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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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Thameslink Rail said:
I suppose you could go to the revived Southport instead of Camelot. Although I've heard that their main coaster is painfully rough and unreliable.
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I believe Southport’s main coaster is also something that can be found at numerous other places elsewhere (it’s a Pinfari ZL42, isn’t it?), potentially including some that are easier to reach from where @AstroDan is, so that might not be too much of a personal draw for him.
 
Matt N said:
I believe Southport’s main coaster is also something that can be found at numerous other places elsewhere (it’s a Pinfari ZL42, isn’t it?), potentially including some that are easier to reach from where @AstroDan is, so that might not be too much of a personal draw for him.
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Zl42s are a dying breed. The only other one left in the Uk is at Brighton Pier.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
Zl42s are a dying breed. The only other one left in the Uk is at Brighton Pier.
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Ah OK; I never actually knew there were only 2 left! I could have sworn that there were some elsewhere in Britain as well; maybe they’ve gone abroad, joined the travelling fair circuit (RCDB doesn’t list travelling coasters) or been scrapped?
 
Pleasure Beach Valhalla said:
Noah's Ark may be heritage but the park could get a bigger and better entrance if they take out Noah's Ark!
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Most of the mountain area around the ark is modern structure, that is not listed.
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1436474

Removing the tacky slot machine area. camel racing etc. and paring back the Ark's mountain would leave plenty of room for a more impressive entrance if that is what they wanted.

I think moving ticketing to new buildings and reworking the casino building as a 3rd hotel, even if that means using up some of the car park space, would be a good move at some point.
 
The thing with Efteling is when they announced that Bob was leaving they gave people a whole year to get their last rides in. I'm not saying Blackpool should have done that, but I'm pretty sure the Mouse was more stable than Volcano the blast coaster was when that got removed!
 
rob666 said:
And they would have had to run it without insurance...so no.
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I still don't believe the insurance argument. Just tittle tattle and rumours.

The parks official line was to create space for future attractions, and from what someone has said they could be selling German Sausages on there in September.

It was obviously planned all along :mad:

Can we change the subject please before I have a complete breakdown!

Park opening/closing times perhaps ?
Pay one price versus Free entry and pay per ride ?
Icons lack of success ?

I am sure they haven't been discussed in ages ;)
 
Opening/ closing times: People moan about the park closing too early and closing earlier than advertised but there’s no particular sign of change.

Pay one price versus entry charge: Divides opinion between the old school BPB fans and everyone else (quite a sweeping statement I know, but generally true)

Icon’s lack of success: Disappointing but not a huge surprise to be honest.

:)
 
shakey said:
I still don't believe the insurance argument. Just tittle tattle and rumours.

The parks official line was to create space for future attractions, and from what someone has said they could be selling German Sausages on there in September.

It was obviously planned all along :mad:

Can we change the subject please before I have a complete breakdown!

Park opening/closing times perhaps ?
Pay one price versus Free entry and pay per ride ?
Icons lack of success ?

I am sure they haven't been discussed in ages ;)
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The park was always going to publicly say “future developments” was the reason; it wouldn’t reflect too well on them as a business in the eyes of the public if they were to admit they couldn’t insure a ride. People would have likely asked questions about the safety of the other rides, and potentially not visited the park due to safety fears.

The only reason I bought up insurance is because quite a few reliable Pleasure Beach sources have been banging that drum, and it’s the only real rumour we’ve ever heard.

If the park was conspiring to remove it, why would they have paid for all the refurbishment work done at the end of 2017 (e.g. the new brakes etc.)?

However, I appreciate that this is a sensitive subject for you and many others on this site, so I’m happy to draw a line under it for now.

With regards to the recommended topics of discussion:
  • Opening hours: For most families visiting the park, I think they’re fine, and fit in with most people’s usual routine.
  • Entry fee and wristbands vs Free entry and pay-per-ride: Personally, I’m in support of the entry fee and wristbands. They make a day on park considerably better value, and they arguably make the park more appealing to families in terms of its atmosphere.
  • Icon’s lack of success: While I absolutely adore Icon, I’m not sure Pleasure Beach should have bought it, in hindsight. I think a cheaper ride from a different manufacturer would have been a less risky investment, more within the park’s financial means and possibly more highly revered than Icon ultimately ended up being.
 
The problem with Icon is that people who know about other parks were always going to base it on Helix and thus they were always going to struggle to live up with the hype.

If they'd gone with one of those new Vekoma models (like Abyssus) it would've surprised people more due to the lower expectations.

However the park could've built the greatest coaster of all time and the marketing/advertising would've still let them down.

Back in 2018 everyone knew about Wicker Man whereas I was having to tell people about Icon at Blackpool.

Even without adverts etc they could've done a much better job online with teases and building updates. Just look at what parks like Efteling and Walibi Holland did for their last investments.
 
To catch up on this page...
Yet to see the Southport looper running, looks half dead.
Knightmare was lukewarm at best...not in my limited top twenty...if I had one.
Got paid a lot of money to ride it however, so it holds good memories.
The insurance costs for the mouse...very reliable sources shakey, both on park...one you saw last week!
And they run their own brokers.
The cost was beyond economic sensibility.
Opening hours, don't open until mid afternoon every day during the loominations.
Scrap wristbands, bring back realistic priced tickets, the park cannot cope with anything beyond a few thousand punters, but keep paid entry.
Icon a let down...yup.
Good fun, smooth retirement coaster.
I bet 99% of the people who ride it have never heard of Helix, let alone ridden it!

And Matt...you cant open a mouldy old can of worms, throw them in the air, then draw a line under it...coaster freakdom doesn't work like that.

Get the kids back to school so I don't have to wait for a table at Crevettes.
 
There is no way they should bring back free entry with the current state of Blackpool. If they want to keep it popular with families they need to keep out the ne'er-do-wells and the random drunks from Hen/Stag parties staggering into it. I'd rather is stayed clean and safe. I'm also glad that wrist bands are gone too.
 
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