Associated parks:
None
24/5/02- open to public( or so they publicity said) Rang Fantasy Island before leaving to ensure ride was open, as its a 5 hr drive, got to FI to find only the kiddies rides open, and a notice on the pay desk stating that Odyssey was closed for staff training...but they weren't training the staff anywhere near the ride! So after complaining to the staff on the cash desk, who really weren't responsible or apologetic that the ride was closed, they asked me if I would like to speak to a manager. He was also less than apologetic that the ride was closed, and so impressions of public relations at the park leave a lot of room for improvement. I left the scene with an offer of "The Parks" apologies (what did he mean by that!) and went for a walk to get some snaps of the track, to be on me site soon! Whilst taking the pics the unapologetic (and by now smarmy) manager reappeared with an HSE inspector, saying he would tell me why the ride wasn't running...so I proceeded to have a nice converstaion with Richard...?( name escapes me) who said the ride did stall during tests earlier this week. As the coaster is on the seafront it gets quite windy, making it slow. The ride was only weighted at the front, hence the unusual position of the stall. During better weather the tests ran smoothly, almost exactly as calculated, hitting plus 5 G's, and minus 1, but as its not worn in yet, and chances of it stalling are high, so he wasn't prepared to let it run in high winds. Fair enough, nice bloke, no prob with the ride not running.
But then the manager got real smug, and said he didn't appreciate my complaint, (given the circumstances this really wound me up) and so I passed my comments about his passiveness that we had been lied to on the phone, and that FI advertised the rides as open, when they're not. This lead to further discussion that lets just say wasn't good for public relations..There was no explanation as to why Millenium Coaster, Wild Mouse and Volcano were closed.
Furious by now, we took a 1 hr drive up the coast to Pleasure Island, who were more than accomodating, allowing us in with a reduction, (just cause it was late, and we told them about our experiences with their neighbours!) Rode the Pinfari Crazy Loop, and Vekoma Boomerang, having the whole train to ourselves, and chatting with the bored staff as the park was so quiet, much more like it!
Lesson learned: A park may have the rides, but what use is a ride if it ain't running? And if they haven't got the customer care, you can have a really bad day and a wasted trip. A park with simpler rides, yet friendlier staff can be a much better experience!
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Just like perfection, floorless...needs no correction, floorless...like no other, floorless... absolutely floorless. The Ones.
www.colinm.com
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-Sean Newman
80 coasters and soon to be more
Life is a roller coaster Ride It!
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Just like perfection, floorless...needs no correction, floorless...like no other, floorless... absolutely floorless. The Ones.
www.colinm.com
Well at least you didn't get arrested!
I was going to go Sunday but I think I'll wait til I come back from the US.
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Coaster Grotto - Save your Top 20 Coasters and Track Record Online!
LOL Grant! I'd wait till something like a bank holiday, when the park is at its busiest, there's a much better chance of the coasters running, and even at its busiest, queues won't be very big at FI cause its so awkward to get to.
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Just like perfection, floorless...needs no correction, floorless...like no other, floorless... absolutely floorless. The Ones.
www.colinm.com
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