The park really couldn’t have done any more for us! The behind the scenes tour was superb, the marquee was brilliant and all the little surprises and bonuses they kept producing for us were fantastic. It felt like Christmas morning!

The Chessington Trip was absolutely fantastic! Thanks must go to the staff for the backstage tour (the Bubbleworks walk was excellent!)

It was good to put some faces to names on a social basis rather than the usual mad dashing for ERSs etc.

Thanks also to Lee and the guys for doing all they could for us. The mouse mats and pens was a nice gesture that rounded the day off perfectly.

This was my first ever visit to Chessington, and seeing it in an undressed, empty state gave me a chance to appreciate the level of theming in the park. I was very impressed and will just have to visit now in season!

We had always wanted to do an out of season event – it seems wrong to do so much within the March to October period, so adding something to break up the long wait for the new season to start was always going to be a good idea. It then made total sense to combine it with an Annual General Meeting (AGM). We could all get together, discuss any Club matters that needed discussing, and add to the mix some speakers, and maybe a behind the scenes tour.

We picked Chessington for the first AGM – we had done an Alton out of season trip the year before, but it wasn’t really an AGM. The reason for this choice was that we have a great relationship with the staff there, and Lee Glyde and James Paulding put on a great event for us. Their tour allowed the group to walk around Professor Burp’s without the water, to scrabble around the Log Flume, again sans water, and to walk around the Vampire course, including through the tunnel. It’s the perfect opportunity to do stuff that would just not be possible if the park were in operation.

It was a great way to start off our out of season AGM, and it’s a trip that is now firmly set in our calendar.

We were also very lucky to have John Wardley in attendance, who regaled us with various stories about the park. He was also the recipient of two Club awards.

Great time out at Southport even if it did pour down. I really enjoyed my first trip, especially the ERS on TraumaTizer and the Cyclone. I also really enjoyed the mad half hour in the Fun House. I shall most definitely be there at the next trip. I just hope we see some sunshine.

Many thanks to everyone involved for another excellent trip. Let’s hope that the weather is better next time. Still, it didn’t stop everyone having a laugh!

This event had a different start to it; we had intended not to visit this year, due primarily to a busy trip schedule for the year. However, I received a phone call from the park to ask when are you coming this year, just before our first AGM at Chessington World of Adventures. So after a quick chat we decided to go for it and arrange a trip there.

As I have said before, Pleasureland trips are always popular, and will be continuing every year for the foreseeable future. Exclusive sessions were had in the new revamped Fun House, Cyclone, TraumaTizer as well as meals and refreshments in the Casablanca restaurant.

Unfortunately, like the previous year, the track walk was cancelled again due to the weather, so we hope that we will be lucky with the weather for this on next year’s trip.

The Pleasureland trip has been an annual event since the Club was formed – this is mainly due to the great staff there who always go out of their way to help us. Allowing members to do the track walk is also a fantastic part of this trip, although is has rained on more than one occasion, causing its cancellation.

The take over of Stormforce 10 went pretty well! “How many people are there in your party?” “Ninety” we replied!

A big thank you too all those involved in the organisation. A really great day topped off by a good 90 mins on Shockwave and as for backwards riding… It’s insane but I loved it.

This was was my first ever ECC trip and it was brilliant! We certainly got our money’s worth and the roast lunch was great. Apocalypse has to be the single most terrifying ride I have ever been on, standing up anyway.

This was our first Club trip to Drayton Manor and the start of the now infamous roast dinner lunch at the Hamilton Suite. It was interesting to see a park offer us something above the norm with regards the park meal that was part of the trip.

We had no idea what to expect from the park on our first visit but they certainly pulled out all the stops for us. To start we had a 90 minute ERS on Apocalypse, although we had only asked for an hour! To me Apocalypse is probably the scariest drop tower in the UK. It still “gets” me even though I’ve now ridden it scores of times.

The rest of the day went off really well. It was one of the first times we’d had something more substantial than burger and chips, and what a difference it made. It was great to see so many happy faces munching their way through a 3-course silver service dinner. I really value the social side of the trips and the lunchtime is the best time to get everyone together so they can chat and make new friends. The setting at Drayton is perfect for this, which is why it’s one of my favourite trips of the year.

Impromptu ride take-overs happened during the day. Of course we all get soaking wet on Stormforce 10 but that’s half the fun… I’m sure that members of the public thought we were just a bunch of madmen (and women)!

Drayton Manor made us all feel very welcome and the trip has already established itself a regular slot in the trip calendar.

Many thanks to John, the park management and all others involved with this excellent trip.

I think Valhalla is now the finest indoor water ride in Europe. It is just spectacular! It is worth getting completely drenched just to see the effects. They are breathtaking. Especially the water vortex, and the lightning section (which was a lot more powerful than last year).

Thanks for all the ERSs. We got into double figures on the Big One and 19 on Ice Blast. I loved the Ice Show (but then I have seen it 14 times so far this season). How about a back stage tour in wardrobe and the new recording studio next year. Also – what about a Valhalla walk?

What a great weekend with loads of ERSs. The behind the scenes tour was very informative. The BPB Staff really look after you. Thank you.

I was lucky enough to go to the Blackpool trip on the Saturday. It was brilliant. I had a great time and the ERS on the Big One was amazing. I was trying to work out just how good value the trip was. The value of my nine rides on The Big One alone fully covered what I had paid for the trip and I got everything else (the Rollercoaster, lunch etc) for free.

Our fourth visit to BPB and my first one in charge “proper.” I had a hard act to follow because Mark Cook and Chris McFarlane had done such good jobs in the past few years.

I wanted to start my BPB trip career off with something different, but at the last minute it was cancelled. We had decided to offer a behind the scenes tour of BPB on the Sunday. What we were hoping to add this year was a chance to see Valhalla with the lights on, but unfortunately due to operating requirements, we didn’t get the OK from JR. At least the tour took in the River Caves as well as looking under the Derby Racer and Hiram Maxim’s Flying Machine. The tours are always interesting and offer some unique photo opportunities.

Dolly was up to his usual form and proceeded to embarrass me again during lunch, much to the amusement of the other attendees. It was great that he and I had this “understanding” and got on so well because it made arranging the trips so much easier! My dad (who was a regular attendee on the WKW trips) always got a bit worried when Brian was in the area. I don’t know why!

Our Saturday ERSs were on the Big One and the Rollercoaster. Sunday saw us have the familiar joint Grand National and Ice Blast ERS.

This year was the year that I decided to do the lesser-known rides at BPB rather than the main white-knuckle attractions. I hadn’t realised how many hidden gems BPB had “on park.” Particular favourites included the Gold Mine and Noah’s Ark. Blackpool Pleasure Beach really is a special place.

Personally, I loved the Bakken Woodie best, especially when Hans the ‘no-brake’ man was in charge. The Tivoli woodie was excellent, even though it was quite small. When we sat in the back seat on the last morning during the rain, both Mick and I thought the cars were actually leaving the track as the train sped around the bends.

BonBon Land was fun, particularly the ‘Scream and Screech Slide’, which looked like a predecessor to the Hammerhead Stall we saw at Vekoma, but much, much smaller. We enjoyed the Valhalla Haunted Swing at Tivoli, Viking Expedition at Tusenfryd and Dino World II at Linnanmäki. These were just some of the ‘different’ rides which we found at the parks. Thanks to all who organised the trip for us, also thanks to the parks for treating us so well.

Well what a trip the Coolest Coaster Tour was. One of the best, if not the absolute best coaster trip we have ever done – all good parks, good hotels and not too much time spent on a coach. All of the parks had a good selection of attractions and atmosphere that I could not liken to anything in the UK.

Tivoli was the first park of the trip and there was nothing organised for us for the Saturday evening. This gave us enough time to sample many of the attractions and take in the atmosphere of the park. It is quite easy to see how Disney and others could be inspired by this park.

The Rutschebanen was a good fun Scenic Railway. Tivoli also had one of the best Mack powered coasters, the Odin Express, which seemed to be one of the fastest about. Slangen (Snake) was the park’s other coaster and was very similar to Parc Asterix’s Vol d’Icare which was also good fun.

The following day saw us visit Bakken, which is the oldest operating amusement park in the world. This park didn’t have a pay one-price option, but we were given ride tickets and our trip passes got us on the Rutschebanen, which is the best Scenic I have ever ridden, especially when there was just Club members on and they were running it flat out. The entrance to one of the tunnels would never be seen in the UK especially as you went between a naked woman’s open legs!

BonBon Land is owned by a Danish sweet company and home to a small Zierer called the Hundeprut (which translates to Dog Fart – seriously!). The ride travels through a kennel and past a large dog with its leg cocked and some “mess” on the floor. There are also sound effects! This was quite a nicely themed park and I would have liked to have spent more time at.

Shortly after arriving at Liseberg we made our way to the Lisebergbanan – which was a good fun Schwarzkopf coaster. It is built on the side of a hill, is really quiet and smooth and a real queue eater!

We headed out to TusenFryd for a surprise 30 minutes evening ERS. ThunderCoaster, what a ride – loaded with air time and no let up from leaving the lift hill until arriving back at the brakes. The second drop was the highlight of the ride for me. The only problem with it is the lap bars, they are metal with no padding.

Gröna Lund was home to the Schwarzkopf Jet Line coaster, again very smooth and quiet like the Lisebergbanan. The park converterd their viewing tower to an excellent Giant Drop a few years ago, and also have a S&S Combo Tower.

We next went to Särkänniemi, home of the new Intamin inverted coaster called Tornado. The ride is very smooth, and is unusual in that it features an underground station. When we arrived at the park, they took us straight to the top of the viewing tower and into the five star restaurant for dinner. After this we were taken via the exit ramp for a go on Tornado, ahead of our ERS on it later in the evening.

The final park of the trip was Linnanmaki home to another Scenic Railway that was the same as the one at Bakken and celebrated its 50th birthday this year. New for this year was the Premier Rides Liquid coaster, which was quite a good ride and very wet indeed, mainly due to some screens to stop water splashing over the neighbouring road and path.

This trip was the biggest and most complex we had ever undertaken. We knew the parks were all superb, but would enough people agree and want to come? We didn’t need to worry.

It was called the “best coaster trip ever” by some of those in attendance that had been on many trips before. The reason for its success, in my opinion, was simple. The parks. Without exception they were just stunning, and their generosity was second to none. It must have been good; we did it again two years later.

First ride of the day was Megafobia and it lived up to all that I’d heard and more. Later in the day it was flying! Wow! I now have a new number one woodie.

Loved the ERSs at night although the “scenic” ride on bounce would have been nice with a fast pull down instead of the slow drop back to earth. The burgers were a nice touch too, although I was already “burgered out” from the BBQ.

Fantastic! That’s the word that jumps to mind. This was my first trip to Oakwood and after reading, seeing and hearing so much about the trip, park and a certain wooden coaster, I had high hopes for the weekend.

I was quite nervous during the climb up the lift hill, not because I was scared, but more because I was worried that it wouldn’t meet my expectations. I was thinking that it would slot into my number two position behind ThunderCoaster. I’ll not bore you with a ride commentary, but when I got off the ride I was disappointed. The whole thing seemed sluggish and there were only two places where I got noticeable airtime. The laterals were weak and the whole thing left me wondering what all the fuss was about. Justin and Richard said that it was running slow, so I decided to reserve judgement until the end of the weekend. Not an encouraging start though.

Fortunately, the night-time ERS was magical. There were no lights apart from the full moon. The ride was flying. At last I’d experienced the proper ‘Fobia! It was full of airtime and laterals. The “kink section” was something else as well… needless to say that it now is firmly in my number two place and nearly overtook TC!

One last thing, I must mention Paddy (the park owner). I’d never met him before, but all I can say about him is that he is superb. I’m sure he views the park as his personal playground, in fact the park should be called Paddy’s Playground rather than Oakwood! I feel that with him in charge Oakwood can only go on to bigger and better things.

This was the third Oakwood Overnighter, and as the previous two years, it had grown even larger. Over the years I have learnt to do many odd things, and this year I had to do maybe the oddest – hire toilets! These were needed as year-by-year the campsite has grown. The trek into the park for the toilets was becoming more and more of a chore, so a solution was needed. Where all this expansion would lead no one knew – one mad idea included the addition of a big screen video system!

We moved our morning ERS over to Snake River Falls this year – it’s nice to move things around, and to try something different, and Oakwood is very good for that. It was really good fun, but I was hoping for plenty of “spills,” and hence loads of pictures of wet members! Alas though, this did not occur. Well, not until next year anyway…

Paddy revealed exclusively to everyone attending what the new ride for 2002 was going to be – revealing a ride as “insane” as Hydro got everyone excited. Paddy asked that everyone please keep the news secret for the time being, and I was very happy when that seemed to be exactly what happened.

As ever, Megafobia in the dark is just an amazing experience, it is without doubt at its best in these conditions. This trip was no exception, and “Midnight Megafobia” really is the best way to end any day. Or start a new one…

This was my first European trip. I enjoyed every minute of it and met loads of new friends.

Friday afternoon at the fair was excellent. There were some seriously good spinners in attendance, and of course not forgetting the excellent AlpinaBahn, Spinning Racer, and Star World (which is my new #1 enclosed coaster! – it is now 1,000 times better than DLP’s Space Mountain!)

The night was spent in the beer tent and the atmosphere in there was magical! All of us were involved in many conga lines around the beer tables, plus lots and lots of singing and dancing!

The visit to Heide Park was very good. However, Colossos is not one of the best coasters I have been on. The airtime on those first three drops is amazing, but it was really rough each time the train bottomed out of the drops. I got a severe headache just after a few rides on it. Heide Park has some excellent rides including the wettest log flume I have ever been on, which was made by Schwarzkopf.

The first of two German trips this year and as part of the ongoing improvements to trips I decided to offer flights to Germany rather than endure a nine-hour coach journey. It was very nerve-wracking due lots of money having to be paid up front, but in the end the trip was over-subscribed so I knew it was the way to go for future trips.

The main draw was the new Intamin woodie Colossos, but we also visited the Summer Dom fair in Hamburg and Hansa Park.

Colossos was reported as being great fun to ride. It was fast and full of airtime but didn’t quite feel like a woodie due to the new manufacturing process.

Attendees were allowed to climb all over the Spinning Racer coaster at the Summer Dom during a morning ERS and, as always, the Bruch family were very accommodating.

The trip ended up at Hansa Park in furthest Northern Germany. We were escorted as first riders to the park’s main rides and the attendees certainly appreciated the gesture.

Trips would never be the same again after this one because nine-hour coach journeys would be a thing of the past. All I had to do now was think of new destinations for forthcoming trips.

Just wanted to say thanks to Justin and John for an excellent trip, my first and certainly not my last! Expedition GeForce has to be one of the best, if not the absolute best steelies in the world at the moment. I loved it !

Europa is, without a doubt, the best theme park in the world. This was my second visit to the park and I was just as stunned as the first time. The rides are top quality, the theming is superb, and they have the best park staff ever!

Then on to Holiday Park and the stunning Expedition GeForce. I can’t even begin to describe how incredible that ride is! The first drop is breathtaking, and the airtime all around the circuit is superb. Holiday Park definitely have a first class coaster on their hands. Expedition GeForce is the best steel coaster I have ever been on. Be careful of low flying birds when you ride it! A pigeon struck my brother’s restraint during the third overbanked turn. All we saw were feathers!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we ended up with Six Flags Belgium! I do not like this park at all!!! When it used to be Walibi Wavre, it was a great park. Ever since Six Flags have took over, it has gone downhill faster than an avalanche! The shortest ERS in history on Weerwolf, two rides then the public was let in. So much for our 30 mins!

A big thank you to John and Justin for organising the trip – it was great fun. It was good to meet so many other Club members for the first time.

This was our second trip to Europa Park, and our first to Holiday Park. Europa is always a firm favourite with everyone, and Holiday Park, thanks to the superb Expedition GeForce, would now become one. The third park was originally going to be Telecoo in Belgium, but late in the day it changed its operating schedule, so we had to cancel. We added Six Flags Belgium at the last minute, and were grateful to them for being able to help us out.

The final hotel of the trip was an interesting one. It was at Spa in Belgium, a very “swanky” area, not that we knew this when John booked it. Upon arrival we noticed a signed picture of the England Football team on the wall – when asked about, it was revealed they stayed there during a European Championship!

Best of all, they had a pool, that a few of us took advantage of that night – it’s definitely a good way to wind down after a long hard day’s coastering! Upon getting out of the pool we had to walk back through the hotel, and right through the centre of a wedding reception that was very much black tie! Fantastic.