We actually got to sleep in a little -- the buses departed around 9am. We arrived at Drayton Manor a little late and proceed to our ERT on Shockwave, their stand-up coaster.
There wasn't an incredible amount of time for ERT, and I only got in three rides. I skipped out after the three rides to buy one of the special "ACE Logo" T-Shirts that Drayton Manor had printed up for only 5 pounds ($7.50) apiece! It was actually a bit funny; they had these T-shirts for sale to the *public* at their gift shops during the day. I wonder if any non-ACERs bought any?
Shockwave was quite a decent ride, if a bit short. However, the highlight of the ERT session is that the park allowed us to ride "backwards". That is, standing up, but facing the REAR of the train. The restraints worked remarkably well in either direction, except that when facing backwards most of your face is pressed against the headrest. If you're tall enough (and I was) you can see reasonably well in an upwardly-angled direction over the headrest. This is probably the only opportunity that people have to ride one of these suckers backwards-facing.
The next ride I tried was their "Looping Pinfari" coaster. This is essentially a Galaxy-type coaster with a very small loop in the middle of the ride. The cars are cramped & a bit uncomfortable, and there is sufficient head-banging on this ride to make it a "ride-once" affair.
Off we went to the "Buffalo Coaster", a powered non-coaster which was quite mild. The line was pretty long too, since they ran the train around twice when once is clearly sufficient since the track is pretty long.
Drayton Manor also has a throwaway poor Waltzer, and a very good Teacups ride with decent spinning action. They also have a walk-through fun-house that most people missed since it looks like a little steamboat on their lake and it's a bit out of the way.
A catered lunch was served, Fish & Chips (my second of the trip so far) and a decent dessert of fresh strawberries & whipped cream.
After lunch we were treated to a private preview of their new ride called "The Haunting", which would only open to the public on July 13th. Although the ride was pretty much finished, they were still working on the preshows and the programming for the music and effects. However, plenty of KUDOS to Drayton Manor for allowing us to sample their new attraction.
(mild spoilers for The Haunting follow) The ride has three preshows, though only the 2nd and 3rd were finished. You approach the very nicely rendered "haunted house" and see a trailer truck parked adjacent to the house. You enter the truck, and there is the first pre-show (which we did not see). You enter the second preshow, which is a long hallway (very nicely done), with the floor above visible complete with doors, walls, ect. The lights flicker and a spirit rushes above you. You then enter the third pre-show, a room with a painting. I don't want to give away this pre-show, since (although unfinished) it seems like it'll be a real treat. The ride itself is a variant of the haunted-swing variety, with a capacity of 40 people. All in all, pretty nicely done, and a fun series of preshows which are entertaining in their own right.
Later on we left Drayton Manor, spent about an hour in Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's house), the only "sightseeing" stop on my journey. We got back at the hotel a little past 10pm, a pretty full day.
Now *this* was a long bus ("coach") ride -- 8:30am leaving Coventry, England and arriving 1PM in Oakwood, Wales. What could possibly be worth a NINE hour round trip ride? MEGAFOBIA, the new CCI-built wood coaster at the park, that's what.
I'd seen some glowing reviews of the ride from some of the UK'ers who rode it when it opened in April, and it had been hyped so much the expectation was quite high. In fact, with such great expectations I didn't think that the coaster wood seem so fantastic, as any over-hyped thing tends to disappoint.
We arrived at Oakwood and walked past a large grassy field to the "real" back of the park, directly to a catered lunch. Quite a taunt, to have the coaster quite close yet having to eat lunch first! But the park served up a tasty lunch, including four hot stations (Minted Lamb included) and some tasty desserts. They also set up a Megafobia Souvenir stand inside the lunch tent and of course the ACErs swarmed all over and bought nearly everything in sight including Megafobia "Cheeky" Boxer Shorts.
So 2pm came, and we headed down to Megafobia (not for ERT -- that was later in the evening). The coaster is beautiful to behold; much of it lies behind some trees, and the first drop is just beyond a lake in which paddleboats cruise by. The queue winds lazy S's amongst landscaped planters.
After a 30-minute wait, I boarded the train for my first ride on Megafobia. I'm not going to describe the ride itself; that's been done several times before. But this beauty FLIES! Airtime galore! Surprise twists! And when it's finally over, even the last hill before the brake run gives airtime before you slam into the brakes still going nicely fast!
Megafobia is brilliant. An amazing coaster and an instant classic. There really is no unexciting part of this ride. And the setting is fantastic, with the exception that it's pretty far away from Philadelphia. When I got off this coaster, I was laughing, giving BIG thumbs-up to the next group of ACErs getting on, and really just couldn't stop smiling for half an hour. I got a few other rides on in the afternoon, but stopped after 3 to check out some of the park's other attractions. The one complaint I have is that the Welsh kids are quite brazen about queue-jumping and just push you out of their way as they make their way to the front past several dozen people!
I found my way to the "Sky Leap", which is a 15-foot VERTICAL slide. You climb up some stairs, and then push yourself off into a free-fall that quickly curves out. Lots of fun, and little waiting.
The "Log Jammer" coaster (also known as "Tree Topper") is a Ladybird coaster set in a forest. It seems like they didn't remove any trees to install this junior coaster! Quite nice to behold.
Then there was the "Assault Course", an obstacle course for adults. Three different tracks to choose from, with rope bridges, tires and netting to climb, balance beams, and the like. Feel like you're in the army, with no time commitment! Great fun.
Oakwood also has a small alpine slide, with the usual wheeled toboggans running on a metal curved track. However, this alpine slide has a LIFT HILL! You sit on the cart and a rope/cable lifts you up. So, does it count as a coaster?
ERT came, and we got many rides due to the two-train operation which, though not well practiced, went pretty smoothly nonetheless. Each ride seemed better than the last, as familiarity with the course led to more enjoyable riding. There was even time to view the cow-filled pasture on the other side of the lift hill. I got about 10 rides total on Megafobia though I'd eagerly have done another 50.
We all had a great deal of fun, though we could have spent much more time at this park. In fact, several people made their own arrangements to spend another day at Oakwood following the whole UK tour...
We had our 4 1/2 hour bus ride back to the hotel, where some of us feasted on an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner (including unlimited baked salmon -- yum!) and several good desserts. Went to sleep at 12:15AM, with only about 4 hours of sleep before the 5:30am wake-up time on Tuesday....
