Theme Parks

krudler

Anyone got any favourites? Love me a good theme park, proper ones now not Funderland, we could really do with a decent one in this country if the weather was there for it. Havent been to any in the UK yet but would love to go to Alton Towers, been to Disneyland in Paris, its good but really expensive food and drink wise, some great rides though Space Mountain is fantastic.

Duggy747

Mosney was the bees knees.

I remember it as the only place where you could drive your bumping car any direction without some fella in a dodgy accent roaring abuse at you to go clockwise.

"Tarn around ahnd kape too dah wan direction!!!"

Alton Towers or a place like that is on my list of places to check out, anyways.

kickslate

Ino it is abit far away but if you were holiday in Spain, definitely worth a trip to PortAventura in Salou .

krudler

"Keep your haynds in the soides!

Dick Turnip

Was in Six Flags in Connecticut - ten times better than Disneyland Paris which in truth has only 2/3 rides worth going on.

Superman rollercoaster in Six Flags is nuts!

Edit - was in Thorpe Park outside London when I was a kid, can't really remember it though!

hdowney

Been to Alton Towers (love it), Thorpe Park (v good) Drayton Manor (ok), Disney Florida (it's Disney!) Universal Florida (amazing - but pre Harry Potter so MUST go back)

seenitall

Legoland, Windsor.

A good time was had.

Yakult

Tayto park... irish style

fryup

Funland - on Craggy Island is a must

i ask you where else can you get...the Tunnel of Goats, Freak Pointing, Spinning cat and............the Ladder

such entertainment:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cing-9DjpWc

summerskin

Universal in Florida is the best I've been to, an amazing place, way better than DisneyWorld.

In the UK Alton Towers is the best, been there about a dozen times. Thorpe Park and Chessington are ok too, Drayton Manor is reasonable enough, and the Gullivers Theme parks are fantastic for under 12s.

eviltwin

Alton Towers in the UK and Knotts Berry Farm in the US, both excellent

krudler

Agree on Universal being better than Disney, was in Orlando a few years ago and spent most of the week between the Universal parks and Sea World, didnt bother with Disneyworld, which is more for kids really. I'd like to see the Harry Potter part as it was being built when I was last there. Loved the Spider-Man and Mummy rollercoasters.

you know the pic they take of you near the end of the ride? we came out of the Mummy one and were looking at the screen to find ourselves, and the guy behind us was on his phone! we were laughing about it and he was standing next to us saying his girlfriend had dropped her phone on the ride the previous time around and he was ringing it to see if it was there, seriously? you think you'd hear a phone ringing underneath a rollercoaster going around 50mph in the dark?

xLexie

Knots Berry Farm is my favourite too, but I liked universal too. Disneyland was fun, just couldn't be doing with all those queues. Amazing at night with the fireworks display.

Korvanica

Busch Gardens
Six Flags Magic Mountain

Both class parks !

Montu & the X2 are such good coasters

reap-a-rat

Was in Six Flags outside Chicago a couple of years ago. Wow. Amazing stuff. I had been to Disneyland Paris a few years before that but I don't know, overall it seemed so tame compared to Six Flags! Superman, Batman, Vertical Velocity, The Big Drop - have a look at some videos on the YouTube to judge for yerselves how ****rifying the whole day was. But best day ever

Great theme park, highly recommended.

mfceiling

Tibidago in Barcelona...costly entry for the family but everything was free inside and very little queues made for a great day.

FatherLen

islands of adventure or bush gardens.

dueling dragons or sheikra are the best roller coasters i have ever been on.

anncoates

Been to Alton Towers as a kid but my favourite, although not technically a park, was always Blackpool. My ma and Da used to take us all the time when we were kids.

krudler

Queues are the definite downside of them alright, unless you buy fast passes (not easy if its a family) or go the right time of year, like just before or after school holidays or really off season, I was in Orlando just after Spring Break so the colleges and schools had all left and it wasn't really busy.

Yawns

Anyone know if they charge for the rides inside Legoland or is it just the gate price & once in everything is free to get on. Was thinking about bringing the kid over for a day in a few months.

Robbo

The only roller coaster worth talking about is Mr Bones Wild Ride.

blue note

Any opinions on Oakwood? I keep meaning to organise a trip there.

SEPT 23 1989

Oktoberfest,Munich

joe stodge

Sea world in Orlando, the manta roller coster is insane and islands of adventure, the hulk is a whopper roller coster too.

BillyMitchel

Bush gardens Florida is pretty good. Alton towers has some shît scary rides. The other one in Salou another poster mentioned is good. Blackpool pleasure beach is great craic too.

Ireland defo needs one but it will never happen because it would be closed 9 months of the year. Bankrupt in year 2.

God I'd love a good ride now.

seenitall

Yawns wrote: »

Anyone know if they charge for the rides inside Legoland or is it just the gate price & once in everything is free to get on. Was thinking about bringing the kid over for a day in a few months.

The gate price includes all the rides and sights inside, except for a few extra stalls that you will see on the footpaths, mostly just 'shoot the target and get a prize', no big loss.

Be prepared for the expense of the 'Big Shop' (right beside the entrance, of course :rolleyes:); there is a smaller shop behind it that sells discounted, discontinued stuff for much cheaper, look it up on the map that you will get with your tickets.

Be sure to check out the Lego Miniland - the world landmarks in miniature.

Enjoy!

Korvanica

Robbo wrote: »

The only roller coaster worth talking about is Mr Bones Wild Ride.

"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"
"I want to get off Mr Bones Wild Ride"

BizzyC

Alton Towers is great.

Dravokivich

The only theme park I recall being to was a place called Camelot somewhere near Blackpool. Think I was 5 or 6 at the time.

krudler

I much prefer rollercoasters to stuff like waltzers, can't stand Funderland type rides, being spun around on the spot isn't my idea of fun. anyone in Disneyland ever go on the Finding Nemo rollercoaster? went on it thinking of this will be grand, its for kids like, my arse it is, you go sideways down a huge incline in a car thats made like a giant turtle shell that spins on it own axis, the kid in the car we were in was in hysterics afterwards :pac:

gurramok

I've been to Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, all the Orlando & Tampa parks(Busch Gardens) which are very good. And yes Disney parks were really for kids.

Nearer to home there are Six Flags parks in Holland and Belgium. Give them a try well worth it.

MadYaker

The Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood is cool. I got to wander around that street they film desperate housewives on. They built an artificial street just for that tv series. Busch Gardens is great too, and Seaworld in Orlando.

Yawns

seenitall wrote: »

The gate price includes all the rides and sights inside, except for a few extra stalls that you will see on the footpaths, mostly just 'shoot the target and get a prize', no big loss.

Be prepared for the expense of the 'Big Shop' (right beside the entrance, of course :rolleyes:); there is a smaller shop behind it that sells discounted, discontinued stuff for much cheaper, look it up on the map that you will get with your tickets.

Be sure to check out the Lego Miniland - the world landmarks in miniature.

Enjoy!

Cheers for that info, much appreciated.

tinyk68

krudler wrote: »

I much prefer rollercoasters to stuff like waltzers, can't stand Funderland type rides, being spun around on the spot isn't my idea of fun. anyone in Disneyland ever go on the Finding Nemo rollercoaster? went on it thinking of this will be grand, its for kids like, my arse it is, you go sideways down a huge incline in a car thats made like a giant turtle shell that spins on it own axis, the kid in the car we were in was in hysterics afterwards :pac:

+1 on that! Went on the Nemo ride thinking it would be a good option for my son who doesn't like rollercoasters. Big mistake. He spent the whole ride begging to get off! He was more scared of that one then he was of the Aerosmith rollercoaster. At leat with that one you know what you're in for:eek:

hdowney

krudler wrote: »

Agree on Universal being better than Disney, was in Orlando a few years ago and spent most of the week between the Universal parks and Sea World, didnt bother with Disneyworld, which is more for kids really. I'd like to see the Harry Potter part as it was being built when I was last there. Loved the Spider-Man and Mummy rollercoasters.

you know the pic they take of you near the end of the ride? we came out of the Mummy one and were looking at the screen to find ourselves, and the guy behind us was on his phone! we were laughing about it and he was standing next to us saying his girlfriend had dropped her phone on the ride the previous time around and he was ringing it to see if it was there, seriously? you think you'd hear a phone ringing underneath a rollercoaster going around 50mph in the dark?[/QUOTE

I forgot SeaWorld. I LOVED it. Got completely soaked and had so much fun

krudler wrote: »

I much prefer rollercoasters to stuff like waltzers, can't stand Funderland type rides, being spun around on the spot isn't my idea of fun. anyone in Disneyland ever go on the Finding Nemo rollercoaster? went on it thinking of this will be grand, its for kids like, my arse it is, you go sideways down a huge incline in a car thats made like a giant turtle shell that spins on it own axis, the kid in the car we were in was in hysterics afterwards :pac:

Yea it's a grand enough little coaster ain't it

Freddy Smelly

paddy's top field with the sheep is a popular night spot for lonely farmers

Princess Peach

I love theme parks! Alton towered twice, disneyland Paris three times, universal studios salou, Sea world San Diego , and the best one, six flags LA. 10 Roller coasters in 6 hours, it was rough going!

I wanna go Harry Potter land nao!

krudler

tinyk68 wrote: »

+1 on that! Went on the Nemo ride thinking it would be a good option for my son who doesn't like rollercoasters. Big mistake. He spent the whole ride begging to get off! He was more scared of that one then he was of the Aerosmith rollercoaster. At leat with that one you know what you're in for:eek:

Definitely, we only went on it because we wanted to see everything and the line wasn't that long as it was still early, the inside of it is cool, and I jumped when the shark popped out of the wall cos it was on my side lol the Aerosmith coaster is great, love the feeling of going from 0-60 in a split second. Did you go on the Tower of Terror? that was fantastic, the effect like you're flying through the Twilight Zone was really well done.

Celly Smunt

supriaingly Terra mitica in benidorm is probably my favourite theme park.The setting is nice,its relaxed and not much queues.
Canadas wonderland use pretty good too,the lack of a "theme" though is a bit crap.
I wasn't blown away by any parks in Florida really,the rides were good and all but the queues and stuff are rediculous.
6 flags is good too.

x43r0

blue note wrote: »

Any opinions on Oakwood? I keep meaning to organise a trip there.

I've been several times and always enjoy it


Other parks I've been to:

Six Flags Magic Mountain (California) - Unbelieveable
Portaventura (Salou) - Excellent also
Thorpe Park (Staines near London) - Well worth a trip
Parque Warner (Madrid) - Warner Bros themed park, pretty good aswell but nothing on the ones mentioned above

super_furry

Alton Towers is awesome. Might try to plan a try there this year now I think of it.

Tiddlypeeps

Dick Turnip wrote: »

Was in Six Flags in Connecticut - ten times better than Disneyland Paris which in truth has only 2/3 rides worth going on.

Superman rollercoaster in Six Flags is nuts!

Edit - was in Thorpe Park outside London when I was a kid, can't really remember it though!

I've only been to two proper theme parks before. Six flags in Connecticut about 7 years ago and Disneyland Paris about 3 years ago. I agree with the poster above Disneyland wasn't a patch on Six Flags. The water park there was one of the coolest places I've ever been.

Saying that Disneyland was still pretty awesome. If you go during a time of year that's quiet but still warm it's great (like September when all the kids are back to school). You can fully see both of the parks in one day because the cues are very small.

The only thing that was awful about Six Flags was the cues. It was in or around the 4th of July when I went tho so probably peak times. If I were to go to any theme park again during busy periods I would definitely opt for the cue skipping tickets. Wasting 2/3rds of your time in cues is not fun. The superman was the new roller coaster when I visited and I spent a full hour cueing up to go on it. Was totally worth it tho, great ride

krudler

There's a Paramount theme park in the works in Spain now too, it's been delayed a lot though but meant to open in 2015

Celly Smunt

krudler wrote: »

There's a Paramount theme park in the works in Spain now too, it's been delayed a lot though but meant to open in 2015

Aye,terra mitica was the old paramount park but the plans of the new one looks impressive

tinyk68

krudler wrote: »

Definitely, we only went on it because we wanted to see everything and the line wasn't that long as it was still early, the inside of it is cool, and I jumped when the shark popped out of the wall cos it was on my side lol the Aerosmith coaster is great, love the feeling of going from 0-60 in a split second. Did you go on the Tower of Terror? that was fantastic, the effect like you're flying through the Twilight Zone was really well done.

It's a few years since we were there. The Tower of Terror was under construction at the time . Heard it's good though.

Nobody has mentioned Gardaland in Italy yet. Good combination of rollercoasters and water rides and the queues aren't too bad.

razorblunt

blue note wrote: »

Any opinions on Oakwood? I keep meaning to organise a trip there.

Was there in 2000, it's ok, decent, if you had the choice I'd say keep going past it, up to Alton Towers, that's where I'll be heading to this summer.
Megaphobia is the biggest wooden rollercoaster in Europe (they say, Ted). But that seems to be it really apart from vertigo the bungee swing.

IvySlayer

Been to Disneyworld, Busch Gardens, Sea World and Universial Studios in Florida. Sea World was most disappointing as most of the shows were cancelled due to severe thunderstorms.

They were all amazing Disneyworld is more for kids but there's some adult things too, we went to a Luau Hawaiian food, dancers, still have my lei

krudler

I loved the City Walk in Universal, downtown Orlando is a bit of a dump so we just went there at night time, its much safer and nicer, and free in.

http://www.bestorlandovacationpackages.com/media/cms/xmodnewsrss/Universal-CityWalk-Orlando.jpg

http://media.universalorlando.com/resources/digitalassets/Universal%20CityWalk%203%20-%20LR.jpg

Catkins407

Can personally vouch for the universal theme park in Salou . It's excellent and legoland in Windsor .You may not get weather in the UK though. Funnily enough I got both those trips for free. Strangers actually gave me the universal one ( long story they couldn't use it themselves so gave it to us ) and my son coloured in a picture in Pizza Hut and we sent it off and he won the trip to Legoland. Well I actually did the colouring but Pizza Hut didn't mind and when they found out my son has special needs they organised a whole heap of extra stuff for him. Total class act. Still waiting on our free trip to Disneyland Paris lol . I believe it will come lol

BeardySi

Gardaland.... we went to Lake Garda on honeymoon specifically to go there!

Not actually my favourite, but a great name - good solid park with a couple of cracking coasters! Run by the same crew as Alton Towers, Thorpe Park etc...

Alton Towers has to be the fave so far (went for wife's bday this time last year) - have done most of the UK ones along with the predictable Disneys etc...

Sergeant

Gardaland in Northern Italy is pretty cool. Massive rollercoasters are class.