France 07/18 – Parc Saint Paul + Parc du Bocasse
We were going hold off a little longer, but the Chunnel booking system for the summer holidays wouldn’t have it any other way. Another obnoxiously early start and battling with closed roads, but for a worthy cause. There’s new wood on the horizon.
Day 1 – Parc Saint Paul
Walked away from this place less than a year ago thinking it was a good little park, but probably won’t be back. Then they had to be awesome and throw together a Gravity woodie out of the blue.
Look at the colour of it. Doesn’t get much newer than that.
They haven’t had the chance to put up a sign yet.
It wasn’t open first thing as they were still hammering some wood onto the lift hill.
And then taking a small group of people with Expedition GeForce, Cedar Point and the wrong coaster crate shirts for a backstage tour + Exclusive Ride Time. Ugh, enthusiasts.
Sadly Wild Train was down all day (the train has gone walkies), so we took the time to reacquaint ourselves with Formule 1.
Pax you crazy beasts. Without the other one in the park for direct comparison, this was a lot better than I remembered. Ridiculous air time in the big drop as well as the silly bunny hill and it rides way smoother than it should.
Their log flume was something different to try. The world’s dinosaur theming craze continues.
Also did this haunted walkthrough, hoping it would house a secret ride or something. The highlight was a piece of vibrating floor which reminded me of Lost Gravity. Good times.
The French were being cheeky and slithering in past a fence earlier than the posted opening time, so we assumed it was all ready.
Gravity you crazy beasts. How can you pack so much into so little? Not being much of a fan of Twister, I had assumed they were a go big or go home manufacturer, but it turns out they really are my boys when it comes to wood.
13, not that I like to count them, moments of very decent air time. Well paced with a good bit of variety, all out of a tiny 49ft drop. And the station is nearly halfway up that height, so it could have potentially done more.
*Insert derogatory Wicker Man comment here*
The trains are cute, no-belt baby Timberliners and it was weird for me to not see them in red. They seem to always be red. Except that one that’s blue. And the one they copied this from.
This park never seems to get particularly busy, and they were operating very well for 1 train of 12 people, so we got plenty of goes out of it with a consistent 10-15 minute queue. Back row was the place to be, just for the extra bonus in the first drop really.
Brilliant investment for the price. Well done Parc Saint Paul.
So what else can we find around this part of the country?
A million cars covered in bike racks and stickers were driving recklessly in the opposite direction to us while a local town ground to a halt, so we got stuck in the Tour de France on the way to the next parc. All part of the culture.
Parc du Bocasse
Celebrating 50 years with Parc du Bocasse seemed like a bit of fun. It was quite a nice place actually. Reminded me of that RCT scenario with the bridge over the road, mainly because it has a bridge over the road.
Minimal dinosaur effort on the first cred. A Zamperla version that does spin. Not bad.
I say this every time now, but it still never got better than Brighton Pier.
I’ve never managed to ride a Soquet before, so this was my first. It’s a fairly inoffensive experience, most comparable to a small French Jet Coaster, but nowhere near as cool.
The V-shaped track and lazy 45 degree up/side-stop wheels kinda bug me.
That leaves the smallest cred. DC rivals colour with a legit IP.
The twisty air time hill looked like it could rival Alpina Blitz, but only managed about as much as Shambhala.
Gave this tower ride a crack as it seemed relatively big and we didn’t recognise who made it. It was surprisingly decent. 3 rounds of 3 upwards shots, the first of each providing a bit of tingling sensation (I’ll leave it to your imagination as to where).
We had spotted what looked like a gem on the way in. Is that a… a Hafema log flume? My boys when it comes to water.
Apparently Splash-O-Saure is made by Soquet and it’s very suspiciously similar to Mami Wata (if that means anything to you). What’s all this about the Chinese copying rides when the French are at it as well.
It does a Tidal Wave to the exit path, soaking the unsuspecting guest, or in the case of a hot day, the ready and willing guest.
Couple more dinosaurs than the cred here.
Dinosaurs crashed a plane.
Or something about time travel? My stamps don’t quite last that long.
One of the staff members at this ride spotted the shirt I was wearing and was either from ‘Parkfan’ or calling me a ‘park fan’ (apologies for me being massively confused and tired at this point).
I assumed the former (but without actually knowing that was a thing) and I kept saying no as if I wasn’t the latter.
The conversation ended with “Kärnan – great ride” with a thumbs up and a nod, so all was well.
Up next: Reverchon vs Zamperla Spinners. The showdown continues.
Day 2