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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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Dipper_Dave said:
Well it was closed for the last 3 months of the season with no news about it either way (unless you count the misleading ‘closed for maintenance’ as news, and none of us were saying it should be removed to make way for something new.

I just think it’s a shame that such drastic action was taken. As Shakey said, even it was left SBNO for a year, there would have been some hope for it. I’d rather see a dormant Wild Mouse this season than a row of plant pots !
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It wasn't misleading though, it was closed for maintenance, do you honestly believe they spent money on it at the start of 2017 with the intention of giving it a new lease of life if they knew it was going to be removed? It was closed for maintenance in August/September (whenever it was), maintenance work was planned, changes were starting to be made to the cars and structure, and clearly the planned changes weren't going to be enough to get it going again, so the decision was taken to remove it rather than leave it SBNO.

I guarantee that if it had been left SBNO, all the complaining we've seen about the removal would have been happening but instead it would have been about it being closed, I've seen it all before. Its removal leaves us all in no doubt about its future, if it was SBNO, we'd all be thinking it may open again when the reality is, that wasn't going to happen.
 
I dont think anyone would of said "they should tear it down". The ride was popular with enthusiasts, almost irreplaceable in terms if size and something unique to Blackpool.

I do agree that some enthusiasts would kick off just as much about it being SBNO as gone.
 
Tim said:
I do agree that some enthusiasts would kick off just as much about it being SBNO as gone.
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That was probably the reason there was no pre-announcement of its demolition. But it doesn’t excuse the pathetic statement they made when forced to acknowledge it had been removed. And that response is what upset a fair amount of people.
 
ringo said:
That was probably the reason there was no pre-announcement of its demolition. But it doesn’t excuse the pathetic statement they made when forced to acknowledge it had been removed. And that response is what upset a fair amount of people.
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Pretty sure the reasoning for no prior announcement has been covered by me, the RCCGB and ECC on several different occasions now, the removal was a decision made whilst the majority of the staff were on their Christmas break.

An announcement came once several coaster clubs attempted to communicate with their contacts at the Pleasure Beach via personal social media accounts, because emailing directly to the Pleasure Beach wouldn't have been worthwhile given staff were on their Christmas break.

I guess most people are happy to ignore the messages coming from the three main enthusiast contacts with the Pleasure Beach though, all so they can continue to rant at the Pleasure Beach.

I stand by what I said earlier on, if it had been SBNO in 2018, this topic would be full of complaining comments about it, more than likely stating if it wasn't going to open it should be removed to make way for new investment. o_O
 
ScottPBE said:
Pretty sure the reasoning for no prior announcement has been covered by me, the RCCGB and ECC on several different occasions now, the removal was a decision made whilst the majority of the staff were on their Christmas break.

An announcement came once several coaster clubs attempted to communicate with their contacts at the Pleasure Beach via personal social media accounts, because emailing directly to the Pleasure Beach wouldn't have been worthwhile given staff were on their Christmas break.

I guess most people are happy to ignore the messages coming from the three main enthusiast contacts with the Pleasure Beach though, all so they can continue to rant at the Pleasure Beach.

I stand by what I said earlier on, if it had been SBNO in 2018, this topic would be full of complaining comments about it, more than likely stating if it wasn't going to open it should be removed to make way for new investment. o_O
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WILD Mouse 2 ... I think that would be class a modern redesign

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ScottPBE said:
Pretty sure the reasoning for no prior announcement has been covered by me, the RCCGB and ECC on several different occasions now, the removal was a decision made whilst the majority of the staff were on their Christmas break.
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And I am pretty sure that if key decision makers were in work over that period, they had the ability and authority to issue some form of statement. But they chose not to!

:)
 
ScottPBE said:
Pretty sure the reasoning for no prior announcement has been covered by me, the RCCGB and ECC on several different occasions now, the removal was a decision made whilst the majority of the staff were on their Christmas break.

An announcement came once several coaster clubs attempted to communicate with their contacts at the Pleasure Beach via personal social media accounts, because emailing directly to the Pleasure Beach wouldn't have been worthwhile given staff were on their Christmas break.

I guess most people are happy to ignore the messages coming from the three main enthusiast contacts with the Pleasure Beach though, all so they can continue to rant at the Pleasure Beach.

I stand by what I said earlier on, if it had been SBNO in 2018, this topic would be full of complaining comments about it, more than likely stating if it wasn't going to open it should be removed to make way for new investment. o_O
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But these “Three main enthusiast contacts” are not BPB, that’s what annoyed people. BPB couldn’t be bothered to post anything.

Rob said:
And I am pretty sure that if key decision makers were in work over that period, they had the ability and authority to issue some form of statement. But they chose not to!

:)
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Exactly, the mind is blown how they handled it. And at the bare minimum if none of them had the authority to make an announcement then it’s beyond comprehension that the Managing Director didn’t realise they were walking in to a PR nightmare, her Twitter account could of at least posted that statement.
 
They could have left it SBNO in 2018, just announced prior to the season of it's impending removal by 2019, added posters/videos of archive material of the ride (given it's historical importance) around the area and perhaps sold some kind of commemorative merchandise.

All that will sit in that area for 2018 is some benches and a new path... leaving the ride SBNO (with the announcement of its removal) would not have hurt at all.

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To be fair I'm guessing the thinking is like removing a plaster get it over with quickly and then people will forget about it, lets be honest everyone will be going back this season anyway.

image.png
 
Rob said:
And I am pretty sure that if key decision makers were in work over that period, they had the ability and authority to issue some form of statement. But they chose not to!
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Perhaps that's the case, but if it is I don't necessarily have a problem with it.

I don't subscribe to the notion that private businesses can't do things to their private property without telling the world on their own time - they can (and usually) do as they please. Social Media and the internet has created an immediacy with almost everything that I don't subscribe to.

Any number of parks across the world could have demolished all sorts over the closed season but because some coaster nerd hasn't stuck a camera through a fence/flown a drone over means that we don't yet know and I personally am OK with that.
 
ScottPBE said:
It wasn't misleading though, it was closed for maintenance, do you honestly believe they spent money on it at the start of 2017 with the intention of giving it a new lease of life if they knew it was going to be removed? It was closed for maintenance in August/September (whenever it was), maintenance work was planned, changes were starting to be made to the cars and structure, and clearly the planned changes weren't going to be enough to get it going again, so the decision was taken to remove it rather than leave it SBNO.

I guarantee that if it had been left SBNO, all the complaining we've seen about the removal would have been happening but instead it would have been about it being closed, I've seen it all before. Its removal leaves us all in no doubt about its future, if it was SBNO, we'd all be thinking it may open again when the reality is, that wasn't going to happen.
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Sorry Scott, have to disagree...

There is good evidence that Amanda had made the decision in September, whether you believe that evidence is entirely up to you but I have no reason to doubt it. And let's face it, if the decision was made in September then there is no way that the park would have officially announced it then because they would have faced a big backlash and a campaign to save the ride.

If it was left SBNO then the ride could have been reopened at a later date when they had the money to spend to make it safe enough to please all parties (It is not as if the ride was taking up valuable space). It could have been re-opened to a big fanfare if it meant a long time out of action. All it needed was detailed information from the park as to why the ride was SBNO and very few would have complained.

I firmly believe the ride could have been saved if the park were committed to doing so and willing to spend the cash (either now or at a later date). They took the easy option in my opinion, possibly to do with the ride not getting listed status when the others did, and partly because they just didn't want to throw any more money at it.

And before you say anything rob666 - yes I broke my own curfew on my final word !
 
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Dammit...shakey I was actually starting to reply...
My twopennorth, Scott heard they were planning on reopening in September, I heard it was definately going mid October, it went as it did to minimise fuss and cost, they wanted to keep it, but it is a business, and they could not rationally afford to.
They knew whatever they did the coaster freaks would overreact.
New season in less than four weeks.
New tubes of metal to get excited over...touch, smell, see, hear...Oh, go on, taste.
Everything else has been said and done several times now.
 
Despite what BPB keep telling people I do not believe that the decision to remove the mouse happened during the Christmas break. No park suddenly decide to remove a coaster then less than 2 weeks later its gone, especially over Christmas.

Firstly the order would have had to come from someone who has the power to overrule everyone else (assuming most staff had all ready gone on Christmas break).
Second without having pre-organised it with the rides maintenance department no one would be onsite with technical knowledge of how to safely dismantle the ride.
Thirdly who demolished it? If it was contractors they would have been booked before Christmas, and even then finding someone to do the job so soon would have been tough. If it was an in house team how can they claim staff didn't know?

This is why I can't accept what the Pleasure Beach have told us. I'm certain a decision was made months ago, they just chose to do it on the sly. Which I would note they are allowed to do, even if it sucks that they have.
 
Rick said:
I don't subscribe to the notion that private businesses can't do things to their private property without telling the world on their own time - they can (and usually) do as they please. .. Any number of parks across the world could have demolished all sorts over the closed season but because some coaster nerd hasn't stuck a camera through a fence/flown a drone over means that we don't yet know and I personally am OK with that.
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True, but if looking at the ride offering as purely product, if a long-established brand of drink suddenly removed a KEY flavour, it would be kinda ethically ambiguous to continue selling it to people without even acknowledging it. It's the company's product so can do what they want, but buyers arguably have a right to be aware, if its part of the reason they'd be buying it in the first place?

Especially as this was a special case of a unique & enjoyable ride that could never be replaced - not going to last forever but its closure should have been handled much better than this. Other rides disappear all the time, but it makes sense for the management to at least acknowledge it openly, instead of sweep under the carpet, particularly as this was vintage & unique?

I have no personal attachment to the ride as Ive never been on it unfortunately, but its very easy to see this time why people are stirred
 
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rob666 said:
Dammit...shakey I was actually starting to reply...
My twopennorth, Scott heard they were planning on reopening in September, I heard it was definately going mid October, it went as it did to minimise fuss and cost, they wanted to keep it, but it is a business, and they could not rationally afford to.
They knew whatever they did the coaster freaks would overreact....
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That is fair comment Rob and ultimately the cost of upkeep probably became too high. (although I suspect it costs much more to keep Valhalla running)

This was not some common ordinary coaster we are talking about, it was probably one of the most unique and historically important coaster rides in the world.

I also believe it is no coincidence that the mouse has gone in the same year that the park are opening a major new coaster. If Icon opened in 2017 then I suspect the mouse would have gone a year earlier.

I really hope they use the space created by mouse and trauma towers (and potential space where bowladrome is) to build something special in the mid to long term. I would love them to build another woodie (however unlikely that may be)

Edit: Actually I have just had a brilliant idea. Close Valhalla, and use the money they will save on operating costs to rebuild the mouse inside the Valhalla building. Wild Mouse in the dark. The revenge of the rodent !!!
 
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Dar said:
I don't think people are saying it should have been left standing with no comment, but that it should have been closed, with the park making a big deal about it. Flowers, pictures, memories from old staff, or someone connected to the construction, just some recognition of its history and importance in both the park and the industry. Look at the funeral Cedar Point gave Mean Streak before its demolition.

This just feels like they're embarrassed with the whole thing.
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I had to google that. Fantastic stuff. Reading it the last rites and everything. Superb. Just shows that something could have been done to say farewell to Mouse without necessarily attracting 'nutters padlocking themselves to the ride.'
 
Agree with a lot of the sentiments here.

Whilst the Pleasure Beach have a right to remove a ride, the visiting public also have a right to know. Especially when its a matter of this significance.

If nothing else, it’s just good management to handle these things in a frank but open manner which communicates in the best way with the public who are providing the park’s income.

Whatever the circumstances are around the timing of decisions or any alleged agenda, we can probably all agree that some of the decisions/planning could have been better managed so that the overall matter resulted in an improved outcome and perception.
 
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