming!
The journey over was pretty painless (with one notable exception - note to self, DON'T FORGET PASSPORT IN FUTURE, ahem), off the ferry we were into Belgium and at De Panne in no time.
As we entered the park I wasn't sure if I was going to like it - the entrance isn't all that appealing. But as we walked around towards Anubis, gawped at the tangle of track, and started taking in the landscaping and theming, it was rapidly growing on me.
Anubis was opening at 12, the SuperSplash at 11, so we decided to hover near the SuperSplash and bounce about on the rope bridge until it opened. We took over the first boat, the lift was smooth as silk and we bombed down the drop safe in the knowledge it's a SuperSplash so we won't get wet (unless there's a 79 degree headwind or something).
Wrong! Right side of the boat, bloody soaked! Sweet, best one I've ridden
.
Whored up the kiddie coasters next, nicely done actually - nice theming, well maintained. Then it was Forest of Plop, kiddie dark boat ride which we all blamed Peter for - good name, shame about the rest!
By now Anubis was beckoning from across the lake, so we dutifully answered. Great theming on the station, with what I assume are props and vignettes from the Belgian TV series liberally scattered inside. Efficient loading from the ops kept the queue ticking over well.
Onto the car with it's pushed-out seating, back row, restraint down with no fuss, rolling out the station, round the corner and WHAM the LSMs kick in like some invisible giant has grabbed your intestines and pulled! Awesome silent launch in a such a short time, none of this hyrdaulic/pneumatic nonsense! <3 <3 <3
Up and over the top hat, fab forces, then around the twisty compact layout with lovely speed, bliss. MCBR has a quick nibble then the last few swooping turns and final slow inversion into the station (though not as slow as say Colossus thankfully).
What a fantastic coaster! By no means big, but full of character. There
is a little neck chopping which I was fine with (the Eurofighter haters may struggle perhaps), and I'd have preferred some more theming over the launch and after the MCBR, but that launch is to die for! The height limit on it is munchkin level (some seriously small kids were on it), FFS Chessington buy one now!
Lunch followed (proper food, on a plate with cutlery and everything), then onto the high chair swing things which being a girl I bagladied.
Powered Dragon coaster next, again smashing theming (shame it's powered, yawn), by now it's scorchingly hot so we had some ice-cream shenanigans and cooled-off on the fab log flume - the logs FLY down the last drops, I got proper airtime twice followed by an excellent drenching, which Big John especially appreciated
.
Around to the Batflyers, which with their horrid throughput thankfully weren't that busy, but were actually fun! Then we went back to whore Anubis before going our seperate ways.
Make no mistake, it's definitely a family park - at the end of the day the main square with the spread of fountains was full of kids running around getting soaked while parents fussed about - but it was really pleasant with a lovely atmosphere, and not one tantrumming mini-chav in sight (which probably says a lot for the general temperment of Belgians).
Great day, great company, great new coaster = win
.
Spending yesterday in Chessie led to some interesting comparisons - the main one for me being how overtly commercialised Chessie is in comparison ("Throw hoops sir? Catch a duck? Win a stuffed Spongebob?"), which I think ruins the atmosphere. Maybe Legoland is a fairer comparison (and comes off worse - crappier rides, much more drab), but I reckon Plopsa can give Merlin some lessons!
