Pettitts Animal Adventure Park 22nd June 2019 Pettitts Animal Adventure Park is a family amusement park and zoo located just outside of Norwich in south-eastern England. I first tried to visit the place thirteen years ago, but a friend and I were refused admission when we were in the area because we had no children with us. I never got the impression that this was an official park policy, as many other enthusiasts made it there both before and after our miss; instead I suspect it to have been an overzealous cashier enforcing her own regulations made up on the spot. Today there were no problems at all; we scoured the web site for any information about an admission policy, and having found none we bought tickets online. These caused minor consternation at the gate only because the staff member on duty today wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with them. The park has added a number of new attractions to its roster for 2019, including three rides from Turkish manufacturer Güven Lunapark. The collection includes the Bouncing Kangaroo ride, the Little Explorers Balloon Ride, and the Crazy Caterpillar (#2701), a standard layout Wacky Worm with a red and green train. The operators were friendly if somewhat surprised at two slightly insane enthusiasts in their midst, but they acquiesced to our request for just one lap, which we enjoyed. With that done I enjoyed three laps in the front seat of the Rocky Roller Coaster (#2702), becoming enthusiast number seventy-nine to log the proverbial tick on coaster-count.com. After disembarking we spent a pleasant twenty minutes enjoying a coffee and an ice cream before returning to our car for the thirty minute drive towards our next stop.

Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach 22nd June 2019 It was early afternoon when we arrived at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. Martin was having problems with his shoulder and decided to limit himself to a single ride on the Roller Coaster. After brief contemplation I decided that it was worth spending £18.50 (~€20.66) on an unlimited wristband, as one ride on each of the six attractions on my shopping list would have cost me £16 (~€17.88) and I felt sure that I'd want at least a few repeats. My first stops were always going to be the two coasters added to the park since my last visit back in 2006. First up was Whirlwind (#2703), a standard model figure eight compact spinning coaster and my fourth encounter with the type so far this year. The design is on course to become the most successful production coaster of all time in the next few years, with an incredible eighteen new examples premiering last year from SBF alone. With that done, I completed an underwhelming lap on Family Star, a Fabbri mouse that I'd last seen in Denmark back in 2011. The ride layout was fine and the car managed some spinning, but overly aggressive trim brakes ensured that it never picked up any speed. With the obligatory hits out of the way I made my way up to Roller Coaster, the 1932 Scenic Railway that I'd argue to be the finest example of its type anywhere in the world. The ride operates with three car trains, and each car can hold ten passengers. Both of my laps were in the front of the third car, and from that location the experience was pure fun from start to finish while still being gentle enough for more timid visitors to enjoy. I noticed a distinct smell of burning rubber in a few places, but that just added to the charm of a proper classic. With luck this ride will stay exactly as it is indefinitely; it would be a real shame if changing health and safety requirements and/or insurance restrictions led to design changes such as retrofitted automatic braking. The park's old world culture was visible also on the Monorail, which routed right through the middle of the coaster giving some excellent photo opportunities. There was a pull down lap bar in my car, but the operator told me that it was entirely optional and that I didn't need to use it if I didn't plan to jump out. Martin observed later on that the only thing that would make him jump is someone suggesting he'd have to spend the rest of his life in a seaside "resort" such as Great Yarmouth. My next stop was at the Haunted Hotel, a 1990s dark ride that went through a significant overhaul at the start of this season. The old theming was stripped out entirely in favour of detailed new scenes, including a number of special effects that would not have been possible when the ride first opened. The experience could have done with being a little longer, but that constitutes a very minor nitpick indeed. I also tried the adjacent Fun Factory, an overhaul of the Fun House mentioned in my old trip report. The 3D glasses from times past were not being offered today, but unusually rapid moving floor effects more than compensated for the loss.