All the blogs and reviews from Merlin’s attractions
Here you’ll find all the blogs from all the UK parks!
Pleasure Beach Resort – Flamingo Land – Paultons Park – Drayton Manor – Fantasy Island – Barry Island – West Midlands Safari Park – Adventure Island – Bottons – Clarence Pier – Funland Hayling Island – Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach – Gullivers – Joyland – Oakwood – Pleasurewood Hills – Adventure Coast
The Loops & lapbars 2025 Season Plans
The past few years we’ve had some incredible trips around the UK and abroad. From visiting Plopsaland De Panne for the first time, to driving all the way to Dortmund in one day for Movie Park Germany, being there on the grand reopening of Nemesis, or flying out to Emerald Park for the first time.… Continue reading The Loops & lapbars 2025 Season Plans
The Loops & Lapbars 2024 Season!
So I feel the blog took a massive back seat last year thanks to YouTube and I hope to get back to writing about our exploits more regularly this year! So what better way to start than by having a brief run through of the season ahead. Starting off, there’s the new additions to the… Continue reading The Loops & Lapbars 2024 Season!
Gullivers Kingdom – The first visit
As part of LoveTwoexplores weekend, on the second day we ended up at Gulliver’s Kingdom in Matlock Bath. The first thing that strikes you when you approach the park is the terrain the park is built on. It’s essentially a mountainside! There’s definitely been some creative uses of the land throughout the building of this… Continue reading Gullivers Kingdom – The first visit
Gulliver’s Valley – The First visit
The Gullivers family of parks is a group that I wouldn’t normally be able to visit as they have a very strict adult to child ratio which means only adult groups can’t usually go. However, thanks to Love2explore setting up a little event, 29 of us were allowed to visit as part of a larger… Continue reading Gulliver’s Valley – The First visit
Saying goodbye to Shockwave (as we know it!)
It wasn’t so long I was writing a post about Shockwave, how it was an under appreciated gem of the UK coaster line up and how I adore it, even with its faults. Now Drayton Manor have announced that Shockwave, in its current stand up form will be no more starting next season and I… Continue reading Saying goodbye to Shockwave (as we know it!)
Euro Road Trip 2023
This is going to be a very quick blog just to outline our first ever European Road Trip! As I’m writing this I’m sat in Tracy’s front room eager to get on the road, but can’t as I’ll be far too early for our Euro Tunnel connection to Calais tomorrow! This will be our first… Continue reading Euro Road Trip 2023
Drayton Manor – Coronation Street Party
Another visit to Drayton Manor? So soon after the last? Yep, this year we’re season pass holders and with Drayton Manor doing a good job of turning the park around, I’ve decided to try and visit as many of their events as possible to see how they’re getting on. This time its a 3 day… Continue reading Drayton Manor – Coronation Street Party
Drayton Manor – Thomas Land 15th Anniversary
This year is a year of celebrations, from The Smiler (and Hero’s) 10 birthday, to the coronation of King Charles. It’s also the 15th anniversary of Thomas Land at Drayton Manor, and we went along to see how everyone’s favourite tank engine was doing. Thomas land was subtly decorated with bunting around most of the… Continue reading Drayton Manor – Thomas Land 15th Anniversary
Flamingo Land April 2023 – First visit of the season
Our first visit to Flamingo Land was an impromptu one. We had a gig on Friday and met up with friends for it and had an airport run on Saturday which left Sunday completely free, which for us is unusual. So we decided on visiting Flamingo Land much earlier than expected as we had planned… Continue reading Flamingo Land April 2023 – First visit of the season
Blackpool Pleasure Beach – First day of the season
Last year, we officially started our season at Paultons Park, then Alton Towers, so for this year, we decided to try Blackpool Pleasure Beach. They’ve moved their opening day to line up with the other UK parks as they usually open up in February which meant deciding between Alton Towers or Pleasure Beach and since… Continue reading Blackpool Pleasure Beach – First day of the season
Wicker Man and the UK Woodies
There are plenty of rides in the UK offering new and exciting ways to thrill you. The smiler can send you upside down 14 times, Stealth can launch you to 80mph in 1.8 seconds and Odyssey can take you to heights no inverted coaster in the UK gets close to. However sometimes you have to… Continue reading Wicker Man and the UK Woodies
2023 Season plans!
This is quite an exciting blog to write as we’ve somewhat finalised our plans for the coming year This year, as I put down in my 2023 resolutions blog, we were hoping to get across to Europe and thanks to our latest bookings, we now shall be! I’ll go into a little detail later but… Continue reading 2023 Season plans!
Shockwave – The Under Appreciated 3rd
Shockwave. Poor old Shockwave. It lives in a park that has gone through a lot of trouble in the past, had troubles of its own and was even over shadowed (until recently) by another roller coaster in the same area, that being G-Force. The problems Shockwave has faced didn’t start here though, they started right… Continue reading Shockwave – The Under Appreciated 3rd
2022 Season review
Though we haven’t had quite as many brand new attractions to ride this year, we’ve visited more parks and done more events than last year. As with last year, I thought it would be fun to look back at the 2022 season, rank the events and new attractions we rode this year and reflect on… Continue reading 2022 Season review
Halloween Holiday 2022 summary
Now that all the individual blogs have been written, I’d like to summarise our holiday and get any last bits out that I may have forgotten! Though each park did a great job of their own respective Halloween events, the standout one for me was Fantasy Island’s Fear Island event. This is followed closely by… Continue reading Halloween Holiday 2022 summary
Fantasy Island – Fear Island 2022
Our final visit for this trip was Fantasy Island for their Fear Island event. This event is extremely good value as it includes unlimited rides, a round of 18 hole mini golf, access to 4 scare mazes and a digipass for your ride photos too, all for £35! I’ll start by saying that despite the… Continue reading Fantasy Island – Fear Island 2022
Farewell Apocalypse
I feel like I should write this blog about Drayton Manors Apocalypse. The ride is a 177ft Intamin Drop tower, the first of its kind to feature stand-up gondolas when it opened in 2000, a feat it held onto until 2005. 2 years after opening it was converted to have a 5th tower around its… Continue reading Farewell Apocalypse
Stop 1 – The Annex and Paultons Park
The Annex As I mentioned in the previous blog, out first stop was at a homestay called The Annex in Totton, just outside Southampton. Very briefly, the property was excellently finished and there was everything we needed and then some! We had a bed and the usual things, but also access to an ironing board… Continue reading Stop 1 – The Annex and Paultons Park
Halloween Holiday!
This year, we thought it would be a good idea to have a week away visiting various parks for their Halloween events. We were impressed with Alton Towers Scarefest in 2020 and last year’s Fright Nights at Thorpe Park, so it makes sense to have a tour of the big parks! The parks we’ve decided… Continue reading Halloween Holiday!
Pleasurewood Hills
Our final stop on our weekend away was to Pleasurewood Hills Family Theme Park in nearby Lowestoft. Unlike Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, we were allowed to record on rides here and simply had to visit reception for them to check out equipment out. This is the first time I’ve had to do this, and I… Continue reading Pleasurewood Hills
Great Yarmouth Pleasure beach
As our main visit in Great Yarmouth, we were both looking forward to Pleasure Beach! I’ve read some great things about this smaller seaside attraction, and my main focus was on the parks scenic railway, Roller Coaster! The park has shifted from being a token based park to having times sessions, and though we only… Continue reading Great Yarmouth Pleasure beach
Joyland Great Yarmouth
Recently we took a trip to Great Yarmouth for a visit to Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, followed by Pleasurewood Hills. As we’d booked for a 2 night stay and 3 days off, we had a look at other things to do while we were in Norfolk. There is a Sealife Centre to visit, many amusement… Continue reading Joyland Great Yarmouth
Icon, Enso and controversy
I feel like I’ve got a lot to talk about with regards to Icon and more with regards to Enso. Let me start by saying the ride is good. Great even, and certainly worthy of it’s current 7th place in my own personal rankings. The issue is that I feel like it should deliver more.… Continue reading Icon, Enso and controversy
Drayton Manor – August 2022 – Vikings!
Our most recent theme park outing was to Drayton Manor! A slightly impromptu visit but since the park is offering 2 visits for the price of one, it makes a lot of sense, especially with their new area, Vikings! Vikings The new area is nicely themed and very pleasant on the eye. Though lacking in… Continue reading Drayton Manor – August 2022 – Vikings!
Oakwood – The first washout
Our first big park would have been Oakwood theme park in Pembrokeshire, but the weather took a turn for the worse and though we had a couple of rides there, we ended up leaving as it was just too wet to enjoy anything. We did still manage a ride on Treetops, Speed and Megaphobia, with… Continue reading Oakwood – The first washout
Barry Island first visit
Our second park visit for the holiday was another first time park, Barry Island Pleasure Park. We stayed in a hotel by Cardiff airport the night before and we got there early so headed into Barry to have a look around. First impressions weren’t too good as the area the park sits on is a… Continue reading Barry Island first visit
Sik at Flamingo Land- Review
Since starting this blog we’ve not had many new rollercoasters open, let alone many new thrill rides. When it was first announced and given the placeholder name of Inversion, I quietly looked forward to being part of the community riding something brand new for the first time together. The name Firstly I’ll get the elephant… Continue reading Sik at Flamingo Land- Review
2022 Holiday Plan!
For our holiday this year, we’ll once again be doing a UK road trip! This time however we won’t be visiting a single Merlin park, instead opting for a few new places! Even though we’re only going away for a week this time, we’ll be covering just as much distance as we did last year.… Continue reading 2022 Holiday Plan!
Let’s talk Vekoma Madhouses
As mentioned in a previous blog, I’d like to break down the various Vekoma Madhouse attractions that the UK has, compare and contrast their ride mechanics and themes and finally rank them. It won’t be that hard though as there are only 3 currently in the UK. Firstly I haven’t ridden Impossible at Blackpool Pleasure… Continue reading Let’s talk Vekoma Madhouses
Drayton Manor April 2022 & Fazeley Inn
After Festival of Thrills, we headed over to Fazeley to stop for the night in Fazeley Inn as it’s right on the doorstep of Drayton Manor! The pub itself was fine, standard UK pub, with very well priced breakfast options! The room however, did leave a lot to be desired. This was arguably the worst… Continue reading Drayton Manor April 2022 & Fazeley Inn
Paultons Park – first visit for 2022
Due to work schedules we couldn’t make it to Blackpool Pleasure Beach for the start of the 2022 season, so the season started at Paultons Park for us! We went on Friday 4th March and it was a really quiet day. There were no crowds at all through the day, and even Peppa Pig World… Continue reading Paultons Park – first visit for 2022
2022 season
This year, there isn’t as much to be excited about as there was last year in terms of new rides, but there are still plenty of new attractions coming to look forward to! Valhalla and Enso at Blackpool Pleasure Beach are probably the best that we have this year, with Valhalla being regularly rated as… Continue reading 2022 season
Flamingo Land – What I’d do if I were in charge
Welcome to a new series of blogs I’d like to introduce. In these blogs I intend to talk about many of the UK’s parks, what I like and what I don’t. These are purely from a fantasy point of view and more so, just a bit of fun! I’ve been meaning to talk about Flamingo… Continue reading Flamingo Land – What I’d do if I were in charge
UK Parks I’d most like to visit
In this blog I’d like to talk about some of the UK parks that I’ve yet to get to. Firstly, we have: In recent years, Lightwater Valley seems to be going down the route of only appealing to younger audiences, which is a shame as they’ve had some decent attractions over the years. Most notable… Continue reading UK Parks I’d most like to visit
2021 Season Review
What a season this has been! Starting all the way back in April at Drayton Manor, and finishing at Alton Towers for their incredible fireworks! I thought for this blog I’d do a mock awards ceremony, giving me chance to talk about highlights of specific parks, rides and attractions, and to voice a few opinions… Continue reading 2021 Season Review
Eurofighter showdown – Saw: The Ride, Speed: No Limits & Rage
Similarly to my blog comparing The Smiler to Stealth, I’d like to breakdown 3 very similar yet ultimately different rides. 3 Gerstlauer Eurofighters here in the UK, Speed: No Limits, Saw: The Ride and Rage. The facts All 3 rollercoasters feature similar elements, all have beyond vertical drops, all have vertical chain driven lifts, over… Continue reading Eurofighter showdown – Saw: The Ride, Speed: No Limits & Rage
Drayton Manor Hotel and Zoo – Review
After we’d finished at Alton Towers for Oktoberfest, we headed to Drayton Manor Hotel for an overnight stay before our visit to the park the following day The Hotel The hotel itself is right at the front of the resort with ample parking for plenty of vehicles. On the subject of parking, we were allowed… Continue reading Drayton Manor Hotel and Zoo – Review
Drayton Manor Review – September 2021
This will be my first full resort review of Drayton Manor, my thoughts of the park and what I’d like to see moving forward. Drayton Manor is a large theme park located near Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, UK. The park has a hotel, zoo and a theme park with over 40 different attractions to enjoy. I’ll… Continue reading Drayton Manor Review – September 2021
Attraction soundtracks
One of the things I rarely ever hear anyone talk about are attraction soundtracks. The music that plays in the queue line, station building or themed area. Something that adds ambiance to an area, or builds up excitement for the ride you face! I don’t know why this is as there are some excellent scores… Continue reading Attraction soundtracks
Holiday 2021 in Summary
As I stated in my previous blog, I’d like to summarise our trip away and add any advice to others planning on the same sort of trip. The Parks Over the course of the holiday we visited 8 very different parks around the country with our standout favorite of the trip being Paultons Park, with… Continue reading Holiday 2021 in Summary
Ingoldmells & Fantasy Island – Stop 10
Our final stop on our epic trip was The Villager Hotel just outside Fantasy Island at Ingoldmells. The hotel was once again really nice, quiet too considering it had a bar below and to the side of it. The rooms were nice and had everything we needed, a lovely place for our final stop. Before… Continue reading Ingoldmells & Fantasy Island – Stop 10
Margate, Southend & Adventure Island – Stop 9
From Chessington we drove to Margate and the Hussar Inn which is a pub with rooms above it, and quite a nice one at that too. The rooms were good sized, and the bathroom was massive, and yet the telly was tiny! The barman was excellent, helped us with any of our queries and served… Continue reading Margate, Southend & Adventure Island – Stop 9
Southampton & Paultons Park – Stop 6
Once we’d fought our way through traffic to Southampton, we arrived at the Holiday Inn Southampton West. We had 3 nights booked here, and this was a nice place to stay, with ample sized rooms, and we had a decent view from ours as we were further up in the building. Next day we set… Continue reading Southampton & Paultons Park – Stop 6
Hereford & Oakwood – Stop 3
Once we’d finished with Alton, we hit the road, heading to Hereford and the Three Horseshoes Inn. On the way, we got caught up in some heavy traffic following an accident, which made us quite late to the Inn, but the staff were fantastic. They kept the kitchen open for us so we could have… Continue reading Hereford & Oakwood – Stop 3
Blackpool Pleasure Beach – First stop!
Continuing on from my previous blog, I said we’d started our road trip at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. We were there over two days, and we stopped at Seaforth Guesthouse, which is 10 minutes walk from the entrance. It was a lovely little place, just enough room for the two of us to get all our… Continue reading Blackpool Pleasure Beach – First stop!
2021 Summer holiday
Over the summer Tracy and I did an epic 1600 ish mile trip around some of the UKs best theme parks. Over the course of two weeks, we visited: Blackpool Pleasure Beach Alton Towers Oakwood Paultons Park Thorpe Park Chessington World of Adventures Dreamland Adventure Island Fantasy Island As well as the above, we also… Continue reading 2021 Summer holiday
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