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No free gifts! If you guys want our Larson Loop it'll cost ya BIG. 10 million dollars and it's all yours baby!

I think that’s against the law in rural Indiana.

It was going to go to SFStl, until SF realized they already had one. That, and the ride isn't quite old enough to gift it to the park.

Day 11 - a 2nd full day at Blackpool Pleasure Beach! it had stayed windy thru the night, and I heard the wind blowing against the window (helped me sleep) but a large metallic clang woke me up. Peeking out the window? The Big One was testing! Grabbed my phone to snap some pics of proof, and excitedly got dressed and headed down to grab something light to eat, as testing was a great sign we'd get our ERT on this coaster today. LOVE this view. . . we met up in the lobby and headed into the park, and were informed that they were indeed testing, and hoped to have it open for us. but no guarantees. TPR group hung out with our Park Guides by the gates, while they kept running trains - to ensure it wasn't too windy for it to operate. and then they opened it up for us and ushered us into the station. it was such a last minute decision, that the 2nd train still had all the sandbags in it for the morning test runs. very cool to see that this is how they test it out on mornings they are concerned it might valley due to weather. all maintenance hands were called on deck to remove the sandbags, and we were ready for our ERT. these pics, I believe, are courtesy of Elissa. what did I think of "the Big One" ? well. . it's an Arrow Hypercoaster (that opened in 1994) - and as such, it's got a couple of janky / not so smooth transitions. In particular, there is one transition right in front of the Big Blue Hotel that will *really* mess up your back if you aren't braced for it. . . .but my oh my, does that first drop make up for it. a Diving steep turn to the right, and it truly does feel like the coaster has come off the track and you are hurtling towards the beachfront. so yeah, I rode it a bunch during ERT, even with that one painful spot that reminded us it's an Arrow coaster. after our ERT, we were set free in the park as it was about to open. Directly across from the Big One entrance is the park's classic carousel. it wasn't open just yet, so I made a note to come back to it later. but since we were right across the park path from SteepleChase, Jonathan and I headed over there to get a few rides. as I mentioned yesterday, the ride staffers remembered us from the prior day (and what big fans we were of the ride) and let us stay on to bypass the line a few times. they even took this wonderful picture of us - look how damn happy Jonathan and I are ! (and no, the third track wasn't operating today, and they told me it rarely does.. so I felt even more blessed that had gotten the opportunity to ride all three rails the prior day). much love and thanks to Robb, Elissa, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort for that lifetime top 10 memory. Jonathan and I decided to hang together for a bit, and headed towards the dark rides portion of the park - since they tend to be all gathered together in one area. passing thru Nickelodeon land, the same "handler" who had been out yesterday with the Avatar character (and had taken a pic of himself instead of just me and the character) was out.. so I called him on it - in a playful way - and embarrassed the heck out of him in front of his coworkers (who laughed hysterically). all was good. . he even posed with me for this selfie when I handed him to phone - to prove I really was just teasing him. and he took this great pic of Jonathan and I with Spongebob. I do remember that Wallace and Gromit were out too, but for them, there was an additional fee, so we didn't do that. . .but I'm guessing this is the car (shoe?) from the ride, as we did ride the dark ride that morning. before heading back to Alice in Wonderland for more rides on that today. here's that sign in the queue that talks about when the ride opened at the park. from the Alice line, you get a nice view of the Flying Machines, and the final stretch of Grand National's track as it races back into the station. that's the front gates of the park on the left, under the Noah's Arc on top. we got lucky on our 1st ride with Jonathan scoring the back seat with the White Rabbit. whee! Valhalla wasn't quite open yet for the day *was open from 1-5 only), but in the TPR chat thread, there was talk about meeting up later to ride as a group. so instead we headed over to the Flying Machines, a classic ride near the front of the park. some lovely views from the load stations up here too. the Big One's lift hill from across the park. and the turnaround near the front of the park. hey. . there's Nick! a few other TPR folks had come upstairs while we waited for our cycle. so we climbed into one rocket together. under the Flying Machines sits a restaurant and a gift shop. and in a very neat touch, there are windows that allow one to look into the workings of the ride - that's been operating since 1904 ! I was headed back to Derby Racer for more rides (I love these things), and so the guys came with to ride. and tho I was wary about how rough this might be, the only coaster I was missing was Grand National. we had ERT on it later that night, but I wanted to try it early so I could see how much "wooden coaster trembling" was on this classic coaster (built in 1935). Great view of the lift hill from the station area. short answer? it's pretty rough. not terrible, especially for it's age, but rough enough that I was concerned about multiple rides with my rib injury from earlier in the trip at Barrie Island. needless to say, I never rode the right side (from station entry), only riding the Red Train from the left side. so 1 and done for me (or is that 1/2 and done, since it's a racing coaster and only did one side)? splitting off to do things that only I was interested in, this caught my eye across from the Grand National exit. I wasn't sure what exactly it was, but it turned out to be a Museum of Illusion. and was really rather fun. and next door was a play area fountain for the kids (tho it was a bit chilly still) and a bunch of food kiosks. So I decided to grab a quick bite. of note, and the reason I took this pic, those string lights behind the Picture Center? I was told that is where the classic (and crazy) wooden Wild Mouse had been located. It had been removed before the 2018 season, and the space was now being used as bar seating, and special event venue. reminders that we're right off the beach: folks were chatting about riding Valhalla, so I finished up lunch and headed over there to meet up. a happy (and dry) group of TPR folks ready to take on Valhalla! (pic courtesy of Jonathan) that same boat, not quite so dry, coming back into the station after our ride. . .LOL I think this might be courtesy of Brad? I needed to dry off a bit - Valhalla will *absolutely* soak you. like getting dipped into a bathtub soak. - so I headed over to Racing Derby to spin dry (hey, it helped) the River Caves ride was down, and was told it was getting refurbished (this was recently announced as getting a major overhaul, so perhaps tearing out the classic "tunnel of love" theming?). looks like an indoor raft/log flume ride but a reason to go back as this was one of a few rides down on the days we were there - tho this was likely the "biggest" of the rides that were down, as most were for kids that weren't operating. it did seem to have a bit of a splashdown to end the ride ... despite the wind, the park kept the Big One open the whole day. going towards the Asian Mandala walking garden I had spotted yesterday underneath Nickelodeon Streak, I discovered near the bumper cars (also not running today), a small section of celebrity handprints hey.. I even recognized one of em the Asian walking maze was lovely. tho small, it was still nice to discover something like that tucked away in a corner of the park. and best part? since I was over here, I remembered that I needed to ride the classic Carousel. I had missed it yesterday since it closed before the rest of the park. there was only one other rider, but the operator wished me a "wild ride" and I had a blast. I rode "Miles" there's also a nice viewing are over here, where you can watch the Steeple Chase horses go up the mid course lift hill. and the "handprint" of the horse made me giggle. gift shop near the front of the park (where I bought my "I rode the Big One" boxer shorts) in the front of the park, just past the entry gates but before you enter the park proper, is Pasaje del Terror. there had been some "characters" wandering around near the front of the park handing out coupons. and upon checking with a few employees, they all said it was decent and worth checking out. I messaged in the group chat that I wanted to do this, since I had these 1lb off coupons (I had asked for a handful and was given them) and multiple TPR folks said they were interested and so I sat down by the main entrance to wait and see who would show up. it turned out to be about 15 of us, and they split us into two groups to go thru. here's Stacy and I with one of the folks that had been handing out the coupons. the entrance to it looked very promising! and this lady - who gave us the rules spiel was hysterical. and creepy as hell. no pictures were allowed in the actual attraction. but I can say it's highly recommended. the entire thing is underground, so it's way bigger than you think it's going to be. And filled with movie level quality set pieces and special effects. I think this might be the best looking haunt that I've ever been to. It didn't "terrify" me, but I was blown away at how good all the set pieces were. tons of detail, and some brilliantly made up scare actors. oh. . and it ends in a bar. yup. pics were allowed in here: I don't recall if there was actually a drink minimum. . . but we did drink while hanging out and waiting for the other group to come thru behind us. the snack area wasn't' open (the blue grate). . but the figures here show the level of quality of this place. our group. . relaxing while waiting for the others. ah. .here they are! turns out one CAN visit the "Horror Bar" without going thru the attraction (just enter thru the exit steps), but I'm still glad I did it. very recommended, even with the separate charge. did I mention there are tons of photo ops here at Blackpool Pleasure Beach? why in the world would I come to the UK and want the "sweet taste of the USA" ? but I was curious what they thought it would be. . lots of tootsie rolls and gummy candies. the Park's Grand Prix motor car ride, had closed a month or so before our visit. . so they still had much of the station still untouched and looking like it could operate with just a quick sweep (I took the pics over the fence they had up in front). it's a really large ride, and with this gone, as well as the three smaller rides they announced are going, the park has a lot of space to put in something rather large for 2026 - as they have announced. I was still hanging with Stacy after the Haunt, and she was interested in getting a reading from this "Spiritual Advisor to the Stars" that had a storefront set up in the park, near the closed Grand Prix. I wasn't interested, but was happy to wait (and I did briefly meet the spiritualist, and she was a lovely woman). and hey, she read for Johnny Marr! the inside of her storefront was very cute. . .and very "traveling carnival"... I mean that in a GOOD way. she took Stacy back thru those double doors, and I waited for her out in this area. she was very satisfied with the reading. it was time to meet up for our Grand National ERT. . so we quickly made our way thru the now closed park, over to the Grand National station. I grabbed this pic of the Wallace and Gromit ride, as we passed by, since I had forgotten to take one earlier. as noted earlier, I was worried about my rib injury, so I chose not to ride during ERT - instead just taking pictures. Green won! and Barry looks very pumped about it. racing back into the station. this is what I rode for the rest of the ERT. . I did love the "devil tail / snake" designs on the benches. just hanging out (and it had gotten cooler, so put my hat on), as we were headed as a group into the fancy Blackpool restaurant for dinner to end our day. you can tell that this is a fancy place. . it was quiet (I guess we were visiting sorta off season?) as we were really the majority of whom were in the restaurant, tho there were other customers there. (I'm guessing that's why I didn't take any pics of the food or the restaurant itself). I do remember the food being pretty good tho. decoration in the cloak room after dinner we headed outside and Robb gathered us all for a group picture under one of the (closed gates) to Pleasure Beach entrance. pic courtesy of Robb then we realized that the face was hungrily eyeing us. . so we took another pic reacting as such: and with that, our days at Blackpool were over. again, I'm pretty sure I swung by the casino for some slots before heading back to the room. tomorrow was a travel day back towards London, the trip was almost over . . . . so had to pack things up and be ready to head out in the morning. but as the sun set, I knew that it had been so worth it to come. . . met every dream I'd ever had about it. and with that? off to bed.

I enjoy camping, but if I'm going camping to enjoy camping I want to be in the woods, not in a field next to an amusement park, but that's just me. Maybe they hope people from a distance will think it's close enough to Niagara Falls to make it worth a stay. I thought that deal was odd when I saw it too.