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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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The Cardinal said:
Booked a stay at Pleasure Beach for the last weekend in March next year (hopefully if all is good with covid) for the first time. If anyone has any tips on where to start to dodge excessive queues it'd be appreciated, we're only there for a day so want to try to get on everything!
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If it's anything like most of this season, it will be deserted. Some rides you do need to be somewhat wary of though, Nick Streak has a very low capacity (and isn't really worth riding unless you need the credit), Steeplechase and Red Arrows can also get reasonably large queues. Also remember that the back of the park opens late.
 
Leave Big One and Icon until later...unless it is due to get windy.
Often done four coasters before the first Big One/Icon train has left the station!
Infusion and the Streak are early openers usually, so get them done in the morning, with Steeplechase.
Early weekends are all down to the weather...if it is the first mild sunny weekend of the year, it will be rammed.
Sunday queues are usually half the length of Saturdays as a general rule.
Free beer off dippy around 2 in Crevettes.
 
If it's coasters, start with Avalance, then Nick Streak, then Steeplechase. All low capacity rides. Then probably Blue Flyer.

For other rides try and get Ice Blast and the Ghost Train done quickly as they can both build up a slow moving queues.
 
After much procrastination, I decided to get some Pleasure Beach baubles for the tree this year. After reading people suggest that it's worth paying the extra for Royal Mail to avoid Hermes, I did so. Received nothing for two weeks, then got a card through the post to say I had something at the sorting office that hadn't had the postage paid - lo and behold, it was the Pleasure Beach parcel!

What a faff. It's not as if I haven't spent thousands of pounds there over my lifetime, but I'll forgive them because it's Christmas.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
Nick Streak has a very low capacity (and isn't really worth riding unless you need the credit)
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I think it is one of the more fun coasters on the park so we'll worth riding.

It is usually one of the first coasters to open so I would head there first. You will probably still get back to avalanche before that opens, assuming you are in the park as early as possible, which I would recommend.

Can't see the park being too busy at the end of March though.







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Streak is great fun, smoothest woodie in the park. The station setup and single train operation gives it a low throughput, that is unlikely to be improved any time soon.

I tend to look at the queue, and only join it if it's inside the station. The queue length varies quite a lot throughout the day, and BPB is so compact there are always other rides a short walk away.

If you only like modern coasters, it isn't going to convert anybody; but it's a must do IMHO.
 
The Cardinal said:
Booked a stay at Pleasure Beach for the last weekend in March next year (hopefully if all is good with covid) for the first time. If anyone has any tips on where to start to dodge excessive queues it'd be appreciated, we're only there for a day so want to try to get on everything!
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I usually start in the following order;

Ice Blast
Alice in Wonderland
Nick Streak
Avatar Airbender
Avalanche
Steeplechase
Revolution

That way, you're getting 7 of the lower capacity rides done earlier in the morning, and also going from the park entrance over to the other side of the park, by which time, Icon and The Big One should be open and shifting their queues. It does mean having to queue for Ghost Train later on, but that's better than queueing for all 7 of those rides IMO.

Another recommendation, don't miss anything, make sure you get on all the dark rides, unique coasters and flat rides etc. BPB has a lot to offer and is very different to other parks!
 
Coaster said:
I usually start in the following order;

Ice Blast
Alice in Wonderland
Nick Streak
Avatar Airbender
Avalanche
Steeplechase
Revolution
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That's a pretty good shout.

If you could squeeze grand prix in there somewhere too, then you are well on your way to getting everything done in the day.


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The number of rides being suggested as being important to do early is an indicator of one of my main issues with BPB at present - there are too many rides with inadequate capacity that are a misery to queue for on busy days. Valhalla would be on that list too if it was open. Meanwhile if you visit off-peak there's basically no-one in the park.
 
Pleasure Beach Valhalla said:
For one maybe but if you're a fell runner like me, then I usually sprint to the Big One before the crowds get there. Talking of which, I believe Pleasure Beach Experience released another Big One retracking video yesterday?!
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Being a fell runner, i'm suprised you are not running round the track. I've got mates who are fell runners and you're all off your bleeding rockers :tonguewink::tonguewink::tonguewink:
 
Usual Sunday morning...for several years.
Infusion, Dipper, Streak, Steeplechase, in any order, then chuckle with the Revolution staff at the queue for the Big One, that has still to actually open.
Doesn't matter how fast you run from the gate if the ride isn't open yet!
 
John said:
The number of rides being suggested as being important to do early is an indicator of one of my main issues with BPB at present - there are too many rides with inadequate capacity that are a misery to queue for on busy days. Valhalla would be on that list too if it was open. Meanwhile if you visit off-peak there's basically no-one in the park.
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I don't think the queues at Blackpool are any worse than towers on busy days, in-fact I would argue that the queues tend to be shorter at Blackpool.

Big One is of course the exception, with the possibility of 2 hour queues on really busy days especially if they are running on 1 train due to the wind.

There may be occasional days throughout the year when the park struggle to cope with the numbers - vampire beach is a prime example - but for a normal weekend I would rarely expect queues to get to an hour for any ride apart from the big one and I cannot remember the last time I queued over an hour for anything.

Of course Towers let far more people into their park than Blackpool do so I am not suggesting that Blackpool have a plethora of queue munching rides, but with the numbers that Blackpool usually get through their gates they can cope 95% of the time. And if you go to the park on one of the other 5% of days then you spend £15 on a speedypass !
 
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rob666 said:
The quality on some is not great, others are very good indeed, but expensive.
I wouldn't buy them online, you need to see them in person to get an idea of the fine detail on the individual item.
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I would agree with my Lancastrian friend (on this occasion).

Wait till you can get to the park then ask to have a closer look.

The wild mouse model is by far the cheapest at £30. And it is of course a model car of the greatest coaster ever built :)



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Yeah the Wild Mouse one was surprisingly much cheaper than the Big Dipper, and Flying Machine ones.

The Valhalla boat, Big One, and Icon trains all look a bit more detailed.

I'm really surprised non of the UK parks have started selling those Coaster Dynamix kits, or their new coaster cut outs.

Think every park I visited in America last year sold at least a few different ride layout models.
 
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