Nemesis Nick at Funland 2 Nov 2013 Midi Report

Date: Saturday 2 November 2013
Venue: Funland, Hayling Island
Who Went: Just me

N.B. Any use of "today" or "Saturday" in this report means Saturday 2 November 2013.

Rationale For Trip

After my birthday outing to Thorpe Park and October trip to Devon (which included visits to Devon's Crealy and Woodlands), I fancied a last-minute bonus coaster trip to Funland Hayling Island on Saturday 2 November.

Getting to Funland

I awoke early to catch the 07:35 train from Bath to Fratton, followed by the 10:04 train to Havant, and onward bus to Beachlands, Hayling Island. When I reached Funland at 10:40, I went into Beachlands Café, next-door to Funland, for a much-needed mug of coffee.

Funland, Hayling Island

Morning Riding

Having finished my coffee I entered Funland and bought an all-day wristband. Disappointingly a notice stated Woody's Roller Coaster was out of action. After hoping to ride all three coasters, all I could now hope was was to ride Klondike and Super Dragon.

Once fitted with my wristband I immediately took to the rides, starting with one go on the spinning ride Breakdance. This was followed by one go on Flying Saucer; although not a particularly thrilling ride it was worth riding just for the record. Afterwards I rode the family coaster Super Dragon: one go in the front row, followed by one go in the second-from-back row.

At this point I donned my all-in-one splashsuit to ride Funland's large log flume. Known as Wild River Log Flume on my previous visits to Funland, this was my first time of seeing it called Beaver Creek Log Flume. The combination of a relaxing journey around the canal and up the tall lift hill, followed by a big drop which creates a mighty splash makes for an exciting ride. For now I only had one go, but hoped for more goes later.

New for 2013 is the Miami ride Extreme. A fun ride, just like any other Miami, but once was enough for now. Nearby Drop is a 35 metres tall drop tower which claims to be the tallest, fastest ride on the south coast. I wondered whether or not such a tall ride would run today due to the wind. Thankfully it was running, so I enjoyed two goes. Next I enjoyed four goes on Blizzard Falls Log Flume. This mini log flume is obviously tame compared to Beaver Creek Log Flume, but still great fun. Suddenly it started to rain, but nonetheless dressed in my all-in-one splashsuit I enjoyed three goes on Beaver Creek Log Flume.

Lunchtime

The rain was now getting heavier, so I went to Jenny's Food Bar for a light lunch: ham salad baguette and a cup of coffee.

Afternoon Riding

The last two years I've gone for a walk along the seafront between finishing lunch and resuming riding at Funland. This time I returned to riding almost immediately after lunch, to have as many rides as possible, just in case increasing wind speeds forced early closure of the rides around 15:00 to 16:00. It was still raining at the time, but shortly afterwards the rain stopped.

My first ride after lunch was one go on Super Dragon, in the back row. Next I enjoyed one go on the much more boisterous Miami ride Extreme, followed by one go on Breakdance and one go on Cannibal Pots (which is similar to a tea cup ride, but with cauldrons instead of cups). After that I enjoyed eight goes on Helter Skelter. It's questionable whether this is a true ride or a slide, but it's still great fun.

Having enjoyed my final go of the day on Extreme, enough people wanted to ride the looping coaster Klondike for it to run on such a windy day. When I joined its queue the staff let eight riders including me on to the train. Part way around the track the train got stuck due to the high winds. Some members of staff gave the train a push, and after the next drop it gained enough momentum to be able to complete its journey to the exit platform. Once everyone left the train, Klondike was closed for the rest of the day. Consequently this was my only go on here all day.

Next I enjoyed Cannibal Pots, Drop and Super Dragon once each. Afterwards I donned my all-in one splashsuit and enjoyed two goes on Beaver Creek Log Flume, followed by four goes on Blizzard Falls Log Flume. Having removed my splashsuit Drop was still running, despite the wind, so I enjoyed my final two goes on it. Next I had one go on Breakdance.

As closing time neared, I wanted to finish off with Super Dragon, but since I couldn't see the attendant in charge of that ride, I ended my day with one go on Flying Saucer instead. A mild but fun final ride of the day. Immediately afterwards I left Funland as I was fairly sure a bus to Havant was due soon. Of course it was now almost dark.

Cumulative summary of my rides all day:

Ride	Total
Beaver Creek Log Flume	6
Blizzard Falls Log Flume	8
Breakdance	3
Cannibal Pots	2
Super Dragon	4
Drop	5
Extreme	3
Flying Saucer	2
Helter Skelter	8
Klondike	1
TOTAL	42

Evening

Having left Funland, I caught the 17:07 bus from Beachlands to Havant Bus Station. My original plan was to get takeaway fish and chips on my way to the train station there and travel home on the 18:00 Bristol Temple Meads train which would take me straight to Bath. As I passed a Pizza Hut whilst approaching Havant town centre, I momentarily I considered going there for a pizza, and perhaps an Ice Cream Factory as well, and travelling home later. Since it was now quite windy, and the weather was expected to worsen during the evening, I felt it was best to stick with my original plan, in case there were problems with trains later.

On my way to the train station I bought takeaway cod and chips, plus a cup of coffee. Having reached the station I consumed my takeaway whilst waiting for the late-running 18:00 Bristol Temple Meads train. The said train finally arrived at 18:12. Once on board, I enjoyed a relaxing train journey home with no further disruptions. I finally reached Bath Spa at 20:33 and home about ten minutes later.

Outro

Highlights

High ride count, despite the wind.
Riding the Miami ride Extreme for the first time.

Lowlights

Woody's Roller Coaster out of action all day.
Klondike getting stuck mid way around, thankfully the staff managed to get it going again.
It was a bit windy for my liking.

Summing Up

Altogether a great day out, my final send-off to the 2013 coaster season. Although a small park, I enjoyed riding two roller coasters, two log flumes, a helter skelter and five other rides. It was great to add the new Miami ride Extreme to my ride count, and to re-ride the other rides. The weather was less than ideal, it was a bit windy for my liking. At least it was mostly dry, with just one outbreak of rain around lunchtime, and luckily they were able to keep most rides running until the scheduled closing time of 17:00. The wind almost certainly explains why the park was so quiet, but at least that enabled me to get a good ride count overall. The only drawback to the park being so quiet was the difficulty in getting enough riders to run Klondike on such a windy day. At least I managed to get on Klondike with enough other riders mid-afternoon. It's a pity the train got stuck part way around, but thankfully the staff were able to push it hard enough for it to complete the journey to the exit platform. Undeniably I was disappointed at just one go on Klondike, after hoping for many more goes on what I see as Funland's most exciting coaster. Nonetheless, one go on Klondike was better than none, I was lucky to get on it once this time. It's a pity Woody's Roller Coaster was out of action all day, I would have liked to have had a few goes on that, but at least I had a few goes on the Super Dragon coaster. My biggest surprise was discovering that Speed Flip, which was new to Funland in 2011, was no longer there.

More about my day at Funland available here

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