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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2025 Discussion

Hid said:
Nash isn't going anywhere that post was false I know a chairman of a coaster club had a long conversation with the park and they don't know where this rumour came from. There are doing a lot of refurbishment work on it this year
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The source was the Twentieth Century Society, on their website, as previously discussed in this topic.
The post is not false.
The Society is much respected, and their reporting is usually accurate.
However, an anonymous report from a thoosie who has spoken with a coaster club chairman...that carries much more clout.
 
rob666 said:
The source was the Twentieth Century Society, on their website, as previously discussed in this topic.
The post is not false.
The Society is much respected, and their reporting is usually accurate.
However, an anonymous report from a thoosie who has spoken with a coaster club chairman...that carries much more clout.
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He asked the park themselves, its possible for the Twentieth Century Society to be wrong. Especially wherever they got their information from.
 
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This isn’t a “lie” as much as “lying by omission”, but I think one key reason people would have to distrust them on these matters that I know of would be the way they tore down Wild Mouse so secretively with no prior announcement 7 years ago.

That removal was only discovered when an enthusiast walked by the park in January 2018 and noticed it was gone! They had absolutely no intention of telling anybody beforehand, and even the staff who worked on the ride were supposedly left in the dark.

Given that Blackpool (particularly under the tenure of Amanda Thompson) have considerable form for removing things on the sly, I would not put it past them to remove Grand National without telling anyone.
 
Matt N said:
This isn’t a “lie” as much as “lying by omission”, but I think one key reason people would have to distrust them on these matters that I know of would be the way they tore down Wild Mouse so secretively with no prior announcement 7 years ago.

That removal was only discovered when an enthusiast walked by the park in January 2018 and noticed it was gone! They had absolutely no intention of telling anybody beforehand, and even the staff who worked on the ride were supposedly left in the dark.

Given that Blackpool (particularly under the tenure of Amanda Thompson) have considerable form for removing things on the sly, I would not put it past them to remove Grand National without telling anyone.
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But the reason Wild Mouse was removed is it couldn't be insured anymore and running a ride without insurance is just silly.

I personally don't believe Nash is going anywhere for two reasons one they have stated it will be returning this season and second it is having a refurbishment paint up and other things. So it's a wait and see kinda thing.

But also their communication this year has been far superior this year compared to previous years. So probably would of said something like they did for Grand Prix
 
Hid said:
But the reason Wild Mouse was removed is it couldn't be insured anymore and running a ride without insurance is just silly.

I personally don't believe Nash is going anywhere for two reasons one they have stated it will be returning this season and second it is having a refurbishment paint up and other things. So it's a wait and see kinda thing.

But also their communication this year has been far superior this year compared to previous years. So probably would of said something like they did for Grand Prix
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I’m not saying that isn’t true, and I’m not saying that I don’t understand the reasons for Mouse’s removal, but my point was more that its removal is evidence that the park has it in them to remove things on the sly in contradiction to any prior public rhetoric.

Did they communicate that differently regarding the Grand Prix’s closure? Admittedly, they didn’t remove it in the dead of the night, but they only did a paid private event months after its public closure came to light, and its public closure first came to light via a passive aggressive tweet from Amanda Thompson in March 2024 after the ride had already run its last circuits. So I’d argue that the secretiveness is still there deep down to some extent.

Many rides have been refurbished in the past just before closure, so I also wouldn’t necessarily rule out imminent closure on the pure basis of the ride having had some work done.
 
Matt N said:
I’m not saying that isn’t true, and I’m not saying that I don’t understand the reasons for Mouse’s removal, but my point was more that its removal is evidence that the park has it in them to remove things on the sly in contradiction to any prior public rhetoric.

Did they communicate that differently regarding the Grand Prix’s closure? Admittedly, they didn’t remove it in the dead of the night, but they only did a paid private event months after its public closure came to light, and its public closure first came to light via a passive aggressive tweet from Amanda Thompson in March 2024 after the ride had already run its last circuits. So I’d argue that the secretiveness is still there deep down to some extent.

Many rides have been refurbished in the past just before closure, so I also wouldn’t necessarily rule out imminent closure on the pure basis of the ride having had some work done.
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Can't rule out removal but it would be surprising
 
Hid said:
How do you know, what have they lied before about
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- Wild Mouse closed due to "maintenance"
- Wild Mouse removed to make way for "exciting" new developments
- Wild Mouse "carefully dismantled"
- "Used" Wild Mouse ride parts in the shop that were brand new/unused
- Big One first riders competition in 2024
- Grand National being sold to the RCCGB for an ERT despite the park surely knowing it won't be open for Easter?
- Valhalla will reopen this year (x2)
- Valhalla will reopen for Easter
- Valhalla's reimagining will make it more consistent
- Icon will have a "special effects tunnel"
- Icon will be "the most exciting ride in the world when it opens"
- "PlayStation or Ice Blast as you all call it will reopen later this season" (said in 2024)
- "We will limit the number of guests during the pandemic"
- Diamond pass
- Ride queue closing time (x at least 100)
- "We have chicken" at Loki's
- "More to experience" slogan when there is objectively less to experience

Okay some of these are silly but it was fun :laughing:
 
I wouldn't be shocked if they get it open for part of the year to celebrate it's 90th year and then they pull the plug. It must cost them a fortune to maintain this ride and it's simply not worth it anymore.

The sentimental hardcore fans would prefer it stayed I'm sure..... I'm pretty sure your average PB guest would prefer to have a more modern coaster in it's place though. Sign of the times guys. Most people don't want to visit a historical park anymore full of ancient rides.
 
Coaster said:
- Wild Mouse closed due to "maintenance"
- Wild Mouse removed to make way for "exciting" new developments
- Wild Mouse "carefully dismantled"
- "Used" Wild Mouse ride parts in the shop that were brand new/unused
- Big One first riders competition in 2024
- Grand National being sold to the RCCGB for an ERT despite the park surely knowing it won't be open for Easter?
- Valhalla will reopen this year (x2)
- Valhalla will reopen for Easter
- Valhalla's reimagining will make it more consistent
- Icon will have a "special effects tunnel"
- Icon will be "the most exciting ride in the world when it opens"
- "PlayStation or Ice Blast as you all call it will reopen later this season" (said in 2024)
- "We will limit the number of guests during the pandemic"
- Diamond pass
- Ride queue closing time (x at least 100)
- "We have chicken" at Loki's
- "More to experience" slogan when there is objectively less to experience

Okay some of these are silly but it was fun :laughing:
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Most of those can be explained by the fact either Covid, Brexit, Insurance companies and none of them lie, just stuff can change
 
Benjsh said:
I wouldn't be shocked if they get it open for part of the year to celebrate it's 90th year and then they pull the plug. It must cost them a fortune to maintain this ride and it's simply not worth it anymore.

The sentimental hardcore fans would prefer it stayed I'm sure..... I'm pretty sure your average PB guest would prefer to have a more modern coaster in it's place though. Sign of the times guys. Most people don't want to visit a historical park anymore full of ancient rides.
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your not wrong, an amazing modern coaster would be really good, but BPB won't replace it with a ride, they will just leave it empty or put a fountain in its place as has been done to most of the removed rides, I think if we knew we would get an amazing new ride in its place people wouldn't be as annoyed, but we all know they will just leave it empty for decades before thinking about installing something there.

also I would argue there are coasters they could remove which are less historical and more painfull to ride (infusion) it has a masive plot they could do a lot with if they wanted.
 
Hid said:
Most of those can be explained by the fact either Covid, Brexit, Insurance companies and none of them lie, just stuff can change
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Front counter staff were telling big fat fibs at the front desk about ride availability last Wednesday lunchtime.
Mandy lied last week when she said the park was fully open for the season a couple of weeks ago, when we have lots of closures on Mondays and Tuesdays coming up...
And honesty???
Where are my bloody dodgems matey?
Just vanished into thin air with no notice of closure or decent communication at all.
Three you missed Coaster.

And the insurance issue closed the Mouse?
News to me, I heard...repeatedly, that it was simply the executive decision of the park owner, following yet another close call incident with a young passenger.
 
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flyingguitar said:
your not wrong, an amazing modern coaster would be really good, but BPB won't replace it with a ride, they will just leave it empty or put a fountain in its place as has been done to most of the removed rides, I think if we knew we would get an amazing new ride in its place people wouldn't be as annoyed, but we all know they will just leave it empty for decades before thinking about installing something there.

also I would argue there are coasters they could remove which are less historical and more painfull to ride (infusion) it has a masive plot they could do a lot with if they wanted.
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Yeah not replacing it at all would be awful but leaving it SBNO is even worse. Again it will come down to costs. It's not like it's insanely popular ride anymore either. Most punters know it's painful and not the coaster it used to be or even close.

Avalanche will come to it's end soon too and already whispers that it might not have long left. I personally think Amanda is going to have to sell the park to people with much deeper pockets sooner rather than later. The industry has outgrown her and her family and they haven't reacted to trends quickly enough. Taking on more debt in that place just seems crazy to me also but they appear to be doing it.
 
Hid said:
They do seem to have a plan now and are in a transition to new things the Gyro Swing will be a great addition
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I have already said I think the Gyro Swing actually makes a whole bunch of sense. I think they might be a few years too late with it though. Should have been the follow to Icon within a couple of seasons, not 8 years. They appear to have taken on a lot of debt to do this too so it's a brave call.

Personally when Universal opens it's doors I don't think PB will survive without some serious investment coming into the place. One major ride every 8-10 years has been their norm and with new coasters it's been a lot less frequent than that. Won't be enough when people have the choice of a world class theme park a few hours drive away.
 
Benjsh said:
I have already said I think the Gyro Swing actually makes a whole bunch of sense. I think they might be a few years too late with it though. Should have been the follow to Icon within a couple of seasons, not 8 years. They appear to have taken on a lot of debt to do this too so it's a brave call.

Personally when Universal opens it's doors I don't think PB will survive without some serious investment coming into the place. One major ride every 8-10 years has been their norm and with new coasters it's been a lot less frequent than that. Won't be enough when people have the choice of a world class theme park a few hours drive away.
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It's a different market to Universal, Universal is a completely different park and a long way to it
 
Hid said:
It's a different market to Universal, Universal is a completely different park and a long way to it
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I genuinely don't get this argument that keeps being brought up on here. Yes it's a different market in terms of size of company but lots of families simply don't have the money for both. Universal in it's first few years is going to be insanely popular with UK guests and places like Blackpool will be picking up the crumbs.

Considering they are already barely scraping by it doesn't bode well at all. I think it will be the end of them sadly unless they sell up to richer operators.

EDIT: Maybe even merlin will buy them out one day as has long been discussed among enthusiasts. Probably never be allowed at the moment as they already hold the monopoly over the UK industry. However if Universal do get their 8m+ guests a year then the landscape changes massively.

Who thought Six Flags and Cedar Fair would ever merge? I certainly didn't. But sometimes needs must and it's clear as day that PB don't have the money to keep adding new attractions every 3-4 years like Towers / Thorpe are able to do.
 
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