From: Carol Willis <carol@lspace.org> Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett Subject: AFP does Chessington - AFPfamily 1.0 Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 08:08:53 +0100 Message-ID: <34276B05.671A@lspace.org> And Lo it came to pass that on Sunday 21st Septemeber a large throng of people decended on Chessington World Of Very Long Queues for the express purpose of having a good time - that of course was the 17,000 folks on an outing from British Telecom against whom the small huddle of people from afp were almost un-noticable - unless you wanted to sit down in one of the coffee stops :-) At approx 9.30 Tap and myself (complete with assorted children) arrived at Chessington South Entrance - argued for a bit and then decided to ask one of the folk with a radio if there was another entrance - the answer was yes and we were informed that at least those folks who'd come by train would be there - so we set off on foot to meet the merry throng. The throng were assembled by the North Gates, so we joined up and at about 10.30 tackled the cash desk and made our way in to the theme park. The first stop was the toilet block - well we did have kids with us, and then it was straight to the nearest vendor of coffee and chocolate icecream for breakfast. >From there we ventured into Calamity Canyon where we waited for about half an hour to ride the Runaway Minetrain and discussed the fact that queueing seemed to ba a national passtime - Simon Callan suggested a theme park devoted entirely to the art with different types of queue - Dale decided a Barbeque was his favourite sort. >From there we split up, Hamster and Kayla went to Toytown so the smaller kiddies (Hamster and Kayla) could go on the flying elephants. Dale and myself joined the incredibly long queue for the Rameses Revenge - which was suitably fun. Having enjoyed our ride we trundled through to Toytown where the Hamster & Kayla had almost made it to the front of the queue. Next it was off to the Terrortomb - another long wait (broken by the sight of Duck Man's cousin, Turtle Man) ensued before the afpers re-surfaced and demanded feeding. Luckily we were right next to the pizza place so food was had and the quote file continued to grow. We did try getting a ride on Dragon River, but the queue there was much too long, so we ambled through the park stopping for the girls to ride on the Carousel and David to be turned into a clown, and headed over to Professor Burps Bubbleworks. Some getting wet happened at this point, but not much. We ventured a look at the Vampire - decided we'd be queueing all day if we waited there, and headed off for more coffee - not in the Black Forest Chateau however, but in the Alpine Spa. The next stop was the OBChocolate visit to Cadbury Castle - which is where we first sighted the Rock N Roll Nun! Much spending happened, followed by much munching. The final ride of the day was a trip over the Animal Lands, where we saw Penguins, Seals, assorted Ungulates and Meerkats and failed to see Lions, Tigers, Snowleopards or Gorillas. And that was the end of our Grand Day Out - cos everything was closing - especially the Reptile House. So we said our goodbyes and headed for home. The scariest/worst ride of the day was the trip home - two flat tyres, no phone, and the nearest service station a good couple of miles away - but we did eventually make it back, later than advertised, but in one piece. Many thanks to Afp's Universal Uncles - (and Aunts) who kept the monsters entertained even when the queues were very very long and boring. Herebe a few of the Quotes: "He has to get his leg over to get a good grip" - Carol, about the Hamster "Did you get that hat from the back page of the Independant Magazine?" Rock'n'roll Nun, to Thomas Pratchett. "So you just fart in a bottle of juice then" Dale - about the Bubbleworks "You could be Uncle Prat" - Kayla, to Thomas "At least we now have proof that Hamster can get his leg over" - Carol - I'm sure Hamster will be along to complete the set shortly, until then I return you to your normal service..... Carol (looking forward to Cadbury World next year) -- Carol Willis http://www.afawcett.demon.co.uk/carol/ BroomCon Organdiser http://www.afawcett.demon.co.uk/broomcon/
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