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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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Very high westerly winds and rain, coupled with full moon spring tides.
Good job this is not next weekend.
Beach might end up partly under water.
Wouldn't be the first time.
 
OilyWater said:
Yeah I love Modern Life Is Rubbish! haha

Bits of track were even used INSIDE the building too apparently, I guess theyre not there anymore. Probably Big One's original drop?
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There was certainly bits on the front of the building, as there were photos of it being built. However I believe these were removed when they redid the frontage a few years back, to stop it ruining the station. Which in effect actually gets the station even more wet!
 
djtruefitt said:
However I believe these were removed when they redid the frontage a few years back, to stop it ruining the station. Which in effect actually gets the station even more wet!
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They rebuilt it because the original structure underneath was totally not designed to last, being that it was old coaster track! The new one is a proper steel structure, shame that the actual new facade doesnt look as good
 
Looking forward to opening day but forecast isn't great. Doubt the big one will be open if the winds are as predicted on the Saturday.

Good news is that they don't shut Madam Crevettes when it's windy.

Who's round is it Rob ? - I've got Dave down in my notes :)
 
Poisson said:
Blackpool would do well by getting on with dropping wristbands like they supposedly want to.

WRT Valhalla, it costs a stupid amount to run, has a massive frontage that rots from the sea air that they built badly the first time (why use bits of PMBO track to make a frontage?!?!?!?!?!) and I think the public have moved on from the PPR model too much now that going back would cause problems, plus the fact Icon is 15 quid a go on that model.
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I hope they don't drop wristbands.

I live hours away but try to visit a couple of times a year. I'll cram in as much as possible and a wristband is good value if booked in advance.

Last time i went i did Valhalla, Ghost Train and all the big coasters (apart from Big One as it was closed due to wind). I did Steeplechase and Icon multiple times. And the Dodgems. Can't helping that'd set me back over £70 with a pay per ride offering. When you factor in the fuel price, and the cost of accomadation, it'd be cheaper to go to Europa Park.....
 
My wristband arrived today for pleasure beach, and noticed there is no park entry ticket anymore, I thought it was missing till I read the letter which says you can now scan your wristband at the turnstyle to get entry. Which seems much better than the pointless ticket you got issued before. I guess now they’ve got the new scanners like towers and Thorpe, it’s much easier to scan anything like wristbands.
 
Interesting @djtruefitt Wonder if they will retain passes for those who don't have wristbands. The duplication did all feel a bit odd.

From a park you could wander into from the street for most of its history, it transformed into a very complicated offering.
 
Mikw said:
I hope they don't drop wristbands.

I live hours away but try to visit a couple of times a year. I'll cram in as much as possible and a wristband is good value if booked in advance.

Last time i went i did Valhalla, Ghost Train and all the big coasters (apart from Big One as it was closed due to wind). I did Steeplechase and Icon multiple times. And the Dodgems. Can't helping that'd set me back over £70 with a pay per ride offering. When you factor in the fuel price, and the cost of accomadation, it'd be cheaper to go to Europa Park.....
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I don't think they would get rid of wristbands to go back to tickets per ride. But instead get rid of both wristbands and the entry pass and just charge an all-inclusive entry like Alton Towers. Then they can get rid of scanners in ride queues.
 
I think this is a good move as it seemed a bit pointless, although I liked to keep the ticket as a souvenir because of the image on the front.
 
I don't think going pay one price like Towers would be a good idea. Lots of families go just for the kids to ride the rides. We used to go every year and my mum rode the monorail and the train, so the entrance charge was ok and she still got to go on the train. If they went POP, my family (and lots of others) probably just wouldn't go because £30-40 is a lot to pay to just sit and watch people on rides. Especially for grandparents and the like, who are just in Blackpool for the nostalgia.
 
On the other hand I probably wouldn't visit Blackpool again if it went to ride ticket system only.

I like being able to smash out 4 goes on icon in a row.

Last year I did 21 rides, that makes each ride £1.40 given the price I paid. That 21 is mostly the big rides too, plus some of the dark rides.

I don't feel it would be possible to offer the same value for money on a pay per ride system.
 
Lurker said:
On the other hand I probably wouldn't visit Blackpool again if it went to ride ticket system only.

I like being able to smash out 4 goes on icon in a row.

Last year I did 21 rides, that makes each ride £1.40 given the price I paid. That 21 is mostly the big rides too, plus some of the dark rides.

I don't feel it would be possible to offer the same value for money on a pay per ride system.
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And you wouldn't be able to get than number of rides in.
 
Lurker said:
On the other hand I probably wouldn't visit Blackpool again if it went to ride ticket system only.

I like being able to smash out 4 goes on icon in a row.

Last year I did 21 rides, that makes each ride £1.40 given the price I paid. That 21 is mostly the big rides too, plus some of the dark rides.

I don't feel it would be possible to offer the same value for money on a pay per ride system.
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Going to a park with short queues and feeling like you can’t re-ride because you’ll have to cough up is a very frustrating experience. Go to Vienna Prater where no wristbands are available yet every ride is walk on and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

If BPB went back to this strategy it might make them more money in the short term, but long term it would put people off visiting because the park would gain itself a reputation of being a poor value experience.

Regardless of what old school BPB fans might say, visiting habits have changed now from the 80s and 90s, as have the things that people are willing to spend a lot of money on.

The current system works and it’s here to stay.
 
Another option if they ditched paper passes completely would be to offer a tiered wristband system, like Fantasy Island and Adventure Island.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
Regardless of what old school BPB fans might say, visiting habits have changed now from the 80s and 90s, as have the things that people are willing to spend a lot of money on.
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Yes, visiting habits have changed.

In the 70's, 80's and 90's people stayed in Blackpool for longer when they visited. Now people are more likely to come for one or two nights or just for the day, so they don't necessarily want to spend a full day in the pleasure beach with the limited time they have available.

An effective pay per ride / ride ticket system is just as useful to visitors now as it was in the 20th century, and possibly even more so with people making shorter visits.

Enter Valhalla said:
The current system works and it’s here to stay.
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It clearly doesn't work. The walk round charge was introduced in 2009 and since then the pleasure beach have made a loss in every single year apart from one. Some years a very big loss.

I am guessing that they will go completely pay one price sometime in the next few years, another step in the wrong direction unfortunately.

I am not sure what the management see when they look out of the pleasure beach gates. Presumably they think they are located in the middle of the English countryside miles away from anywhere!

Blackpool is the UK's most popular seaside destination and the pleasure beach is just one of many attractions on offer to the millions of people that visit every year. Give people the option to spend just an hour or two in the park and take some much needed extra revenue.

No other seaside park operates the business model that Blackpool Pleasure Beach currently do, and there is probably a reason for that.
 
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