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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2024 Discussion

Went back later after queue gone down, was simply told “No” and a shake of the head on arrival in the station, despite the entrance being open. Fortunately Big Dipper fared better, don’t think I could’ve taken 8 rides in a row on The Big One. Lovely stuff. Even passed up on a walk on Icon. It was going round with 2 people on during the last hour
 
Weather was pretty bad and park was dead today was told by security only about 100, I did sponge Bob around 1h 30min after park opened and was told I was the 17th guest on the ride in 90min. It was so dead I was only person on grand national (both trains) so had no one to race.

I finished the day lapping Valhalla since I was already soaked anyway, it only opened for the last hour of the day but was running excellently when it did open, all effects working, ring of fire working really well on all 3 goes. Overall inspite of the weather had a great time.
 
pjanvil said:
Weather was pretty bad and park was dead today was told by security only about 100, I did sponge Bob around 1h 30min after park opened and was told I was the 17th guest on the ride in 90min. It was so dead I was only person on grand national (both trains) so had no one to race.

I finished the day lapping Valhalla since I was already soaked anyway, it only opened for the last hour of the day but was running excellently when it did open, all effects working, ring of fire working really well on all 3 goes. Overall inspite of the weather had a great time.
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I had a fun afternoon yesterday, culminating in 8 rides in a row on Big Dipper. On 3 of them, I was the sole rider. Fair play to the staff for just letting the train go and not waiting an eternity for the train to fill up. Always fun on a dead & miserable day to see coasters going round with 2 people or less on them.

Speaking of which, Dipper is a delight to re-ride. Nash is so slow even when it’s quiet, trains taking ages to come to a stand after the ride, staff sometimes leaving the air gates open for ages to fill trains up, belts to check, ride not dispatching quickly even after all belts & restraints checked.

Is there a reason why Nash has seatbelts in addition to the restraints? They aren’t needed on Dipper or Streak. I guess it’s because the trains are different, but nobody is gonna fly out of a Nash car if those belts weren’t there. If that was even a possibility, surely every other woodie would have a belt too.

Also, is there any purpose whatsoever to the staff having to input the number of riders into a tablet before despatch? Does it really matter if there is one person or 20 people on any given ride? Is it in case of evac or other incident?

By the way I was soaked just walking from the car before I even got in the park. Spent a while lapping the dark rides. Also I have to admit those new-ish jump scares in Ghost Train frighten the crap out of me.

No word on River Caves, and from a reliable source on the park, Ice Blast IS staying but will reopen with a mystery ‘add on’ of some kind.
 
Dipper_Dave said:
Ice Blast IS staying but will reopen with a mystery ‘add on’ of some kind.
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This may be an unpopular opinion... but if Ice Blast reopens, I really hope it doesn't have those 4D-style spinning seats added to it like I've heard suggested.

Ice Blast is/was not the world's greatest drop tower by any stretch of the imagination (in my view, anyway), but it's fun enough, and to me, those spinning seats, while admittedly unique, look like they would be at best an unnecessary addition and at worst absolutely vile.
 
Dipper_Dave said:
Is there a reason why Nash has seatbelts in addition to the restraints? They aren’t needed on Dipper or Streak. I guess it’s because the trains are different, but nobody is gonna fly out of a Nash car if those belts weren’t there. If that was even a possibility, surely every other woodie would have a belt too.

Also, is there any purpose whatsoever to the staff having to input the number of riders into a tablet before despatch? Does it really matter if there is one person or 20 people on any given ride? Is it in case of evac or other incident?
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It’s fairly common for seat belts to be used on wooden coasters in addition to the lap bars, as a secondary safety mechanism. I guess the reason that they aren’t on Streak and Dipper is that, when risk assessments were carried out, it was determined that these two woodies aren’t as forceful as Nash and therefore the risk of someone falling out of the bar fails is far lower.

Without wanting name any specific parks, there has been at least one incident on a woodie outside of Blackpool, where a lap bar has failed during the ride and the seat belt was effective as a backup. I doubt this has ever happened at Blackpool but I wouldn’t say that’s an argument for not having a backup safety mechanism on a ride as intense as Nash.

As for recording the numbers on the tablets, I guess this is a more modern way of recording numbers than using the more traditional hand-held clickers that theme parks use. There’s lots of reasons why parks need to record the numbers of riders, but it seems odd to do it at BPB when everyone has already had to faff around with scanning their phones at each ride. I assumed the scanners were there to keep count of the numbers. But who knows, maybe not.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
I guess this is a more modern way of recording numbers than using the more traditional hand-held clickers that theme parks use
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BPB still have those as well

As for Ice Blast and those seats, that rumour has been going round for a long time now. It wouldn't surprise me, but I can't help but think it's a total waste of money (especially if any other work is required on its existing hardware).

I'd rather full removal
 
Dipper_Dave said:
I had a fun afternoon yesterday, culminating in 8 rides in a row on Big Dipper. On 3 of them, I was the sole rider. Fair play to the staff for just letting the train go and not waiting an eternity for the train to fill up. Always fun on a dead & miserable day to see coasters going round with 2 people or less on them.

Speaking of which, Dipper is a delight to re-ride. Nash is so slow even when it’s quiet, trains taking ages to come to a stand after the ride, staff sometimes leaving the air gates open for ages to fill trains up, belts to check, ride not dispatching quickly even after all belts & restraints checked.

Is there a reason why Nash has seatbelts in addition to the restraints? They aren’t needed on Dipper or Streak. I guess it’s because the trains are different, but nobody is gonna fly out of a Nash car if those belts weren’t there. If that was even a possibility, surely every other woodie would have a belt too.

Also, is there any purpose whatsoever to the staff having to input the number of riders into a tablet before despatch? Does it really matter if there is one person or 20 people on any given ride? Is it in case of evac or other incident?

By the way I was soaked just walking from the car before I even got in the park. Spent a while lapping the dark rides. Also I have to admit those new-ish jump scares in Ghost Train frighten the crap out of me.

No word on River Caves, and from a reliable source on the park, Ice Blast IS staying but will reopen with a mystery ‘add on’ of some kind.
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Scanners are coming out at end of season. Although physical scanner and barrier/turnstyles are still in use. So is the new system, which means the old turnstiles which used to count and record wristbands numbers, which where logged, theyno longer does this. They only allow access. Until there removal off season. Rider numbers are being counted by ride op with hand scanners or imputed manually on tablet until the new system is fully operational from next season.
 
Enter Valhalla said:
It’s fairly common for seat belts to be used on wooden coasters in addition to the lap bars, as a secondary safety mechanism. I guess the reason that they aren’t on Streak and Dipper is that, when risk assessments were carried out, it was determined that these two woodies aren’t as forceful as Nash and therefore the risk of someone falling out of the bar fails is far lower.

Without wanting name any specific parks, there has been at least one incident on a woodie outside of Blackpool, where a lap bar has failed during the ride and the seat belt was effective as a backup. I doubt this has ever happened at Blackpool but I wouldn’t say that’s an argument for not having a backup safety mechanism on a ride as intense as Nash.

As for recording the numbers on the tablets, I guess this is a more modern way of recording numbers than using the more traditional hand-held clickers that theme parks use. There’s lots of reasons why parks need to record the numbers of riders, but it seems odd to do it at BPB when everyone has already had to faff around with scanning their phones at each ride. I assumed the scanners were there to keep count of the numbers. But who knows, maybe not.
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Big dipper was designed and built in 1923 it had no seat belts neither did Nash.

Big dipper does not require seat belts because it didn't require them when built.

Nash was the same until it got new trains before them by law no seat belt required. As ride didn't need them when designed.

But pleasure beach bought trains with seat belts after the fire,
Now they have set a precident by adding seat belts to the ride.
Why you ask.
Well

Insurance.

Cheaper with seat belts, so why not on dipper then you ask.

Well. It was probably planned to do it next. but they realised trains on Nash where beating the tack up badly. And as both rides where destined in a similar fashion, it probably wasn't a good idea.
 
Matt N said:
This may be an unpopular opinion... but if Ice Blast reopens, I really hope it doesn't have those 4D-style spinning seats added to it like I've heard suggested.

Ice Blast is/was not the world's greatest drop tower by any stretch of the imagination (in my view, anyway), but it's fun enough, and to me, those spinning seats, while admittedly unique, look like they would be at best an unnecessary addition and at worst absolutely vile.
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Have the put the netting on yet so they can start sandblasting.
 
Rollercoaster (Nick Streak) made it into the early 2000s without any restraints at all.

They then added seat belts, and then changed the train (a refurbished Dipper train?) which had lap bars.

I think the newer trains actually give the best ride experience, but I genuinely feared I was going to be thrown out of the train the first time I rode it on the back row sans restraints.
 
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