It’s so easy to speak about those rides we gained and barely mention those we’ve lost. So let’s have a chat about some rides we lost during the last decade & how we felt about them. We’d love to know which rides you miss the most & why?
It has to begin here as it was the year we became enthusiast that this absolute gem of a ride (theme) closed. Bubbleworks was easily my favourite UK dark ride simply because how upbeat & happy it was. Of course the replacement been Gruffalo is always fab. But nothing quite compares to Bubbleworks.
This ride closure legit broke our hearts. Slammer was our favourite flat ride we ever experienced and the moment it got announced closed was heartbreaking. It was the most intense ride we’ve ridden but it was always so much fun. I always feel as if we never rode it enough as we didn’t visit Thorpe Park all that much so that made it worst.
It took me years to bring myself to ride this coaster as the lift hill used to intimidate me so much. But 2016 was the year I finally braved it. Honestly I won’t sit here & lie and say it was an absolutely incredible coaster because it simply wasn’t. There’s so many better rides out there but for the little amount of thrill Drayton Manor offers it was good for what it was. It definitely rode better on the front row as the restraints weren’t too harsh on hip crushing but overall wasn’t the best but it’s always sad knowing it’s going.
Again just like G Force it wasn’t a coaster which we rated all that highly. It was always remotely terrifying when taking corners and just overall to be truthful. The last ride we had on there I’m fairly confident I almost died (might be little dramatic). It was always nice to sit off ride eating our lunch watching people’s reactions whilst riding it to be honest. I do miss the sight of it but can’t say I miss riding it.
Still the only ride to this day to black me out completely. Thanks to the water for waking me up and I then realise I couldn’t handle the more intense setting. It was always that ride which was so much fun & on quieter days the ops usually gave the option to re-ride with more intense setting. Admittedly because we visit Chessington during off peak days now we rarely got chance to ride it in the end. But it was the only Huss Top Spin left in the UK which is pretty sad and once again was one of my favourite flat ride.
We never got chance to experience Loggers Leap and that’s exactly why we are so sad. One of the rides we love the most aside from coasters is log flumes & this flume looked perfect. The dynamics at Thorpe Park are very thrill heavy and we can only imagine how fab the days would of been with Loggers in full swing.
Finally, a ride which will always sit so dearly in my heart and be a massive lost. Pirates Adventure was THE ride which made me so interested in theme parks. I always wanted to know the more technical side of the operations. Therefore my passion for boat rides stemmed from this gem and escalated into becoming a theme park enthusiasts. It was never a perfect ride in comparison to others but it was still a really decent experience.
What rides do you miss?
Pirate Adventure. Although I wish I could’ve ridden Professor Burps Bubbleworks.
I wish I had the chance to experience the original concept for Bubbleworks too. Ant was fortunate too so I’m forever jealous haha.