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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion
- Thread starter John
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Spike
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Taron
I thought the POV looks okay. The proof is in the pudding though I guess.
I've always loved the Gold Mine though so I doubt this will compete against it. Just have to look at it from new ride perspective rather than a replacement as I think the nostalgia of The Gold Mine will hamper my views.
I've always loved the Gold Mine though so I doubt this will compete against it. Just have to look at it from new ride perspective rather than a replacement as I think the nostalgia of The Gold Mine will hamper my views.
Tim
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Air / Blue Fire
Ash, just a recommendation, watch Wallace & Gromit 
As far as its lifespan is concerned I'd say your point about Gold Mine being timeless as it was already set in the past is exactly the same for W&G. If you see the show you'll know what I mean, most the reference in it hark back to "the good old days" yet they've remained relevant with kids today.
As far as IP's go it's one of the best on offer... shame they didn’t make more of it and actually come up with a story based on the Thrill-O-Matic.
As far as its lifespan is concerned I'd say your point about Gold Mine being timeless as it was already set in the past is exactly the same for W&G. If you see the show you'll know what I mean, most the reference in it hark back to "the good old days" yet they've remained relevant with kids today.
As far as IP's go it's one of the best on offer... shame they didn’t make more of it and actually come up with a story based on the Thrill-O-Matic.
Rob
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
I'm not one for judging dark rides from POVs, it is hard to get a true feeling of what the ride is like. However I just got incredibly bored watching the POV of this and can't help but feel it would be the same on ride. Admittedly my Wallace and Gromit knowledge is next to none, but it looks like the ride has now really story or flow. Some of the theming does look nice, but it is incredibly broken up. I hate Charlie at Towers but at least it flows somewhat!
StealthSide
TS Member
Gotta say that from watching the pov I am disappointed but I will wait till I have been to make a proper judgment. What I will say though is I think the wrong dark ride made as for this The Goldmine was by far the best themed dark ride on park in my opinion it would have been better to retheme the Alice ride its terribly dated, tired and looks tacky I think it's day is long past I would have used the Alice building and if needed the trauma building too but kept the trauma towers side as a back drop to the fountain.
badlydrawnkelBel
TS Member
I enjoyed riding, but that is coming from someone who loves the films etc. However, I was riding with 5 other people who were not w&g and thought it was ok
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Adam James
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Wild Mouse, BPB
After riding today (and having a walkthrough lights on), I have to say i'm very impressed with the new ride. This viewpoint however comes from someone who has both admired the Wallace and Gromit series and the park for many years.
The best place to ride is the front row of the first slipper, otherwise some of the audio prompts and scenes commence too late to fully engage you as a rider. Saying that, riding from this position also allows for a spectacular 'how did they do that?' feeling in the former Blue Grotto section.
There's also a few nice nods to the W&G shorts in some of the smaller scenes, and the number of in-jokes related to Blackpool and Aardman within the ride are pretty impressive.
If I had one criticism it'd be that the ride does at point jump from film A to film B, then to film A at points - but some of the larger animatronics are pleasantly surprising. Today the theming company were tweaking the ride to help minimise downtime and improve certain sections, so anyone disappointed (bar the preview ticket scenario of course) may want to bare in mind that the current Thrill-O-Matic isn't the finished product.
The best place to ride is the front row of the first slipper, otherwise some of the audio prompts and scenes commence too late to fully engage you as a rider. Saying that, riding from this position also allows for a spectacular 'how did they do that?' feeling in the former Blue Grotto section.
There's also a few nice nods to the W&G shorts in some of the smaller scenes, and the number of in-jokes related to Blackpool and Aardman within the ride are pretty impressive.
If I had one criticism it'd be that the ride does at point jump from film A to film B, then to film A at points - but some of the larger animatronics are pleasantly surprising. Today the theming company were tweaking the ride to help minimise downtime and improve certain sections, so anyone disappointed (bar the preview ticket scenario of course) may want to bare in mind that the current Thrill-O-Matic isn't the finished product.
Ian
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Dizz, Bobby’s Yarn Land
Well as others have said, dark ride are always hard to judge from POV videos, so I will reserve my full, 100% judgement until I've seen it in the flesh.
However, as a massive lover of Wallace & Gromit I can't help but feel that they've rather missed a golden opportunity with this one. It looks as if Pleasure Beach's design team have sat down with a DVD boxset, watched through it, and said "That can be a scene" every now and then. It seems very willy nilly, and there appears to be little or no continuity and story to the ride, which is a shame as the name, vehicles, and frontage would all suggest a unique storytelling attraction (To me at any rate).
I would have expected it to follow the basic W&G premise while doing something new and different to the existing stories. Wallace invents machine, invites the guests to come and try it, it's all very crazy and kooky, something goes wrong, comedic actiony scenes progressing the story, the final confrontation, all is fixed, happy ending, and a packet of crackers Instead it's more inline with what I might call a "studio tour ride", where you're simply shown a collection of scenes from the film(s) (I.E. Hollywood Tour - Phantasialand).
Whilst the scenes are small I wouldn't shoot the ride down for that. I do love huge, grand dark ride scenes, such as the garden in Duel, and the finale of Silbermine at Phantasialand, but when you have limited funds and space it's not unreasonable to have smaller scenes. However, what scenes there are here feel very basic and uninspired. They all feel very static and simplistic in their animation. There's nothing wrong with just having simple animatronics, especially when you're on a tight budget, but I personally feel that if you're going for the simple style you should compensate with more of it.
Rides like Carnival Festival at Efteling are simple and basic in their appearance, but because virtually everything is animated to make up for it you're so busy looking at everything going on you and trying to take it all in that don't really focus on one thing and say "Well that's robotic and low quality". They could have decked out the scenes a little more to make them feel more creative, rather than having just one or two moving objects I feel.
So yes, from the POVs seen that's what I would say about the ride so far. Not totally dreadful, and no doubt it will have its place at Pleasure Beach, but a very under-utilised brand and a rather uninspired dark ride. However, as I said, I'll cut it some slack until riding in person (Though I'm not really holding out for much).
However, as a massive lover of Wallace & Gromit I can't help but feel that they've rather missed a golden opportunity with this one. It looks as if Pleasure Beach's design team have sat down with a DVD boxset, watched through it, and said "That can be a scene" every now and then. It seems very willy nilly, and there appears to be little or no continuity and story to the ride, which is a shame as the name, vehicles, and frontage would all suggest a unique storytelling attraction (To me at any rate).
I would have expected it to follow the basic W&G premise while doing something new and different to the existing stories. Wallace invents machine, invites the guests to come and try it, it's all very crazy and kooky, something goes wrong, comedic actiony scenes progressing the story, the final confrontation, all is fixed, happy ending, and a packet of crackers
Instead it's more inline with what I might call a "studio tour ride", where you're simply shown a collection of scenes from the film(s) (I.E. Hollywood Tour - Phantasialand).Whilst the scenes are small I wouldn't shoot the ride down for that. I do love huge, grand dark ride scenes, such as the garden in Duel, and the finale of Silbermine at Phantasialand, but when you have limited funds and space it's not unreasonable to have smaller scenes. However, what scenes there are here feel very basic and uninspired. They all feel very static and simplistic in their animation. There's nothing wrong with just having simple animatronics, especially when you're on a tight budget, but I personally feel that if you're going for the simple style you should compensate with more of it.
Rides like Carnival Festival at Efteling are simple and basic in their appearance, but because virtually everything is animated to make up for it you're so busy looking at everything going on you and trying to take it all in that don't really focus on one thing and say "Well that's robotic and low quality". They could have decked out the scenes a little more to make them feel more creative, rather than having just one or two moving objects I feel.
So yes, from the POVs seen that's what I would say about the ride so far. Not totally dreadful, and no doubt it will have its place at Pleasure Beach, but a very under-utilised brand and a rather uninspired dark ride. However, as I said, I'll cut it some slack until riding in person (Though I'm not really holding out for much).
Adam James
TS Contributor
- Favourite Ride
- Wild Mouse, BPB
I must point out that the UKRides POV doesn't give a fair representation of the Thrill-O-Matic - firstly because it's been heavily edited, secondly because the audio has been tacked onto the video and isn't from the actual ride, and finally as several of the big scenes either have been missed out or simply weren't working when the video was recorded.
To prove this, the full ride is just over four minutes long, whilst the video barely makes that with an added glance at the queueline, station and costumed characters!
I'd certainly advise everyone to give the experience the ride themselves during previews to have a fair idea of the new ride.
To prove this, the full ride is just over four minutes long, whilst the video barely makes that with an added glance at the queueline, station and costumed characters!
I'd certainly advise everyone to give the experience the ride themselves during previews to have a fair idea of the new ride.
TheMan
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- NemiLerVion
Adam James said:
It's like the reworked X at Thorpe. I'm quick to critique but I wont even bother with the early POV - cannot imagine it will do it any justice at all. Some naturally come across well, and I don't expect it to be of massively high quality either as BPB are hardly rolling in money (no idea how much this cost).
That said, the new dark coaster at (forget where now) came as a surprise to many on a relatively tight budget, with everything from scratch, so it can be done.
Very much want to get up there to ride it still though, big W&G fan
I've tried to avoid judging it so far but I'm off to Pleasure Beach tomorrow so I'll tell you all what I think
EDIT: I'll just put my thoughts in here. I was actually quite surprised. I agree that the POV definitely doesn't do the ride justice. It was nice and charming and one of the best Pleasure Beach rides in terms of theme in my opinion. I'd just advise that you don't judge the ride before you've been on it. A few parts made me laugh and it was quite fun. I won't go into great detail as it really is best when you don't know what's round every corner.
EDIT: I'll just put my thoughts in here. I was actually quite surprised. I agree that the POV definitely doesn't do the ride justice. It was nice and charming and one of the best Pleasure Beach rides in terms of theme in my opinion. I'd just advise that you don't judge the ride before you've been on it. A few parts made me laugh and it was quite fun. I won't go into great detail as it really is best when you don't know what's round every corner.
John
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
BPB are reducing their gate prices! From 1st May, adult wristbands will be £29.99, down from £35. Child wristbands will be£26.99, down from £30.
I have to say I'm very impressed. BPB's gate price was already pretty good value for money, but the difference in price between them and the full gate price of AT is now absolutely massive. Even though few people pay the full price at Towers, people will be sure to compare the headline prices.
I have to say I'm very impressed. BPB's gate price was already pretty good value for money, but the difference in price between them and the full gate price of AT is now absolutely massive. Even though few people pay the full price at Towers, people will be sure to compare the headline prices.
Alastair
TS Team
- Favourite Ride
- Rise of the Resistance
John said:
I daresay this is because of their horrendously low attendance this season thusfar. They already offered Platinum Passes for £79 when purchased with a wristband, as well as free PB passes to anyone who emailed them in an attempt to draw more business. The difference is that Alton know that they can keep their £46 price and people will pay it regardless because of their large scale investment in the park (and the 241's) - BPB on the other hand have no comparable draw and so have (in my opinion rather desperately) had tor reduce their price.
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