Smithy
Strata Poster
Spent my weekend up in Yorkshire with a 'day' at each of these parks. I say a 'day' because We spent about 5 hours at FL when it was open for 7 and 3 hours at LWV when it was open for 6 and a half. Was my third time to FL and first visit to LWV, but having not been up that neck of the woods for 6 years or so there was plenty of changes that they both felt like relatively new parks.
Flamingo Land first;
Got there about midday to find out Kumali was shut for the day. Bit annoying but not a major loss. Decided as the little mine-train credit was running we got that done first. Painful. About all I can remember from it. Recurring theme. Then over to Velocity. Always had a soft spot for it, but it was better than I can remember it and I have no shame in saying it's the best launch coaster I've been on, easily. Launch is just right, forceful but not uncomfortable (though on 1 ride I'm certain I became a Newton's cradle), dips and dives work well and the bunny hop before the brakes is one of my favourite elements on any coaster I've been on.
Wanted to get Hero done with and after a short wait whilst a ride op rubbed some grease off with some tissue paper we got on. First impressions (in an outside seat) were that it was an uncomfortable position with stuff in your pockets, made all the more worse by being thrown back and forth and left and right. Awful ride. Gf loved it. Go figure. Mumbo Jumbo next, the only ride which had any sort of queue all day. First drop was brilliant, overbank wasn't as noticeable as I thought, hangtime wasn't that uncomfortable either. Decent filler coaster.
Got the rest of the credits sorted (no Go Gator though obvs), nothing memorable about them. Decided to get some lunch, not many options given most of the stalls were shut. Settled on a burger and chips which looked a mile better than they tasted. Went round the zoo to let the burger bun settle (can still feel it in the bottom of my stomach it was that dense), the walkway around most of the enclosures is good but the penguins stick out like a sore thumb. Entire zoo is very well done though, part of the reason I like FL so much. Went on one of the walkthroughs they have where you can get close-up to the animals and saw a baby joey stick his head out of his mums pouch. Lots of awwwwwing and ahhhhing later and we dragged ourselves away to watch the bird show. Very good, was expecting some typical parrot-on-a-unicycle-shtick but they had a wide variety of birds, wide variety of demonstrations and knowledge offered, culminating on the birds performing fly-overs to the extent I took a turkey vulture to the forehead and a few wing flaps from a parrot to the head. All good fun.
Gf then decided to pay £20 for a meerkat experience, I wasn't fussed, she loved it. Only person on it so she was in the enclosure with all the meerkats crawling all over her eating off her trousers for a good twenty five minutes. After that we had abut half hour left so decided to get on Flip Flop. I hate flat rides, didn't mind this one too much and the water aspect of it was enjoyable with random people getting wet feet. Then over to Velocity for some re-rides. Kept going up and up in my estimation, think we got on it 3 more times with a mini-gap to get on Hero one last time before the park closed at 5pm. Which, despite Trip Advisor morons whinging about being early because they stay open until 6pm in Summer (cretins do you even logic), was spot on as the park was bustling without ever being busy. Last go on Hero btw was on an inside seat where I got thrown around a lot less and it was a lot better, Gf on the outside hated it.
Overall, I left still with the opinion that Flamingo Land is one of my favourite parks, easily second best in the country behind Alton for me. If it was just a theme park, or just a zoo, then it'd be so-so, but as an attraction I really do love the place. They've made such a good effort with the water zone (place that in PA somewhere and it'd be lauded), the new dino zone is very good too. Didn't notice too many problems with operations and the food whilst not great was nowhere near as bad as I've eaten at theme parks.
Checked in at our hotel just down the road, literally, and then headed off to Scarborough for some tea. Went for a climb up to the castle beforehand, nice little trek, great views over a grey and dingy seafront. Eventually found a chippy that was open (at 7pm on a Saturday night at the end of April) and gf played up to my northern roots by asking for a tray of scraps (having been brought up in the south and only heard of this delicacy from my family).
Sat by the beach to eat and saw a young lad playing fetch with an imaginary dog. Seriously. Was throwing a tennis ball and chasing after it with a dog lead in tow. Until an actual dog came and caught the tennis ball in it's mouth, and ran off. And said young lad gave chase with his imaginary dog. I'm literally in tears picturing it now and writing about it.
Also left Scarborough not sure if this was an advert for a local newspaper or an advert for a local business.
Sunday we set off for LWV which was an hour or so away from where we were staying, gorgeous and terrifying drive down steep declines which cooked my brakes and over giant hills over which you could see for miles. Sutton-Under-Whitestonecliffe in case anyone knows that way. Eventually found the entrance appear out of the blue, and on the long drive up to the front saw absolutely no activity whatsoever. The car park was mostly empty though a coach load full of screaming kids meant at least we weren't alone within the park. First stop was Angry Birds Land. Brilliantly done, can't speak highly enough of the job they've done on the first play area, it's longevity is questionable but for the moment at least it's very good.
Their mouse coaster, however, is not. **** hell, nearly broke me. They gave us the usual warning, arms inside the car, remain seated etc.... and finished with ''be prepared for a sudden stop''. Right. That's fine. What she should have said was be prepared to round the final bend and then immediately stop, sending your heads flying in whichever direction you tend to have spun on the final corner. Luckily, I just rocked sideways and held myself out of harms reach but if I hadn't I'd have smashed my head off the side of the car and probably have done some serious damage. ****.
Ultimate next. Train full of screaming brats made the lifts oh so enjoyable :x First drop was alright, first few hills good, random bunny hops were a bit lame. Second drop was very good, but then **** me what on Earth happens then?! I'm still unsure if I enjoyed it or not, it was like nothing I've ever experienced on a coaster, sheer out-of-control insanity to the extent I was physically scared, but it was also too rough to be enjoyable or immediately re-rideable.
After some disgusting and expensive nachos, we went on Raptor Attack. Absolute gem. Up there with the best themed rides in the country, easily the best queueline. Other credits mopped up straight after, and after just under 2 hours we were lookin for things to do. The water slide was good, then decided to try Eagles Claw as I reasoned that it wasn't too dissimilar to Flip Flop. Wrong. As above, I hate flat rides, and that it started to rain just as we boarded didn't help, rain in the face at full swing was a killer. Felt extremely forceful on a few of the swings, wasn't a fan. Had a sample of the most amazing fudge I've ever tasted, went on a train ride around the park and then settled on a sausage bap from the little cafe inside the entrance. Quick walk around the falconary which seemed utterly pointless and just tacked onto the side with pens far too small and birds out on display trying to fly and pick at their shackles but getting nowhere put a bit of a downer on it (underplaying a massive issue/discussion point ino). Think it was about 3 hours in total we were on park and that included sitting down to eat and a full loop on the train.
So yeah, LWV. Would have been annoyed if I'd have driven all the way up there just to visit but coupled with FL it was a decent weekend. It just seemed like a fair ground with fair ground rides, the odd bit of money spent here and there and that's it. The mouse coaster, the rapids, they're just sort of fair-ground rides plonked where they had space RCT style. There's no sort of logic to the location of some of the rides, some are randomly out on their own (poor lass working the swans on the lake looked like she'd not had human contact for hours) and others are themed well and clustered as a themed 'area' (pirate cove area). In no rush to go back and would be peeved if I paid full price, but few complaints about our day there today.
Lots of text there, my bad. I've gone back and thrown some random pictures in to break it up a bit.
Flamingo Land first;
Got there about midday to find out Kumali was shut for the day. Bit annoying but not a major loss. Decided as the little mine-train credit was running we got that done first. Painful. About all I can remember from it. Recurring theme. Then over to Velocity. Always had a soft spot for it, but it was better than I can remember it and I have no shame in saying it's the best launch coaster I've been on, easily. Launch is just right, forceful but not uncomfortable (though on 1 ride I'm certain I became a Newton's cradle), dips and dives work well and the bunny hop before the brakes is one of my favourite elements on any coaster I've been on.
Wanted to get Hero done with and after a short wait whilst a ride op rubbed some grease off with some tissue paper we got on. First impressions (in an outside seat) were that it was an uncomfortable position with stuff in your pockets, made all the more worse by being thrown back and forth and left and right. Awful ride. Gf loved it. Go figure. Mumbo Jumbo next, the only ride which had any sort of queue all day. First drop was brilliant, overbank wasn't as noticeable as I thought, hangtime wasn't that uncomfortable either. Decent filler coaster.
Got the rest of the credits sorted (no Go Gator though obvs), nothing memorable about them. Decided to get some lunch, not many options given most of the stalls were shut. Settled on a burger and chips which looked a mile better than they tasted. Went round the zoo to let the burger bun settle (can still feel it in the bottom of my stomach it was that dense), the walkway around most of the enclosures is good but the penguins stick out like a sore thumb. Entire zoo is very well done though, part of the reason I like FL so much. Went on one of the walkthroughs they have where you can get close-up to the animals and saw a baby joey stick his head out of his mums pouch. Lots of awwwwwing and ahhhhing later and we dragged ourselves away to watch the bird show. Very good, was expecting some typical parrot-on-a-unicycle-shtick but they had a wide variety of birds, wide variety of demonstrations and knowledge offered, culminating on the birds performing fly-overs to the extent I took a turkey vulture to the forehead and a few wing flaps from a parrot to the head. All good fun.
Gf then decided to pay £20 for a meerkat experience, I wasn't fussed, she loved it. Only person on it so she was in the enclosure with all the meerkats crawling all over her eating off her trousers for a good twenty five minutes. After that we had abut half hour left so decided to get on Flip Flop. I hate flat rides, didn't mind this one too much and the water aspect of it was enjoyable with random people getting wet feet. Then over to Velocity for some re-rides. Kept going up and up in my estimation, think we got on it 3 more times with a mini-gap to get on Hero one last time before the park closed at 5pm. Which, despite Trip Advisor morons whinging about being early because they stay open until 6pm in Summer (cretins do you even logic), was spot on as the park was bustling without ever being busy. Last go on Hero btw was on an inside seat where I got thrown around a lot less and it was a lot better, Gf on the outside hated it.
Overall, I left still with the opinion that Flamingo Land is one of my favourite parks, easily second best in the country behind Alton for me. If it was just a theme park, or just a zoo, then it'd be so-so, but as an attraction I really do love the place. They've made such a good effort with the water zone (place that in PA somewhere and it'd be lauded), the new dino zone is very good too. Didn't notice too many problems with operations and the food whilst not great was nowhere near as bad as I've eaten at theme parks.
Checked in at our hotel just down the road, literally, and then headed off to Scarborough for some tea. Went for a climb up to the castle beforehand, nice little trek, great views over a grey and dingy seafront. Eventually found a chippy that was open (at 7pm on a Saturday night at the end of April) and gf played up to my northern roots by asking for a tray of scraps (having been brought up in the south and only heard of this delicacy from my family).
Sat by the beach to eat and saw a young lad playing fetch with an imaginary dog. Seriously. Was throwing a tennis ball and chasing after it with a dog lead in tow. Until an actual dog came and caught the tennis ball in it's mouth, and ran off. And said young lad gave chase with his imaginary dog. I'm literally in tears picturing it now and writing about it.
Also left Scarborough not sure if this was an advert for a local newspaper or an advert for a local business.
Sunday we set off for LWV which was an hour or so away from where we were staying, gorgeous and terrifying drive down steep declines which cooked my brakes and over giant hills over which you could see for miles. Sutton-Under-Whitestonecliffe in case anyone knows that way. Eventually found the entrance appear out of the blue, and on the long drive up to the front saw absolutely no activity whatsoever. The car park was mostly empty though a coach load full of screaming kids meant at least we weren't alone within the park. First stop was Angry Birds Land. Brilliantly done, can't speak highly enough of the job they've done on the first play area, it's longevity is questionable but for the moment at least it's very good.
Their mouse coaster, however, is not. **** hell, nearly broke me. They gave us the usual warning, arms inside the car, remain seated etc.... and finished with ''be prepared for a sudden stop''. Right. That's fine. What she should have said was be prepared to round the final bend and then immediately stop, sending your heads flying in whichever direction you tend to have spun on the final corner. Luckily, I just rocked sideways and held myself out of harms reach but if I hadn't I'd have smashed my head off the side of the car and probably have done some serious damage. ****.
Ultimate next. Train full of screaming brats made the lifts oh so enjoyable :x First drop was alright, first few hills good, random bunny hops were a bit lame. Second drop was very good, but then **** me what on Earth happens then?! I'm still unsure if I enjoyed it or not, it was like nothing I've ever experienced on a coaster, sheer out-of-control insanity to the extent I was physically scared, but it was also too rough to be enjoyable or immediately re-rideable.
After some disgusting and expensive nachos, we went on Raptor Attack. Absolute gem. Up there with the best themed rides in the country, easily the best queueline. Other credits mopped up straight after, and after just under 2 hours we were lookin for things to do. The water slide was good, then decided to try Eagles Claw as I reasoned that it wasn't too dissimilar to Flip Flop. Wrong. As above, I hate flat rides, and that it started to rain just as we boarded didn't help, rain in the face at full swing was a killer. Felt extremely forceful on a few of the swings, wasn't a fan. Had a sample of the most amazing fudge I've ever tasted, went on a train ride around the park and then settled on a sausage bap from the little cafe inside the entrance. Quick walk around the falconary which seemed utterly pointless and just tacked onto the side with pens far too small and birds out on display trying to fly and pick at their shackles but getting nowhere put a bit of a downer on it (underplaying a massive issue/discussion point ino). Think it was about 3 hours in total we were on park and that included sitting down to eat and a full loop on the train.
So yeah, LWV. Would have been annoyed if I'd have driven all the way up there just to visit but coupled with FL it was a decent weekend. It just seemed like a fair ground with fair ground rides, the odd bit of money spent here and there and that's it. The mouse coaster, the rapids, they're just sort of fair-ground rides plonked where they had space RCT style. There's no sort of logic to the location of some of the rides, some are randomly out on their own (poor lass working the swans on the lake looked like she'd not had human contact for hours) and others are themed well and clustered as a themed 'area' (pirate cove area). In no rush to go back and would be peeved if I paid full price, but few complaints about our day there today.
Lots of text there, my bad. I've gone back and thrown some random pictures in to break it up a bit.
I've just not had a bad experience there I guess. They did have other encounters for £20, saw some people with Lemur's crawling all over them.
