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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2021 Discussion

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Rick said:
I'd still tike a Sky Rocket 2 over Icon and have £13m left over ...
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In hindsight, I think an SRII would certainly have been more cost-effective given BPB’s financial standing, and probably more marketable as well; both “UK’s tallest inversion” and “UK’s first swing launch coaster” come to mind as potential USPs. The throughput might be a bit low, however; the SRII gets between 500pph and 750pph dependant on whether 2 or 3-car trains are picked. However, the sliding station model can manage up to 685pph with 2-car trains, so if BPB had bought 3-car trains and a sliding station, then the ride would attain up to 1028pph, which is actually pretty good!

Whether it would have been more highly received by enthusiasts and the public is another matter entirely, as they do seem a bit marmite. Although having said that, I suppose Icon is also a bit marmite, and your £3m ride being marmite would perhaps be preferable to your £16m ride being marmite!
 
Regardless of what they build they need to actually advertise it. Icon got very little attention and I doubt many people outside Blackpool and enthusiast communities actually know about it. It probably also didn't help that Icon was overshadowed by Wicker Man which had a national advertising campaign.
 
Matt N said:
How come she never rode the Big One if she rode Ice Blast and Spin Doctor? (Spin Doctor wasn’t added until the 2000s, was it?)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Doris Thompson die only a very short time after Geoffrey?
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I think I read somewhere she died on the day of GT's funeral
 
Icon was certainly hampered by the parks failure to properly advertise the thing. Not sure if they completely misunderstood how little people really watch regional news shows anymore. I had to tell people who'd already booked to go the park had a new ride.

Unfortunately the park was probably inadvertently effected by The Smiler crash. If that didn't happen SW8 opens in 2017 (continuing the 4 year pattern of Rita, 13, The Smiler) and BPB aren't struggling to market the thing against Merlins marketing juggernaut.

Maybe even actually opening the ride earlier (say Easter) might've helped as you get more people on the park riding the thing to reccomend it to friends.
 
I think if there’s one thing Icon proved, it’s how important marketing is when building a new ride.

Yes, Icon itself might not be the most marketable ride in the world in terms of not having a standout USP, but it could be argued that compared to Wicker Man, built in the same year, they built an equally (if not more) impressive ride track and train. Wicker Man didn’t really have a USP either; as much as the “wood and fire” thing was used initially, it was scrapped very quickly once the ASA got onto Towers about it, and I don’t think they even expressly mentioned the wood and fire gimmick in the ride’s advert. They just showed loads of ride shots and a little bit of backstory at the beginning. I don’t think it was the lack of a USP that really stifled Icon; anything can be successful with strong marketing.

The main difference is that Alton Towers did a more far-reaching, extensive marketing campaign than Blackpool Pleasure Beach did, and as such, Wicker Man ended up more successful commercially for Alton Towers than Icon did for Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
 
Rick said:
Geoffrey was taken ill at Amanda's wedding and Mrs LD died after his funeral.

Horrendous circumstances.
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Can't like that, but yes, about as bad as it can get in a family.

Proud to say Mrs T told me off for visiting too much.
The joy of the season pass.
She would often drive round the park on the VIP cart or mini scooter doing an inspection.
Regular on the monorail and train as well.
 
BPB replied to some questions regarding the Valhalla project on social media yesterday.

It was said that:
  • The ride will have a new soundtrack produced by the Notable Stranger, who is also responsible for the soundtracks on Icon & the Big One, as well as the yearly Hot Ice shows.
  • We may notice some changes to the ride layout itself.
  • Fire effects will return.
 
All sounds pretty promising; I really think Valhalla could be back to how it apparently was in the 2000s (quality-wise) following this refurbishment!

I wonder what layout changes are in the pipeline?
 
MakoMania said:
BPB replied to some questions regarding the Valhalla project
  • Fire effects will return.
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Fire effects made of fire, or the effect of fire made by something else I wonder?

I hope I'm wrong, but I can't see actual fire being used on anything like the same scale as before, if at all.
 
It’d be disappointing if they did use a bit of orange cloth and a fan, now that they’ve directly answered that question about whether the fire is staying.

Maybe they’ll reduce the points at which they use it as a middle ground?

Perhaps more intriguing is the layout change. There have been rumours about the turntable disappearing for quite some time, but it felt like quite a big job to complete something like that. It does make you wonder where said layout change may occur.
 
Unless they do some substantial work to it I wouldn't care if it went as it's practically physical abuse bordering on GBH riding that 'monstrosity' these days.

Great coaster in its day but that day has been and gone a long long time ago.

I do feel we are coming to an end roads soon with the park. It can't keep going on like it has. Something has to give eventually.
 
Rob said:
Just RMC the damn thing...!
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They will probably have enough money to do this in 2035 to 2040. Hahahaha

Wouldn't it be great if the park was owned by people with deeper pockets who actually wanted to make the park the best in the land.
 
Have you seen the pile of scrap timber underneath the Nash next to Bond St?
Enough there to keep the shop stocked for years.
Does look in a shocking state currently though.
 
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