Life is a roller coaster

Stealth - great roller coaster and pic

Wish I had taken this photo

I had a 'Kevin and Perry' experience today. Where they went up the stairs all sweetness and light and lovely young boys only to descend as moody teenagers full of angst and attitude. Except it's not a person I am referring to but Thorpe Park of all places.  


I remember Thorpe Park when it had the Mississippi Riverboat to the farm with the petting zoo, a miniature world full of miniature world landmarks, sedate swan rides and when the log flume and raging rapids were the star rides. Having had investment over the last few years, its all grown up! Now, its mad rides and rollercoasters, loud music and even louder people. And that's where I spent most of today :-)


Mat and I had been wanting to go to Thorpe Park since our visit to Chessington World of Adventures last year but given the queues and wanting to avoid annoying teenagers, crowds and ridiculous entrance prices, we hadn't got around to it until today. Thanks to our Tesco Clubcard points the tickets were cheap as chips and today was as good as any for a day off. I did worry about the weather this morning as it was quite rainy but fortunately the sun came out which was fantastic. A mini Indian summer. 


And the verdict on Thorpe Park? Fantastic but I don't think I will be making it a regular trip. It really did make a difference going outside the school holidays as we avoided all the youngsters although there were a few kids wandering around. Be interested to hear what excuse they had for not being in school. Most of the other folk there were young adults and people like Mat and I on a jolly.  And less people resulted in very short queues for the rides and so we managed to ride on all the good ones. 


We loved Stealth so much we rode on it 3 times! I was happy with going on it twice but Mat couldn't get enough.  The above pic makes it look scary but it's not that bad at all - it only lasts about 20 seconds and it's a massive adrenaline rush. Loved Rush (a ginormous swing), Nemesis Inferno gave me a headache, Tidal Wave made us laugh and very wet, Detonator was literally heart in mouth, Colossus made me scream like a demented girl and I really didn't like the Saw ride. Part of it was in the dark and not seeing the sheer drop really unnerved me. I also felt uncomfortable about a whole theme park ride for kids based on a rather sick horror film.  And don't get me started on the premise of the 'Saw Live' experience...  A little bit sick and morbid if you ask me but each to their own.


I'm off to catch some zeds but I'm still musing about a few things. Who needs to eat a whole bucket of sweets when you already look like you ate the sweets and the bucket too? When did elasticated ankles on trousers become fashionable for men? And with neon ankle boots too? How much money does Thorpe Park make each year especially when they charge £3 to park in their grounds and their 'on the day' ticket is £40.80 per adult AND adults are classed as aged 12 and over!!!!!!!! I know most people would pay the £25.52 online price or use offers like we did but seriously?! I suppose the millions that it costs to make a rollercoaster needs to be paid for...


I'm off to plot working for a theme park or becoming a rollercoaster maker.  See you on the other side.