Bucket List item checked off! Bert does the UK with Theme Park Review (a photo trip report)

[michaellynn4]

I was not prepared for Valhalla when we rode it back in 2018. We just thought "oh hey, here's a fun indoor log flume ride!" Didn't put on ponchos or anything.

Needless to say, we spent a lot of time in those family dryers afterwards lol.

Surprised you ended up liking Big One as much as you did. I, too, revered it from the picture books I had growing up, but it ended up being just a one-and-done for me. I suspect that the trains were more uncomfortable for me being a bigger guy.

Steeplechase is an international treasure, and wars should be fought in the name of preserving it as long as possible.

[bert425]

41 minutes ago, michaellynn4 said:

I was not prepared for Valhalla when we rode it back in 2018. We just thought "oh hey, here's a fun indoor log flume ride!" Didn't put on ponchos or anything.

Needless to say, we spent a lot of time in those family dryers afterwards lol.

Surprised you ended up liking Big One as much as you did. I, too, revered it from the picture books I had growing up, but it ended up being just a one-and-done for me. I suspect that the trains were more uncomfortable for me being a bigger guy.

Steeplechase is an international treasure, and wars should be fought in the name of preserving it as long as possible.

the Ponchos REALLY didn't help all that much.

but maybe I ended up with a small dry spot in my crotch. . LOL

as to Big One?   I think it was the excitement of getting to ride it after thinking we wouldn't be able to due to wind. . . but honestly, that 1st drop is incredible.    I'd compare it to the 1st drop on Expedition GeForce - only better as it's right off the beach.     (only comparing the drop. . . Expedition GeForce is 100% a better coaster, and one of the best in the world)

[bert425]

Day 11 (pt 1) full day at Flamingo Land:

on the way to the last hotel for the trip (back near London), we stopped to spend most of the day at FlamingoLand.

this is a weird ass park - on the one hand, it's very, very run down, and seemed to be falling apart in places. 
With some pretty awful operations (most coasters were running one - or less !  no really, a coaster was running one train ops with only loading the first 4 rows). . . *but* the rides/coasters they do have offer a wide variety of thrills, and included one of my favorite coasters on the trip.

it's also a HUGE park. .that includes a zoo.   and mixed in past the zoo?  some more rides (tho these were mostly smaller rides, and I got the impression that this was the original park, and then they expanded behind the zoo to add the newer thrill rides section).   

the day we were there was overcast, and tho there was a lot SBNO - including a section with a chute the chutes and a mine train coaster that was completely shut down - and a LOT of stuff that broke while we were in line for it (tho they mainly got them back up and running fairly quickly) - AND it turned out we were there on a day that was a standard "Families with kids with special needs" day at the park (so was busy), it never really FELT crowded, as the park is so big.

and I really enjoyed chatting with some of the special needs kids while they were in line with their companions and their excitement at riding "big coasters" was contagious.

made for a wonderful day overall.

even tho the appearance of the park, and the operations, definitely get a C- ?   the day I had I'd give a high B+ to.   
(tho the SBNO monorails, train, race track, and other rides really are a giant eyesore, and they make no attempt to hide the "rotting" rides)

on to pictures!

 

it was so sad to leave Blackpool. . but at least I still had the lovely sights to see out of the bus windows

a roundabout, with the first sign I'd seen pointing us to Flamingo Land

and before too long, we pulled into a mostly empty parking lot (we had arrived before park open)

hmm. . SOME theming here.  wonder how it is thruout the park?

(answer, very hit or miss. .with some areas really themed, some areas looked like they had been themed and over the years the park just gave up, and some areas with little/no theming).

the big draw (at least for us) was staring at us right from the parking lot:

SIK - an Intamin 10 loop coaster.  it's very similar to Colossus at Thorpe Park, but with a different restraint system (and trust me, that makes ALL the difference in the world)

Inside the front gates, and tho the day started out cool, it did warm up a bit.

ok. . some nice theming near the entrance gates - tho really not sure what a pirate ship has to do with Flamingo Land.   I'd try to catch a show later to see if there is a connection.

on this side behind Sik is another (in)famous coaster here - Hero - a Zamperla Volare.   

oy.

next to it in this pic is a Disc-O, and a drop tower (neither of which were operating during our visit). . . but that station on the right and the orange track, is another coaster:
Velocity - a Zamperla MotorBike coaster (it was up and down all day, but got lucky with out skip the line passes and managed to get a ride on it).

THIS is what we were gonna start off with tho.

 

and the park does have the "classic" photo op in front of the multiple corkscrew inversions (and I could SWEAR Robb took a pic of the group there), I don't have that shot. . so here's a "not exactly lined up" shot of the multiple inversions.

walking back over to SIK before the gates open, here's a pic of Hero.

just looking around from in front of SIK while they get the morning test runs out of the way.

that blue track behind the Disc-O is Kumali - the park's Vekoma SLC.

yeah.

it's like the park has the "greatest shits" in terms of the coasters. . LOL.

and SIK is testing, yay!

here's an onride shot (that I bought on a magnet) with Stacy, me, Doug and Nick.

it shows off the different restraint system than Colossus has, and this makes is SO MUCH BETTER.   no headbang (nothing to bang against!).. and turns this into such a great ride.

by the time I got done purchasing the picture - don't ask. .it was a 15 minute shitshow - the park had opened and Velocity had already gone up and down a few times.

they got it running again, and so I headed right over, and managed to get a ride before it went down again, using our quick queue passes.

I sat out the Zamperla Volare - having already had the horrific experience of riding one of these in a park in Helsinki.  So I just took pics and waited for those I was hanging with to ride.

to be fair tho, those that did ride it?  said it was running very well, and was way smoother than they expected.

walking back over towards Mumbo Jumbo (the park's S&S El Loco), and Kumali (the park's Vekoma SLC), you have to go around this huge - and not operating today - race car attraction.    Not sure if this is SBNO or was just not open today. . .but since what looked like the loading station was all blocked off and full of storage?   I'd guess is SBNO.

a shame, as it's huge, and in the center of this whole side of the park.

 

Mumbo Jumbo was a new to me coaster. . I'd never been on an El Loco - as I've never been to Indiana Beach (for Steel Hawg) or to Adventuredome since CircusCircus put that in.

so I was nervous, but excited.

even with passes, and not much of a line, this took a while to get on, as it doesn't have the best capacity

very intimidating. . .

but those who were riding it, seemed to really be enjoying it (ignore the scowling kid in row 2. .LOL)

just as we were about to get on.. . a restraint arm fell off.

no. . really. . . bwaaa-haaa-haaaa

did not have me feeling very "safe". . .

but maintenance came out fairly quickly. . and after messing with it for a bit, just locked off that seat, and then tested and reopened the ride.

Did I like it?   not really. . I can see why others do like these El Locos, but for me, just felt a bit too.  . . "im gonna try and kill you" for me to enjoy it.

so was one and done for me, but I'm glad I got to ride one of these finally.

 

Hey Andrew!

 

speaking of "I'm going to try and kill you" rides, next up was the Vekoma SLC

this one had the upgraded train (not trains, as they were only running 1 train, and of that 1 train, were only loading the 1st 6 rows, leaving the back 4 rows empty on every cycle).
so yeah. .this one took a while to get on, especially with the apparent restrictions that special needs couldn't ride in front or back (so row 6) so the operators were pulling 2 quick queue, 4 special needs, and 4 standby line for each cycle).

was it worth the wait?

well, it actually DID ride better, I thought, than Infusion, which I had just ridden the prior day at Blackpool.    but at the end of the day, it's an SLC.

I mean..I'm smiling in the pic

back behind this ride is the closed off section where the Chute the Chutes ride is (and looks like also an SBNO swinging ship too)

this water battle ride, was not operating today. . .tho they did have the water features going, and it LOOKED like it typically does operate.

one thing I did think was interesting here was how many kiddie coasters they have.

when we visited, I think there were four, but looking at RCDB, it does appear that at least two of them closed down at the end of 2024.

this one is still operating in the park tho. 
(and you can see in this pic the SBNO Monorail. . parked in the middle of the place, so you can get excited about riding it, but it's not working)

whee. . .

I believe I DID ride this one (Runaway Mine Train) with Stacy too, even tho I tend to skip the kiddie coasters.

 

this one, called "Dino Roller" , I did not ride.   

but did take pics for those riding. . there's Nick in car 2.

and Stacy in the back row.

very interesting ferris wheel next door.

I don't think I've ever seen a "covered wagon" wheel that had so many arms.

while we were over in this area, my most anticipated coaster actually opened - tho it had been down all day thus far.

Zooom! - a Zamperla Air Force coaster.

yeah it doesn't do much, but it's my kind of dumb fun. .wheeee.

we were among the first to get over to ride, but did find that Jon and Daniel had already hopped in line and were on the cycle before us.

clouds really coming in. . was hoping it would hold off until our day was done (and it did)

this small claw ride (adjacent to zooom!) was operating, but it looked like it was SUPPOSED to be over a lake, with water features that squirt as you swing over it.

it was kinda looking sad and run-down without that in place.

Jon having a blast

me too. . .

Whee!!

another pic of a parked Monorail. . . I guess I just don't understand why have it out, if there's no way to actually ride it?

Maybe the station was back in that SBNO area they are tearing down the chute the chutes in?

I actually was interested in riding this, but it had a decent line, and there was so much more of the park to explore.

still think it's super interesting tho.

this big dino area, was another spot where they seemed to go in bigtime with some theming.

there was a spinning coaster back here too. . so we headed in.

I only seem to have taken pics of the queue line, tho we did ride it.

it's called Twistosaurus, an is a Zamperla Twister Coaster (there are some pis of it on RCDB if you're curious).

fun, but not super exciting.
 

interesting factoid posted at Twistersaurus.

looking at the park map, it appeared there was a haunted house attraction (family friendly) if we headed towards the zoo side of the park down this path.
 

so we headed that way.

quickly coming across another kiddie coaster - this one also now showing as removed at the end of 2024, called "Go Gator"

adults were NOT allowed on this one, and I could see why. . nevermind getting in the train, that track didn't look like it could support over 80 lbs.

a lovely cottage and picnic area, just in the center of a huge amusement park.

 

and then we came upon Mischief Mansion. .

ok, totally NOT an adult ride. . but man, was this embarrassing.  I was embarrassed for the park that they were even operating this.

only 3 cars working (the main operator told me they had 4 cars until last week, but one of them got stuck - and he was telling the truth, as in the ride?  the car that broke is just sitting right by the side of the track - where they pushed it against the wall - and I guess riders are just supposed to pretend they don't see it?

with only 3 cars, this one took a while, even with very small queue line.

it seemed to be aimed at the 3-4 year old crowd, which I had gathered from the cutesy monsters. . . . but id say at least 75% of the triggered effects did not work, and those that did work?  all seemed to make a fart sound.  (not that farts aren't funny to the audience I guess they were going for).

 

was told no pictures on the ride, so put my phone away, but this is from the queue.    Yeah. .that's not theming. .that's a lot of cobwebs and dead bugs in the light.

ewww. . ..     

lowest point of the visit I would say, if only because the idea of a haunt got my hopes up.

 

to be continued. . .

[bert425]

Day 11 (pt 2) full day at Flamingo Land, continued:

after the disappointment of the Haunt ride, we decided to head back towards the front of the park, where the main restaurants were.  
it was mid afternoon, and hadn't eaten yet, and we had seen posts in the group chat that the food in the pub was decent.

the decor in here certainly was "eclectic"

and the food was "typical bar food". .but that's fine, because it actually was all pretty good.

the mozzarella sticks :

and my Ham & Swiss with loaded nacho fries.

we had a couple of hours left before time to meet the bus, so took the opportunity of being near the front gate, to check out the gift shop.

capybaras !!

then checking out the time, decided to venture way over to the other side of the park for the zoo portion.

lazy afternoon for the lion pride.

lovely Giraffe enclosure, surrounded by what looked like tracks for a SBNO train.   perhaps it only operates on certain days?  too bad, as it would have given some great views.
This park most certainly can use a train or a monorail. . as it's a TON of walking, due to it being so big.

monkeys, and free roaming peacocks. .that were everywhere!

 

hmm. that's one way to ensure the big cats don't hide from visitors during the day - chain a big chunk of meat to the central enclosure.

tho the Red Panda didn't seem to need any coaxing to be out.

so cute!

what's this????

ah. there's a "zoo area only" monorail.. and if I had found it a bit earlier, absolutely would have ridden it. 

but the station was difficult to find, and I was worried I wouldn't have time to check out the rest of the park.  Nice to know at least one of the "sit and enjoy the view" rides (as I call them) was working today tho.

thru the elephant enclosure, you can see just how far away from the SLC coaster we are - and there's still a whole nother "land" behind me.

speaking of that other land. . . getting to it, and more free range Peacocks

it looks like this at one point was a main entrance to the zoo?   perhaps it's now the resort entrance?
 

very small kiddie carousel here. . at least they had one, even if it's a tiny one.  (but no, didn't try to ride it)

and a few other assorted kiddie rides.

that's why I'm guessing this park started out as a zoo.. but they slowly added thrill rides, and expanded out to the left.

mini-ponies!

and a whole "Peter Rabbit" section, that included a maze, and obstacle course, a gift shop / library (closed today) and a castle.

and back behind the castle - hidden with NO signs, and not on any map I could find - was a classic carousel.

i know it wasn't on the maps, because I tried to tell Stacy I had found a carousel, so she could come ride it with Myself and Nick. . but she wasn't able to find it, and kept getting directed to the kiddie carousel.

called "the Gallopers". . . I was so happy to see this, and of course immediately hopped in line to ride it.

I *believe* I ended up on Twister. . but can't really recall.

still. . . Carousels are my happy place.   and Nick seems to be enjoying it too.

we looped back around the far side of the zoo to head back to the main gate / bus.

as you can see, the sky cleared and it ended up being a beautiful day.

more roaming Peacock

I believe a buzzard

sleepy meerkats

antelope hiding in the tall grass

a meerkat keeping watch

while others dig for bugs

and happy piggies in mud

a photo op?  why yes, please

that's one way to make use of a dead branch that must be cut. . . carve into an owl.

we got back to the front gate as the pirate show was going on.

not sure what a pirate show has to do with Flamingo Land. . but I guess it explains the Pirate Ship stage. 

and there was a ton of kiddie / crowd involvement - those kids at the very front, expected to be chosen to participate.

and the cast stuck around afterwards for photos .. . so of course!

arrrrrghhhhhh!!!

and this guy seems to be the mascot of the park.

yeah.. I don't really understand it either. . why a Parrot for FLAMINGOLand?    but hey, was cool to meet a mascot.

and with that, we all headed to the bus and made our way towards the last hotel for the trip.

on the group thread, either Andy or perhaps Brad shared these pics they had taken in the zoo portion.   

thought they were great enough to share. . .especially this first one.

later that night, in the hotel, Stacy had a dilemna.

she had gotten her bottle of Iron Maiden wine. . but how to get it home?   no liquid allowed in that qty on the plane.

well, the answer was to drink it of course, so she headed to me room and we drank like Troopers.

and with that, it was time to go to bed.

one final park before the trip was done. .and it was another surprise one.

[Nrthwnd]

Same happened for us, back around the 2006 TPR tour. I TPR toured it there, twice, first had one of those clone corkscrews; the 2nd visit (2010) had the replacement motor cycle (?) coaster. Very speedy that was. BUT - still "No Adults" on that kids' only one. I remember one of the group, who was 11, touring with his mom - no go - was turned away. That was sad to watch. The dark ride was just new back then, so I guess it's seen better years.  And Kumali was GREAT back in 2006! I think I rode it several times, during our visit there that year. One of the more perfect SLCs imHo. And then I rode/loved/lived on Mumbo Jumbo on the 2010 Tour...bliss. Wanted it here in Vancouer at Playland. But we got ThunderVOLT instead. <sighs>

Good TR on it and the zoo, Bert!

[BobloLives]

It really looks like they just need a better owner -- decent variety of quirky coasters, spacious, could be pretty. Seems like they would need a moderately themed log flume and maybe a family woodie. And to fix everything that is broken. Great virtual tour, thank you!

[bert425]

39 minutes ago, BobloLives said:

It really looks like they just need a better owner -- decent variety of quirky coasters, spacious, could be pretty. Seems like they would need a moderately themed log flume and maybe a family woodie. And to fix everything that is broken. Great virtual tour, thank you!

if I understood correctly, and perhaps Robb or Elissa can confirm - the section of the park that was closed off - where the Chute the Chutes ride is/was, was intended to reopen with a log flume.