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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion
Dave
TS Founding Member
At the time Alton Towers and BPB where in a bit of a turf war and both pretty much counted every possible definition of “attraction” in their numbers, including shops and arcade machines. Towers still do....
Dave
TS Founding Member
They counted steeple chase as three coasters.
Matt N
TS Member
To be fair, there are 3 sides of Steeplechase, so that means there are technically 3 credits on offer!
Ah right; that makes sense! Thanks for the clarification @Thameslink Rail!
Ah OK. How many rides do we reckon they would have had back then, as I get the impression they had quite a few more than they do now, and their current count is apparently 38?
It looks like there are various theories here.
I recon one of the ‘roller coasters’ could have been the Gold Mine. I know it wasn’t really a roller coaster, but I remember in the early 2000s (back when enthusiasts used to call the Pleasure Beach, The Plesh) people referred to the Gold Mine as the only roller coaster to go through a restaurant. At the time the River Caves and Gold Mine used to both pass through the Blue Grotto scene, which opened up to the Bourbon Street restaurant. It’s a bit like at Disney where the Pirates of the Caribbean rides pass through restaurants, but here the rides did it midway round. It’s certainly stretching it to call it a roller coaster, but it did build up a little bit of speed on the descent at the beginning.
If they were counting Steeplechase as three roller coasters and they were making the world’s most roller coaster claim, then you’d need to count Gemini (Cedar Point) as two coasters, in which case they had 15 coasters in 2000 (14 if you counted Gemini as one). I think the claim may have always been a little suspect. However, at the time they certainly did have one of the world’s greatest coaster line ups. Back then Thorpe Park was a lot smaller, and Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach stood out as the UK’s two premier ‘theme parks’.
I recon one of the ‘roller coasters’ could have been the Gold Mine. I know it wasn’t really a roller coaster, but I remember in the early 2000s (back when enthusiasts used to call the Pleasure Beach, The Plesh) people referred to the Gold Mine as the only roller coaster to go through a restaurant. At the time the River Caves and Gold Mine used to both pass through the Blue Grotto scene, which opened up to the Bourbon Street restaurant. It’s a bit like at Disney where the Pirates of the Caribbean rides pass through restaurants, but here the rides did it midway round. It’s certainly stretching it to call it a roller coaster, but it did build up a little bit of speed on the descent at the beginning.
If they were counting Steeplechase as three roller coasters and they were making the world’s most roller coaster claim, then you’d need to count Gemini (Cedar Point) as two coasters, in which case they had 15 coasters in 2000 (14 if you counted Gemini as one). I think the claim may have always been a little suspect. However, at the time they certainly did have one of the world’s greatest coaster line ups. Back then Thorpe Park was a lot smaller, and Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach stood out as the UK’s two premier ‘theme parks’.
yoursilentface
TS Member
did the gold mine go quite fast through the cafe or is my mind playing tricks on me
I'm sure your mind is playing tricks, as far as I can only remember is that it only went fast down the first incline after it leaves the boarding station
Rick
TS Member
What they had and what they claimed to have had vs other parks was less of science back then. Although that era was drawing to a close in 2000, people still pretty much believed what they were told because their ability to disprove otherwise was limited.
"So BPB has more coasters than any other in the world now? Cool!" - if you were very diligent you might have checked your Guinness Book of Records when you got home.
yoursilentface
TS Member
I need to stop telling my fact to my mrs and kids everytime we go on wallace and gromit then
siralgenon
TS Member
Yes it did go quite fast over the suspended track over the River Caves, it also went quite fast down the drop after that section too. Its since been slowed down quite a lot in both parts after the renovation to Wallace and Gromit.
Matt N
TS Member
Is it true that the Gold Mine/W&G could actually be considered a powered roller coaster, or did I imagine that?
I kind of hope not, because I did actually ride W&G last summer, and if it is classed as a coaster by some, then that’ll give me a quandary as to whether to count it or not... I probably wouldn’t, because I wouldn’t say that it felt “coastery” in the slightest, and RCDB doesn’t have it. But I could have sworn I once heard somebody call it a powered roller coaster.
I kind of hope not, because I did actually ride W&G last summer, and if it is classed as a coaster by some, then that’ll give me a quandary as to whether to count it or not... I probably wouldn’t, because I wouldn’t say that it felt “coastery” in the slightest, and RCDB doesn’t have it. But I could have sworn I once heard somebody call it a powered roller coaster.
Burbs
TS Team
It's not a coaster. Dunnae fret.
No, the ride is all boxed in now. The restaurant used to be a nice viewing area, if my memory serves me correct, it was dimly lit with beautiful lighting, it had a nice relaxing atmosphere about it. It's a shame that they updated it by blocking off any views to both ride area.
yoursilentface
TS Member
I knew i wasn't going mad
Matt N
TS Member
I certainly wouldn’t class it as one, but I could have sworn I once heard someone call it a powered coaster!
John_P
TS Member
I wouldn't count it myself, but I do get confused how things like Altons Mine Train are considered coasters.
I remember my first go on the Mine Train (back in the days all my tickets went on coasters, guessing my mum wanted to go on a ride). The bit with the restaurant was so confusing, like a hidden world, was ages before I even realised were it was.
Whilst I'm a fan of Wallace and Gromit I do miss how there seemed to be something going on in every part of the goldmine.
I remember my first go on the Mine Train (back in the days all my tickets went on coasters, guessing my mum wanted to go on a ride). The bit with the restaurant was so confusing, like a hidden world, was ages before I even realised were it was.
Whilst I'm a fan of Wallace and Gromit I do miss how there seemed to be something going on in every part of the goldmine.
Dave
TS Founding Member
Seen the LIMS warm up cycle on bluefire where they send the train back and forth across the LIMS a few times. Assume that vid was a block error, would potentially make Icon fun if it happened when riding.