PHOTO TR - Nrthwnd snaps TPR UK Tour 'old-fashioned way'...

[Nrthwnd]

Well, my part in the TPR UK Tour actually started a week and half before the tour did. I got in some pre-tour time vsiting old friends in Southend-On-Sea (home to Adventure Island park) and a London burb with access to the wonderful West End theatre district (saw "Avenue Q" and "Mary Poppins" within two nights of each other).

 

I also believe I was The Only TPR UK Tour-er with one of those (still) rudimentary kinda cameras - you know, the ones that still take a cannister of (dare I say) f-i-l-m? So as I mentioned in another thread somewhere else - when five rolls of film were developed, pix came out that were hmmm - eh - meh - and pretty damned good too, heh heh.

 

You be the judge(s). Sometimes it's one picture per park. Others never got a chance. But you've seen pix in other TRs hmm,yes? This first part starts before the tour, and on from there.....

 

(And NOTE: no 'substance' was .... uh... abused during the making of this Trip Report.)

 

Part One / Pre-tour to THE TOUR...

And my second hosts decide at least one "English Breakfast" should be served to me, before The TPR Tour starts. Geez, I lost count of the meat selection! Too - much - food.

At the bottom of the hill - over at the Thames' edge - the Cutty Sark rests in anchor! Um, isn't that a name of a whiskey, too? Maybe a scotch. Hmmm...

My "Panorama Sig. Shot" - squeezed smaller somewhat, eh guv? From the top of Greenwich Hill. Wit Dee Dome in Dee Background dere.

This here is The Line that marks The Time Known as Greenwich... right here, uh huh. Flashy marking thingie, huh?

Me and my second host, Brian in one of the (many) public tea houses in parks and byways of London.

Canadians got a Thankyou Obelisk here. But apparently some peeps didn't agree with the sentiment? (note bullet holes)

A day trip, up a long - steep - hill - to where the Main Greenwich Timeline 'lives'. Or so I was told...and shown.

Pet of second host in London. And no, 'it' is not pregnant. Scary, huh?

The SkyDrop at Adventure Island. Didn't ride it. And I will take the advise from my 'advisors' that anything seen in a blur - will be noted as "in motion".

Just to show that even in Southend, there's a place for Elissa-friendly food.

[Calvin]

What's so bad about the Sky Drop?

[Canobie Fan]

It has crappy zamp OTSRs...

[Bubba Z]

I don't want to stray off topic and make this a pet thread , but Damm that cat looks just like mine.

 

 

edit :resize photo

Mustafa from ECW!

[Nrthwnd]

Part Two - It goes Faster Now - REAL faster!

 

Now the tour starts and parks fly by faster than Canobie Fan can race to get his seat on STEALTH during ERT!!! And he did....

 

LegoLand Windsor; Chessington; South Beach!; Oakwood; Alton Towers.

 

The pre-add (Lego) was a great primer for how we were all (at least 35+, so far) going to work/tour together. Chessington was a great starting park on the tour. South Beach was.... well it was 'there'.... Oakwood had SPEED, my fave steelie of the tour, and Alton Towers had much too much to see in just one day. One just for the gardens and castle would have been great.

 

And Alton gave me my first flyer, Air. My first dive, Oblivion. And Nemesis. Mmmmm, the entrenched thing. The bloody beastie. Awesome layout and intensity with The Thing. No doubt about it.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

(Note to Calvin: I had never ridden any drop or {what I call} blast tower ride, until this tour. Believe it, at my age too! So Drayton Tower's APOCALYPSE became my first-ever drop ride. Three ways, too, mmmm yes! I just wanted to experience it for my first time, with others, than on my own. I rode a SkyDrop at Yarmouth park later on in the tour. No big deal, heh heh.)

Leaving Alton Towers. And behind me, a legacy of Vancouver's former World's Fair, EXPO 86... Alton got the minirail!

The beast itself - and us waiting for the ERT to start on it. Nemesis was great, but I would still give an edge to Air, lifthill in back. Just because of that awesome "parking lot flyover!"

This is the way a ride should be run. Ripsaw was great. I wouldn't ride it. But I sure enjoyed watching it in action. The whole crowd watching, loved it. Which is the way this ride should be run, yes?

Lobby of where we stayed, Splash Landings Hotel, Alton Towers. Cute decor. All for us touristas too, eh? Note shirt. A "Poppins" souvenir, heh heh.

The Megaphobia Group Shot - Shooting... at Oakwood. One of the very few ever taken, y'know?

Mmmmm - Oakwood - SPEED - 12+ times in ERT - eyes blurry - love but cannot ride no more. Mmmmm, Speed.

And to think - we even found (gulp) food there at this 'perky little seaside resort.' Mussels and faggots and prawns, oh my!

South Beach!!! Mega Blitz! And look - its.... blitzing! And once was enough!

Chessington World of Adventueres - overview of Dragon's Fury spinning coaster. Best one (of it's kind) on tour. Period.

LegoLand's gift to making world travel faster and speedier - Mini Land! And I did it in less than an hour too.

And for something totally random... ! Guess who????? Even I don't remember taking this shot, sorry Chuck.... I think.

Another 'in motion' shot at LegoLand Windsor. And the sad part of this shot? It's the kids' coaster there, too. Dragon's Apprentice - too fast for my lens of slowness, lol. Lighting could work better too, I know I know.

[Stitch]

Cool and unique photos (Yes photos not pictures ) Bill

[Nrthwnd]

Part 3 - We Keep Going and Going and...

 

Drayton Manor; Southport: South Pier; Blackpool Pleasure beach.

 

Drayton was a bit of a disappointment due to timing of ride (G-Force?)available; rain eventually cutting tour short; and wierd hot dogs to eat! But there was Apocalypse with three ways to d-d-d-rop from the top; Maelstrom, my first out-facing gyro; great little swing ride, The Haunting; Stormforce 10 which had a great idea and layout for a flume, but felt lousy with the rain already coming down; and Shockwave, another example of what I don't like about some standups... crotch pain!

 

Southport had two coasters down (out of four), but we made do with That Wheel in That Funhouse; cheesy (very) dark rides, all of them; my first blast-UP tower, Space Shot. And a skyride that didn't let you off at the other end - waaaaaaaah.

 

South Pier had a spinning mouse and a walzter that several (read: A LOT) ride ops decided to join in on tossing and turning us in our cars. Very twisted ride ops those guys were. Demented.

 

Blackpool. Another day needed here. Rides piled on top of rides. Actually had the (I thought) worst park map of the bunch we collected! But then, they coudln't keep up with where they put stuff, hmmm? Wondefrul hotel (The Big Blue) and general staff. I think we all wanted to stay longer.... And Valhalla. Mmmm, great intense water ride with fire and ice inside. Worth getting wet for, lol.

And just so you don't forget where The Big One is - in room decor. NOT a painting. 'In motion' shot - like mine, LOL!

Picked up a small TPR 'mascot' here at Blackpool. Named him Tipper - TiPR? Original, huh? And an AIR "non-Air" cap from Alton Towers. I liked it. Needed a cap. Bought it.

Looking the other way, towards the park, The Big One, more fancy streetlights.

Closest I got to that tower - the one I always see in those postcards of BPB. And I just noticed... left side of street, above. Eyeball lights??? And I thought World Cup Fever was a bit wierd.

Lousy tree in middle of shot #1 - VALHALLA. Worth buying stupid limp ponchos for, and going on again and again. Awesome effects. Quite the production for a flume ride, hmm?

Blackpool - My view of The Big One... from our hallway window. Was nice to see every so often.

Um, with blue water being vomited out of a turtle's mouth - shouldn't that be FAR OUT, man? Maybe not...

The ride that brings our Commonwealth closer together. Lou in an Aussie A$$hole sandwich - hah! That even READS dirty, y'know?

Still not sure what caught my eye on this one. Definitely a random shot, huh? Maybe it's that lonely piece of... 'furniture' in front there? Dunno. Cyclone in background.

Pleasureland, Southport. The Funhouse Wheel. THAT Wheel. What long pants were made for, bump-de-bump OW!

My new friend at Drayton Manor. Outside the entrance to Stormforce 10 flume.

[Nrthwnd]

Part 4 - It's already been nearly a WEEK now?

 

Lightwater Valley; FlamingoLand; Pleasurewood Hills; Joyland; Yarmouth.

 

Lightwater had The Rat Ride - disgusting entrance, and exit (sewers indeed) but a good ride; Toad Hole, a REALLY crude shoot-the-shoots with water to die for (euw)and The Ultimate - an out and back coaster that REALLY went out............. and back.

 

FlamingoLand had the baby's bottom of coasters - Kumali; Velocity, for many of us our first motorcycle-type launch coaster; and strange rude people around us.

 

Pleasurewood had a skyride that did let off at other end - only - it - took - for - ever - to ride --- it; Enigma which I still found a bit "questionable" har har; My First Troika; and a totally un-describeable Pirate 3-D boat ride, nuff said.

 

Joyland was great with two (of 3) credits still being argued to this very day; and all packed into a great-looking hill of a kids park. Yarmouth had a scenic railway (w/brake guy on the car); more cheesy dark rides; and the Baked Potatoe Thrill-A-Bite. It was that good! Really! Curry and all....

Joyland. So many kids rides packed into this one colorful lump of a building! I loved it. And Snails and TubTwists too!

On the pier by Joyland. Works for me. How about you?

Another Group Shot - Shooting - Enigma - finally going.

While waiting for The E to FINALLY get it's act together and start running it's single set of cars - rode Thunderstruck, while the line didn't budge. A nice troika flat.

Pleasurewood Hills. Enigma! And --- it was!

"Walk this way" - this is where we got really rude kids bugging us. For no reason 'cept our AX-cents nyuk nyuk. Morons.

What I called the Eh Ride - and others did too - with Kumali lifthill in back.

FlamingoLand, and me resting amongst it's enchanting.... themeing. Uh, ok. Note the t-shirt.... Theme Park Diva? Maybe. Maybe not.

A "clean shot" of the Toad Hole ride. In motion. Before splashing into acid-probable liquid pool of.... Note to right, another low-ceiling entrance. This could be where Munchkin Land in OZ came from, y'know?

Then there's the exit stairs of same attraction.....

Got that look. Got that smell. Go that low low entrance hole there, too. Bizarre but interesting mouse ride (very) indoors. Lightwater Valley Rat Ride.

[Nrthwnd]

Part 5 - It Ain't Over till it's Over - and It Ain't Over!

 

Thorpe (end of 'official tour'); Tusenfryd, Oslo, Norway (Add-on #1)

 

Thorpe was a good choice for ending the tour. I mean, we had a ten inversion coaster (Colossus); a trench-wannabe (Nemesis Inferno, which I thought was great; My First FlySwatter (actually called Slammer); Our First Swing (Rush); No Way Out ( ----- ); a section dedicated to MY Country (blush); and Stealth, which proved you don't need that much height or speed to off a bird in no time flat. Literally. Was great.

 

Tusenfryd, our first of the two add-on parks had good stuff there, like Speed Monster and Thundercoaster, SuperSplash (which didn't really splash much) and Teeny Weeny, a true mini among the mega (we did six times!). But - weather decided to add splash to the cloud cover later on, Speed Monster stopped mid-day, never to re ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM again for our ERT, but Thundercoaster ran INSANE in the rain! Definitely thrill and fear combo there.

 

So a bit disappointed (and wet) at the end of that day's visit. But then... Liseberg and BALDER were coming up. Tomorrow.

Ah - the first two finally show up back to the bus, finally admitting (sniff) there isn't going to be any Speed Monster ERT that late afternoon. )o:

Don (JeezusJuice) gallantly shares one of his many umbrellas with me - when RAIN FALLS. And FALLS. And FALLS....

SuperSplash...SPLASH!

Random shot with SuperSplash landing pool in back. Dragon in there too, I believe.

Tusenfryd. Speed Monster's in there, somewhere. Heavy overcast skies were NOT a good sign for the day.

And now for something added-on... on the way to Stansted Airport at an un-gawdly hour on our coach. To catch Ryan Air to.... Add-Ons!

Finally! Some home shout out! But - Creek? That's all we're worth????? A *&%#$%* Creek??? Don't worry - I got over it.

Nemesis Inferno - Alton's Nemesis "above ground" heh heh. It was great.

A nice shot of STEALTH from the family train ride in the park.

Lousy tree in middle of shot #2 - or Colossus Screwing Around With Trees.

Thorpe Park. Colossus. One of 'those shots'. (o:

[Nrthwnd]

Part 6 - The Lady Sings.... BALLLLLLLLLDERRRRR!

 

Liseberg Park, Goteborg, Sweden.

 

Mmmmmm. Great park with stuff like the Gasten Ghost Hotel (the water room was amazing); an Ice Bar (lovely way to end the visit); a great Sky Tower; gardens, fountains, lights; oh yeah, couple of 'interesting' coasters too....um..... what were their names again? Hmmm.....

 

My tour with TPR ended with this great old park, headed by a #1 Coaster and a zippy little steel one too. But - sadly - no pepper steak this visit. )o: Another time then, Liseberg.

Me outside of BALDER, holding my ice 'glass.' It's either too cold for my hands, or I am really sad because this is The End of The TPR Add-ons Tour. WAAAAAAH. (But I got a really kewl backpack and HAMMER to take home with me, wink).

Another ICE BAR shot - was fun and different. And c-c-c-cold, well duh.

(One of the) Best till last - The ICE BAR! Great place to (har har) cool down a bit. Alcohol was nice, too. For a change from beer at hotel bars.

and Lousy Daylight Tower Shot #2 - with the Banana Coaster in there... somewhere...

Lousy Daylight Tower Shot #1 - further proving I need a digital camera, yes?

And this is (OW STOP THAT!) Robb - um, can't think of anything right now.

And just to show - this is Elissa. Great tour guide par excellence. Hmmm, Balder looks in better focus than we do, lol.

Lousy Daylight Shot #2 - Balder

They just found out Andrew Lloyd Webber is restaging The Sound of Music in London - auditioning Dave! Monica! Don! - Sopranos all!

Lousy daylight shot #1 - Kanonen's Top hat

Me and Karen sampling the many available 'fountains' at Liseberg. Uh - maybe not.

Two towers and a wheel - I just liked the look of it.

On the K - Carl looking cool, Jeff looking happy, Lou looking like (OMG not you too Bill) Smile...

Kanonen's Vertical Loop.

And right beside it - yes Jody, it's KANONEN! Woo hoo!

What we came here for, besides other stuff like beer and backpacks, nails and hammers.... BALDER!

[Nrthwnd]

Aftermath of....

 

This is after I came home. Put stuff into groupings for display pix. Enjoy.

And all the parks' maps, together at last. THANKS for a great tour, Elissa and Robb and Everybody in Back AND In Front of the Coach! (o;

Show books, and onride pix and...stuff.

Souvenirs, right side of table...

Souvenirs, left side of table...

Then I checked my emails - and that's right - that's 65,000+ waiting for me! Spam, spam, spam, spam...

First, it's a pile on the kitchen table...

Camille's made a new friend. This is 'UKie', the other find I 'found' in London.

Where do I start? OMG where DO I start???

[Stitch]

Wow, that's a lot of souviniers ... . Oh yeah, Camille is a cutie

 

[coaster1]

How was the London version of Ave. Q?

 

I haven't heard much about it, except 2 of the original Broadway cast members are there now.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Just loved it. I peed myself thru most of the dialogue and visual stuff! Very VERY funny adult show. Of the two shows I saw (Mary Poppins being the other, which was good, too), I actually recommended 'Q' to two of the Aussies on the tour, who saw it afterwards and loved it, too.

 

But - only orig.Brdwy cast member in it (first week of previews) was Ann Harada, who plays Christmas Eve ("The More You Ruv Someone - the More You Want To Kill them"). I was so happy to find out she was in this version. Didn't disappoint me at all. Wish I'd bought the t-shirt, LOL.

 

Who was the other cast member you heard, was in it? We actually met one of the creators, Jeff Marx (who was there for the previews shakedown),and while shaking his hand, I told him where I was actually from, LOL! He laughed out loud. Guess I was his 'first from there' to tell him, heh heh.

 

[Ryan King]

Nice TR! Loved All the Pics..From a REAL Camera! Nice Bill! Pound It!

 

-Ryan

[cfc]

Bill, I've been working on that bald spot for years, and it's certainly gratifying to see it getting the appreciation it deserves.

 

Glad to see the "old-school" photos at last--good stuff. But what camera will you bring to Japan?

 

Chuck

[ThatFalafelGirl]

Awesome Trip Report! i love your avatar too. Japan used to have a whole park dedicated to your homeland, but sadly, i think it's closed now They are nuts about Anne of Green Gables (Akage no Anne) over there.

 

Cheers,

Falafel

[WillMontu]

Out of curiosity, what sort of camera do you use? Is it a simple point-and-shoot or does it have some advanced features. Also, how fast is the "film". I know that faster "film" will reduce some of the blue (since the shutter isn't open for as long)

I did enjoy your TR

[coaster1]

John Tort .. err . the original Rod and Princeton on Broadway left Vegas to go to London along with Ann .. but appears he was just there to help with the rehersals .. sucks, cause he was the best of them all.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Ah. That actor. Well, the one they had playing Princeton/Rod was very good and had a great voice just like John did. My concern was the actor going to play Trekkie Monster/Nickie, etc. But he was fine too. They were all great.

 

^^ Thanks Will. Camera I have had all these years, is a PENTAX ESPIO 115M. I thought I had brought with me, all 400 ASA film. But - was possible it was all 200. Been awhile, y'know? And the camera had features like compensating for backlighting, etc. But - I didn't really "push" myself into taking a lot of photos since everybody else had their cams... so my 'rustiness' in setting up shots showed, especially in distance shots, I guess.

 

^^^ Thanks. Yeah, I know all about the Anne/Gables CRAZE in Japan. I think that's what's keeping the Prince Edward Island economy so strong with the other provinces, heh heh. And the 'Anne's House' attraction used to be in the middle of a golf course of all places! But the tourists didn't mind that, it seems.

 

^^^^Thanks Chuck. I really am not sure what happened, except it snapped accidently, LOL. But you are most welcome for the 'head shout out', heh heh. And as for what to bring to Japan? I dunno. A digital camera of some kind/type would be nice to take along. That could happen with over a year from now to plan, etc. Ya never know, hmm?

 

^^^^^RYAN! Muchos gracias amigo! Pound it! Your simple comment ("from a real camera") makes me wonder - maybe dragging along ths old thing (the camera, mm'k?) with a few rolls of film isn't too old-fashioned at best. But hey - eventually it's probably all going to go digital, so who knows by next year's trip(s) what I'll bring along?

[cfc]

^Perhaps the "head shout out" can be my signature move!

[Nrthwnd]

Be my guest. It's yours.