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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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Dipper_Dave said:
Trip hazard rings a bell to me as well. I’m not sure how a missing shield can affect one’s enjoyment of the ride though
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When rides are designed as themed experiences it's important to maintain the theming as well as the ride hardware itself. The original vision for Valhalla was to create the world's most spectacular dark ride, something which is achieved through fine-tuning every tiny detail down to a tee whilst keeping on top of maintaining the bigger style effects. I don't pretend to have a clue how to maintain a dark ride (it isn't my job!) but from the eyes of a customer, I do know it isn't achieved through poorly thought out "that'll do" bodges such as this.

Valhalla was designed with the shields for a reason, it's a Viking themed ride and the boats are supposed to resemble Viking longboats. Take the shields away and you've got bathtubs with very elaborate taps. The foundation of the ride’s theme and the journey you're taking in a longboat is lost. I'd suggest that whilst it doesn't affect the enjoyment on-ride, the experience on a theatrical ride such as Valhalla should start the moment you approach the ride and join the queue, not when you board. One piece of theming removed isn't the end of the world, but take away too many elements and you're left with a spoiled experience.

Valhalla has lost a huge amount of its original features (without replacement) and the original spirit and atmosphere of the ride is lost as a result. It's little more than a log flume in the dark these days.

Also, in terms of the average visitor (aka not enthusiasts) I fully understand they won’t be pointing out every small detail that’s missing, but everything combined makes the difference between “wow, that was incredible” and “meh, that was fun I guess.” Surely BPB want people coming off their world-beating dark ride saying the former?
 
I don't think anyone would ever say "wow, that ride was good, but the lack of shields on the boat REALLY affected my enjoyment of it"...

Presumably, if someone's taken a tumble over one; then slipped over and done some decent damage (would not be surprised given the soaked through slippy floor around the station), then the park will need to take steps/measures to reduce the risk...

Last thing any UK park needs right now is papers getting wind of any accidents...
 
I am amazed that in the current world of H&S gone mad you are still expected to board the boats while they are moving. I would have thought a moving boat would be much more of a hazard than a shield on the side of the boat.
 
shakey said:
I am amazed that in the current world of H&S gone mad you are still expected to board the boats while they are moving. I would have thought a moving boat would be much more of a hazard than a shield on the side of the boat.
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I think the removal of the shield is a bit of risk mitigation because you board a moving boat. That said, with the number of boats they run these days, you could easily stop and start the conveyor if continuous loading became a problem.

Dipper_Dave said:
Original Turnpike petrol car on eBay now, auction starting at £250.
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Not a bad investment, I think they were £25 originally!
 
Rick said:
you could easily stop and start the conveyor if continuous loading became a problem.
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Depends on how it works. if there is a is a general stop button then yes, but if the conveyor only has a start and e-stop, then they wouldn't be able to do that.
 
skyscraper said:
Depends on how it works. if there is a is a general stop button then yes, but if the conveyor only has a start and e-stop, then they wouldn't be able to do that.
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The conveyor has start/stop functionality that is used to help load guests who need a static boat, to help space the boats out and to wait for passengers when there is no line.

It can also be reversed but I haven't seen this occur for many years.
 
shakey said:
I am amazed that in the current world of H&S gone mad you are still expected to board the boats while they are moving. I would have thought a moving boat would be much more of a hazard than a shield on the side of the boat.
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Good point. Especially considering that the ride ops will shout at riders waiting to board, to go and fill the last couple of seats on the front boat, which has virtually left the station. I've seen a few mad dashes and close calls there. People rushing, water, and a station walkway coming to abrupt halt is not a good combination !
 
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MakoMania said:
8pm close tonight as well :)
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So that's about four times this year so far:) long May it continue!
Especially during the illuminations or October half term!

Coaster said:
When rides are designed as themed experiences it's important to maintain the theming as well as the ride hardware itself. The original vision for Valhalla was to create the world's most spectacular dark ride, something which is achieved through fine-tuning every tiny detail down to a tee whilst keeping on top of maintaining the bigger style effects. I don't pretend to have a clue how to maintain a dark ride (it isn't my job!) but from the eyes of a customer, I do know it isn't achieved through poorly thought out "that'll do" bodges such as this.

Valhalla was designed with the shields for a reason, it's a Viking themed ride and the boats are supposed to resemble Viking longboats. Take the shields away and you've got bathtubs with very elaborate taps. The foundation of the ride’s theme and the journey you're taking in a longboat is lost. I'd suggest that whilst it doesn't affect the enjoyment on-ride, the experience on a theatrical ride such as Valhalla should start the moment you approach the ride and join the queue, not when you board. One piece of theming removed isn't the end of the world, but take away too many elements and you're left with a spoiled experience.

Valhalla has lost a huge amount of its original features (without replacement) and the original spirit and atmosphere of the ride is lost as a result. It's little more than a log flume in the dark these days.

Also, in terms of the average visitor (aka not enthusiasts) I fully understand they won’t be pointing out every small detail that’s missing, but everything combined makes the difference between “wow, that was incredible” and “meh, that was fun I guess.” Surely BPB want people coming off their world-beating dark ride saying the former?
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To be honest Jamie in its current state I wouldn't be sad to see it removed, if it were up to me I would remove the water right but keep the building and re-purpose some of the effects and build an indoor coaster in there I'll be some description.

At least with something like that you would be able to enjoy it no matter what the weather.
 
I feel like everywhere I go on this board people are having experiences that don't mirror mine.

As far as I recall, on my last ride on Valhalla which was maybe three or four weeks ago, every effect worked bar the ring of fire.

Effects or not, since the removal of the Log Flume the ride ticks a box in the line up in terms of water rides.
 
Valhalla was running great today, only effect I noticed that didn't work was the ring of fire.

They were only running 8 boats, however the queue was only 25 minutes which is not bad for such a huge water ride in the summer.
 
Has anybody tried to book tickets online recently?

The website keeps emptying my basket or sending me back a few pages

edit....sorted now it worked from my phone
 
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I meant to mention last week, my boss and I were in Blackpool and were craving pizza for lunch. We were going to go to BPK but I hadn't thought to score him a Pleasure Beach Pass ahead of time so we opted for Pizza Hut buffet on Ocean Boulevard instead.

In terms of quality for price paid (less than £10 each), it leaves BPK in the dust. The pizza was better, the selection of soft drinks was similar - but PH gives you the option to 'twist' each of the flavours, plus if you want deserts and sides, those are available to you.

The downside of course is that Pizza Hut buffet only operates on weekdays - but given the chance, I'll be going back there over BPK.
 
Rick said:
In terms of quality for price paid (less than £10 each), it leaves BPK in the dust. The pizza was better, the selection of soft drinks was similar - but PH gives you the option to 'twist' each of the flavours, plus if you want deserts and sides, those are available to you.

The downside of course is that Pizza Hut buffet only operates on weekdays - but given the chance, I'll be going back there over BPK.
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Wouldn't be surprised if that store was a franchise operated by BPB, so the fact it's good would be just down to the fact it's got a set standard to maintain to keep the contract. Shame BPK isn't living up to the same standard.
 
@Katy I don't think it is franchised, but I'll ask someone who will know. BPK is good on the whole, I think - but in this instance Pizza Hut was better.

There's always something that happens in BPK, there's a few things that irk me about it, but in terms of quality and value, it's pretty high on the list of BPB eateries.
 
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