On the 30th July 2016, a group of six of us took a trip to Keldy, and on that Saturday, a trip to Flamingo Land.
I've never been here before, despite the park being our second closest (after Lightwater Valley, not counting Ocean Beach). Luckily, the weather was pretty glorious, and we got our hands on some 2 for 1 vouchers - score!
Our first ride, and my personal favourite at this particular park, was Velocity. A motorbike themed, Vekoma launched coaster. I always used to be a fan of rides that would have as many inversions in them as possible, but now I tend to enjoy those rides with some significant airtime instead. Velocity has some pretty good airtime!
Mumbo Jumbo is Flamingo Land's record holder, as the steepest drop, at 112° and is a good ride, too.
As with every ride at Flamingo Land, only one car can be run at once, which slows down the throughput hugely. Combined with this limited car capacity, most of the cars only have a maximum of 4 seats. Think of it, 4 riders ever minute, say. Whereas, the Smiler at Alton Towers, to name one, can sit 16 per car, and can run 4 cars comfortably, loading, running and waiting at the same time. This caused our queues at Flamingo Land to be upwards of an hour and a half, two hours in some cases.
Another issue they face is how little land they have. This means their rides must be so compact and fit in such a tiny footprint. This equals less speed and more corners… I'm personally not a fan of a ride that can't build its speed up the further round the track it gets.
Hero in particular, goes up 4 levels, and then snakes its way back down to the ground in 4 very organised layers, if you get what I mean.
One ride I did enjoy though, was Kumali. Another Vekoma, and this one reached 55mph. It was helped by the 118 ft climb it makes up a relatively slow lift hill! But what a ride. The second time, I rode without my socks or shoes and it was strangely liberating to have your toes fly through the air hahahaha. The ride itself is incredibly rough, and you feel like you've gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson after it ends, and your ears are so sore!
Contrary to what I had initially thought, I really enjoyed the animal part of Flamingo Land. I do like zoos, but I like theme parks more. Flamingo Land's zoo, however, is very nicely presented and varied, with a petting zoo as well as the larger animals like giraffes and rhinos. The lions are separated by an enclosed enclosure, with solid walls instead of fences.
These concerts are held every weekend (or perhaps it's every other weekend…) in the summer and school holidays. Admittedly, the acts are fairly poor, and we didn't even stay until the end to see Scouting For Girls, but I felt like I knew these concerts, and I did! I actually wrote a considerable amount for my dissertation about these concerts, and Flamingo Land were actually very considerate and helped me out with my research, which is more than any Merlin park did…
So overall, yes I would go back, but I would not pay full price for my ticket, and would only ever go if I could get a hold of another 2 for 1 voucher. Their theming is a 2/10 and rides only a 5 or 6.
*Should also have said that Cliff Hanger, the drop tower, is the highest in the UK, and it's pretty great as a drop tower! These are my favourites at theme parks (airtime hahaha) and it's good to have been on the highest in both the UK and also the highest in Europe, in Sweden.
Jordanavia :)
I've never been here before, despite the park being our second closest (after Lightwater Valley, not counting Ocean Beach). Luckily, the weather was pretty glorious, and we got our hands on some 2 for 1 vouchers - score!
Our first ride, and my personal favourite at this particular park, was Velocity. A motorbike themed, Vekoma launched coaster. I always used to be a fan of rides that would have as many inversions in them as possible, but now I tend to enjoy those rides with some significant airtime instead. Velocity has some pretty good airtime!
Mumbo Jumbo is Flamingo Land's record holder, as the steepest drop, at 112° and is a good ride, too.
As with every ride at Flamingo Land, only one car can be run at once, which slows down the throughput hugely. Combined with this limited car capacity, most of the cars only have a maximum of 4 seats. Think of it, 4 riders ever minute, say. Whereas, the Smiler at Alton Towers, to name one, can sit 16 per car, and can run 4 cars comfortably, loading, running and waiting at the same time. This caused our queues at Flamingo Land to be upwards of an hour and a half, two hours in some cases.
Another issue they face is how little land they have. This means their rides must be so compact and fit in such a tiny footprint. This equals less speed and more corners… I'm personally not a fan of a ride that can't build its speed up the further round the track it gets.
Hero in particular, goes up 4 levels, and then snakes its way back down to the ground in 4 very organised layers, if you get what I mean.
One ride I did enjoy though, was Kumali. Another Vekoma, and this one reached 55mph. It was helped by the 118 ft climb it makes up a relatively slow lift hill! But what a ride. The second time, I rode without my socks or shoes and it was strangely liberating to have your toes fly through the air hahahaha. The ride itself is incredibly rough, and you feel like you've gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson after it ends, and your ears are so sore!
 |
| Kumali with Hero in the background |
Contrary to what I had initially thought, I really enjoyed the animal part of Flamingo Land. I do like zoos, but I like theme parks more. Flamingo Land's zoo, however, is very nicely presented and varied, with a petting zoo as well as the larger animals like giraffes and rhinos. The lions are separated by an enclosed enclosure, with solid walls instead of fences.
These concerts are held every weekend (or perhaps it's every other weekend…) in the summer and school holidays. Admittedly, the acts are fairly poor, and we didn't even stay until the end to see Scouting For Girls, but I felt like I knew these concerts, and I did! I actually wrote a considerable amount for my dissertation about these concerts, and Flamingo Land were actually very considerate and helped me out with my research, which is more than any Merlin park did…
So overall, yes I would go back, but I would not pay full price for my ticket, and would only ever go if I could get a hold of another 2 for 1 voucher. Their theming is a 2/10 and rides only a 5 or 6.
*Should also have said that Cliff Hanger, the drop tower, is the highest in the UK, and it's pretty great as a drop tower! These are my favourites at theme parks (airtime hahaha) and it's good to have been on the highest in both the UK and also the highest in Europe, in Sweden.
Jordanavia :)
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