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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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rob666 said:
And it is shakeys round.
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Again????

Ok. I probably owe you one for your uncanny accuracy on the whole mouse situation.

So Rob. Any inside news on a new woodie replacement ?



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No, but I still keep getting reports that Icon is going to be a woodie.

And one last comment on this before I shut up on this topic...Only one person made a hanging threat as far as I'm aware, not people... and the use of the term lunatics in the original posters comment is entirely inapproppriate.
 
I'm just echoing what many have already said but I will say that I understand rides have to be retired and removed but like in life if you worked for a company for 60 years you wouldn't be kicked out with no send off.

It's utterly unacceptable to destroy a historic and unique coaster without so much as a word to anyone. I know for a fact this decision was made many months ago as I was quizzed via text on how I knew it had been removed. This was a shady attempt to remove it quietly and it's back fired.

The Thompson family should be ashamed of themselves. As figure heads of the industry, to just destroy a classic ride without a single ounce of remorse or explanation is utterly shameful. You'd have thought they'd have learnt from the Cyclone incident but clearly not and I think the public backlash is completely warranted and I hope it gains media attention.

I'm not buying their awful attempt to keep the public and community quiet either, even if some are gullible enough to believe it. It was the only woodie at the Pleasure Beach I actually enjoyed, a great loss. :(
 
Cheese said:
However, the work it had for the start of last season and that heritage plaque it carried seemed to imply that the park would respect the ride and its fan following enough to give some advance notice when the time came, and if not before the queue closed for good, then at least before the structure started coming down.
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The 'national historic markers' some of the rides carried have been gone for a few seasons now. This does not give the impression that they are proud of the history of said rides. The signs were probably skipped years ago.
 
Another one of the opinion that advance knowledge of such a closure or removal is better than this situation...

Like, yeah progress, but don't just do on the down low a la Southport and in response to the unsurprising backlash produce such an awful quick statement... Even saying something along the lines of an actual reason for the removal would sate even the most fervent of upset enthusiasts... Instead now people feel almost cheated and/or deceived and it's just a complete pr disaster now...
 
I find it rather bizarre that apparently none of the permanent staff knew about it. For those who have operated the ride and maintained it, it will be a shock to them to return to find it gone. Imagine someone disposing of a large part of something you've worked on for years whilst you are on holiday and not telling you beforehand.

If reports are to be believed about the number of accident book entries, perhaps it could actually be a relief to some staff, but surely there will be some who loved the ride and were fans of it themselves. Just seems unfair to do this with no warning at all to any staff.

If anyone who has operated or maintained Wild Mouse is reading this - thanks for all you've done for us over the years !
 
Dipper_Dave said:
I find it rather bizarre that apparently none of the permanent staff knew about it. For those who have operated the ride and maintained it, it will be a shock to them to return to find it gone. Imagine someone disposing of a large part of something you've worked on for years whilst you are on holiday and not telling you beforehand.
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It's not true. There were permanent staff who knew about this months ago, this was not just a recent decision. It's utter nonsense that only the people at the top knew.
 
The number of posts on here in support of this action is bizarre and sad.

Aren't we supposed to be rollercoaster enthusiasts? Even if you are citing business reasons for this wanton vandalism (which are rather dubious when it comes to a park which such a high number of historically valuable buildings and structures), wouldn't you still want the park to keep the ride as an enthusiast? When you go and watch a football match you understand the rules of the game but that doesn't mean you go "Well, in that case, I hope the other side score a few more goals against us."

To use a political term, the Thompson family have proved they are not fit and proper persons to run the park. As with Dreamland, the park should fall into the ownership of an accountable and not-for-profit trust.

Rick said:
'Vandalism' of their own property?
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I kinda feel like clarifying this point is a waste of time given that everyone else in this topic would have understood the meaning of my post, but anyway: just people someone owns and is legally entitled to demolish a building or structure on their own property doesn't mean that it can't also be vandalism against our shared collective heritage. That's why, for example, a building like Harrods in London which is entirely owned by Qatar can't be demolished whatever the intentions of the owners. This Marxist system is administered by those renowned anti-property Trotskyists, the Conservative government.
 
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This does seem to form part of a larger and worrying trend of cleansing a lot of BPB’s history. To be fair, recently it’s something that had appeared to slow down. There are also some elements of history that we can all appreciate have to disappear to make way for progress (you can maybe include the likes of Gold Mine in this category).

Some examples of this cleansing in recent history include;


Removal of the historical markers from the rides.

Boarding over the viewing window for the Flying Machines mechanism.

Painting over the murals showing the park’s history along the side of the ramp facing the Hot Ice Arena.

SBNO Rollercoaster prior to its reprieve as part of Nick Land.

Removal of the Whip.

Disappearance of the old Velvet Coaster train from Rollercoaster’s station.

And now the unannounced and unceremonious destruction of a ride of significant note within not just Blackpool but the industry itself.


Like I say, individually (Wild Mouse aside) these are minor issues, but taken together they do form a more worrying appearance of a disregard for BPB’s history and what makes it unique.
 
No one has said they are glad to see it go. I liked the ride and appreciated why some people loved it.

However I stand by my statement early last year; BPB is a business and if the survival of the business deems that a ride needs to go they should be able to make that decision. I do not think BPB acted irrationally in removing the Wild Mouse. It was a great ride and part of their identity but it could also be considered a liability and outside of enthusiast groups it was not a headline marketable ride. Trust me I’ve witnessed first hand a Theme Park close because its aging old rides couldn’t turn a profit. I would hate to see that happen again, especially given BPB is one of only two parks that are a real competition to Merlin.

I was shocked that the announcement came so suddenly. Even if they didn’t intend to tell us before they removed it they could have at least planned a proper press statement to send the moment the news was leaked.
 
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Rick said:
I don't understand the notion whereby the park has developed and evolved for 120 years yet now is the time where that evolution should stop everything is sacred, that doesn't make any sense to me. Nickelodeon Streak only exists because the Velvet Coaster was demolished. Grand National only exists because Scenic Railway was demolished. Stuff changes.
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With respect to the Velvet Coaster and Scenic Railway, they hadn't been around as long, cultivated such a cult following as well as fame outside geek circles, or become unique pieces of history with few examples left.

Surely with the football analogy it would be like Arsenal demolishing Highbury over preseason without telling anyone?
 
Just wanted to add to my previous post that I’m personally really gutted it has closed now. I haven’t visited Blackpool since 2009, Icon was the incentive I needed to return. Wild Mouse, along with Valhalla and the Grand National were the rides I was most looking forward to ridding again after such a long absence.

I’m sure I’m not the only guest that will have been holding off a trip to Blackpool until their next big investment opened.
 
Personally I think that Blackpool need to have a focus on heritage and continued upkeep of existing woodies and I am more annoyed than sad at the removal of the wild mouse as I believe we should have been given the chance to give it a proper farewell. However I would have been completely fine if its removal was announced in August last year providing that it is replaced with something in the next couple of years, as this would be criminal for Blackpool during a stage of development/modernisation of the park.
 
Don't fret, it may not have gone for good! A tweet from Blackpool South Pier appeared not long after:
If you’ve ever tried to get rid of mice you’ll find it’s incredibly hard. Those wild things just keep coming back...
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Because of the social media reaction, i'm beginning to worry that it may affect visitor numbers this year. People are saying not to visit the park because of this :eek:.
 
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