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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2025 Discussion
Ares
TS Member
I've worked for many top down, micro-managed, ego-led businesses before and the last minute offers and price switching, poor marketing decisions, ignoring consultants and cancelling events seemingly set up to fail absolutely honk of it and I see no future where anything changes to save the park until there is a change in management across the board and I'm tired of even giving it half a chance to show change.
For all I care, get Six Flags / Cedar Fair in as a first foothold in the UK against Universal and Merlin and IP the rides and have the park subsidized by US parks and have offers on US package holidays to their parks.
Regardless, the parks finances are visible to all via companies house and numerous articles - they are continually unprofitable and AVIKTAS is the last roll of the dice. IMO a new coaster would've done miles better for the park from a marketing POV, on a £10m or so budget as suggested only a bit more than a Gyro. Id gladly see the back of Avalanche, Rev or Streak if needed for a new coaster on top of the existing removals.
The Gyro itself is a great ride, but I do not think it's the ride that makes any difference. To the GP it's just another swinging ride like they see at fun fairs, and it'll be too intense for most, myself included. It feels like it was bought to swing phalluses, pardon the pun, over petty height / size records. Mandy is like an insecure, not well endowed man with a large car to over compensate.
The park I know and loved wasn't just about the rides, it was the little things in-between. Superbowl Dodgems, Arabian Derby, the arcades etc. The park feels lifeless other than queuing for the rides these days, and once you've paid one price, I think the consumer mindset is more oriented to avoiding spending more in a tight economy versus PPR and you wing your day on FOMO and emotion led purchasing decisions in the heat of enjoyment. I've paid my £40 ticket entry, why pay £10 to throw 3 basketballs and win a prize I can order off Amazon for a similar price etc. Even arcades feel dated for the most part.
Times change, consumers change, and the economy is going to get much, much, much worse I can tell you that for sure. The jobs market reports alone can tell you all you need to know with 500k+ job losses in 3 months and a lot more to follow due to poor governance and automation for the most part.
The park needs to forget what everyone else is doing, and do the opposite. Stop zigging and start zagging and go back to what made BPB great.
For the PPR argument, do £10 entry flat pricing and give people equivalent value ride tokens to get started, that way if nan and grandad or mum and little brother don't want to do the big rides, they get to come in and gift those tokens to the people around them that do and just sell ride token books like the old days and make it a nostalgic experience.
I guarantee you a POP/PPR blend would shift consumer mentality and there would be an uptick in secondary spend too.
I personally just think better priced wristbands with tiered ride access Junior/Family/Thrill would work best and incentivize larger groups / families to enter the park with free non-rider tickets with every ride ticket purchased too. That alone increases secondary spend when grandparents or non-riding friends or family are sat about all day watching and waiting.
The same sound advice is repeated constantly on here and the park continues to make the same mistakes and embarrasses itself from selling bits of Grand Prix rubble, PMBO advertising wrappers and cancelling events due to evidently poor sales.
Sorry to waffle everyone and for being a negative nelly, but it comes from a place of love towards a place that holds special memories with family members that are no longer around. I just want the best for it and I really fear the worst is just around the corner.
For all I care, get Six Flags / Cedar Fair in as a first foothold in the UK against Universal and Merlin and IP the rides and have the park subsidized by US parks and have offers on US package holidays to their parks.
Regardless, the parks finances are visible to all via companies house and numerous articles - they are continually unprofitable and AVIKTAS is the last roll of the dice. IMO a new coaster would've done miles better for the park from a marketing POV, on a £10m or so budget as suggested only a bit more than a Gyro. Id gladly see the back of Avalanche, Rev or Streak if needed for a new coaster on top of the existing removals.
The Gyro itself is a great ride, but I do not think it's the ride that makes any difference. To the GP it's just another swinging ride like they see at fun fairs, and it'll be too intense for most, myself included. It feels like it was bought to swing phalluses, pardon the pun, over petty height / size records. Mandy is like an insecure, not well endowed man with a large car to over compensate.
The park I know and loved wasn't just about the rides, it was the little things in-between. Superbowl Dodgems, Arabian Derby, the arcades etc. The park feels lifeless other than queuing for the rides these days, and once you've paid one price, I think the consumer mindset is more oriented to avoiding spending more in a tight economy versus PPR and you wing your day on FOMO and emotion led purchasing decisions in the heat of enjoyment. I've paid my £40 ticket entry, why pay £10 to throw 3 basketballs and win a prize I can order off Amazon for a similar price etc. Even arcades feel dated for the most part.
Times change, consumers change, and the economy is going to get much, much, much worse I can tell you that for sure. The jobs market reports alone can tell you all you need to know with 500k+ job losses in 3 months and a lot more to follow due to poor governance and automation for the most part.
The park needs to forget what everyone else is doing, and do the opposite. Stop zigging and start zagging and go back to what made BPB great.
For the PPR argument, do £10 entry flat pricing and give people equivalent value ride tokens to get started, that way if nan and grandad or mum and little brother don't want to do the big rides, they get to come in and gift those tokens to the people around them that do and just sell ride token books like the old days and make it a nostalgic experience.
I guarantee you a POP/PPR blend would shift consumer mentality and there would be an uptick in secondary spend too.
I personally just think better priced wristbands with tiered ride access Junior/Family/Thrill would work best and incentivize larger groups / families to enter the park with free non-rider tickets with every ride ticket purchased too. That alone increases secondary spend when grandparents or non-riding friends or family are sat about all day watching and waiting.
The same sound advice is repeated constantly on here and the park continues to make the same mistakes and embarrasses itself from selling bits of Grand Prix rubble, PMBO advertising wrappers and cancelling events due to evidently poor sales.
Sorry to waffle everyone and for being a negative nelly, but it comes from a place of love towards a place that holds special memories with family members that are no longer around. I just want the best for it and I really fear the worst is just around the corner.