Cred Hunting 11/19 – Adventure Island

I remember my first visit to Southend a whole decade ago and I wasn’t too impressed. None of the rides were much cop and the whole experience was a bit bland when compared to the Merlin parks I was frequenting. So I hadn’t been back in what felt like forever and in that time they’d only really added their smallest coaster yet and I was expecting this trip to be nothing more than a token cred hunt.

So how come Adventure Island just became one of my favourite parks in the UK?

Adventure Island

The most significant factor was just how friendly all of the staff were. It was a freezing but bright day at the very end of the season with minimal guests on park and you’d think most people would have given up caring at this stage. From the point of collecting our wristbands and then on to each and every ride operator and attendant in the park, they were all putting their time and effort into making their guests both happy and comfortable, something I have gained a much greater respect for over time.

The star attraction Rage isn’t actually all that bad (glowing praise indeed). For a clunky Gerstlauer Eurofighter it was behaving rather well and I ended up taking an unprecedented amount of laps on it, using the time to appreciate the more endearing features it has to offer.

The pace of the loop is the best of these, providing a satisfying pause at the very top with a little flop into the restraint to break the flow of positive force. Aside from that I was finding it rather intense throughout, in a good way.

Something I never would have appreciated the first time round is the fact that Green Scream isn’t one of the prolific Zierer Tivoli clones found around the world. Again I’m stretching for praise here, but it put me in a good mood and it really was a day of the little things.

The Spooksville dark ride has had an overhaul since I last experienced it, with a total change in interior theming. I had enjoyed the quirky fake ending of the previous iteration for the scare factor, something this update lacked, but it was still amusing.

Why have one custom Zierer Tivoli when you can have two? Barnstormer is smaller but potentially packs more of a punch.

With the rate I get through uninteresting rides, there should have been no reason to enjoy the neighbouring Pinfari, Mighty Mini Mega, but again a little staff interaction goes a long way into bringing out the best of things.

#1 Kiddi Koasta

Enough of these token rerides, it was on to the main event. It’s only a Zamperla speedy coaster but a +1 makes a visit worthwhile all by itself.

I had no idea this existed and upon seeing that it looked like a dark ride I could get behind, we decided to give Adventureville a spin. It has one of those stupidly catchy soundtracks and is packed full of mischievous little bear characters up to all types of antics. To top it off, after the first vanilla lap the train goes round a second time in ‘party mode’, the music and lighting changes and you get double the fun out of the tiny footprint. Genius.

I had been asked several times by staff during the day as to whether I had tried ‘the new one’ yet. Again I didn’t know this was a thing and even though it’s not really my cup of tea, after so many friendly recommendations I figured it would be rude not to give it a go. Axis is an evil flat ride that leaves you suspended upside down far more than I would deem necessary, but I still managed to have a good time on it. There’s something satisfying about the visuals of more mundane surroundings (such as Southend town) with the sky at your feet.

To my own amazement we lasted a full day here just chilling (in more ways than one) and riding, much longer than I ever had previously and it was highly enjoyable. My own perspectives have changed over the years of course but no queues and a relaxed atmosphere can go a long way, two things I don’t think I’ll ever find at a Merlin park again.


Cred Hunting 07/20 – Hampshire

There’s no slowing me down now. A quick look at the Coaster Count nearest list highlighted that there was an opportunity for yet another +3 much closer to home. Finally something to do on a weekend.

South Parade Pier

Fortunately the beach at Southsea wasn’t full of half a million people desperate for a bit of sunlight.

#1 Happy Caterpillar

Brand new for 2020, paint still gleaming, they’ve got a new Wacky Worm lads. Apparently the token man wanted to take cash rather than contactless, but he was denied – them’s the rules.
The ride was deceivingly violent, more so than the Barry Island Galaxi. With no braking at all in the station between laps, it just flew through and had me clear out of my seat on the little despatch dip. I can’t remember the last time I sat back row in one of these and the lateral whip into the drop ended up being rather painful, particularly with my reluctance to hold onto anything.


B. Cole & Sons Family Fairground

The other two creds were temporary pop-ups at a fair in neighbouring Southampton. A highly reliable temperature check was administered here before we were allowed to purchase tokens.

First up was ummm… <squints sideways> #2 Runaway Train. It began with calming Reggae music before the official Thomas the Tank engine sponsorship kicked in over the sound system. There wasn’t much airtime to be found and an inversion would have been nice, but there was still a surprising amount of fun laterals in the imaginative oval layout.

The #3 Crazy Dragon was an absolute beast. Couldn’t understand a word the operator was saying through his face shield, but once the ride was up and running it turned into a professional slew of alternating “yubbagonnagetyahandsupwannahearyagonnamakeyascreeeeeeeeeeeeam” and “noneahereyougonnawannagottaputyourhandsintheyubbaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir” every time the station was navigated, complete with a bubble machine going off in riders’ faces.
I enjoyed the shuttle aspect of the ride, with a slight roll backwards out of the station before the intense tyre launch kicked into action. The larger and even more imaginative oval layout provided a great sensation of speed, with the wind in my face reminding me that I’m well overdue a haircut.

So there we have it, a successul run with no spites on some of the finest creds in the country. I’m inching ever closer to the big 1K and why would I need Voyage when I can make it one of these?


Cred Hunting 07/20 – Somerset + Wales

Oh yes, it’s great to open up this series again.
For my first week of working away from home in forever, I was stuck in Somerset with nothing to do of an evening.
Except creds.

Day 1 – Funland Theme Park

Sadly this park has taken the quirk out of their name – no more fun at the Tropicana to be had. They did however pull out their 2 coasters from 2018 and replace them with a fresh pair for me.

#1 Caterpillar

What better way is there to get back in the game than by jumping on a shining Wacky Worm.

It felt so good you can have 2 photos of it.

And what better way to remind me how frustrating this can be. The spinning wild mouse that I had seen running just moments before stepping into the park was now broken. They couldn’t give me a time estimate, but from previous experience of them breaking their zyklon, a man was already inside the tracks sorting things out. I gave them a chance and camped out for 15 minutes.

On my return I was told “it ain’t gonna be a quick fix, got some serious issues here”, so I thanked them and left, with the tokens still rattling in my pocket.

Back at the car I made a phone call to some bloke’s personal mobile number who confirmed that ‘yes, he was Barry Island Pleasure Park.’ He confirmed to me that everything was running and they were planning to keep that going for the next 2 hours.
What better way is there to get back in the game than by making another stupid journey for a +1?

If only I had a jet ski.


Barry Island Pleasure Park

It was a rather pleasant drive that ended in absolute carnage. Upon reaching the traffic lights facing the park, 4 police riot vans came screaming around the corner. There were people here, everywhere, in a mass of chaos. I’ve forgotten what that’s like.
With several feral youths literally being bundled into the vans in front of me and officers running in all directions, I casually found a parking space and got out to find myself ankle deep in fish and chip papers.

I haven’t moved this fast in many months either. While wading through the nightmare that surrounded me, the only thought in my mind was how I wanted to be in and out of this place as quick as humanly possible.

#2 Cyclone

After using the self service token machine I walked up to the operator of this beast. He gave a confusing speech about bracing for the final brake run because of how sudden it was.
For a certified mad man it didn’t even register, though as I returned to the station he asked “see what I mean?”
“Umm… yeah, I guess.”
All I actually noticed was at least 1000 people queueing on top of each other for the train station just outside the park boundary. That ain’t going well.

Took a token photo of Beastie from Alton Towers. The poor thing, relegated to such a grim place.

And that was far too much of that. At least I’ve got a news article to remember the experience by – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53507193


Day 2 – Funland Theme Park

Oh no, you’re not spiting me that easily. After failing to make a phone call and confusing a man at the nearby mini golf, I stubbornly proceeded against the odds, in the pouring rain, to have another attempt at the mouse the following evening.

#1 Crazy Mouse

Things couldn’t have looked more different to the previous day as I arrived, but importantly the cred was running.
Something ain’t right about this one, the seat was collapsing as I sat down and then the usual spin trigger from these Reverchons kicked in immediately after the lift hill, locked itself in the straight position again halfway through the turns, then something made an awful crunching sound and it continued to rotate wildly throughout the rest of the layout. I don’t think I’ve ever done the double up with a spin before.

I’d estimate my total time in the park to be under 3 minutes. Still got it.


Cred Hunting 09/19 – Clarence Pier

Did you know Clarence Pier got 2 new creds this year? Well they did. Out with the old, in with the new.
So I went to get them.

Clarence Pier

#1 Tidal Wave

There’s a bigger than usual SBF spinner. Got a bit of evil ejector in that single drop with its wacky worm-esque layout.

#2 Mad Mouse

And an SBF replica of what they had before. Still almost as sketchy with the cars bumping into each other in the station and a man pushing them.

What else is Portsmouth good for, other than creds? Boats.

Done this one before, many years ago.
So we did the new and improved Mary Rose museum this time. Previously it was just a shed in which they were spraying the wreckage they dragged up with waxy stuff to keep it nice and preserved.

Now you can see it all up close and even breathe in the 500 year old wood. Pretty cool stuff, if you’re into your history.

Think I might prefer this one though. World’s only passenger hovercraft. Thats a bragging right.


Cred Hunting 06/19 – Kent + East Sussex

Decided on a leisurely mop up of the south east coast – all those creds that were insultingly close to me but not yet ticked off.

Dreamland

Visited this place before when it first reopened with the woodie and some worm. But now they’ve got a different worm!
Wasn’t impressed with the woodie, being a bit of an insult to its type because the brakemen run it like wimps (not drugged up Danes) and therefore it doesn’t do anything. Didn’t reride.

Encountered some poorly explained rule about a minimum spend on a points card for the rides, which was a bit of a pain for those looking for a quick cred stop. Apparently you could spend the excess on food, but I didn’t manage to find a place where that was true, every single establishment turned me away in confusion. This may just have been because I was rushing for parking reasons.

#1 Pinball X

And for the same reasons, here’s a bad shot of the also new spinner. You know what they look like.
The area it’s in is a lot nicer than I remember. They’ve redone all the pathing and got grass and trees in there. All I remember from before was tarmac and 90s flat rides, which didn’t fit the vibe the park was going for.
It span very well for the Zamperla edition. They’ve always struck me as the weaker ones compared to Reverchon.

#2 Beehive Coaster

First worm of the day, but it’s actually a bee. Isn’t that something.

Done.


Found a nice picnic spot on route. These cliffs are greener than I expected.

First picture of the sea for the day.

Dymchurch Amusement Park

This place isn’t quite what I was expecting. The entrance is literally in the middle of a high street, you can park at the chemist opposite and stroll in for your cred.

Imagine living in that house, then imagine if it was a decent park. Crazy.

#3 Family Coaster

Second worm of the day. Might be the longest I’ve ever sat in one while it was loaded with guests. Isn’t that something.

Second picture of the sea.

Next.


Flamingo Park

Ah, the place that I foolishly got spited by on a weekday. Nearly gave up on it again as Hastings was the busiest place in the world just because a bit of sun was out. Almost impossible to park. Ended up in a mall in the town and making a bit of a trek.

#4 Caterpillar

Best and cheapest worm of the day though. Ride ops were enthusiastic, high-fiving people through the station and getting everyone to hands up on the drop.
See, no shame.

So that was a fun little +4. British summers at their best.


Cred Hunting 09/18 – Southport + North Wales

I’ve been putting off Southport for what seems like forever now, which may have been a mistake as they keep removing as many rides as they gain. They also seem to hardly ever be open, so while I was in the area for work on a Friday afternoon, I grabbed the opportunity for a short weekend of cred hunting.

Southport Pleasureland

Rain seems to be the bane of my life in this hobby now. The Pinfari looper wasn’t ready first thing because of “health and safety stuff” and “the rain.”

The payment system here seems a bit harsh, you have to get a cashless card with credit on it to ride anything. This costs £1 which isn’t refundable (unlike most other places with this system), each individual has to pay for their own (unlike most other places with this system) and it only lasts until the ‘end of the season’ (which is in like 2 weeks) rather than for a decent length of time (like most other places with this system).

Did the weird little powered coaster #1 Grand Canyon to start, it should have been an added bonus, as I thought there was only a +2 here to begin with.

Walked up to the Wacky Worm that was running. “Just gonna do some maintenance now, come back in 10.” Strange, the place only opened half an hour ago, but fair enough.

Waited another half an hour, keeping an eye on the other cred in the meantime.
Spite. Not ready yet, gotta go and stick another hour on the car parking.
Sat and watched it from the outside for a while. There goes the Wacky Worm. Back in we go.

#2 Caterpillar

+1.

Asked about the looper again. “Not quite ready yet, we’re doing maintenance on the dumbos and then we’ll move on to that one.” K.
Went for some lunch and sat watching from the car again. Parking ran out again. No sign.
Couldn’t be arsed to walk in again, so made a phone call. “Got problems with the brakes, probably won’t open today.”
Spiteport.


Would have tried a visit to this park today as well but “Gulliver’s World could not be reached for comment” – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-45533601
Ha.


There’s a good little hive of activity going on in North Wales, with 3 ‘parks’ and an (un)healthy +4 all within 5 minutes of each other.
So on to greener pastures.

Knightly’s Funfair


Got slightly worried as the cred didn’t seem to be listed on the price sign here. Never fear, it just comes under the generic ‘Children’s rides’. Sounds good to me.

£1 deposit on a card that both people can use. Deposit back on return. Card lasts 2 years.

#3 Twin Spiral Dragon Coaster

Powered dragon that people can be arsed to run. Sounds good to me.
Actually had the biggest queue of the day, waited a whole trains worth!


Tir Prince Family Funfair

£1 deposit on a card that both people can use. Deposit back on return. Card lasts 2 years.

#4 Batman

Another Fabbri spinner for the set. Didn’t notice that the cars tilt last time. I hope they’re supposed to. Quite good fun with the fact they are free spinning on the weird perpendicular lift hills. Got a decent spin throughout.

#5 Crazy Caterpillar

Another Wacky Worm for the set. How about a picture from the inside for once?


Family Fun Fair

Final place was another worrier as half of it is a construction site with signs saying coming 2019.

You can find it by the massive drop tower in the car park, for decorative purposes only.
The cred was still here though and just about to pack up for the day, but unlike Mack’s Amusements, they didn’t turn down token money in hand.

This one’s a #6 Nessi. That’s all the classic creds covered today.


Cred Hunting 07/18 – Oakwood Theme Park

Had a bit of a crap time at Oakwood, but some stories have to be told anyway.

Work lumbered me with a morning free in the arse end of Wales, so I thought it would be rude not to pop in, mostly because I’m far more shameless than I once was and having skipped the smaller creds on my last visit, it would be a +3 for me.

Oakwood Theme Park

Turned up bright and early before opening time thinking this’ll be a breeze. Staff were arriving later than me and were confused by my presence. Sat it out until a few minutes prior, by which time a crowd of 20-30 people were ready to roll.

Had a completely free run of the place for the first hour and hit all of the smaller creds in this time.

#1 Circus Clown was tested and opened for me, on request. Good start.

Highlight of the day – I broke #2 Crocodile Coaster.
It completed the first lap without a hitch (that’s the +1 sorted), but as it was picking up some speed through the second lap, sparks began to fly and some black smoke wafted up in the vicinity of the trains contact with the power rail. The operator hit the E-stop upon seeing this and ran off to get a manager telling me to stay where I was. I thought to myself, sitting about 2 inches from the floor, ‘if I see any more smoke I ain’t staying.’
He returned and had a quick chat about his procedures and what we thought had happened, can’t fault him at all for how the traumatising ordeal was handled. The manager and some engineers arrived shortly afterwards and coaxed it back into the station.
That was fun.

Didn’t know #3 Creepy Crawler (I do admire all this alliteration) had a little themed queue with some fog and an animatronic. That was cool. The ride wasn’t. M&Ds must have given it a hard time.

Even though they were posted as also opening at 10:00 at the entrance, Speed and Megafobia did not open during this time.

So I sat on a bench for half an hour outside Megafobia and waited. By the time it had opened, a couple of hundred school children had rocked up to the park and after getting my first lap, the queue was instantly up to around an hour, with painfully slow one man operations, half the rows closed off cos they’re broken and 10 minute dispatches.

Megafobia

I’d been told this woodie was on its A game recently, but it was pretty much how I remembered it – meh. It rides with the sort of roughness that saps all the airtime away, when you should be pinned out of your seat you just end up bouncing around instead from all the poor tracking.

Sucked up one more wait just to prove a point, then got annoyed and sunburnt and promptly left.

Maybe I should start collecting castles instead of coasters.
This is Pembroke Castle. One for the count.


Cred Hunting 05/18 – Somerset

Exciting (or harrowing) news! 2 shiny new creds have hit the UK.
But before we get to that, need to squeeze in a little visit here.

Animal Farm Adventure Park

For the second time in a week, I’ve been asked if I want to buy any sheep food. What sort of impression am I giving.

The park is home to a quirky Wacky Worm.

#1 Caterpiller

This model features magnetic brakes that are working far too hard, so the operator has a bit of a work out to get the train through the station for each of the 3 laps.

Reminded me of this scene for some reason.

With the important stuff out of the way, went to see some animals.

Reminding me of Pettitt’s now.

Sheep are rather scary creatures. Something about those eyes.

What’s in the shed?

Admiring the hair do.

Didn’t think llamas coulid have such cute faces outside of animation.

If sheep and goats aren’t scary enough for you, they’ve also got a reptile house.


So just down the road, on the beach at Weston-Super-Mud, this place made its contribution to the world only a week prior to our visit. And what a great name.

Funland at the Tropicana

For the second time in a week, bought some tokens from a dog. This one was inside someone’s shirt, so no picture unfortunately.

10 hours seems a bit of a stretch, but who am I to judge?

As I climb aboard my third Wacky Worm in a row.

#2 Wacky Worm

The paint was still shining and it glided effortlessly through the station.

This one had teething troubles and, for a brief moment, we thought it was going to spite as they evacuated 3 cars from the station and told everyone to go try something else.

This is the same part of the country where we camped out a certain Pinfari looper that was broken for 3 hours, so unperturbed, we simply settled in for the wait.

2 minutes later, following a spanner to the brakes, each car was sent round once and it was back in business. Well that was easy.

#3 Wild Mouse

Used to these being run down and falling apart, making it an unusual experience to ride it in fancy new trains. Gave quite a good run, not blocking at all until the final corner, but definitely missing that sketchy spark.

So there you go. No need for Icon and Wicker Man this year. Have at it.


Cred Hunting 05/18 – Cornwall + Devon

‘Your move Big Sheep. I’ve got my voucher. I’m ready. Are you?’
Gotta start this one off with I can’t believe I forgot the bloody voucher…

Flambards

If anywhere needed a voucher it was this place. I’m always saying “I’ve done worse”, but struggling to think of an example right now.

#1 Hornet

WENT for the BUZZZZ! …on Britain’s most Southerly COASTER.

Having a walk-on Vol Don’t Care was a novelty and they were hauling as much arse as its counterpart, running 3 trains for about 3 people.

Was quite fun watching other trains buzz around while on it.

Had a quick browse of what else was on offer.

Figured Skyraker001 was worth a shot, one of those SBF bouncy towers that offers some mild tingly feeling.

Wandered into a spinning tunnel.

Wandered into some dinosaurs.

Wandered out. Not a fan of this place as a ticket costs the same as a Blackpool Pleasure Beach wristband and there’s really no comparison there, but hey, it’s done. Next.


Camel Creek Adventure Park

This place was nicer.

Home to this beast.

Some other beasts.

#2 Morgawr

Good to get another obscure manufacturer cred on the list (Garmendale Engineering). Train was cute and the ride was a good laugh.

Wandered into this place, which housed 5 little 4 seater simulator pods in front of a big screen, with about 30 chairs straight out of a school hall placed behind them for the ‘non-thrilling option’.

The film was Red Beards Rapids (as promised) and was another good laugh.

This place had animals as well (didn’t see any camels though) and felt like a much more well rounded park, so good job. Next.


Big Sheep

Cornwall was left behind us and Devon seems much friendlier in comparison. As with Milky Way earlier in the year, got an enthusiastic run down from admissions staff of all the things on offer in the park. Was also asked if I wanted any sheep food. I’m alright thanks.

Follow the arrows to the cred.

#3 Rampage

Ride operator on this custom Zierer Tivoli was great, really going out of his way to acknowledge everyone and make sure they had a good time.

The coaster was fun, if just for the weirdness of the layout.

It was an indoor ride in its original location and now it’s just up in the air doing its own thing.

Those super long trains make back row quite a thrill as well.

Some sheep appeared, just to remind us where we were. Think they were doing a practice lap for the race later, also wetting the track to add an element of danger.

Smart.

China, can’t escape it.

Not much else on the ride front here, but seemed liked a good day out for regular people. Next.


Funder Park

#4 Wacky Worm

Final leg of the trip and finally a Wacky Worm to make the tale worthy of the cred hunting series. There’s something heart warming about those faces.

Bought some tokens from a dog.

Got 3 laps of goodness.

That was fun(der).


Cred Hunting 02/18 – Devon

Surprised it’s so early, but it turns out some places actually open in February!

They obviously get very busy with it.

A hideously early start for a winter weekend landed us in the car park somewhere in between park opening and ride opening for:

Milky Way Adventure Park

All the rides you could ever want.

Kicked off to a fantastic start, with a very enthusiastic staff member giving us a highly detailed explanation of the park map, planning out a little itinerary for our day including a show at 3pm. Didn’t have the heart to say we’d be gone by 11:10.
Took particular note of the speech about the wacky worm, saying that for those not brave enough for the big coaster, adults are always welcome.
Great to hear such thoughtfulness when a fair few parks in this country try and make you feel bad about taking a harmless ride (or even flat out refuse you). One day society will accept us.

This highly detailed explanation led to us immediately getting lost. The park has a very weird layout, forcing you through certain attractions including Dr. Who and pink R2D2 (what?), then down corridors that look like a school and into doors you don’t feel you should be opening.

Stumbled outside and bagged our first cred of the day.

#1 Cosmic Typhoon

Standard stuff. Spent most of the ride in a battle between keeping the park map safely in hand and protecting said hands from the bitter cold.
Reminds me I’m back home when I’m freezing my arse off in a park.

#2 Cosmic Caterpillar

Made a beeline for the worm and as if by magic, the operator appeared, coffee flask in hand.

Now had 17 minutes to kill before Clone Zone opened. Decided the maze sounded like the best way to do this, but managed to navigate through the hedges much easier than the actual park.

Magnificent looking specimens.

#3 Clone Zone

Seeing that we couldn’t contain our excitement, they opened a couple of minutes early and led us through for a quick safety chat. The assumption was made that we wouldn’t get scared, but make enough noise and the aliens will go away.

The walkthrough bit was a good laugh and I like the way you get a tour guide giving you a bit of back story and a scare or two. Got attacked by an alien near the end as the host made a swift exit, presumably to go run the ride. The best reaction I could manage was a mild “oh no!”

Weird contraptions these bat flyers, particularly in powered form. I rather enjoyed the exposed feeling as it pitches about accelerating and deccelerating in hilarious fashion. Scenes and animatronics were great too, just all ended a little too soon.

Almost ended, had to ungracefully manouevre the tunnel at the end.

All done then.
Grabbed a £1 voucher for Big Sheep on the way out, though we knew their cred wasn’t open today. Have to stay one step ahead.

Back on the road to Credit-on.


With due dedication, we had done our research and the other park with available creds in fickle February was:

Crealy Adventure Park

We even had an email confirming said creds would be open, playing it so smart.
Wait, what’s this?

Just…
Can’t escape the spite.

Have to grab things while you can in this game, so soldiered on anyway.

Roman soldiered even.

#4 Maximus

Vekoma Junior with a shed. Name might oversell it a bit.

Bit more significant in comparison to #5 Shark Bay though.
Was told it was difficult to get. It wasn’t. +1!

The Paultons-fed dinosaur craze in UK parks has reached Devon too. We’re blatantly worse for copying stuff than China.

Fearless seagull.

Gave their version of the dinosaur ride a go. Gotta get your moneys worth from these places.

Started off a bit budget, but it had another shed and some animatronic ones near the end. A reasonable attempt.

Not quite the perfect success we were hoping for but a +5 is a step in the right direction and a great way to kill a day.
Should only need 1 more trip down this way to dust it all off… but I’m far too cursed for that.
Your move Big Sheep. I’ve got my voucher. I’m ready. Are you?