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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2023 Discussion

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One thing I would welcome, and this may be sacrilegious to some, would be some sort of retracking and a set of new trains for Nash from GCI or even Gravity Group (and sorting the control system out at the same time). I don’t really tend to buy the excuse that “heritage = rough” - there’s plenty of well-kept heritage woodies around the world that run really smoothly with modern features. A completely retracked Nash with millennium flyers could genuinely be the best woodie in the UK.
 
Blackpool’s heritage an interesting one. Personally, I’d argue that it’s both a blessing and a curse for the park.

It’s a blessing in that it gives them a USP that no other park in the UK boasts or can ever boast for that matter. Blackpool has an absolutely huge selection of heritage rides, including one of the world’s largest operating selections of wooden roller coasters and multiple rides over 100 years old. Some of the park’s rides even predate either world war, which is quite insane when you think about it! No other park can feasibly match or recreate what Blackpool has in terms of heritage rides, and that is arguably quite a selling point in itself.

With that being said, I think that might also be a curse for the park in some regards. To some non-enthusiasts, having a huge selection of heritage rides as opposed to newer, flashier thrills like those at Alton Towers or Thorpe Park may give off the impression that the park is dated and behind the times, which could put them off.

One thing to consider, though, is that unlike some of the other theme parks in the UK like Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, Blackpool Pleasure Beach might rely more on a captive audience who come back to Blackpool for their summer holidays every year and expect the same sort of experience every year, so the heritage might add to the nostalgia factor and keep people coming back in a way that it wouldn’t at the Merlin parks.

One thing that I think could benefit the park, as has been said above, is to have a company like GCI or Gravity Group do a full retrack of rides like Grand National and Big Dipper and put new trains on them. That would ensure that they run more smoothly while still providing the same classic wooden coaster experience as they ever have. I feel that this might see more people be pleasantly surprised by the experience they offer and view the older attractions in a more positive light.
 
A major issue is the worst coasters on park are the 3 newest ones. Can't justify scrapping them except Infusion. Icon brings nothing and PMBO is awful since Taziker got their hands on it,
 
Poisson said:
A major issue is the worst coasters on park are the 3 newest ones. Can't justify scrapping them except Infusion. Icon brings nothing and PMBO is awful since Taziker got their hands on it,
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I'm not sure why you think Icon is one of the worst coasters and offers nothing. It's a great ride and the only modern coaster experience at the park.

If anything need to go then is steeplechase which occupies a fair chunk of land.

The issue with PB is what they can afford to do and what they would like to do. General concencus is they are fairly skint so won't be getting a new coaster of any shape for a number of years.
 
Poisson said:
A major issue is the worst coasters on park are the 3 newest ones. Can't justify scrapping them except Infusion. Icon brings nothing and PMBO is awful since Taziker got their hands on it,
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To cut Taziker some slack, even the parts of track that are original are not much better and if you have looked at Taziker's designs of the new track, they have gone to the effort to try and correct faults to make it smoother which in theory should've helped yet doesn't seem to have done anything other than the final section on the exit through the tunnel which I will say is better than before.

I wonder if the problems lie with the actual trains themselves in which perhaps they are showing their age and that newer trains could actually make the difference to give a smoother ride? If that is the case then it might be something to look in to and if the trains are the problem for the recent rough riding then the problem is to try and find a manufacturer to design a new train for PMBO.
 
QTXAdsy said:
To cut Taziker some slack, even the parts of track that are original are not much better and if you have looked at Taziker's designs of the new track, they have gone to the effort to try and correct faults to make it smoother which in theory should've helped yet doesn't seem to have done anything other than the final section on the exit through the tunnel which I will say is better than before.

I wonder if the problems lie with the actual trains themselves in which perhaps they are showing their age and that newer trains could actually make the difference to give a smoother ride? If that is the case then it might be something to look in to and if the trains are the problem for the recent rough riding then the problem is to try and find a manufacturer to design a new train for PMBO.
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B&M made new trains for Steel Dragon, they could do the same for The Big One, but the issue is finances !
 
The profiling is a million percent wrong on some of the new stuff, plus it doesn't fit well (see also Colossus) unfortunately they probably can't afford an actually good manufacturer to replace the track
 
The problem i find is alot of uk parks try to have a unique ride that no one else has which obviously puts up the price. Parks in America dont have this look at six flags and all their cloned rides yet for the most part from what ppl say they are all good and being a clone does not detract from the enjoyment.

Id be happy enough with an off the shelf coaster to add to the line up.

I did not ride valhalla originally but i think the golden ticket is deserved it was an amazing ride when we rode it recently.
 
Poisson said:
A major issue is the worst coasters on park are the 3 newest ones. Can't justify scrapping them except Infusion. Icon brings nothing and PMBO is awful since Taziker got their hands on it,
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Steeplechase is far worse than any of these and must surely be a candidate for the chop soon given that it doesn't have listed status and feels like an accident waiting to happen.
 
QTXAdsy said:
To cut Taziker some slack, even the parts of track that are original are not much better and if you have looked at Taziker's designs of the new track, they have gone to the effort to try and correct faults to make it smoother which in theory should've helped yet doesn't seem to have done anything other than the final section on the exit through the tunnel which I will say is better than before.

I wonder if the problems lie with the actual trains themselves in which perhaps they are showing their age and that newer trains could actually make the difference to give a smoother ride? If that is the case then it might be something to look in to and if the trains are the problem for the recent rough riding then the problem is to try and find a manufacturer to design a new train for PMBO.
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Sorry, the new track this year has a new twist that simply wasn't there before...not in any way smoother!
The profile isn't very good at all.
 
QTXAdsy said:
To cut Taziker some slack, even the parts of track that are original are not much better and if you have looked at Taziker's designs of the new track, they have gone to the effort to try and correct faults to make it smoother which in theory should've helped yet doesn't seem to have done anything other than the final section on the exit through the tunnel which I will say is better than before.

I wonder if the problems lie with the actual trains themselves in which perhaps they are showing their age and that newer trains could actually make the difference to give a smoother ride? If that is the case then it might be something to look in to and if the trains are the problem for the recent rough riding then the problem is to try and find a manufacturer to design a new train for PMBO.
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They absolutely wrecked the rise up into the MCBR by the Big Blue, that has a hideous left-to-right jolt in it that wasn't there before. I'm surprised PB haven't demanded they re-do it, to be honest!
 
Coaster said:
They absolutely wrecked the rise up into the MCBR by the Big Blue, that has a hideous left-to-right jolt in it that wasn't there before. I'm surprised PB haven't demanded they re-do it, to be honest!
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The last section through the tunnel (which was the first bit of retracking they did), is definitely a lot smoother. But I can't feel much improvement in any of the other retracked parts, plus that awful section mentioned above.

It's interesting reading completely different opinions about the same rides at pleasure beach. It just goes to show what a marmite kind of place it is.

I personally don't like Grand National these days but it used to be my second favourite coaster at the park behind Wild Mouse. Non wheel seats are ok but you shouldn't have to seek out a particular seat to get an enjoyable ride. Maybe I am just getting too old.

I prefer Big One to Icon, and I still enjoy the other coasters apart from Infusion.

One thing I think we can all agree on is that Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an absolute money pit when it comes to looking after their rides. I am sure if money was no issue we would see some major changes to the park, but it seems as though they are constantly fire fighting just to stay afloat.
 
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