Edward Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Hello all. This is gonna be a belatent Trip Report of when I was in London. I have no idea why I've been putting it off for so long. I did a small thing on YouTube so maybe it was a bit of "Done it, why again?" kinda thing. Or I just didn't feel like writing at the time. Anyways, let us begin. The "week" started off a little bad. Felt the beginnings of a cold but tried to brush it off because it was too late to cancel the tickets and get a refund. So off to the airport, go through the checks, and up into the air. Didn't especially like it because during altitude changes my ears (which hadn't flown for 13 years) imploded, exploded, and pierced my brains. But a successful trip. Took a train into town, underground to Kings Cross, checked into the hotel, and decided that I was hungry enough for dinner. For some odd reason, for a period of maybe 3 days I didn't really pick up on that I was in another country (despite that everyone was talking Brittish-English). Only thing that sort of made me think that I was elsewhere on the world was the sky. I don't know why, but at Stansted Airport there was definately something different with the horrizon. It looked more round, somehow. Anyways, for dinner I went off looking about for some place and I ended up at Q's. Now I told myself to avoid the "nutorious" Fish'n'Chips that I've heard so much about, however at Q's I just so happen to order... Fish'n'Chips! But it was Ok. The chips weren't soggy, the fish was good as was the lemon. It was a good dinner. The next day came, and I was thinking of executing a plan I had for as long as the planning of the London trip was taking place: If weather permits (in which I had my doubts about seeing as this is London), take a day trip to the nearest Theme Park. Which is why this TR is ending up here, because weather permitted, and was so totally not English weather. Sun with some clouds and hot. Does that sound like England to any of you? Didn't sound like it to me, but I didn't complain. I took the underground straight to Waterloo Station, and then went for Lunch. Thanks to a tip by jkwan I decided to go to Burger King and order a nice big Adult Meal so I could get 50% off of the entance fee (yes, it was offered this year as well). With a burger in hand I took the train to Staines, and then the shuttle buss to Thorpe Park. When I got in properly I noticed Queues! Also an out-of-order Stealth, but I didn't mind. Wasn't ready for such dives. But when I went around a little bit and noticed the queues I thought maybe I should pick up one of these fast tracks. I was trying to think of how much I was gonna do and if I was gonna ride anything twice. However, as the queue moved closer to the till and the funny feeling of pressure overwhelming me, after a few questions with the guy behind the till I made a fun mistake of buying an Ultimate Fastrack for £70. After buying that I went off to Tidal Wave and got DRENCHED!!! Thought it was a nice idea seeing at was a hot day, but didn't take into account how much colder the breeze was once one was soaked to the skin. After drying off a bit I walked around, took some pictures, then decided on Colossus. That thing was fun. A little rough, but fun none-the-less. Now this was not my first Loop or Twist inversions. I did managed to bravely take on Kanonen at Liseberg. However, this was my first Cobra Roll, my first Corkscrew (let alone two in a row), and my first series of Barrel Rolls (rolling over 5 times) all in one ride. Then walked about and took some more photos. Then went queuing for the SAW! I got almost all the way in before realising "Ello! This is half a scary dark ride! NOT MY CUP OF TEA!" and fled the scene. Yes, I chickened out. If it weren't for the Dark Ride part I'd probably have given it a go. Walked about some more until I came across Nemesis Inferno. I thought Sure, my first proper Inverted Coaster. Kvasten at Gröna Lund is just a Family Suspended Coaster. This was a good and proper Adult Suspended Coaster with speed, inversions, and anything else that are not suitable for minors. Hm. Just looking at RCDB. Zero-G Roll? Oh, there! Heh, didn't even think about it. Thought it was just another twist. Ok, add that to my list of first timers. Anyways, it was a nice fun ride. Ok, looking up Kanonen as well and they say it has a Zero-G Roll as well. I'm not sure, but doesn't Zero-G Roll entail that the track must incline during the roll/twist? Oh well, never mind. After the fun thrills I decided to go for some Rapids, saw the time and saw that the park was closing very soon, ran for one last coaster ride on the Flying Fish, then went for the bus back to Staines station, the train back to Waterloo, had dinner at a bar. Can't remember the name, but it was barish, but was also in some ways fancy (or at least a little fancier than any dinner-bar that I've been to). Well, anyways, had to go up a flight of nicely lit stairs. Then the underground back to the hotel. Review of the park? A nice place. Worth coming back to, despite the short open hours. Day 3 was kinda boring. One of the reasons for coming to London was to attend a small funeral for my Grandmother. She wanted to be burried in England, so better attend. During and afterwards I rediscovered some long lost second cousins, who invited us to dinner at their place and we all tried to catch up on what we've been up to. 4th day, for some STRANGE reason, I went to see Cambridge. I heard that a long lost friend was studying there, but didn't know which building, and his mobile phone wasn't working. But otherwise, took a nice sightseeing trip around the place, learnt a few things about the Schools and Universities, and took the time to study and see a difference between the English and Swedish bricked houses. (Also took pictures for future comparrisons. ) Didn't bump into my friend, sadly, but a fun outing none-the-less. On the 5th day I decided to actually do some sightseeing of London. Got a little lost in trying to find the sightseeing bus, but after maybe an hour managed to find a stop. Bought a 24hour hopon-hopoff ticket with a bonus boat ticket, and enjoyed some of the history up to Baker Street. Did not go into Madame Tussauds. Again, chicken, but instead took another sightseeing bus to Trafalgar Square where I had lunch at the Sherlock Holms. Mmmm, delicious steak with a very large mushroom ontop. After that I crossed the bridge for the London Eye and went for a 'spin'. Next up, went on a boat tour guide of the Thames. A fun tour guide, but he himself says he was no tour guide, just a commentator with a "Captain's Bucket". This boat went to the Tower of London, which was closed sadly, but didn't stop me from taking pictures of the outside. After which I went over the Tower Bridge (top part was closed), then took a normal bus in the direction of China Town, but it stopped a little short, so continued the walk in that direction, got a little lost, but finally found something China like and had dinner at one of the restraunts. Afterwhich walked a heck of alot of stairs down to the purple underground to get back to the hotel. Day 6, pretty much pack up, have lunch, and catch the flight back home. Again, ears killed me and I don't think they properly landed until at least a week later. Anyways, this was my week in London, and I found it quite nice. Except, one whole week in London and not a single site of Dr.Who! Only the season boxes at HMV. Now for a nice big load of pictures. /Edward 2009.07.05 2009.07.05 Nice building shape. Oh, it's two seperate buildings? Thought some odd plucked-chicken shaped space ship had landed there. 2009.07.05 2009.07.05 Upper part Closed. 2009.07.05 Thames from the bridge. 2009.07.05 2009.07.05 The Tower Bridge. 2009.07.05 In one name: The Fortress Tower of London. 2009.07.05 A Place of Execution. 2009.07.05 A Royal Observatory. 2009.07.05 A Place of Residence. 2009.07.05 A Royal Palace. 2009.07.05 A Royal Prisson. 2009.07.05 A Royal Fortress. 2009.07.05 Sorry, we're closed. 2009.07.05 2009.07.05 The Tower Bridge. 2009.07.05 Thames. 2009.07.05 And more houses of London. 2009.07.05 Red-Blue trains. 2009.07.05 Red Trains. 2009.07.05 2009.07.05 But without a tripod I guess I'm not truely successful. 2009.07.05 Trying for a panorama. 2009.07.05 More of London. 2009.07.05 A Pirate in London. 2009.07.05 Some coloseum... Don't know, didn't go for a tour guide of that place. 2009.07.05 Climbing higher and higher. 2009.07.05 Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. 2009.07.05 Railways station. 2009.07.05 Park, people, and the rest of Waterloo. 2009.07.05 Railway bridge. 2009.07.05 The London Eye from a supports perspective. 2009.07.05 Thames and Ben, and a plaque naming everything one sees. 2009.07.05 Big Ben through the trees. I know, you'd all prefer Big Mike through the trees. ;P 2009.07.05 Just across this bridge. 2009.07.05 London Eye. 2009.07.05 Trafalgar Square. 2009.07.05 Trafalgar Square. 2009.07.05 Trafalgar Square. 2009.07.05 Buildings of London. 2009.07.05 Elementary... 2009.07.04 Level with the houses. 2009.07.04 Yep, looks about right. 2009.07.04 We are here. 2009.07.04 Oh look. A nice little miniature of Campus. Notice the scale in comparison to my mobile phone to the left. 2009.07.04 2009.07.04 Anyways, nice art work. 2009.07.04 Churches were built but lunchrooms were never thought of until later. Or have I got that down wrong? 2009.07.04 Almost more important than lunch itself. 2009.07.04 Oh and that's right... Reason why so many places look like and are churches was because in the beginning the founders believed that Religion was a very important thing. 2009.07.04 One of the many schools in Cambridge. 2009.07.04 Cambridge Coton Orchad. 2009.07.04 Cambridge. 2009.07.02 Ok, that's enough. Back to Waterloo station for some grub. 2009.07.02 We're Soaked to the SKEEEEEN! 2009.07.02 Which do you think is hotter, the ride or the girl? 2009.07.02 Oh right, maybe some on-ride photos. If your wondering about the glossiness, it is just the sunblock. 2009.07.02 This is sort of what I looked like on Colossus. 2009.07.02 And of course... Through Tha Trees! 2009.07.02 Loopy! 2009.07.02 While I wait for things to dry, I walk around and take pictures before exposing myself to rushes of wind. 2009.07.02 Even though I was next to 3 drenched girls, I wasn't especially happy. 2009.07.02 Can you spot me in this wet mess? 2009.07.02 TIDAL WAVE! Never seen such a big splash. Does that make Sweden boring? 2009.07.02 STEALTH! Upclose but not really personal. If it was running, then maybe... 2009.07.02 Dingy race, swimming pool, Tidal Wave, and Stealth. 2009.07.02 Ah! There we go. Who knew it was on the way. 2009.07.02 The entrance to Atlantis. ...Wait, weren't we headed for Thorpe Park? 2009.07.02 Any TPR Members here? No? Now that's a shame. 2009.07.02 Guesses are that he's after the Intamin Booty. Yarr! But before then needs to take a train to Staines. 2009.07.02 Now what would a pirate want at Waterloo? 2009.07.02 Underground to Waterloo. 2009.07.01 Ah, London. What a busy city. 2009.07.01 Fields of England. Hey, is that Postman Pat weaving between the fields there? ;p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Looks like you had a good time in the UK. The colosseum type building is the old London County Hall which is now the London Aquarium owned by the same people as Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Em-Z Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 London is such a beautiful place, I'd love to go there! Nice TR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolcalicoaster Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Fantastic! Thank you for sharing. I will look for more reports from you in the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkwan Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 It's a shame that you did not ride Saw the ride. To me it was an awesome ride. The dark ride portion did not have anything that jumped out at you. Man, you should have rode it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmichaellucas Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Glad to see you enjoyed London. I've lived here all my life and I never get tired of it. By the by, if you walked through the arches in your Trafalger Square picture, you would have ended up at Buckinham Palace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplepills Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Nice photos, thanks for posting =] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iplf Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 London drenched in sunshine is such an amazing experience! I love it! Too bad you didn't do Stealth! When we were there the frontseat was only 2 rides longer wait. What a thrill! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 Hello all. So, SAW isn't all that scary? Hm. Well, just by judgng from the sounds that came out from around the corner I kinda imagined that there would be imigary or sounds that would give me nightmares or something. Oh well. Oh, and I forgot to post my YouTube video of some of it. And one other thing. Just remembered that I have ONE photo pass voucher left. I bought one of these rebate things where, oh can't remember now, £30 per photo and one of these tickets makes the photos £25 each or something? Can't remember but question is: Are they still valid next year? /Edward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emiroo Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 This is a fantastic PTR! Great pictures. In college, my wife to a school trip to Paris & London. She said she wasn't a fan of Paris, but went on and on about London. Your pics help me see why. Again, super work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSpecial Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Great trip report and really enjoyed viewing your entertaining video. You should really try SAW its great fun. Shame that Stealth was out of action - bit of a one trick wonder but a must ride all the same if you get the opportunity. Loved your video effects demo. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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