Nemesis Nick's Birthday Outing 2018 Midi Report

Date: Sunday 30 September 2018
Venue: Thorpe Park
Who Went: Just me

N.B. Any use of "today" in this report means Sunday 30 September 2018.

Introduction

Sunday 30 September 2018 was my 47th birthday and my biggest decision was where to go to mark the occasion. One problem was my birthday falling on a Sunday, because at Bath Spa station, trains in all directions start running later than they do Monday to Saturday. After lengthy thought, I decided to visit Thorpe Park on my birthday, and on 16 September, I booked Advance train tickets from Bath Spa to Staines, and back, plus my Thorpe Park entry ticket, online. For the eighth year running I had a special birthday T-shirt of my own design printed about a fortnight before my birthday; for the fourth year running I had it printed at John Moore Sports, Bath.

Getting to Thorpe Park

It was necessary for me to wake up at 05:45, to get myself ready. When I got to Bath Spa station around 07:35, the 07:58 London Paddington train, which I was booked to catch, was cancelled due to over-running engineering work. The next train to London Paddington was due at 08:28, but that too became delayed. Meanwhile, I bought myself takeaway latte from a café near the station, and took it back to the station. The late-running 08:28 London Paddington train finally left Bath Spa at 08:49, and arrived at Reading at 09:43. Further problems occurred there; the 10:02 London Waterloo train (for Staines) was cancelled and the 10:29 London Waterloo train was delayed; it finally departed Reading just after 11:00. Whilst waiting at Reading, I had a takeaway croissant and Americano from Brewer St Coffee. Having finally reached Staines at 11:34, I caught the 11:45 bus to Thorpe Park, which arrived there at 11:58.

Day at Thorpe Park

Welcome to Thorpe Park

Having arrived at Thorpe Park, I saw the new hedge, and the security checkpoint. Unfortunately, I went straight through the security checkpoint, thinking I had to collect my pre-booked ticket in the enclosed area. Having got as far as the entrance, I discovered I had to go back out and collect my ticket from the nearby ticket building, outside the enclosed area. Once I had collected my ticket, my rucksack had to be checked again during my second passage through the security checkpoint, even though it had already been checked! Once past the checkpoint, I presented my ticket at the entrance and entered the Park around 12:15.

Pre-Lunch Riding

Once admitted, I began with the KMG Afterburner ride Vortex, largely because its queue was quite short. One go was great fun, but I wouldn't like to risk a second go on this straight off. Next, I had one go on the magic carpet ride Quantum. Although this too had a fairly short queue, it took me a few runs to get on. Quantum provided a pleasurable ride, although undeniably tame compared to Vortex. Having left Quantum, I walked around the Park. Along the way, the big rides, such as Colossus, Rush, SAW - The Ride and Nemesis Inferno had 30 to 60 minutes waiting times. That was annoying, as I wanted to ride all those, but it was obvious I wouldn't get many rides the rest of the afternoon if I kept having to queue for that long. Eventually I reached Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride, which resembles a swing boat. I rode that next, as very few visitors were waiting to ride it. A fun "fill in" ride to add to my total number of rides this visit, but once was enough. Next, I had one go on the Intamin river rafting ride Rumba Rapids. Its queue was very short, so it wasn't long before I was in a boat with other riders. This boat ride was more of a relaxing ride than a thrilling one.

Lunch

Around 14:00 I felt like a light lunch, preferably sandwiches or a filled roll, plus a coffee. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anywhere selling sandwiches or rolls. Eventually I went to KFC, where I had a regular Fillet Burger Meal. Although the burger was tasty, having fries with it created a problem if I was likely to have chips with my birthday dinner back in Staines later.

Post-Lunch Riding

Having left KFC, I headed straight for The Swarm. Normally, I like to allow some time to elapse before returning to riding after eating, but on this occasion, the estimated queuing time for The Swarm gave me my required interval between eating and riding. After a very long queuing time, I sat in the second-from-back row, on the left-hand side (as viewed facing forwards). Altogether this wing coaster provided a mega fun ride, definitely worth the long wait, but the queue necessitated limiting myself to one go. Next, I had one go on Flying Fish. Thankfully its queue was very short; I think I only had to wait one or two runs to get on. This family coaster is undeniably tame, but nonetheless still worth riding to say I had been on it today. After that, I rode the rapidly spinning wheel Zodiac. Its queue was quite short, and I was among the batch of riders to get on after a couple of runs. A mega fun ride, but once at a time is enough for me. Finally, I approached the roller coaster Colossus. Unfortunately, this had a really long queue, but I was so determined to ride it, I was prepared to wait. Eventually, I got on the train. The vertical loop, horizontal corkscrew and other features made this another exciting ride.

Closing Time

Sadly, when I left Colossus, the time was 17:00 and all the ride queues were closed. Thus, I only had eight rides in the five hours I was at Thorpe Park, which is disappointingly low. I felt gutted and heartbroken I didn't have time for the coasters Nemesis Inferno, SAW - The Ride and Stealth; or the giant swing Rush. At least I enjoyed the rides I did go on. 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

Vortex 1
Quantum 1
Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride 1
Rumba Rapids 1

Regular Fillet Burger Meal at KFC

The Swarm 1
Flying Fish 1
Zodiac 1
Colossus 1

Cumulative Summary of Rides

Ride	Total
Colossus	1
Flying Fish	1
Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride	1
Quantum	1
Rumba Rapids	1
The Swarm	1
Vortex	1
Zodiac	1
TOTAL	8

Returning to Staines

Having finally left Thorpe Park at 17:26 I walked across to the bus stop, and waited for the bus to Staines. I managed to get on the next one, which departed Thorpe Park at 17:43. It arrived at Staines Bus Station at 17:51; I got off it there.

Birthday Dinner

My birthday fun continued back in Staines town centre. Around 18:15 I went to Pizza Hut, Two Rivers Retail Park for my celebratory dinner. On arrival, I pinned four birthday rosettes to my T-shirt. Once seated, I placed my birthday card on the table, and chose what I wanted to eat and drink. For main course I had an Individual Veggie Pizza (Mozzarella, spinach, sweetcorn, peppers, red onions and mushrooms) on an All-American Thin base. A salad bowl was included, so I filled a bowl with a mixture of salad items. I also had a 330ml bottle of Carlsberg to drink, as it was my birthday. Having finished my pizza and salad, I had Chocolate Chip Hot Cookie Dough, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of sauce, for dessert. The scoop of ice cream had a burning birthday candle in it, to mark my birthday. I blew out the candle, removed it and enjoyed my dessert. Having finished my dessert, which tasted out of this world, I enjoyed the rest of my Carlsberg at a leisurely pace. After that, I still had time for a latte before I needed to leave. I finally left around 20:25

Summary of my meal

Main course: Individual Veggie Pizza (Mozzarella, spinach, sweetcorn, peppers, red onions and mushrooms)
Dessert: Chocolate Chip Hot Cookie Dough
Drink: Carlsberg 330ml bottle
After-dinner drink: latte

Journey Home

Having left Pizza Hut, I waked to Staines railway station; I got there around 20:40. My journey home went much more smoothly than my outward journey in the morning. I caught the 21:23 train to Reading. Once there, much to my surprise, I was still able to buy an Americano from West Cornwall Pasty Company before catching the 22:45 train to Bath Spa. I finally reached Bath Spa at 23:49 and home soon afterwards.

Outro

Highlights

Dry weather all day, and sunny at times.
Riding three roller coasters (The Swarm, Flying Fish, Colossus) and five non-coaster rides again.
Celebratory birthday dinner at Pizza Hut, in Staines town centre, in the evening.

Lowlights

Severely disrupted train journey from Bath Spa to Staines in the morning.
Long queues for the extreme rides at Thorpe Park.
Appallingly low ride count; just eight rides in the five hours I was there.

Summing Up

Altogether a grand day out to mark my 47th birthday. Where better to spend one's birthday than enjoying the rides at The Nation's Thrill Capital? It's such a pity I reached Thorpe Park later than originally anticipated. As if that wasn't bad enough, it's a shame I only had time for eight rides in the five hours I was in the Park. Furthermore, of those eight rides, only two of those were the extreme coasters, The Swarm and Colossus, which I spent considerable lengths of time queuing for. The remaining six rides were ones which had very short queues; apart from the Afterburner ride Vortex, those were family rides. Even if I'd avoided those six rides, I might still have been hard pressed to fit in the giant roller coasters Nemesis Inferno, SAW - The Ride and/or Stealth (which I missed), in addition to The Swarm and Colossus which I actually rode, due to their queuing times, in which case my overall ride count would have been lower still. Looking back, I might have been wiser to have travelled from Bath to Staines during the afternoon of Saturday 29 September, and stayed overnight somewhere in Staines. That would have allowed me to have arrived at Thorpe Park in time for its 10:00 opening, and I'd have fitted more rides in during its first two hours of opening. Anyway, at least I enjoyed the eight rides I did have at Thorpe Park. Despite my disappointingly low ride count at Thorpe Park, the celebratory evening dinner, at Pizza Hut in Staines town centre, was the grand finale to this special day. Several people liked my self-designed 47th birthday T-shirt, though some were confused by the front, until they saw the back. Wearing that throughout the day added to the fun of celebrating my birthday.

A more detailed report is available here

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