Nemesis Nick at Funland 25 Oct 2014 Midi Report

Date: Saturday 25 October 2014
Venue: Funland, Hayling Island
Who Went: Just me

N.B. Any use of "today" or "Saturday" in this report means Saturday 25 October 2014.

Rationale For Trip

After my birthday outing to Thorpe Park and RCCGB Loopathon day 2 at Drayton Manor Park, I fancied a last-minute bonus coaster trip to Funland Hayling Island the last Saturday in October.

Getting to Funland

I awoke early to catch the 07:35 train from Bath Spa to Fareham, followed by the 09:40 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 myself an all-day wristband. A notice stated that Drop tower was out of action. Once fitted with my wristband I immediately took to the rides. I would have liked to have started with the looping coaster Klondike Gold Mine, but since that required at least four riders, I began with one go on Woody's Roller Coaster. Next I donned my navy cagoule and had four goes on Blizzard Falls Log Flume. Although this is just a mini log flume it's still great fun. Afterwards I enjoyed Flying Saucer and Super Dragon Roller Coaster once each.

Cyclone is new to Funland for 2014, and is located where Breakdance used to be. Another fun ride, and still one of my favourite non-coaster rides, but once was enough for me for now. At last there were enough others wanting to ride the looping coaster Klondike Gold Mine, so I went on that next. A thrilling and fun ride experience considering the coaster's age. I tried queuing for a second go on Klondike, along with two other riders, but since no-one else turned up after a few minutes, I backed off and had one go on Woody's Roller Coaster instead. Having left Woody's Roller Coaster, there were enough riders approaching Klondike, so I took the opportunity to have my second go of the day on Klondike. After that, I donned my all-in-one splashsuit and enjoyed three goes on Beaver Creek Log Flume (the large log flume) without getting wet.

Lunchtime and After

At 13:20 I went to Beachlands Café for an an all-day breakfast and mug of coffee. Afterwards I went for a walk along the beach to the west of the café.

Afternoon Riding

Around 14:30 I returned to Funland and without further ado returned to riding, starting with Cannibal Pots. This is similar to a tea cup ride, but with cauldrons instead of cups. A fun ride, but once was enough for now. Nearby a few others were about to ride Klondike Gold Mine, so I took the opportunity to enjoy two goes on it. Next I rode Woody's Roller Coaster and Super Dragon Roller Coaster once each. I wore my pink "Coaster Crazy Kid on Tour!" hi-vis waistcoat over my T-shirt whilst riding Super Dragon, and the attendant liked it.

Having now ridden all three coasters in succession I fancied riding a few non-coaster rides. I enjoyed Cyclone, Extreme and Cannibal Pots once each. Afterwards enough others were waiting to ride Klondike, so I took the opportunity to enjoy my final two goes of the day on it. I wore my pink hi-vis waistcoat for my second go. The rest of the afternoon I enjoyed four goes on the Helter Skelter, four goes on Blizzard Falls Log Flume and two goes on Beaver Creek Log Flume. Finally I just had time to ride Extreme and Samba Balloon once each before closing time.

Cumulative summary of my rides all day

Ride	Total
Beaver Creek Log Flume	5
Blizzard Falls Log Flume	8
Cannibal Pots	2
Cyclone	2
Extreme	2
Flying Saucer	1
Helter Skelter	4
Klondike Gold Mine	6
Samba Balloon	1
Super Dragon Roller Coaster	2
Woody's Roller Coaster	3
TOTAL	36

Evening

From Funland To Havant

Haivng left Funland at 17:05 I caught the bus to Havant Bus Station. Whilst in Havant I had a large Spanish Whopper Meal for main course followed by a Caramel Sundae for dessert at Burger King. Back at the railway station I caught the 19:18 train to Fareham, followed by the 19:47 train to Bath Spa. I finally reached Bath Spa at 21:44, and home about ten minutes later.

Outro

Highlights

High ride count.
Rides mostly walk-on; the few queues that did occur were very short.
Riding the three coasters (Klondike, Woody's Roller Coaster, Super Dragon) again.
Riding Cyclone and Samba Balloon for the first time, and hence adding them to my ride count.
All-day breakfast at Beachlands Café lunchtime.

Lowlights

Sometimes I had to wait for others to turn up to be able to ride Klondike.
Long wait to get served at Burger King, Havant early evening.

Summary

Altogether a great day out, my final send-off to the 2014 coaster season. Although a small park, I enjoyed riding three roller coasters, two log flumes, five other rides and a helter skelter. It was definitely worthwhile me travelling from Bath to Hayling Island and back in one day just to visit such a small park. The park was rather quiet, presumably because it was late October. That often meant I was the only person wanting to go on a particular ride, and the few times there were others waiting there were only three or four others maximum, thereby allowing me to get a high overall ride count. However it created a problem for me riding Klondike; sometimes I was the only person wanting to go on it and had to wait for others to turn up. I generally overcame that problem by approaching Klondike when I saw other people about to go on it, and thus managed a total of six goes on it. At least that was an improvement on my visit last year when I only just managed to get one go on Klondike in the afternoon. For me the biggest surprise was finding out that Breakdance had gone, and the new Cyclone ride was in its place. It was great to add the new Cyclone, as well as the Samba Balloon, to my ride count. As a RCCGB member my greatest satisfaction was riding all three coasters (Klondike, Woody's Roller Coaster, Super Dragon) again. Although exciting to ride, they're all steel though. Come on Funland, get some wood! The weather was reasonable; dry all day, two longish sunny intervals during the afternoon and considerably less windy than my visit to Funland last year.

More about my day at Funland available here

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