Nemesis Nick at Brean Leisure Park

Date: Saturday 29 June 2013
Venue: Brean Leisure Park Fun City
Who Went: Just me

Getting To Brean Leisure Park

I awoke at 5:45am to get ready and catch the 7:25 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol Bus Station, whereupon I caught the 8:20 bus to Weston-super-Mare. Finally I caught the 9:40 bus to Brean Leisure Park. I finally reached Brean Leisure Park at 10:21am, nearly 3 hours after leaving Bath!

Brean Leisure Park

Morning Coffee

There were still a few minutes to go before Fun City was due to open at 10.30am. Meanwhile I felt partial to a coffee and light snack. Starbucks at Brean water park was open, so I had a tall Amercano and Twix there.

Fun City Morning Riding

Admission

Having left Starbucks, Fun City was open. I entered Fun City and immediately bought a wristband. Once fitted with my wristband I was eager to start riding.

Astro Storm

Where better to start the day than Astro Storm? This Zierer Four Man Bob is the former Space Invader 2 from Pleasure Beach Resort Blackpool. Late July 2011 it began operating at Fun City as Astro Storm. The 3-seater train, which resembles a space ship, goes through the doors, turns right and climbs the lift hill. On the way up are lights which change between red and green. Personally I think they're superfluous really. At the top there's a thrusting sound and the train winds its way along the course of the track. Along the way you pass tiny lights, which presumably resemble stars. Strong air currents add to the fun, though I question their significance considering there is no air in Space! Finally there are more bizarre lighting effects in the home straight before the train stops at the exit platform. I enjoyed four goes on this: Si6 front, Si8 front, Si4 front, Si1 front.

Shockwave

Now for a few goes on the looping coaster Shockwave. This Pinfari preZyklon TL59 originally operated as Crazy Loop at Flamingo Land (Malton) and Pleasure Island Cleethorpes. Since 2004, it has been operating at Brean as Shockwave. The lift hill, first drop, vertical loop and other elements made for a fun ride, albeit a bit rough. Although not my favourite looping coaster, I nonetheless enjoyed four
goes (all in the front car of the two car train): back left, front right, front left, back right.

Caterpillar Coaster

This D.P.V. Rides Minicoaster Apple has been operating at Brean since 2001. Unlike the other three coasters, one ride consists of two laps of the track. Not a particularly exciting coaster but to me riding this was as important as the other three bigger coasters. I had two goes, both of which were in the second-from-back row.

Magic Mouse

Now for the mouse coaster Magic Mouse. This Reverchon Spinning Coaster has been operating at Brean since 2007. The ride car leaves the station, climbs the lift hill and works its way along a series of straight bits and U-bends. Last year I faced the inconvenience of having to find two others to ride with due to the wind speed. Fortunately for me, there was less wind this time and I was able to ride alone. Therefore I enjoyed four goes (cars 6, 8, 4, 6). Altogether a fun ride, enhanced by the car spinning on each U-bend.

Now that I'd ridden each coaster at least twice, I rode a few non-coaster rides before lunch.

Terror Castle

A ghost train which opened in July 2000. The train runs on a track, which has ups and downs, so can this be classed as a coaster? As you would expect there are spooky / gory characters along the way. One character had fluid coming out of his mouth to look like he was being sick. All in all, a reasonable ride, though I question the need for some of its lighting effects. This was my only go on here all day.

Sizzler

Just about everyone in the RCCGB must have been on this sort of ride at least once somewhere, you may have seen it called Twister or perhaps Cyclone. For some strange reason Fun City call theirs Sizzler, I'm not sure why. Another fun ride, and still one of my favourite non-coaster rides. For now I just had one go, but knew I'd be back for more later.

Pudsey Bear Photo

Whilst riding Sizzler I unexpectedly saw Pudsey Bear nearby, so as soon as the ride ended, I had my photo taken with him.

Wipe Out

A Freak-Out / Afterburner type ride which swings and spins. Each set of four seats faces inwards. The ride was great fun, but once again it seemed longer than average. Although I enjoyed this ride, by the time it finished I felt I'd been on there long enough.

Sea Maze

A mirror maze. Although I found a few dead ends, I soon found my way through from start to finish. This was my only passage through here all day.

Waltzer

My final ride before lunch. When I turned up several ride cars were already occupied. In order to get as many other waiting riders on as possible, I thought the attendant might put me in with someone else, but surprisingly he put me in a car on my own. However he pointed out I may have difficulty getting the car to spin with just me in it. Anyway the whole ride went around really fast, and my ride car spun a bit along the way. A fun ride, but once was enough for now. I never returned to this later in the day.

Lunch at Subway

When the Waltzer ride ended at 1:13pm, I left Fun City to get some lunch at nearby Subway. Unlike last year, I arrived there when the queue was very short, and it only took me a few minutes to get served. I had a 6 inch chicken tikka Sub and coffee (as a £3 Meal Deal), and also had a cookie (as an extra item).

Fun City Afternoon Riding

Just before 2pm I was back in Fun City, and continued as follows.

Bumpy Slide

A four lane Astra slide. Since I'd just had lunch, I went on this next. One payment of tokens or showing one's wristband once gets you two slides. Having queued and shown my wristband, I enjoyed two goes. Afterwards I queued again for two more goes. On each go the slide was quite fast and I went right across the run-out into the padded wall at the end.

X Factory

This KMG ride looks and works like a Miami. Its row of seats beneath two vertical arms goes up, sideways and down. The ride also has water jets, but they aren't always used; I'm not sure whether or not they were used on this particular go. Going up, across and down was extremely exciting; at one point the seat row tilted forwards slightly whilst high up. For now I only had one go.

Whilst I was enjoying the above rides the following medley of past Eurovision songs was played on the sound system:
Puppet On A String
Making Your Mind Up
Save Your Kisses For Me
Beg, Steal or Borrow
One Step Further
Hallelujah

Frisbee

A witch's hat type ride, I fancied a go on this next. Although another fun ride, once was enough for me. This was my only go on here all day

Wave Swinger

Being as this is located next-door to Frisbee, it made sense for me to ride this next. Just like any other Wave Swinger, the central unit rose up and tilted as it spun around. Another fun ride, but once was enough for me. This was my only go on here all day.

Sooty Photo

The time was now almost 3pm, so I headed for the Sooty Studio to meet either Sooty or Sweep depending on which one was appearing today. Being as I had my photo taken with Sooty on my 2011 and 2012 visits to Brean, I was hoping to meet Sweep this time. Anyway, just after I arrived, Sooty appeared. Nonetheless I had my photo taken with him again as a) this time I was wearing my RCCGB 25th Anniversary T-shirt and b) I had replaced my camera since last year.

Astro Storm

Now for some more goes on Astro Storm. I was hoping to get about eight or ten goes, but the ride was now busier than this morning, with a few minutes wait each time. In order to have time for other rides afterwards, I reluctantly limited myself to just four goes on Astro Storm: Si1 front, Si4 front, Si6 back, Si4 centre.

Sizzler

My second and final go of the day on this; I enjoyed the ride just as much as earlier.

Wild Water

A log flume. Before joining the queue I put on my cagoule and leggings so as not to get wet. When it was my turn I got into one log and set off. The layout of this is somewhat similar to the one at Cornwall's Crealy; the log went up the first lift hill, and down creating a splash. After that it went up the second (taller) lift hill, and down creating an even bigger splash. Finally the log returned to the station. Altogether a fun ride.

Being as I had my wet weather gear on, I returned to the ride entrance for a second go. At the end of my second go, I left the ride, but kept my rain gear on for now.

Sky Diver

A drop tower. The ring of outward facing seats rose and fell several times. A fun ride, better than Trauma Tower at Woodlands, but tame compared to Ice Blast at Pleasure Beach Resort Blackpool. For now I only had one go, during which I was in seat 8.

X Factory

My second and final go on X Factory. This time the jets were in use when the seat unit reached its highest point and tilted forwards, but I still had my rain gear on. When I left X Factory afterwards I removed my rain gear.

With the time now 4:40pm I was going to go on Xtreme. Due to the queue length I knew I wouldn't be on the very next ride. Anyway a new batch of riders were loaded on to the ride. With just seven now in front of me I knew I'd be on the following ride. Shortly afterwards I noticed the ride had stopped and an attendant was checking something; I'm not exactly sure what was happening but anyway I backed off. So I ended up not riding Xtreme at all.

Sky Diver

My second and final go of the day on this drop tower; this time I sat in seat 9. This ended up being my final non-coaster ride of the day at Fun City.

Shockwave

There were now just a few minutes left before my daytime wristband was due to expire at 5pm. Determined to end the day on a coaster, I headed for Shockwave. I got into the front right seat of the front car. As the ride set off I knew this could well be my last ride of the day at Brean, and therefore made the most of it.

The time was 5pm exactly as I left the ride and returned to the entry platform to collect my bag. Since there were three other riders with purple (daytime) wristbands just getting on, I asked if I could have one more go, and the operator said I could, so I got into the back left seat of the front car. Once seated the attendant pointed out to me and the other three riders that our wristbands had now run out. Knowing this would be my final ride of the day at Fun City, I made the most of it.

Summary of day

Coffee at Starbucks

Astro Storm 4
Shockwave (looping coaster) 4
Caterpillar Coaster 2
Magic Mouse 4
Terror Castle (ghost train) 1
Sizzler 1

Photo with Pudsey

Wipe Out (Afterburner) 1
Sea Maze 1
Waltzer 1

Lunch at Subway

Bumpy Slide 4
X Factory 1
Frisbee 1
Wave Swinger 1

Photo with Sooty

Astro Storm 4
Sizzler 1
Wild Water (log flume) 2
Sky Diver (drop tower) 1
X Factory 1
Sky Diver (drop tower) 1
Shockwave (looping coaster) 2

Cumulative Summary

Ride	Total
Astro Storm	8
Bumpy Slide	4
Caterpillar Coaster	2
Frisbee	1
Magic Mouse	4
Sea Maze	1
Shockwave	6
Sizzler	2
Sky Diver	2
Terror Castle	1
Waltzer	1
Wave Swinger	1
Wild Water	2
Wipe Out	1
X Factory	2
TOTAL	38

Saturday Evening

Bus to Weston-super-Mare

Now that my wristband had expired, it was time to head back to Weston-super-Mare. Just like last year, I suddenly remembered it would not be possible for another RCCGB member to offer me a lift to Weston-super-Mare (unlike my first ever visit to Brean in September 2011). Thankfully there wasn't too long a wait for the 17:19 number 112 bus to Weston-super-Mare. As soon as it turned up I got on and it departed on time.

Walk Along Seafront

At 5:49pm I left the bus at Sandpiper bus stop by Clarence Park and walked along the seafront in the direction of Grand Pier. My plan for the next couple of hours was just like last year: enjoy a fish and chip takeaway and ice cream, followed by a couple of rides on Grand Pier before resuming my bus journey home just after 7:30pm.

Takeaway

At 6:05pm I got to The Waterfront Fish Bar (which is opposite Grand Pier). From there I had a takeaway: fish and chips plus mushy peas. Due to the onshore winds, which blew sand from the beach to the promenade, I chose not to sit on the promenade this time (unlike last year). Instead I sat in a paved area across the road from the Grand Pier. Annoyingly there were a lot of seagulls flying near me where I sat, and several times I had to wave one of my arms to scare them away.

Afterwards I went to get another seaside must-have: an ice cream. A short distance further along the sea front I found Fella's, whereupon I bought a medium strawberry and vanilla whippy ice cream. I sat in their outdoor seating area to eat it.

Grand Pier

Having left Fella's, I went on Grand Pier and walked straight to the Pavilion at the end. As soon as I was inside the Pavilion, I ascended the up escalator (SJEC) to the first floor, and went to the shop selling ride tickets. There I bought 4 ride credits in order to ride the following once each:

Free Fall 2 credits
Helter Skelter red slide 1 credit
Helter Skelter blue slide 1 credit

Having left the shop I descended the down escalator (SJEC) to the ground floor and took to the rides without further ado.

Free Fall

A drop tower. Once again I forgot to ask how tall it is, or who made it. Obviously its height is limited by the height of the building. This is more like the Trauma Tower at Woodlands in that it has a row of seats on the side of the tower (a stark difference from the seating arrangement on Sky Diver at Brean). The seat unit rose up the tower, through a hole in the first floor and reached its summit well above first floor level. This was followed by several partial drops and rises before the final descent. Altogether a fun ride, although the ride experience can be better compared with Trauma Tower at Woodlands than Sky Diver at Brean or Ice Blast at Pleasure Beach Resort Blackpool. I only had one go on this.

Helter Skelter

This differs from a traditional funfair helter skelter. You climb the staircase in the middle and land on a wide open area. At the top you have a choice of two metal spiral slides (one red and one blue) which go around the outside. You wait at the top of the slide you want to go down, and can go when the green light shows. N.B. One ride credit gives you one go only; therefore if you want one go on each slide (as I did) you will need to buy two ride credits. As intended, I had one go on the red slide followed by one go on the blue slide. Disappointingly the red slide was really slow all the way down, and the blue slide wasn't much faster. I had hoped to go down both slides much faster than that.

Summary of Grand Pier Rides

Free Fall 1
Helter Skelter red slide 1
Helter Skelter blue slide 1

After that I left the Pavilion and walked back along the pier to the exit. Having left the pier I looked for somewhere to get a takeaway coffee; I saw a café in Regent Street which was open and they were able to serve me a takeaway coffee.

Journey Home

My next priority was to find the bus stop in Oxford Street from which I was expecting to catch the next bus to Bristol; however along the way I saw a destination indicator panel stating the next bus to Bristol was due to depart from stop CC in Alexandra Parade at 19:36, so I headed for that stop instead. Once at the said stop, I drank my takeaway coffee before the bus turned up.

The 19:36 Bristol bus departed on time. I left the bus at Bristol city centre and from there caught the onward 21:02 bus to Bath Bus Station. My hopes of a peaceful journey between Bristol and Bath came to an abrupt end when a group got on at a pub in Keynsham and were rowdy until they left a couple of stops before Bath Bus Station. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 9:50pm and home eight minutes later.

Outro

Highlights

Re-riding the four coasters and many other rides that I first rode at Fun City September 2011.
Riding Astro Storm four times straight off in the morning and four times straight off in the afternoon.
Meeting Pudsey Bear around midday and Sooty at 3pm.
Free Fall ride on Grand Pier, Weston-super-Mare.

Lowlights

Seagulls around me whilst I was eating my fish and chips early evening.
Both Helter Skelter slides on Grand Pier, Weston-super-Mare were rather slow.
Rowdy group getting on the Bristol to Bath bus at a Keynsham pub during my journey home.

Summing Up

Altogether a fun day out; my third visit to Fun City to-date and my second solo visit there. Nearly two years after the RCCGB Summer Bash 2011 I still missed Happy Helen, Lucy Cosnett and other members, but nonetheless enjoyed the four coasters (Astro Storm, Shockwave, Caterpillar Coaster, Magic Mouse) and other rides again. Just one point about the four coasters, they're all steel. Come on Brean, get some wood! Furthermore it was dry all day and mostly sunny which was better than had been forecast. My only mistake was forgetting to take a bottle of sun tan lotion and my face got a bit sunburnt.