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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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Ice Blast is not a patch on what it used to be.

It hasn't been any good for a long while now. When Pleasureland opened their Double Shot in 2002 (no idea why that was considered a good investment...), the company switched the seating from one to the other, and Playst-er, Ice Blast, was significantly less powerful. Haven't ridden it in a few years, but I doubt it's firing guests out of their seats these days.

I'd rather Pleasure Beach added a Giant Frisbee or the like, but I'd take a Sky Jump. They certainly get people talking.
 
It'd be a great replacement for Ice Blast, which is definitely past its best now.

It wouldn't be a good enough replacement for Wild Mouse IMO, but then again, what would?
 
Or they could be planning on removing Ice Blast.:)
That sounds more likely to me, mind you If and when Skyforce's time comes up could a skyjump fit on that site with Icon being so close?

It wouldn't be a good enough replacement for Wild Mouse IMO, but then again, what would?
Well another woodie on the Bowl la drome/ FY4 site would be IMO the best possible replacement for the mouse.
 
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Could they fit in a Giant Discovery / Gyro Swing in the spot where Ice Blast is if they angled it well or do you think it's too small?

Those are far more enjoyable and have bigger capacity too.
 
I hate Giant Discovery rides or anything like that. Maelstrom, Flip Flop & Vortex knock me sick every single time without fail and I have never felt ill on any other type of ride.

I really do hope that they get a Sky Jump, they are so good! Plus I don't think a 300ft+ one would be out of their price range, and if Falcon's Fury is anything to go by they don't really seem to suffer during high winds.
 
If they do get a Sky Jump, I wonder if it will be in the style of Falcon's Fury or more like Ikaros?

It would be a great investment either way. A Giant Discovery/Gyro Swing would be nice too, of course. :)
 
Given this management's relative easing off on large projects, it would surprise me if we saw anything imminently - unless they are thinking a low(er) cost high impact follow up to Icon will help them keep the tills ringing quickly for longer.
 
Given this management's relative easing off on large projects, it would surprise me if we saw anything imminently - unless they are thinking a low(er) cost high impact follow up to Icon will help them keep the tills ringing quickly for longer.

I expect to see a coaster, (a rather poor choice of coaster IMO) appear on north park with the next 4 years. Like I said earlier in this topic, maybe the place is cursed.
 
I expect to see a coaster, (a rather poor choice of coaster IMO) appear on north park with the next 4 years. Like I said earlier in this topic, maybe the place is cursed.
I'm not so sure about a new coaster, I think Icon more represents a realisation that it's been a long time for a park with Pleasure Beach's stature not to open a large new coaster, I don't see it as the start of a chain of new ones (like Steeplechase > Revolution > Space Invader > Avalanche > Big One) - but we'll see!
 
I expect to see a coaster, (a rather poor choice of coaster IMO) appear on north park with the next 4 years. Like I said earlier in this topic, maybe the place is cursed.

What do you mean by a rather poor choice of coaster IMO? what type of coaster Are we talking about here?
 
I personally think people are getting a little carried away in assiming that we are all of a sudden going to get lots of fantastic investments at the park. I am sure they have plenty of ideas, concepts and plans for various new attractions of varying different cost and scale. But surely a lot of what they do going forward is going to depend on Icon being a success. From what I can tell it has been far from this yet with short queues even on a Saturday in June.

:)
 
I personally think people are getting a little carried away in assiming that we are all of a sudden going to get lots of fantastic investments at the park. I am sure they have plenty of ideas, concepts and plans for various new attractions of varying different cost and scale. But surely a lot of what they do going forward is going to depend on Icon being a success. From what I can tell it has been far from this yet with short queues even on a Saturday in June.

:)

The short queues have largely been due to the fast operations on ICON, a three train service clears the full queue in 15-20 minutes maximum, there is always a steady flow of people riding it but the fast moving queue keeps the queue down a lot of the time.

Pleasure Beach was reasonably busy at the weekend, all of the ride operations teams have raised their game since Icon has opened, higher capacity has become the norm and queues are moving a lot quicker.
 
I personally think people are getting a little carried away in assiming that we are all of a sudden going to get lots of fantastic investments at the park. I am sure they have plenty of ideas, concepts and plans for various new attractions of varying different cost and scale. But surely a lot of what they do going forward is going to depend on Icon being a success. From what I can tell it has been far from this yet with short queues even on a Saturday in June.

:)

Don't forget that there is already another big investment opening in 2019 (i think). The new hotel.

The park have been investing quite a lot in recent years - Nick land, Wallace and Grommit, Sky Force, Icon and now the new hotel, so hopefully it is a trend that can continue and we will see another major ride investment by 2021 at the latest.
 
I'm not so sure about a new coaster, I think Icon more represents a realisation that it's been a long time for a park with Pleasure Beach's stature not to open a large new coaster, I don't see it as the start of a chain of new ones (like Steeplechase > Revolution > Space Invader > Avalanche > Big One) - but we'll see!

It has been a long time since we saw major investment in terms of thrilling coasters, but this isn't the first time we have seen long period''s between investment. Look at between 1958-1977. That included recovery after the war, but given the tragic events of 2004 I can fully understand why the brakes were put on somewhat.

When LT took control we saw coasters installed in 1933, 1934, 1935 and a complete renovation and new layout in 1936. When GT took over we saw Steeplechase (77) Revolution and Water Chute (79) Tokaydo Express (80) Space Invader (84) and Avalanche (88)

While I don't expect anything as significant as the examples above, I do think this will be the start of something special IF Icon proves to be a success.

My worry is Icon is fighting against the parks diabolical entry system and hours of business. I ride of that standard deserves more than the queues it is getting. I am not buying the throughput theory, 2 trains on Icon is only 2 seats more than the Big One on 1, so on 3 trains its the equivalent of the Big One being on a train and a half.

Now when the Big One crashed it was forced to reopen on 1 train. The queues hit 2 hours and often 3 hours, don't forget that's on one train, which is almost what Icon has when on 2.

Where BPB do seem to be winning is with customer feedback, I have never seen so much positive feedback about the place. I still believe though that BPB really need to conduct some market research among those who are on the prom, not in the park to find out why they aren't going in.

A £5 entry fee for none riders would be a lot easier to digest if it were given back in ride tickets or food/drinks, alongside a significant reduction in the number of tickets needed per ride. I'm sure with a few simple changes BPB could be a lot busier, taking a lot more money while maintaining the entry fee they want.
 
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