Rock & Rollercoasters VI - PBB - Trip Reports - May '15

[Ian]

Following the trip to Blackpool, let's here what you thought! What did you think of SkyForce? What were your highlights What could be improved (at both the park and CF's organisation)? Funniest moment?

I'd like to thank everybody who turned up! I had a great time and will put my report up later this week.

 

[ATTACKHAMMER]

I met up with Sue and JJletters and numbers in Bedford. We then headed to Rugby to collect JayJay and a meal deal before heading to Blackpool! We listened to my misheard lyrics quiz on the way up.

We arrived at 10:30 to be greeted by a crazy landlord who said "If I knew that you all knew each other I wouldn't have let you stay here". He then went on to show us where the toilet paper was on the wall and how the TV worked.
Then we went to a local pub to have a couple of pints and listen to some old northerns sing karaoke!

Some pictures of my room:

The next morning we parked under The Big One and headed into the park.

Once we had all met up, we headed to Wild Mouse. I love Wild Mouse, it just has so much airtime!

We then headed to Sky Force!

I was really good at Sky Force and managed a mammoth two spins... I really enjoyed it though. A good move by the park in my opinion. Here is a video of CF riding [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxBuTLwVu5o[/youtube]

We then did The Big One. I've never been a big (pun intended) fan of The Big One. The first drop is good but after that it is a bit meh.

Next up we did Steeplechase, a ride I really like. Steeplechase is just awesome fun! Sue and I nobly defeated Richard and Serena.

I think after this we went to the chip shop, famous for The Crystal Maze element, that isn't there anymore. There was mass judgement as I have never watched the show.

Then we headed to the new Wetherspoons to have a pint of Millers Coaster, goon beer!

Back in the park we rode Valhalla. A ride I was very much looking forward to as I hadn't been on it before. I sat in front of Nic and John, who found it hilarious as I didn't know what was coming! Valhalla was amazing! I absolutely loved it! I braved it in shorts and a T-shirt, to say I was mildly moist at the end was an understatement!

After this we rode Blue Flyer and then Streak. I sat next to Mushroom on Streak #WayBold

I think we then did Wallace and Gromit, which is a good dark ride.

Big Dipper was next (again I think, guessing the order now!) I was disappointed this time by it. It was quite rough.

Infusion was up next! Probably the second worst coaster I've done. I sat next to Richard who decided that every time his ear touched the restraint he would swear! This meant on the way round all I heard was **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****, you get the idea!

Next up we did the Ghost train! I had never properly ridden a ghost train before, so I didn't know what to expect. I enjoyed it.

Lastly we had two rides on Grand National. I really enjoyed the right side, it wasn't too rough and was great fun.
I rode the left side front row with Benin, it was considerably rougher and less enjoyable.

We then left the park and headed back to our B&B's. Later we met up for dinner and headed to the Karaoke bar! We played some pool. I defeated Jordanovichy and Mike but lost to JayJay. Then we did some dancing and everyone looked for sharp objects to insert in their ears, as I 'entertained' the whole bar with Whiskey In The Jar.
By 2am we all headed to bed. Some of us couldn't get into Reflex. Sue and I went Geochasing ( I think that is what it's called) on the pier.

In the morning some of us heading to Southport (I'll do a separate report for that).

Thanks to Ian for organising it all! Thanks to Sue and Richard for allowing my into your cars! Lastly a big thank you to everyone who came and made the weekend so enjoyable!

 

[nadroJ]

Ahh Blackpool, you never fail to amuse me!

Our trip started at about 4pm on Friday, where I retrieved a Conor and a Mike from Stratford station and we headed to our first stop: the lovely Milton Keynes, where we found a loud angry man in a Volvo. There was some faff before switching the cars up a little bit and heading t'North. We stopped at a pub for food that ended with a police raid complete with drug-sniffer dogs before completing the final leg of our journey. It was dark when we arrived so we couldn't goon out over views of The Big One, but the Tower was a neon beacon of hope that we had made it.

Blackpool was bloody windy when we got out of the car and into the B&B - which was the most amazing place! The rooms etc were nothing out of the ordinary but the hosts were hilarious. They gave us a free beer upon arrival, took photos with us and were basically just lovely, over the top and made us feel really welcome (the landlady even ironed Conor's shirt for him haha!). I don't usually stay in the same B&B twice in Blackpool but I think I'd make an exception for Old Cottage.

In the morning we noticed we were opposite a Home Bargains so we stocked up on sweets before heading through to collect our tickets. We were told that because of wind The Big One would be down. Annoying but not the end of the world. Went and stood by the usual meeting place of outside the (closed) Nash and made the boys line up in order of beard density. There's a video somewhere but I think it's on Conor's phone.

We did the Wild Mouse first, which it turned out would be Jordan-letters-and-numbers' first wooden coaster! It was terrifying as always and I think Conor **** himself a little bit. As always I pulled into the station with my boobs hoiked up by the seatbelt - ahh, tradition!

At this point we'd usually do River Caves but IanFromCoasterForce had arranged some spite-ERT, which is like normal ERT but instead of getting the ride to ourselves for a while we just get the privilege of riding it first before the plebs, spiting them, which is always fun.

The ride itself. Oh my god. Firstly, what a hilarious spectator attraction. My sides hurt from lolling as Raybould came whizzing around into view, spinning like a crappy +1 at a fun fair. And then when riding the location quite close to the seafront means that if the wind catches you right you get the most out of control spinning with little to no effort. Amazing!

Then it turned out Rachel at tickets had lied and The Big One was actually open. Yay! Rode in the bag for extra whiplash-realness on the first drop then sat and had a lovely conversation for the rest of the ride. As always, The Big One looks a lot better than it actually rides.

Steeplechase next, where to our horror we learned that Jordanovichy hasn't seen The Simpsons! Cue the entire queue pointing and booing (or were we saying Boo-urns?) to get across the point that this was unacceptable. Conor faffed around in the seat and we thought we'd missed our chance to race everyone, but instead they held the other lanes and just let us glide on out. Race spite. Still a fun ride but it's so much better when you actually feel like it's going to be a close one.

My memory is crap and I think I'm going to get things a bit muddled here but I believe Blue Flyer was next, where a CF takeover train was had, hurrah! During the post-ride faff we noticed Sue was sat on the floor like a tramp so we decided to flick spare change at her as we walked past. Twats <3

Then was what is clearly the best ride at Blackpool - Valhalla. Jordanovichy hadn't ridden before so we insisted he took front left (ie, the wettest seat). It did not disappoint, we were soaked to the bone! All of the effects were working and once again we all came off remarking how Valhalla is clearly the best water ride in the world.

Soaking wet and feet squelching in our shoes we trotted off (as is tradition) to Pablo's Fish Bar, or as it is more commonly known on CF - the home of the Crystal Maze toilets. Dismay and disappointment was had however when we realised the toilets had been refurbed! Spite!

Whilst everyone else went and had some new Wetherspoons action Conor and I had a wander around the park taking some footage for our new video. We met up with the rest of the group outside Avalanche, whose queue was determined to be 'queuge' on the queue scale and was sacked off in favour, I believe, of Nickelodeon Streak, which was pleasant and unremarkable.

Because it is fab we did Wallace and Gromit next, which I'm glad to say is still really enjoyable and in good working order after a few years of operation! We then had a group photo with Shaun the Sheep before wandering over to the Big Dipper and Infusion.

The Big Dipper was **** terrifying, I flew right out of my seat and landed with a crash a few times, I loved it <3 Sat out of Infusion and got annoyed that Conor took too long getting me an ice-cream because of poo-related faff then proceeded to scoff the thing down in the minimal queue for the River Caves, where we think there were some new scenes? We got annoyed at being stuck on the last bit before the drop for ages then I lolled when I realised a boat had basically capsized in the station. Ha!

Ghost Train next (such a cred) before rounding off the day, as is tradition, with a few goes on Nash and commenting after about how rough it has gotten. My first go in the back was memorable in the it forced me down with such a thud I ended up with a sore collarbone from the impact. Joy!

We then said our goodbyes, gave Ian a clap for doing Ian-ish stuff and headed to the new Velvet Coaster 'Spoons, where the new-what-is-he-about-twelve? bartender put ice in Conor's beer <//3.

As always, much fun and silly seaside antics were had, new in-jokes were created and a good time was had by all!

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

I didn't realise how fast Mushroom was spinning on Skyforce, that's actually amazing <3

Good day out, top banter, bit cheeky too, what you want from a Live...

I was saying Boo-urns...

 

[peep]

Haha, who puts ice in beer?

Sounds like it was a fun weekend full of awesome bantz.

 

[mouse]

Is it Mushroom on the front left of Attackhammer's video?

 

[MouseAT]

^ Yeah, it looks like it.

I may post more later, but in the meantime, here's some footage of another batch of CFers having a go:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N0Dwb_GSOw[/youtube]

 

[Mushroom]

Re: Rock & Rollercoasters VI - PBB - Trip Reports - May '15

Is it Mushroom on the front left of Attackhammer's video?

It sure is =)

 

[Ian]

I can't emphasise how much fun SkyForce is. As nadroJ said, the exposure to the wind coming off the north sea makes it really easy to get a spin going...and keep it going at a top speed! I was sat behind Raybould and managed to start spinning at exactly the same time. However, after about 15 revolutions, I started to see stars and had to slow it down. I didn't feel sick - it's not a nauseating experience - simply not in the right frame of mind to keep spinning. I blame the bottle and half of wine I had the night before.

 

[mouse]

I don't think I've ever laughed so much watching a flat ride :lol:

 

[owentaylor121]

That video is amazing! Really excited to try it out next week! Looks like great fun!

 

[Mike]

Thank you once again to everyone who made it yet another brilliant CF weekend!

 

[Serena]

What a fab weekend that was! Once again, I returned home with a face that ached from smiling so much. :--D

Before this trip I hadn't visited Blackpool Pleasure Beach for years, and seems I'd totally forgotten how fun the park is.

We met up at the Wildest Mouse, a coaster that still astounds me with it's general craziness and airtime. I rode with Ian, who had to listen to me complaining about how much the safety belt was killing my boobs the whole way round. But, unlike other uncomfortable coasters, the roughness of this Wild Mouse doesn't detract from the ride experience. It's impossible not to laugh as it throws you out of your seat and into the brakes. If only all mice were as exciting as this one <3

Next up, we got to preview the new SkyForce flat ride before it officially opens this weekend. I'm not a fan of flat rides, but SkyForce is a great new addition because it's enjoyable as both a spectator and a rider. I'm not sure which moment was best: laughing at Mushroom and his crazy spinning, or the unexpected flipping when the breeze catches your seat.

Needless to say, the Gerstlauer Sky Fly is a ride that really comes into it's own when it's built on a location windier than Darren's bum. You can just sit back and let the gust do the work for you! (Or you can get scared and cling on for dear life, as I did )

My fave thing about SkyForce is that it's a Red Arrow ride, and it sits right next to the park's red, Arrow ride (The Big One). You can't make this stuff up! <3 :lol:

Naturally, we rode The Big One next. I hadn't ridden it since 1997, and was really intrigued to see how much I enjoyed it now with 300 creds under my belt.

Jordan talked to me about Geology all the way up to distract me from my Lift Hill Anxiety. Just as I was learning about the qualities of Sandstone we got to the first drop, and wow, it's still a very decent first drop!

The rest of the coaster though <//3 ugh! Boring! It's such a shame that The Big One has great speed and height but does nothing with the momentum it builds.

Next, we did the high quality maze; I didn't like it because it incorporated the park's perimeter wall - thus reminding me of the outside world for a minute. Ugh!

Then we rode my fave coaster in the park: Steeplechase. It's still sketchy as hell and fun as ever <3 Although mine and Richard's horse did not win

Valhalla followed. Valhalla is one of the best dark rides in the world. I wish it weren't quite so wet, because all the splashing and soaking distracts from the effects. I couldn't even appreciate the fire room because the water had made my make up run into my eyes.
I got off the ride with puddles in my feet and a face like this:

Then it was time for my second fave ride of the day: lunch. Woofed down some classic sea-side fish and chips (ie: overpriced and crap) then sorted out my face in The Velvet Coaster Wetherspoons. Easily in my top 5 Wetherspoons, I love how the toilets are all wooden like the classic coaster.

(Fun Fact: the founder of J.D. Wetherspoon isn't called J.D. Wetherspoon. He named the chain of pubs after his high school teacher who told him he would never amount to anything!)

Spent the afternoon riding the other classic woodies BPB has to offer, all of which surprised me with how decent they are. Even the tamer ones like Blue Streak and Nickelodeon Streak have a nice bit of airtime here and there.

Rode the new Wallace and Gromit ride, which is excellent. I loved sitting in the slipper and the accuracy of the scenes depicted on the ride. The Were Rabbit at the end was a brilliant surprise!

Skipped In-poo-sion, the SLC. I already have the cred from its Traumatizer days at Southport Then we rode The Ghost Train, which was all quirky and fab. The trains have really cute little monster faces on the front <3

The day ended with all us CFers racing each other on Grand National; a coaster which somehow manages to deliver pain and pleasure at the same time. I waltzed out the gift shop without even glancing at the tat, then luckily Ian informed me of the fab array of mugs on sale....

Mug Report:


I was torn between buying an amazingly tacky Valhalla mug that had 'Blackpool Pleasure Beach' written in Rune type font, or one with a.. err...classy picture of The Big One at sunset on it. Went for the sunset one cos it's all ambient n stuff. The china's really thin, I had to microwave the first tea I made in it as it went cold before 15 minutes!

Anywho.

I'll sum up this lovely trip to Blackpool with the only photo that I took this day:

#WAYBOLD!

 

[jayjay]

Great weekend! As usual, it was lovely to see everybody (and now that I have actual money, I should be able to more often).

My weekend began meeting Sue, Dan and jj-numbers-and-letters at Rugby station. Meal deals were bought, cramped taxi ranks were navigated, and we were on our way to Blackpool with Dan's cheese/misheard lyrics CDs.

Confusion awaited as I entered the Danescourt Hotel where I thought I was booked in and was told I was actually staying at the Danescourt Lodge two doors down, which both have the same owners, but are in fact different hotels. I checked later. The number I phoned was on the Danescourt Hotel's website. This was made up for by a really pleasant stay. Thumbs up from me. :--D

Anyway, CF awaited. After the usual faff outside Grand National, we headed over to my favourite Blackpool ride... Wild Mouse! Wild Mouse was as chaotic as ever - wonderful!

Now for Skyforce. I didn't really manage to get the plane spinning much, but I still enjoyed the ride. Much more fun was watching the people who did get the hang of it spiralling out of control. We followed Skyforce up with the Big One, which is as underwhelming as ever.

Steeplechase was up next. A couple of randomers ended up in the queues and by chance and I ended up on my own racing against them Now it was lunchtime, but there was still chance to grab a ride on Valhalla. I thought going on Valhalla in a T-Shirt was a great idea! Going on Valhalla in a T-Shirt was not a great idea. Still a great ride, though the safety announcements before each drop were off-putting.

After fish and chips at the no-longer-the-Crystal-Maze-chippy and a pint at Wetherspoons: The Cred™ (Velvet Coaster), we headed for the ride that is definitely called Rollercoaster and has certainly never been painted bright orange. Rollercoaster is... OK. It was now that I got to discover the Wallace and Grommit ride. I loved all the references (especially this one), but can't help but think that anyone who'd never seen it would find the whole thing unintelligible. Minus points for the shoehorned "all dark rides must have one jump scare" feature. Afterwards, Ghost Train was its usual quirky self, the train elbowing its way through the doors like a door killed its parents.

The day was topped off with Big Dipper (my favourite of the standard woodies), Infusion (headache: the ride) and Grand National (would be amazing if it wasn't so jarring). Goodbyes were said to some, and we soon moved back to Spoons for more drinks.

----

A few of us followed the Saturday up with Southport on Sunday. I learned that I probably won't ever go there again, but at least I have more creds.

Thanks for a good weekend everyone! Thanks to the organisation and hope to see you all again, probably in Ireland.

 

[Jordanovichy]

I'll give you a quick review.

The trip for me started as soon as my exam finished at uni on the Friday afternoon. I caught a train from Portsmouth to Gatwick where I eventually managed to find Vadge ready and waiting.

We embarked on a long journey north, stopping off for a great Toby CARvery in Knowle and playing eye-spy and various other games to pass the time.

We arrived at our shoddy Blackpool hotel which was themed excellently to a crappy Blackpool hotel. They really got the details down to a T, carpet too small, mouldy shower, lumpy pillows, duvet too small and the view of Blackpool Tower was exceptional.

We had a pint in the 24 hour bar before calling it a night. It was full of rowdy people on hen/stag dos...including the compulsory teen throwing up. Ugh. Vadge was loving it....

We got an awful night's sleep and headed downstairs for a mediocre fry up at 9am and were out of the hotel by 9.45 and caught a tram to the Pleasure Beach. It was quite a nice sunny day but rather breezy!

We arrived to see Mushroom, Rebel, Big John, Benin and Nicky in the entrance area. It was good to have a catch up.

Wristbands collected, we headed into the park to meet everyone by Grand National at 10.30am. A beard line up happened where I was happy to be a firm 4th (after Conor, Benin and Jayjay).

Once everyone had arrived we headed over to Wild Mouse.

I hated this last time I rode it, I just can't see the appeal of being that close to death. I did enjoy it more so than last time, they've added some padding to the seats too, but I'm still not sold on it, it's just not enjoyable for me.

Next it was time to ride Skyforce as we'd been given a chance to ride it by the good people at Pleasure Beach.

I've never ridden one and I was really looking forward to it. I was amongst the second group of CFers to go on and we all had a good laugh seeing Mushroom spinning ridiculously fast. I loved the ride! It's so much fun, I love how you control your self. I was quite surprised I got the hang of it so quick and proceeded to spin around 45 times (I did lose count). You really get the wind come off the Irish Sea, it's great. Such a fantastic addition.

Next we headed over to t'Big 'Un.

I loved this when I last rode it...but that was 160 creds previous so I wanted to see how it held up. I sat front row the Serena and chatted to her about the beauty of geology whilst embarking up the lift hill. Just as she was about to fall asleep from boredom we reached the top.

The first drop is amazing, that much is true...the rest of it though is just dull. It's a nice enough coaster to have a conversation on and it's good enough I'm just disappointed it wasn't as good as I remember it being. I'm looking forward to riding Steel Dragon 2000 in the summer.

Next up was Steeplechase.

I'm pretty sure the front area is new for it but I could be wrong, I don't pay attention to things. In the queue everyone had the greatest pleasure in ripping the **** out of me because I've never seen the Simpsons (apart from the odd episode here and there) so that was fun.

I rode the green (middle) track because I needed that cred. Yay +1

It was much speedier...and to be honest therefore scarier than I remember but it really is great fun. I rode with Tomatron and race Conor and Jordan who beat us. That was annoying. Such a good ride though.

We headed on through the high quality hedge maze.

Had a quick race around it, I do like a good maze and this was one! It also offered opportunities to get some decent photos of Nickelodeon Streak.

We headed over to Valhalla next, a ride I'd never ridden but had been told things about it being amazing. Headed past the Alice in Wonderland ride which looks quite fun.

But soon it was time for Valhalla.

The whimps bought ponchos. I sat front left which is apparently the wettest seat...especially with a Conor and a Stone Cold deliberately leaning so I get wetter... :x

So the ride. You go up the first lift hill with mist surrounding you and actual fire for lighting (it's already a winner in my eyes). There are flashing lights and loud music as you meander around. You arrive at an opening that over looks the Pleasure Beach with a backward drop. I forget the order of things that happened but there was a freezing cold room with real ice and snow (being soaked, that was quite painful), there's a drop where I got soaked, then some water fountains similar to the end of Bubbleworks.

Then there's a room full of like war items, water explosions due to cannon fire, a massive hammer thing falls down next to the boat splashing water everywhere, and then fire, oh so much fire, a large explosion to the side, then there's a drop with the whole trench for the boat to go through covered in fire only going out as you pass through it. It is amazing fun.

I absolutely LOVED Valhalla, I thought it was going to take a lot to beat Splash Mountain as my favourite water ride but this wins hands down. It's amazing. Just so so so good, maybe you do get a little too wet for being that far north but alas, it's still amazing.

We headed out of the park to get some fish and chips next. It was very nice and had a great chat with Mike and Serena over lunch.

The gravy disappointed me, it was mediocre.

We headed back into the park to the meet up point outside Avalanche, but the queue was determined as being 'quege' so we bailed on that and headed over to Nickelodeon Land. 'The Orange One' was first. The queue stank of weed.

I tried to take a selfie with Sue but IFC got in the way...

It's better than I remember, some nice pops of airtime, reasonably pacy, good fun!

Next up was 'the Blue One'.

Again, good fun, a great ride for the little ones with a couple of nice pops of airtime, it was enjoyable.

There was some faffing outside so I took this as a reason to selfie the day away.

That was fun.

We headed over to Big Dipper next.

I really liked this last time and I still really enjoyed it. Such a fun little ride. A little airtime but above all it's just good fun! Great for everyone, nostalgic knowing how old it is and how much of a staple ride it has been to Blackpool for so long. Excellent.

Next we went to the Ghost Train, something I hadn't ridden before. I rode with Jayjay and we had a great time. It's basically a dark wide with fluorescent paint, it's good fun but maybe a little bit more of the 'scary' would be good.

Infusion was next.

Benin was worried about the impending pain.

I'm not sure why I bothered as it is awful and I have the cred but why not, plus I do quite like the fact it's over water. As expected, I didn't like it, it's rough, uncomfortable and painful. Let's move on.

River Caves next.

Conor had to eat his crepe ASAP

I don't really remember much from River Caves the last time I rode it but it's alright, nice to have a sit down and a meander around various things. The little drop at the end is a nice way to end the ride too.

We finished the day on Grand National. I rode back row twice 2 years ago and hated every minute so really wanted to ride much further forward this time hoping I'd see what everyone else sees.

Awwww

It's better but it's by no means amazing. I can appreciate the whole racing element and the drops makes it fun but the crashing down after each one with immense power is just not fun and I stick by my original statement of it being quite awful.

I finished the day watching the fountain show. That was fun.

After the day at the Pleasure Beach we headed to the new Wetherspoons, named after the old coaster Velvet Coaster. For a Spoons its actually quite nice. We bailed and went our separate ways to our hotels to get ready to have a night on the town.

We started off by walking into a loud bar, no thanks. And disappeared up to the family bar instead. Some people ate but we wanted to go on to find Karaoke. We found a nice little place, Crazy Scotts. They had pool which was only 50p, ATTACKHAMMER had much pleasure in beating me. The karaoke was also great. Conor and Jordan sang, I sang Ugly Heart by G.R.L, a song I adore. Tomatron sang but the highlight was Mike singing Spandau Ballet...'gald'. Amazing stuff.

At 1.30am I decided to call it a night and made my way back to the hotel which Vadge had already retired to 90 minutes before.

It was such a good day. The Pleasure Beach is such a good park, so much to do and a rich selection of rides.

Thank you so much to Ian for arranging the live and the ERT on the Skyforce, thanks to Vadge for putting up with me in her car for hours on end and thanks to everyone who came for a fab day in Blackpool!

I'll add a report for Southport in that topic...eventually.

 

[MouseAT]

I'm really not sure I've got much to add here. Blackpool is usually a bit of a strange Live. It usually feels quite ad-hoc and disorganised, but somehow seems to make for a really laid back, enjoyable day. There are always plenty of rides involved, as well as loads of random banter and in-jokes. It's always a great day out with CF, but it's really hard to sum up in words.

I'll add to everyone else's praise for Skyforce - it's an amazing ride, an absolutely brilliant addition to the park, and the UK definitely needs a lot more of these rides. It can be a fairly tame ride if you want, but is absolutely mental if you're prepared to throw caution to the wind (pun intended) and go for a really good spin. For a couple of minutes I had absolutely no idea where I was, apart from being somewhere over Blackpool.

 

[Ian]

Another reason why Amanda is fab.

 

[ATTACKHAMMER]

That's really nice! Blackpool is fab.

 

[Ben]

She's so amazing <3

 

[Serena]

Aw that's so nice! Amanda is fab <3