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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

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Jamie said:
You have clearly been riding a different PMBO to me then, or on a windy day at least. I have had it nearly launch me out of the seat in the front on the rise up to the MCBR, been thrown out of the seat to the side on the hills, on the first drop and the last rise up into the brakes. Sometimes even on the second crest if you are lucky. If you don't get airtime on it then you probably have the lapbar too far down, or you are riding it on a windy day when it will be slower.
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Considering it's the fifth most ridden coaster in the UK I've done, I can confidently say we've been on the same coaster (after all, I haven't seen magical pixies swap it for an airtime crammed B&M hyper that you seem to be describing, and then back to the Arrow incarnation when I just so happen to visit). The only times I've been thrown around are on the turnaround and the drop before the MCBR.

As for riding with my lap bar too far down, I'm one for having it raised up as far as possible, to the extent I always raise my legs and sit forwards so that when the staff push down during the checks, I have ample room for coming out of my seat on the rides layout. Not once have I ever felt like I was going to come out of my seat, even with an incredibly loose restraint. Yet even with a tight lapbar on my first ride on Silver Star earlier this year, I faced more delicious airtime than any occasion I've experienced with The Big One.

I'd really love to see how you'd react to an actual airtime offering coaster outside of the UK. I imagine if you think you're getting airtime on The Big One, you'd easily compare any genuine airtime coaster to being ejected into space.
 
^^ He's right! Even on the stillest day, with the heaviest train and the loosest lapbar; there is relatively no airtime on the Big One in comparison with most other hypercoasters in the world. As a matter of fact, there is more airtime on pretty much every other major coaster I've ever ridden, which isn't great.
 
Jamie said:
I was talking about coasters in the UK as I haven't been on any outside it.
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Well there's your problem....

Believe it or not, I don't have anything against the Big One. It's hardly world class but it does exactly what it says on the tin. I currently rank it number 29 out of the 197 coasters I have been on. At the end of a day at BPB, I always find myself standing between PMBO and Rev, trying to decide which one to whore. I prefer Rev, but the epic hike up those stairs always puts me off, so even of it's walk on while PMBO has a queue, I tend to go for the Big One.

(Oh, and for the record, the best air time in the UK can be found on Speed at Oakwood. ;) )
 
You just need to look at the hills on the Big One to see that you aren't going to get airtime, the profiling is just all wrong. Anyone who thinks that the Big One is packed with airtime seriously needs to get on a proper airtime machine.

And it's all very well saying that you're only talking about coasters in the UK but there really aren't that many coasters in the UK to compare with. You could say that the Big One is unrivaled as a hyper coaster in the UK, because it is the only one. Sorry to sound harsh but it really is not at all unique or unrivaled in any way.

:)
 
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Danny said:
As for riding with my lap bar too far down, I'm one for having it raised up as far as possible, to the extent I always raise my legs and sit forwards so that when the staff push down during the checks, I have ample room for coming out of my seat on the rides layout. Not once have I ever felt like I was going to come out of my seat, even with an incredibly loose restraint. Yet even with a tight lapbar on my first ride on Silver Star earlier this year, I faced more delicious airtime than any occasion I've experienced with The Big One.

I'd really love to see how you'd react to an actual airtime offering coaster outside of the UK. I imagine if you think you're getting airtime on The Big One, you'd easily compare any genuine airtime coaster to being ejected into space.
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I never said it was the best airtime ride, nor did I say that it should be compared with B&M coasters. I have been on plenty of coasters that offer more airtime than the PMBO, such as Wild Mouse, Speed, Revolution, Megafobia, all other BPB woodies etc...
The point I was making was that I have had airtime on the Big One, and depending on how it's running (usually weather dependant) you can get airtime on it. No it's not B&M hyper airtime, nor is it Wild Mouse airtime but it is still airtime.
 
Jamie said:
No it's not B&M hyper airtime, nor
is it Wild Mouse airtime but it is still airtime.
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What do you actually class as airtime? Because in all honesty, I've had more airtime on a Big Apple coaster than The Big One. I, alongside a wide range of enthusiasts that I've spoken to, have never encountered nothing of the sort when riding The Big One. I can literally only find those who tend to be more enthusiastic about Pleasure Beach than any other park to be the ones who are treated to this mythical airtime that The Big One supposedly offers.

I have no doubt it depends on an extensive range of conditions that the ride you have differentiates on, however I've ridden it in almost every condition imaginable minus high winds and snow (for obvious reasons) and I'm still yet to encounter airtime. Perhaps Mythbusters should be assigned to this challenge?

Edit: Don't suppose you've ever been treated to any airtime on The Big One, @John ?
 
Also I've not been on it for a while but does the Wild Mouse actually have airtime!? Fair enough if it does but I can't remember any. Seriously though, get yourself over to Six Flags Great Adventure if you can and ride El Toro, then I can assure you that you'll admit the Big One has no airtime at all!!

:)
 
I've had a *small* amount of airtime on the rise up to the MCBR, but nothing worth writing home about.

The mouse has insane airtime! :p
 
Danny said:
Edit: Don't suppose you've ever been treated to any airtime on The Big One, @John ?
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Occasionally some of the hills approximate airtime. It depends on where you sit and how well it's running. It's hardly consistent at any rate. Arrow know how to do airtime though, there's plenty to be found right next door on Rev!

The issues with PMBO are mainly of Geoffrey's making - Arrow proved with Magnum XL that they could make a good hypercoaster when left to their own devices.
 
How far would you get on Mouse without holding on before you fly out of the car to your untimely death?
 
I've always said I don't mind how I go, as long as it's something spectacular that makes the national news. I guess a coaster could count for that.

Hmm... methinks this could be a tavern topic....
 
It's definitely the best value park in the UK, although a lack of major new attractions causes a lessening of appeal for me personally.

Good on them, though.
 
jon81uk said:
Their customer service has never been anything special compared to Alton Towers. But the pricing and reasonable queue times helps to make up for it.
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Overall, their customer service is a lot better this year IMO. I'd say it's better than at AT now, as all you get there is fake smiles and free fastrack, whereas at BPB they tend to actually do something about issues.
 
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