Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2023 Discussion

[Danny]

Given the roughness, it wouldn't surprise me if it actually prevented people from having families.

 

[shakey]

Grand National's height restrictions has reportedly risen to 132cm up from 117cm...

Good to see the park have confidence in the retrack!!!

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[Skyscraper]

Good to see the park have confidence in the retrack!!!

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Or maybe they've upped the height restriction as an excuse to not give it a full re-track?

 

[venny]

Could it mean either new trains or an adaption to the existing ones?

The accepted wisdom seems to be the current trains are at least partly responsible for tearing the track to pieces.

 

[Matt N]

If new trains and/or any substantial track changes are involved, then I’m certainly very eager to get back on Grand National when it reopens. The layout’s brilliant, in my opinion; it’s only really ruined for me at the moment by the fact it’s excruciatingly rough.

 

[Poisson]

It needs some GCI trains

 

[John]

Not necessarily. Millenium Flyer restraints can be quite intrusive when the ride doesn't run smoothly. Wildcat at Hersheypark is an example of a ride where they were retro-fitted and the experience really isn't that great.

Hopefully the work over closed season will improve the ride experience

 

[dazza4783]

Height restrictions are usually determined by the restraints on the trains so does suggest it may have new trains.

 

[Rick]

I didn't realise it was as low as 117cm - that's quite an accessible restriction for something so brutal.

 

[Matt N]

If the ride rides vaguely similarly to how it did before, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they imposed the higher height restriction as a result of some sort of risk assessment determining that people that small weren't able to handle the ride. Given that I, a fully-grown 18 year old of 1.77m, find Nash absolutely brutal, I can imagine that level of beating is rather a lot for a 1.2m tall child to handle.

My cousin hit 1.2m as soon as he turned 5. Would a 5 year old boy like him be able to handle the raw brutality of Grand National without sustaining some sort of injuries? I'm not so sure.

I agree with @Rick in being surprised it was ever that low... wasn't the similarly brutal (allegedly... I never rode) Wild Mouse always 1.32m like the bigger coasters?

 

[rob666]

It actually works the other way...the less body mass, the less impact force.
The lighter you are, the less you feel impact...explains why mice can jump off high surfaces and run away.
Lighter bodies bounce, big bodies splat.
The height change could be at the insistence of the insurance company.

 

[Alsty]

Out of curiosity, why are the height restrictions in imperial measurements? 117cm being 46 inches, 132 being 52 inches. Don't remember seeing that anywhere else except in America.

 

[rob666]

Because Blackpool is about forty years behind the rest of the nation?

 

[Matt N]

In fairness, I think most people are probably more likely to know imperial than metric.

 

[jon81uk]

In fairness, I think most people are probably more likely to know imperial than metric.

Yes but they also know height in feet and inches not purely inches. You must be 52” tall to ride is probably meaningless but 4 foot 4” is more recognisable. Also for child heights the doctor or something may well have it recorded in metric.

 

[TheBolt]

Don't most people in the UK still use imperial measurements for body measurements? (height, waist, weight)
I imagine safety laws mandate cms must be posted, but human nature uses inches to set the values.

 

[shakey]

The height change could be at the insistence of the insurance company.

Derby Racer had it's height restriction increased from NO restriction at all, to 117cm (with an adult) or 132cm (without).

I think that was done in about 2016 or 2017.

I heard a ride operator at the time tell a guest that health and safety had recommended it. And remember a few upset kids that had ridden before but suddenly couldn't ride it.

 

[JAperson]

In the UK we use all the measurements, we use the standard metric, we use imperial and we also use stone which is something, as far as I can tell, which is only really used here.

 

[shakey]

While we are on height restrictions, the website has it in metric.

The way the height restrictions are worded on the website varies from ride to ride and is quite baffeling in some cases and there is no consistency with the wording.....


So can a child ride unaccompanied if their parent is at least 132cm ?
Maybe the parent needs to be watching or in another dodgem car ?
Or does a child need to be at least 132cm to ride unaccompanied. (Guessing it's that one)
I also love the subtitle of "Autoscooter", just incase there are guests visiting who were born in 1920 and haven't visited an amusement park for 70 years


Work this one out ?

So if I am 117cm can I ride unaccompanied ? and do I have to be accompanied if I am 132cm or over ?
Glad they cleared up what the ride is though, with the subtitle of "Platform Gallopers"


And to finish off, The "Family Rides" section has a picture of SkyForce even though that ride is in the "Thrill Rides" section.



Good old Pleasure Beach - as bonkers as ever

 

[dazza4783]

I think when it comes to Sky Force it is in the Thrill Rides section because of how intense and thrilling it can potentially be. But as that is down to the rider to make it as intense or tame as they want it to be it can also be considered a family ride. They have probably chosen to depict this using this method as they likely can't have the ride page in both sections on the website/app.