Trip Report: 5th August 2020

My family and I visited Pleasurewood Hills yesterday. For me, it was my first visit in a couple of years. For the rest of my extended family, it was the first time in at least a decade. Many of our group were unaware of the existence of this little website, so I decided not to tell them about it, as I was keen to see if the things I experienced and noticed through the day were the same as for a "normal" member of the public. My little boy is only 2, so a good part of our day was spent within an area of the park I have never really experienced before; The Mini Twist looks a bit rough around the edges but my little boy seemed happy enough riding it. The Flying Elephants with their interactive button, however, were a definite hit and look bright and inviting. Safari was our next stop. The theme is a nice idea and the station looks great, but the green areas around the ride are overgrown and the animals are in dire need of TLC. This didn't escape the notice of others in my group: "look at the state of those animals...". My son loved the Teacups and the member of staff running them, Paige, dealt with another crying little one exceptionally well. The child was frightened by the fast spinning, so she spent the rest of the ride walking alongside their teacup, keeping if from turning too much. The ride is undercover so still looks in good condition.

Next up was the Carousel. We joined the very short queue just as the ride was stopping and were told by the ride operator that we should expect a 15 minute delay while he cleaned every item on the ride. This appeared to be the procedure after every ride. I'm all for enhanced cleaning in these unusual times, but I couldn't help thinking that this seemed a bit of a long winded process. Perhaps an insistence that all riders use hand gel before and after plus a thorough clean after a fixed period would work better? I did feel bad for the member of staff operating, as he received a couple of complaints about the delay just in the time we were waiting. Generally, the level and frequency of cleaning from one ride to the next varied hugely. As mentioned previously, the Go Kart area is now totally fenced off and inaccessible. (photo below) Up next was the Target Trail. Feedback from everyone in our group was really positive for this. Although, we didn't think to check which car number we were on, so could not compare scores. On our second ride we remembered to ask which car we were in. The cars are numbered, but in the dark it is difficult to see. Perhaps a parting comment from the ride operator would help. "Your in car 1, don't forget to check your scores" etc. Food next, and we took the opportunity to get out of the hot sun for a bit, and had a meal inside Smokey Joe's. The food was better than I had expected and despite a long queue, was prepared efficiently. We thought the food prices were quite reasonable for a theme park too. We walked over to Water Fun Factory next to have a look at progress. It all appeared to be much the same as the previous photos we have seen. No work took place on it during the day. The Sealion show was the next stop for grandparents and babies, during which time we took the opportunity to dash off and ride some of the "grown up" rides. The Sealion show was "excellent" apparently. Wipeout was up next. Despite a fairly large queue, the staff were moving people along quickly with groups able to sit together. It still packs a punch and was popular with everyone. Egg-Spress was next. The others in our group had expected to find the old-style Rattlesnake with its dark lift hill and tunnel in the middle. Therefore, while the station building was seen as nice and bright, the ride experience was a disappointment to them. "It's nowhere near as good without the fast tunnel in the middle". My opinion was formed differently, as I know the full history of the ride; I felt that the entire farmyard area looked great. The station area of Egg-Spress is a vast improvement on what came before. However, once out of the station, the ride experience is unchanged. I would have liked to have seen a continuation of the theme around the ride. Did we conclude that the reason the tunnel ended at the top of the hill (rather than continuing over the end) was because of the potential for noise issues? Or was that just the problem with the middle tunnel? If not, I really do think this was a missed opportunity. If the lift hill tunnel continued a little further, the interior of the tunnel would be dark and could be themed in a similar way to the station. This would really enhance the experience rather than just the aesthetic. I fear that the refurb of Timber Falls will suffer the same fate. It will look great, I have no doubt, but will it actually add value to the ride experience? Our final ride of the day was Marble Madness. The ride is looking very tired to me, but nobody else in our group remarked on it. Everyone who rode it enjoyed the experience. It is good fun and a welcome addition. Time didn't allow for a ride on Cannonball Express, unfortunately. Fireball and Jolly Roger were closed all day. I was gutted about Jolly Roger, as it's probably my favourite thing at the park. Given the difficulties associated with Covid 19, the staff at the park appear to be doing an expectionally good job. I made an effort to engage with a few members of staff through the day and all of them were happy to chat and appeared interested in our day. This is an improvement from previous visits, when I found staff to be a real mixed bag. Management have done really well in this respect. For me, it is sad to see the park looking tired. The lack of adequate funding is quite evident. However, our group all concluded that we had a good day. I will definitely return this year with my little family and I suspect the rest of the group were happy enough with the experience, for this to become an annual fixture.