Withdrawals, Cold Sweats, Depression, Counting The Hours To Easter & A Desperate Need For An Adrenaline Hit
Welcome to a typical British coaster enthusiasts winter! So it's hit November and coaster enthusiasts around the country are heading into rehab or peering over their local park's fence, to try and get a glimpse of what may lie ahead. There's no more chances for a quick fix of adrenaline, as most parks under go their annual maintenance checks, repairs and facelifts. What on earth are we going to do for the next 4 or 5 months? I hear you cry! I know, it doesn't bare thinking about. Without the Florida climate all UK parks are forced to close over our winter period, us enthusiasts call this the closed season.
Repair the body and mind from the 2008 season and enjoy the break and prepare for the 2009 season. Let's not forget we have 2 new coasters to enjoy in 2009, Saw - The Ride at Thorpe Park and Flamingoland's - Mumbo Jumbo.
Looking Ahead To 2009
UK Rides
Mumbo Jumbo: S&S El Loco Coaster - Flamingoland
Saw - The Ride: Gerstlauer Euro Fighter Coaster - Thorpe Park
Sealife Center - Alton Towers
Wild River Rapids - Lightwater Valley
New World Records
Pilgrims Plunge: The World's Tallest Water Ride (131ft) - Holiday World, USA
Ring°Racer: The World's Fastest Roller Coaster (134.8 mph) - Nürburgring, Germany
2008 Review
Well, it all started with a treat. Early openings with Easter coming very early. So early in fact our Easter trip to Camelot was cut short by snow and hail storms. All parks suffered from the weather around that time, but lets not forget it was an early opening to the season. People still visited, so that's early trade they wouldn't have normally had. Still, it wasn't a great start.
April saw us meet up with Valley Mania for a small group trip to Lightwater Valley, for the Hill's and Thrill's event. It was a terrific day and we meet some new friends along the way. The Ultimate in a hail storm proved to be the highlight. Boys left the station but men returned.
You can view my full report and pictures here for Lightwater Valley
Another memory of this past season has to be the Offers/Vouchers on offer. Out of all them parks we have visited, I don't think we paid full price entry for any of them. With Walkers and The Sun newspaper handing out free tickets. All parks now offer online bookings, which will always save you a couple of pounds. It was pretty hard to pay full price this year with all the offers, it's always worth checking and shopping around. Without them, all of our trips would not have been possible. Lets hope for the same in 2009 with the current financial state.
The highlight of the year for me was our trip to Thorpe Park. It was our first visit and any enthusiast will agree, you can't beat that new park/ride feeling to explore. If you visit a park many times a season, you sort of develop immunity from the rides, as you have ridden them many times before. A new park however, increases the senses and anxiety of your new surroundings. Not knowing what to expect on the new rides causes the body to produce the fight or flight reaction, which in turn gives you the shot of natural adrenaline, which we as enthusiasts live for.
Thorpe Park during Fright Nights was something I'll never forget. The mazes were very scary in places.
The company was brilliant and a set of new friends to cap it off. Stealth took my new number one position over Oblivion too. Riding Detonator at Thorpe Park put Oblivion into perspective for me. Detonator was my first ever drop tower and it pretty much did the same thing as Oblivion. Stealth was something I'd never felt before, the sheer speed, height and time of the ride is breath taking, literally. Nemesis Inferno is pretty impressive too, possibly the smoothest ride I've ever been on. A truly wonderful day with great memories.
Another highlight of the year has to be me joining the European Coaster Club. I'm now an official nerd.
There are too many highlights to discuss really. All in all it's been another memorable year. I'd like to thank everyone who has made it possible.
Can't Wait For Easter? Here Are Some Winter Events
If you really can't wait for Easter and you need a quick fix, then here are some events over the winter, please check their web sites for opening times. Most are open all year, some on selected dates throughout the winter months.
Adventure Island (Selected Dates All Year)
Bird Of Prey Center - Lightwater Valley (11am - 3pm in November & 10am - 1pm in December, Closed 24th December to 31st December)
Brighton Pier (Closed Christmas Day)
Blizzard Funderworld - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (Late December - Mid January)
Funderland - RDS, Dublin (Late December - Mid January)
Irn-Bru Carnival - S.E.C.C, Glasgow (Late December - Mid January)
Leeds Valentines Fair - Elland Road Stadium, Leeds (The 2nd & 3rd Week In February)
Thomas Land - Drayton Manor (22nd November to 4th January - 12pm till 6pm) (Closed 24th, 25th, 26th December)
kevonline.co.uk is currently under construction. Click here to view the recent updates.
kevonline.co.uk will be a web site dedicated to myself and my passion about thrill riding. I hope to include everything you will need to know for you to enjoy a perfect day out at a theme park in the U. K. I've been riding coasters for at least 15 years and with a little light hearted fun I wish to pass this information onto you. So maybe next time your riding a coaster you may experience something new, you may have missed otherwise. Even if you don't ride coasters then I shall try my best to give you a good insight into what each coaster feels like from my riding experience.