RCCGB FORUM

Death · Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 7:37 pm Post subject: MegaGLOWmania/Camp Oakwood 2009CE

Hail all!

I've literally just got back in the house after my journey back from Oakwood. Unfortunateley, I havn't got time to do a blow by blow trip report or owt like that (I have three stops over ten miles cross-country to be done on foot before midnight! Shocked

) and I'll have to do that another time. Smile

In the meantime however, I just wanted to thank a number of people for a most awesome MegaGLOWmania and Camp Oakwood 2009CE! Twisted Evil

All of the staff and managers at Oakwood: (Or Parc y Coed Derwen as I believe may be called in Cymraeg!) For welcoming us once again and hosting us all for yet another fun-filled MegaGLOWmania!
Andy Hine MBE (A.K.A: "Nev"): For arranging and organising the event with the above, and once again voluntarily giving us so much of his personal time and effort to bring it all together!
Sarah (Nimmykins) & Ianto (Auntie Murial): For taking the time and effort to organise Camp Oakwood, and once again allowing us to have a rare treat for any enthusiast; Being able to stay inside the bounds of a theme park for a couple of nights, and have a whale of a time doing it!
(Special thanks also to Nimmy's partner Paul, whose generosity with the coffee pot this morning meant that I managed to wake up well in time for the go-karting! )

Apologies to anyone I've missed, and those who I wasn't able to thank/wish farewell to earlier on - Unfortunateley a lot of us were all in a big rush to get to Heathertons in time for the go-karting, and I practically got bundled into the nearest car as I was returning from the convenience! Shocked

Anyhow...As further reports will testify, this year was even more fun and enjoyable (And a lot dryer! Laughing

) than last year, and I'll definitely be back for next year's Camp OakWasp! Cool

Farewell for now, and be seeing all o' ye at Loopathon! Twisted Evil

>> Death <<
_________________

DieselDragon.co.uk - Deaths cluttered catacomb o' random stuff. Find me elsewhere! Smile

Happy Helen · Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:04 pm Post subject:

Hope you all had a great day.

You had lovely weather.

mophead · Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:56 pm Post subject:

Well im back home after another fantastic trip
On friday I met up with Carol and we headed west, stopping at the spectacular Carrag Cennen Castle for lunch. We arrived at the campsite at around 5pm and I busied myself with putting up my classic tent. This proved to be even harder than anticipated as at some point since last putting it up 5 years ago my mother had driven over the tent poles and bent them out of shape! An evening of football, alcohol, Judas Priest Karoke and fun followed.

I dragged myself out of bed on saturday morning and went to meet the non campers at the park enterance before our morning ERS on Meggie. Meggie was running great but all too soon it was over. We headed over to the bobsled for a quick go before it got too busy before headed out on to the rest of the park. Highlights of the day included several goes on the t-trays with many members trying the Arms Up challenge (and many not succeeding). Much to everyone's dissappointment Dan did it 3 times running without falling in (he fell in later when no one was looking!). Speed was running very fast - I manged 4 goes before Boomerang Challenge flashback kicked in.
A pleasent evening was spent at CC2000 where I excelled at bowling and we got a record score in the Crystal Maze thanks to the little kid who came with us (sorry forgotton her name but she could do everything!)
Highlight of the day was the late ERS on Meggy which started at dusk and proceeded to full night then it was back to the campsite for a night time sit around Smiler's quality campfire.

On sunday after dismantling camp we headed over to Heathertons for a manic karting session - if only those tires hadn't got in the way im sure I'd have beaten Nev - before a quick visit to Coney Beach at Porthcrawl on the way home. Megablitz was terrible, the Afterburner was fantastic, the Orbitor was good fun and I think I need about a month to recover from the Waltzer!
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Without a safety net you're free to find serene pleasure of speed

Rogue · Strata Poster Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 3865

Well I had an absolutely brilliant time, thanks to everyone involved in organising the trip and all the staff at Oakwood.

Had great fun on the camp site and no sign of any rain (or mud) this year Very Happy

I want to congratulate Big Stevie B for doing Vertigo, I know how scared you were about doing it so must've taken a lot of guts for you to get up there.

Had such a chilled out day in the park on Saturday, was great to spend time in the company of so many good friends and then laugh and point at you when you got soaked on the tea trays (smiler and steve caine) Laughing

Had a good laugh back on camp again on Saturday night, with some of us nipping off to the Chinese and then attacking smiler with a Nerf ball (poor smiler)

Evening ERS was great, didn't keep count of how many rides I did though.

Was great to meet some new members (Geek!) Hope your sunburn has gone down a bit.

I can't think of anything else to put now so I'm sure others will come along and fill in the gaps Laughing

_________________
Rachel
Membership Number 2210a
"Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time"

Steven Burns · Strata Poster Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 1777

I never died on the Sky Coaster lol, still shaking but proud of myself for finally doing one. So pleased i never made a fool of myself in front of the largest audience for a Sky Coaster ride as well lol.

I don`t upload my photos to Facebook, so as Vicci didn`t do this trip they wont be going on there at all. So no tagging or naff emails to worry about. They are here though.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevie-b/collections/72157614883352486/
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My Site www.freewebs.com/big-Stevie-b/

Photo Site www.flickr.com/photos/stevie-b/collections/

RCCGB No. 2293

bluea61 · Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:20 am Post subject:

This years Oakwood was such a contrast to last year. So relaxed and so dry.

We both had a great time with the usual crowd and some new people. Hope you all enjoyed your first Oakwood experiences. Camping was the usual good laughs, why do you put yourself through it smiler.

Well done to both Steve and Simon for the first Vertigo flights. It was funny watching Simon as it got nearer to the flight, and a nice girly scream from him when the cord was pulled! Laughing

The Evening ERS was a bit slow starting but as it got darker the atmosphere picked up and the glowing streak of the train could be seen flying around the Welsh countryside.

As an add on we did the Steam Fair at Weston. The rides are excellent and its really cool to see them all preserved and running very well. The Skid is a truly awesome ride! As a quick detour we also nipped along to Brean to do there Magic Mouse. Not much to say, its a mouse.
_________________
Steve
RCCGB - 2355

Happy Helen · Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:49 am Post subject:

Sure it was a contrast to last year, being so relaxed and dry as you wouldn't have wanted a repeat of last year.

I was down in Weston last Sunday and I saw the Carter's Steam Fair, not as big as the Great Dorest Steam Fair.

The peir looked completely empty.

Went to Brean last year and it is a nice park, but not much there.

frosty · Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:32 pm Post subject:

Steven Burns · Strata Poster Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 1777

bradpeet · Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 2:01 pm Post subject:

Steven Burns · Strata Poster Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 1777

Rogue · Strata Poster Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 3865

Have uploaded Steves Vertigo flight onto Youtube

*caution - video contains moderate swearing* Laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVpcKnFp00A

I've also put it on my Facebook page Smile

_________________
Rachel
Membership Number 2210a
"Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time"

smiler · Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 5:35 pm Post subject:

Well what can I say what a difference a year on makes. Had a fantastic time with everyone and meeting new people to great to see you all. Highlights really well the whole thing really was great. The nerf ball think will haunt me for the rest of my life Laughing

. Well done to Steve for doing the sky coaster you were really looking forward to that Laughing

Thanks once again guys and the great staff at Oakwood to.

Pictures can be found here

http://www.smilers-photos.fotopic.net/

and here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10803540@N02/collections/
_________________
Naked roller coaster world record holder 2004
Biggest ghost hunter record holder 2006

Photos updated (14/12/09) Winter wounderland and the O2 fair

Flicr photos update (14/12/09)
Video update (03/11/09)

Steven Burns · Strata Poster Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 1777

nemesis scribe · Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:20 pm Post subject:

Oooooooooooooooooo Very Happy

Yes, it was a great weekend, lots of fun fun fun!!! Plus I also camped at Oakwood for the 1st time, albeit one night only Laughing

My stormforce 10 tent form Wilkinsons did me proud!! Laughing

Oooooo we also had cresps and tangoooooo Very Happy

Oh, and i did help protect smiler form the nerf ball . . . and kept his can of strongbow safe Cool

Oh yeah, the weather was very nice too . . . . . Cool

. . .
_________________
RCCGB Club Member #1908

Nimmykins · Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:29 pm Post subject:

What a great weekend. Sunshine, no mud and just a few wasps. The only dark mark over the weekend was our nine-hour car journey up and left from Brighton.

It was Paul's sister Caroline's first club trip. She's not a fan of heights but still managed six rides on Meggy, three during each ERS.

Camp was great. Thanks to everyone for leaving the field in such good shape.

Thanks to campers Rachel Paterson, Andy Paterson, Carol Hedges, James Phillips, Kate Ward, Jenny Breen, Phil Holmes, Andy Knight, Mary Knight, Brian Smith, Richard Jones, Natalie Hall, Jess Gillen, Sam Tasker, Lewis Tasker, Doug Turner, Charlie Turner, Emily Turner, Daniel Morris, Liam Redden, Stacy Williams, Stephen Bishop, Hayley Stanton, Kelly Cameron, Simon Holden, Jonathan Dempsey, Steve Burns, Carol Hodgson, Peter Hodgson, Delroy Spence, Dave Perry, Craig Smith, Richard Weir, Andy James, Sarah James, Alicia James, Adam King, Dave Wells, Adam Cuthbert, Matthew Bauckham, Lesley Bauckham, Catherine Bland, Richard Conian, Adrian Keats, Nicky Arnold, Sarah Harper, Ryan Hackett, Dan Ould, Steve Caine, Barry Healey, Colin Blanchard, Chris Fletcher, Rachel Davis, Daniel Stewart, Amy Tinson and David Bebbington, we collected a £270 donation which was handed over to Oakwood on Sunday morning.

Thanks Nev for organising the whole thing.

This is my last year organising camp Oakwood after five years at the helm.
I have many more responsibilities at work, now I'm in charge of six newspaper websites and have become one of my employer's national digital champions. It's a bit too stressful and time for a change.

Ianto (Auntie Murial), my co-camp coordinator for the past two years, is taking over.

This doesn't mean I won't be camping!
_________________
Sarah
RCCGB member - 2132

Plus four travelling coasters including Olympia Looping and Eurostar.

stevencaine · Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:00 pm Post subject:

Thanks guys for making this one of the best club trips I've done Very Happy

highlights SteveB skycoaster,night time meggy ers,Smiler and the Nerf ball,and the sunshine,great too make some new friends and meet the regulars cant wait until the next trip
Special thanks go too Pete and Carol for supplying the tent and the lift up there thanks guys
Thanks also goes to Nev and Sarah Booker

Rogue · Strata Poster Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 3865

I can't believe no one has yet mentioned the "pimp my ride" that was done Wink

_________________
Rachel
Membership Number 2210a
"Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time"

frosty · Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:41 am Post subject:

Rogue · Strata Poster Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 3865

Rough Rider · Strata Poster Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 403

Great Trip!...............great fun!................great meeting up with old and new friends!..................and above all.........Great organising Very Happy

Thanks Nimmy, and thanks Nev. Very Happy

(oooh!
I actually didn't forget anything this year..........or so I thought Crying or Very sad

(last year actually forgot the tent)
OOOPPPPS!! This year "NO PILLOWS" Crying or Very sad

So off I drove 5 miles down the road to buy a pillow Sad

Holy CACK!! I nearlly passed out,
£9.99 for a pillow Sad

.
Well, you will also be pleased to know that this year we didn't use plastic cutlery for cooking the BBQ...Whay! Hey!,,, much better Laughing

I must also add that I must have been the only camper who brought and put up 2 tents and went home with 1. Crying or Very sad

R.I.P. the old tent, as it had seen its last camp site, and ended up in the wheely bin Sad

Again, thanks to all for such a brill time.............especially the ride opps on the ERS.Thanks Guys Very Happy

Ryan
(Hey!!!!)
Just realised ????????a whole reply without mentioning ..................................................."RATTLER" Laughing

_________________
Roll on 2011 "RATTLER" here we come!!
DENISE DINN LARRICK & CHARLIE BOY, WALK ON WATER.
"RATTLER" LIVES ON.
You haven't ridden a coaster till you've ridden "RATTLER"
"RYAN"......One of the original "MUSKEGON 4"

STEALTHYBUTBAD · Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:36 pm Post subject:

Friday : Left home just before 10 am and made my way to Harlow in essex for a quick visit to a shop. After the shop I made my way to the A414 followed by the A10 and then onto the M25 (which was running smoothly) followed by the M4. A stop was made at the Reading Services. After the stop at the services i carried making my way along the M4 before hitting traffic caused by a 7.5 tonne lorry having a shunt ! (dunno what he hit but he did a good job of damaging the cab !). After the delay caused by the lorry crash the M4 was running smoothly again. I did another stop. I got to my B&B at about 5:30pm. After getting my stuff sorted out and a quick refresh myself after the long drive i made my way to a local pub for dinner.
After my dinner i made my way to Oakwood as i was Visiting the campsite for the evening. Upon arriving at the entrance of Oakwood there was a car parked up and the gate was shut which was unusual. The gate turned out to be locked and no one knew the code. Maz turned up followed by Sarah Booker and Paul along with another person. More people turned up in cars waiting to get in.
After a little wait other members of the club turned up and "opened" the gate so we could all get in. On the way to the campsite a Security guard was driving his car with Sarah B in the passenger as she had gone to the Security office to see what was going on. The security guard did look a bit Bemused to say the least lol (they should have left the gate unlocked but on the latch eh ? lol ).
Once making way to the campsite entrance members were walking from the field to the campsite and they certainly knew i was there due to the volume of my cars sound system being cranked up to make my presence known lol. I had a great time at the campsite before making my way back to my B&B which was just 5 miles away from Oakwood.

I arrived at the Park just after 8am and met up with other members and posed for the group photo outside the main entrance to the park and then collecting my wristband and then making my way into the park and to Megafobia. I managed 4 goes in the mornings e.r.s which was impressive for me. After the E.r.s it was over to Speed. You knew when i was on it as u could me do an "oggy oggy oggy" followed by "we're all coaster crazy , what are we ?" before going over the top of the incline !.
After Speed members of my group went onto the Tree top Coaster and had a ride on that. After that it was time for a drink and a quick nibble (doughnut) before going into the magic factory only to find it wasnt where it should have been anymore which is a shame.
It was then a ride on The Bounce which as good as ever followed by another ride on speed.
It was then time to make way to a field next to the railway line for a game of baseball which i did videos of - one for youtube (10 mins long) and another one with my other camcorder (cant remember how long i filmed for on it). It was greaat fun watching the baseball match and watching "Naan man" adam king having fun with his bottle of drink (what were you doing adam ? lol).
After the match had finished it was time to go back into the park for more riding on meggy , speed , tree top coaster , plane crazy plus some filming of people coming down the waterfall hoping they would fall in lol. One member did fall off of his tray but not where i had hoped (sorry lol). Watching people on the waterfall ride is a kind of Spectators sport and is certainly good fun too.
After watching and filming people on the waterfall it was time3 to leave the park and make way to a pub down the road for a meal.
After the meal we made our way back to the park for the evening e.r.s on meggy ! I managed 5 rides before deciding to do some filming of the atmosphere and seeing people lit up to make meggy glow round the track - the trains were certainly flying round the track.

It was a great day and trip - The weather was well improved after last year so the campsite members were alot happier than last year Smile

.

My main Highlight of the trip had to able to ride megafobia with my hands in the air all the way round the track - she was certainly flying round in the evenings e.r.s !

Hope my report wasnt too long for you all and it hasnt put you all to sleep ! lol. See u all at the next club trip !
_________________
Fan of all things fast : Roller Coasters , cars including the lovely Audi R8 !
Also on youtube as : coasterlover20000

USfriends · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:04 am Post subject:

Death · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:46 am Post subject:

Hail all!

Time for my long overdue trip report, methinks! I do have to admit that - Like Nemesis Nick - I have a habit of writing rather long and involved trip reports with footnotes and parenthesis dotted about here and there, and thus I do apologise in advance for the length of this post. However I'll try and keep everything to as relevant and short as possible, whilst still keeping to a sufficient level of detail. Smile

Friday 07th Aug:
A relatively relaxing train journey across the West (Via Llandudno this time! Razz

) got me over to Clunderwen station for around quarter past eight, and I was fortunate enough to get a lift to The Bush from a couple whom I had been speaking to on the train after helping them with their rather heavy luggage - Something I was very appreciative of, given that the soles on my new boots had annoyingly decided to start disintegrating shortly after I'd left home!
Just after setting off from The Bush however, another Club member (Dave) pulled up on the roadside to grab a photo or two of me on the road. Thinking that he'd stopped to offer me a lift (And not wanting to have him wait in an iffy spot for any longer than necessary) I dashed over and jumped right in, meaning that for once I'd actually arrived at the camp before sunset - Something I can never normally manage, as any previous Camp Oakwood attendees can testify! Laughing

As always, the Friday night was great fun, with people catching up on times and events, and talking excitedly about their plans for the following day. Once again the sight and smell of barbecues could be beheld across the Welsh countryside, and with one member's in-car sound system going (I can't remember who had it though) we'd actually turned the camping field into something like an open-air nightclub. I do wonder what the residents in Bluestones next door might've made of what they could probably see and hear from their rooms, even though we did keep the volume at a reasonable level throughout! Cool

Saturday 8th Aug:
Roused early by cries of "Anybody want a lump of milk?" ringing across the campsite (Only kidding, but the weather was pretty hot & sunny throughout!) we began the day with our morning ERS on Megafobia, which woke me up far better than even the strongest and most vicious of my coffees ever could! A swift five rides near the back with some insane ejector-seat airtime got me set for the day quite well - Although after that experience I think I'd better bring some well padded trousers for next time...Landing on ones backside after a 100ft decent isn't exactly comfortable! Shocked

The main part of the day went in an enjoyable manner, with plenty of rides and a lot of fun had. Speed was running very well, and in my view still gives the best airtime I've ever had out of a Steelie! I also had a go on Plane Crazy, and tried to learn how to control the "planes" with the same degree of precision and ability that the Flying Scooters display team have exhibited over past years - Unfortunateley I somehow managed to turn my "plane" through about 220° and heard some rather disconcerting noises from the support cabling, so maybe I'd better train myself on rides with rigid frames before I try doing that on a cable-suspended Flying Scooter again! Shocked

I was unfortunate enough to become dehydrated later into the afternoon - To the extent where a group of other guests actually asked me if I was smoking something questionable - And although a bottle of soft drink eventually solved the problem, this was only after I'd gone to at least three locations where water fountains used to be, only to find that they'd seemingly been removed. This was one of a few changes to the park that I'd noticed this year, and I'll come to those in detail later on.

Just after lunch, a number of us assembled on the playing field behind the entrance for the traditional Club "Woodies vs Steelies" Rounders match, which was also very enjoyable. As per usual, the Woodies won the game (Surprise, surprise! Wink

) which was punctuated by some very innovative plays, unexpected movement of the bases during play, a rather interesting altercation between Nev and his wife Christine (The latter batting for the Steelies!), my finding of a spare frisbee to use as a portable base which allowed me to complete my round via several stops, and some very Mornington Cresent-esque debates concerning the rules of the game throughout! Laughing

Later into the evening, a number of us headed over to CC-2000 for dinner, bowling and the Crystal Maze. Although I don't normally play either, I do enjoy exploring the latter and seeing how it keeps on running despite using technology that - By todays standards - Is positively ancient. In this case it was probabally just as well, as shortly after entering the maze I ran into a Club group who had encountered difficulties and had one member with a suspected injury, and my knowlege of the maze allowed me to sprint off and call a couple of supervisors over to evacuate him and get him checked out. In the meantime I also wound up taking his place, which also proved useful to the group as - Aside from me knowing the quickest route from one challenge to the next - One of the challenges (Snake pit) was a pretty physical one, which I was quite well suited to! Twisted Evil

I can't remember what our eventual score was unfortunateley, but - Though I seem to be fairly adept at the challenges themselves - My slow reactions probably accounted for half of our "missed" buttons when we came to the crystal dome! Embarassed

(Incidentally, the group leader forgot to collect the Crystal Maze stamp afterwards, but I've got this at home if they want it! Smile

)

we headed back to the park to irradiate ourselves with glowsticks and head over to Megafobia for our night-time ERS. By this time, the second train had been put on track and both were literally flying round the course throughout the night - Resulting in some amazing riding, and the airtime was unprecedented even in the front row! The party mix that Nev had playing helped to add a really pleasant atmosphere to the evening, and despite being a Metalhead I have to agree that Verka sounds great when ye're on a coaster that's flying unfettered through the icy Welsh night! Twisted Evil

(One thing I do wonder though is why he always includes that strange Armadillo song on the mix as well...I know that it's a jolly party song, but I personally don't think it suits a night-time ERS nearly as well as Mr. President's Coco Jamboo or The Shamen's Move Any Mountain would! Smile

)

Finally - After several people had decided to festoon Nevs adjacently parked car with assorted glowsticks and other paraphenalia - We retreated back to the campsite for another enjoyable night of fun, frolics, and the fine art of cooking with plastic cutlery! Once again a great time was had by all, and after numerous sagas told around pleasantly roaring barbecues, we retired for a well earned nights sleep. Smile

On a sub-note: Several people decided to slow Nev's progress out of the park by walking in front of his car - Not realising that Nev normally has his vehicles fitted with racing clutches (That operate in a strict on/off fashion) for smoother gear changes - And consequently Nev had a very difficult time trying to avoid running anybody over as such equipment doesn't allow for clutch-control...Therefore if anyone is thinking of doing this in future, my suggestion - For their own safety just in case something goes wrong - Would be: Don't! Shocked

Sunday 9th Aug:
Another early start saw us all hastily deconstructing and rolling up tents and other equipment so that we could all make a start for our next destinations before the M4 became heavily gridlocked as it always does on a Sunday afternoon - And I myself also needed to get going sharpish as the railway tunnel under the Severn is closed for inspection on Sundays, and consequently trains from Wales have to travel an extra 125 miles via Gloucester to re-enter England!

As it happened, Dave had offered to give me a lift to any convenient train station after Heathertons that morning as he was going go-karting, and as it was I'd never been to Heathertons myself and I wanted to see what this little-known activity park had to offer. Much to my pleasant surprise though, shortly after arrival Nev mentioned that he still had space available on the go-karts for one person and that it wasn't too late to pay and get booked in for the event...And to be frank I jumped at the offer, especially given that the Club member price for the event was much cheaper than the price that Heathertons normally charge guests for it! Very Happy

This in itself is good proof of the savings that the Club can offer it's members through the good relationships that it maintains with parks and venues, showing just how easily it allows us all to "buy in bulk" and obtain better savings as a large group, as opposed to several smaller ones...And - Much like the annual cost of my Railcard that saves me thousands each year on rail travel - The Club membership fee is a very worthwhile investment for all of us, as the £24 annual cost can offer up savings per-head well in excess of ten-times that figure! Cool

I have to confess that I was a little nervous of pushing the go-karts near to their limits at first - As it was the first time I'd ever driven a go-kart with an engine bigger than 50cc, and I was worried that my left foot would be dangerously heavy on the brake as I'm quite accustomed to working very heavy PSV clutches - But after the first half of the warm-up session I became quite accustomed to how the kart handled, what could and couldn't be safely done in one, the fact that the brakes have seemingly been kept "soft" to account for the fact that the left foot normally operates the clutch in a standard car, and eventually managed to build up the confidence to take bends a little faster, and straights at close to the karts 55mph maximum speed!
At the end of the race itself I finished in third - A relatively respectable place for someone who's never operated a high powered go-kart before, I'd say - And either way I'd had myself a really enjoyable and fun time, and to be frank I wouldn't have enjoyed it any less if I'd come last out of the whole Club! Cool

Anyhow...After Heathertons, Dave and I set off eastward heading for home - Both of us rather perplexed that Dave's satellite navigation system decided to lead us down three single-track roads en-route to the motorway! Either way though, our route back proved to be much shorter and quicker than the usual route via Canaston Bridge, and I'll try to remember it for any future journeys where I find myself in the position of navigator! Smile

Although we ran into one "ghost" tailback at the Welsh end of the Severn Bridge, we managed to reach Bristol Temple Meads fairly quickly where Dave dropped me off before heading onwards to Derby. Although the road journey itself was pretty quick and enjoyable though, the same cannot be said for the train journey thanks to First Great Western's annoying way of structuring the Sunday timetable - Which led to me just missing trains at both Bristol and Reading, and having an hours additional wait at each which did hamper my journey home somewhat. Neutral

Other comments on the weekend:
There are several additional comments that I'd like to make in relation to the weekend - Some related to our events, and some not - That I'll dump here in bullet-point format in an easy to jump section for those who are not interested. Smile

Current "feel" of Oakwood:
One thing that struck a lot of us during the trip was that the general "feel" of Oakwood has changed this year from what it has been in previous years back when it was a family owned and run park, and that the appearance of corporate branding here and there and several other small changes to the park (Such as integrating the Guest Services desk with the park reception and removal of drinking fountains etc.) has now made Oakwood feel more like a "corporate" park - Like those in the Merlin Entertainments group - And the subsequent change in the whole "atmosphere" and "feeling" of the park has been a rather alien one for a lot of us in the Club.
The intangible "atmosphere" of a park - Which is quite heavily influenced by the way it is owned, managed and run - Is something noticed by everyone who visits it, not just enthusiasts and those who have been to the park several times, and can actually influence the overall enjoyment of a visitors day.

Although I do not have any problem or objection to corporate ownership and/or operation of any park in any way, my personal experience is that family owned/operated venues have a much friendlier, more relaxing and less consumerist atmosphere than corporate owned/operated parks. I don't know if Oakwood will read the comments on this board at all, but if they do I would recommend one or two of the corporate managers spending days out at Alton Towers, Drayton Manor and Hayling Funland (Preferably in that order), comparing the "feel" of each park in turn, and seeing more or less what I'm saying above.
.
Food at Oakwood:
Unlike in previous years - Where the cost of the event included luncheon vouchers valid in some of the parks food outlets - This year was the first that saw the luncheon vouchers dropped from the package, leading to an initial per-head saving on the cost of the trip. However I did find that the price of food around Oakwood did seem to vary to some degree, and that some outlets were charging prices that were inconsistent with other outlets. I found this out to my loss on the Saturday morning after the ERS, when I bought myself a "breakfast" from the park resturant of a black coffee and a king-sized Mars, both coming to a total of about £2.80. It was only later on I discovered that I could have had a soft drink and two standard sized Mars bars for about £2.30 from the gift shop next door...About 50p less spend for a lot more food and drink by volume.

This could simply be a quirk of the park being under it's first year of new management, and I did mention the disparity as a comment at guest reception. But in the case of those like myself who are unable to take a packed lunch with them, my advice would be to shop around when buying food at Oakwood for the time being.
Also, it's worth noting that - Though the food there appears to be mostly microwave cooked - The food served at CC-2000 (A mere 400 yard walk from Vertigo) is much more reasonably priced than some of the outlets at Oakwood, and is also served straight from the kitchen, too!
.
I've got a window of just a few moments online to post this trip report, so I might not have got all of my points down in this post yet. Any future points will be inserted here at a later date.

Praise and Thanks:
As most of ye will have already seen in my previous post at the start of this thread, I've already thanked a few people for an excellent weekend...But at this point, I'll do a more comprehensive and un-rushed list: Smile

The management & staff at Parc Oakwood, CC-2000, and Heathertons:
For hosting us all at their respective venues, making each and every one of us feel very welcome and valued throughout our time spent there, and for helping us at every stage wherever we may have had need of it! Despite the fact that I must've interacted with over 150 different attraction employees over the weekend, I didn't once encounter a single employee who wasn't very pleasant and helpful in the way that they handled us, and the staff at certain larger UK parks could learn an awful lot about customer service and pleasantry from ye all!
Especial thanks to the staff on Megafobia for coming into the park both early and late on Saturday and operating the ride for us, as without ye guys our ERSs could never have happened!
.
Andy Hine MBE, and the rest of the RCCGB team:
For going to all the trouble and hard work - To say nothing of the [i]immense amount of personal time and effort no doubt involved - To organise the whole event and make the entire weekend one that we'll all remember happily for a good many years to come.
Great thanks also to all of their family, friends and employers for understanding the amount of additional hard work that they put into making these events such enjoyable and memorable ones for everyone involved, and (Hopefully) giving them the time, space and breaks that they may need in relation to other business to allow the above events to come about in such a flawless fashion!
.
Sarah and Ianto (Nimmikins & Auntie Muriel):
For organising an amazing and thoroughly enjoyable Camp Oakwood 2009CE, and for tirelessly working in tandem with the management at Oakwood to allow us to camp in the field next to Hydro (A rare treat for any theme park enthusiast!), to allow us to enjoy all of the fun, frolics and games of an RCCGB camp on their property, and for allowing us all to make 24-hour use of the essential facilities in the park which are far more pleasant and hygenic than any Porta-Privy could ever be!
Sarah/Ian: I did want to thank both of ye in person for the excellent work that ye did with the camp on the Sunday morning, but unfortunateley we were all in a big rush to get to Heathertons in time for the karting, we were travelling in convoy as we only had one or two people who knew the way, and I got called into Daves car just before I was able to thank ye - So for that I do apologise, but hopefully this'll carry across the same thanks that I intended to impart on the day.
.
Dave from Derby:
For providing me with some much needed and very greatly appreciated transportation to and from Oakwood during the weekend, and for also letting me use his spare room and thus saving me from pitching my own tent that weekend! Although I doubt that I'll be able to repay ye in the same way for the forseeable future - As I can afford neither a car, nor insurance to cover me in other peoples vehicles - I'll try and repay ye in some other way, if ever the opportunity presents itself!
.
Ryan H, and the rest of the Rough Riders:
For allowing me to share with ye the merriment, enjoyment, fine Ale, and excellent food of thy encampment on the Saturday evening! I have been fortunate enough to be invited to some very pleasant Hearths and fire-circles within my several thousand years of existance, but I cannot remember ever feeling so well fed and "watered" as I did upon that clear and frosty, yet merry and most enjoyable night! My heartfelt thanks unto ye all, and my apologies to Dan for not being able to assist him in the "recycling" of his surplus Ale!
.
Nimmy's partner Paul:
For his most kind and much appreciated generosity with the Coffee pot on the Sunday morning, especially as my enjoyment of the previous evening meant that I was having quite some difficulty waking up and coming to a state of general coherancy!

Plus - As in my original post - Anyone else whom I might have forgotton to mention due to my memory, and the unfortunate fact that my thoughts and memories often become fragmented after only a short passing of time! Smile

Farewell for now, many thanks unto everyone who was there, and be seeing all o' ye at Loopathon! Twisted Evil

>> Death <<
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DieselDragon.co.uk - Deaths cluttered catacomb o' random stuff. Find me elsewhere! Smile

smiler · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:18 am Post subject:

I dont remember Nemesis Nick coming Laughing

Thats a long report
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Naked roller coaster world record holder 2004
Biggest ghost hunter record holder 2006

Photos updated (14/12/09) Winter wounderland and the O2 fair

Flicr photos update (14/12/09)
Video update (03/11/09)

STEALTHYBUTBAD · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:22 am Post subject:

i thought mine was long ! lol. I have to admit i was gonna take a pen and notepad with me but i didnt in the end lol. Doesd anyone know the final score from the Baseball match ? was certainly entertaining to watch and film of course - cant remember how long i filmed for on the hard drive camcorder i know i got 10minutes worth of it on the youtube camcorder lol.
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Fan of all things fast : Roller Coasters , cars including the lovely Audi R8 !
Also on youtube as : coasterlover20000

Bambi · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:00 pm Post subject:

I had a great weekend! Always enjoy Oakwood, but this year there was such a relaxed feeling to the park and campsite.
I thought that Megafobia was running well as always.

Nev is there any chance we could have an ERS on the Bobsleigh next year? It would look great with all of the flashy stuff going round!

It was great having chill out time in the campsite after the park shut, had an excellent chinese!

Really enjoyed the visit to Carters Steam Fair on the Sunday. The skid was awesome!

Looking forward to Loopy!
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Hayley
RCCGB Number - 2355A

Nemesis Nick · Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:51 pm Post subject:

Hi everyone

Following my attendance at this year's Club trips Saw-Ted (Thorpe Park), Blackpool Bash and Summer Bash (Flamingo Land), was anyone wondering where I was at Mega-GLOW-Mania (Oakwood)? Furthermore, following my in-depth reports about Saw-Ted, Blackpool Bash and Summer Bash, plus my own Devon Dash this year, has anyone been eagerly awaiting my Mega-GLOW-Mania report?

Steven Burns · Strata Poster Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 1777

[quote="Nemesis Nick"]Hi everyone

has anyone been eagerly awaiting my Mega-GLOW-Mania report?[quote="Nemesis Nick"]

Shocked

[quote="Nemesis Nick"]

Death · Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 11:10 pm Post subject:

amigasat · Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 11:35 pm Post subject:

Just to let you know i've finally got the photo's up on my website from this years trip as i've been very busy of late.

There are 115 photo's, the most i've ever taken at Oakwood so I hope you enjoy them.

See you at Loopathon.........

Dave
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www.amigasat.eu/trips2009.html

Next Trip : Early 2010
Coming soon Muskegon 2010

AndyT · Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:44 pm Post subject: Another great trip

Yet another great trip. I enjoyed my first game of rccgb baseball.

I have added some piccies here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andytaylor1234567/sets/72157621866675345/

Megaglowmania 2009
------------------------------
I got to the park at about 09:15 and waited at the park entrance. The weather was glorious. Soon we headed over to Megafobia for our first ERS. For some reason there was only one train running, but I still managed about 4 or 5 rides. After the Megafobia ERS there was a Speed takeover, but I missed this electing for a go on the bob sleigh. I like the way that you can gauge how quick you were by seeing how long it takes for the person behind you to get down. You have done pretty well if you have bought a doughnut by the time they get back.

I headed over to Speed, then Treetop Twister. I sat at the front of treetop twister and found it actually more fun than the back. Next I had a quick go on the railway, and then to the football pitch for the baseball game. It was a close game, with some excellent skills shown by both sides. The final score was 89-45 to the Woodies.

After the baseball, I had another go on Speed, then onto Crazy Planes, and then the Pedalos. I found that you can get nice and close to Megafobia on the pedalos. At 17:30 I had some quick rides on Megafobia and then headed over to Canaston Bowl for some ten pin bowling. I was happy because I beat my score of 27. The gutter sides were up this time though. I then headed back to the park at 21:00 for the Megaglowmania ERS. It was perhaps a shame that it didn't get completely dark until about 21:30. It was still great fun, there was much hand slapping and some excellent mixing by Nev. I managed to get on the first train at the front, and then rode the last train at the back. The very back is still my favourite place to sit.

There was also some great costumes, with a special mention for the guys with the lasers.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/andytaylor1234567