Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2025 Discussion

[flyingguitar]

PB issue isn't headline attractions, they still have those. It everything else especially all the rides that have been removed and not replaced. Your paying more for less and goes up year on year. That said a giant Gyro Swing is exactly what the park needs and hopefully marks a new era where we get new things instead of removals and fountains

I would argue it is though, and it is tied to the change in model (not that pay per ride is better now, just the park was designed for that model) when you didn't have to pay to enter you could see all of the rides, and didn't have to decide without seeing all of the rides. people could see Icon and realise it is a decent, new coaster and decide whether to spend the money to ride it, but with pay to enter you have problems where guests will come in if they like the look of a couple rides, people go to AT for the smiler, nemesis, oblivion etc. The big one has been this for BPB for 30 years, but because Icon wasn't pushed that well people see a 30 year old ride as the newest main thing, and if they have done it before they may just skip it.

I do agree that hopefully adding this new gyro so it is visible outside the park will generate extra income.

also the pricing for BPB is high, because of how holidays work you often end up with on the day booking, which is £50!! per person (so like £200 for 2 adults and their teenagers)

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

City AM have a pretty predictable and generic piece on Blackpool Pleasure Beach's 2024 financials, with some additional quotes offered by the park. Not a single mention of the investment this year, Launch Pad, or the investment for 2026. I understand that this wasn't the point of the article, but it further highlights why the park would want to trumpet upcoming good news ahead of time.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach to close rides as costs spiral

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is to close some of its rides as it battles rising costs as it fell back into the red.

www.cityam.com

 

[rob666]

also the pricing for BPB is high, because of how holidays work you often end up with on the day booking, which is £50!! per person (so like £200 for 2 adults and their teenagers)

Very few people pay the gate on the day price, probably less than 1%.
You can book up to midnight the day before, which is what the vast majority do.

 

[IDB]

Apologies if this has already been discussed.

Not much of a bargain when the park closes at 5.00pm

“From 1.30pm onwards, the cost of an eTicket will reduce in price every hour until 3.30pm, when the cheapest on-the-day ticket drops to £34.00”

Pleasure Beach Resort to launch afternoon-only tickets for the first time - Pleasure Beach Resort

Pleasure Beach Resort has made a big change to its ticketing structure and will now offer afternoon tickets for the first time.

www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com

 

[Bert2theSpark]

City AM have a pretty predictable and generic piece on Blackpool Pleasure Beach's 2024 financials, with some additional quotes offered by the park. Not a single mention of the investment this year, Launch Pad, or the investment for 2026. I understand that this wasn't the point of the article, but it further highlights why the park would want to trumpet upcoming good news ahead of time.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach to close rides as costs spiral

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is to close some of its rides as it battles rising costs as it fell back into the red.

www.cityam.com

I think it’s an interest piece, we know that Pleasure Beach makes a loss most of the time in recent years but the narrative is pretty consistent at the moment. Significant capital investment whilst cutting back operating costs, both Monetarist and Keynesian perspectives being integrated. Things will pick up eventually, worst thing the industry can do at the moment is shoot itself in the foot long-term.

 

[Zeock]

Apologies if this has already been discussed.

Not much of a bargain when the park closes at 5.00pm

“From 1.30pm onwards, the cost of an eTicket will reduce in price every hour until 3.30pm, when the cheapest on-the-day ticket drops to £34.00”

Pleasure Beach Resort to launch afternoon-only tickets for the first time - Pleasure Beach Resort

Pleasure Beach Resort has made a big change to its ticketing structure and will now offer afternoon tickets for the first time.

www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com

It seems like a good idea, but I feel like the cost should be reduced every hour from opening if BPB are committed to this, as it would be quite a bit fairer. The problem is that BPB are already having financial difficulties, so they may not feel that it is worth it.

 

[Bowser]

It seems like a good idea, but I feel like the cost should be reduced every hour from opening if BPB are committed to this, as it would be quite a bit fairer. The problem is that BPB are already having financial difficulties, so they may not feel that it is worth it.

It’s quite an interesting concept. Imagine if the price started higher so those first few hours would serve as a park wide fast track, lunch time becomes standard level of busy and later in the day casual trade.

I think you’d need 10-8pm hours for that to be palatable and viable though.

 

[Coaster]

Apparently Steeplechase opens at 12 now. One of the lower capacity rides where it's important to get on it early, and that always has a queue from opening.

What a pain.

 

[rob666]

Always has a queue from opening?
Often a walk on for the first hour, as everyone and their vlogging mate is in the Icon and Big One queues.
That, streak and dipper are often my first three rides, all done in the first hour.
I do quieter days and Sundays though.

 

[flyingguitar]

Very few people pay the gate on the day price, probably less than 1%.
You can book up to midnight the day before, which is what the vast majority do.

I don't think this is the case. for AT, Thorpe, Chessington etc you have to go out of your way to visit them, there it probably is less than 1%. but BPB is in Blackpool, where there are many holiday goers, I don't know what you are like on a holiday but when going to one place I like to relax and not plan much, mainly deciding when I wake up what to do that day, I may have plans what I want to do over the week but I wouldn't have a good idea when I would end up doing them till the day of for the most part (except for prebooked stuff).

I would argue this is quite common, walking down and seeing the big one, then the kids wanting to do it, if you walked up and saw the £50 pp you may be much less inclined to go in, they could easily loose the sale as they may forget by the time they go back or decide to do something else instead.

 

[rob666]

Everybody nowadays knows to book in advance, very few people pay on the day.

And very few people go to Blackpool on holiday nowadays, usually short breaks and day trippers.

The weekly holidaymakers all cleared off to the costas forty years ago.

 

[IDB]

Apparently Steeplechase opens at 12 now. One of the lower capacity rides where it's important to get on it early, and that always has a queue from opening.

What a pain.

Visited yesterday and the majority of rides had very short queues. Dipper, Avalanche and Valhalla (once open) were the only rides with consistent queues. Everything else you was on within a ride or two.

Steeplechase had all three lanes running, although I didn’t see anyone riding the yellow rail.

 

[Katy]

Visited yesterday and the majority of rides had very short queues. Dipper, Avalanche and Valhalla (once open) were the only rides with consistent queues. Everything else you was on within a ride or two.

Steeplechase had all three lanes running, although I didn’t see anyone riding the yellow rail.

Presumably they were just running in the yellow lane as they were sending the horses round but the queue for it was closed (chain across at the top of the stairs).

 

[venny]

There’s a few things to say here: -

- The midnight cut off for online tickets has now changed, so you can buy at the online price up to 9am on the day of. This further reduces the scope of customers who will pay the walk-up price.

- Reducing the walk-up price every hour from opening is more likely to cannibalise business than having a flat rate for the first few hours.

- I know Steeplechase opened at noon this weekend. I’m not sure there’s any confirmation that this will recur throughout the season. Last season saw a similar pattern earlier in the season.

 

[Ares]

They've been reading my comments on last year's thread about afternoon tickets. Whilst I've got your attention Mandy, just rollout the Junior, Family and Thrill wristbands at different prices next year and see how it goes.

Apologies if this has already been discussed.

Not much of a bargain when the park closes at 5.00pm

“From 1.30pm onwards, the cost of an eTicket will reduce in price every hour until 3.30pm, when the cheapest on-the-day ticket drops to £34.00”

Pleasure Beach Resort to launch afternoon-only tickets for the first time - Pleasure Beach Resort

Pleasure Beach Resort has made a big change to its ticketing structure and will now offer afternoon tickets for the first time.

www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com

 

[shakey]

Ticket prices are all over the place . Every time i check it, the prices change.

They are now the cheapest they have been this year. All days from the 7th of April are now £30 for an adult. No doubt that will change again by tomorrow.

 

[rob666]

Typical Yorkshire thoosie.
Has a season pass, but still checks the ticket price daily, to see how much he is saving...

And it is about time they brought back the non riders ticket, they are losing millions they can't afford, and letting the non riders in would be a zero cost option...all the staff are already there in F&B and shop sales.

Stupid riders only rule brought in for covid and covid alone.
What is the excuse for losing so much income now?

 

[Bowser]

Typical Yorkshire thoosie.
Has a season pass, but still checks the ticket price daily, to see how much he is saving...

And it is about time they brought back the non riders ticket, they are losing millions they can't afford, and letting the non riders in would be a zero cost option...all the staff are already there in F&B and shop sales.

Stupid riders only rule brought in for covid and covid alone.
What is the excuse for losing so much income now?

For that to be true you’d have to know the number of people refusing to attend for that reason compared to the number willing and their relative spends once inside. For example just one non-rider paying a £40 entrance could equal the spend of 10 free entry non riders who only buy a drink inside.

I don't think anyone can know that beyond the park having some very specific demographic survey data.

I wonder how many of the limited edition non-rider annual passes they sold last year as that would give somewhat of a gauge for demand.

Presumably another aspect is you open up the park to troublemakers unless you tie each non-rider ticket to a paid ticket.

 

[IDB]

Ticket prices are all over the place . Every time i check it, the prices change.

I only found that dynamic pricing news as I happened to see it in the On Track News section of their website. A section I never knew even existed. Not sure if it has been mentioned elsewhere on social media or during their 2025 season launch?

 

[b2311e]

I only found that dynamic pricing news as I happened to see it in the On Track News section of their website. A section I never knew even existed. Not sure if it has been mentioned elsewhere on social media or during their 2025 season launch?

That news bit only appeared recently, but I note the articles were backdated to make it look more established.

As for pricing, I've seen so many conflicting reports on social media recently, I can't tell what's the normal prices and what's an offer.

The reducing the price on the day concept would probably work better if it was advertised in any way, ideally outside the entrance with someone selling tickets