Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 2025 Discussion

[Poisson]

Maybe, but I agree that with staggered opening you’ll see some rides not opening til 12 or even 1. If you’re lucky, on those days Valhalla might operate from 3 til 6!

Sorry, was thinking of a competently run park. My mistake.

 

[QTXAdsy]

Poor Mandy!

Or the Merlin management tbh.

 

[Benjsh]

Or the Merlin management tbh.

Indeed!

 

[Enter Valhalla]

I remember staggered openings used to be quite common on the off peak days when the park opened at 11am. Virtually every ride (apart from Derby Racer and the flying machines) didn’t open till 11:30 or later. Things have got a lot better in recent years on 11am openings. But in the height of August, there’s no way they can justify having lots of rides closed till 11:30. It will be chaos if they do.

 

[rob666]

Sunday mornings, Flying Machines, Derby Racer, Ghost Train and Infusion.
That's yer lot.
Most people were in the Big One queue for the first hour!

 

[shakey]

I remember staggered openings used to be quite common on the off peak days when the park opened at 11am. Virtually every ride (apart from Derby Racer and the flying machines) didn’t open till 11:30 or later. Things have got a lot better in recent years on 11am openings. But in the height of August, there’s no way they can justify having lots of rides closed till 11:30. It will be chaos if they do.

Yes that would be the worry with an 11am opening. They should really have all the rides open when the park opens. If they can do that then I think 11am is a better opening time for a seaside park. Ideally 11am till 9pm in the summer holidays.

 

[Poisson]

They could even do it like the Madrid parks, they have standard 12-8 opening, but expand openings both directions on busy days I believe, up to 10:00 - 01:00

 

[rob666]

Expand opening hours???

They do the opposite at the Beach matey!

 

[Enter Valhalla]

I know this will upset a lot of people but the midnight, 1am, 2am closings of the 90s are long gone. Visiting habits have changed since then. I highly doubt it would work now.

 

[DistortAMG]

I cannot see the fact they are opening at 11am being a problem.

Removing the free entry completely killed off any impulse entry passing trade, most if not all people visiting now pre book, meaning if they are going to visit, they are going to visit, regardless of the park opening an hour later. Especially in the summer months, when a later opening into the light evenings will be far more appealing to most punters than an early start I would have thought.

The summer being the summer, people prefer to do things into the later evenings, rather than earlier into the morning given the preference.

 

[rob666]

I know this will upset a lot of people but the midnight, 1am, 2am closings of the 90s are long gone. Visiting habits have changed since then. I highly doubt it would work now.

That isn't surprising, and I think very few if any are upset at such non news...thirty odd years later.

A few more eight o clock closes on illumination weekend nights would mean several hundred thousand punters could enjoy night rides during the lights...when the area is busy and the lights are a free extra attraction pulling people into the town...instead we have constant five pm closures in September and October, when the weather is good, the town is full, and there are ten thousand punters a night going right past the place when the park is dimmed and closed...nothing but stupid...turning away large numbers of willing customers with money because opening late doesn't suit the owner and management.

But even that won't happen, because madam knows best.