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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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John

John

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I think it's about time we had a topic dedicated to the UK's largest amusement park, home to more coasters than any other UK park and the most wooden coasters in any park worldwide!

There's been quite a lot going on recently:

* Valhalla and Revolution have both reopened after significant refurbishment.

* Richard Rodriguez is currently attempting to break his coaster marathon record on PMBO, targeting 103 days continuous riding.

* Construction work is well underway on the new Wallace and Grommit dark ride for 2013.

* Two shows will be starting their run soon - the annual Hot Ice show and the new diving show (located on the former Bling site).

Discuss any of the above, or just the park in general here!
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

The park is still one of my favourites, and its about time they had a major new ride - although Wallace & Gromit isn't quite what I was hoping for.

I worry about their long-term future and where the next big investment is coming from.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

I'm one of the few people on here that actually loves PBB. While many people think PMBO is forceless and dull, I think it's a beautiful (and iconic) coaster that's immensely fun to ride and is quite forceful towards the back.

In my opinion Pleasure Beach has both a wonderful atmosphere and a great selection of rides, and is home to both my favourite wooden coaster in Grand National and my favourite water ride in Valhalla.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

Do we know any more information about the Wallace & Grommit ride? It it basically a refurb of Goldmine or is it a new ride / ride system?

When I was at Blackpool the other week the current works to Goldmine looked pretty extensive / major which made me think somthing new might appear.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

It's still very much one of the best parks in the country, but their heydays are well and truly behind them.

That said, the owners obviously take great pride in the attraction and are certainly keeping the place in tip top condition, which is great to see. :)
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

I've heard talk of W&G reusing the layout from Gold Mine but with new cars from WGH-TE(ltd), though I'm not really sure.

I couple of years ago the park really seemed to be struggling, but I think Nick Land has turned things around considerably, by all accounts the Jubilee bank holiday was packed (see the TR over on TTF). Off peak days are still quiet but weekends seem much busier than they've been in the recent past. The problem is that the rides don't really have the capacity to cope anymore - PMBO, Nash, Dipper, Streak, Mouse, Avalanche and Valhalla all run at reduced capacity these days. Nash in particular is a joke - it gets through fewer people per hour on 4 trains than Nemesis can on 1.

Despite the issues the park has, it's become a firm favourite of mine over the past 3 or 4 years, mainly because of the amazing Nash and Mouse. The tidying up around the park has brought a new lease of life to run down areas of the park and the £5 entry for non riders has made the place feel much more secure. If the park was easier for me to get to I'd probably have got a season pass this year, and I'm already looking forward to the TS-T North meet.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

John said:
I couple of years ago the park really seemed to be struggling
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They've filed some massive losses in recent years, but these were before the arrival of Nickelodeon Land. They seem to be on the road to recovery - question is, can they stay on it?
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

I think Nick Land will keep them on a secure footing for the foreseeable future. W&G should help too as that will be very marketable. IPs really do seem to be a major money-spinner - Thomas Land, Nick Land and Peppa Pig world have all been hugely successful for their respective parks.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

John said:
I think Nick Land will keep them on a secure footing for the foreseeable future. W&G should help too as that will be very marketable. IPs really do seem to be a major money-spinner - Thomas Land, Nick Land and Peppa Pig world have all been hugely successful for their respective parks.
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What you need to also take into account though is they may make you money, but IP's also cost a lot of money. So what comes out, could mostly all be going back out in costs! :(
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

After visiting the park today I thought i'd give a few updates:

Gold Mine is having all its roof ripped down with all the signage of Wallace and Gromit still under wraps! It does look a very exciting project though! Can't wait to go back and ride it next year! :)

Valhalla was having trouble this morning and when it did eventually open alot of effects were hit and miss (I rode it twice) and it seems the hollogram on the first lift is very hit and miss the first time I rode it, it worked and second it diddnt. Shame really as the audio is there. Also the drop before the very end the Laser and some other effects wernt working.

Revolution is looking amazing! Loving the sexy red trains! But some of the lights on the station itself are already broke!? :(

Also cant help but notice the Tom Sawyer lake is it? ??? is looking very run down and not alot going on a shame they havent thought about devlopment on this site yet.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

Zak said:
Valhalla was having trouble this morning and when it did eventually open alot of effects were hit and miss (I rode it twice) and it seems the hollogram on the first lift is very hit and miss the first time I rode it, it worked and second it diddnt. Shame really as the audio is there. Also the drop before the very end the Laser and some other effects wernt working.
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Nothing new there then!

Zak said:
Also cant help but notice the Tom Sawyer lake is it? ??? is looking very run down and not alot going on a shame they havent thought about devlopment on this site yet.
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Well, judging by recent photos of the area, it looks to me like they're clearing the site, maybe they've got something planned for it in the long run?

Which brings me conveniently onto the news that I forgot to mention in my first post, that the remnants of Swamp buggies have now been removed with just a concrete platform remaining, which I believe used to be the station turntable for the Tom Sawyer ride.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

lackpool Pleasure Beach has sustained significant losses in recent years, peaking at a loss of £4.2m on turnover of £24.2m in the year to April 2009. In 2010, that fell to £521,000. In 2011 it was £764,000.
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Wow, that part made for interesting reading! I though Please Beach Blackpool had been making a profit the last few years! Last year it made a loss of £764,000 - However it does go on to mention with the addition of Nick Land they expect to return to profit this year.

I suppose the amount of investment we have seen is still impressive considering the financial situation at the park.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

I go quite a bit to PBB and I certainly feel that they need to invest in a new thrill ride as soon as possible. With the removal of Bling, the only proper flat thrill ride is Ice Blast and that is, as I have seen it described before, basically just an observation tower these days. I feel that the Ice Blast should be pulled down and replaced by a Intamin drop tower with an extra 50ft on the top, whilst I think something like a Top Scan or a Screamin' Swing would fit nicely into the place where Bling used to be.

Looking a bit further into the future I think the huge space behind Infusion, or currently where the bridge next to the Grand Prix could be utilised for a new coaster. The bridge space is definitely big enough to hold a good launch coaster, and we all know that Blackpool aren't restricted on height - so you could expect something very good there. Behind Infusion is a bit more limited although I'm sure someone like Maurer could fit a good coaster into that space without too many issues.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: General Discussion

I visited the park yesterday and have only started to quite recently Its a nice little park to be honest but nothing compared to other major parks in the UK yet it does have a some what charm to it. It's a good day out but on a quite day you can get everything done very easily! Similar to Drayton Manor.

Things I picked up on yesterday:
- Valhalla had a late opening due to technical problems although whilst riding the effects were hit and miss the first time we rode the hologram was working and the second time it diddnt although the audio was there. Also before the main drop the laser that was installed wasnt working along with the mist/haze machine.

- Noahs Ark was getting a re-paint and could be smelt across the park!

- Wallice and Gromit is well underway as pointed out furhter up about the roof although the advertising boards are still under wraps.

- Tom Sawyer bridge from what I remember its been drainned? or had very little water in it? ???

Any who next years addition im looking forward to and I suppose this has been asked many of times but how have the park got away with Alice In Wonderland ride for this long? I thought Disney owned the rights to Alice In Wonderland? :)
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: general discussion

Zak said:
Also cant help but notice the Tom Sawyer lake is it? ??? is looking very run down and not alot going on a shame they havent thought about devlopment on this site yet.
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Is this the late under the bridge that leads from Big Dipper to The Big One? If so, me and Craig we're talking about this on our visit last week! The lake has been drained, cleaned and is now filled again with water like Infusion! Craig thought it had been like this for ages, but I remember from my visit last year the water looked dark green!

They have also removed the lighthouse type structure and access bridge that lead to the pay-per-use self controlled boat things. I got the impression from the area that somthing is on the cards for the future, as it's quite a sizeable space!
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: General Discussion

Yup! Hit the nail on the head. It is a rarther large area but I also hear dribs and drabs of roumers that the park are considering removing the bridge? Not very sure how true that is though. It would be nice to see some kind of permenant attraction rarther than a pay to play one.
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: General Discussion

It would be very exciting for the park if that area was pencilled in for a large new attraction. The park sorely needs a brand new coaster - to bring it up to date once more and do for it what PMBO did years ago. However, the finances seem too tight for something like this to happen...
 
Re: Pleasure Beach, Blackpool: General Discussion

Zak said:
Any who next years addition im looking forward to and I suppose this has been asked many of times but how have the park got away with Alice In Wonderland ride for this long? I thought Disney owned the rights to Alice In Wonderland? :)
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The Disney film is merely a 1951 adaptation of an 1865 novel, which went out of copyright in 1907! Anyone is free to base a ride off the original novel. :)
 
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