I know this seems a bit random, but; whenever the time eventually comes for Blackpool to build their next new roller coaster, how would you guys feel about the park going for a modern wooden roller coaster, from a manufacturer like GCI or the Gravity Group? I know it might seem a bit redundant, seeing as the park has 4 vintage wooden roller coasters already, but think of it another way; Blackpool could use this to their advantage, and market themselves as “the only park in the world with over 100 years of wooden roller coaster history in one place” (presuming this hypothetical ride is built after 2023, of course). My idea for this ride, and the associated marketing campaign, would be:
- Get a GCI wooden roller coaster that breaks the records for tallest, fastest and longest wooden roller coaster in the UK. As much as this seems like it would be an expensive record to break, the bar is currently surprisingly low; they’d only have to build a ride that was taller than 85ft, faster than 48mph and longer than 3,300ft. This way, the park has a very easy, marketable record to flaunt, while not necessarily breaking the bank like they did buying Icon. They’d have the wooden equivalent of the Big One for what could be a pretty low price tag! Even the wooden coaster aspect of it shouldn’t be too hard to sell; Wicker Man arguably proved that woodies can be successful, popular investments within the UK market.
- As for how this would impact the park’s marketing more widely; I would have Blackpool take on the slogan of “the wooden coaster capital of the world” and really flaunt the park’s expansive wooden coaster selection, with this hypothetical new record-breaking GCI being the crown jewel of the marketing campaign. As for why they would be able to make this claim; I have two simple answers.
- Firstly, this hypothetical ride would reclaim the park’s recently lost record for the most wooden roller coasters of any theme park in the world; it would give them 5 wooden roller coasters, which is more than any other park in the world. They could then put into their marketing campaign “more wooden coasters than any other park in the world”!
- Secondly, this would also (I think?) give them the widest age range within their wooden coaster selection in the world, ranging from 1923’s Big Dipper to the modern-day GCI. The park could then say something along the lines of “the only park in the world with more than 100 years of wooden coaster history in one place” and/or “experience the evolution of the wooden roller coaster first-hand, right through from pre-war to the modern day”.
I know most of you probably think I’m bonkers for suggesting this, but I just wondered; what are your thoughts on my proposal? Do you think something like this could work, or am I barking up the wrong tree? As random and redundant as it probably sounds, I’ll admit that I’ve always quite liked the idea of a nice, modern GCI coexisting at Pleasure Beach alongside their vintage woodies, and I thought that as a really hi-tech, expensive coaster in Icon didn’t work as hoped for them, why not go back to the park’s roots, and do a modern take on the rides that always used to pull in the punters? Why not focus on the park’s history as well as bringing in a new ride, and be the only park in the world that can well and truly show off the evolution of the wooden coaster to such an extent?
