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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2023 Discussion

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rob666 said:
This
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Dipper_Dave said:
Quite honestly I think those comments from Amanda have been blown out of proportion somewhat. Seems like a storm in a tea cup to me. I agree that quite often she doesn't help herself with her tweets, etc. And that's just from those things that end up on here, as I don't use Twitter, and am happy for it to remain that way. I also agree that at times what she says comes off as treating the paying customer with contempt. I do find this ridiculous at times, I mean we are paying to keep the place afloat after all. Yes, they get more money out of one-off visits than whatever they get from season pass holders making a one off payment to go unlimited times, but we are also buying food & drink, merch, hiring lockers, some paying to park etc, whilst there.

I think it's a bit laughable though to choose to be offended by the fact that she calls regular visitors 'nerds'. Have I missed something? I mean, they are, aren't they? I'm not sure how you could argue that someone who visits an amusement park / theme park multiple times a week isn't a nerd, or that other word which I won't use. I get that we like a moan, and we all want the park to operate well, and our favourite rides / food outlets to be open every time we go, but the reality is that those things simply won't happen every time we visit.

We can choose to enjoy each visit for what it is, regardless of what rides are available, or we can whinge and moan about how hard done by we are. Long-winded tweets to the park are rather pointless. If someone is bothered enough about peeling paint, an item not available on the menu, or a ride closure, that they have to stomp their feet about it and threaten to not renew their season pass, then quite frankly, who cares? Vote with your wallet. Don't renew it. At the same time you give yours up, someone will be buying their first one. As @rob666 says, there will be a 'fresh set of mugs' each season anyway. I've lost count of the times someone has talked of considering giving up their season pass, only to still be there next season.

From what I can see, getting mad at Amanda is a bit of an 'old man yells at cloud' scenario. She won't change. Though maybe someone else speaking for the park would be a good idea! She has a point though - they are limited to what they can do on the park, I guess relating to both major and minor projects, so people should cut them some slack at times. It looks like we're not getting a new ride anytime soon, so there's not much to get excited about, which is a shame. I think the demise of the park can be over-exaggerated at times, it's not the toilet that some make it out to be, though it has lost its character & charm somewhat in the last few years. It's still a great place full of unique, historic rides. I can't help but agree though with @shakey that the ride lineup was better 20 years ago. I'm not sure the park is on its arse to the degree some think it is, but they could do with having something on the horizon to look forward to, even if it's a few years away.

B&M dive machine anyone?
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I live in St. Annes, so the park is an hours walk away - I have been way too much this season. I believe I personally have given the park well over £1k this year. During Covid I was buying things from their shop to try and support what is my favourite park. And the things I was buying... I didn't really need. So yes, Amanda's words really do sting. I do actually get what she is trying to say, but she does have an awful way with words (look at her Twitter) and as such it made me feel really undervalued as someone who is loyal to the park.

I am one of the people who does criticise things when they are not right, but I do praise when I see it too. I've loved this past season because the queues haven't been big... but that is the very thing I also criticise because I want the park to thrive as it should. The marketing at the park is shockingly bad for a few seasons, but this past year has been pitiful. It's not a bad thing to want the park to survive.

The biggest problem with the Pleasure Beach is the one thing that makes it unique - the family run aspect. Amanda and Nick, due to inheriting the park, don't seem to have the right aptitude to the business aspect of the place. One of the blindingly obvious things to me is that the park needs to have a consistent brand. It doesn't.

What I do need to give Amanda a great deal of credit for, however, if the things they do keep on top of. Yes, we would love a bit more painting on ride structures, but the park is well kept. I have taken several people to the park for their first time and several expected the place to be dirty, run down and dangerous - they all said they were surprised about how nice the place is.

Honestly, in terms of ride lineup and opportunity BPB should be the busiest park in the UK without the need to change the entry prices.
 
Poisson said:
It'd more likely be a Eurofighter if they want vertical or beyond.
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Or a Mack hyper - the drop on DC Rivals is steeper than Oblivion at 89 degrees and considering the elements they can navigate I don’t think it would take a lot to achieve beyond vertical on one. Plus the obvious established connections between Mandy and the Mack family.

As to where you’d put one, or anything mentioned above, though I have no clue… (here come the dreams of PMBO being torn down 😉)
 
Relife said:
Lol as if Pleasurebeech could afford a B&M. A simple Gyro swing even seems a push these days and with rumours that Ice Blast may be going I'm willing to bet it's replaced with a big fat nothing.
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Where have the Ice Blast removal rumours come from? Could this be a red herring like the Nash rumours that go around every single season? If Ice Blast goes and isn't replaced by a ride, it's getting beyond a joke on North park, after Wild Mouse being replaced by a bar that's hardly ever open, and Trauma Towers being replaced by some astroturf.

shakey said:
But it's definitely going to be another year of spotting a new fence or queue line change or a new sign, unfortunately.

At this point, even a new fountain would be quite exciting
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You forgot giant plant pots!
 
Dipper_Dave said:
Where have the Ice Blast removal rumours come from? Could this be a red herring like the Nash rumours that go around every single season? If Ice Blast goes and isn't replaced by a ride, it's getting beyond a joke on North park, after Wild Mouse being replaced by a bar that's hardly ever open, and Trauma Towers being replaced by some astroturf.
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That Ice Blast rumour has come from a number of places, staff are openly talking about it - not that that makes it a certainty by all means. If they are going to remove it I would love to see a Gyro-drop go in its place. Easily marketable and a real thrill ride and fairly simple to operate.
 
ScottishChris said:
That Ice Blast rumour has come from a number of places, staff are openly talking about it - not that that makes it a certainty by all means. If they are going to remove it I would love to see a Gyro-drop go in its place. Easily marketable and a real thrill ride and fairly simple to operate.
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That would be great. It would make perfect sense in that spot, to have a tower that could seat more than 12 people. Would the area be wide enough for a gondola that size though? It does feel like Ice Blast has had its day really. Having done I think 3 other drop towers, they all kick Ice Blast's arse:

Falcon's Fury - 310ft drop (Intamin sky jump)
Hurakan Condor - 285ft drop (Intamin giant drop)
Space Mission Orbit - S&S 'combo tower' (launches and drops)

I have to be honest, Ice Blast is puny, weak and pathetic compared to all of them. The S&S one was similar to Ice Blast but with the dual functions of launching and dropping, which was great. The Intamin ones were huge and geniunely terrifying, but I loved them. They make Ice Blast look like Big Circus Bounce. I know people who think Krusty Krab's Order Up is more exciting than Ice Blast. Grown adults! I would love for BPB to get a drop tower that packed some serious punch, and height, and actually put FEAR into people. Ice Blast is an absolute wet fart of a tower ride, and frankly an embarrassment compared to what else is out there. I find the 4 floor clapped-out lift ride up to the residence of @MathewLancaster more exciting.
 
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Dipper_Dave said:
That would be great. It would make perfect sense in that spot, to have a tower that could seat more than 12 people
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On the left is Drop Tower at Kings Dominion, on the right is the area taken up by Ice Blast.
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The bizarre thing is that it is the largest Gyro Drop created by Intamin (or it was, maybe it's changed) at 56 seats... and the footprint is half the size of Ice Blast.

I just feel that it would be a great way to get another record - "Europe's tallest drop tower". Hansa Park has Highlander with a 103m drop. Drop Tower 110 surely is achievable.
 
Ice Blast was a direct replacement for a much larger ride (in terms of footprint), so you could easily fit a bigger ride on the same plot. Whether or not the park would see a replacement tower ride as a good idea from a marketing perspective is another matter, it's probably easier to sell something totally new than an upgrade of what was there before.

Back when space was at a premium at BPB, I thought Ice Blast was something of a waste of it as you could fit a much larger ride on the footprint and something like Ice Blast could have gone anywhere - there are plenty of parks with S&S towers on far smaller plots than Ice Blast. Grona Lund is a prime example
 
ScottishChris said:
On the left is Drop Tower at Kings Dominion, on the right is the area taken up by Ice Blast.
1701204038078.png

The bizarre thing is that it is the largest Gyro Drop created by Intamin (or it was, maybe it's changed) at 56 seats... and the footprint is half the size of Ice Blast.

I just feel that it would be a great way to get another record - "Europe's tallest drop tower". Hansa Park has Highlander with a 103m drop. Drop Tower 110 surely is achievable.
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That would be very fun and it would be a good gimmick. I haven't been on Ice Blast, but from what I have heard, the Gyro Drop would be a far superior ride.
 
venny said:
Most of the public are unlikely to recognise one shot/drop tower being replaced by a different model. It makes little commercial sense to do any sort of swap from a marketing point of view.

I suppose that makes it entirely possible that they’ll do it…
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It makes perfect sense. If you can replace an aging S&S with 'Europe's Tallest Drop Tower' and market the new ride properly... it will get people through the gates with minimal effort. Something big & impressive and with some sort of unique qualification is easy to market.

It wouldn't exactly be plug and play, but power requirements, staffing costs and maintainable requirements would be pretty much like-for-like. Instalation would be pretty simple too as the footprint required is near identical.

@vennyI think you are making the mistake that you know about these things. The average visitor to a theme park doesn't. As a non-enthusiast, would you rather go to a park with an S&S Tower, or Europe's Tallest Drop Tower?
 
Interestingly enough, I don’t think “Europe’s xxx” is really that engaging with the public anymore.

Many of their visitors these days will have been outside Europe. With how easy it is for the public to get to Florida these days, I can imagine the public response to “Europe’s highest drop tower” being “well I went on a higher one in America” even if this statement is wholly untrue. From overheard conversations at UK parks, I hear the America comparison all the time.
 
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