Tag Archives: roller coasters

Blackpool Pleasure Beach

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The Pleasure Beach offers a pleasing mix of historic rides and modern thrill machines and sits on the seashore at the southern end of the Golden Mile. This an extremely compact amusement park which has little in the way of landscaping and theming but is a triumph of hope over expectation in the sheer number of attractions that have been packed into such a tiny space. The entrance fees are very reasonable and there is certainly plenty to keep you occupied for a whole day and more. Continue reading →

Top Thrill Dragster

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Since this mighty beast was opened at Cedar Point in 2003 I dreamed of riding it. At the time it was both the tallest and fastest coaster in the world which put it firmly at the top of my wish list! Although it was surpassed in speed and height by Kingda Ka in 2005, Dragster always remained the ride I most wanted to experience but it took me rather a long time to fulfil my ambition! Continue reading →

Trees and Roller Coasters don’t Mix

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Many people love the fun and excitement of roller coasters and thrill rides. As they hurtle around the track or spin through the air they are probably oblivious to all of the day to day problems and technical issues that must be overcome to keep the rides running. I worked at a major theme park for several years and my job for the most part was to run the rides. I spent my days in charge of some of Europe’s best known thrill rides and had to deal with all sort of issues on a daily basis and one of them, surprisingly, was trees! Continue reading →

Europa Park

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Every year millions Tourists head for the European theme parks for a few days of fun and to escape the real world. Whilst everyone knows about the delights of Disneyland Paris, Europa Park in Germany remains largely undiscovered by British tourists and is not a big destination for visitors outside of France and Germany. This is a real shame because Europa Park is quite possible the best Theme Park in Europe. Continue reading →

Oakwood

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This park is tucked away in Pembrokeshire, South Wales and so many enthusiasts have yet to give this place a try but despite its comparatively low profile it is well worth a visit. Oakwood does not have as many attractions as some destinations and is essentially a small collection of rides in the rolling hills with little theming but it is a pleasant place to spend a day and has very reasonable entrance fees. Continue reading →

Maverick

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Everyone has their own tastes in rides and so ask anyone to make a top ten list and it will be just that little bit different from any other. Some people love steel coasters others can’t resist the air time on a wooden construction and for others speed is all. As for me, well my favourite ride on the planet is Maverick at Cedar Point, an Intamin masterpiece that may not be your personal top of the pops but cannot fail to impress. Continue reading →

Drayton Manor

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Drayton Manor G-Force 2 ride

Drayton Manor is located a few minutes from the M42 and M6 Toll motorways close to Tamworth in Staffordshire. Like Chessington World of Adventures the park offers a variety of rides and attractions together with several animal exhibits. Whilst there are plenty of attractions on offer and certainly enough to fill a day there are few really memorable things for adults and the park is not particularly attractive. Continue reading →

Chessington World of Adventures

A theme park situated close to London and just a couple of minutes from the M25 should attract plenty of customers but outside of the school holidays Chessington’s visitor number are generally low and it is not hard to see why. This is a park marketed primarily to families and the rides are mainly geared towards children. Many of the offerings have been features of the park for a long time and are looking tired, dated and have rather outstayed their welcome but there have been some recent improvements and the animal exhibits are largely excellent making this place a good destination for animal lovers of all ages. Continue reading →