Nemesis Nick's Birthday Outing 2016 Midi Report

Date: Friday 30 September 2016
Venue: Thorpe Park
Who Went: Just me

N.B. Any use of "today" in this report means Friday 30 September 2016.

Introduction

Friday 30 September 2016 was my 45th birthday. Just like the last three years, I decided to spend the day at Thorpe Park. Thursday 1 September I pre-booked a park entry ticket, as well as the required combination of train tickets from Bath Spa to Staines and back. For the sixth year running I had a special birthday T-shirt of my own design printed about a fortnight before my birthday; just like last year I had it printed at John Moore Sports, Bath.

Getting to Thorpe Park

It was necessary for me to wake up exceptionally early at 4:00, in order to get ready and catch the 05:41 train from Bath Spa to Reading. After a coffee at Lavazza I caught the 07:04 train to Wokingham, followed by the 07:26 train to Staines. Having reached Staines at 7:56 I enjoyed an almond croissant and standard cappuccino at Waitrose Café before I caught the 9:13 Thorpe Park Express bus from Staines Bus Station to Thorpe Park. At the time the weather was dry and sunny.

Welcome to Thorpe Park

I reached Thorpe Park at 9:21. Thus I still had about 40 minutes to wait until the Park was due to open. When the Advance Ticket Collection booths opened at 9:47, I collected my pre-booked ticket and waited in one of the entry queues. At 10:00 the front shutters rose and visitors funnelled through the ticket check point.

Morning Riding

Once admitted I began with the giant swing Rush, which was walk-on at the time. A mega fun ride to start my birthday visit. My next stop was the roller coaster Colossus. Having waited about two or three despatches to get on, I sat in the back row. Its vertical loop, horizontal corkscrew and other features made this another exciting ride. Next I had two goes on SAW - The Ride. This roller coaster featuring a vertical drop and loop was great fun, but I question the need for the lighting effects and air currents in the building as you wouldn't get those in a real factory sawmill. The waiting time was minimal for both goes. After that I enjoyed one go on the much milder Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride, which resembles a swing boat.

Next I enjoyed two goes on Detonator: Bombs Away. Originally just called Detonator, this drop tower was renamed Detonator: Bombs Away when it became part of the new Angry Birds Land in spring 2014. On both goes the waiting time was minimal, and the rise to the top and the freefall drop were great fun. By now the sky had clouded over, and I noticed a few spots of rain when I left Detonator: Bombs Away, so I put on my pale blue Maui and Sons jacket. The rain soon became quite heavy, but that didn't deter me from riding Flying Fish, which was walk-on. This family coaster is undeniably tame, but nonetheless still worth riding to say I had been on it today, and furthermore this time I experienced the impact of the rain drops on me as the train went around the track. My one go on Flying Fish now was my only go on it all day. Afterwards I enjoyed a much-needed coffee at Fin's Bar and Grill. Having left Fin's Bar and Grill, the rain had stopped and it was sunny again, so I enjoyed riding Vortex followed by the magic carpet ride Quantum once each.

Lunch at The Coffee Shack

By now I felt like some lunch. I ended up going to The Coffee Shack in the Dome to have a pack of chicken bacon club sandwiches. However I didn't have a drink as I had only recently had a coffee. I put my birthday card on my table for the duration of my lunch.

Afternoon Riding

After lunch I fancied a couple water rides, so I put on my all-in-one splashsuit and rode Tidal Wave and Storm Surge once each. Having removed my splashsuit I had one go on Storm in a Teacup. After I left Storm in a Teacup I felt warm enough going round in just my T-shirt and shorts for the rest of the afternoon. Next I enjoyed one go on Rumba Rapids.

Afterwards I was determined to ride The Swarm. When this coaster opened in March 2012, all its seats faced forwards. At the start of the 2013 season, the back two rows were reversed to face backwards to the direction of travel. Since then the two back rows returned to forward facing at the start of the 2016 season. The queue was longer than I expected or wanted, but nonetheless the ride was well worth the wait; I sat the back row departing from the right hand platform (as viewed facing direction of travel).

After that I enjoyed my second go of the day on Rush, followed by one go on Zodiac. Thankfully both of those were walk-on. The rest of my rides were on roller coasters, starting with Colossus, which also had a very short waiting time. I enjoyed one go on it in the second row. Next I approached the indoor coaster X, which was walk-on. Since there must now be two riders per row, I had to wait for someone else to sit beside me, and for that reason, I limited myself to one go in the front row. Although worth riding to say I'd ridden it this visit, I wouldn't rate it highly. Next I took about ten minutes queuing for Stealth, but it was definitely worth it. Going up the vertical lift hill, over the top and down the vertical drop gave a mega fun ride, albeit over too quickly for my liking. Reluctantly I limited myself to just one go on Stealth due to its queuing time. Finally I just had time for two goes on Nemesis Inferno before the Park closed at 17:00. The ride was walk-on for all three goes; although I circulated around the exit and entry paths between my first and second goes, I didn't have to do that between my second and third goes. This inverted coaster was the perfect ride to end my day at Thorpe Park. It was now time to leave the Park; on my way out had a few more photos taken of me.

Summary of my day at Thorpe Park in order of activity

Rush 1
Colossus 1
SAW - The Ride 2
Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride 1
Detonator: Bombs Away 2
Flying Fish 1

Coffee at Fin's Bar and Grill

Vortex 1
Quantum 1

Lunch at The Coffee Shack (The Dome)

Tidal Wave 1
Storm Surge 1
Storm in a Teacup 1
Rumba Rapids 1
The Swarm 1
Rush 1
Zodiac 1
Colossus 1
X 1
Stealth 1
Nemesis Inferno 3

Cumulative Summary of Rides

Ride	Total
Colossus	2
Detonator: Bombs Away	2
Flying Fish	1
Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride	1
Nemesis Inferno	3
Quantum	1
Rumba Rapids	1
Rush	2
SAW - The Ride	2
Stealth	1
Storm in a Teacup	1
Storm Surge	1
The Swarm	1
Tidal Wave	1
Vortex	1
X	1
Zodiac	1
TOTAL	23

Returning to Staines

Having finally left Thorpe Park around 17:25 I walked across to the bus stop. Although a bus was just pulling away when I got there, I was lucky enough to be at the front of the queue line. Since it was now getting chilly, I put my hoody and jogging bottoms back on whilst waiting. The next bus to Staines turned up at 17:46. Due to the large volume of traffic, the bus took considerably longer to reach Staines than the morning journey to Thorpe Park, despite taking exactly the same direct route in reverse. The bus finally reached Staines Bus Station at 18:22.

Birthday Dinner

My birthday fun continued back in Staines town centre. Around 18:30 I went to Harvester for my celebratory dinner. Once seated I placed my birthday card on the table, pinned two birthday rosettes to my T-shirt and chose what I wanted to eat and drink. Eventually I chose BBQ Chicken Stack (chicken breast with Monterey Jack cheese, BBQ sauce, grilled back bacon, buttermilk fried chicken tops, served with grilled corn on the cob, Kapia pepper, and fries, plus a fill-it-yourself salad bowl) for main course and unlimited soft drink (I chose cola). For dessert I had Berry Mess Sundae. Unexpectedly, a little later, the waiter brought me one profiterole with candle in and soft dairy ice cream, and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. Having blown out the candle I enjoyed my profiterole and ice cream.

Journey Home

Having left Harvester I walked to Staines railway station. Once there I caught the 20:53 train to Reading, whereupon there was time for me to buy a takeaway Americano before catching the 22:13 train to Bath Spa. I finally reached Bath Spa at 23:15 and home about ten minutes later.

Outro

Highlights

Weather generally reasonable; mainly dry and sunny, and fairly hot for the time of year during the afternoon.
High overall ride count.
Satisfaction of riding all seven coasters in a single trip.
Celebratory birthday dinner at Harvester in Staines town centre in the evening.

Lowlights

Shower of rain late morning.
Bus journey from Thorpe Park to Staines in the evening took longer than desired.

Summing Up

Altogether a mega fun day out to mark my 45th birthday. Where better to spend one's birthday than enjoying the rides at The Nation's Thrill Capital? The weather was quite good; apart from one heavy shower late morning, the rest of the day was dry and sunny, and sufficiently hot for just T-shirt and shorts from mid to late afternoon. Ride queues varied depending on the ride and time of day, but I generally tended to pick rides that which were walk-on or had very short queues, even though that meant leaving Stealth and Nemesis Inferno to the end of the day. My longest wait of the day was for The Swarm mid-afternoon. It was really satisfying to ride all seven coasters (Colossus, SAW - The Ride, Flying Fish, The Swarm, X, Stealth, Nemesis Inferno) again. Just one point about the seven coasters, they're all steel. Come on Thorpe Park, get some wood! It was also great riding several other non-coaster rides I first rode on previous trips, including Rush, Detonator: Bombs Away, Vortex, Tidal Wave, Storm Surge, Rumba Rapids and Zodiac. The celebratory evening dinner at Harvester in Staines town centre was the grand finale to this special day.

Many people liked my self-designed birthday T-shirt. Some were puzzled when they first saw the front,` until I showed the back. Wearing that throughout the day added to the fun of celebrating my birthday.

A more detailed report is available here

Photos of my birthday outing are available here