USA 2009 - Stand Behind the Yellow Line - Trip Report & Pictures
Written by Dave Perry
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USA 2009 Stand Behind The Yellow Line started when we all met up at Heathrow Terminal 5 on a very dismal morning, raining and overcast. We all got checked in without problems and headed to the departure lounge. There we split into various groups for some last minute duty free shopping, a beer (Ryan!) and a full English Breakfast as we won't have this for a couple of weeks! When our departure gate was displayed on the screens we headed over to the shuttle to get to gate area B. There we could get some last minute refreshments before boarding our plane, a Boeing 747-400 non-stop flight to Washington DC.
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Having boarded the plane we settled down, at this point we were running to schedule for our take off at 10:50. Then came some disappointing news. The cargo hold had some unknown liquid spilt in it so the ground crews had to start the task of identifying it, cleaning it and then sign it off, paperwork!! This took forever, we were given some juice from the cabin crew and were initially told it would only take about half an hour. This was followed by further announcements and delays. The liquid turned out to be water based and smelling of fish! Once the job was completed we were set, and an hour and a half late we headed for the runway just behind a huge Singapore Airlines Airbus A380! The new A380 is some size, so we were pleased we were only on a 747 otherwise US immigration would have been a nightmare! The flight was a good one with just a small amount of turbulence. After landing we were shuttled to the terminal and the dreaded immigration area. This took forever but once cleared and on the coach we were on our way to the historic area of Williamsburg in Virginia.
Nev gave us all some information about the forthcoming events at the start of the journey along with the rules for the trip. Some of us decided to have a snooze, others took in the scenery! Once we arrived at our hotel we received our keys, took our cases up to our rooms then it was straight out for a meal and some refreshments - so we went to Hooters! Now as we are in America we need to realise the portion sizes in the restaurants are huge so we needed to be careful in what we ordered otherwise we would be asking for a doggie bag carry-out! After the night out we all headed back to the hotel and retired for the night in readiness for the early start in the morning. As we were in this hotel for 2 nights, we didn't need the luggage in the hold of the coach next morning.
Day 2 started early at 08:15 when we all boarded our bus for the short journey down to Busch Gardens. On arrival some of us got together for a group photograph before heading into the park and over to Apollo's Chariot for our first ERS of the trip. The ride did not disappoint either. The park also kindly allowed us to use camera's on the ride so some great shots were achieved. The ERS was due to start at 09:00 but we were well under way over 10 minutes early! Once the park had opened to the public we all took a train ride over to the area called "France" for an Alpengeist ride takeover. After this we had the park at our leisure so we all split off into our relative groups to explore this lovely park taking in all the coasters. We rode Griffon early on just in case of a technical failure. Some of the group got an exclusive boat ride which went down by the coasters and got some great footage of them. The Loch Ness Monster had to be tried out along with The Big Bad Wolf which was celebrating a birthday. The coaster counters amongst us even rode the Family Coaster Grover's Alpine Express.
The park was an 'awsome' start to our USA Trip, the staff were extremely friendly and made us feel very welcome. Along with the coasters we saw the animals they have there and a number of shows. The weather was excellent with blue skies throughout the day so the wet rides also proved very popular with the club. We had plenty of time to explore the park before our planned second ERS of the day on their Oblivion type ride Griffon, a floorless dive coaster which accomodates 30 people at a time. We were given green wrist bands during the day so the staff could tell we were from the club so when it was time for the public to leave, we could head over to Griffon without being ushered out of the park. A couple of members also decided to have a photo opportunity with the muppets!
The ERS started a little late as the public were allowed to queue up until the park closing time of 21:00. Once the ERS got under way we managed to fill 2 out of the 3 trains that were running but shortly after we were taking all the trains. The ERS was in the dark which is a club favourite and we got over 40 train dispatches in the hour of the ERS which the staff were very pleased at. After the ERS had finished we thanked the staff for staying back and making our day such a great one. Then it was back on the coach for our short journey to the hotel and our second night out on the town. Unfortunately due to it being a Sunday night and our ERS had started and ended late we found it difficult to find somewhere open as all the restaurants in the area closed at 23:00 so many of us retired to our hotels and some of us went to the 7/11 store for some snacks. Laptops were fired up so we could put some reports up on the message board then it was time to retire in readiness for Day 3 of Stand Behind The Yellow Line, Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia.
The ERS started a little late as the public were allowed to queue up until the park closing time of 21:00. Once the ERS got under way we managed to fill 2 out of the 3 trains that were running but shortly after we were taking all the trains. The ERS was in the dark which is a club favourite and we got over 40 train dispatches in the hour of the ERS which the staff were very pleased at. After the ERS had finished we thanked the staff for staying back and making our day such a great one. Then it was back on the coach for our short journey to the hotel and our second night out on the town. Unfortunately due to it being a Sunday night and our ERS had started and ended late we found it difficult to find somewhere open as all the restaurants in the area closed at 23:00 so many of us retired to our hotels and some of us went to the 7/11 store for some snacks. Laptops were fired up so we could put some reports up on the message board then it was time to retire in readiness for Day 3 of Stand Behind The Yellow Line, Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia.
Day 3 and time for Kings Dominion, formally a Paramount's Park it is now owned by The Cedar Fair group. We started the day with a group photo before heading into the park for our first ERS of the day on B&M's Dominator. After this we were taken to a closed part of the park for an ERS on a woodie! This was on Grizzly which everyone enjoyed. Gareth & Dan had a dancing competition. We then went onto another woodie, Hurler followed by their wild mouse Ricochet We had our first lunch of the trip and this consisted of Sausages, Burgers & Chicken. After lunch it was back into the park to explore the rest of their rides. We tried out their kiddie woodie, Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster, those that were ticking coasters did Taxi Jam which was next door. They were allowing adults to ride, previously you had to have a child with you to ride it. Volcano - The Blast Coaster wasn't to disappoint with its two launches which surprised many of us as it launched you for the initial part of the ride then the second launch launched you straight up out of the volcano! The Back Lot Stunt Coaster was a fun little ride. Some of us braved Anaconda, the park's Arrow ride, They had a small Mack Avalanche which was also a good ride. Their Top Spin The Crypt was a HUSS floorless model and it was well themed. The ride did have a water feature which looked impressive but when riding you didn't get wet, in fact the spectators taking photo's got not only wet but fried with their fire effect!! Rebel Yell was to disappoint, not due to the ride itself but the fact they were only running one side.
The Park's Eiffel Tower, a minature replica of the original one in Paris was good for some spectacular photo's of the park. Here you could get full ride aerial views of Volcano - The Blast Coaster, The Shockwave, their Togo Standup Coaster, Dominator, Rebel Yell & The Drop Zone Stunt Tower, then we went to leave the park taking photo's along the way as there was a nice view of the fountains and King's Dominion main sign.
After leaving we travelled to Dumfries, no not the one in Scotland!! This was Dumfires, Virginia. After arriving at our hotel we were disappointed with the selection of restaurants. There was also an IHOP but although lit up there was no-one in, then we saw the 'Coming Soon' sign! Further up the road we found a small Italian restaurant which was due to close at 21:30, well a number of members turned up and as a result we stayed there till around 23:00. What started out with 3 people turned into 5 then into 8! and from what we heard from the other members we made the right choice in restaurants. The Service and food was faultless. The server was called Jose, pronounced Hose-A and Ryan told Dan his brother was called Hose-B! and like Dan always does, he believed it and was asking the server about his brother! Anyway, a good night was had by all, all fed and watered and waiting to see what Day 4 brings.
After leaving we travelled to Dumfries, no not the one in Scotland!! This was Dumfires, Virginia. After arriving at our hotel we were disappointed with the selection of restaurants. There was also an IHOP but although lit up there was no-one in, then we saw the 'Coming Soon' sign! Further up the road we found a small Italian restaurant which was due to close at 21:30, well a number of members turned up and as a result we stayed there till around 23:00. What started out with 3 people turned into 5 then into 8! and from what we heard from the other members we made the right choice in restaurants. The Service and food was faultless. The server was called Jose, pronounced Hose-A and Ryan told Dan his brother was called Hose-B! and like Dan always does, he believed it and was asking the server about his brother! Anyway, a good night was had by all, all fed and watered and waiting to see what Day 4 brings.
Day 4 of the trip started with an early wake-up call courtesy of mother nature. At around 06:00 there was a loud bang from a thunderstorm which woke up most of the group. Now awake we had the option of a cooked breakfast (Omlette & Sausage). We boarded our coach for the journey to Six Flags America, being near Washington the traffic was running slow but we made it to the park in plenty of time. We had our first ERS on Roar, this was soon followed by Joker's Jinx & Batwing. Unfortunately Superman - Ride of Steel didn't run, it had been down since the weekend when a sprocket failed. So we managed 3 out of the planned 4 ERS's for the day. The weather was a great deal better than in the morning and did get very hot indeed. After the 3 combined ERS's we went about the park in our own groups to explore more rides before heading over to the pavillion for lunch. During lunch Nev got Lisa up as she was celebrating her 40th birthday. Then to all our surprise the staff at Six Flags fetched down a birthday cake. They were having trouble lighting the candles as the wind kept blowing them out!
After lunch we remained in the picnic area to be joined by the park's president John Winkler who told us a bit about himself and how long he'd been with Six Flags, he told us a bit about the park and what he has planned for the park in the future including a Thomas Land like we have at Drayton Manor. After this we headed back into the park to do the remaining rides before heading over to the Grand Theater for a show they called Freedom.
Following the show we had a little time left to do the remaining rides before heading back to the coach at 15:30. Ryan went shopping and after making his purchase walked into a stand of water bottles sending them all flying! Unfortunately no-one captured this on camera! During the journey to Milleville in New Jersey we were given a great show of forked lightning as we were travelling through a major storm. We stopped en-route to our hotel for 15 minutes before heading off for our final leg of the journey to the hotel. On arrival it was a quick check-in and back out to the only restaurant about as everyone went! At the start they only had 2 staff working so it was running a bit slow but to give credit where it was due all the food was perfect. The bar was due to close at 22:00 but they did extend it due to the amount of customers they had. Ah well, that's Day 4 over, join us tomorrow for Day 5.
Following the show we had a little time left to do the remaining rides before heading back to the coach at 15:30. Ryan went shopping and after making his purchase walked into a stand of water bottles sending them all flying! Unfortunately no-one captured this on camera! During the journey to Milleville in New Jersey we were given a great show of forked lightning as we were travelling through a major storm. We stopped en-route to our hotel for 15 minutes before heading off for our final leg of the journey to the hotel. On arrival it was a quick check-in and back out to the only restaurant about as everyone went! At the start they only had 2 staff working so it was running a bit slow but to give credit where it was due all the food was perfect. The bar was due to close at 22:00 but they did extend it due to the amount of customers they had. Ah well, that's Day 4 over, join us tomorrow for Day 5.
Day 5 started with a lie in! A rare luxury on these trips, but we didn't board the bus until 10:00 for a short drive down to Wildwood, NJ. During the drive Nev explained the day's itinery, which was certainly different from most days. We arrived at the Starlux hotel at about 11:00. We were met by members of the Morey's Piers team who welcomed us and provided a great reception which included fruit, snacks and English Tea! Norris Clark gave us a introduction to the piers, a history of them and explained that by now we may need a cup of tea, so produced a box of Tetley and PG Tips for us! After the reception we collected our wrist bands and some welcome packets which included various Morey's Piers souvenirs, then headed to the large Wildwood sign on the seafront, where we took may photos of the group, for both ourselves and the local press. Shortly after this it was back onto the bus for a short hop down the boardwalk for an hours freetime before lunch.
On arrival at the first pier we found a large banner hanging from under the Morey's Piers arch welcoming the RCCGB to the facility. On Mariner's Landing pier are 2 coasters, the Sea Serpent (Vekoma Boomerang) and Rolle's Coaster (Galaxi Z40). Members got some rides in during our time before lunch. Journalists from the Atlantic City Press joined us and took interviews and pictures during this time. Lunch then follwed in Jumbo's bar which was fantastic. Whilst sitting down for lunch, we noticed the huge digital advertising displays located above the ticket office showing a Welcome to the club, the club logo and our USA 2009 trip logo - again, an excellent touch, and great to see. After lunch, we moved down the second of the 3 piers (Adventure Pier) which was closed to the general public. At 15:00 they fired up some rides for an EPS (Exclusive Pier Session!) where we rode the Great White coaster, Grand Prix go carts, Sky Coaster, and Swing n' Scream. With one more pier to explore, we ventured off at 17:00 when our session ended and headed down towards Surfside Pier.
There are 3 coasters on Surfside Pier. A mouse type coaster called the Doo Wopper (which is the only fast food themed coaster!), a Flitzer and The Great Nor'Easter (Vekoma Suspended). Members now enjoyed free time riding these and many other rides that were available to us before heading back to the bus at 20:00. Only a short journey this evening to Atlantic city, but after a thoroughly great day, gave us time to reflect on how good Morey's Piers and Wildwood was.
We were made to feel so welcome, with a special reception, gifts, welcome banners and signs everywhere, and even a brand new T-shirt which isn't available yet, (so they are going to post it to us soon!) and great rides on all piers. Without a doubt, we shall be returning here in the future. Many thanks to Norris, Lindsey and the whole team for a fantasic and memorable day out.
There are 3 coasters on Surfside Pier. A mouse type coaster called the Doo Wopper (which is the only fast food themed coaster!), a Flitzer and The Great Nor'Easter (Vekoma Suspended). Members now enjoyed free time riding these and many other rides that were available to us before heading back to the bus at 20:00. Only a short journey this evening to Atlantic city, but after a thoroughly great day, gave us time to reflect on how good Morey's Piers and Wildwood was.
We were made to feel so welcome, with a special reception, gifts, welcome banners and signs everywhere, and even a brand new T-shirt which isn't available yet, (so they are going to post it to us soon!) and great rides on all piers. Without a doubt, we shall be returning here in the future. Many thanks to Norris, Lindsey and the whole team for a fantasic and memorable day out.
Day 6 is basically a free day for us. We are staying in the Bally's Casino hotel at Atlantic City. There is plenty to do around here, but as we are on a coaster tour, Nev had arranged that Steel Pier was opened especially for us, as it's normally closed during the week. 2 Exclusive Pier sessions in 2 days!! Anyway, we all met up outside the pier just before 11:00. After a short time, we were invited in and given some history about the pier. The rides started up and we were soon enjoying the 2 coasters that the pier has to offer. A Crazy Mouse (spinning) and the Little Leaper which is a small kiddie coaster.
As an extra bonus the pier management opened up The Rocket for us which is a reverse bungee ride with a 2 for 1 offer on it. After an hour or so someone appeared with the Atlantic City Press newspaper, and we all had a few laughs reading some of the quotes in it from our interviews the previous day at Morey's Piers.
Soon after we left the pier and everyone split up to do their own thing for the day. During our walk back to the hotel we amused ourself along the boardwalk as members of the group were trying to buy copies of the local paper featuring the club on the front page and inside. Some people then went gambling in the casino's, some went shopping, some went bowling, and another group set out on an adventure by public transport busses to try and get to Ocean City 24 miles away for another 6 coasters located on the boardwalk down there.
Matt and Dave spent the afternoon in the bar at Bally's casino catching up with these updates for you! :-) This evening was also free for us to do what we like, and people have made plans to do various things such as beer in the Hard Rock Cafe, more gambling etc. Tomorrow morning, we're off to Playland to carry on with our main coaster tour which we are looking forward to, even if it is a 07:00 start!
Soon after we left the pier and everyone split up to do their own thing for the day. During our walk back to the hotel we amused ourself along the boardwalk as members of the group were trying to buy copies of the local paper featuring the club on the front page and inside. Some people then went gambling in the casino's, some went shopping, some went bowling, and another group set out on an adventure by public transport busses to try and get to Ocean City 24 miles away for another 6 coasters located on the boardwalk down there.
Matt and Dave spent the afternoon in the bar at Bally's casino catching up with these updates for you! :-) This evening was also free for us to do what we like, and people have made plans to do various things such as beer in the Hard Rock Cafe, more gambling etc. Tomorrow morning, we're off to Playland to carry on with our main coaster tour which we are looking forward to, even if it is a 07:00 start!
Day 7 Well here goes day 7, and appropriately, we boarded the bus at 07:00 from Bally's Casino for a drive to Playland at Rye... but... shortly after departure, Nev announced to the bus that we were passing close to Clementon Park & Splash World which has a woodie called HellCat. After explaining a brief bit of history about the park and it's coasters then asked if we'd like to ride it. A cheer of 'yes' followed where we were told it's a surprise park for the day to split the journey up! We arrived at Clementon just after 08:00 and our 1.5 hour ERS started at 08:30. First impressions of this coaster was a fast rough ride which pleased most, although a few people decided not to go too mad on it. Ryan was very pleased with it as he's a "Rough Rider". Nev and Barry then decided to have a competition to see who could ride the most, so sitting in the back car set to work.... 25 consecutive rides later Nev decided he'd done enough so Barry was $10 better off :-) At 10:00 the park opened to the public, and for the first time this trip we experienced the dreaded invasion of Yellow School busses. Luckily, we were mostly done and went for coffee (and beer Ryan!) and into the park to try the other rides. At 12:00 we boarded the bus for the journey to Playland taking in some Ney York City skyline along the route. Next stop.... Playland, Rye.
On arrival at Playland we lucked out on the weather. The last part of the drive was in quite heavy rain under stormy clouds, however as soon as we got off the bus, the sun came out, the temperature shot up quickly and we had blue skies. Playland Park was used for filming the film called 'Big'. After meeting at the front gate, we collected our wrist bands and proceeded to the Dragon Coaster. After a quick group photo we all went into the ride. The public were on park so this wasn't an official ERS, however we took over the ride anyway. We lucked out with our timing as a heap of school busses were just leaving on our arrival, thus the park was very quiet, so we could quickly sample the other large coasters in the park which were the Family Flyer, Crazy Mouse and Super Flight.
We then had some free time to explore the rest of the park. After a great few hours in this park including riding other rides such as The Whip, The Old Mill and Ghost trains etc. or even the Bar (Ryan!), we all gathered back on the bus at 19:00 for an hours drive north towards Lake Compounce in Conneticut. Nev annouced on the bus that our ERS in the morning will be on Boulder Dash, so we can all relax this evening and enjoy meals and drinks in the knowledge we have a fantastic morning planned tomorrow.
We then had some free time to explore the rest of the park. After a great few hours in this park including riding other rides such as The Whip, The Old Mill and Ghost trains etc. or even the Bar (Ryan!), we all gathered back on the bus at 19:00 for an hours drive north towards Lake Compounce in Conneticut. Nev annouced on the bus that our ERS in the morning will be on Boulder Dash, so we can all relax this evening and enjoy meals and drinks in the knowledge we have a fantastic morning planned tomorrow.
Day 8 Lake Compounce, Connecticut. We all left the hotel at a sociable 08:45 today for a short drive to Lake Compounce. On arrival we all amused ourselves with random group photo's etc. before the park representative arrived with our tickets. After a short time, we were heading off to our ERS on Boudler Dash. What a superb coaster!! A very smooth, yet fast woodie that hugs the terrain on the side of a mountain speeding amongst boulders and trees. Some of the group have ridden this before, but were still impressed as they have made slight modification to the track since the last visit. During the ERS we were allowed 2 rides before having to walk round to the queue line again. After the ERS ended we'd all had plenty of goes and were all very pleased with the session. An awsome coaster.
Following the ERS we all split into our groups to do our own thing. Lake Compounce has alot to offer including many rides and a waterpark. The other coasters available to us were the Wildcat, an old woodie which was still great, the Zoomerang (Vekoma Bommerang) which looks superb having recently had a paint job, and the cars refurbished using expensive car paint that changes colour as the coaster goes by, and the final coaster a small kiddie one.
Other things to do include a vintage tram car, and the chairlift which is a 30 minute round trip journey up the side of the mountain. This offered spectacular views over the souurounding countryside as it is 937ft at the top. Some members went and had fun in the waterpark and on the flat rides, but to summarise, an excellent day was had by all. At 16:00 we boarded the bus back to the hotel for an earlish evening as we have a long day tomorrow. This will involve a charity walk sponsored by Six Flags called "A Walk in the Park" where we will all join in the event and pitch in for a good cause!
This evening people have split up to do some shopping at Walmart and various places before some of us (and yes, that includes Ryan) will be heading to the Sports Bar next door for food, beer and some Karaoke!
Other things to do include a vintage tram car, and the chairlift which is a 30 minute round trip journey up the side of the mountain. This offered spectacular views over the souurounding countryside as it is 937ft at the top. Some members went and had fun in the waterpark and on the flat rides, but to summarise, an excellent day was had by all. At 16:00 we boarded the bus back to the hotel for an earlish evening as we have a long day tomorrow. This will involve a charity walk sponsored by Six Flags called "A Walk in the Park" where we will all join in the event and pitch in for a good cause!
This evening people have split up to do some shopping at Walmart and various places before some of us (and yes, that includes Ryan) will be heading to the Sports Bar next door for food, beer and some Karaoke!
Day 9 Six Flags New England. Today we started reasonably early as we were getting involved with "Walk in the Park". This is a charity event that is run by Six Flags to raise money for Kids with Cancer. There were a good number of the public waiting in the car park, and refreshments were supplied by Dunkin' Donuts and various local retail sponsors. Once the main group of charity walkers set off, we all gathered for a group photo, then followed. Walk in the park is basically a stroll round the entire perimeter of the park, after which participants are allowed on park for the rest of the day. Many of our members donated some dollars towards the charity in return for t-shirts etc. to mark the event, so well done them!
The ERS soon followed on Bizarro. This ride is basically Superman - Ride of Steel that has had some special effects added and a repaint. The main changes include addition of water spray effects in 3 places and some fire cannons that fire off as the train goes by. The track has also been repainted purple. The cars have received audio speakers behind the riders head in each seat, and to facilitate this one set of 2 seats has been removed half way down the train which now has a box of electronics in that space.Generally, the ride went down very well with members as it's an excellent ride, but the general concensus is that it didn't need changing, given that it has been voted #1 steelie for the last 4 years. Many riders also found the audio annoying rather than adding value, but I guess we are coaster riders and pick up on things like this - for the average public rider, it probably does enhance the ride experience. Anyway, we all enjoyed the ERS even though there were a couple of technical issues, which caused a few minuted delay... nothing a reboot didn't sort out (oh, and a hammer!).
Following the ERS, people were free to do what they liked so as usual, everyone split off into groups to explore the parks. There were 9 other coasters on offer today which were all sampled, these included the 2 woodies, Thunderbolt and Cyclone. The steelies included a B&M floorless, Batman - The Dark Knight, Vekoma SLC - Mind Eraser, and others. All rides were working well, and the park looking great. The two woodies could really do with some paint though as they are looking a little tatty and unloved, but overall a good park. Six Flags has really been working hard to get away from it's old "Six Flag moments" image. A change is definately noticeable, and if you stop or appear to be looking at a map, it's only a short time before someone comes and asks if you need help. So they are definately getting there and our group all agree that on this trip there is a huge improvement, so well done Six Flags!
Anyway, we all boarded our bus at 17:00 for a 160 mile drive north towards The Great Escape and Bingo was played to pass some of the journey which is about as far as this report is going to get, as I am writing on the bus!! Tonight there's a Wal-Mart in the hotel and a bunch of restaurants, so we'll all be out doing various things, hopefully there will be a Karaoke bar again as Dan sang "Chocolate Salty Balls" by Chef last night to which most of us hadn't laughed so hard in along time, including the locals! That's it from me today, more tomorrow!
Following the ERS, people were free to do what they liked so as usual, everyone split off into groups to explore the parks. There were 9 other coasters on offer today which were all sampled, these included the 2 woodies, Thunderbolt and Cyclone. The steelies included a B&M floorless, Batman - The Dark Knight, Vekoma SLC - Mind Eraser, and others. All rides were working well, and the park looking great. The two woodies could really do with some paint though as they are looking a little tatty and unloved, but overall a good park. Six Flags has really been working hard to get away from it's old "Six Flag moments" image. A change is definately noticeable, and if you stop or appear to be looking at a map, it's only a short time before someone comes and asks if you need help. So they are definately getting there and our group all agree that on this trip there is a huge improvement, so well done Six Flags!
Anyway, we all boarded our bus at 17:00 for a 160 mile drive north towards The Great Escape and Bingo was played to pass some of the journey which is about as far as this report is going to get, as I am writing on the bus!! Tonight there's a Wal-Mart in the hotel and a bunch of restaurants, so we'll all be out doing various things, hopefully there will be a Karaoke bar again as Dan sang "Chocolate Salty Balls" by Chef last night to which most of us hadn't laughed so hard in along time, including the locals! That's it from me today, more tomorrow!
Day 10 The Great Escape (Six Flags). Today was another good start time. Our hotel was only half a mile from the park, so we didn't need to get on the bus until 09:45. After a short trundle down the road we arrived at the park entrance. Today Great Escape was closed to the public, so we have an EPS (Exclusive Park Session). Without any delay we were greeted by the park staff that had come in especially for us today, and soon made our way to the first ride which was of course the legendary Comet. The Comet is a very historical coaster starting it's life at Crystal Beach many years ago and featured on all good coaster related TV programs, making it a 'must do' for any coaster enthusiast. The riding started shortly after 10:00 and was excellent. The coaster is very re-rideabe and as a result only a few trains that left the station had any empty seats on them. The ride is also very picturesque and in an area of the park that allows you to walk alongside all the way to the end, resulting in excellent pictures of the structure and riders enjoy the 1st and 2nd drops. Everyone really enjoyed this session riding many times at both the front, back and in the middle. We were also supposed to have the Avalanche coaster open, but due to technical issues it was down, so we carried on with The Comet, and noone complained. Just shows how good it was!
Following the session on The Comet, we had lunch provided by the park. Many thanks to the catering staff for coming in today and preparing a great lunch for us! With some aggressive looking clouds looming over the hills in the distance we finished lunch and the other coasters were opened up for us. These included the Canyon Blaster, Sreamin' Demon and the Boomerang. After 2 dispatches of Canyon Blaster, lightning was detected in the distance and the rides stopped. Luckily this was a temporary delay and the rides re-opened after about 10 minutes for us. As we had the park to ourselves, a challenge had been drawn up on the club's forum site which involved a Boomerang! According to our information, the record was 11 rides, so a bunch of members set off to break it, and they did notching up 12 consecutive Boomerangs before our time was up. During this challenge other members went off to ride the newest attraction at Great Escape the Sasquatch which is a double Shot & Drop tower. One shoots you up, the other drops you down.
Finally it was time to leave at 14:00 as we have a long 260 mile drive north to Seabreeze. We all stopped in the gift shop to buy various souvenirs and stuff, then headed to the bus for the journey. On arrival at the bus, we were met by Santa's little helpers!!!! Yes, our bus had now been transformed into a Christmas bus, complete with tinsels, baubles, lights and most importantly Santa!! (Bob the driver). So we set off with carols playing much to the amusement of passing motorists etc.
Many thanks to the staff of The Great Escape for turning up today and making it possible for us to enjoy The Comet, and other coasters and of course, the catering crew for lunch.
Finally it was time to leave at 14:00 as we have a long 260 mile drive north to Seabreeze. We all stopped in the gift shop to buy various souvenirs and stuff, then headed to the bus for the journey. On arrival at the bus, we were met by Santa's little helpers!!!! Yes, our bus had now been transformed into a Christmas bus, complete with tinsels, baubles, lights and most importantly Santa!! (Bob the driver). So we set off with carols playing much to the amusement of passing motorists etc.
Many thanks to the staff of The Great Escape for turning up today and making it possible for us to enjoy The Comet, and other coasters and of course, the catering crew for lunch.
Day 11 Seabreeze, NY. Today started well with a sensible departure from the hotel at 08:30. We were soon at Seabreeze only 12 miles from the hotel. At 09:00 we were let in for our 1 hour ERS on the Jack Rabbit. This isn't a big coaster, but very re-rideable and a great entry level wooden coaster for younger riders. The Jack Rabbit dates from 1920 and is the oldest continuously operating coaster in America, and has some good airtime in the front seats and a tunnel just before the end. During the ERS, the park also opened up Bear Trax for us until 10:00 as the park policy requires that you have a child to ride this, so we got our go before the public got in. After many rides and full trains, we all completed the ERS and headed to explore the rest of the park.
Besides the Jack Rabbit and Bear Trax coasters already mentioned, the park also has a spinning coaster called Whirl Wind. This is similar to the Spinball Whizzer, but most people found it more enjoyable. The first couple of turns were with the car locked providing a good reverse ride if you were facing backwards from the start. Once going it spun really well, was smooth and great fun. An added bonus was great views of Lake Ontario from the ride, albeit quick as you were spinning well. The final coaster that park has is called Bobsled. This is another different coaster as it has steel track on a wooden frame. With individual cars it's bobsled themed and great fun also.
Having done all of the coasters, we explored the rest of the park in our groups. The log flume was quite wet and a great laugh. It is the only one we have seen with a fully concrete channel which resulted in the boat banging around alot as it's not flexible like the fibreglass versions. Although not that long, the final drop is very steep and provides a decent amount of moisture for all the riders!
Having done all of the coasters, we explored the rest of the park in our groups. The log flume was quite wet and a great laugh. It is the only one we have seen with a fully concrete channel which resulted in the boat banging around alot as it's not flexible like the fibreglass versions. Although not that long, the final drop is very steep and provides a decent amount of moisture for all the riders!
For lunch most people left the park and headed across the road as there were two bars there. Most people went to Nicks Bar and Restaurant for a lunchtime meal and drink before heading for a five minute walk down the road to the harbour on Lake Ontario. The website crew (Matt & Dave) joined Ryan in the bar next door called The Reunion Inn. We received a very friendly reception, and the staff even remembered Ryan from his last trip there 8 years ago! After a snack, we had a few games of pool and some more beer. Now we all know from the reports during this trip that Ryan likes his beer, but on this occasion he thought he'd chill out and have a simple short. Anyway, he asked for it in a tall glass and ended up with a PINT of Vodka and Cranberry, then the barman made some free cocktails for us... all in all, it was quite a lunchtime! Many thanks to the staff of both Nicks (for whom we did a group photo outside his restauarnt before we drove off), and the staff of the Reunion Inn for their great hospitality today. We then met up with others still in the park on the bus at 15:30 for the return trip to the hotel. Some people went for a swim. Others went to the mall for some shopping (Yes, Ryan found a beer there too).
So all in all, another great day. I'm currently sitting in an Italian Steakhouse with some of the group writing this at 20:51 (01:51 UK time) with Dave on another table sorting out todays pictures. Most of the others are at TGI Friday's next door. Ryan is sat in front of me with a huge steak now (and a beer)! We have an early start tomorrow for our drive to Darien Lake which should be an excellent day.
Last minute addition!!!! Dan is sat next to me.... BA Guru (Gareth) just came up and told Dan to try a green pepper.... what he didn't say was that it was a jalepeno of some sort which was vicious.... as you'd imagine, Dan's head exploded.... So, Ryan suggested that he tried a Red one as it would cancel out the green one.... LOL. Dan will be Dan :-) Anyway, enough for now!
So all in all, another great day. I'm currently sitting in an Italian Steakhouse with some of the group writing this at 20:51 (01:51 UK time) with Dave on another table sorting out todays pictures. Most of the others are at TGI Friday's next door. Ryan is sat in front of me with a huge steak now (and a beer)! We have an early start tomorrow for our drive to Darien Lake which should be an excellent day.
Last minute addition!!!! Dan is sat next to me.... BA Guru (Gareth) just came up and told Dan to try a green pepper.... what he didn't say was that it was a jalepeno of some sort which was vicious.... as you'd imagine, Dan's head exploded.... So, Ryan suggested that he tried a Red one as it would cancel out the green one.... LOL. Dan will be Dan :-) Anyway, enough for now!
Day 12 Darien Lake, NY. An early start at 07:00 today for the 50 mile journey to Darien Lake. We arrived at about 08:00 and were let in at 08:30 for a 2 ride combined ERS on both Ride of Steel (formerly Superman) and the Orange County Choppers Moto Coaster, which is a Zamperla launch coaster. The ERS began on Ride of Steel, which is similar to Bizarro we rode previously but without as many gimmicks and a more simple track layout. Once everyone had had several goes on the front, back and middle, people headed for the OCC Moto Coaster. This is a great little launch ride which is built by Zamperla and themed on motorbikes. It is very re-rideable and fun for a small footprint coaster. Nev asked the ride ops and the management team who were handling our ERS if there was a record for riding, and they didn't think there was. So Nev and me (Matt) set a new one. 20 consecutive goes in an hour - thats how re-rideable it is.
Following on from the ERS we left the ride through the Moto Coaster gift shop. In the shop on display are 2 American Chopper motorbikes built by Orange County Choppers. This chopper is themed on a Darien Lake theme park and has some unique features. There is chrome coaster track on the rear fender and fuel tank, the air filter is shaped like one of those funnel things you get in waterparks, and the front wheel has spinners in it which light up with LED's to represent the giant ferris wheel to name a few. This bike build was featured on the TV series American Chopper which is shown on the Discovery Channel in the UK. The bike was commissioned by Park Management following the purchase of Darien Lake off Six Flags, and to coincide with the launch of the new Moto Coaster ride, which was opened by the guys who built the bike. The series is always repeated on the Discovery channels, so if you get chance, have a view. After the ERS the group all split up to do various other rides, of which the coasters on offer were The Viper, The Boomerang, The Predator (Woodie) and another painful Mind Eraser.
Brunch was provided today in the Beaver Cafe which is excellently themed like a log cabin, and being a brunch, we had a change from the regular burgers, hot dogs and fried chicken, and instead provided, fruit, bacon, sausage, bagels etc. which was very nice and a great change. Following lunch we were invited to the "Survivor Live" show at 13:00 which Nev had entered for. Pete was also picked from the audience with 2 other members of the public. After the first round, one of the public was out, and the second round which involved holding large numbers of coconuts ended up as sudden death due to the skill of Nev, Pete and the other guy who didn't drop any so they ran out!!! Unfortunately Nev lost this round as he picked the one black stone out of the bag, thus went out through chance, not skill....Not to worry, we all had Pete still in.... both finalists did very well, but Pete won it based on a much bigger fanbase audience cheer than the other guy. So a bit of fun there.
At 16:00 we all boarded the bus again having had more time in the park for riding, and headed towards Pennsylvania for the 120 mile drive towards Waldameer (which is German for Wood near Water according to Nev). Just after we crossed the state line in PA the bus stopped for a confort break where Nev checked with Waldameer that everything is on track for tomorrow, and learned that the park has been closed for most of the day due to rain - but it's now 18:23 as i write this, and we've got an evening ERS on Ravine Flyer II!!!! We'll be there in a few minutes... so time for me to stop this report for today, and do some more riding! More tomorrow as I suspect we'll be getting stuck into beer again this evening :-)
Brunch was provided today in the Beaver Cafe which is excellently themed like a log cabin, and being a brunch, we had a change from the regular burgers, hot dogs and fried chicken, and instead provided, fruit, bacon, sausage, bagels etc. which was very nice and a great change. Following lunch we were invited to the "Survivor Live" show at 13:00 which Nev had entered for. Pete was also picked from the audience with 2 other members of the public. After the first round, one of the public was out, and the second round which involved holding large numbers of coconuts ended up as sudden death due to the skill of Nev, Pete and the other guy who didn't drop any so they ran out!!! Unfortunately Nev lost this round as he picked the one black stone out of the bag, thus went out through chance, not skill....Not to worry, we all had Pete still in.... both finalists did very well, but Pete won it based on a much bigger fanbase audience cheer than the other guy. So a bit of fun there.
At 16:00 we all boarded the bus again having had more time in the park for riding, and headed towards Pennsylvania for the 120 mile drive towards Waldameer (which is German for Wood near Water according to Nev). Just after we crossed the state line in PA the bus stopped for a confort break where Nev checked with Waldameer that everything is on track for tomorrow, and learned that the park has been closed for most of the day due to rain - but it's now 18:23 as i write this, and we've got an evening ERS on Ravine Flyer II!!!! We'll be there in a few minutes... so time for me to stop this report for today, and do some more riding! More tomorrow as I suspect we'll be getting stuck into beer again this evening :-)
Day 13 Waldameer Park, Erie, PA. Today started with a sociable 09:50 start from the hotel for a short drive to the park. On arrival, we were issued with our lunch vouchers and wristbands. Having had our ERS last night on Ravine Flyer II, we didn't have any ERS's planned for today, so we all dispersed to various areas of the park.
Waldameer is not a big park, but has some great rides for it's size. Other than the Ravine Flyer II, there are three other coasters on offer which are Steel Dragon a spinning ride like Spinball Whizzer, Ravine Flyer 3 which is a small kiddie coaster and unique in the fact that it is 97% over water including the loading platform - so don't drop anything!! The final coaster is the Comet, which is a small PTC Woodie, and good fun.
Waldameer is not a big park, but has some great rides for it's size. Other than the Ravine Flyer II, there are three other coasters on offer which are Steel Dragon a spinning ride like Spinball Whizzer, Ravine Flyer 3 which is a small kiddie coaster and unique in the fact that it is 97% over water including the loading platform - so don't drop anything!! The final coaster is the Comet, which is a small PTC Woodie, and good fun.
Due to the nature of the Ravine Flyer II, and it's great design hugging the landscape it's not easy to photograph, so Steve - owner of the park took some of us into an area round the back for some additional pictures, and also gave us permission to use the service access road that leads off from under the bridge so we could get pictures at the bottom of the first drop. Some of us went to explore this, and got some good pictures of the ride from the outside of the park perimeter.
Across the road from the park is an Environmental facility which is a free attraction. It has a tall tower that we can get up for free which offers great pictures of the ride (where the official postcard was taken from).
We left the park at 15:00 for our drive north and across the border into Canada, via port Erie. There was a chance we could pop into Fantasy Island, but the weather in that area interfered with that plan, so it was straight to the hotel. With a free evening, everyone split into the usual groups for bars and restaurants ready for our final park day tomorrow of Canada's Wonderland.
Across the road from the park is an Environmental facility which is a free attraction. It has a tall tower that we can get up for free which offers great pictures of the ride (where the official postcard was taken from).
We left the park at 15:00 for our drive north and across the border into Canada, via port Erie. There was a chance we could pop into Fantasy Island, but the weather in that area interfered with that plan, so it was straight to the hotel. With a free evening, everyone split into the usual groups for bars and restaurants ready for our final park day tomorrow of Canada's Wonderland.
Day 14 Well, the trip is coming to an end and what a fitting park to end the trip, Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario. Last visited by the club in 2001 this park now boasts 15 Coasters. The park switched our ERS's around due to the forecasted weather the park was expecting in the afternoon so we started the day on Behemoth, a B&M Mega Coaster and this didn't disappoint. There was plenty of airtime. The park were running 3 trains so it was quick and easy to get the seats you wanted to try. This was followed by an ERS on the Mighty Canadian Minebuster, a PTC woodie. Some of the 'Steelies' in the club remained on Behemoth while the rest of us rode the woodie. When the park opened most of us went over to The Back Lot Stunt Coaster to check this out. We could see everyone running over to Behemoth and within minutes all the queuing grids were full!
It was at this point that most people split off in their respective groups to explore the park. Most of the Coaster tickers hadn't visited the park before so they had the task of getting all of the coasters in before the weather was due to change. We had lunch at the park and this was impressive. It was an all you can eat buffet in The Marketplace, Theme Park food is getting better every year and this was proof, one of the best park lunchs on tour. We then had a speech from the park's management before returning to the park to continue riding.
The Coaster Tickers in the club did have a slight problem, they couldn't ride the kiddie ride Taxi Jam. The park didn't disappoint so when they closed the kids area at 21:00 they allowed us to have an extra ERS, an ERS on Taxi Jam and Nancy who organised this also joined in. There was a little more time to catch up on some rides before the park closed to the public at 22:00 and our final 2 ERS's of the tour. The forecasted weather didn't materialise and so it was off to Dragon Fire, an Arrow looping coaster for a couple of rides before heading over to The Wild Beast for our final ERS, another PTC woodie. This didn't disappoint as was a fitting end to a great trip. Everyone joined in the fun. After the ERS had finished we gathered outside the ride for our traditional get together. Unfortunately Alan Chilvers wasn't very well and didn't attend the park so Nev asked USA virgin Alan Hunt to get us underway with The Hokey Cokey. This was followed by our thanks to the staff for making our day such a great one and then in true RCCGB tradition, GROUP HUG! was shouted. They didn't know what to expect. Anyway that was it, the coaster riding over and back to the coach for our short journey to our hotel. There was no bar in the hotel on Friday so Nev organised us getting use of the boardroom! So it was off to the off licence for some refreshments and so a lot of us got together for one last time. The boardroom had a flat screen link to the PC's so we could show everyone what we had been doing on the website and remember what we had done looking back at the start of the trip at Busch Gardens. It seemed so long ago. Tomorrow is a short stop in downtown Toronto before heading to the airport.
The Coaster Tickers in the club did have a slight problem, they couldn't ride the kiddie ride Taxi Jam. The park didn't disappoint so when they closed the kids area at 21:00 they allowed us to have an extra ERS, an ERS on Taxi Jam and Nancy who organised this also joined in. There was a little more time to catch up on some rides before the park closed to the public at 22:00 and our final 2 ERS's of the tour. The forecasted weather didn't materialise and so it was off to Dragon Fire, an Arrow looping coaster for a couple of rides before heading over to The Wild Beast for our final ERS, another PTC woodie. This didn't disappoint as was a fitting end to a great trip. Everyone joined in the fun. After the ERS had finished we gathered outside the ride for our traditional get together. Unfortunately Alan Chilvers wasn't very well and didn't attend the park so Nev asked USA virgin Alan Hunt to get us underway with The Hokey Cokey. This was followed by our thanks to the staff for making our day such a great one and then in true RCCGB tradition, GROUP HUG! was shouted. They didn't know what to expect. Anyway that was it, the coaster riding over and back to the coach for our short journey to our hotel. There was no bar in the hotel on Friday so Nev organised us getting use of the boardroom! So it was off to the off licence for some refreshments and so a lot of us got together for one last time. The boardroom had a flat screen link to the PC's so we could show everyone what we had been doing on the website and remember what we had done looking back at the start of the trip at Busch Gardens. It seemed so long ago. Tomorrow is a short stop in downtown Toronto before heading to the airport.
Day 15 We were treated to a late start for our last day, not having to be on the coach until 10:00 with our luggage! Then it was a short drive to downtown Toronto. The coach dropped us off near The CN Tower, and everyone did their own thing, shopping, site seeing etc. A few of us headed over to the CN Tower. The weather that was due while we were at Canada's Wonderland was with us, it was awful to say the least. You couldn't see the top of the CN Tower for cloud. We were not bothered about this and got tickets to the top of the tower. We then got screened in what looked like a metal detector but it was checking for traces of explosives! Then it was off to the lift for the short journey to the top of the tower. Even the lift had a glass portion of floor so you could see us travelling away from the ground, this was a weird feeling.
After arriving at the top of the tower we looked out and it was like being up in an aircraft as all you could see were clouds. From time to time the clouds did disappear for a short time giving us a great view of the street below. It was at this point we headed over to the glass floor section and took a walk on it. Some of us were very nervous and took a long time to walk on the glass but we were reassured that the glass could withstand a weight of 15 tonnes. Steve Frost was very nervous about walking on the glass but we encouraged him and in his own time he suceeeded in walking on it. After this he wanted a drink! so we all headed over to the bar for some refreshment and group photo! Steve then took us by shock, and wanted to go back to the glass floor and do it all again! Well done Steve.
After arriving at the top of the tower we looked out and it was like being up in an aircraft as all you could see were clouds. From time to time the clouds did disappear for a short time giving us a great view of the street below. It was at this point we headed over to the glass floor section and took a walk on it. Some of us were very nervous and took a long time to walk on the glass but we were reassured that the glass could withstand a weight of 15 tonnes. Steve Frost was very nervous about walking on the glass but we encouraged him and in his own time he suceeeded in walking on it. After this he wanted a drink! so we all headed over to the bar for some refreshment and group photo! Steve then took us by shock, and wanted to go back to the glass floor and do it all again! Well done Steve.
We returned to the ground via the lift and those that wouldn't look through the glass on the floor of the lift on the way up managed to on the way down having conquered the main glass floor at the top. We then headed over to The Hard Rock Cafe which was next door to the Tower for some lunch and souvenirs. Some members then went to do the brewery tour which was a short walk from where the coach had parked up and some of us went to the sports bar. Those that did the brewery tour got the best deal as they got some free samples, and these were pints! The trip was rapidly coming to an end so we boarded the bus. Before we set off we had some presentations to perform, firstly for Bob our driver. We all put in to a collection for him and Nev presented this along with some ale entitled Old Bob. Nev had also relabelled one bottle and called it Wobbly Bob. You need to travel with Bob to see why!! Bob then made a speech before the second presentation, and what better person to do this than the winner of The Survivor contest, Pete Marshall. Nev was presented with an envelope which contained dollars from a collection we made earlier and was thanked for another great trip. Presentations over and off to the airport for some last minute shopping, refreshments and then our journey home back to the UK. Being a night time flight most of us got our head down before waking up to some breakfast and then landing at Heathrow.
That was it, another trip over. The last time the group were together was at baggage reclaim. Then it was off in all our different directions. Roll on USA 2010, at least we have the summer bash coming up fast.
That was it, another trip over. The last time the group were together was at baggage reclaim. Then it was off in all our different directions. Roll on USA 2010, at least we have the summer bash coming up fast.
Photos by Dave Perry & Matt Walker
Please Note: All on ride photographs were taken WITH PERMISSION of the theme park and ride management. Under no circumstances should any member of the public or club member attempt to take photographs on rides without express permission from the theme park. Safety comes first - always follow the rules!
