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ColinM

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  1. These just in: check out that return spike... the front seat ride should be interesting at this point! 1 or 2 more: clicky well... Its about the best the UK has to offer as 'new for 2011'!!
  2. Not quite Oktoberfest, but a nice TR, & I'm pleased to see you guys adding beer to the equation! As the UK goes, I guess its about as close as we'll get! lol Was quite a good variety of rides at Goose Fair 2010, although there's always too many duplicates, 8 x dodgems this year! lol The UK hosts a few decent fairs of this size, Newcastle takes place in summer, but Hull Fair & Goose Fair are both early October if you're thinking of coming from overseas... Hull is a larger fair, but doesn't necessarily have a better selection of rides! Pics from Nottingham 2010: And a video of this years' fair.
  3. Again, many thanks to those who voted. I had a great time over boot camp, many of us got back together on opening day too. Here's my 1st TPRTR! THE CONTEST During the 18-month marketing campaign for their new ride, Alton received hundreds of requests from people wanting to be the first to ride... Some would just be after the bragging right - coaster geeks sometimes think there's kudos for crap like that... we often like to show off and be the smart arse! But for many true fans of Alton Towers, the anticipation was unbearable, we just wanted to ride ASAP! Alton decided to hold a contest and in late 2009, they brought cage fighter Alex Reid along to launch the search for 'The Ultimate Fan'. Thrillseekers were invited to make a 1 minute video, stating something weird and wonderful about themselves, and why they deserved to be the first to ride Th13teen. Videos were to be open for public discussion though... but I really wanted to ride. I knew many enthusiasts would not rise to the challenge, credibility means a lot in these social circles! So despite reservations, I decided to make a video and enter. A few days later I was delighted when Alton selected my video and made me a contestant, then astounded at the suppport I received. I badgered some friends into voting for me, but most of the comments came from complete strangers. And yeah, the public could be cruel when they wanted to be, I had a small minority of nasty comments, but noticed some of the girls who entered were getting particularly bitchy feedback?! Another who attracted a lot of attention was Mobz Q with his tongue in cheek humour, which clearly went right over the heads of the many haters leaving him comments! LOL My friends on Facebook really did me proud. I'll never be able to thank them enough for the kind words of support. In the final days of the contest, more and more videos started appearing as the deadline got closer. Then came the day Alton were to announce the winners... I refreshed my emails every 10 minutes all day, until late afternoon when it seemed I hadn't been selected, then it appeared - an invitation from Alton Towers, to attend their Boot Camp. THE RUN - UP The date was set, 27 finalists set up a group on Facebook, all anticipating the day of Bootcamp, just over a week away. In the last few days, disaster struck! - there was a problem with the new ride, bootcamp was postponed and we were 'to be notified' when Alton could reschedule, which they couldn't do until the problem was solved and they didn't know how long that would be! So the anticipation was prolonged... things started getting tense as the days went by with no news as to how the repairs were going. Alton were forced to cancel a preview weekend planned for the ride. It looked as though bootcamp might not happen at all... with just a few days to go before the ride's scheduled opening date, Alton gave word, and bootcamp was re-organised. Alton generously offered to accommodate us in one of their hotels the night beforehand, I checked in and was greeted by some of Alton's representatives. Then I made my way down to the bar where I met up with the other campers. The excitement and anticipation ensured that the group had plenty to talk about, I spoke with Alton's PR guys who were also in the bar who said "it was like watching a re-union". The whole group instantly bonded as close friends, and throughout the next couple of days I witnessed no bad vibes from anyone, toward anyone else, even when some of the tasks were designed with great potential for argument! Nobody stopped up too late as we were aware we had a full day of strenuous activities ahead, but I was so excited I could hardly sleep anyway! BOOT CAMP After breakfast, bootcamp got under way with a warm welcome from Morwenna Angove. She's the lady often associated with Alton's sillier publicity stunts - which, work wonders in terms of Alton's 'talkability'... Its the kind of role requiring shrewd and clever thinking, while sometimes risking your credibility! Much respect, and it was an absolute pleasure to meet her. We knew Alton planned to do psychometric testing on us, but only a few people knew what that meant! It transpired to be a group activity, looking into ourselves, discovering traits about our own personalities. It came as no surprise the group largely consisted of thrill seekers! Our next activity was borrowed from the 'corporate training course' mentality of getting people to think outside the box. Both fairly tame things for thrill seekers to be doing, but which enabled the group to work together, and strengthen the bonds forming. Lunch was then served in the Secret Garden restaurant. Just after lunch... came our roller coaster endurance test! - An hour on Air, which surprisingly resulted in only one vomiter. Nicholas Merrick received a great cheer from fellow boot campers as he hurled his guts over the ride and a nearby wall, although I suspect this is probably what cost him his place on the winning ride. Following our ride, Alton marched us back to the hotel, where they explained our next challenges, which included some orienteering around the park, archery, and a mine sweep. Mine Sweep was a bit of an 'Its a Knockout' game, involving planks of wood, rope and water bombs, all were great fun! After an evening meal back in the hotel, we spotted John Wardley in the bar, who was pleased to chat, pose with us for photos and sign Matt Aspinall's legendary 'Alton Towers Monopoly' game. I was thrilled to chat with him for five minutes, I asked him about his involvement with Barry Island and mentioned its recent demise, but we were quickly dragged away as we were about to be advised of our evening's activities. The first was another challenge using juggling balls, borrowed from the training course ice-breaker school of thought. Another involved tie-ing large knots in ropes, and a Japanese conundrum puzzle using large wooden jigsaw pieces. Then things started to get a bit scarier. We were lead blindfolded into the woods, our hands placed on guide strings tied around trees, and told to follow the path. Of course the terrain was tricky, and we were being followed, and having leaves and dirt thrown at us... Eventually told we could remove the blindfolds, we were then taken by bus over to the Dark Forest. Split into teams (was my pleasure to work with John Burton) we were given our bags and sleeping mats and told to erect our tents, one person blindfolded, the other was three metres away calling instructions. John's done Duke of Edinburgh, and I used to sell tents so despite the handicap we did well. Once up, we were in for the night, with a puzzle to take our minds away from the spooky location. Of course, it wasn't long before we heard grunting noises... the Wraiths were here. Then things got serious, boot campers were being dragged out of their tents by panic stricken ramblers or zombies covered in blood, who then ran off... The boot camp officials arrived and told us it was too dangerous to stay out, we were going to have to spend the rest of the night in the hotel! LOL THE BIG DAY The following day was an early start - yet I was so hyped up from the experience thus far, and the night in the Dark Forest I couldn't sleep again! After breakfast we performed another outdoor challenge involving blindfolds & ropes, before returning to the hotel to build our own roller coaster. By now we had all made really good friends of one another, & it amazed me the way 27 strangers could work in harmony to create a highly impressive marble roller coaster (reaching 7ft high) in under an hour! Lewis made an excellent project manager, we split into teams to build various sections of the bamboo, pipe & sticky tape ride, and were all very proud of 'Pipe Dream'! THE SELECTION We all knew that not all of us were going to go through to the final ride. Judges & cameras had been following us throughout boot camp, they considered the video applications, the voting, and the interaction throughout boot camp. With everyone getting so passionately involved with boot camp, it must have been a real task to choose the winners. But it HAD to be done. Everyone was in the bar, with the judges in the next room. We were taken by groups of 4, to hear whether we were through, or whether we were going home. EVERYONE wanted to be the 1st to ride Th13teen, everyone at boot camp deserved to ride Th13teen, but only 20, could go on to ride. I wasn't in the 1st group to meet the judges. The doors closed, there was silence, then we heard a cheer - they obviously had a 'yes'. The next group were lead through, we heard another cheer. I wasn't in the 3rd group, or the next, or the next. We heard more cheers, we heard faint applause when we guessed there'd been a 'no'. I was among the final group to be lead though... the anticipation at this point had been dragged out unbearably. So I was a tad emotional when it was a 'yes'!!! However, while some of us had received the great news that we were the first people to ride on Th13teen, some of our (by now, close) friends had just received some VERY disappointing news. A bitter-sweet feeling, you have to contain your excitement when consoling several friends, now in tears. The 2 couples within the group were broken up, with 1 going through, the other not. Winners were to be bussed over to the ride immediately, so there was no time for goodbyes. Boot camp was over for some, for others it was about to become a dream come true. I guess Alton would call this 'The Emotional Roller Coaster'! THE RIDE We arrived at the Dark Forest to find work on Th13teen a long way from 'finished'! The area was such a construction site we were escorted onto the ride wearing hi-vis & hard hats. The film crew were in place, I was comfortably settled with Melissa, when I got wraithed! This later appeared (rather embarrassingly) as part of the ITV Central News coverage of the boot campers first ride! With John Wardley in the control box, we cheered with delight as the train pulled out of the building. The lift is quick... looking over the sides the ride looks quite high. The drop down into the woods was great, your picture is taken at the bottom of the hill before you find yourself racing through the woods (the trees have been cut back but still come close). There's some G's to be felt, not as many as Nemesis, but they're there. Quite a lot of tilting, the ride keeps up this pace for about 30 seconds or so, before entering the building. It all goes dark... (there will be effects, although they were NOT switched on for today's rides). Alton had got us up early so we would miss GMTV! None of us had confirmed info as to what happens inside the building. Then came the 1st drop - it confirmed what I believed the secret element was, and then the 2nd drop. You DO experience free fall & complete airtime, its just as effective as the tower drop rides. Then the backward section, after the drop the coaster does a 'screwed-up helix', the like of which I've never seen before. Its like a normal helix, but the track has undulations in it, it feels like a boat rocking about on the waves...! Its also freezing cold down in that tunnel! The ride stops, the track switches, then the train shoots back into the station. JW came over after our 9th ride (some with the lights 'on' for the film crew) and asked if we would like to know what the effects were. It was a golden opportunity to talk with him some more, but I hope I didn't offend him by declining... half of the thrill of any roller coaster is the anticipation, the waiting, the NOT knowing... a feeling I'm going to miss. THANKYOU ALTON TOWERS After our rides, we made our way back to the hotel, where there was just enough time for photos & goodbyes among the winners. Why was it, after only 3 days with these guys I was so upset about leaving them all? The answer lies somewhere within the magic of Alton Towers. Its a place which has provided many thrill seekers with their adrenalin fix for 30 years, its no wonder we're so fond. Boot Camp was something like the X Factor for enthusiasts! It provided a unique opportunity for Alton to entertain some of their biggest fans in a unique way. This was an Alton experience which no thrill ride can ever match, its been an absolute honour and a privilage. My sincerest thanks go to Alton Towers, their marketing & PR team who organised this fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime event for us. Me with Chris: Boot Camp in the press: www.thesun.co.uk www.timesonline.co.uk OPENING DAY Ride count & wait times: Th13teen (wait times around an hour during the opening rush) Hex - 5 mins Oblivion - 10 mins Charlie & the waste of time - 5 mins Skyride - 5 mins Duel - 2 mins Riverbank Eye Spy - walk on Squirrel Nutty - walk on Sonic Spinball x 3 (was in 'wet' mode = 3 adults max, so using single rider Q - 2 mins) Sharkbait Reef - walk-in RMT - 1 cycle Nemmy - 20 mins Air - 20 mins Rita - 5 mins & another 2 rides on 13 - 20 mins Shortly before gates open: boot campers get priority passes YAY! ready, set, GO! the line stretched back beyond Hex! Boot campers at the front of the line! Skyride's OPEN, here's its new station - lets see how long it lasts this time! After Hex, Charlie, Duel & Sharkbait Reef we were running out of rides to stay dry on... 5 grown men on Riverbank Eye Spy?! Yo Sonic! grabbed some beers & ice creams (?) in the undercover courtyard, until the pirate show got on my nerves! JW after a Th13teen's 1st day: So they've distressed Rita's paint scheme, & put some branches over it... Rita never really fitted in with Ugland, & doesn;t really fit in with Dark Forest either! What used to be Bronco Bites etc... Over & out (finally!)
  4. (before & if you read this... bootcamp was the most amazing time, so Alton are very much in my good books right now!!) You gotta remember... this is the UK! Parks over here rarely invest in BIG rides, add that to Alton's height restrictions, other design limitations etc. They're dwarved in the worldwide market, but they're the UKs leading park. They gotta make the most of their resources, and Alton's hype machine are experts in this field! I met Morwenna Angove today, very nice woman who knows exactly what she's doing & is very good at it, and I've spent time with their marketing & PR guys over the past couple of weeks. Bootcamp has been an experience since before it began, more on that later! Enthusiasts call it BS! - they call it 'talkability'... marketing which makes people talk... Anyway - I REALLY enjoyed the 'bootcampers' ride... (which came after GMTV's!)... 9 rides, 3 with 'lights on' NO rides with FX!! We met John Wardley in the bar the night before, he came over after our rides & asked if I wanted to know what the effects were... "noooo, please don't tell me" I replied! So I shall be there for ERT on opening day, to find out! So we all knew what the ride was gonna do... except for the wobbly reverse helix! 1 or 2 rides was fine, but I felt a bit sea-sick after 9! And the drop is fine - think like London Dungeon's 'Extremis'. The short drop 'shocks' riders just as much as a large drop, even if it doesn't last as long... (thats their theory!), stick it in the middle of a fun coaster = good combination!
  5. That weird enterprise - just uploaded a wee iPod POV, check out the visuals on this ride when at full tilt (about 1/2 way through). Millennium: There was no-one else on it - we went round for AGES... ugh!
  6. Thanks guys. Congrats & best of luck Chris, lets hope we're not among the eliminees...
  7. you got it I can't wait & will probably be on about this for weeks...! LOL Sadly though, "cameras & camera phones are prohibited at boot camp" The finalists now appear on Alton's website, where you can follow the events. Takes place next week, 2nd & 3rd March, will keep ya posted. www.altontowers.com/thirteen/volunteers/ There's 27 volunteers, to be eliminated down during the process... Survivors take the 1st ride on 3rd March. Wish me luck! I have to admit I'm biased right now, but what a great run-up campaign.
  8. YAAAAY! many thanks to those that voted, I got through & cant wait for boot camp next week!
  9. LOL - yeah, of the 2 UK versions, Equinox has footrests, Tango doesn't... I love these! Pics & vids: www.ukrides.info/equinox.htm
  10. at £400 I decided it a bit pricey Craig, so I'm highly envious you're going, have a great time. You can publish pics from that weekend on the 20th March when the ride opens - look forward to a TR
  11. great TR, & glad u enjoyed Sadly, the Leeds fair is a bit of a shadow of its former self. It used to take place in the city centre, but the local councilors moved it out to a local football ground car park about 5 years ago - since then its been 1 BIG ride less every year... Nottingham Goose Fair, Hull Fair & Newcastle Town Moor Fair are the 3 biggest & best UK fairs. Although London's Winter Wonderland is growing rapidly, and brings loads of good rides over from Europe. Winter Wonderland 2009: I prefer Newcastle, as its in summer so its a bit warmer! This was 2009: Looking 1 direction from the wheel, looking the other way: Nottingham has seen more & more duplicate miami's, waltzers & dodgems the past few years - there was something like 9 sets of each last year! Nottingham 2008: Hull is a great one too, but often clashes with Nottingham in early October, so instead of having all the UKs main rides in 1 place, they're split over the 2 fairs...? Hull 2009: There's something funny going on in Liverpool this Valentines too! - There's 2 fairs (you can see them across the water from each other, about a mile apart!)... Both are claiming the title of 'Liverpool's 1st Valentine's Fair'... Both have a Frisbee, a tower ride, & a handful of the usuals... Its like 2 organisations had the same idea! or 2 collaborators argued & both set up their own fair...? I dunno, but it seems daft to have 2 almost identical fairs less than a mile apart! I have some pics, but have yet to sort, and they're NOT really worth it! Fellow geeks might be interested in a rare out-facing Enterprise at the Liverpool fair, called Millennium!: Its a HORRID ride, all you see is the horizon going over & over! I've loads of galleries & vids of these fairs for anyone interested in them http://www.ukrides.info/fairs2.htm
  12. hey, many thanks guys its a bit unclear as to what we're supposed to do (like /comment), but I guess you covered it! LOL - I appreciate that. So yeah, been collecting junk for a number of years, thats just a fraction of it! see here for more of my Collectable Random Amusement Paraphernalia!: http://www.ukrides.info/collection.htm
  13. YAY! I got my entry in, now on Alton's facebook page! PLEASE go vote for me, & if I get to go to bootcamp, I promise a TR!
  14. all being well I'll be at the Hull fair saturday eve/night You should get plenty of opportunity to slay chavs there!! you gonna be there?
  15. Cock on a stick is the same stuff as those sugar dummy's - only its shaped like a cock... as in 'cock a doodle doo'! We have some great fairs in the UK, Nottingham is NOT the biggest OR has the most rides. Newcastle and Hull are both much bigger... http://www.ukrides.info/newcastle.htm http://www.ukrides.info/hull.htm I had a great time meeting up with Tinhead!! - Hull fair is also on at moment so will have an update on that after the w/end! newcastle 2006
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