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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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shakey said:
I really don't buy the "uninsurable" theory. There are far more dangerous activities than riding the wild mouse that get insured, and far more theme park rides that have had serious injuries or even deaths but continue to operate.

You can't blame people for complaining though. First time riders were not expecting the mouse to be such a wild ride (despite its name) and expected to feel safe throughout the ride, but the mouse did not provide that feeling for many people. Add in the occasional very minor injury and you have a recipe for complaints.

The park could have modified the ride further and I think they should have tried to do that. Most of the problems were towards the end of the ride with last ejector dip followed by the crunching right hander's. If they had slowed the mouse before the last dip then I think that would have stopped many of the complaints.
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I think there is a lot they could have done without ruining the ride experience. Additional safety announcements, signage, maybe even a video instructing riders of the correct way to ride (arms in, hold on etc.) and a short pre-dispatch spiel from the ride operator. If Bobsleigh at Oakwood can run, which relies on rider control, I'm sure Wild Mouse could have continued to operate.

In addition, it surprised me that the ride didn't receive a sign informing riders of the ride's intensity, similar to the one which was added to Grand National a few years back. Furthermore, they weren't even playing the existing Jim Rowland safety speech for most of 2017, which is very slack for a park which was allegedly "trying to save" the ride.

Ultimately I feel there are a lot of measures BPB could have taken, but I don't think they wanted to.
 
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MakoMania said:
You're right there, although as we know Mouse did have the minor seat belt incident so who knows if HSE got involved at all.
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A FOIA would solve that one!
Spin-Ride-Lover said:
And When PMBO crashed back in 1994 The HSE had the final say in when it would reopen.
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Brilliant interviews with Geoffrey Thompson there, no nonsense and tells the media exactly how it is!

:)
 
I think the problem with the idea of adding more signs and videos, is that ultimately the park has a responsibility for your safety. If someone got injured, saying "but there was sign" probably wouldn't get far legally.

It might not have literally uninsurable, but the underwriters could have demanded some unrealistic changes, along with sky high premiums, making it uneconomical to run. If they've getting multiple complaints a day, that has a knock on financial effect, with discounts or vouchers or even refunds. Put the two together and it makes more sense to shut it. That doesn't mean they couldn't have left it standing for another season, though.

With the aerial picture, is it just me that finds it odd they've left the Heide-Strasse buildings up? I would have thought it would both make the space bigger, and easier to utilise.
 
I wonder how many rides have been removed with no replacement in the last 15 years?
Mouse
Space Invader
Monorail
Trauma Towers
Spin Doctor
Turtle Chase
There was also Black Hole, some dodgems and that Round Up ride that was in the Dome if you go back a bit further.
May be slightly out with some of them but I think it shows how damaging to the ride lineup the wristband has been.
I was watching an old documentary about PB last night where they were boasting the most amount of coasters in the world, nowhere near these days.
Can see Ghost Train, Alice, Impossible and River Caves getting the axe in the next few years. Would love to see an awesome compact woody right there.
Can someone explain to me the deal with Watson Road because presumably it hasn't always been a right-of-way?
 
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Stern John said:
Can someone explain to me the deal with Watson Road because presumably it hasn't always been a right-of-way?
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I think it has, although in the back of my mind I’ve got something about a deal with the Council involving the front generally and some arrangement being made when the promenade was extended. I think this was many many years ago though (Leonard’s era).

BPB have tried to have it closed previously as car usage increased and it became more of a safety concern. After they were unsuccessful in doing so they instead agreed to bridge over it.
 
Stern John said:
I wonder how many rides have been removed with no replacement in the last 15 years?
Mouse
Space Invader
Monorail
Trauma Towers
Spin Doctor
Turtle Chase
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Would you rather the park have closed? That's the way it was going financially.

To go from the dire financial position that they were in in the 2004-2010 period to investing in a multi million pound Mack double launch coaster in 2018 is a fantastic achievement.
 
venny said:
I think it has, although in the back of my mind I’ve got something about a deal with the Council involving the front generally and some arrangement being made when the promenade was extended. I think this was many many years ago though (Leonard’s era).

BPB have tried to have it closed previously as car usage increased and it became more of a safety concern. After they were unsuccessful in doing so they instead agreed to bridge over it.
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From what I can remember (the book that has the information is in a box still as I've moved house recently), Watson Road has always been there but the rides were just either side of it way back when there was no traffic except the odd horse and carriage. The council wanted to split the park into four when they built Bond Street but BPB persuaded them to build it so it ran alongside the railway rather than cutting the park into four sections.

When the promenade was paved/made wider (but inland) it took away some of BPB's land and in turn they were given the section which Steeplechase/Big Blue sits on. This explains Big Dipper's original layout turning sharply by the Star (which used to be the boundary).

The monorail was then built as a way to transport people from one side of the park to the other (along with the cable cars) before Watson Road was eventually bridged over.
 
Yup, I think I was about four when the overpass was built.
The road was well used and a real hazard, but it was a flat short walk from the Ice Drome to the Roller Coaster.
There were posts, bits of fence and hazard warnings.
The overpass went up with the log flume, then the dome, then Goldmine, I think.
The gift of land to the council was for the tram extension down to the new terminus at Starr Gate, and the relative freedom to build what they want was part of the same package.
 
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Katy said:
From what I can remember (the book that has the information is in a box still as I've moved house recently), Watson Road has always been there but the rides were just either side of it way back when there was no traffic except the odd horse and carriage. The council wanted to split the park into four when they built Bond Street but BPB persuaded them to build it so it ran alongside the railway rather than cutting the park into four sections.

When the promenade was paved/made wider (but inland) it took away some of BPB's land and in turn they were given the section which Steeplechase/Big Blue sits on. This explains Big Dipper's original layout turning sharply by the Star (which used to be the boundary).

The monorail was then built as a way to transport people from one side of the park to the other (along with the cable cars) before Watson Road was eventually bridged over.
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Very interesting, thanks everyone!
Where was the other Monorail station? I remember the cable cars, another ride lost.
I'm really not complaining about the lost rides and I have previously praised the management on keeping the park going through a very difficult period for all amusement parks. I was just reminiscing about how different things were back when the Big One was built and it was pay per ride. Totally different climate now.
 
Katy said:
I think there were three stations, one above the old Coasters, one at the Casino building and one at Watson Road. Not sure when the Watson Road one was added or if you just had to go up some steps to it if it was there before the overpass.
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Well everyday's a school day, did not know that!
Although Watson Road, to my knowledge, is rarely used I know it's virtually impossible to remove an historic right-of-way. Would also mean rides and other services would have to be removed or remodelled.
Will be interesting to see what happens to the front of the park over the next ten years as I can see other buildings going. Black Hole, Impossible, Bowl-a-drome, Heide Strasse, Alice and staff car park really would open up some serious land for development.
 
Watson Road under BPB has been closed since end of season, no idea what is happening down there (it's not listed on the council's list of closed roads so there's no reason available). I can't see it having anything to do with Icon as the track is stored in the North car park then driven round down Bond Street and in through the South gates.
 
Katy said:
I think there were three stations, one above the old Coasters, one at the Casino building and one at Watson Road. Not sure when the Watson Road one was added or if you just had to go up some steps to it if it was there before the overpass.
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Some sources quote that the monorail opened in 1966 and others in 1967*, but all would suggest that it didn't open until (or after) the overpass was completed at Easter 1966, which would make sense given that the track at Central Station ran parallel with Watson Road directly over it, not next to.

*Various web sources state both 1966 or 1967 and (the wonderful) Century of Fun by Peter Bennett states 1967.
 
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