Richard Bannister

Overcast and generally unpleasant weather marked my first visit to Flamingoland in nearly five years. Nevertheless it was still immediately evident how much the park has changed in that time. Three of the six roller coasters from that time have been removed, including two classic Schwarzkopf designs. One of the latter has since resurfaced in Mexico, while the other appears to have dropped into the history books. These have been replaced by two new Vekoma coasters and a Zamperla family coaster, the latter being in the final stages of testing during our visit.

The better of the two new adult coasters is without question Velocity (#935), the second Vekoma Booster Bike to open to the world. There are some great things about this ride; the unique (and comfortable) restraint design and the powerful launch, to name two. Unfortunately, the usual problem with Vekoma coasters has reared its ugly head again, namely substantial vibration and jarring, especially towards the back of the train. It's a pity that Vekoma don't appear to be able to solve this problem with their fabrication; it they did, they could arguably have some of the best coasters in the world.

As hard as it may be to believe, the trip reports about Kumali (#936) are true; it is definitely a much smoother ride than the usual SLC design. However, it achieves this by a distinct lack of G-forces; the track has been engineered in such a fashion that it feels limp, rather than giving the impression that the ride means business. This is not to say that it is a bad coaster; not by any means; rather, it is a good family ride rather than the extreme thrill attraction that one might expect from an inverted coaster of this scale. I'd almost describe it as having an identity crisis, insofar as it looks intimidating enough to put off a large portion of the audience that would likely enjoy it most.

We decided to forego most of the other coasters due to weather conditions, though there was time for one blast on the Wild Mouse. As with all the other Maurer designs, it is a lot of fun provided the rider braces for impact before each brake section.

We finished up our morning in Flamingo Land with what has to have been the shortest ever ride on a S&S tower. Cliffhanger gave us just one shot to the heavens, albeit with fairly good airtime. We were waiting for the second shot when the ride operator came over to unbuckle our restraints. If there had been a lengthy wait this might have been understandable, but as there wasn't it seemed more than a little odd.

The operator on Wild West Mine Train (#937) had us figured out even as we approached. You must be coaster enthusiasts. Indeed. He turned out to be a very friendly gentleman who engaged us in a good conversation about the other rides in the area, making sure that we knew about the mouse coaster at Bridlington (we did) and enquiring what else we were planning to hit in the area. He is trying to sell a Supercar kiddie coaster for £6000 if anyone reading this is looking to buy!

The final credit of the day ended up being Crazy Mouse (#938), only my second encounter with an Interpark ride. It is hard to believe this one is only three years old; the sea air has not been kind to it, and it could badly use a coat of paint. Round wheels would be a nice addition too; it's easy to see why only one of these coasters was ever sold. More to the point, it's easy to see why a ride ticket is valid for two rides on the coaster (rather than having a lower priced ticket available for one). I doubt we'd have given it a second circuit had we not paid for it anyway!