Disneyland Paris

August 2024 saw our family venture on a different kind of summer holiday – for us, at least – with a trip to Disneyland Paris. Both Mrs Platinum Al and Daughtertron are huge fans of all things Disney and theme parks as well. Myself, I like a bit of Disney – Jungle Book and a few others are great – though I can never forgive the Mouse for the vile dollop of vomit that were the Star Wars sequels.

Also, theme parks are not my thing. I find them boring. Roller-coasters may be fun when you’re riding them for a minute, but that enjoyment is hugely counteracted by waiting in a queue for three quarters of an hour. I just don’t get it. Alton Towers is my idea of hell. I’d much sooner go to Rhyl – there’s shops in Rhyl and you can buy vinyl, action figures, comic books – all manner of treasures.

And if I want to ride something really dangerous that can scare the life out of me, I’ll stick to my skateboard.

While my preferred break would have been chilling by the pool in Greece with a good book and a beer, I was prepared to rise to the challenge and try my best to enjoy this new experience.

And truth be told, it was a lot of fun. There was a lot of walking between rides and waiting to go on rides, but being in Disney is still exciting. The landscape is full of amazing delights and it’s very easy to get caught up in the childlike wonder of it all. Seeing that huge pink castle in real life is quite astounding. Disneyland is full of sights that make your eyes pop, as you recognise elements from your entire childhood realised in glorious, reach-out-and-touch-it-to-see-if-it’s-really-there, 3D realness.

For example: we witnessed the parade, where huge floats with Disney characters roll on by. The first float was the main Disney characters, Mickey and Minnie, Donald Duck, all those guys. Fun to see. But even I lost my cool and shouted aloud “It’s Woody and Buzz!” when the Toy Story display came by.

Some of the rides were good entertainment (despite the queueing). Big Thunder Mountain and the Indiana Jones roller coasters were thrilling, and I also liked the Phantom Manor for spooky haunted house chills. It’s a Small World is unmissable cheese, though very dated and surely on the cancel list. I liked it, even though Wales doesn’t exist according to Disney.

The Ratatouille ride wasn’t that great and not worth the wait. And there was some toy soldier parachute thing where you get flung into the air that was a bit boring. Nice view though.

dav

My absolute favourite thing to do though was the Star Wars ride, Star Tours. I’ve wanted to go on that ever since the American parks launched them in the late 80s. The ride is actually just a viewscreen showing a filmed adventure in the Star Wars galaxy, in a pretend space craft that rattles and shakes so it feels like you’re flying. Not the most sophisticated ride, but utterly engrossing and immersive for me. I could’ve stayed on it all day.

Plus: the Star Tours shops sold Droid Factory action figures! You could build your own R2 unit from different coloured parts to create a unique astro droid. I made two! I was ecstatic, this was a dream come true. Finally I was able to enjoy one of my favourite activities, buying action figures!

We stayed in Hotel Cheyenne, a Wild West themed area that was updated with a Woody from Toy Story vibe. It was a pretty cool looking environment, and our room was simple but clean and comfortable. I’ll also shout out that the staff at the hotel (and the whole resort) were exceptional. And the food (we booked a deal to cover us for breakfast and evening meal), whilst not super high quality, offered a buffet with a wide variety that was very welcome and enjoyable.

My only real complaints were the lack of costumed characters that I expected to see milling about. We only saw Captain Hook and Peter Pan hanging around for photos with guests. Plenty of Disney Princesses but they didn’t seem to stop and engage with anyone. I wanted to meet Chewbacca, damn it!

Oh, and there was a distinct lack of Jungle Book characters or action of any kind. I think King Louie was bunged on the Lion King float in the parade with Simba and those other losers. Not good enough.

On the whole though, the three of us had a memorable time. We did loads (no space here to list everything), had fun and it was a good adventure. There was a lot of walking though. And standing in queues. I did over 25,000 steps one day, my feet were killing me. So be warned.

Visiting Disneyland Paris was indeed a magical experience. But it’s a once in a lifetime experience for me. Next time, I’m going to Greece.

Pinball and the Retro Arcade

Whitby Retro Arcade

Flashing lights, buzzing bumpers, flippers firing, the streaking silver ball ricocheting across the brightly coloured surface – yes, the game of pinball is a particular favourite of mine. Not that I’m any good at it, mind you – I just like to play. There’s something wonderfully hypnotic about those clanging and banging machines that’s otherworldly and magnetic.

Pinball is undeniably cool. It’s rock’n’roll. I mean, The Who didn’t sing a classic rock tune called Playstation Wizard, did they?

The tables are also undeniably a thing from the past, of course. I quite often visit Rhyl, once the arcade capital of North Wales, but sadly the pinball machines in that resort have disappeared over the last several years. Now replaced by modern shoot ’em up video games – or worse, grabber machines – it seems pinball has long since been relegated to history.

Pubs were also a source of pinball fun. Back in the early 90s, The Addams Family machine graced by local boozer. In my student days, we often spent a few quid we couldn’t afford on a pint and some games of Fishy Tales.

Imagine my joy, when on our recent trip to Whitby, a stroll along the harbour front revealed a retro arcade in residence over one of the regular arcades. Up there were numerous old school arcade games from years gone by: Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Ms Pac Man. And over there, across the room, a row of pinball machines…

There were four: the classic Addams Family and Terminator 2, plus a couple I assume are much more recent, Avengers and Ghostbusters. Over joyed to see them, I happily plugged a few pound coins into each and played some games.

My first attempts at Addams Family and Ghostbusters were pretty enjoyable, successful games. That may have been luck rather than skill though. I fared much worse at Avengers Infinity Quest and Terminator. Repeat games didn’t improve my scores, for the most part!

The skill with pinball always seemed to be learning all about a particular table, studying it’s unique features over several games to increase the players ability. Luck was always a factor, but just a couple of games without exploring the idiosyncrasies of a machine never seemed to deliver much reward.

Playing those pinball tables was fun, though. And ridiculously satisfying when I was able to shoot the ball up a ramp or runner, setting off the lights and unleashing a torrent of noise. Contrasted with the desolation of a ball sinking dead, between the flippers and escaping into oblivion when I hadn’t hit it once.

Whitby is a long trek from home. There must be other pinball tables near…

Subskate Summer Fun!

Are you going on a summer holiday? Maybe a nice Mediterranean place, with lots of sun? Can’t take your skateboard with you? Or if you could, will the pavements be cracked and broken? No skatepark, no surf, but still want to enjoy your board riding fun? Then the subskate could be just the thing for you!

There are many boards in my garage: skateboards old and new, longboards, a snowboard, a mountain board, etc etc. Some years ago whilst on holiday in Greece, I encountered someone with one of these subskate contraptions in the hotel swimming pool, and I had to get my own to add to the collection.

All it is, essentially, is a float – like a buoyancy aid for learning to swim – shaped like a skateboard. Unlike a surfboard (or wakeboard, or windsurf board, for that matter), the rider stands on the subskate which is submerged under the water. There, the “subskater” floats around with their upper body out of the water, and the lower body floating on the subskate in the water. Crazy! Whatever will they think of next??!

See the photos for info. I used a fancy underwater camera for these pics, no expense spared.

Of course, there’s not much to do in the water, just float around. You could try some 360 turns, which I did well at. Shuvits weren’t really happening, though. Everything moves real slow under the water, but the board just wants to escape to the surface!

Where the subskate could prove to be more fun, however, is jumping into the pool using a caveman style trick. This could actually be helpful learning those caveman variations. To be honest though, it got old pretty quick jumping in and constantly getting water up my nose. Or ears. Maybe if you had a crew of similarly kamikaze friends to try this with, it could be more fun…

To be fair, I quite enjoyed the relaxing feeling of floating around in the water. My first caveman into the pool was a good laugh, too. And slow motion ollie practice might have actually been worthwhile! I’ll leave it to the readers to decide if a subskate is worth the valuable luggage space to take on holiday, though. Maybe have a week off with a beer at the bar instead?

Does a subskate look like fun to you? Or am I just a grommet who can’t resist splurging money on skate related nonsense? Leave a comment and let me know.

Indiana Jones Pinball

I love pinball.  The lights, the sounds, the graphics – all so exciting.  I can take or leave arcade games (and I don’t even own a single home gaming console), but there’s something irresistible about playing pinball.

It’s just so damn cool!  I mean, The Who didn’t write a song called “Space Invaders Wizard”, did they?

Not that I’m any good at it, oh no.  Tommy I ain’t.  But it’s fun to have a game every now and again.

Sadly, however, pinball machines seem to be disappearing from sight.  My usual silver ball haven – Rhyl – which has several amusement arcades, used to have a handful of pinball tables.  Now I don’t know of any pinball machines in the town, and some of the arcades are shutting down too.

It seems that the lure of the table is no match for their more modern arcade game competitors.  Pinball is going the way of What the Butler Saw machines and Punch and Judy.  Though bizarrely, the penny waterfalls and fruit machines are still in rude health.  Why, I just don’t know.

The Indiana Jones table shown here was photographed five years ago, in the amusement arcade at the end of Llandudno pier.  By 2017, it wasn’t even plugged in, it just stood there like the sort of forgotten relic that Indy would go in search of.

This year, it had disappeared altogether.

A real shame – it was a cool game that had great playability, as well as looking fantastic.  Check out the ball launcher for a start – it’s shaped like Indy’s pistol, and when you fire it, it makes a gunshot sound!

My quest for pinball machines will continue.  I know they’re out there, waiting to be rediscovered.

MCM Birmingham Comic Con 2018 – Part 2

Avengers

NEC Birmingham

24/25 November 2018

And now we return to Birmingham NEC for Part 2 of my MCM Comic Con report…

Despite forgetting my camera, which is a new low even for me, my trusty phone was at hand to document everything.  So luckily, I managed to take plenty of photos during the day – and there are plenty of awesome cosplayers still to see.

Which is good, because I don’t have much else to write following the previous post.

But you’re not here for my ramblings, are you?  Enjoy the pics instead.

DC gang

I’ll leave you with one final image: the Stan Lee memorial.  This was a massive mural to commemorate the life of the recently departed genius – a nice touch.

MCM Birmingham Comic Con 2018 – Part 1

NEC Birmingham

24/25 November 2018

Regular readers will know that a visit to the NEC in Birmingham for MCM Comic Con is on the cards at least once a year.  I missed the earlier event as the gang and I were at Sci Fi Weekender, however we were able to make the November Con.

My intrepid companions and I arrived at the massive site and after parking up, wandered down to the event hall.  Already there were dozens of cosplayers around, showing their awesome costumes.

After a chill in Wetherspoons, we made our way towards the hall.  Thankfully we didn’t have long to wait before we could enter.  This year we had regular tickets rather than early bird, so although this gave us later entry we had no problems.

Inside Comic Con, the aisles were busy and we formulated a plan of attack on how best to navigate our way around the stalls.  There were hundreds of people there, so not always easy to get to see some of the merchandise.  With a little patience and a bit of skill we were able to get a good look around.

The guests this time weren’t particularly inspiring – it seemed like all the best stars would be at Wales Comic Con the following week!  We were happy to spend the day viewing the displays and stalls to see what amazing paraphernalia we could afford.

Sadly, despite buying some fantastic items, there’s never enough money.  Oh, the damage I could do with a lottery win.  Seriously, there were dozens of action figures (for a start) that I could have give a home to.

Besides the joys of spending hard earned cash, there were of course the magnificent cosplayers out in full force.  A mind boggling array of characters, some well known and some more obscure, were to be seen.

Due to various organisational issues, I had forgotten to bring along my trusty Canon camera.  There’s always something, right?  Forgetting to bring the camera was a new low though!  Never mind, I was able to take photos with my phone – and the cosplay superstars were just as friendly and happy to pose as ever.

My thanks to all those who posed for a pic, much appreciated!  You were all great.

After hours on our feet wandering round, wishing for the cash to buy more stuff, the day was finally over.  After another Wetherspoons break, it was back in the car for the long drive home.  Another great day out – looking forward to the next one.

Thanks to Adam for driving and Greeny and Kurt for the company.

There are numerous pics of cosplayers here, feel free to let me know your favourites,  Or if you know the people in the [pics, please let them know.

Finally, i any one in the pics would rather they didn’t appear here, just let me know.

That’s all for Part 1 – stay tuned for Part 2.

MCM Birmingham Comic Con 2017 – Part 2

NEC Birmingham

18/19 November 2017

Here’s Part 2 of my trip to MCM Comic Con in Birmingham recently.  I took plenty of photos – far too many for one blog post – which meant that a second chapter was required!

As I said last time, there were dozens and dozens of Cosplayers at this event.  They covered characters from many different genres, be it superheroes, science fiction, fantasy and horror.

There were DC and Marvel characters; horror monsters and fantasy heroes; Disney Princesses and Star Wars characters.  You name it, you would probably have seen a costume from it.

From well known characters to the obscure; from old classics to the latest creations, there were fantastic cosplay examples of all types.  Some resembled totally authentic movie replicas and some were novel, original reinterpretations of the familiar.

All of the people that I photographed were, as always, incredibly gracious and happy to have their photo taken.  My thanks to every single one of them.

These photos are a tribute to the talent and craft, research and dedication that these people put into their hobby.

Is there anything else to say about the day?  Well I wish I had won the lottery, so I could spend a ton of money on all the goodies I saw.  Books, comics, magazines, DVDs, toys, posters – simply too much stuff to list or discuss here.

I was lucky to pick up Grandpa Munster Funko Pop for a nice cheap price (he can keep Lily Munster company on my shelf).  Unfortunately I couldn’t afford the Bride of Frankenstein Funko though – she was far too expensive.

The day was finished off nicely with the Q&A session with Anthony Daniels.  If you need me to tell you who he is, what are you doing reading this blog?!  I’ll tell you anyway.  Anthony Daniels is, of course, the golden worry pot C-3PO in all the Star Wars movies.

Mr Daniel’s Q&A was highly entertaining, covering many stories from his experiences in a galaxy far, far away.  His anecdotes were both amusing and enlightening, and his delivery kept the audience enthralled.  Sheer gold.

At the end, we set off on our journey home several pounds lighter (cash wise) and having had a great day out.  MCM Comic Con Birmingham is highly recommended to all.  The next one is March 2018 – hopefully see you there!

The MCM Birmingham website is here.

Looks like a Part 3 might be required for this Comic Con – quite a few more pics to post.  Stay tuned…

MCM Birmingham Comic Con 2017 – Part 1

NEC Birmingham

18/19 November 2017

And yes, it’s a long awaited return to the fantastic Comic Con that is MCM Birmingham!  Held every March and November at the NEC, this event is huge – and one of my favourites.  All Comic Cons are fun, but MCM Birmingham has a feel and flavour all of it’s own.

Part of that reputation is down to the pure spectacle of size.  The events halls in the NEC that house this function are truly huge – like aircraft hangers.  They seem big enough to hold the S.H.I.E.L.D. Heli-carrier, never mind an Avengers quinjet.

But the main reason that MCM Birmingham is so much fun is the people – specifically, the amazing, talented cosplayers that travel from far and wide to show their genius costumes.

Whether it’s little kids in store-bought superhero outfits or full fledged cosplay supremos spending months perfecting their craft, the whole extravaganza is awesome.

When you add in the myriad replica film props, models and paraphernalia, it all adds up to a thrilling day out.

The scale of this event seems to ramp up every time I visit it.  There a vast number of stalls, as previous, selling all manner of items.  This years hot pieces appeared to be pocket watches (want) and Funko Pops.

I resisted the joy of Funkos for a long time.  Now I wish I hadn’t, as I’ve missed several that I would’ve loved.  I started collecting them earlier this year, have a few cool ones, and want so many more.  Funko Pops seemed to be everywhere at this years Comic Con.  Which makes me happy.

There were also loads of interesting guests to meet, though due to budgetary issues I didn’t get any autographs this time.  In particular, I wanted to add the signature of Pauline Peart, who appeared in The Satanic Rites of Dracula, to my Hammer Glamour book.

Never mind, hopefully we’ll cross paths again.

We arrived early at the event, having early bird tickets.  This allowed us early entry, and it was a little quieter to begin with.

It was also a bit quieter on the Cosplay front till later that morning.  I guess that makes sense; if you’re a cosplay afficianado, you’re more likely to be perfecting your stunning costume rather than getting in line early doors.

 

So it was a bit slow on the photo front at first, things soon got going though!  There were costumed characters of every possible description literally all over the place by midday.  I got some great pictures of as many as I could – you can see the results on this page.

As I always state, I’m by no means a professional photographer.  Luckily the camera seemed to be on form on this day (not sure I was) so I captured some pretty good images.

The results are to the credit of the cosplay enthusiasts however, not any photographic skills on my part.  My thanks to everyone of you that posed graciously for me, I hope these photos do some justice to your creative skills.  All of you were friendly and enthusiastic, my respect to you all.

And with that, we’ll conclude part 1 of this MCM Birmingham blog.  Part 2 soon – with more photos – plus anything else I can remember about the day!

Ye Olde Kings Head – Mostly Haunted

Ye Olde Kings Head

Chester

Would you dare to stay a night in a 300 year old pub, in one of it’s most haunted bedrooms?  Sound like fun?  I wasn’t 100% convinced, but that’s what Mrs Platinum Al and I decided to do recently.

You’re familiar with Most Haunted, right?  Where Yvette Fielding and her intrepid group of paranormal investigators visit aged buildings to discover what ghostly goings on they can find?  Well Ye Olde Kings Head in Chester, was featured on the programme not too long ago.  We watched the programme and were intrigued by the various strange occurrences the team observed.

So Mrs Platinum Al decided she wanted to stay the night there.  In the room that was supposedly the most active with things that go bump in the night…

Not like that, you smutty lot!

Ye Olde Kings Head is a wonderful looking building in the Tudor style – dark wooden beams highlighting the architecture.  Inside, the pub also has a real Olde Worlde, traditional style with plenty more wooden beams, comfy chairs and an open fire.  It is indeed very charming – you would swear you’re on a film set if you didn’t know better.  There’s also a well stocked bar, live music and a friendly welcome. 

We were staying in Room 1 – supposedly the most active in the paranormal activity stakes.  The room featured an enormous four poster bed and antique looking furniture.  There were yet more old wooden beams visible, these ones a bit lower – OK for any headless spirits.  An excellent spacious bathroom completed the impressive amenities.  All very cosy and not at all spooky, I wasn’t nervous at all.

Now I’m not necessarily a believer in the supernatural.  There’s usually a plausible real world explanation for most weird events.  However I’m not a total nay-sayer either; I’m certainly interested, and if something truly bizarre occurred I’d accept it.  But it would have to be pretty out of this world and happen right in front of my eyes.

After a few drinks and a top notch evening meal, we retired to our room to begin our own paranormal investigations.  With a glass of wine (or two) for Dutch courage, we waited to see if anything would happen.  We closely observed everything in the room to see if any objects had moved.

In true Derek Acorah style, we attempted some “calling out”.  You  know, all that “Is there anybody there?” malarkey.  No, I can’t believe I did that either.  I assured our ghostly hosts – if they were there – that we meant no harm and were only curious if they would like to make contact.

Unfortunately, nothing happened.  No otherworldly voices, no items moving of their own inexplicable accord.

Although just as we were falling asleep, the television switched itself on.

Now that occurrence might be explainable in many ways: a faulty TV for one.  But the fact that the same thing had happened on the Most Haunted episode had us intrigued.  I’m not saying I was convinced, but it was an interesting coincidence.

I then fell asleep in the giant four poster, easily the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in.  Happily I slept right the way through; my main concern of this visit was having to go for a wee, in the dark, in the middle of the night.

In the morning we had a great full English breakfast and were ready for a new day.

Our investigation at Ye Olde Kings Head didn’t deliver much in the way of ghostly goings on, but we definitely had a brilliant time.  We were well looked after, with the food and drinks being excellent.  Both the pub and the room we stayed in were really warm with an almost magical ambience.

We’ll definitely visit again, and attempt some further paranormal investigations.  Perhaps it was a little disappointing that we didn’t experience anything strange.  But we both had a relaxing break in a really good pub, and that’s good enough for me.

The website for Ye Olde Kings Head is here.

The Facebook page for Ye Olde Kings Head is here.

Ye Olde Kings Head, 48-50 Lower Bridge Street, Chester CH1 1RS

Tel: 01244 324855

HawRADen 2015 – BMX Fun Ride

HawRADen BMX Ride

Saturday 24th October 2015

Hawarden, Flintshire

My mate Danny is into BMX.  He gets BMX bike parts, builds the BMX bikes, rides the BMX bikes too.  Proper, old school BMX bikes – Haro, Mongoose, Raleigh – all the vintage legends.  He was into BMX when he was a kid in the 80’s, and a few years ago rediscovered his passion.

Nowadays, in addition to hunting down vintage bike parts to build his dream machines, he also meets up with other enthusiasts for a ride.  Apparently this is what these BMX geezers do: all over the North West, even all over the country, they meet up and go for a ride together.  There’s usually breaks in the ride for refreshments (ie they stop at a pub or two – soft drinks, obviously…). IMG_20151024_130248497_HDR

Dan decided to organise a local gathering for riders, which would take place in and around the home area of Hawarden in Flintshire, North Wales.  This all sounded like good fun to me.  I was invited and decided to tag along.

My only problem was the fact that I don’t own a BMX bike, at least not anymore.  That left me with two options: my mountain bike or my Schwinn low rider.

It had to be the low rider.  The Schwinn is a retro styled bike that looks like a Harley Davidson chopper, but pedal powered.  I figured this bike was my best bet, it has a cool look and was a little different.  Also I decided to kit myself out in heavy metal/biker gear – rock t-shirt, bandanna, mirrored shades.  Not taking the mickey, but I thought I might as well go the whole hog, on my hog.

So off I went, a Happy Shopper Dennis Hopper, to join the ride.

The meet up point was the Fox and Grapes pub in Hawarden village.  Luckily they were a friendly bunch, so although I only knew Dan, I wasn’t left out.  With a few stragglers to round up, we just made the train from Hawarden station up to Buckley.  It was just one stop and a free fare for most of these BMX bandits.

A short ride then up to the Shamrock in Buckley, where the owner, also a BMX aficionado, laid on some food.  Good stuff, great boozer.  More BMXers met up with the original party here and the group grew a few more.

By the time we left the Shamrock on the ride across Buckley, there must have been twenty odd BMX riders (plus one Easy Rider interloper).  The ride was through the streets and finally the first downhill stretch of the day, which was a relief.  It’s hard work without gears, this bike riding malarkey.

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A short break at the Parrot in Drury and we were off again, this time a nice long downhill stretch to Ewloe.  I think a few heads turned as drivers and passers-by clocked the throng of bikers rolling down the road.  One rider got a little too rad and ended up with the only injury of the day – but we all have to pay our dues some time.

The final stop, for me, at any rate – was the Running Hare in Ewloe.  Never my favourite pub, never the less the open space outdoors for bikes and riders was ideal.

Throughout the afternoon, there were stories told and memories recalled of bikes and adventures from our youth.  There was a very positive and fun atmosphere.  It was all very light hearted and I was made to feel welcome, despite not having a BMX bike.

The group then rode on to complete the circuit back at the Fox.  I bailed out and rolled down the hill to home, having enjoyed a great afternoon of nostalgia and banter.  These BMX bike rides are a great idea – here’s to all the Rad Dads and other forty somethings keeping the dream alive.

My Christmas list this year will feature a BMX bike, for the first time since about 1984.