Venue: Splashdown Poole
Who Went: Just me
Rationale For Trip
Since 2004 I've visited Splashdown once a year. From 2005 to 2011 I normally went on a Saturday in mid-September (exceptionally in 2009 I went on the second Saturday in October). That seemed an optimum time to go on two counts: (i) the place should be quieter than during the July / August peak season, (ii) such a time would still be before the weather started getting colder (important as some of the slides are outside). Last year I went on 21 July 2012, and therefore strongly favoured going sometime in July this year, possibly the second half of the month. As it happened, Saturday 6 July 2013 was expected to be hot and sunny, with very little wind, in the Poole / Bournemouth area; perfect for the outdoor slides at Splashdown. Therefore I decided to go ahead with my trip to Splashdown on Saturday 6 July 2013, as due to the unpredictable British weather, there might not be another equally weather perfect Saturday the rest of the summer.Getting To Splashdown
I was at Dorchester that weekend and therefore caught the 12:13 train from Dorchester South to Poole. Having arrived Poole at 12:38 I briefly explored part of the Dolphin Shopping Centre before going to the bus station. There I caught the 13:10 bus to Tower Park.Splashdown
Splashdown is a large water park at Tower Park leisure complex on the outskirts of Poole. In fact, it claims to be "The South's Ultimate Water Park". Other amenities at Tower Park include Gala Bingo, Bowlplex (ten-pin bowling), Lemur Landings Soft Play Centre (a kids' indoor play area formerly called Monkey-Bizness) and Empire multi-screen cinema, along with fast food restaurants KFC and Burger King. Welcome To Splashdown
I got into Splashdown around 1:45pm. You can buy a two hour ticket or an all-day ticket. Initially I bought a two-hour ticket. The full price for two hours is £10.00, but by showing my Wilts & Dorset bus ticket (Poole Bus Station to Tower Park), I had a two hour ticket for the discounted price of £8.80. Clearly this is an incentive for people to do their bit for the environment by taking the bus instead of their car to Splashdown.Background Information
For the last few years they've used the smart band system. You have to pay a deposit which you get back when you return the smart band at the end of your visit. If you pay for two hours, the band is pre-loaded with two hours and ten minutes of sliding time. The extra ten minutes is to allow you ten minutes to change. Obviously if you manage to change quicker e.g. in five minutes, you can take advantage of those bonus minutes.Each time you are about to go down a slide, you have to tag your band against a sensor which tells you how much time is left. Tagging the band changes the light from red to amber (and then to green when the slide is clear) or directly to green if clear. If the light flashes and the time left is zero, you can have that "final go" you've queued for, but can't have any more goes after that. Clearly, the smart band is to stop those who've paid for two hours staying longer!
Here is an outline of the indoor slides.
Colorado Coaster
A wide blue tube slide. There's a shallow descent over the roof of the back section of the building, followed by a series of twists and turns until you land in a landing pool.Red River Roller
A narrow pink tube slide, which you must slide on your back. There's a shallow descent over the roof of the back section of the building, followed by a series of twists and turns until you land in a catch tray.Zambezi Drop
A narrow yellow tube slide, which you must slide on your back. There's a shallow descent over the roof of the back section of the building, followed by a U-bend and a very steep drop until you land in a catch tray. Not for the faint hearted!Baron's Revenge
A narrow black tube slide, which you must slide on your back. You are only in this slide a few seconds as you face a very steep drop, which takes you around a bend into a landing pool. A short, sharp shock treatment, not for the faint hearted!Black Thunder
A wide tube slide in which rain, thunder and lightning are simulated. However there was no flashing when I descended it this time, so evidently the lighting effects were either not working or intentionally switched off. You land in a landing pool.Dragon's Lair
Until 2004 this was called Torpedo Run. You crossed an enclosed bridge and climbed a tall tower (off-set from the front of the building) to the launch point, set off down the slide and looped right around the tower before going "into the building". In 2005 that tower was demolished to make way for KFC (an alteration which was beyond Splashdown's control). The replacement tower is not so tall, and the same slide, now called Dragon's Lair, now starts where the Torpedo Run "entered the building" after looping around the old tower. Personally I think that alteration spoilt the slide as it shortened it somewhat. In what's left of the former Torpedo Run, they've added a dragon face part way down and dragon sound effects to make the slide scarier. Personally I think that enhancement is a gimmick, which doesn't really make up for shortening the slide from when it was the Torpedo Run. You land in a catch tray next to the Zambezi Drop catch tray.The idea of Torpedo Run was to gain speed as you travelled downwards looping around the old tower prior to entering the building, so by the time you reached the steep drop shortly afterwards you were going really fast. Now there's not enough run-up to gain high speed before the steep drop (which is still present), therefore the dragon theming was an attempt to make the best of what's left of the former Torpedo Run.
Space Bowl
The first time I ever saw this at Splashdown was when I visited on Saturday 24 July 2004. On my previous visit, 30 September 2001 (which was my 30th birthday), it wasn't there. This was a much-needed retro-fit to the place, as I feel every good water park should have a Space Bowl. You begin your journey down a narrow tube slide which takes you into a giant space bowl. Once in there you spin around like a human pinball. The faster you enter the more times you spin around. Eventually you drop through the centre hole into the deep tank below (thus it's essential that you can swim). The best way to land is feet first. Don't land sideways so your elbow hits the water first. Finally you must exit the landing tank as quickly as possible.Mississippi Drifter
You need a tyre to slide this. You step into a u-bend shaped splasher pool, go down a short slide into the second splasher pool, then down another short slide into a third splasher pool. After going down one more short slide you drift around a bend and down a ramp out of the building to begin the Grand Canyon.N.B. Prior to the installation of the Space Bowl, the above ride began at the launch point for the present Space Bowl, and went down a slide which took you to the first splasher pool where you now begin the journey. At least the installation of the Space Bowl didn't spoil Mississippi Drifter in the way I feel the 2005 alteration spoilt Torpedo Run to become Dragon's Lair.
Next-door to the ramp which goes out of the building is another internal ramp. I think that takes you around a bend to the top of Black Thunder / Baron's Revenge. I read somewhere that during the winter, riders who have done Mississippi Drifter complete their journey down Black Thunder instead of Grand Canyon (which being an outdoor ride has to be closed all winter). I've never visited Splashdown in the winter when the outdoor rides are closed.
Grand Canyon
Having completed Mississippi Drifter the journey continues outside along the Grand Canyon. You drift along a lazy river type ride, around a bend and eventually enter a tube slide with a shower part way down. After that you pass through another outdoor splasher pool and go down a ramp into the building to land in a landing pool between Black Thunder and Colorado Coaster.By leaving through the door at the back of the ground floor and walking up a path, you can climb a tower to access four outdoor flumes Louisiana Leap, Tennessee Twister, Screamer and Velocity. None of these existed when Splashdown first opened circa 1990. The first ever time I saw Louisiana Leap, Tennessee Twister and Screamer was on my 30th birthday visit there 30 September 2001, although I'm not exactly sure when they first opened. Velocity is the latest addition to this group, it opened early summer 2012. Being outdoor slides, these are closed in winter.
Louisiana Leap
A wide tube slide, which until 2009 was only for under 12s. Since 2010, all sliders have had to sit on a tyre to slide this. That new rule was introduced to allow over 12s (including adults) to slide this flume. It consists of a series of twists and turns and lands in a catch tray.Tennessee Twister
Another wide tube slide. When it first opened, this was an all-age slide. In 2007 the management decided to restrict this to under 12s, just like Louisiana Leap. That seemed totally unnecessary to me, as previous years I'd slid it and it seemed safe enough for adult use. Since 2010, all sliders have had to sit on a tyre to slide this, thereby allowing over 12s (including adults) to enjoy it again. It goes around a series of twists and turns to land in a catch tray.Screamer
A narrow tube slide, which you must slide on your back. One of the scariest of all Splashdown's slides, you face a very steep drop as you gradually curve around to land in a catch tray. Not for the faint hearted!Velocity
Splashdown's newest slide, which opened in 2012. It launches from the same tower as Louisiana Leap, Tennessee Twister and Screamer; its launch point is directly opposite the launch point for Screamer. This is a narrow tube slide, which you must slide on your back. Shortly after the start you go down the steep drop (albeit not vertical), and really fast along the almost flat run-out. Not for the faint hearted! If any slide is scarier than Screamer, this is it. It's certainly a thrilling addition to the complex, but it was all over too quickly for my liking. Worse still, at the end, one has to walk down some steps which are set in the hill side to return to the bottom of the main tower. I think it would have been better if this slide had been continued further down the hill to land at the same level as the other three aforementioned outdoor flumes.The Splashdown Poole web site has an animated graphic plan of the Park, showing all the slides (including Velocity which opened in 2012), complete with statistics.
My First Two Hours
Having entered the slides area around 2pm, I began by sliding Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller and Zambezi Drop in sequence three times over. The queues for these were longer than I'd have liked, which meant it took me a long time to slide each one three times. Furthermore the water in Colorado Coaster seemed a bit cold at the time.The queue for Baron's Revenge was also longer than I expected, but since each slider had just a few seconds in this flume the queue cleared quickly. Hence I enjoyed four short, sharp shock goes on Baron's Revenge. There was also a lengthy queue for Black Thunder, but since that took longer to clear (due to the longer sliding time in that flume), I rationed myself to two goes on Black Thunder.
Without further ado I headed for the four outdoor slides. As soon as I reached the tower I collected a tyre. I began by sliding Louisiana Leap and Tennessee Twister in sequence three times over. The queuing time for both of them was fairly short, and I was able to keep my tyre between goes as no-one else happened to be waiting for one at the bottom. Having given up my tyre, my first two hours were almost over. I just had time to enjoy three goes on Screamer followed by three goes on Velocity before my time was up.
Being as it was a hot sunny day, it was quite hot whilst waiting at the top of the tower, and comfortably warm inside the slides. I certainly picked a perfect day to enjoy the outdoor slides.
Now that my two hours were up, I returned to the café intending to pay £1.50 for an extra hour. The person behind the counter said it's £2.50 to extend my session until closing time (which was 6pm, almost two hours away). After some thought, I decided to pay £2.50 to slide until 6pm.
My Exra Time
Having returned to the slides area, I began with one go on Baron's Revenge. I deliberately chose that slide as I wanted to check my wristband had been reloaded with time. Unfortunately there was a problem with the signal on that slide and a nearby lifeguard was telling people when to go, hence I was unable to test my smart band.There were still a few slides I'd not been on, one of them being the Dragon's Lair, so I headed for that next. The queue for my first three goes on Dragon's Lair were fairly lengthy. After that the waiting time for this slide was very short, no more than three in front of me and sometimes walk-on. I clocked up a total of fourteen goes on Dragon's Lair.
So far I'd still not been on the Mississippi Drifter / Grand Canyon tyre ride, so without further ado I went to the tyre collection point. Whereas earlier the queue for tyres stretched outside the back door, it was now quite short. Likewise the wait at the top was minimal, if at all. Although it was now late afternoon, it was still hot and sunny outside, which was ideal for the outdoor part Grand Canyon. Having enjoyed three goes on the Mississippi Drifter / Grand Canyon tyre ride, I resisted the temptation to have a fourth go as I had yet to do the Space Bowl.
The Space Bowl queue still tailed down the top flight of stairs. Nonetheless I joined the back of the queue and waited my turn, as if I didn't do so now I knew I'd never get a go today. When it was my turn I remained inside the Space Bowl as long as I could before dropping into the tank.
When I returned to the top, the Space Bowl queue was still quite long, whereas the Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller and Zambezi Drop were now walk-on. Hence I didn't go on the Space Bowl again. In the remaining available time I enjoyed Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller and Zambezi Drop in sequence twice over before everyone was asked to leave the slides area at 6pm.
Summary of my sliding:
First two hours:
Colorado CoasterRed River Roller
Zambezi Drop
Colorado Coaster
Red River Roller
Zambezi Drop
Colorado Coaster
Red River Roller
Zambezi Drop
Baron's Revenge 4
Black Thunder 2
Louisiana Leap
Tennessee Twister
Louisiana Leap
Tennessee Twister
Louisiana Leap
Tennessee Twister
Screamer 3
Velocity 3
Extra time:
Baron's Revenge Dragon's Lair 14
Mississippi Drifter / Grand Canyon 3
Space Bowl
Colorado Coaster
Red River Roller
Zambezi Drop
Colorado Coaster
Red River Roller
Zambezi Drop
Cumulative summary of slides:
| Slide | Total |
| Baron's Revenge | 5 |
| Black Thunder | 2 |
| Colorado Coaster | 5 |
| Dragon's Lair | 14 |
| Louisiana Leap | 3 |
| Mississippi Drifter / Grand Canyon | 3 |
| Red River Roller | 5 |
| Screamer | 3 |
| Space Bowl | 1 |
| Tennessee Twister | 3 |
| Velocity | 3 |
| Zambezi Drop | 5 |
| TOTAL | 52 |
Rest of Day
After leaving Splashdown at 18:25, I caught the 18:34 bus back to Poole Bus Station. When I arrived there just before 7pm, I wanted to get fish and chips somewhere in the town centre. The bus station fish and chip shop was still open, but they were unable to serve me fish and chips as they were about to close. Further into the town centre, Long John's Fish & Chips was open. From there I had takeaway small cod and large chips which I ate at a nearby park. Afterwards I fancied an ice cream, so I went to Burger King in the town centre to get a takeaway BK Fusion. Having left Burger King, I walked straight to Poole train station. Annoyingly when I got there the 19:37 Weymouth train had just gone (I actually saw it heading off in the distance). Meanwhile I enjoyed my BK Fusion whilst awaiting the 20:14 train back to Dorchester South.Outro
Highlights
About four hours of water sliding at Splashdown.Fourteen goes straight off on Dragon's Lair during extra time.
Hot and sunny weather, perfect for enjoying the outdoor flumes and Grand Canyon.
Lowlights
Some slide queues too long for my liking at certain times of my visit to Splashdown.Only one go on the Space Bowl, I'd have liked more than that.
Missing the 19:37 Weymouth train (for Dorchester) by just a couple of minutes and having to wait until 20:14 for the next one.
Summing Up
Altogether, about four hours of "flumin' good fun" at "the South's ultimate water park". The only extra Splashdown could do with is a roller coaster water slide, like the ones I've been on at Blackpool Water Park, Splash Waterworld at Butlins (Skegness and Minehead), Basingstoke Aquadrome, and Swansea LC. Best of all it was a really hot sunny afternoon for my visit, which was perfect for the outdoor slides Grand Canyon, Louisiana Leap, Tennessee Twister, Screamer and Velocity. The fish and chip takeaway in Poole town centre early evening was the perfect end to a wet and wild afternoon. Altogether a great afternoon and early evening out.I'm not sure when I'll next visit Splashdown, most likely my next visit will be some time next year.
