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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2024 Discussion
- Thread starter Quantum
- Start date
The Globe site makes the most sense as it already has parking for guests. I can't imagine they will be allowed to demolish Noah's arc. They could tie it in with the Casino on that side and connect the two buildings. It's kind of sad that the focus is on anything but making the park better.
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Bert2theSpark
TS Member
Interesting that the trend of building new hotel offerings at theme parks seems to have made a comeback with Towers and BPB. I think with the focus on the hotel side of the business that the rebrand to Pleasure Beach Lancashire/Pleasure Beach Resort makes more sense. With the accommodation on the seafront, at least it'll make the border of the park feel a bit more active.
I think a lot of the frustrations here seem to be that the amusement park itself seems to be stagnant, little capital is going into the park, as of current, and when there investment, it certainly isn't regular to keep the guests coming back like Thorpe and Towers do.
Having visited Blackpool recently with older family members and my dogs. BPB was dissapointingly off-limits even though we parked in their car park because family that don't particularly enjoy big rides can't justify the £40+ entry just for a couple of small rides. A pay per ride system makes sense for the park and that the issue with park itself is the business model. If they aren't going to invest in the park like at least Merlin do, then they shouldn't have the same business model. The rest of Blackpool has so little to do now nowadays and the loss of BPB from visitors is such a huge hit to the town...
Amanda, if you're somehow reading this, let me give you a TL;DR. Free/low entry price and a pay per ride model = more seats filled during Hot Ice.
I think a lot of the frustrations here seem to be that the amusement park itself seems to be stagnant, little capital is going into the park, as of current, and when there investment, it certainly isn't regular to keep the guests coming back like Thorpe and Towers do.
Having visited Blackpool recently with older family members and my dogs. BPB was dissapointingly off-limits even though we parked in their car park because family that don't particularly enjoy big rides can't justify the £40+ entry just for a couple of small rides. A pay per ride system makes sense for the park and that the issue with park itself is the business model. If they aren't going to invest in the park like at least Merlin do, then they shouldn't have the same business model. The rest of Blackpool has so little to do now nowadays and the loss of BPB from visitors is such a huge hit to the town...
Amanda, if you're somehow reading this, let me give you a TL;DR. Free/low entry price and a pay per ride model = more seats filled during Hot Ice.
Ares
TS Member
I think the removal of the Globe Theatre for the new hotel makes the most sense. I would anticipate that if the Hotel is to happen soon, let's say it takes 2-3 years, then any new ride would come after that or coincide with the hotel's launch around summer 2027?
I've never attended the ice shows, but if it was a low cost ticket of say £10 each for adults and £5 for children and was a 30-45 minute show on 1-3 times a day depending on the time of year, that could be a good idea for family members who are not riding i.e grandparents or mothers with younger children typically. But this then loops back into needing lower costs entry tickets and non-rider entry tickets to boost the ice shows numbers.
I've never attended the ice shows, but if it was a low cost ticket of say £10 each for adults and £5 for children and was a 30-45 minute show on 1-3 times a day depending on the time of year, that could be a good idea for family members who are not riding i.e grandparents or mothers with younger children typically. But this then loops back into needing lower costs entry tickets and non-rider entry tickets to boost the ice shows numbers.
shakey
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Wild Mouse - Blackpool - :(
The matinee shows are already very low cost . Free in-fact with your entry to the park. But there are still more empty seats than punters as far as I am aware.
Regarding another hotel. There is a danger they could reach saturation point , so I don't think it is as guaranteed a money spinner as people seem to think, especially when the park seems to be imploding at an alarming rate.
They have already been offering free park tickets with hotel stays this year. A sign that the hotels they currently have are not booked up.
John_P
TS Member
Would really hope a new hotel has something to set it apart from the big blue and the boulevard. Maybe have a swimming pool in it, and a sauna.
I've still not stayed in the boulevard for instance as to my knowledge there's no real difference to the big blue except it being more expensive.
I do hope this hotel talk means they've got something lined up for the park the way they had Icon opened and then the boulevard the next year.
I've still not stayed in the boulevard for instance as to my knowledge there's no real difference to the big blue except it being more expensive.
I do hope this hotel talk means they've got something lined up for the park the way they had Icon opened and then the boulevard the next year.
They have just spent shedloads of money refurbishing said arcade, which only reopened a few weeks ago. Can't see that going anywhere, even though it would look infinitely better as a plain of tarmac at this point
They're surely going to find it difficult to market hotel number three unless it's somehow drastically different? I understand the general idea of, this is doing well, lets copy the success, but you can't just build hundreds of hotels and expect eternal riches
Shaggy_Dog_
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Ride To Happiness
Does the rest of Blackpool have so little to do? I have to admit that I’m not as familiar with town as many others on here are, but there’s still Blackpool Tower, Sandcastle water park, Sealife, three piers, the beaches, pubs and restaurants, and of course the Illuminations when it’s that season. I can’t comment on what the town used to be like in its heyday compared to now but I wonder if it’s partly the case that there is maybe a lack of inexpensive attractions and that both the tower and Pleasure Beach have priced themselves away from the casual visitors and families on a budget?
venny
TS Member
There’s definitely been a flurry of new openings, but there has always been a perpetual churn of these second/third tier attractions. I wonder whether South Shore becoming quieter over the years has refocused the concentration of visitation to around the Tower…
You’re right on Boulevard, John; having tried both, it’s a little samey to Big Blue. Slightly more high end/modern, but for us the views from Big Blue are the main attraction and the extra price for Boulevard isn’t worth it.
If you look at some of the original plans for it, there was a more ambitious concept for the main restaurant and also the second floor bar and a much larger terrace area with sea views. It was all cut. That’s the sort of differentiator you’d anticipate they could build in a new hotel.
If it’s adjacent to the Casino, there’s even potential for some interaction with that building or the park. Valhalla themed room with a Valhalla view perhaps? Breakfast served in the White Tower? Private park entrance?
All probably too ambitious or innovative for a park that currently lacks both, but there feels like there are some exciting opportunities.
You’re right on Boulevard, John; having tried both, it’s a little samey to Big Blue. Slightly more high end/modern, but for us the views from Big Blue are the main attraction and the extra price for Boulevard isn’t worth it.
If you look at some of the original plans for it, there was a more ambitious concept for the main restaurant and also the second floor bar and a much larger terrace area with sea views. It was all cut. That’s the sort of differentiator you’d anticipate they could build in a new hotel.
If it’s adjacent to the Casino, there’s even potential for some interaction with that building or the park. Valhalla themed room with a Valhalla view perhaps? Breakfast served in the White Tower? Private park entrance?
All probably too ambitious or innovative for a park that currently lacks both, but there feels like there are some exciting opportunities.
John_P
TS Member
Yeah if they'd built that originally planned roof top bar I'd have definitely stayed there by now. Would've been great if you left the park early during late night riding in the autumn. The big one flying past on your right whilst having an unrivalled view down the prom of the illuminations.
Had a lot of fun in Blackpool this year avoiding the pleasure beach, as it is so run down...
Stanley park is number one...amazing place...together with zoo and model village...ace park and facilities.
Then there is the Arcade Club, fantastic new facility by the football ground...only been around a couple of years...very successful.
The town centre has remained busy throughout the fall in attendance at the Beach, (we have often struggled for parking)...as have the piers and Sandcastle...it is only the Beach that appears to have lost customers hand over fist, and the majority of local residents have always looked down on the "funfair"...they hardly ever venture to the south end of town.
Blackpool itself seems to be doing very well overall.
Apart from all the boarded up hotels, crippling poverty and empty shop units it's doing great. Behind the main front is post apocoliptic
Bert2theSpark
TS Member
I'd disagree, most of those attractions are not along the Golden Mile. There were so many dilapidated buildings with nothing but hotels and casios. This is the tourist hotspot of the entire town and it's literally compatible to the game Fallout: New Vegas...
venny
TS Member
There are definitely some grim places in Blackpool; there are in almost all towns. It’s a lazy stereotype to label the whole town as such though. If you’ve ever sat out on the square overlooking Blackpool Central Church, had a beer on the terrace of Beach House at sunset or tried some of the great food and drink on Topping Street, you’ll know that there are some perfectly pleasant and enjoyable area of the town too.
I think that arcade was gutted and refurbed only a few months ago. It would be a magnificent spot for a hotel though. The Casino is also ridiculously underutilised, I appreciate it's limited by listing but if you slung a roof over the quad area between the Casino and Noah's Ark you could do something quite special (and year-round) with the whole space.Thinking about the location again. My first thought was the globe, but theres also the arcade near the entrance which has looked terrible for years. Combined with Noah's Ark (if they can remove it) that leaves a massive space for not just a hotel, but a nice new entrance too. Potentially something like the Disneyland Paris hotel with the entrance underneath (obviously nowhere near as grand).
I think we would all prefer a major new ride, but if the hotels continue making the park money, and this gives them to opportunity to massively tidy up the entrance, this could be a good thing overall. A hotel at the main entrance would also have the benefit of direct access throughout the day for park guests, unlike the big blue and boulevard.
I would happily move into any house within a couple of hundred yards of Stanley Park...tomorrow.
Lots of decent semis in a glorious area with loads of good facilities...and very happy holidaymakers who have used the same b&b's for decades.
You did say Blackpool, not the Golden Mile.
I'm well aware of the deprivation behind the golden mile, but that is not the rest of Blackpool, it is a small part of it, and I agree it needs wholesale clearance.
Shame the council is skint.
There are other very poor areas of the town, but there are lots of good decent areas, north of the north pier, and south of the south.
Polarexplorer2025
TS Member
From Watson road rite down to the casino imo