I feel like BPB would benefit from hiring some sort of brand consultant. Hot Ice is always presented well, but the parade of psychics, Greatest Showman cash-ins and sub-X-Factor dirge that fills the Paradise Rooms or The Horseshoe these days looks excruciating in 2020. Similarly, while some of the merchandise is well presented, and at least gives the impression that the park care about their heritage, sometimes their actual branding and marketing materials are forgettable and repetitive. To be blunt, I don't think Amanda's taste is in line with that of the general public these days.
One thing that hurts me a little as somebody who vividly remembers the park's nineties glory days, was its ability to exist in different capacities for different audiences. Long before anyone stuck the word 'Resort' onto the end of a name, it felt like the park marketed for the Big One crowd, the Beaver Creek families, people who wanted to see shows and visit the Casino complex, and then, before the downturn, The Big Blue Hotel. Of course, this was because Blackpool was a destination, and BPB was unmissable as part of that destination. Now it feels like a mess.
Dreamland has been up and down in terms of operations and profitability, but I feel like they more successfully connected the idea of an old-fashioned, working class seaside amusement park with a contemporary day out, and they don't have the benefit of the enviable ride hardware at BPB. They do, however, have the benefit of being an hour from London, perhaps closer to a crowd with more disposable income and more flexible tastes. Before this post, I was idly browsing the Facebook page of the park, and saw a nice chap asking if the park were going to introduce more vegetarian and vegan options in the future. The public responses from fellow BPB fans were largely along the lines of, "Why don't you eat just the bun and lettuce from a burger, you picky sod?" It made me chuckle, but food has actually gotten worse at BPB over the past decade or two.
I should clarify, I don't think the park should become some bouji middle class concern, and the park looks better than ever, even if it's lacking kinetic energy in parts. Yet, sometimes, it feels stuck in 1992 in all the wrong ways.
