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Friends, Fun and Thrills - 13th and 14th August 2022

Vicki

TS Member
Thought I'd write up how my last couple of days have been, for anyone who may be interested in my ramblings :)

The Cast (Initials used for privacy reasons):
Me: 32, visually impaired, with some sensory processing issues and noise sensitivities, and love nothing more than spending time with friends. Have a few rides I either don't do or have to really be in the mood for, but will ride most things on park.
M: 25, not a regular visitor but knows the park and is a thrill seeker. Hasn't met a ride she doesn't like.
S: 26, not a huge thrill seeker and will sit out some rides, was a first time rider of Wicker Man this weekend.
C: 20, knows the park like the back of his hand. Is on the autism spectrum and normally visits with family, this was the first time with just friends.
E: Joined us on Saturday, very laid back, happy to go with the flow, and rides pretty much all rides.

Of note is that due to our disabilities, both C and I qualify and use the Ride Access Pass - this was particularly useful as there are some rides he doesn't do, that I do, and vice versa. We mainly used his, only swapping to mine if he wasn't riding, and with there being 5 of us on Saturday, we split up a couple of times and used both passes.

Saturday 13th August 2022
We arrived at around 12.30pm, and M, E and I dropped some luggage at the Enchanted Village (M, S and I were staying over). Once we were in the park, we sorted ride access passes and headed for our first ride, Marauders' Mayhem. E sat this one out as she's not great with spinning, and the rest of us headed on - I have never spun so fast on that ride. Absolutely hilarious ride and a great way to start the day. After this we headed on to Katanga Canyon for a ride on the Runaway Mine Train. C decided to sit this one out, and I got back on a favourite ride - so many good memories from previous trips with various friends and always puts a smile on my face. We then stopped for some food at the Pizza and Pasta buffet, a good deal with annual pass discount and a nice chance to sit and chat.

After this we headed on to Duel and amazingly, I, the visually impaired person in the group won! I think firing at everything and hoping for the best was a good strategy! After Duel we were into probably my favourite area of the park for it's ride lineup. I absolutely love Nemesis, and Galactica was actually the first ride I braved at the park as a scared 13 year old. I also really enjoy the Blade, although my stomach isn't what it once was and I struggle doing the very end rows now.

We started out on Nemesis, and this time S decided he'd skip the ride, so the rest of us headed on, back row due to the RAP. I swear, that ride felt more intense than ever, and I can't work out if it was the heat, or the age of the ride. Either way, fabulous to get back on my favourite ride on park - I wanted to get as many rides in as I could due to the impending closure and associated work.

After that, me, M and E jumped on the Blade as the main queue is one of the easier ones for me to deal with and was pretty short, then we headed to Galactica. C doesn't do this one (I promise, we do all go on a ride together at some point!) so the rest of us headed on, again back row. I accidentally well and truly stapled myself into my seat when I loaded, so it wasn't the most comfy ride I've ever had! It was a good one though, again I think either age or heat had an impact as I'm sure it wasn't this intense previously.

Once that was done, due to the Skyride not operating, we headed back towards Wicker Man. Now, I love this ride, but the first ride of each season, I'm nervous because I'm not a fan of the sensation in my stomach when I get airtime and have to re-acclimatize to it. S had never ridden this, and it was one that all 5 of us wanted to do. We split into a 3 and a 2, me and S riding together, M rode alone and C and E rode together. This is where the RAP showed up one of it's discrepancies - we explained there were 5 of us, and were asked if we had a second pass, where I showed mine, and they let us all through. Always thought it was one RAP per ride?
S really enjoyed it, and I loved it. It was flying, I was on row 2 and yet it was the most intense ride I've had on it - to the point I aggravated an old shoulder injury because I had my arms up!

Our final ride was the Smiler - and again we were let through as a 5, ending up on the same train. I genuinely don't understand the RAP system at times, but I digress. Row 2 on the Smiler and the first section felt smooth and was kind to my ears. The second half? Not so much. Ooof the heat didn't help that at all. I actually commented as we got to the second lift "Oh I think it's running a bit more smoothly in the heat." I retracted that statement as we hit the final breaks.

Final personal ride count for the day: 8

Sunday 14th August 2022
We were late meeting up with C this morning due to queues at breakfast, but once we got into the park it was around 11.30. Today's plan was to get back on some favourites, and get some of the rides done we'd missed yesterday. With only 4 of us we didn't have to split up on any rides today, which was nice.

So, first ride for today was Spinball Whizzer, and it was actually one of the best rides I've had on it in a while, probably due to 4 of us in one car. Always a laugh, but especially when you know everyone you're riding with. After this, it was Oblivion, although I sat that one out, I just don't enjoy it enough to go through the anxiety on the way up!

Once they got done on there, we headed to Smiler, and S was on bag sitting duty this time, as he didn't fancy it. Row 3 this time and again, first half = lovely, second half = fun but painful at times! Does anyone know what the last couple of inversions are? There's a point that feels like you're in a washing machine, because it feels like one long, constant inversion, that just spirals!

After that, we decided to walk towards Dark Forest, as we'd planned lunch at Woodcutters. The others wanted to jump on Rita but even the RAP queue was longer than C was comfortable with, so we abandoned that plan and had lunch. Food and drink was nice, but the wasp invasion was less fun. During this time, both our RAPs had reached the time we could use them again.

As we'd just eaten, we headed for Gangsta Granny. C and I have ridden this before, the other two hadn't. I have to wear earplugs as the sounds and effects are just too loud and sudden (sensory issues coming into play) but it's an enjoyable ride. Not a must ride for me, but good for when you've just eaten. We also rode Flavio's and that was hilarious, as we tried not to squish each other too much in our pairs! This again has a main queue I find easy to access and had a wait that C could tolerate, so we didn't need our passes.

After that, we headed back towards Wicker Man, but when we got there, it was experiencing a delay, so we headed onto the Rapids. This isn't the ride it once was, and I understand why, but on hot days, where you don't want the drenching you get on Battle Galleons, I feel like another water ride wouldn't be a bad thing. Still, the breeze was nice and we did get a little bit wet.

After this, we headed back to Forbidden Valley. We'd been told on the monorail that if it needed to close early, the route from FV to the hotels was shorter, and after the mammoth walk we had to do yesterday after this happened, we planned to finish the day here, and walk back to collect our luggage.

This is where my day got a bit rubbish. M and I decided to do Funk n Fly, we'd never done it but both fancied it. We joined the main queue, and when we got on, we hit a problem. The bar wouldn't close, it was hitting my thighs, and any attempts to press it down ended with me in pain, and no progress. With the help of one of the ride staff, we tried swapping seats and although he could get it closed, it was so tight it was intolerable. We had to get off. I am mortified, I didn't think I was that big, although noticed that some rides are more of a snug fit in the hip area now, but thought nothing of it. So if you saw two ladies getting off after some seat swapping, that was us, please be kind, because I'm not being kind to myself right now.

M didn't want us to end the day on a low point, so we had one last ride on Nemesis while the others chilled in the shade. Another brilliant ride and a nice way to end the trip.

Personal ride count: 6

So there ends the report, and the gym and diet regime starts tomorrow.
 
Always thought it was one RAP per ride?
They only allow up to four people per 1 pass now I believe, and when you collect the timecard at Guest Services I think they write on it how many is in your group. Plus Towers do now state that all members of the group must be present when collect the timecard.
When I go in October there will be 5 in my group, but I'll be the only one with a RAP. But worried as I would feel really awkward if one if my group had to miss out. Plus I wouldn't feel comfortable with me using the pass while other members of my group use the main queue.
 
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When I advised there were 5 of us, the staff at guest services said it would be up to staff discretion if we could all ride. They wrote 4 on both of our time cards.

My pass is a yellow one and C’s is red, but neither of us have problems walking (mine are more depth perception and peripheral vision issues) so that may have influenced things too. When we all rode together we were just asked if someone had a second pass.

I guess it’s a case of your mileage may vary.
 
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