Zen Coaster Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 I'm part of the Mainland Europe trip & so will be flying into London around June 10-11. My plan before catching the EuroStar down to Paris with some fellow participants is to see some London sights as well as hit some parks. So, I was wondering about the possibility of a bunch of us hitting them together. Even if you're not on the trip, it would still be nice to hit some credits with you. Minimum parks I'd want to visit would be Thorpe Park, Legoland Windsor, Chessington and the London Dungeon. Also - Drayton Manor and Alton Towers... while not as convenient, they still rank on my list of parks I want to see so perhaps we could look into doing something like a train to Stoke-on-Trent then a bus the rest of the way or splitting the cost of a rental car. *shrug* The public transport option could be well viable, a friend says he knows of a cheap company that we could use. He was disconnected before he gave me the name and I've emailed him asking the name. Can't do it all? Then you can just join the group for the parks that you want to visit and on days that suit you. For that matter, if you were coming for the European trip or in the country on holiday anyway, you'd be welcome to join me for seeing the usual tourist haunts. I'm also going to look at getting off the so-called beaten track and see some less-visited/-experienced things... I can't promise anything but will try to smuggle some baby koalas in my bags and bring Harold Bishop from Ramsay Street with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfotkid Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 Make those baby Koalas a baby Kangroos and maybe some Cadbury, Then Maybe. Actually, I wish I could go, but seeing as I have 92.36 dollars in my bank account, I'll have to decline. Have fun though! - David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplepills Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 Drayton Manor and Thorpe Park, while not as convenient, still rank on my list of parks I want to see so perhaps we could look into doing something like a train to Stoke-on-Trent then a bus the rest of the way or splitting the cost of a rental car. *shrug* I won't be able to join you or anything, but I thought I would point out you probably meant to put Alton Towers there not Thorpe park You can get pretty cheap train/bus fares if you book long in advance, but it depends how many of you there are. If you're looking at driving from London to Alton towers I'd guess it would be about £40-£50 there and back for fuel plus the cost of car rental, which isn't bad if you split it between a few of you. Its far more convenient that trying to get public transport there, and will probably save you a lot of time and money. If you try to get a train ticket on the day its gonne be about £50 each return, possibly with group saving if there are 4 or more of you. Go to The Trainline for prices. Buses will be cheaper, but the timings will probably be more inconvenient and the journey slower. National Express is one of the main coach operators, check the website for details. Having said all that if your friend knows a cheaper way then thats obviously better for you than what I just wrote! Thorpe park is a lot easier to get to from London on public transport, with a train from London to Staines and then a bus direct to the park from the train station. Not sure about the other parks you mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinschroder Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 ^ Agreed - you don't want to miss out on Alton Towers!! Virgin Trains or Midland Mainline do some good package deals for train travel either from Euston via Stoke on Trent or St Pancras via Derby (respectively) and include a coach ride to the park and back, as well as the entrance fee to the park. Thorpe Park is very easy - you can get to Staines station from Waterloo or Clapham Junction and then from there, you can either take an official Thorpe Park transfer bus, or various local buses can get you there (it's only a couple of miles away from the station). Chessington and Legoland Windsor should be similarly easy from Waterloo or Clapham Junction using South West Trains, although I've not done those personally. Hope that helps! Robin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfotfreak Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 You have to give the london dungeons a visit, you love it or you hate it. Its a bit cheap sometimes but the boat ride is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Coaster Posted April 11, 2008 Author Share Posted April 11, 2008 ^^^ Thanks for pointing that out. I did mean Alton Towers. Fixed. ^ Definitely will. I went there in '94 on a school trip back when it was all walkthrough stuff. While I quite enjoyed it then, it sounds much better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bovinejumpsuit Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Harold Bishop make it Janae and you have yourself a deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollerboy Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I may be able to meet you at a park would either be Alton Towers or Thorpe Park, that is if you would want me there lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Might be at Thorpe Park. If i'm not doing GCSE's By the way. If you are intending to go to so many Merlin parks and attractions it might be worth investigating whether it is cheaper to get a Merlin Annual Pass rather than having to pay all the individual gate passess. You would have to work out the costs. Merlin Annual Pass Website I can also probably tell you where to find some good accommodation in the Thorpe Park area if required Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Coaster Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 ^^^ She's not on the show anymore so may be free, you never know! ^^ Of course you're welcome to join us ... the more the merrier. ^ Went and bought one. It'll save me a heap of money given I'll be going to all of those places, some over more than one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Glad it helped! Back to hotels; depending on your budget some of these should help out Holiday inn @ Chessington World Of Adventures The Runneymede Hotel The Windsor Travel Lodge The Harte and Garter Hotel in Central Windsor The next site is from Legoland and includes a great list of Hotels, The Beaumont House hotel is just down the road from me! Hotels from Legoland Hope this all helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Coaster Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 ^ Good stuff, cheers! How do the GCSE schedules usually work? Tests compacted into a few days or what? I bought a Merlin annual pass tonight from Thorpe Park's site so will be going there to pick that up and most likely starting things off from there. So let's assume that I fly in June 10. Now, rather than hit a park on day 1 I'm more than likely going to want to get cleaned up (at the hostel or whatever), change clothes then walk around the city to eat and just cruise. If for some reason we weren't doing Thorpe Park first I could just go pick up the pass then people could hit the Eye on the first evening with me and then dinner/drinks/general chicanery... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Don't plan around me! I'll be there if I'm around, thats all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Coaster Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 ^ No, I'm not planning around you. I was saying what's likely to happen being that Thorpe Park is where I bought the annual pass from. Just wondered how GCSEs work that's all as others will be in same situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 ^ No, I'm not planning around you. I was saying what's likely to happen being that Thorpe Park is where I bought the annual pass from. Just wondered how GCSEs work that's all as others will be in same situation. OHHH! Ok! Now I understand Everybody sits the same GCSE's on the same day, depending on their exam board. Below are the two timetables for the major exam boards used in the area (I think). It would be pretty much impossible to pick a good day for everyone due to the fact that people sit different subjects and different boards. Edexcel GCSE timetable AQA exam timetable It really depends how lucky people are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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