Ocean Beach, South Shields

[Gary]

Family and I were at Ocean Beach yesterday (13/4/06) in the most north easternly part of England that I have travelled for some time.

For me Ocean Beach is a park that provides the perfect antidote to the safe, sterile, thrill seeking imagineering days that, for me, make up the majority of the park experiences today.

Get this..If Disney and Aventura are the cappuccino and lattes of the amusement world then Ocean Beach is the double espresso!

Disney, Adventura etc are good for you but every now and again, in my humble opinion, a short sharp injection of Ocean Beach is good for the enthusiast too!

For those of you out there old enough to remember the park thrills of the seventies and early eighties that came in the form of excitement, edge, butterflies in the stomach, a splash of seediness and a whole load of fun..well..Ocean Beach is a must.

I felt that I was in a mirror image of Southport circa 1981 with a dash of the 2000s thrown in..The park screamed into yer face "I dare you not to enjoy.."

I dared not.

It had everything I once loved as a kid delivered to you in a way I genuinely miss..and didn't realise how much I actually did miss until yesterday.

Everything was open....YOUR choice what to ride and when to ride it..Old rides sitting alongside new rides..a definite edge and scariness and hesitance walking onto the rides..My feelings as a young kid back then in in the parks of the late sixties and early seventies and my feelings yesterday as an aged forty something at Ocean Beach!!

A crazy Cottage, a slam door ghost train, a Tagada, a Mississippi Showboat funhouse, cheap tickets (that are called tokens), two helter skelters, a Waltzer with walkers..a brilliant Scrambler..a Miami..etc etc etc

Photos and TR somewhere soon.

These parks must not die!

Yours with a bottle of Newcastle Brown at my side.

Gary

[cliffc]

Hi

Glad you enjoyed your visit to the wonderful ocian beach at South Sheilds, My other half hailes from sunderland and in the summer I am often to be found there with my future nices and nephews for a bit of weekend fun, it keeps on going year after year, one can only wonder why the people of Margate keep getting told that there park is not viable as an Amusment park when places like the beach keep on running year after year.

Cliff c

[Gary]

Just back from a week long hols in Scotland and the NE Coast..

..And a few hours at South Shields' Ocean Beach again (3/8/06)

I had to go simply to experience the walkthrough dark rides that were closed last time..Mississippi Steam Boat and Crazy Cottage

..Hey, I love these attractions..

Have to report that a new attraction has now replaced the Tagada..A Spin n' Spew that spins more than I have ever seen before..It's called:

"Over the Top"..

I hate any rides that spin like this and this ride spun and spun and spun and spun..and then spun and then spun some more..The ride lifted up and it picked up speed and spun and spun and then spun some more..all in the same direction..and then more spin..with some more spin on top of that.

I saw people losing their balance as they tried to get off..I saw wannabe cool type people turn green..I saw couples get off who couldn't manage to muster one word between them..I saw 'homie' like dude persons walk tall onto the ride and eventually stagger off it, crouched and in search of a sit down somewhere..I saw a guy about 50 get off and burp and shake his head and almost fall down the steps.

Seriously this is a frighteningly spew inducing spinning ride.

I'll put a TR with photos up on http://www.themagiceye.co.uk as soon as I get a chance.

..and NO..I didn't ride the thing..

Anyone here know what I'm talking about?

It has to be seen to be believed.

[marc]

ALAN CROWS -Over The Top
rode it at Peterbrough this year and did not think much of it.

[Gary]

Oh..