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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2024 Discussion

There have been 4 rides down in 2024 (river caves, ice blast, grand Prix and dodgems), with no indication whatsoever from the park that any of those will be operating in 2025. (We know Grand Prix won't open)

Other existing rides have deteriorated (e.g PB express esthetics, Nash on one set of trains , dipper on one train).

There have been further cuts in park opening hours and more staggered openings and closings with some rides not opening till the afternoon on a regular basis.

There has been no new ride of any description since 2018 and as of now there has been no announcement that anything will be added in 2025 either. And no guarantee that other rides won't end up with a season long "planned maintenance"

None of that justifies any increase in the season pass at all, let alone the £70 price hike the park have imposed.

It is absolutely a NO from me for next year at that price.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
People have widely praised Paultons for increasing the cost of their annual passes thereby making the park much quieter on a day to day basis rather than the place being rammed with passholders.

Maybe BPB are taking this praise of Paultons on board and hoping to adopt a similar model.
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That would make sense if the park was very busy...the Beach hasn't been very busy very often this year though has it?
The queues have been roughly half those at the Towers, time wise, all season.
The price increase is "completely unacceptable"...
Mandy has to pay for the clucking ice show somehow you know.
She will have my money by Christmas.
Naughty mandy.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
People have widely praised Paultons for increasing the cost of their annual passes thereby making the park much quieter on a day to day basis rather than the place being rammed with passholders.

Maybe BPB are taking this praise of Paultons on board and hoping to adopt a similar model.
Click to expand...
If the place was ran to the standards of Paultons I could understand.
 
Paultons has had several new rides in the last seven years, Pleasurebeech has had none. Not even any hint of anything new for next season that may explain a price hike like this. Rumours of this Gyro swing have disappeared like a fart in the wind.

We don't even know if Ice Blast and River caves will be back for the start of next season
 
Relife said:
Paultons has had several new rides in the last seven years, Pleasurebeech has had none. Not even any hint of anything new for next season that may explain a price hike like this. Rumours of this Gyro swing have disappeared like a fart in the wind.

We don't even know if Ice Blast and River caves will be back for the start of next season
Click to expand...
I don't think that means the Gyro Swing won't happen. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear more about it after the end of the season if it's for Summer 2025 or that it's a 2026 new ride.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the New for 2025 rides are Ice Blast Rejuvenated and River Caves Reimagined.
 
Relife said:
Paultons has had several new rides in the last seven years, Pleasurebeech has had none. Not even any hint of anything new for next season that may explain a price hike like this. Rumours of this Gyro swing have disappeared like a fart in the wind.

We don't even know if Ice Blast and River caves will be back for the start of next season
Click to expand...

And Poultons is still cheaper !!

£143 for renewals for the off peak pass. £160 for first time passes off peak.

Its a similar price to blackpool for their mid tier pass.

Admittedly their top tier season pass is more expensive than Blackpool but as mentioned above, they are investing in new rides almost every year.
 
I think that’ll now be the end of my reign as a passholder. The novelty of visiting 5 or 6 times a season has well and truly worn off, and for the past couple of years we’ve only still purchased one as we broke even by visiting a partner park or two.
 
My year off has been most refreshing.
I will probably get a pass next year having missed this, for three real reasons.
I miss the bar staff and old gits.
I get the novelty of an official old gits discount for the first time.
I get to come on here and bitch about closures and poor operations at the end of each visit.

My wife has missed the trips to TKMaxx behind the tower.
 
It makes one wonder what the park would actually want, somebody attending twice in a year paying both times for around £80 total, or receiving £150 for an annual pass that someone uses 20 times in a year.

In terms of profit margin, you’d imagine the former.
 
There’s negligible additional cost of a season pass holder visiting twenty times instead of twice. There’s also the potential secondary spend that the twenty visits bring. I’m guessing that they’d therefore prefer the additional revenue.
 
Mick said:
It makes one wonder what the park would actually want, somebody attending twice in a year paying both times for around £80 total, or receiving £150 for an annual pass that someone uses 20 times in a year.

In terms of profit margin, you’d imagine the former.
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<dead rodent warning>

From a business perspective, yes I suppose they much prefer someone paying for each visit, over a nerd who will hammer their season pass and go up to a few times a week. But when they start to lose the aforementioned nerds due to overpricing the season pass renewal, they will lose out on the merch, food & drink sales, etc, that said nerds bring to the park. In the same way that they scrapped the walk round pass, they have lost bar sales, and not just from Rob's wife.

Yes, operating costs for the park must have risen, but £70 in one go is a whopping increase for season pass holders. They are cutting their nose off to spite their face. There is no new ride on the horizon, the place is run down, a lot of the character has been zapped out of it in recent years, and the park sadly seems to be in a downward spiral going back to the removal of Wild Mouse.
 
Mandy doesn't like the season pass holders, they stuff sub rolls down the front of their trousers to avoid excessive food charges, and drink water out of the fountains.
They smoke dope in the maze, are rude to the operations staff, and tend to dry hump staff legs when they close down the Big One for no good reason.
They drool over the bar staff and fail to pay the ridiculous eighteen pounds car park charges, by parking in the street next to the park for free.
They also post rude things on the internet about how the park is performing.
Or maybe that is just me...

We are not worth the hassle and bad press, so she is pricing the awkward thoosies out of the park on a regular basis.
 
Vote with your wallets, simple.

I agree with Rob that Amanda seemingly hates enthusiasts and feels like they are 'costing' the park by using the passes they pay for more than just a break even amount.

There is zero justification for such egregious price gouging.

Just wait until Mandy adds 'High Demand' on the gate flexible ticket pricing ala Ticketmaster for those 'busy' days.

It's just more disappointment, disgruntlement and disenfranchisement from Park ownership to its most loyal customers.

Something has to change, and until then, vote with your wallet.

I fear that things will reach an abrupt conclusion within a few years at this rate until someone has to step in and change things for the better with a change of ownership.

Let's just hope we don't lose the park for good, because I just don't see how things turn around the way it's going.
 
If she went bust, the council would step in (again) and support the going concern with outside direction, probably merlin.
The passes have all been incredibly cheap compared to day ticket prices in peak season anyway, we have been spoiled for a long time, she is sick of giving a hefty discount to a bunch of nasty bitching thoosies, who do not understand the beauty of ice dance.

The park has gone downhill since the days of the dead rodent (sorry shakey) because Nick pretty much walked away from operations after Icon went up.
Hardly seen him on park since, used to see him all the time.
 
If the Gyro Swing doesn't open next year we are looking at at least eight years without a single new ride which is utterly ridiculous for a park like PB. Add in several ride removals and how does this season pass represent value for money?
 
Nothing new for seven years is typical of the Beach, sorry.
And if you are going to visit every six weeks or so the pass is still much cheaper than buying day tickets.
For me, who likes a beer, company and the odd ride, and does lots away from the Beach in Blackpool...it still represents good value, especially after a refresher year away.
I will get better value personally than I would from a merlin pass without the skyride.
There will be discounting later in the year, it is what they do.
If it doesn't work for you, walk away...simple.
 
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