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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2023 Discussion

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I'm not on Instagram and can't see the video, but from that screenshot I can't see any safety gear in use. The boiler suits you wear for an official lift hill climb have a harness over them, attached to which by a carabiner clip is a cable, which wraps around the 'safety line' you can see on the chain side of the steps in that photo. I don't know the technical name for these, but there is a 'stopper' every so often, you can see one on the bottom right of the photo, which means that even if you do trip, you will only fall as far as the next one of those, as you have to physically manoeuvre your cable over those stoppers in a technique they called 'walking the dog' at the safety brief I was at for mine. It's simpler than it sounds. But the whole setup of that feels very safe indeed. An evac without said gear appears extremely dangerous, possibly life-threatening.

I don't know how frequent lift hill evacs are on The Big One, but the cost of buying 30 sets of safety gear specifically kept for this purpose, and the time taken to fit them & explain their use in order to evacuate safely, will be far less than the impact that serious injury and/or death will cost the park's finances & reputation. It's a no brainer
 
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Dipper_Dave said:
I'm not on Instagram and can't see the video, but from that screenshot I can't see any safety gear in use. The boiler suits you wear for an official lift hill climb have a harness over them, attached to which by a carabiner clip is a cable, which wraps around the 'safety line' you can see on the chain side of the steps in that photo. I don't know the technical name for these, but there is a 'stopper' every so often, you can see one on the bottom right of the photo, which means that even if you do trip, you will only fall as far as the next one of those, as you have to physically manoeuvre your cable over those stoppers in a technique they called 'walking the dog' at the safety brief I was at for mine. It's simpler than it sounds. But the whole setup of that feels very safe indeed. An evac without said gear appears extremely dangerous, possibly life-threatening.

I don't know how frequent lift hill evacs are on The Big One, but the cost of buying 30 sets of safety gear specifically kept for this purpose, and the time taken to fit them & explain their use in order to evacuate safely, will be far less than the impact that serious injury and/or death will cost the park's finances & reputation. It's a no brainer
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You can watch the video without an account, I did.
 
Isn’t it going to be just as dangerous to get people putting their legs and arms through harnesses? I don’t see any greater risk in climbing down those stairs with a handrail as it is climbing some steep steps on a walk say. People just become hysterical because it’s vaguely unusual being a coaster lifthill rather than any other set of steps.
 
venny said:
Isn’t it going to be just as dangerous to get people putting their legs and arms through harnesses? I don’t see any greater risk in climbing down those stairs with a handrail as it is climbing some steep steps on a walk say. People just become hysterical because it’s vaguely unusual being a coaster lifthill rather than any other set of steps.
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You can get harness that just go around your waist. Just as secure but quicker and easier to put on. I believe Towers use them.
 
venny said:
Isn’t it going to be just as dangerous to get people putting their legs and arms through harnesses? I don’t see any greater risk in climbing down those stairs with a handrail as it is climbing some steep steps on a walk say. People just become hysterical because it’s vaguely unusual being a coaster lifthill rather than any other set of steps.
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Yes, any other 200ft continual staircase with no landing!
 
venny said:
Isn’t it going to be just as dangerous to get people putting their legs and arms through harnesses? I don’t see any greater risk in climbing down those stairs with a handrail as it is climbing some steep steps on a walk say. People just become hysterical because it’s vaguely unusual being a coaster lifthill rather than any other set of steps.
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I think psychologically some people might freak out a bit without a harness on. My wife for example always prefers to sit on the side of the steps when getting on a coaster just in case there happened to be an evacuation. I think in that situation she would have panicked at the thought of walking down without a harness on. And I can’t help but think it’s a bad look for the park, you’d imagine that most parks would want to be seen making the guests look as secure as possible to reassure everyone that their safety procedures are very thorough.
 
Do they use the double carabiner system usually? I did a high ropes thing and you had 2, but only 1 would release at once so you took one of the "old" section of wire and clipped it to the new one, then did the same with the second clip. Means if you go over during change over you were at least clipped on.
 
If it was me I genuinely don't think I could get out of the seat without having a harness, I'm very scared of heights, I'm fine on rollercoasters because of my sheer love for them and I feel safe and at ease all clipped in with a lap bar or otsr's.

My fear of heights when I'm not on coasters is also massively amplified if the hand railing or wall next to me is not up to my chest and with me being 6'6, definitely wouldn't be the case with that hand rail on the big one I would have to be leaning down to hold on.
 
George W said:
My fear of heights when I'm not on coasters is also massively amplified if the hand railing or wall next to me is not up to my chest and with me being 6'6, definitely wouldn't be the case with that hand rail on the big one I would have to be leaning down to hold on.
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The handrail is low on me as well, I know exactly what you mean. I'd feel uneasy leaning down to it from any real height

The evac video above must've been around the 200ft mark (couldn't say for certain, was viewed from the ground). Stopped due to wind speed

The one from this week was a mechanical issue, I have not seen how those people were evac'd but it was significantly lower. Just a touch higher than where Icon passes close, around 100ft I think?
 
The video says “With no other option but to walk 230 foot down”. Slight exaggeration, they weren’t at the very top, but a fair way up. Whatever, 200ft, 100ft, 50ft, all pretty scary for someone who struggles with heights. At least on the actual lift hill walk, you don’t have to clamber out of your train seat!

Anyway, it doesn’t look like that guy was too scared, if his response was to just get his phone out and start filming. I can see how this evac would be terrifying for some riders.
 
To my horror, I've just opened the car after returning from holiday to find some shoes in there that got Valhalla'd last weekend ... absolutely unbelievable stench. I feel like I need a new car.

I can confirm that to my peril, the wetness factor has not been resolved.
 
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