Divv3k Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 (edited) Continuing the process of making sure Andrew gets as many credits as possible during his stint in the UK, a few of us spent our February 14th at the Leeds Valentine's Fair. In all honesty I was expecting some ghetto carnival with maybe one credit but no, this was a pretty big effort with loads packed in! Three coasters, a bazillion fun houses, two ghost trains and more things that spin than you can throw snow putty at there really is something for almost anyone at this! I actually think the carnival was better than both the recent NEC Funworld and Irn-Bru Carnival! Take a look... Welcome to Leeds! Every February this is the home to the appropriately titled Leeds Valentine’s Fair! The view from the car park promises some excitement. (Yes, that is a Toboggan!) The DAZZLING entrance arch really helps set the tone for what you are about to experience! Yay, this fair has credits! Why else do you think I’d travel to some random carnival? Stupid spinning mice and their making me ride with their credit giving status. Brad and Andrew are my riding buddies today. They are both evil for sitting in such a way that achieved maximum spin. And man, did it spin! From the top of the mouse you can get a good view of the rest of the fair. Quite a decent size! Yay, another credit!!! Cha-fricking-ching!!! Never have I witnessed so many fun houses in one location. Here’s the first of many. Powered coaster #1. No thanks! These guys are on their own for Equinox! There’s gotta be some serious junk squishage going on here! There's clearly all kinds of evilness going on here. Not Divv-friendly in any way, shape or form. Equinox was, as expected, one of many non-Divv-friendly attractions! Yet another fun house! Here’s one more! I think I counted about six in total!!! So there’s T2-3D at Universal and Terminator Salvation at SFMM but did you know there was ride based on the third movie in the series? You know the one where Halle Berry played Storm. Hi Anth! Another big dose of “No thanks!” to powered coaster #2! And now for something you wish you could say NO to but just can’t! My only ever Toboggan experience was at Little Amerrika back on the Midwest trip. It’s funny how a few years blur your memories of the pain! For Brad, this was his first Toboggan encounter! There’s no real way you can prepare yourself for such an experience! Yeah, my head’s arched to one side and still hitting the ceiling! It’s not often where I prefer the spinning portion of the ride but the spinning part of the Toboggan wins hands down! When you hear the lovely sound of a neck snapping there’s a good chance that the car is in exactly this position! What do you call this? TriBrad? BradPod? Fool? It’s not a proper carnival if it doesn’t have a BOUNCY BOUNCY! I love the picture of Santa on the Coke can to get you in the Valentine’s spirit! Oh wow, they somehow managed to get the PlayStation ride over from Blackpool! This Ghost Train was awesome! Scottish Steve would have loved it! Even Brad & Andrew were a bit freaked out by this one! This guy is just DYING to meet you Steve! We continue the tour of Scottish Steve’s must-do attractions with the MAZE OF TERROR!!! It's not a haunted walkthrough. Honest, Steve! I love random carnivals. Simples! Sadly there were no flying kicks unleashed upon Brad on this occasion. Swing, swing, swing. Andrew attained his full honorary Brit status after surving the horror experience that is “The Carnie Bog!” Fun fairs at night are just awesome to visit. Even though there’s so much stuff I don’t ride at these things I love checking them out. We finish our visit with a quick spin through Fun House #6. Brad’s taking these home initiate his weight loss for Expedition GeForce 2010 project! I can’t pull this photo off anywhere near as good as Scottish Steve I’m afraid. I apologise for that. Brad thought it would be funny to fake falling over in the fun house then he actually did! LMAO! Another look at the coolness that is the Leeds Valentine’s Fair at night! Super Fun Happy Time! OMG, Brad's gonna destroy me! Word has it that this Palmist gives GREAT hand jobs! All in all this fair smashed any expectations I had! It was really good! Even for a guy like me who doesn’t do spinning stuff I still did loads! I think the Leeds Valentine’s Fair may become an annual Brit Crew event in the future! Thanks for reading. Edited February 15, 2010 by Divv3k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Oh, man, that TR brings back memories of when I worked in the UK and would go to this and the Goose fair every year in the 90s! Glad to see they still have tons of INSANE flat rides! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoasterkid Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Looks like you guys had a blast! Wish I could've been there. I'd be sitting off to the side for all the spin-n-pukes with you Divv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleynathomas Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I wish I could go in a far like this. As I love this kind of rides. But I have never seen such huge rides. Is there anyone who would like to take me there??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Hell, two ghost trains and a "bazillion" fun houses? I'm in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFreak Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Oh wow this looks VERY similar to the LA County Fair we have here in September. Seemed like most of the same ride types to (MMMMMM KMG Experience!!), glad you guys had fun and thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallish Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Now that's a good collection of KMG (Kermis Machinebouw Gaasendam BV) rides. I have seen the Tango and Speed before in Del Mar, but I'd never seen their big Afterburner before. I would love to try it as the common smaller version is just about the best fairground ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Nice TR Divv!! That does look like a pretty cool carnival. I've never done any of the big ones so we should do some more over the summer! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_roll06 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Looks like you guys had a great time! I've been on "Equinox" before and yes, it was a horrible experience! Although, I would rather do that ANY time over any ghost train! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I went here a few years ago and Equinox remains one of the scariest experiences of my life. I was sure I was going to fall out of it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Thanks everyone! I agree TP, we should do more carnivals this year. Maybe we should indulge Robb's nostalgia further and actually go to the Goose Fair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinschroder Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Oh yeah, totally! The Goose Fair (at least 1997 - 2000 when I lived in Nottingham) was great! Robin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roachman Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I would have loved to check out the Ghost Train and the Maze of Terror! Looks like you all had a great time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinM Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 great TR, & glad u enjoyed Sadly, the Leeds fair is a bit of a shadow of its former self. It used to take place in the city centre, but the local councilors moved it out to a local football ground car park about 5 years ago - since then its been 1 BIG ride less every year... Nottingham Goose Fair, Hull Fair & Newcastle Town Moor Fair are the 3 biggest & best UK fairs. Although London's Winter Wonderland is growing rapidly, and brings loads of good rides over from Europe. Winter Wonderland 2009: I prefer Newcastle, as its in summer so its a bit warmer! This was 2009: Looking 1 direction from the wheel, looking the other way: Nottingham has seen more & more duplicate miami's, waltzers & dodgems the past few years - there was something like 9 sets of each last year! Nottingham 2008: Hull is a great one too, but often clashes with Nottingham in early October, so instead of having all the UKs main rides in 1 place, they're split over the 2 fairs...? Hull 2009: There's something funny going on in Liverpool this Valentines too! - There's 2 fairs (you can see them across the water from each other, about a mile apart!)... Both are claiming the title of 'Liverpool's 1st Valentine's Fair'... Both have a Frisbee, a tower ride, & a handful of the usuals... Its like 2 organisations had the same idea! or 2 collaborators argued & both set up their own fair...? I dunno, but it seems daft to have 2 almost identical fairs less than a mile apart! I have some pics, but have yet to sort, and they're NOT really worth it! Fellow geeks might be interested in a rare out-facing Enterprise at the Liverpool fair, called Millennium!: Its a HORRID ride, all you see is the horizon going over & over! I've loads of galleries & vids of these fairs for anyone interested in them http://www.ukrides.info/fairs2.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelinwood Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Do you actually stand up on equinox? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Do you actually stand up on equinox? Yes - the Equinox is better known as a KMG Tango. Take an Intamin FLOORLESS stand-up drop ride, mix it with a Zamperla Power Surge or Zamperla Shocker, and that's what you've got. It is one of the most painful-in-all-the-wrong-places rides in existence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelinwood Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Do you actually stand up on equinox? Yes - the Equinox is better known as a KMG Tango. Take an Intamin FLOORLESS stand-up drop ride, mix it with a Zamperla Power Surge or Zamperla Shocker, and that's what you've got. It is one of the most painful-in-all-the-wrong-places rides in existence. oh my... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinM Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 LOL - yeah, of the 2 UK versions, Equinox has footrests, Tango doesn't... I love these! Pics & vids: www.ukrides.info/equinox.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinM Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 That weird enterprise - just uploaded a wee iPod POV, check out the visuals on this ride when at full tilt (about 1/2 way through). Millennium: There was no-one else on it - we went round for AGES... ugh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Divv, great TR! Glad you guys are having an awesome time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antmcmullen Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Anth does not approve the Food Blender the ride..(live).. Otherwise the trips looks awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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