Poopoohead
TS Member
Avalanche queue also closed well before 9
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion
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Poopoohead
TS Member
My daughter wanted to go in the carousel first around 8:30, by the time we got off and went back so 8:40 absolute latest there was a staff member blocking the avalanche queue off
You can blame a manager's return for the early closures. One of the most complained about managers and was let go for good reason last time. Sorry to publicly shame him but he’s well known for making decisions that benefit himself rather than the park.
Big One closed at 7pm, not 7:30pm like the adjusted sign stated. Many people angry as you’d expect.
Icon closing at 8:45pm was a joke when the ride was clear for 9:15pm and fully shut down for 9:20pm.
Fact is, Icon needed to bring in 100k extra guests and they’re currently 200k down on last year. The future of the park is not looking good and at this rate I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sold to the Mack family or even worse, Merlin (I doubt the latter but anything is possible).
Big One closed at 7pm, not 7:30pm like the adjusted sign stated. Many people angry as you’d expect.
Icon closing at 8:45pm was a joke when the ride was clear for 9:15pm and fully shut down for 9:20pm.
Fact is, Icon needed to bring in 100k extra guests and they’re currently 200k down on last year. The future of the park is not looking good and at this rate I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sold to the Mack family or even worse, Merlin (I doubt the latter but anything is possible).
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DiogoJ42
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Metropolitan Line
Proof that many people only visited to ride Mouse!
MakoMania
TS Member
How can you be fired and then rehired
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How can you be fired and then rehired
You'd be surprised how often that happens at BPB.
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
Oh dear... I hope this doesn't get rid of any potential future investments. Icon is a brilliant ride, and BPB doesn't deserve to see a decrease in guests, in my opinion; I had a wonderful time at BPB in August!
However, you say about the park being sold to the Mack family like it's a bad thing. While it would admittedly be bad if the Thompsons did have to give the park up, I'm sure there are many on this site who would love for the Mack family to own Blackpool Pleasure Beach!
Out of interest, do you know roughly where the park's attendance is in terms of millions?
I knew you wouldn’t disappoint
But actually there’s a lot of truth in some did only visit just for the Mouse.
Spin-Ride-Lover
TS Member
Waking up in the middle of the night and hearing about all this, it's horrendous!
It's like waking up to a real nightmare!
For me I would only be okay with that if the Mac family were willing to keep all the history and heritage left behind by the Thompson family intact and not just become a generic showcase park from Mac rides products!
Would they go to the same lengths to try and keep classic roads going and would they invest in flat rides as well as coasters or better yet try to produce some of their own?, would they be willing to build an indoor coaster?, would they be willing to actually open in the dark more often like they should be, making the rides more lit up like they used to be at night, getting through put some capacity sorted out etc
Also would Mack rides be capable of designing really good coasters themselves without Nick Thompson and his team?
These are all the questions that are going round in my head when I hear of the possibility of Pleasure Beach being bought out!
Merlin can stay the far away from Pleasure Beach as possible!
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Craig
TS Administrator
^Nick Varney gets bashed often enough
Ahh was expecting this reply after the last time I've had to raise this
. A person who is heading up a company is very different to individuals working at a park
MakoMania
TS Member
What about Ian Crabbe or good ole Francis? They get a lot of grief, don't head up the company and are in similar positions at Alton Towers to the individual in question at Pleasure Beach.Ahh was expecting this reply after the last time I've had to raise this
Sorry for being awkward, just playing devil's advocate
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delta79
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis, Air
Ahh was expecting this reply after the last time I've had to raise this
I think that Mr Crabbe and Mr Jackson are border line. One heads a theme park within merlin. And the other has starred in multiable videos about the park making him known to many outside the enthusiast community.
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Craig
TS Administrator
Yup, exactly that. Like Nick Varney etc they are seen as public faces of the business.
Anyway, back to BPB discussion rather than who we can and can't talk about. Please feel free to PM me if you want any further clarification.
DiogoJ42
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Metropolitan Line
If you have a "creative" accountant, you can fire and then rehire yourself.How can you be fired and then rehired
Dipper_Dave
TS Member
On the whole I have enjoyed this season at BPB. It does feel like a gaping hole has been left by the Wild Mouse's removal though. It has killed off the vibe on North park, that was once there around the FY4 / ramp area. Icon is a very good ride, yes bits of the second half are a little boring, but they needed a new coaster and for them to have built it on what was dead space for years (does anyone really miss Go Karts?) was a great idea.
@Ash84 I am surprised to hear about Icon dispatches on Saturday, I have found the Icon staff to be superb and very efficient on my visits. In fact, other ride teams, like Nash, could learn from them.
@Coaster I understand some of your frustrations but your post about last Sat was overwhelmingly negative. Have you considered voting with your wallet and NOT renewing your season pass? Doesn't this always happen (not just BPB, Merlin parks too), people moan about an ever increasing list of annoyances at a park but still end up throwing money at them and visiting? Regarding restaurants, it only takes a couple of minutes to walk to Velvet Coaster. I've eaten there a few times, however busy it is I've never waited long for food, it has always tasted good and I've never been given dirty crockery. Whilst I agree that we SHOULD get decent service at places like BPK, if I had a bad experience I'd just go elsewhere instead. I don't have any particular loyalty to BPB when it comes to food, I do like Gourmet Burger but not on a busy day, as everything is cooked fresh and it can take a long time to get through even a short queue as they seem somewhat understaffed. That said, the lady that normally serves me is very friendly, polite and is clearly doing her best. Food great too.
I mostly go on weekdays, some of these have included school holiday / trip weeks though, which can get quite busy, it seems however, that Saturdays are becoming unbearable. I don't plan on visiting on a Sat anytime soon, though I appreciate that some of you have little to no choice. Saturdays do sound very poor, it does seem like pure laziness not putting a second train on Dipper with a big queue, and Nash taking an eternity after airgates close for staff to check belts & bars, and then yet another wait after they are checked before the ride actually starts.
I would not like to see BPB taken over by anyone. There is no guarantee that whoever was to take over wouldn't bulldoze years of heritage and history. But then, sadly there is no guarantee that the Thompsons won't do that either, as last closed season proved. Enjoy the rides whilst you can, its all we can do, who knows when you've had your last ride on a classic.
@Ash84 I am surprised to hear about Icon dispatches on Saturday, I have found the Icon staff to be superb and very efficient on my visits. In fact, other ride teams, like Nash, could learn from them.
@Coaster I understand some of your frustrations but your post about last Sat was overwhelmingly negative. Have you considered voting with your wallet and NOT renewing your season pass? Doesn't this always happen (not just BPB, Merlin parks too), people moan about an ever increasing list of annoyances at a park but still end up throwing money at them and visiting? Regarding restaurants, it only takes a couple of minutes to walk to Velvet Coaster. I've eaten there a few times, however busy it is I've never waited long for food, it has always tasted good and I've never been given dirty crockery. Whilst I agree that we SHOULD get decent service at places like BPK, if I had a bad experience I'd just go elsewhere instead. I don't have any particular loyalty to BPB when it comes to food, I do like Gourmet Burger but not on a busy day, as everything is cooked fresh and it can take a long time to get through even a short queue as they seem somewhat understaffed. That said, the lady that normally serves me is very friendly, polite and is clearly doing her best. Food great too.
I mostly go on weekdays, some of these have included school holiday / trip weeks though, which can get quite busy, it seems however, that Saturdays are becoming unbearable. I don't plan on visiting on a Sat anytime soon, though I appreciate that some of you have little to no choice. Saturdays do sound very poor, it does seem like pure laziness not putting a second train on Dipper with a big queue, and Nash taking an eternity after airgates close for staff to check belts & bars, and then yet another wait after they are checked before the ride actually starts.
I would not like to see BPB taken over by anyone. There is no guarantee that whoever was to take over wouldn't bulldoze years of heritage and history. But then, sadly there is no guarantee that the Thompsons won't do that either, as last closed season proved. Enjoy the rides whilst you can, its all we can do, who knows when you've had your last ride on a classic.
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