Photo TR: TPR UK Trip

[Popcorn54]

Great tr.

The kids flat rides you have pictured from lightwater valley most of the used to be at Pleasureland.

Also the Space Invader ride at blackpool was a zierer 4 Man Bob which was removed and sold to brean.

Keep up the great tr's.

[mwm1444]

I think I was the only one who came off all right from that kiddie mine train - poor Nolan. I still remember the moment we realised he'd got a pretty terrific bruise on his knee, fun times.

[freekeee]

^ It didn't do anything much to me ether. Maybe being on the shorter side helped...

Edited January 1, 2011 by freekeee

[mwm1444]

Pretty sure that's what it is - if you're short enough to get the Jellikins credit, you probably won't get punished too badly by any kiddie 'coaster.

[beatle11]

You had to mention the yellow submarine themed Splash Battle. Now I got The Beatles stuck in my head. Really though, nice report.

[printersdevil78]

At the end of Day 7, Robb and Elissa had a little surprise for us: a bonus credit at Pleasure Island! The park had been closed for the day for a few hours, but the Alveys spent what we later found out to be a LOT of time going back and forth with the park's new management until an agreement was reached to open a limited number of rides just for us!

 

For most of us, it was a surprise until the very end. At one point, he announed we would be stopping soon for a "bathroom break." Shortly thereafter, we all saw the top of a Boomerang sticking up over the trees, and the murmers began. Then someone in the back had a GPS with the trip map plugged in (I didn't find this out until the next day) and wondered why we had passed our hotel for the night. Then we pulled up in front of Pleasure Island, and Robb announced, "This is our bathroom stop. I strongly encourage you to visit this bathroom."

 

Then he sort of ad libbed about how this "bathroom" had all kinds of great toilets and urinals... at which point, Erik, who works for Vekoma, very loudly spoke the single greatest quote of the trip: "A Boomerang is not a urinal!"

 

I know Robb and Elissa were very disappointed at the excitement level (or lack there of) during our visit there. Honestly, I can't speak for most of the bus, but I was very excited (and I know Mike was, too) about this unplanned stop, even though I refrained from riding two of the three attractions opened for us (my stomach doesn't do too well most of the time with inversions and certain spinners). I know there's a good chance I won't get back to England again, especially some of the out-of-the-way parts we visited on this trip, so a chance to visit another park there was just fine by me!

 

Anyway, enough text; time for pictures. Enjoy!

"To all who enter this happy bathroom... welcome!"

I, for one, was all ready to discover the magic!

Pleasure Island had a lot of interesting characters, including Tinkaboo...

...Tommy Tukka...

...an especially Mr. Shiney!

Chair swings and the World Cup... what more do you need?

These cycle monorails are all the rage in the UK!

Hey, they really do have toilets here!

How many types of fowl do you see in this photo? I see two.

This is listed in the park index as "Hydro Max." I like to call it "The Pants Crapper."

Alakazam was grounded for the day.

No bumper car takeover here. We had better things to do!

It razzles AND dazzles!

This really was a nice park.

But this is the part most of us came for!

Really?

Looks more red to me!

Wheee!

Watch out for the loop!

Which one is more terrifying: Terror Rack...

...or the clown slide?

Pendulus seemed to be a real hit!

The carousel building looked really cool. Can't make a first-hand observation about the ride itself, though.

With a name like that, who wouldn't want to ride?

I think this one was called "Unacceptable Amount of Wetness: The Ride."

The park has its own ice skating rink!?

Well... kind of.

They put a lot of effort into building a clamshell-themed Tilt-A-Whirl... only to call it the "Twirly Whirl."

Hey, that's bigger than the one at Epcot!

Witness the park's haunted house... and the amazing employees who made our visit possible!

All aboard the Mini Mine Train!

Go, Mine Train, go!

This one was a LOT better than the Zamperla mine train at Flamingo Land!

No, Pleasure Island, Thank YOU!

Once we settled in at our second-to-last hotel of the trip, most of us made our way to the pub next door, where I got to check shepperd's pie off my list of foods to try while in the UK.

This isn't the greatest photo, but I think it really says a lot. There are six people in this picture representing five different countries: the U.S., England, Scotland, Spain and Germany, all here for basically one reason. Think about it: How many other organizations are you affiliated with in which something like this would even be possibile? Forget the UN--TPR brings the world together!

 

Up next: Fantasy Island!

[Moose]

I'm with you. I loved this little bathroom break. It was a FANTASTIC surprise.

 

I am also with you on the frisbee... no ride makes me almost lose my mushy peas worse than these torture devices.

[larrygator]

Bonus parks on TPR trips are awesome, if only for a few credits you are likely to never get otherwise.

 

That sucks that most participants were not more outwardly excited about the bonus stop.

[printersdevil78]

The first half of Day 8 took us to Fantasy Island in Skegness. Now, I know some people were a little put off by the carney atmosphere here, but personally, this was my second favorite park of the trip. I can't remember if it was Robb or someone else who said it seemed like this was a giant flea market whose owners decided to put up some coasters to attract more customers, but that assessment was dead on. And there were some interesting purchases to be made, too!

 

As always, enjoy the photos!

On to Fantasy Island!

At Fantasy Island, "Yellow" is code for "Funky."

Everyone ready to ride the Nestle Kit-Kat Jubilee Odyssey?

Well, too bad! It's broken. We may have it fixed later. Like 2014.

No one from TPR got to join this club today.

Oh well. It's not like there aren't other credits here!

What goes up...

...must eventually invert!

Rhombus' Rocket is one of those coasters only "special" people count. And I'm one of them!

So are they!

Most parks have a wild mouse. Fantasy Island has the Fantasy Mouse!

This mouse's fantasy was to run off to Mexico!

The Techno Jump/Jumping Frogs was the wildest bouncy-bouncy ever! After they got us all strapped in, they figured out it wasn't exactly working right, so they spun us around for a little while, they they lifted and lowered the arms for a little while, then they finally got it to sync up. All in all, it was about a 15-minute ride!

This is the Scrambler that almost killed Craig and me!

Final elaborately canopied carousel of the trip. *sniff*

Lots of "Fantasy" here!

Oh, I'll bet this is an officially licensed Disney product!

I mean, it must be, right? It features everyone's favorite Disney characters. Like Sebastian and Flounder...

...Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck...

...Huey, Dewey or Louie, complete in Junior Woodchuck garb (which is a tell-tale sign that all these characters were copied out of comic books, as that's the only medium that featured the Junior Woodchucks)...

...and even Gladstone Gander!

And just what does the ride itself have to do with Disney? Absolutely nothing!

Gotta love that carney art!

Must be a storm in the area!

Here they come!

Skloooosh!

How's that log flume treating you, fellas?

The Pony Express looked like neat ride. Too bad I was about two feet too tall to ride it!

Beware of the Beast!

What do Skegness and Arlen, TX, have in common? You can buy propane and propane accessories at both!

I shared this with a friend of mine. He might "appropriate" it as the name of his barbecue competition team this year.

So. Many. Entendres.

The outdoor section of Fantasy Island was fun, but the indoor portion was *really* cool!

Dragon Mountain was one of the neatest kiddie play areas I've ever seen.

This is basically everything the attraction entails.

With a ride as cool as Dragon Mountain, the Jungle Adventure Ride must be even better, right?

Wrong.

Hey, Freddo! Where to next?

Why, the Magical Seaquarium, of course!

It was basically a floating tub ride.

I'm a little embarrassed to say when I got in mine, it almost sank.

The inside of the ride was really cool. It was one of those funky dark rides with vignettes containing limited animation and a song that ties the whole thing together.

Every major park in the U.S. had at least one of these in the '70s and '80s. Today, outside of the Disney parks, they're fairly rare.

The Seaquarium also had a little fancy scenery thrown in for good measure.

This may be the most specifically named ride ever!

I had never seen a coin-op cotton candy machine before. Watching this one work was pretty neat.

Not quite as ornate as the gallopers outside....

Oooh... I like secrets!

"In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room...."

And awaaaayyyy we go!

So basically, Fantasy Island was formed by an erupting volcano...

...and these dudes liked it. The end.

Why is Mike smiling?

Because he gets to ride the Jellikins Coaster!

This way to Jellyland!

I liked the way this was themed through colored plexiglass. As far as I know, Mike and Rosie were the only two in our group able to get the credit due to the maximum height restriction. I had to ask Mike what a "Jellikins" was. Apparently it was a British kiddie TV show. Now I know how the Brits on the Behemoth-Flyer trip felt when Robb had to explain the Mr. Rogers ride at Idlewild to them!

Hey, that's *exactly* how all public works vehicles in the U.S. look!

Each of these signs is useful and important in its own unique way.

Fantsy Island offered plenty of things to do besides rides. Take, for instance, the massive Fantasy Island Market.

I generally enjoy flea markets, and this one was right up my alley. Robb warned us to be careful taking pictures inside, as apparently he had a bad experience there, so the few shots I took were on the periphery. Still, this place was great! I was finally able to find clotted cream fudge, which I had been searching for throughout the trip, and if I'd had room in my luggage, one booth had enough cheap, damaged boxes of Dairy Milk bars for me to have stocked my entire annual Halloween event at a deep discount even with the exchange rate.

As large as the market was, it still wasn't big enough to hold all the exhibitors. Some spilled out into the parking lot, where signs warned vendors they would be prosecuted unless they had valid permits.

And yes, England was still in the World Cup at the time. I imagine this booth was gone for good about 36 hours after this photo was taken.

We met here for lunch and were asked to select from a limited menu. Elissa advised us to get there a little early if we could to make sure everyone had time to eat, and I was glad I did. It took close to an hour for my order to come out--and I think mine was one of the "quick" ones!

The final "UK food" item I needed to cross off my list: bangers and mash! To be honest, the "mash" part was just OK... but the bangers were succulent and meaty!

No... really!

I can only dream about how good or bad this place was. I like to pretend mimes live there.

I hope this is pronounced "Puck-a" and not "Puke-a."

Do you think they serve Pepsi?

 

EDIT: I just noticed the giant cigarette on the left side of the door.

Best "truth in advertising" slogan ever!

Did I mention there was another mini-amusement park across the street?

Let's see here... we have the animals from "Madagascar," Buzz, Woody, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Mario, Yoshi, the Incredible Hulk, SpongeBob SquarePants, Tom and Jerry, Pluto, Mickey Mouse, the Big Bad Wolf and... OMG, is that Private Snafu? That's an even more obscure reference than Gladstone Gander!

I have no clue what a Wots Yoging is... but apparently it's the best (as opposed to "the rest").

Giant balls in front of the meat auction? Sometimes it's like these captions just write themseves!

Oh, did I fail to mention that Robb bought an inflatable sheep in fishnet stockings from the men's room at Castaways? My bad.

Goodbye, Fantasy Island!

Up next... trailer park ERT!

 

No, seriously, up next: Bottons Pleasure Beach. See you soon!

[mwm1444]

Ginny and Kathryn got the Jellikins credit as well, I can't remember whether Cameron got it.

 

I really wished I'd taken a ride in the balloons inside the Fantasy Island pyramid, it looked like the best balloon ride in the world.

[samisthabomb]

This TR has just the right amount of "disturbing" in it to make it awesome!

[printersdevil78]

The second half of Day 8 took us to Bottons Pleasure Beach. It was an OK little park with a couple unique rides and several credits. It was a nice wind-down before the bus trip back to London. Enjoy!

Here we are!

Free admission? That's the best kind of admission!

Unfortunately, we didn't get to rat out any school kids.

We had some problems with line-breakers while we were attempting to get our wristbands. Fortunately, Robb scared them all away by telling them he'd had Mexican for lunch.

Final ghost train of the trip!

"Come on in... for the fright of your life!"

Are you ready to be scared... to death?

Be sure to remove those dangerous hats first!

The artwork outside reminded me of the designs I've seen on '60s bubblegum cards. Inside... reminded me of the clearence aisle about a week after Halloween. They clearly spent the majority of their budget on the exterior.

This '50s-themed coaster was called the "Rockin' Roller." Elissa had another name for it: "Spinning Coaster of Hot Death."

It was pretty cool to see the names they selected for the individual cars. I mean, Elvis and James Dean were naturals, but I wonder how many riders are aware of who Jerry Lee Lewis and Bill Haley are.

The best part about the cars were the large-scale portraits of each singer/actor on the back. Someone put a lot of effort into making these cars look really good.

The ride itself was pretty typical, but the theming was really nice.

This is the "beach" part of Bottons Pleasure Beach. We had the good fortune of visiting England during the two nicest weeks, weather-wise, the country had seen in something like 200 years.

Oh dear, what could this line be for?

It's *sniff* the final Wacky Worm of the trip. They called theirs the "Big Apple."

Or is it?

The Queen Bee is perhaps the world's only suspended Wacky Worm. Same exact track layout; different vehicles. Why? Because they could!

POV shot!

But wait, there's still another credit! The Runaway Train was another "common" coaster made better with really nice theming.

Yet another ride I don't envision myself on anytime soon!

It had been years since I had seen a Yoyo.

These were much better than the Boring Mirrors next door.

I love that absolutely no American intellectual property is safe from infringement at the UK parks. Their arcade was themed to popular Las Vegas casinos.

I won't tell Siegfried if you won't tell Roy.

Scrambler. (Hey, not all the captions can be gold.)

These "seaside humour" murals were amusing.

The ride looked new, but the murals looked old. Go figure.

Surf Rider, Giant Wheel and Pirate--a hearty trio of flat rides.

I loved how the benches apparently were made from old ride seats.

They had a sign for these "flying saucer"-style bumper cars, but I didn't actually see them there. A bit of nostalgic signage, perhaps?

This would go over well at U.S. parks.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... Super Waltzer!

This was perhaps the most intense Waltzer of all time! Just watching it made me dizzy. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this the one where the ride op was manually spinning the cars as they went by to add some extra "oomph"?

Another seaside park, another seaside fortune teller.

I really liked this Pringles machine. I'd never seen one like it.

Well, now we know what they did with Nemo after they found him....

For the undressed crab, you have to pay by the hour.

Winnie the Bear!

OK... but I'll also write you in the meantime!

At the recommendation of others, I tried some HobNobs at Motorway Services that evening (and got some more of those McDonald's fried cheese things, too). They were pretty good!

 

Up next: Thorpe Park.

[mwm1444]

With regard to the crazy-a$$ Botton's Waltzer, and to be fair to the 'never-in-America' style of operation at most UK fairgrounds, pretty much all Waltzers are spun by hand somehow, by the operator. Most Waltzers don't have the operator jumping from car to car to spin them, risking messy spun death, and I think that's where the ride at Botton's stood out.

[printersdevil78]

Our final day began bright and early at Thorpe Park, where we had ERT not only before the park opened, but after it closed, as well. Enjoy!

Wow, they really rolled out the red carpet for us!

This will become very important to know later in the day.

The park itself is a big bridge away from the entrance.

Amazing view from this side!

However, some may prefer this one more!

Cheese it! The fuzz!

Oh wait... they're only here for Saw: The Ride.

Hey, they're testing! Does that mean...?

Yep! Bonus ERT on Saw!

I'm not sure I'd trust that lift!

Noted!

I wonder what that old, dilapidated barge could be for.

Ah.

Another Rotary wishing well. I thought it was neat seeing these throughout England.

This hippopotamissus was part of what appeared to be a defunct kiddie car ride.

This carousel was really cool! Sure, it had a few horses...

...but it also had a bunny-helmed Viking long boat...

...a giraffe who bumped his head...

...a bear in a log canoe...

...a giant fish...

...a barrel raft...

...and even a replica rapids boat!

Here's what the real ones looked like.

What's better than a pirate ship? A swingin' banana!

WTF?

This shooting gallery game was pretty neat. I had never seen one quite like it.

Detonator!

The Neptune's Kingdom kiddie area featured some funky rides for the little ones.

This looked like something out of "SpongeBob SquarePants"!

The fish wants you to go into his mouth!

I wasn't sure what this random caged creature was (and I think there were more like it), but I have a theory that it's some sort of pipe end that they didn't want just hanging around for kids to trip over. If so, then great job turning it into something fun!

Been there. Done that.

I spy a credit (for some)!

Fly, fishy, fly!

 

Next up: More Thorpe Park.

[beatle11]

 

Police? You'd think the fuzz would be too busy to worry about kids playing hooky.

[printersdevil78]

^I just noticed, too, that they misspelled "sergeant." Way to go, St. Clement's College!

 

Thorpe part two (of three).

I heard a few people say they had never actually seen people congregate in the beach area of the park before. I guess the temperature's reaching 90 degrees F that day (no clue what that is in C) had something to do with it!

Not sure what the rusty submarine had to do with anything... but the water slides were in full force.

Big Bashing Balls!

This is the Glasshouse, where hundreds of football fans would gather later in the day to watch England fall out of the World Cup. Seriously, the headline on the front page of the newspaper at Heathrow the next day was "You Let Your Country Down!" with a team picture below. But despite this disappointment, the Glasshouse was pretty interesting inside.

The whole place had a "giant nautical" theme to it.

Sweets and souvenirs and octopi!

There weren't a lot of the types of rides that I enjoy at Thorpe, but X://No Way Out was OK.

Robb warned us that the ride was a little strange. Having the lights on made it even odder!

Besides coasters, Thorpe had a handful of flat rides, including Quantum...

...Vortex...

...Rush...

...Slammer...

...Zodiac...

...Samurai...

...Storm in a Teacup...

...and the Rocky Express.

Like most of the other water rides, Logger's Leap was busy on this sweltering day.

By this time, it was about mid-day, and I was starting to get hungry. Normally I prefer my crust cut off....

This place sounded good! Unfortunately, all they had was dessert.

Ah, this is more like it! Theme park barbecue.

That seems pretty far considering it's only a few tube stops away from our hotel....

These ribs weren't bad for theme park food, and the fries were good, too. The best part: with my handy Thorpe Park food voucher (thanks, TPR!), they were free!

I found redemption at Thorpe Park!

We see you!

The WHAT deck!?

This is a real place! I Googled it!

"Jumbo sausage"

Time for another coaster!

Watch out for the drop!

The 4-D theater didn't open until the early afternoon. I stood in line for the first show of the day--even though I'd seen this particular movie before, I hoped the air conditioning would be a nice break. When I got in, all the seats were completely drenched, and I got the distinct feeling this wasn't an attraction for a water-phobe like me. Turns out I was right--TPR members later reported that the turned the water jets on full blast even before the show started.

 

Up next: the Thorpe Park finale.

[larrygator]

The rusty submarine is theming, the name of the ride is Depth Charge.

[printersdevil78]

^Ah, got it!

 

Last park photos from the UK Tour. Get 'em while they're hot! Here's the thrlling conclusion from Thorpe Park!

I bought a refillable drink bottle and spent most of the afternoon sitting in the shade, listening to the oldies music in Calamity Cove. I have to say, this may be the best themed area I've seen in any non-Disney park ever.

The story begins at the Amity Speedway, where the big annual race is taking place sometime in the late 1950s or early '60s.

Which, of course, is where Stealth comes in.

The track is a little unorthodox....

The race is one of the biggest annual economic boons for the small town of Amity in Marlin County. Local buinesses like this diner are packed.

Local radio station WWTP is on hand to cover the big event.

Suddenly, without warning, the area is rocked by a giant tidal wave that literally rocks the town's foundation!

The beach of this waterfront vacation mecca is immediately closed.

The county hall, decorated for race weekend, took a direct hit and remains in tatters.

Marine items dredged up from the ocean are scattered throughout the town.

Many structures throughout Amity Cove have literally been rocked from their foundations.

Of course, some businesses were hastily relocated, at least temporarily, to take advantage of the thousands of stranded townsfolk, not to mention the thousands of visitors in town for the race.

The sudden catastrophe temporarily put the local newspaper out of business.

That leaves WWTP as the only news source in town. And since the raceway was largely unaffected by the wave, Big Bob continues to broadcast from the mobile unit. I listened to the entire two-hour loop of his show, and it's really, really well done. Through interviews between songs, we learn that the mayor has fled town for Miami, the local preacher, whose church was destroyed in the disaster, is asking for cash donations ostensibly to rebuild it (but really so he can run off, as well), and worse yet... it looks like a second, even more powerful tidal wave is on the way!

The only route out of town is blocked--even escape by water is impossible... until the workers at the Aloysious Sturgeon and Sons Cannery come up with a solution.

It seems that they've taken the chutes usually used to funnel fish from the returning buy boats into the factory and maneuvered them to take residents up and over the sand bar and debris that is otherwise making a water escape impossible. The entire town is being evacuated to the factory, where they are escaping via chutes to rescue ships that wait just outside the berm.

And that's how we get Tidal Wave. Coincidentally, the shadiest spot in this area was near the lockers, so that's where I sat for the two hours I spent listening to the loop. During that time, I saw roughly one million people go back and forth between the ride, and a few of the ladies... just stripped out of their shirts into their bras and rode the ride like that. Not biknis--bras. I thought maybe it was just a British thing, but I was later informed that it was more of a "white trash" thing.

After awhile, I got tired of sitting around Calamity Cove, so I wandered over to the park's Western section, where this nice bunny directed me to...

...Canada Creek Railway!

You have to mind the gap here, too!

They have a game on the train where you can count the bears along the tracks. It's a nice, budget-conscious "value-added" feature for the younger kids.

I sat in the shade of one of these wagons for about an hour and a half and listened to the country music loop, which at times was overshadowed by the World Cup game that was being broadcast inside all the park's restaurants and food kiosks.

Yes, sir!

After England lost and the park cleared out for the day, we all gathered for ERT on Nemesis Inferno!

Noted!

There were a few murmers among TPR members that it was "unfair" of the park to allow riders in line up until park closing when they knew we were supposed to be having ERT. But really, it wasn't a big deal, and I think everyone who wanted them got in multiple rides.

Wheeee!

Where I'm from, they make baby blankets in this pattern.

Mind the sweeper!

And so our day at Thorpe Park ended with even MORE Saw ERT!

Correction: Our day at Thorpe Park ended with an impromptu water skiing display!

Stay classy, Thrope Park!

 

Up next: Our farewell dinner and one last culture credit before the plane ride home.

[printersdevil78]

Well, this is it! After Thorpe Park came the farewell dinner (which was also the welcome dinner for those embarking on the Europe trip) and then a quick stop at Windsor Castle... and then it was over.

 

You know, TPR trips are like they used to tell us drugs were like in sixth grade health class: They give you the highest of highs, but when you come down, it's the lowest of lows, and you can't think of anything except that next hit to get you high again. That "low" began to sink in during the farewell dinner. By the next day, a good portion of us would be on our way home.

 

In my room at the hotel that evening, trying to squeeze all my souvenirs, dirty clothes and other paraphernalia into my suitcase and preparing for my early morning flight, I began to get that feeling I get at the end of every TPR trip. Had our sprint through London really taken place less than two weeks earlier? Had everything since then been a long, protracted dream? A hallucination? Life teaches us that anything that seems too good to be true must be, so by that standard, the opportunities presented during a TPR trip, the friendships made and the once-in-a-lifetime experiences lined up like so many dominoes have to be more fiction than fact. Yet, they're very real. I have witnesses.

 

I know Robb was upset that last day because of the complaints he received regarding Thorpe Park's handling of Nemesis Inferno ERT and because of people who claimed to be "disappointed" that he and Elissa hadn't rented out nearby Legoland as a bonus park that evening. But you know what? People are also disappointed that admission to Disneyland isn't free. They're disappointed that they have to stand in line to ride Millenium Force. They're disappointed that the Big Dipper is getting torn down. People are conditioned to be disappointed and upset. Screw them.

Our last stop of the trip: Windsor!

This would be Windsor Castle, AKA the queen's weekend home. For when she wants to get away from it all.

Look! Someone threw a bunch of cars in the moat!

I was surprised that the castle was right in the middle of a commerical district. But then, I guess that makes it easier to call out for pizza.

Queen Victoria's chillin' in the middle of the intersection.

Noted!

The whole area had a "storybook" quality about it.

Ferris wheel credit!

A minor bonus cultural credit: the Queen's Jubilee Arch.

It just happened to be right next door to Wagamama... which was our ultimate destination!

For those who have never been to Wagamama, let me tell you it's an awesome nonveau Asian food restaurant where everything is served a la carte, and the food is really good. Elissa gave us each a monetary limit and let us order anything we wanted off the menu, and the system seemed to work really well.

I took TPDave's recommendation and ordered this chicken and rice dish. It was great!

A few people at my table thought I was crazy for ordering dessert as soon as the food was brought out, but seeing the time it took them to serve all of us, I suspected it was going to take awhile, and I didn't want to get caught short when Robb announced it was time to get back on the bus. I looked pretty smart when people were scrambling to order theirs at the end! This was some combination of vanilla, ginger, caramel and maybe some other stuff, and it was decadent!

Thanks again to Robb and Elissa for putting together an amazing trip!

[beatle11]

Great report! I'll definitely have to get to the UK sometime.

[TPDave]

Jason, I'm glad you enjoyed your katsu curry

 

This has been a great report, I just want to say I echo everything you said at the top of your last post. I had the exact same low at the end of the Europe trip, I guess that's the price you pay for 10 days of back to back awesomeness!

 

Your Thorpe report also has possibly the best ever description of the tidal wave theme by the way, thanks for sharing pictures and opinions

 

Dave

[cfc]

I don't think this is how Jerry Lee prefers to spell his last name.

 

 

Excellent report of an amazing trip. I was on the original TPR UK Trip in 2006, and it was outstanding! I'm annoyed that more people didn't appreciate the bonus park; in 2006, our bonus park was Coney Beach, and it was one of the funniest evenings of the trip.

[ginzo]

^Coney Beach was another bonus park that we got last year. A scary, but memorable place. We also got indoor water park ERT. Yes, they went an extra mile or a hundred for this trip. But you can't please everyone, especially those that think renting out a Legoland park is within the budget of any TPR trip.

[mwm1444]

It was a great ride - thanks for being an awesome room-mate, and this has been a fantastic report of what I think has been my favourite TPR trip so far. So many amazing memories.

[Pirouettes907]

I know Robb was upset that last day because of the complaints he received regarding Thorpe Park's handling of Nemesis Inferno ERT and because of people who claimed to be "disappointed" that he and Elissa hadn't rented out nearby Legoland as a bonus park that evening. But you know what? People are also disappointed that admission to Disneyland isn't free. They're disappointed that they have to stand in line to ride Millenium Force. They're disappointed that the Big Dipper is getting torn down. People are conditioned to be disappointed and upset. Screw them.

 

As far as I'm concerned, TPR could take me to a Porta Potty factory and I would be happy.

 

As usual, Jason, your trip reports are some of the best. I liked the Calamity Cove story. Most of us coaster nerds (myself included) would be too busy trying to get credits and ride as much as possible to really take in the story, and I think it's awesome that you do take the time to just relax and enjoy these parks in your own way. It makes your trip reports unique. Thanks for taking the time to share your take on the UK trip!