• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
Might interest you all to know that according to TPW's Facebook page, the ice room on Valhalla, wherever that is, was fully operational today! So BPB must have done some maintenance on it since opening!
 
Went on park for a couple of hours today. Only rode Dipper & Streak. Started spitting so retreated to Pizza Kitchen. I felt like @rob666 with such behaviour.
 
Last edited:
Rick said:
Went on park for a couple of hours today. Only rode Dipper & Streak. Started spitting so retreated to Pizza Kitchen. I felt like @rob666 with such behaviour.
Click to expand...
Now Rick...I did the same rides early doors...If you had taken shelter in Mme Crevettes I would have bought you a pint.
Sky force, Big One, Dipper, Infusion, Streak and National in two hours, including a pint.

I heard more than one filthy rumour that testing begins today.
 
Did anyone notice Ghost Train had some new scenery? Although I haven’t ridden for a while, so don’t know how new, there was an oil drum with bubbling water and a mister just after the first corner.
 
For anybody planning a trip to BPB over Easter, it looks as if there are not going to be any trains to Blackpool North.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....een-blackpool-north-and-preston-1-9068272/amp

It seems that the Blackpool South/Pleasure Beach line is unaffected.

It's fantastic that they are finally upgrading the line - should be a real boon both for the park and the local economy. Let's hope it's finished in time for the opening of Icon.
 
I would like to take this opportunity to have it noted that I am concerned as to how BPB will cope with the extra crowds that Icon will bring in. I think it will be a repeat of the horrors we have seen at Tower's, but maybe even worse.

The rides here have had hourly throughput reduced a lot worse than those at Alton, and if you want to count the removals since the last new major ride went in you'd be shocked.
 
BPB will cope, they've preempted ticket centre issues by offering free posting of wristbands and they still have a lot of rides compared with most parks.

Some rides will struggle though, Valhalla and Nick Streak come to mind in particular.
 
Nick Streak has always struggled and will continue to do so. The rest of the park should be able to cope, provided that they run the rides to a decent standard, which they have proved they can do.

Personally, I still don't think Icon is going to pull the insane crowds that people are saying. It will have nowhere near the impact of PMBO in my opinion.
 
Ash84 said:
I would like to take this opportunity to have it noted that I am concerned as to how BPB will cope with the extra crowds that Icon will bring in. I think it will be a repeat of the horrors we have seen at Tower's, but maybe even worse.

The rides here have had hourly throughput reduced a lot worse than those at Alton, and if you want to count the removals since the last new major ride went in you'd be shocked.
Click to expand...
I find it hard to believe that any park could be do worse than the horror stories I've heard of Towers last weekend!

.... OK. Maybe Thorpe.
 
Agree with the removals. There is a significant reduction in rides in the last decade. Some rides like Big One and Big Dipper can run through a decent number of people when run well though and my experience from last season is they do run these rides well on busy days. There are others which can struggle; I’m thinking the likes of Nick Streak, Valhalla, Alice and Ghost Train. We’re never going to see capacity like the mid-90s and it’s pretty rare they need that nowadays, but they could improve capacity with some extra cars on some of these rides. Having said that, one of the nice things about BPB is even on those busier days there are options with minimal waits like Derby Racer, Pleasure Beach Express and Flying Machines.

I suspect what may struggle is F&B, because they always seem to. There just doesn’t seem to be a major unit with the capacity to deal with high demand. There’s been no capacity added this season (Heidi Strasse reopening aside) and it’s not as easy as just adding another train. If the kitchen is at capacity there’s not much more they can do. This appears to be more the problem - not necessarily the number of units, but the speed they serve at. They do however have some under-utilised areas which could be used if they can redistribute the crowds - places like the Arena Bar and Loki’s.

Having said that, I have more confidence in BPB reacting to potential issues than say Merlin. There are already signs of them anticipating larger crowds, like trying to address wristband distribution on busy days. It will be interesting to see what develops as the season progresses and Icon opens.

I truly hope for some big crowds, but I also hope those crowds can be properly managed. I think BPB understand that this season could be a ‘big one’ and if they manage it correctly it could end up marking a true renaissance in their fortunes.
 
I think the ride will be great and perfect for the park, but I agree that it will not have as sudden and huge of an impact as PMBO did in the nineties. But as has previously been stated, very little did, or will have again.

But really, I'm not sure it's an easy sell to the public, either. They have very wisely gone for quality, rather than some sort of tedious USP, but that makes the ride more difficult to explain, having no records, world first features or even strong visual imagery to use. Basically, it doesn't strike me as all too er, iconic.
 
Plastic Person said:
But really, I'm not sure it's an easy sell to the public, either. They have very wisely gone for quality, rather than some sort of tedious USP, but that makes the ride more difficult to explain, having no records, world first features or even strong visual imagery to use. Basically, it doesn't strike me as all too er, iconic.
Click to expand...

Nick, is that you?
 
Status
This topic has been locked. No further replies can be posted.
Top