Oh just rub it in and make me weep again Rick why don't you?
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2023 Discussion
- Thread starter rob666
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Plastic Person
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Just watched TPW's coverage of this. I am as ambivalent about this as an up-charge as I am about Icon as a whole, but you can definitely now group me in the 'wouldn't pay 15 quid for this' bracket. The spinning seems very tame, it appears to be more of a backwards ride for the most part. Of course, it all depends on weight and weather, but I'd be scouting for a larger companion and checking for Westerly winds if I was forced to part the cash. They should have a fella stood on the second launch to give the car a nudge, Waltzer style.
John
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For anyone wondering how they've managed to fit another queue line into Inco/Enso's station, it seems they've added a new door into the building for the main queue that enters near the loading bays. The original main queue entrance to the station is now the speedy pass entrance, whilst what was speedy pass is now the Enso entrance.
Reports from Pleasure Beach Experience on facebook that they've taken the train with spinning seats out of use for the day, possibly a result of low sales?
Reports from Pleasure Beach Experience on facebook that they've taken the train with spinning seats out of use for the day, possibly a result of low sales?
Skyscraper
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And it's apparently better later in the day, once it has warmed up.
Rick
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A friend who is there today took two laps, she said it was "ok". She had intended to take one but the first as two riders didn't spin "at all" (that's apparently evident in Shawn's video).
She then did her second lap alone and said it was much better but still thought it was "hard to justify the £15 price tag to ride something you have ridden before in a barely novel way".
She then did her second lap alone and said it was much better but still thought it was "hard to justify the £15 price tag to ride something you have ridden before in a barely novel way".
Themeparksandy1981
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I think the general members of the public having already paid £88 for 2 adults and £76 for 2 children tickets (£164) to get in on Easter weekend and if it’s very busy they may spend £100 on speedy passes after spending £264 before even thinking of buying drinks and snacks on site they not gonna spend more money just to go on a spinning seat coaster which they can ride anyway included in the price.
IDB
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A couple of Skyforce type wings on the carriage would make it more interesting.
Rick
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It's a premium experience with low capacity. The fact that those seats will sometimes not have riders on quiet days will be priced into their numbers.
It will be interesting to see how they handle that when you have a 20 minute queue and they're dispatching trains that aren't full. Not sure when that will become apparent.
Those trains cost less than a million, so you'd expect those two seats didn't cost hideous money - presumably all components outside the spinning mechanism have been reused (?). If the average spend per cap is £20, it makes a lot of sense really.
It will be interesting to see how they handle that when you have a 20 minute queue and they're dispatching trains that aren't full. Not sure when that will become apparent.
Those trains cost less than a million, so you'd expect those two seats didn't cost hideous money - presumably all components outside the spinning mechanism have been reused (?). If the average spend per cap is £20, it makes a lot of sense really.
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venny
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I’m not even sure you can call it a premium experience. It’s a different experience.
The upcharge is there to manage demand because of poor capacity. Clearly the park can’t say that’s the reason they’re charging £15 a pop though, so they badge it as a premium experience to justify the price.
The upcharge is there to manage demand because of poor capacity. Clearly the park can’t say that’s the reason they’re charging £15 a pop though, so they badge it as a premium experience to justify the price.
Rick
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Sorry, I meant premium as a noun "a sum added to an ordinary price or charge".
I think you're looking at this the wrong way round. They have made a conscious decision to limit capacity so that they can charge £15 - it's proactive & by design, it's not a response to a situation that they found themselves in unexpectedly.
Haven't ridden it yet, but it's got to be premium (in a Morreti vs. Carling way) ... it can't make it more boring than it already is, surely.
venny
TS Member
No, I agree. The cynical part of me would suggest it enables them to advertise a new attraction with a minimal investment and which will likely pay for itself.
Whether the (pretty tame) spinning improves the experience is very subjective though. There seems to be a reasonably evenly split opinion thus far.
Whether the (pretty tame) spinning improves the experience is very subjective though. There seems to be a reasonably evenly split opinion thus far.
pluk
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Don't think that's cynical at all. It is unlitmately the point of any investment, usually that paying for itself will come from the gate price where as this one is more direct, but it's the same thing really.
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