Any tips for a first time visitor to Brean Theme Park?

[Matt N]

Hi guys. After seeing on RCDB that their refurbished Pinfari looper, Bulldog Coaster, has finally reopened after an extended closure, I recently had the idea for a spur-of-the-moment trip to finally tick off my nearest theme park (well, nearest park with a somewhat fleshed out collection of non-kiddie coasters), Brean Theme Park in Somerset! I originally had the idea to do a solo train and bus trip to the park as a way of pushing my solo trip boundaries, but my parents were not on board with the idea of me going to Brean unaccompanied (take from that what you will…) so my mum offered to drive me there, with my nan later piping up and saying that she wanted to join us. As such, me, my mum and my nan are headed to Brean on Saturday 9th September. I’m going into the park itself to ride some things, while my mum and nan have said they will play a spirited game of crazy golf while I’m in the park!

Even though the park is full of them, I’m not a huge fan of flat rides, so the main things I wanted to ride at the park are the 3 non-kiddie coasters; Bulldog Coaster, the Pinfari looper, Magic Mouse, the Reverchon spinner, and Astro Storm, the Zierer enclosed coaster.

In terms of other things; I wasn’t thinking of riding much else, if anything else, with by far my main focus being the 3 creds. Looking at the park website, the only other two things I was possibly thinking of riding were Terror Castle, which I’ve always heard things about (although I shamefully am a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to the horror stuff, so I’m a little unsure on that one), and Sky Diver, as I do enjoy a good drop tower.

I’m mainly creating this thread to ask; is there anything I need to know before going? Is there anything I desperately need to do that isn’t a coaster? Should I take anything into account?

Any advice is much appreciated. I can’t believe I’m finally ticking off my “local” theme park after this long… or that I’ve managed to get over 100 coasters into this hobby without going there!

 

[Leigh]

Brean is… definitely one of the places that exists. The best way to describe it is as a mediocre fairground with a bit of turf underneath. There’s some permanent rides (like the Zamperla Disk’O and Astro Storm), but the rest are just travelling rides.

My opinion is to just tick off the coasters and leave - it’s very much one of those sorts of places that’s just kind of unappealing, especially if you’re not into flats. The drop tower is very small and forceless (although they’ve made a good job making it look big in the pictures!). Terror Castle I can’t comment on as I didn’t bother with it.

I will say though, although bulldog coaster looks like it’s been refurbished, that refurbishment from my experience extended to just spray painting the track and reassembling it. The (single) train it operates still says crazy loop on it…

 

[Zeock]

Terror Castle is  extremely loud . There isn't much in terms of jump scares, as it mostly focuses on gory imagery.

 

[Stuie]

We went here while on holiday in the area and sadly it was a waste of time and money! Nothing exciting or unique about the creds, apart from Astro Storm and that's rubbish. I hope you aren't travelling too far for them?

 

[Matt N]

We went here while on holiday in the area and sadly it was a waste of time and money! Nothing exciting or unique about the creds, apart from Astro Storm and that's rubbish. I hope you aren't travelling too far for them?

It's a bit over an hour from me by car, so not overly far by any stretch; I'm based in the Forest of Dean region of Gloucestershire, around 6 miles from the South Wales border.

My main motivation for visiting was to be able to finally say that I've visited my closest theme park with a semi-fleshed out collection of non-kiddie coasters! I wouldn't be rushing to Brean if it was located absolutely miles away, but from where I'm standing, I'd be foolish not to at least try and get a non-kiddie +3 that's only a bit over an hour from my house!

 

[Matt.GC]

You're looking at £32 for a wristband, so I'd give more than just the coasters a go if I were you as there's only 3 and a Whacky Worm. Some of the flats are fun enough. Terror Castle is just a traveling ghost Train, nothing special but not particularly a bad example of one and there are no real "scares" so don't go in expecting that. 10 mins up the road in Weston, the Grand Pier Ghost Train is far far better (even had a couple of scare actors in it last year at Halloween).

Brean Leisure Park isn't the classiest of places. There's mostly naked ladies spray painted all over Wipeout, and the toilets (which have combined shower and squat toilet cubicles, I kid you not!) didn't even have any soap in them pre-covid.

It's fun enough for a couple of hours. I go there for Brean Splash 2-3 times per year but rarely go in the "Theme" Park (not that it has any theming). Very expensive for what it is, not a horrid place and it is improving, but certainly way overpriced.

My advice:

To get any kind of value for money, do as much as you can.

Prepare to stand in a long slow moving queue for Bulldog, Terror Castle and Astro Storm. They always seem to have the worst queues, especially on a Saturday.

The weather forecast is 27 degrees and sunny on Saturday. Bear in mind that the park has virtually no shade and it's likely to be busy.

From memory, I think the car park still charges until October. Last time I went to Brean Splash, all of the payment meters were out of service so we had to pay by phone. Nothing says Welcome to Somerset like whacking a PCN on unsuspecting Brummies, which they do here regularly.

Since the weather is nice, Brean has a very pleasant beach so a walk along it is recommended. Brean Point is also a lovely place for a stroll and on a clear day you'll be able to see Burnham, Weston and Cardiff Bay from the top.

Edit- Also a Wimpey bar there. So grab a burger whilst Wimpey is still a thing!

 

[RicketyCricket]

Love a Wimpy! A couple still going strong near me.

 

[Ils]

There are more tracksuits in Brean then JD Sports nationwide.... enjoy!