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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2023 Discussion

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Poisson said:
Can't fix an inherent design flaw because WGT demanded it fit in that building, resulting in shorter but deeper run offs from the drops to slow the boats as much as possible.
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So it seems that WGT’s demands for this ride and also the PMBO led to them both having some issues (water in the boats and PMBO not having the best layout it could have had). Are there any other at Pleasure Beach that suffered due his insistence on certain things?
 
There’s a fair few rumours on why we ended up with the Big One’s “speed hills” rather than something that might invite airtime. I’m not sure there’s ever been a single proven theory?

I did hear Geoffrey insisted on Grand National being made even rougher though.
 
He wanted it big across the front of the park. Sadly that meant he wanted all of it to be big.
 
Yep, that’s one I’ve heard. Others include, the straighter track was cheaper, the straighter track could be made more easily by Watson, they wanted to increase the sensation of speed (which allegedly straight hills do…), they wanted it to be longer and the straight hills mean more speed is lost etc.

Might well be a combination of factors, but will we ever know for sure? Is there some reliable source of said information?
 
Wouldn't it have needed to stay at a tall height to ensure it travelled over the log flume (now the Boulevard car park) and over Star Gate. In the end the ride would always be a compromise due to it needing to thread its way around existing attractions.
 
The thing is people can knock him from a pure enthusiast lens, but the guy had a different hat on. The focus was what will work for the business - and it's fair to say, the mission (back then) was successful.
 
Nick🎢 said:
The thing is people can knock him from a pure enthusiast lens, but the guy had a different hat on. The focus was what will work for the business - and it's fair to say, the mission (back then) was successful.
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I'm not entirely sure that's true with Valhalla. Big One certainly, but Valhalla came just as the park was starting to struggle to attract guests in the volumes it had previously and started experimenting with wristbands. The financial health of the business by the late 00s is well documented.
 
WillPS said:
I'm not entirely sure that's true with Valhalla. Big One certainly, but Valhalla came just as the park was starting to struggle to attract guests in the volumes it had previously and started experimenting with wristbands. The financial health of the business by the late 00s is well documented.
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I agree and this is why I get annoyed when the old school BPB fans keep shouting about how we need to go back to the 90s system of free entry and no wristbands.

The world (especially Blackpool) has moved on since then. People have different spending habits, different expectations and a different way of planning trips to places like Blackpool.

Anyone who claims that it’s all just because it’s what Amanda wants, is clearly not true, as highlighted here. Geoffrey was still alive when the wristbands were introduced, and it’s highly likely that the entry fee was being considered and discussed prior to his death. To say that the changes are all on Amanda, simply isn’t true.
 
I always remember going on a day trip to Blackpool October half term every year with my mum, sister and my friends and there parents.
We would always end up at the pleasure beach as that’s where the coach would pick us up to drive though the Illuminations before going home. Not sure how much the tickets were each but I know over the years we only went on the 1 ticket attractions and remember been scared on the Ark and sharing the American football bumper cars. It wasn’t to 2000 when I went away for a weekend again that I brought a Wristband and I got to ride the big 1 for the 1st time and cause I missed the opening of Valhalla by 2 weeks I went back on the August bank holiday weekend with lads from college and I brought a wristband but my friends only brought tickets to ride the big one.
Then every year would always go every March for the WOW weekends as they were a bargain for £10 each and think they only had gone up to roughly £16 when we last visited in 2010.
So really the wristbands were good value for money but like my friend he wants to go and ride Icon but isn’t willing to spend £40+ as his already done most of the other rides in the park.
 
Yesterday's good weather would have helped attendance. Was insanely warm in the morning here in the east.
 
Rick said:
It was a pretty solid crowd today for a November weekend. 45 minute wait for PMBO. Blvd is pretty full and Big Blue looks pretty rammed as we walked by.

Congratulations to @Dipper_Dave, our 2022 champion.

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Nothing worse than a sore winner...he threw nothing but fives and sixes for a solid couple of hours.
Cracking end of season weekend gentlemen, I'm off back to bed.
 
There’s not a Blackpool Tower thread and I don’t think it’s worth starting one, but I’m intrigued to see that the Tower Eye is closed completely until April of next year now. It’s usually open throughout winter, closing on certain days. Such a long closure is quite unusual.

Perhaps a sign of extended refurb or just cuts? It seems odd that the Council are reinstating the Christmas Village qt the front of the Tower, whilst the Tower itself remains closed. Could it be a Merlin decision?

Edit: apparently it’s something to do with some renovation works, although still odd they need to close for such a long time when they only finished a full refit which took 8 years.

www.lancs.live

Blackpool Tower to operate fully by Easter as maintenance work looms

A contractor is being sought by Blackpool Council to carry out the repair work
www.lancs.live

Edit 2: it appears that vast swathes of the Merlin midway attractions are closed for the year. The Dungeons for example are now closed entirely, whereas they had previously been open on certain days. That suggests cuts to me and makes you wonder whether the refurb works on the tower are an actual reason for its full closure.
 
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venny said:
Edit 2: it appears that vast swathes of the Merlin midway attractions are closed for the year. The Dungeons for example are now closed entirely, whereas they had previously been open on certain days. That suggests cuts to me and makes you wonder whether the refurb works on the tower are an actual reason for its full closure.
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Or the Council has closed the Tower for maintanance and Merlin don't see it worth operating the other midway attractions without the Tower as the main attraction?
 
I think it’s cutbacks due to poor trading. But that’s just a guess, which is mainly based on how quiet the UK theme parks and midways seem to have been this year.
 
Tried to do the tower twice this year, first time shut due to the wind, 2nd time in October due to 'technical' issues, they did say I could watch the 4d movie but I declined.
 
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