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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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Robert.W said:
I guess they can just about get away with running the park so poorly because it’s Merlin who run the rest of the major parks in the country :(
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Probably right with opening hours, they might look at the other parks and think well, that’s better than them.
 
Stuie said:
Probably right with opening hours, they might look at the other parks and think well, that’s better than them.
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Is it though?

October half term;

Alton - 9pm daily
Thorpe - 10pm daily
CWOA - 7pm daily
BPB - 6pm daily with one 10pm close

Considering BPB is the park in the best location to do late night closes and has the illuminations to draw people in, that's frankly embarrassing.
 
Coaster said:
Is it though?

October half term;

Alton - 9pm daily
Thorpe - 10pm daily
CWOA - 7pm daily
BPB - 6pm daily with one 10pm close

Considering BPB is the park in the best location to do late night closes and has the illuminations to draw people in, that's frankly embarrassing.
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Slightly miss leading considering PB don't run a typical scare fest type event. They also have plenty of later finishes throughout the season than Towers do including 10pm closes.

The cutbacks are disappointing but it's still better than Towers by far.
 
Blackpool has the worst weather than any other uk amusement park. I been there stuck on spin doctor after it’s broke down with it tipping it down and very windy. I was soaked so had enough so went back to the B&B.
Most people who stay over night in Blackpool go to the pleasure beach during the day then go drinking/clubbing on the evening/night.
 
Benjsh said:
Slightly miss leading considering PB don't run a typical scare fest type event. They also have plenty of later finishes throughout the season than Towers do including 10pm closes.

The cutbacks are disappointing but it's still better than Towers by far.
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PB don't need to run a scare event to open late though, but even so, the fact they don't host an event shows that they're falling behind other parks. Vampire Beach always attracts a decent number of people, so why not expand on it and make it a week-long event?

BPB only have eight 10pm closes in a year, less than Oakwood and Thorpe (they did lots in the summer this year as well as the October ones), and other seaside amusement parks such as Southend have much better opening hours.
 
The midweek closures shouldn't be a surprise, this was something they used to do every season anyway and it makes sense given how quiet it is on those days. I've known about the opening times for next year since November and at the time of finding out, my reaction is the same as it is now, it's the right move to close on off-peak days when there's going to be no more than 300 people at the park.

I will say though that the 6pm closes in the summer are upsetting, but unfortunately Pleasure Beach did put out a survey about opening times at the end of 2016 and 2017 to randomly selected people via email so I am willing to assume the majority who took part are against what us enthusiasts want to see which is the later openings. I'd like to see the survey done on social media though and opened up to everyone rather than people on their mailing list, but it's possible they've already done enough research to justify the 10am-6pm opening times in the summer.

The Bowl-a-Drome is still there, but the facade is mostly gone now, as far as I am aware the arcade building will remain for 2019.
 
They need to survey people who turn up at the gates and then walk away.

Even if most people surveyed said they would prefer a later opening or free entry, the park management would just stick their fingers in their ears and go la, la, la, la ,la !

Blackpool Pleasure Beach has by far the earliest average closing time of any seaside park in the country, even though it is one of the busiest seaside destiniations. It also has the most expensive walk round charge and individual ride costs.

Either every other seaside park in the country is doing it all wrong or Blackpool is !!



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There is absolutely no way that people would have asked for the park to reduce the number of hours they get for their money, not a chance.

The survey put out to selected email addresses seems like it'd be very easy to produce the results they want, rather than genuine results. We used to get asked after every visit how it was, that hasn't happened for at least the past 2 seasons.

I can accept the midweek closures as sensible but yet another reduction to opening hours is just rubbish, it was 8pm a few years ago!

I'm struggling to work out when we can actually justify going in 2019 now, I wish I'd known about the reduced opening hours before buying our season passes...

...but then, that's the very reason they didn't release them until now.

Goodbye BPB.
 
It’s not when they advertise an early finish I have a problem with, it’s when they close early for no good reason that annoys me.


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BPB isn’t on my visit list for 2019, despite it being my home park. I was a pass holder 2004-16, but the place has changed dramatically and I’m not too sure I enjoy it as a customer anymore. As an enthusiast, I still have interest in the park and its developments etc, but I can’t see myself stepping foot inside the place anytime soon.

I hate to admit it, but Icon has not even slightly made me want to visit. And the decreased opening hours (and the fact you can never guarantee you’ll actually get the hours you’ve paid for) have made it far less desirable.

As a sad as it is, rides like the Grand National (which I once loved) I have avoided for years. And I do genuinely really miss rides like the Log Flume and Wild Mouse, and even the more quirky stuff like Turtle Chase, Gold Mine and Trauma Towers. I even thought Bling was better than Skyforce. I’m all for developments, but rides like Thrill-o-Matic and Skyforce just feel mediocre.

I’d be interested to see whether I’m the odd one out or if a portion of the general public are in the same boat.
 
MiserableMonkey said:
BPB isn’t on my visit list for 2019, despite it being my home park. I was a pass holder 2004-16, but the place has changed dramatically and I’m not too sure I enjoy it as a customer anymore. As an enthusiast, I still have interest in the park and its developments etc, but I can’t see myself stepping foot inside the place anytime soon.

I hate to admit it, but Icon has not even slightly made me want to visit. And the decreased opening hours (and the fact you can never guarantee you’ll actually get the hours you’ve paid for) have made it far less desirable.

As a sad as it is, rides like the Grand National (which I once loved) I have avoided for years. And I do genuinely really miss rides like the Log Flume and Wild Mouse, and even the more quirky stuff like Turtle Chase, Gold Mine and Trauma Towers. I even thought Bling was better than Skyforce. I’m all for developments, but rides like Thrill-o-Matic and Skyforce just feel mediocre.

I’d be interested to see whether I’m the odd one out or if a portion of the general public are in the same boat.
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Agree with all of this apart from the Grand National part... still love that coaster.

Most of what made Pleasure Beach what it is has gone and Icon doesn't make up for how bad the park has become for visitors IMO.

Why the hell did we renew.
 
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rob666 said:
It really makes me wonder Jamie!
Will give you something to grumble about when it gets a bit warmer I suppose.
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I think the reduction in opening hours has done it for me, combined with the issue over the passes being sold cheaper than the renewal price, two things we didn't know about when renewing.
 
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venny said:
It’s also in a rather awkward position, with very little in the way of passing traffic. Flat rides have a proven track record, but they need to be the right ride, presented correctly and in the right location.
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SkyForce would be a bit busier if they reopened the Burger King PBE station. I can't see any real reason to leave it closed now Icon is built, except maybe the hotel work - which will finish spring 2019 anyway.
 
I personally loved BPB when I visited for the first time in August; what is it that you guys don't like about it?

I personally found the park to have a really nice vibe and very efficient operations, along with very friendly staff and great rides! Some of the rides were a little... rough around the edges, shall we say, but if you ask me, there is a lot to do at BPB that everyone can enjoy!

I also loved how crammed in everything in the park is; it was quite a sight looking up and seeing 4 different rides interacting with one another!
 
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