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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion
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ScottPBE
TS Member
What if those enthusiasts have travelled 3/4/5 hours for their annual visit to the Pleasure Beach, what choice do they have if they want to ride the Big One? Personally, I wouldn't queue anything over 45 minutes if I can help it, if I know it'll be on one train and I can arrive at the park for opening time, I always get to the Big One for an early go on it before the queue gets to the point of being hours long.
The problem at the weekend was reliability on everything was hit and miss so you couldn't guarantee you'd actually get on the ride you were waiting for, it seemed like a 50/50 chance with everything which is simply not good enough when you've got to wait over an hour at least for rides on their minimum capacity. I attempted to go on ICON 4 times and didn't get on it once! I don't believe for one minute BPB were taken by surprise by the numbers, friends of mine in the ride operations department had a rough idea that around 5-6k had bought wristbands online for Saturday at the start of the week and I find it difficult to stomach that Pleasure Beach would struggle with that number of people but they did because of ride closures and low ride capacity.
I also decided not to eat on park because I couldn't find anywhere serving food in less than 40 minutes.
Finally, I don't like having to moan about Pleasure Beach but last weekend was awful, by far my worst weekend there, it's sad that the only positives from the weekend were the nights in the Velvet Coaster!
Coaster
TS Member
@Dipper_Dave It's ludicrous and extremely selfish to accuse people of "moaning" that The Big One has a 2/3 hour queue, and telling them to "go and ride something else" doesn't sit well with me. This might be some people's only chance to visit PB this year, or they might have travelled a long way to visit.
Speaking from my personal view, if I had visited Pleasure Beach at the weekend, it would have taken 5 hour's driving each way (and the associated petrol cost) and the cost of accommodation for 1 or 2 nights. That's a significant amount of money and as such I'd expect the park to make an effort with their operations. I don't mean to sound entitled or overbearing by saying that, but it's just a fact that Pleasure Beach need to consider; some guests invest an awful lot into visiting their park and their attitude towards these guests is frankly disgusting. It's not like everyone is in the fortunate situation where they can simply nip back the weekend after if it's a poor day.
Putting it bluntly, it's absolutely selfish not to consider that for some, visiting Pleasure Beach is expensive even if you have a season pass. Skipping PMBO because of the queue is fine if you live nearby but not if you've travelled 5 hours.
The past two visits I've had (in October and September 2018) saw PMBO running one train with a full queue, on days where it wasn't too windy to run two. Operations parkwide were also appalling on both these visits. It's just not good enough.
Speaking from my personal view, if I had visited Pleasure Beach at the weekend, it would have taken 5 hour's driving each way (and the associated petrol cost) and the cost of accommodation for 1 or 2 nights. That's a significant amount of money and as such I'd expect the park to make an effort with their operations. I don't mean to sound entitled or overbearing by saying that, but it's just a fact that Pleasure Beach need to consider; some guests invest an awful lot into visiting their park and their attitude towards these guests is frankly disgusting. It's not like everyone is in the fortunate situation where they can simply nip back the weekend after if it's a poor day.
Putting it bluntly, it's absolutely selfish not to consider that for some, visiting Pleasure Beach is expensive even if you have a season pass. Skipping PMBO because of the queue is fine if you live nearby but not if you've travelled 5 hours.
The past two visits I've had (in October and September 2018) saw PMBO running one train with a full queue, on days where it wasn't too windy to run two. Operations parkwide were also appalling on both these visits. It's just not good enough.
Yes I think it makes a massive difference. You can (as a seasoned visitor) roughly work out how long a queue will take for a particular ride one you know what capacity it's running. You can then make an informed decision between you as to what to do.
It's infuriating to find no only is the ride moving the queue a lot slower than you expect due to staff having to constantly let people in from other gates/or the ride exit, a problem which would be removed if the stations were designed with these queue jump systems in mind, but also it's actually 20 minutes longer due to these people sealing seats that would otherwise be going to people in the main queue.
The Big Dipper works it well by filtering the speedypass into the main like at the scanner. If the other rides can't do that then BPB isn't the park for the system.
Were they just unlucky with Icon breaking down or would better pre season maintenance/prep have helped? Thanks for the Alton Towers recommendation, you are right it was positive. I still think your blog could have reflected the bad start for the beginning as it made me switch off before the end, but I was wrong about the Alton Towers part so sorry about that.
PJ
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Given this the first time Icon has come out of winter maintenance it's hard to say specifically for that ride.
It is almost unanimously believed BPB has never been this bad on opening weekend or any other time of the year. It's also known that the maintenance budget was cut and so the staff who work haven't had the hours they need to get anything other than the essential work done, which is why coasters are on one train, the others are not yet ready, or haven't been run in.
BPB used to spend weeks running and running the coasters prior to opening. This had many advantages, it got new staff used to the rides running, it gave the maintenance dept time to iron out any issues that came to light and it also warmed the rides up so they were less likely to dip/valley.
Slashing the hours has caused no end of grief and in turn the park have had very bad Internet backlash and frankly, they deserve it. If they think introducting Icon into a park filled with rides set up for 500-1000 pph was a wise move they deserve all they get.
Common sense is to have to park in a position to deal with the crowds BEFORE opening the flood gates.
And was this also the reason for the one train service on many rides?
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Dipper_Dave
TS Member
You say "I don't mean to sound entitled" but this is how you come across at times. The park doesn't exist just for you. Or me. Of course I understand the frustration of either not getting on a ride you wanted to, or having to wait a long time for it, for whatever reason, but you seem to imply that the red carpet should be rolled out for guests who have travelled some distance and may not visit the park again anytime soon. I can't see the ride ops staff being interested in where people have travelled from. Its not like the ride supervisor briefs them in the morning with "Lord Jamie is here today, all the way from Surrey, this better be good." I would argue that guests who have travelled 5 minutes down Blackpool front, 1 hour or 6 hours to get to the park deserve the same level of customer service, ride availability, ride operations, etc. Even for those, like myself, who live fairly locally (1 hour away), if you add up what we spend on petrol, food, etc over a season getting to the park, it still adds up.
About your suggestion that some people are in a a 'fortunate situation where they can simply nip back the weekend after if it's a poor day', personally I cannot do this. I have a full time job, a wife, children, and other commitments and simply can't attend BPB at the drop of a hat. I generally don't do weekends due to work & family and will most likely be visiting less often this season on account of BPB closing on Mondays and Tuesdays off peak in May, Sept & Oct. I believe it has already been established that the likes of myself and @rob6666 are 'selfish' for being able to visit the park on quiet midweek days, so we don't need to go there again!
I have visited Thorpe Park once in my life, which is pretty much the travel time equivalent of your trips to BPB. In October half term with my family. I waited 90 mins for Colossus and 130 mins for Saw and hardly got on any other rides. Stealth was shut and I really wanted to ride it at the time. I used Tesco vouchers, perhaps if I'd paid real money to get in than I'd have been even less happy. It was a very frustrating and slow day and I knew I wouldn't be going back for quite some time (2012 I think, and I am yet to return), so whilst I do identify with travelling some distance to a park and having a sub par day, I appreciated that the park was busy, probably doing the best they could, and that perhaps me judging it on a school holiday day wasn't the best idea. Oh and it wasn't helped by Saw breaking down several times as I queued. I see the point though, that it seems BPB aren't doing the best they can, based on @Ash84 informing us that the maintenance budget has been cut. I agree with his post, that they should be doing more to get rides running well, staff trained, technical problems ironed out, etc BEFORE opening to the public, this makes perfect sense to me especially when they KNOW they have circa 6,000 punters booked in. Really not sure why they'd open themselves up to complaints & guests walking away with no intention to return when they could instead use the WOW weekend time to better prepare themselves.
Unfortunately, The Big One will always frustrate, due to wind, the stupid way that speedy passers enter the ride, etc. I had bad luck with it myself last season with it being 'closed for maintenance', at times when it seems it didn't need to be (such as being told it was closed for work on new hotel by first drop, no sight of any work being done whatsoever some days) and perhaps was shut deliberately to save money. I also had SP users swiping front seats from under my nose and days seeing long queues on one train when it could surely have ran two. Whilst of course I would love for two trains to run on The Big One on all but the quietest days, I have learned to accept that some days its a pain in the arse getting on that ride, so don't even bother trying. Yes, it could and should be more of a queue muncher as the park's flagship ride, but sometimes calling it quits and doing something else instead will keep one sane. I would lose my mind waiting 2 hours for The Big One. And BPB will lose custom if they don't improve in areas like this.
The simple fact is that to BPB, guests are bums on ride seats whether they've travelled 300 yards or 300 miles to get to the park, and they should be treated with the same respect and given a great day to remember for the right reasons. That's my point really, you are no more entitled to a great day at an amusement park whether you've travelled from Surrey, Sweden, Southport or South Shore. The park should be providing the same service to us all. And it appears from opening weekend that they are falling short on this for us all. Whilst I'm not one to get medieval on their ass about a day when I wasn't even at the park, it does sound really poor and I am not expecting a great deal when I visit on Sunday for my first ever WOW visit with my brother. I'll just try my best to enjoy the day and enjoy the rides that are available, and hopefully some of last weekend's problems are now done
Great minds think alike.
The basic pass represents very good value for doing the above...or do all the flats and dark rides while you virtually queue for the coasters.
If you have a season pass it is worth asking what the current offer is for the middle range pass, it is often only a fiver more for the middle pass, and cuts the queue by 50%...last year I paid 20, absolute bargain, but it goes up when the park is busy.
I am self centred and immature.
Dippy is ludicrous and extremely selfish.
Ash is a whingeing tyke.
Lord Jamie is an armchair warrior, supporting park users from a distance.
That's cleared all that up.
I had a great opening weekend, plenty of rides, food, drink and company.
And I have had far far worse opening weekend experiences.
I knew it was going to be bad...New coaster, half term, sunshine and warmth on opening weekend...it wasn't going to be quiet.
Add on cuts in back of house support, and a park that knows we are heading into a year of economic issues, a quiet day of reasonable operations was never, ever on the cards for me.
And Scott...the champagne bar, facing the National, makes a lovely fresh sandwich, to order.
Don't think they had much of a queue all day.
Thank shakey for that tip.
Edit...double post...first one was responding to the page before...sorry.
Dippy is ludicrous and extremely selfish.
Ash is a whingeing tyke.
Lord Jamie is an armchair warrior, supporting park users from a distance.
That's cleared all that up.
I had a great opening weekend, plenty of rides, food, drink and company.
And I have had far far worse opening weekend experiences.
I knew it was going to be bad...New coaster, half term, sunshine and warmth on opening weekend...it wasn't going to be quiet.
Add on cuts in back of house support, and a park that knows we are heading into a year of economic issues, a quiet day of reasonable operations was never, ever on the cards for me.
And Scott...the champagne bar, facing the National, makes a lovely fresh sandwich, to order.
Don't think they had much of a queue all day.
Thank shakey for that tip.
Edit...double post...first one was responding to the page before...sorry.
Coaster
TS Member
I think you've either misunderstood my post or are taking it out of context, but Pleasure Beach ultimately do need to consider that, as a general statement, people travel a long way and spend a lot of money to visit the park and second rate operations are not good enough.
At no point have I suggested that the park should actively offer better service to people who have travelled a longer distance, so I'm not sure where that's come from. Everyone in the park should get the same levels of customer service. What I'm saying is that poor operations and/or customer service can have a more detrimental effect on someone who has travelled a long way, as they can't simply return next week. A significant investment has been made into visiting for that specific day(s), so it's gutting to turn up to find the park running dismally. For some people the weekend just gone would have been their only visit to Pleasure Beach in 2019...
It's hardly about feeling "entitled", I'm not asking for special treatment because I've travelled further but basic levels of customer service which should be standard anyway.
Accepting that The Big One is on one train with a 2 hour queue when it could be on two trains? Why settle for such diabolical service?
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Benzin
TS Member
I should never have to visit a park and rely on getting Fastrack/Speedy Pass in order to enjoy myself... Hence why Port Aventura has gone down the toilet in recent years, and I'm loathe to visit Thorpe anytime soon...
Sure I've visited parks and purchased it, but often as a last resort or with the advanced knowledge that I will likely need it (like going to Heide in height of summer)... But I should have an option on a day to just not have to spend extra amounts of money just so I don't have to waste 2 hours of my life queuing due to poor operations...
Dipper_Dave
TS Member
"as a general statement, people travel a long way and spend a lot of money to visit the park." Not necessarily, a lot of visitors will be local as well. I am just trying to say that "it's gutting to turn up to find the park running dismally" applies whether you have travelled from a nearby town or the length of the country. Like I said, even those of use who are relatively local to Blackpool compared with say yourself, cannot just revisit the park whenever they feel like it, as we have jobs, family and other commitments. Though it will cost us less money per visit, we are still investing our time, and equally we would be disappointed with a poor day as someone would who has paid more and travelled further.
On " For some people the weekend just gone would have been their only visit to Pleasure Beach in 2019..." Yes this is true in some cases, but this is what I mean, that yourself and some other enthusiasts have a penchant for being offended from afar, which is a bit silly. Why overthink what happened on a day when you didn't even attend? I am genuinely amazed that some enthusiasts supposedly gave both barrels to BPB over social media when they hadn't even been there on the day. I am not trying to get into an argument, and of course I too hate to see a big PMBO single train queue when it could be running 2 trains, but as things I have said in this topic have been described as 'ludicrous', 'extremely selfish' and 'absolutely selfish' by yourself, then I am entitled to justify my thoughts on the matter!
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Sunday was windy...I got blown about walking my dog on a local hill on Sunday morning...and thought "well, that's the big one on one, if open at all".
It would have been on one due to the wind levels if the second train was available.
No excuse overall of course, it should always be on 2 on such days.
Further, just to argue with a tyke...
I have a (great) job, (great) family, and many other commitments
But I still go to the Beach whenever i feel like it.
Just a matter of a lifetimes experience of understanding of ones own personal priorities.
Sadly, that means I will forever be immature and self centred.
Party.
Edit...and the big one queue was made longer by a large number of stoppages, by many morons recording their ride on their phones.
Time to start taking wristbands off people for doing such things.
It would have been on one due to the wind levels if the second train was available.
No excuse overall of course, it should always be on 2 on such days.
Further, just to argue with a tyke...
I have a (great) job, (great) family, and many other commitments
But I still go to the Beach whenever i feel like it.
Just a matter of a lifetimes experience of understanding of ones own personal priorities.
Sadly, that means I will forever be immature and self centred.
Party.
Edit...and the big one queue was made longer by a large number of stoppages, by many morons recording their ride on their phones.
Time to start taking wristbands off people for doing such things.
Coaster
TS Member
I'm not suggesting that there aren't a lot of locals, but that, as with any theme park, there will be people who travel from further away."as a general statement, people travel a long way and spend a lot of money to visit the park." Not necessarily, a lot of visitors will be local as well. I am just trying to say that "it's gutting to turn up to find the park running dismally" applies whether you have travelled from a nearby town or the length of the country. Like I said, even those of use who are relatively local to Blackpool compared with say yourself, cannot just revisit the park whenever they feel like it, as we have jobs, family and other commitments. Though it will cost us less money per visit, we are still investing our time, and equally we would be disappointed with a poor day as someone would who has paid more and travelled further.
On " For some people the weekend just gone would have been their only visit to Pleasure Beach in 2019..." Yes this is true in some cases, but this is what I mean, that yourself and some other enthusiasts have a penchant for being offended from afar, which is a bit silly. Why overthink what happened on a day when you didn't even attend? I am genuinely amazed that some enthusiasts supposedly gave both barrels to BPB over social media when they hadn't even been there on the day. I am not trying to get into an argument, and of course I too hate to see a big PMBO single train queue when it could be running 2 trains, but as things I have said in this topic have been described as 'ludicrous', 'extremely selfish' and 'absolutely selfish' by yourself, then I am entitled to justify my thoughts on the matter!
I do think it's selfish to accuse people of moaning when PMBO is on one train with a huge queue, when it might be their only opportunity in the year to go on it. Furthermore, I don't think it's unfair to suggest that it's more gutting for people who can't visit often and have to plan ahead, travel and where it's more costly to be able to visit, than it is for people who live nearby and can re-visit. Take Thorpe as an example, if it's a poor day I'll leave at lunchtime, drive 40 minutes home and go back another day. That simply isn't an option when I visit BPB.
Ultimately I feel it's important to consider the circumstances of all visitors before going around slating them for "moaning".
I do feel like after incidents like the smiler pleasure beach don’t want to risk the chance the chance of a big news story such as the big one leaves riders trapped hundreds of feet in the air so just run the one train that they know can clear the course they had one train comeback from a full refurb last year and that was a fast train from what I can remember so they are probably just running that for now could be a bit of a over think but that’s how I see it
More likely just behind the scenes cuts to mechanics.
Ops towards the end of last season had dropped compared to the start of the season.
I think there was a decision to try to get all the rides operating on one, rather than get some fully operational and leave more rides closed.
Ops towards the end of last season had dropped compared to the start of the season.
I think there was a decision to try to get all the rides operating on one, rather than get some fully operational and leave more rides closed.
shakey
TS Member
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It will be interesting to see when/if the big one runs on 2 trains again. It was on 1 towards the end of last season, even on busy and non windy days.
It's still the parks biggest draw and it's the ride that has the biggest impact going down to one train.
Ultimately it's the queue for that ride which largely defines people's perceptions of the park, so it's something they really need to sort out ASAP.
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It's still the parks biggest draw and it's the ride that has the biggest impact going down to one train.
Ultimately it's the queue for that ride which largely defines people's perceptions of the park, so it's something they really need to sort out ASAP.
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
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