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.

[bert425]

got way far behind, with so much stuff going on since my last update here (SFOT Coasterthon, Holiday World Holliwood Nights, SFFT Roller Coaster Rodeo). . but gonna do my best to catch up on several reports over the next week or so!

Day 12 (pt 1) 1/2 day stop at our final (and surprise) park, Gulliver's Land:

Owned by the same company that owns Gulliver's World - that we stopped into earlier on the trip - this was the 2nd (of the 4 I believe) "Gulliver's Park" in the UK.

this one was bigger and had larger rides than Gulliver's World had, and seemed a bit more geared towards older kids/teens - with some bigger and more thrilling rides. 
And as we were here on a Weekend day, there were way more families visiting as well, so we weren't the odd adults in a park full of small children and it was way less weird  

it was a bit overcast off and on, but never really got anything more than a slight drizzle.

added bonus is that we got to say hi to Caroline, who is local and swung by the park to meet up with us.

you can tell from outside the park, that it's a little more adult ride wise than Gulliver's World had been.

TPR is ready to enjoy Gulliver's Land!

the main street USA version for this park.    

the Castle at the end housed a restaurant in the bottom, and a playground area on the top.

Dragon Siege was small, but intense.

loved the theming.

and yes, it went upside-down for full rotations

this is behind the castle, and is the large Gulliver's Travels ride (it would open up in a short bit), and the upper level, over the bridge from the top of the castle, was a HUGE fairy tale walk thru area, called "Once Upon A Time" - that really had to be experienced, as describing it sells it short. (pics of that in part 2)

a small jungle raft ride was also well themed

thruout the park there were these push button kiosks that had animatronics inside them.  

not all worked, but all of them were entertaining.

the Orangutan Band was near the jungle river ride.

so was the animatronic snake.

3 family coasters at this park.

1st up was the racing coaster, called Grand Prix Racers, and I think it was an exact clone of the one at Gulliver's World

 

tons of rides scattered thruout the park, including smaller rides for the little ones.  Like this little race track.

and a Pony Express (that adults weren't allowed to ride. . . sad face)

not a bad log flume for a park this size. . 

and TONS of photo ops all over the place.

there was a shooting dark ride, the Silver Mine, that was fairly popular. . tho I seem to recall a lot of the targets didn't do a whole lot.

but most of us rode it.

an overview of the park, via a park map.

it's a fairy good size 

the interactive Fort area, with lots of things to climb on and swing on.

the park's 2nd coaster is called "Runaway Train" and is a Zamperla family coaster.

as the Bear out front told me, it was located in "Western World"

over here was also a smaller train ride.

I had to wait a cycle (and then was the only rider), but was told it was ok for adults to ride, so I took a spin on it.

I rode in the Caboose, and the operator was kind enough to snap a picture for me.

I rode the flume too, and it did get me fairly moist 

by now the Gulliver's Travels ride was open, so headed back over that way.

it has the same ride system as the Princess ride at Gulliver's World, so I was prepared to love it.   (and had been told there's an amazing scene inside)

yup. . a full sized Gulliver, being tied down by little men. . LOL

also lots of princesses. . or fairies. . I dunno.    not many of my onride pics came out usable.

but of course I LOVED it, and rode it a few times.

as did Stacy & Nick

and Robb & Elissa

and Jack & Jackie

anyone who knows me, knows I love photo ops . . especially with park mascots.

so I was in heaven when so many of the Gulliver's mascots were out and about today.

I still have NO idea what the one on my left is. . (the one on the right is a bunny, I think). . but the one on the left?

an anthropomorphic squash?

and Gulliver's Girlfriend!!

the third coaster in the park, is an indoor roller skater called the Crazy Mouse.

it was a coaster, and it was indoors.  and it had some big props.. . .  these pics are from the loading station, but the park does its best to keep the riders in the dark, as there's no description or view of the coaster from the queue line, and in fact the keep the doors to inside closed, and only open them up to load the next riders onto the platform.

this pic is from the platform, before I put my phone away

see?  big props.

some pics of the playground area on top of the castle (before heading across the bridge to the walkthru).

it looked like they were doing some construction up here, so the area was roped off.

we still had some time at the park, so some of us headed over to the jungle rapids ride.

a "snug" fit, but fun.

 

to be continued. . .

[bert425]

Day 12 (pt 2) 1/2 day stop at our final (and surprise) park, Gulliver's Land:

across the bridge (and on the top floor over the Gulliver's Travels ride), is the bonkers "Once Upon a Time" walkthru.

a play area that has tons of animatronics, and some of the fugliest mannequins I've seen in a while  

there are multiple paths one can follow thru this exhibit, and some slides.

I went the direction the cute bears told me to go 

a proper teddy in the fairy lights

and possibly the same fairy that was in the Gulliver's Travels ride ?

I learned that day that Fairies have no knees and therefore cannot bend their legs.  no wonder they fly

blinking and talking trees.

not creepy at ALL

oh. .it's Narnia over here. . .   LOL.  and I just *now* in this picture, noticed the Wardrobe. . . 

oooo.. my type of place

in a Christmasy area. .  so I think an elf?   or maybe a child leaving out snacks for Santa?

for some reason, I always seem to find a Cow on my travels.

this one looks like it's from Jack and the Beanstalk

hmmmm. . . I've seen that face on some type of doll before

Alice in Wonderland!

lots of the flowers, and the animals, all moved

we're in fairy tale land, so why not a baby dragon?

Goldilocks?   maybe??  'tis another bear tho!

not exactly the most attractive Snow White I've ever seen.  . but the animals moved, and she "breathed" 

No Prince in sight to kiss her tho.

this tree knows what's up!

coming back down, I noticed Merlin (I think) in one of the displays that you could have pushed a button to activate - if this playground area had been open.

the park also has a decent hedge maze, tho made for the smaller kiddos, so we could "cheat" and look over the top.

tho in the center is a raised lookout, so we headed in to get a good view of the park.

the hedge maze dead ends were pictures of dangerous animals. . LOL

from the lookout tho, a fantastic view, as the weather had moved off for the moment.

it's a dragon!

there's some of the TPR gang, including Chris, Shane, Hawk, Doug, and Caroline. . .  I see a beer on the table, so the restaurant in the castle must have opened.

another gaggle of TPR folks, including Jon, Andy, Collin, and some others.. .   it was getting close to time to head out, so many were gathering near the front of the park.

Andy spotted us taking pictures, so snapped one of us in the lookout.

thanks Andy!

there really is a nice view from up here.

I headed off for the last 40 minutes or so to explore the one section of the park I hadn't been in.

there wasn't a lot open over here on this side, but it was still lovely.

there's what looked like an area for meet and greet, and a puppet show theatre, but neither were in use today.

there WERE a few folks lined up for the short Antique Car track. . tho the monorail upstairs wasn't in operation today.

I wonder if perhaps this area used to be the main entrance plaza?  it's at the right hand side of the front of the park, and there's a large Gulliver Statue over here.

and also an animatronic Gulliver, that had a broken push-button to activate 

no takers to play in the shoe today.

tho the Tea Cups were drawing some to this area.

as I said, lovely tho.

as it was getting to be time to head out (and the rain clouds were moving in) the Park started a show in the main plaza area.

that included several characters out on balconies, and bubbles.

and with that, and a slight drizzle started, we said our goodbyes to Gulliver's Land, and headed back to the bus.

a short while later, we pulled into what appeared to be a very large mall. 

it was close to closing time, but the restaurant where we were having our goodbye meal was here.   They weren't quite ready for us in the private room, so some of us headed out to look around for 15 minutes or so.

the ice cream cone chairs are adorable!

LOL. . small Batman Carousel in the mall.

shortly tho, we were called back to PizzaExpress, as it was time for dinner.

hey look at that!  I DID finish before the 1 year mark

one of several tables set up for us in the upstairs room.  (thanks Hawk for the picture!)

the pizza was really great, and even the deserts were fantastic.

after a great meal, and some visiting, we headed back to the bus, that took us to Heathrow.

officially our trip was now over, but I had a fantastic, bucket list checking off, time.

many of us were staying overnight at the hotel for flights the next day. . but the TPR portion of the trip was now over.

once again, I sincerely thank Robb and Elissa for allowing me the privilege to join along on this trip.   it allowed me to visit places I had only dreamed about. . and made several dreams actually come true.

once we got to the hotel, I checked into my room, showered, and immediately went to bed. . it had been an exhausting trip, but worth EVERY moment.

[bert425]

Final Hotel, flight home, and swag!

 

the hotel at Heathrow was pretty nice

I believe these pics were taken by Andy, who had gone up to the rooftop bar. . he shared with with the chat thread, so I snagged em to share too.

the next morning, Stacy and I had breakfast at the hotel before I headed to the Airport proper for my flight (I believe she headed back into London for the day as she had a later flight)

this was my seatmate on the plane.

it turned out she was the Pilot's wife, and he was texting her during the flight.   So that's how I found out way earlier than everyone else on the plane that we were being diverted to Newark and we were NOT going to make it to Houston due to a hurricane in the gulf.

that's a whole other story, I wont' get into, but I will say i've flown enough that I refused to recheck my bag after customs so I could sit in the airport all day while they promised our flight would be going out later that day, only to cancel it 7 hours later (while I was soaking in the tub in the hotel they had gotten for me when rebooking me for the next day for a direct flight home to Austin).

anyways, I wasn't too panicked, but I DID manage to hurt myself in the Newark airport. . at least didnt' break anything and will spare y'all the pics.   

the first meal on the flight was very good. 

too bad we never got the 2nd one (they gave us vouchers to use in the airport, that didn't work. . oh well, I eventually got home).

onto Swag!

Swag from my two full days in London before the trip officially started:

swag from the "Spirited Away" show I saw on the West End

Swag from the day spent at the Tower of London: 

 

Thorpe Park: 

\

Chessington World of Adventures:

Oakwood Theme Park (R.I.P.) 

 

Alton Manor:   (I liked a LOT of stuff here)

 

 

Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 

Barry Island (where "Gavin and Stacy" was set. .hence the shirts)

and tons of magnets from every stop!

 

 

 

[Nrthwnd]

That's sad about Oakwood closing. It was actually one of my favourite parks in previous UK tours.

And my #100 was there - Clown Coaster, naturally. 

Do you know, or anyone else (Elissa? Robb?) that this was the only amusement park in Wales?  Just curious.

And so --- many --- t-shirts you got !!! As well, that's a mighty collection of magnets, too.

It was great following you on your UK trip, Bert. 

[bert425]

26 minutes ago, Nrthwnd said:

That's sad about Oakwood closing. It was actually one of my favourite parks in previous UK tours.

And my #100 was there - Clown Coaster, naturally. 

Do you know, or anyone else (Elissa? Robb?) that this was the only amusement park in Wales?  Just curious.

And so --- many --- t-shirts you got !!! As well, that's a mighty collection of magnets, too.

It was great following you on your UK trip, Bert. 

Barry Island is in Wales.

tho not an "amusement park". . it's a great collection of carnival type rides, including a few small coasters

https://rcdb.com/r.htm?ot=3&ex&ol=26112