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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2023 Discussion

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I must admit that I’m a little confused about why Blackpool still operates the turnstiles given that they haven’t operated any form of pay-per-ride since before COVID (to my knowledge).

I can see the data collection angle, but with how technology and big data have advanced, there are far better ways for Blackpool to collect data if they so desire. Plenty of other parks manage decent data collection without operating Blackpool-style turnstiles.

I can’t think of any reason other than that. There’s no need to distinguish between pay-per-ride riders and wristband riders anymore, so that particular reason has gone, and I can think of numerous cons of keeping the turnstiles operating. The most notable con is that it requires guests to have their phone on them and charged at all times, which could be problematic on some rides (Valhalla in particular comes to mind… I wouldn’t want to be taking a phone on there!). I also imagine that it’s an unneeded staffing cost for the park, as the turnstiles need a staff member to operate them and iron out any technical glitches (to my memory, at least).
 
Matt N said:
I must admit that I’m a little confused about why Blackpool still operates the turnstiles given that they haven’t operated any form of pay-per-ride since before COVID (to my knowledge).

I can see the data collection angle, but with how technology and big data have advanced, there are far better ways for Blackpool to collect data if they so desire. Plenty of other parks manage decent data collection without operating Blackpool-style turnstiles.

I can’t think of any reason other than that. There’s no need to distinguish between pay-per-ride riders and wristband riders anymore, so that particular reason has gone, and I can think of numerous cons of keeping the turnstiles operating. The most notable con is that it requires guests to have their phone on them and charged at all times, which could be problematic on some rides (Valhalla in particular comes to mind… I wouldn’t want to be taking a phone on there!). I also imagine that it’s an unneeded staffing cost for the park, as the turnstiles need a staff member to operate them and iron out any technical glitches (to my memory, at least).
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As far as I'm aware the barcode doesn't constantly refresh throughout the day, does it? So people can print it off and keep it on their person, rather than having to constantly use a phone.

Honestly it really is just a clever and relatively cheap way for them to data mine. It doesn't rely on people installing apps, and then turning on tracking permissions, and theoretically there's very little to go wrong in terms of technical downtime. Each person on the park has their own individual barcode (or a group one), so you know exactly where someone has been and the time it takes for people to get to the next ride. This works for people of all ages, and those without phones. Because it's attached to a name and a photo, you can roughly guage some demographics too. Ripping out the turnstiles and then developing a fully fledged decent app for tracking (which not everyone would install), with respective low energy Bluetooth trackers throughout the park would be a very expensive investment. As @rob666 keeps pointing out, they've hardly got two pennies to rub together as it is.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
As far as I'm aware the barcode doesn't constantly refresh throughout the day, does it? So people can print it off and keep it on their person, rather than having to constantly use a phone.

Honestly it really is just a clever and relatively cheap way for them to data mine. It doesn't rely on people installing apps, and then turning on tracking permissions, and theoretically there's very little to go wrong in terms of technical downtime. Each person on the park has their own individual barcode (or a group one), so you know exactly where someone has been and the time it takes for people to get to the next ride. This works for people of all ages, and those without phones. Because it's attached to a name and a photo, you can roughly guage some demographics too. Ripping out the turnstiles and then developing a fully fledged decent app for tracking (which not everyone would install), with respective low energy Bluetooth trackers throughout the park would be a very expensive investment. As @rob666 keeps pointing out, they've hardly got two pennies to rub together as it is.
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To my knowledge, you can only get printed tickets in special circumstances at Pleasure Beach these days, with everyone else being required to use their phone.

I get what you mean about data collection, I do, but most other parks, even many of the smaller ones, manage sufficient data collection without operating turnstiles. Yes, there would be some outlay in ripping out the turnstiles, but that might be outweighed by the cost of continually staffing them for years on end. As much as staff members aren’t an immediate form of expenditure, they do cost money, and the amount adds up over time.
 
Matt N said:
To my knowledge, you can only get printed tickets in special circumstances at Pleasure Beach these days, with everyone else being required to use their phone.

I get what you mean about data collection, I do, but most other parks, even many of the smaller ones, manage sufficient data collection without operating turnstiles. Yes, there would be some outlay in ripping out the turnstiles, but that might be outweighed by the cost of continually staffing them for years on end. As much as staff members aren’t an immediate form of expenditure, they do cost money, and the amount adds up over time.
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They do, but you can use them in other areas of the park throughout the day too, and assign them to other tasks. I'm assuming more bodies at BPPB is desirable.
 
Matt N said:
To my knowledge, you can only get printed tickets in special circumstances at Pleasure Beach these days, with everyone else being required to use their phone.
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Not true. Anyone can go to Guest Services and ask for a paper E-ticket. I’ve almost given up on pre-booking as a season pass holder. I just go to the carousel desk in the Casino building, show my season pass and they hand me a paper ticket. No messing about with phones at scanners for me.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
As far as I'm aware the barcode doesn't constantly refresh throughout the day, does it? So people can print it off and keep it on their person, rather than having to constantly use a phone.

Honestly it really is just a clever and relatively cheap way for them to data mine. It doesn't rely on people installing apps, and then turning on tracking permissions, and theoretically there's very little to go wrong in terms of technical downtime. Each person on the park has their own individual barcode (or a group one), so you know exactly where someone has been and the time it takes for people to get to the next ride. This works for people of all ages, and those without phones. Because it's attached to a name and a photo, you can roughly guage some demographics too. Ripping out the turnstiles and then developing a fully fledged decent app for tracking (which not everyone would install), with respective low energy Bluetooth trackers throughout the park would be a very expensive investment. As @rob666 keeps pointing out, they've hardly got two pennies to rub together as it is.
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It may be clever and relatively cheap, but it is a massive inconvenience for every paying punter on the park.
The ticket may be easier, but then there is the idiot who loses his ticket all the time (me), and the very soggy tickets caused by Valhalla juice and the Blackpool liquid sunshine.
Convenient for the park, inconvenient for everyone else.
Haven't got a clue what the parks finances are like really, but it has been a poor season weather wise, so they won't have had big numbers through the gate often.
The park seems to rely on a dozen or so really busy days over the peak season weeks, they can make all the difference.
Not been often enough this year, but the talk is it has been rather quiet overall.
 
Pleasure Beach do so many things that ruin the guest experience, it’s bonkers really. Isn’t the aim for businesses to make using their service as easy and hassle-free as possible? BPB seem to actively make things harder for their guests, adding hurdle after hurdle to what should be a fun day full of escapism.

Making everyone scan their phones to get on each ride holds up the queue, slowing down the throughput and further eroding the experience that their guests have. People notice slow queues, they notice how many rides they get to go on in a day. If there is a way of increasing that, why not take it?

Forcing people to use their phones adds unnecessary stress. People now have to worry about how much phone charge they have, or (like I do) use their own resources to print the ticket at home prior to visiting. Whilst getting a ticket at guest services is an alternative, I would argue that not many people know about that option apart from regular visitors - it's not well advertised. The phone scanning system also poses a safety risk; the normal process as you prepare to board a ride is to have your phone well secured, out of the way. Now, BPB are encouraging their guests to have their phone out as they get on, which has in turn led to an increase in people using their phones during the ride and holding up dispatches taking selfies. Pleasure Beach should be noticing issues like this and reacting to them; ultimately it is their job to do so, but nothing ever changes. They never look at the park through the eyes of a guest and it shows.

Small things like having no ordering system at Loki's and then closing upstairs on quieter days to make it easier for themselves. Why not develop an ordering app or hand a table number to each person after they order? Then you could open upstairs all the time, give people more options and ultimately improve the guest experience. Why should you have certain aspects of the experience such as sitting upstairs and watching Valhalla/the park go by taken away from you, just because you decided to visit on an off-peak day?

Worst of all is forcing riders to take everything with them onto Valhalla. The park were given plenty of feedback by many enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts prior to the ride re-opening along the lines of needing somewhere to store bags and phones, but they did not take any of it onboard. That, ultimately, is modern-day Pleasure Beach down to a tee. Management seem totally unwilling to listen to their guests, the people that make their business tick over, and nothing is ever improved on or reconsidered.

I think that at the very least there should be paid lockers outside the ride entrance of Valhalla so that guests have the option to pay a small charge for the convenience of leaving their items in there. Of course, nobody should be forced to take their phone with them onto the UK’s wettest ride either, that should be common sense to anyone but BPB seemed to overlook it somehow.

Ultimately the crucial issue is that management give zero thought to the experience that their guests have.
 
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Coaster said:
Small things like having no ordering system at Loki's and then closing upstairs on quieter days to make it easier for themselves. Why not develop an ordering app or hand a table number to each person after they order? Then you could open upstairs all the time, give people more options and ultimately improve the guest experience. Why should you have certain aspects of the experience such as sitting upstairs and watching Valhalla/the park go by taken away from you, just because you decided to visit on an off-peak day?
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the park did develop an ordering app, built into the same website portal as the eticket, queue times etc. when i asked why they no longer use it, i was told it was a staffing issue as it can generate too many orders too quickly. shame it hasn’t been worked on and reused
 
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Erm, so what are those of us with older phones supposed to do?
Guess I’ll never be going there again then.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Erm, so what are those of us with older phones supposed to do?
Guess I’ll never be going there again then.
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Go to guest services and get issued with a printed paper ticket to scan for the day. It’s what I’ve done when I’ve gone with my kids when they were younger and didn’t have their own phones to scan.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Erm, so what are those of us with older phones supposed to do?
Guess I’ll never be going there again then.
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You can activate it on the web version though, and once on-park you can request a paper ticket at guest services. The process is explained on the website here if you're not familiar with it.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
I’m clearly out of the loop here. Do they not issue wristbands any more?
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They don’t do “wristbands” per se anymore. For the COVID pandemic, they scrapped any form of pay-per-ride as well as the walk around fee, and they never returned, so every guest now has to pay the flat rate that was effectively the “wristband” rate before.

As far as I can tell, that has materialised as every guest now needing an “e-ticket” on their phone unless they go to guest services and get a physical ticket. The park has inexplicably kept the wristband turnstiles operating, though, so you now have to scan your phone or physical ticket at every ride even though there is no longer any need to as everyone in the park has a valid ticket for riding all rides.

That’s what I’ve heard from various anecdotes, although I haven’t been to the park myself since before COVID (my last visit was in August 2019, over 4 years ago!).

In fairness, I did not know that anyone had the option to just go to Guest Services and get a paper ticket. I thought that you were only allowed to do that in special circumstances.
 
Matt N said:
As far as I can tell, that has materialised as every guest now needing an “e-ticket” on their phone unless they go to guest services and get a physical ticket. The park has inexplicably kept the wristband turnstiles operating, though, so you now have to scan your phone or physical ticket at every ride even though there is no longer any need to as everyone in the park has a valid ticket for riding all rides.
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They updated the turnstile system as well, a screen attached to them shows the host your name and photo when you scan your ticket.
 
Skyscraper said:
They updated the turnstile system as well, a screen attached to them shows the host your name and photo when you scan your ticket.
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That’s interesting. I guess it makes the system more secure and ensures that people aren’t using each other’s e-tickets.

On a side note, I’m still very surprised that Blackpool Pleasure Beach make people take their belongings on Valhalla. It must easily be the wettest ride I’ve ever ridden, and I can’t imagine that too many valuables could survive it unscathed. I know that most modern smartphones are water resistant, but being resistant to getting that amount of water dumped all over you is another thing entirely.

I am extremely surprised that they didn’t invest in some cages on the station platform or at least a ziploc bag in each row or something to put belongings into when they did the refurbishment. A ride like Popeye is phenomenally wet (I’m not convinced it quite holds a candle to Valhalla, however), but Universal Orlando at least have the courtesy to give you a zip-up plastic cover in the middle of the boat to protect any valuables with.
 
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