coaster_dude2002

Great update. It brought back a lot of memories, and helped me get away from the boredom of studying for a bit.

Nemesis for me. It's one of the few rides that I have been absolutely speechless after riding.

Great ride! I enjoyed the screaming squirrel style drop, and the fake valley after, it really made for a unique experience. Is there a reason why you didn't connect the load and unload stations?

^ I have never seen someone do as many 360's on the dodgems in my life. She spent a good 2 or 3 minutes in the same spot just spinning around, and her friend was nice enough to go around for a bit and then slam in to her instead of helping her out of the corner. I loved how she got a round of applause from the entire queue and crowd when she finally managed to move the car in a straight line, just before the ride cycle was over.

Ok lay on the guilt. Down with Loyalty! (this will come back to haunt me I just know it) Here is one photo. This was just before some obscene things happened to the lamppost directly in front of Dave and AJ (go back to Dave and the Oakwood Entrance or AJ and Megaophobia/random pole to see what I mean). If vast quantities of beer are promised the video may surface. That poor lamppost doesn't know whats about to happen. Sorry Dave and AJ.

^ Lou, there are a few more photos, and even a video from the walk back to the hotel in Blackpool. No amount of bribing will make me release them due to fear of death from the others.

Oakwood! Beautiful park, lots of sheep, and plenty of fun, especially when it is empty I'm surprised that they keep the park open during the week with attendance like that. We had to for enough people on quite a few of their rides. Like Divv said Speed was amazing and I was shocked that a small ride could pack such a punch. The first drop is amazing in the back seats. Megaphobia was a bit of let down, but still a fun ride. The Crystal Maze was great fun at the end of the day. I was slightly confused about the concept at first after never watching, or even hearing about the show until Divv told me about it. Basically its a series of mental and physical challenges that you must complete in a specified time in order to collect crystals and points. Quite a few of the challenges are surprisingly difficult and we never managed to pass them. Once you complete the challenges you finish off with the Crystal Dome. Inside you have to hit as many illuminated buttons to gain points, if you hit unlit ones point will be deducted from your score. 3 minutes in the dome on advanced level is a great work out, I'd hate to see the expert level. The first round we went as one large group and the second round we split split up in to team Canadutch (AJ and I) Vs. Divv, Dave and Mike (were you guys team "Salt and Pepper"?). Somehow team Canadutch ended up with a score of 2 placing us dead last out of the 5 teams to compete that day (3 of them being our group) Thanks again for planning the whole road trip out Divv, we couldn't have done it without you. 4 days + 1000 miles + 5 parks = one heck of an awesome time with great friends! Slide.mp4 Dave Vs. The Vertical Slide Crystal Dome.mp4 Divv, Dave and Mike take on the Crystal Dome

Chrissie, We did pass a few places that looked creepy, but I didn't find the nightlife to be too dodgy in Blackpool. We started the night off at a place called Yates's (I think that is the name) just up the promenade from Pleasure Beach (heading towards the tower). The music was ridiculously loud in there, mind you we were right by some speakers. After that we continued walking up towards the Blackpool Tower and stopped to finish the night at Reflex. It was an awesome 80's bar, great music and atmosphere inside. Not dodgy at all, and plenty of fun. I hope you enjoy your Blackpool adventure!

Ah Blackpool Pleasure Beach! Another great day on the UK road trip! Sleep in at the hotel, and start the day with a full English breakfast, minus the black pudding. AJ and I were staring at it on our plates and the others were just waiting for one of us to give it a taste. Thankfully Mike mentioned the ingredients before we could touch it. I don’t see how black pudding can be appetizing, honestly who decided to combine those things and eat them for breakfast? Once we made it to the park it reminded me of Indiana Beach with the mash of rides and random stuff all over the place. You truly do have to visit the park to fully understand what it is like. The coasters were all great, and the lack of lines helped with many re-rides that afternoon. Valhalla was the highlight of Blackpool for me. With all of the effects working, including the water tunnel, it is one heck of a ride. The ice room was ridiculous at first I thought it was fake ice and snow until we got closer to one of the trees and could actually touch the ice! I felt like I was back home The ponchos managed to keep me mostly dry, although one of the turns caused a massive wave to spill right on me and ended up soaking my shoes for the rest of the day. We did so much that day that its all a bit of a blur. I'll post some comments of the rides soon. 12 laps on the Circus Clown after a night out is surprisingly the most nauseating thing in Blackpool.

That was certainly an interesting night. I'm glad we did the waltzer before we went out. All I can remember from the ride is losing control of my neck muscles, and a blur of lights. £4 well spent! Dismemberment is a little to easy divv. I was thinking of something involving alligators and man eating pike. Can't wait to see the photos from Pleasure Beach.

Divv and I ran into the Rockin' Nun over by Spinball before the others got in to the park. It certainly is random to have a male nun on a speedy piano blasting music! Good entertainment while waiting to get in I suppose. You are the best Dave! Toss in a bottle of Lucozade or Irn-Bru and you would be totally amazing! The theming in the area was great, although I have no clue what the area looked like pre-Mutiny Bay. Battle Galleons make the splash battles look horrible, the free floating boat concept really adds to the pirate battle feel. It looked like a ton of fun, but due to the cooler weather and a 2+ hour drive ahead of us, we skipped it.

Ahhh Alton Towers! Definitely the best park of the road trip. The drive in was certainly a shock to me. I was just getting use to the whole left hand side of the road business, when the winding narrow road with coach buses hading straight for you was added. There were plenty of times when I was terrified! And who decided to put stone walls on both sides of a really narrow two lane road??? I still can’t see the logic on that, especially when se passed the bus by about 6 inches! Once we were in the park, thanks to our handy Merlin Park pass!, I was extremely impressed with the ride line up and the efficiency of the staff at Alton Towers. They just seemed to be pumping people through the queues that day. They couldn’t figure out the single rider system as we all ended up beside each other every time we used it on Rita and Spinball. Rita: Great ride! It exceeded the expectations I had. Forceful launch, airtime on every hill, easily re-rideable. I’ll take it over Stealth any day! Air: I can’t see why people hate this ride. It may not be super fast, tall, or force full, but it does the job of making you feel like your flying incredible well (besides the whole on your back part). I loved the low to the ground turns, and the turnaround close to the parking lot. I wouldn’t go and say it’s an awesome ride, but just a fun and pleasant coaster to relax after Nemesis! Nemesis: What can I say besides WOW! I was speechless after the first ride and couldn’t believe what had just happened. It definitely is one of the best coasters around, and it’s 14 years old! The trenches and compact layout were spectacular and our front row ride was just insane. It can’t be described in words, you have to ride it to fully understand the awesomeness that is Nemesis! As Divv said it is reason enough to visit the UK. As for AJ and the hot chick I’ll need to see some photographic evidence Oblivion: A one trick pony but a good one at that! The build up of suspense in the queues was really well done with the video and soundtrack, and being able to see the drop while waiting certainly got my nerves going. The rest of the rides at the Towers were pretty good. The mine train had a really fun layout down by the raft ride. Corkscrew was well painful, and after Dragons Fury Spinball was pretty tame. Hex was a fun and nauseating experience. I would have loved to walk through the gardens, but I’ll save that for next time, along with Charlie and the chocolate factory. It was a great day, and then Blackpool that night was let say “Fun”, if it wasn’t for Lucozade I would not have been a happy camper on Sunday. Divv could you bring some over in October, along with Irn-Bru? I’m going through withdrawal!

Trust me the other "Maattt Dammonn" video will not be appearing any time soon! However the Vertical slide incident may get posted at some point just for you Dave

Thanks Divv! I totally forgot about the "Hi Shawn" video from that night. Glad you managed to find and post it.

Is anyone else having issues with sound on the video?

That was a good night, minus our 50min/6mi drive around nottingham in order to find Hooters. We should have asked for directions earlier, but we are guys, and I'm a geographer so we shouldn't have to resort to doing that! Now that we finally got you guys to a Hooters you no longer have to say you are in the extended Hooters crew, you now are officially part of the crew! (Steve your included too) Divv, Keep up the awesome work.

Talk about foot choppers on Vampire! I nearly lost my shoe in the trees above burger king twice that day. Dragons Fury was far better than I had imagined it would be. On our first go the car didn't spin too much, but the second time was totally insane! Right from the first drop we were whipping around, and the first horse shoe turn was amazing. The ride neve let up until the end. The mine train was pretty good as well, nice theming and quite a bit of speed. The ride op was awesome as well, although I don't know how he could have any feeling in his hand after giving people high fives while the train was traveling at a good clip through the station. I can't wait to see the photos from the special dinner in Nottingham. We should have snapped some photos of our epic 6 mile, 50min drive from the hotel to get there.

After riding both this past weekend I have to say Rita is the better of the two. Stealth may have some decent height to it, but I was quickly bored of it after a few rides. The launch was nice, but we barely had any air over the top and the hill before brakes. Rita had an really great launch to it and some massive air over the hills. I really enjoyed the layout of it with the turns over the pathway lading to corkscrew. It may have limited theming compared to Stealth, but what can you expect when the stuck it in Ug Land. Both rides would be better if they eliminated the OTSR to reduce the horrible neck banging.

It truly spontaneous and random conversation we had on MSN that night in January. I’m glad we pulled this all off with 3 months of planning. Thorpe was a fun park to start the trip off. Decent selection of coaster, and flats to keep you entertained. The crowds were light and the longest line was about 20 min for Nemesis Inferno. Stealth: While it may not be an amazing ride it still packed a nice punch with the airtime hill. I just wish they could get rid of the awful OTSR on it. I smacked my neck quite a few times on them during the morning. Colossus: It may have been a little rough, but it was certainly bearable and fun. The never-ending succession of loops, corkscrews, and barrel rolls was a blast. I’ll agree with Divv that the barrel rolls at the end were a little too long and taken a little too slow. Nemesis Inferno: Easily the best ride at Thorpe. Super smooth in the back, and really forceful. X FULL STOP NO WAY OUT!!!: I still have no clue what happened during the ride. All I remember was some random wind, lights, and “Access Denied, Moving on”. Steve and I had some great pops of airtime in the front seat. It was certainly a unique and confusing experience. Overall I really enjoyed Thorpe and will get back there again some day after the Euro fighter is built. Can’t wait for the next installment Divv! - Andrew "Sad to be back in Canada" Janes

Megaphobia at Oakwood yesterday.

I just got back from getting my pass processed, and I have to say Behemoth looks quite slow after the turn around. On my way in to the parking lot it looked as if it was going to come to a complete stop in the MCBR. The trains were only 1/4 full with water dummies so that could explain why it was crawling through the course. It was also great to see all three trains on the track for testing. Flight Deck was stopped part way up the lift, so I assume that it has begun testing, and Extreme Skyflyer was testing with employees. Opening day can't come soon enough! There are a few places to repaint along the track. They were really noticeable in the final helix. 3...2...1... fly!

1. What do you find most useful about the front page? - Recent updates, major announcements, and trip reports 2. What do you find least useful about the front page? - Search 3. Is anything on the front page confusing? - No 4. How far do you scroll down the front page looking for updates? - Every once in a while I will scroll all the way down 5. How often do you look at the front page? - Every time I visit 6. How often do you click on the "whatsnew" link? - Occasionally 7. What would you like to see added to the front page to make your visits to TPR better? - Can't think of anything right now 8. Anything else you would like to mention? Like any thing else you would like to see us add/change/leave alone/etc? - No

I just finished watching the London race from 2007 and was shocked to see how close the course was to the city. I didn't think they would have them flying that close to the millennium dome and the office towers. They would only have to get clearance for the 12 pilots so it wouldn't be too hard.

Its been years since I have gone on the wilderness adventure ride at Ontario place. Its a great ride, not too wet and some decent theming. The rapids section before the lift is quite fun. I wouldnt make a trip to ontario place specifically for it, but if you were planning on going to the park already then its a must ride attraction, along with the large mazes they have.

I flipped passed this the other week on TV and was instantly addicted to it. The speed, and skill needed for the race is ridiculous. It consists of 12 pilots flying racing planes through a 1.5km course with a series of “Air Gates”. The pilots must fly through or around the gates and achieve the fastest time. The races are fast paced and action packed. Their website contains a lot of information on the competition. Reb Bull Air Race Here is a clip from the 2006 season. Has anyone gone to one of the races, or watched them on TV? 2008 Race locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE – April 10 & 11 San Diego, USA – May 3 & 4 Detroit, USA – May 31 & June 1 Stockholm, SWE – July 5 & 6 Rotterdam, NED – July 19 & 20 London, GBR – August 2 & 3 Budapest, HUN – August 19 & 20 Porto, POR – September 6 & 7 Tbc, ESP – September 27 & 28 Perth, AUS - November 1 & 2 Tickets go on sale April 1st if anyone is interested in attending a race.