Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

[Coaster]

It's great they are doing these track replacements in sections, but surely a major retracking of a whole ride would make for a better outcome. They have enough rides to close one of the woodies each year to do each major overhule.

Closing a coaster for a year would be a terrible idea from a guest experience perspective - one less coaster to ride, which would also mean longer queues on the existing coasters.

The rolling maintenance scheme is much more practical, as it allows the rides to operate each season as they should do, and retracking the entire ride at one would also be very costly.

 

[Danny]

However it would work in their favour, as they can simply state it is to enhance the experience and I think guests would understand that. These rides have been there for yonks and will inevitably continue to live on, closing them for a year to renew and keep their woodies looking great wouldn't cause that many concerns. I reckon it'd be welcomed, and their marketing department can go to town on celebrating a relaunch the following year.

 

[shawnoc]

However it would work in their favour, as they can simply state it is to enhance the experience and I think guests would understand that. These rides have been there for yonks and will inevitably continue to live on, closing them for a year to renew and keep their woodies looking great wouldn't cause that many concerns. I reckon it'd be welcomed, and their marketing department can go to town on celebrating a relaunch the following year.

That is exactly what I was thinking, it would show commitment to the preservation of classic seaside of yesterday year. The publicity they could plug for these kinds of refurbs would be on par with the publicity that Dreamland has had.

 

[Coaster]

However it would work in their favour, as they can simply state it is to enhance the experience and I think guests would understand that. These rides have been there for yonks and will inevitably continue to live on, closing them for a year to renew and keep their woodies looking great wouldn't cause that many concerns. I reckon it'd be welcomed, and their marketing department can go to town on celebrating a relaunch the following year.

I do get your point, but these wooden coasters have been running since the 1920s/30s/50s (depending on which one), historically it proves that there is no need to close them for a year. They are at times closed when maintenance is required, but closing them for a year to carry out work would be too costly as well as damaging to the park's ride lineup.

They could however keep a wooden coaster closed during the Feb/March "Wow Weekends", which would leave them almost five months to carry out extra work - I would be in favour of this to see Grand National sorted out with the old trains (and station system) returned.

BPB tried closing Roller Coaster (now Nick Streak) at one stage, and it lead to negativity from the public as well as enthusiasts, I really don't think it is an option.

 

[shawnoc]

Jamie you have a good point about using the available 5 months to do the work. However if renovations run into the main season the GP would be more willing to understand if they use the right publicity/ advertising to explain what they are doing.

As long as operations and availability is spot on with the open rides then having one ride down with obvious work going on with it wouldn't effect the GPs perception of there day.

 

[Coaster]

Jamie you have a good point about using the available 5 months to do the work. However if renovations run into the main season the GP would be more willing to understand if they use the right publicity/ advertising to explain what they are doing.

Running into the main season by a few weeks and closing a ride for a year are two different things, the former would be understandable however closing a ride for a year (which was the initial point made) is not really an option.

As long as operations and availability is spot on with the open rides then having one ride down with obvious work going on with it wouldn't effect the GPs perception of there day.

With capacity and ride operations the way they are at the moment, one coaster down would cause the queues on the others to be horrendously bad, leading to a bad reputation for the park a worse overall customer experience.

 

[shawnoc]

Dude I was agreeing with your idea about using time early in the season.

I still think my point stands for a complete retrack is better than bit part.

As for the operations, that is something that needs addressing. Full availability or not they should try their best to get riders through. People spend enough to go.

 

[Rick]

@Jamie - as we have discussed previously, I think I found a photo for you? The Big One is literally dropping to bits, the track is separating from the supports, there are spacers on almost every column and clamps on nearly every scaffold support.

Sure, being next to the sea causes some problems, but the ride was built so badly to start with, hence the changes to the drop and the turnaround over the years - they never really got it right. With the hyper coasters, Arrow essentially just made jumbo versions of their mine trains and it shows in terms of the build quality.

I'm quite sentimental by nature, but I don't want Pleasure Beach to become a museum, things can't stay the same forever. If they had, we'd still be stuck with the Rainbow Wheel and the Hotchkiss. Times change, those rides won't stay as they are forever and they shouldn't do.

BPB tried closing Roller Coaster (now Nick Streak) at one stage, and it lead to negativity from the public as well as enthusiasts, I really don't think it is an option.

You worry too much and you are too far past the 'public' thing to remember what it's actually like to visit the park 'normally'. The public will visit once or twice a year. If a ride is closed on the day they visit, it's a bummer - sure, but it could quite easily be closed all day anyway for tech reasons. The fact that it's closed for 90 days is irrelevant because most people will only visit one out of the 90.

 

[rob666]

I've always wanted to ride the Rainbow wheel!
Anyone know what actually happened in there?
At least it is one ride I'm not old enough to have ridden!
Bring back the Reel.

 

[Spike]

A few other rides that people may not remember Pleasure Beach had

The Ranger

And Rainbow (I remember being ill after this as a child)

Both were in the spot where The Globe Theatre now occupies.

 

[Rick]

I've always wanted to ride the Rainbow wheel!
Anyone know what actually happened in there?

The car sat at the bottom of the wheel while the wheel went around, the car undulated slightly but it was essentially an elaborate way to change the scenery on a static ride.

 

[Coaster]

@Jamie - as we have discussed previously, I think I found a photo for you? The Big One is literally dropping to bits, the track is separating from the supports, there are spacers on almost every column and clamps on nearly every scaffold support.

Sure, being next to the sea causes some problems, but the ride was built so badly to start with, hence the changes to the drop and the turnaround over the years - they never really got it right. With the hyper coasters, Arrow essentially just made jumbo versions of their mine trains and it shows in terms of the build quality.

I'm quite sentimental by nature, but I don't want Pleasure Beach to become a museum, things can't stay the same forever. If they had, we'd still be stuck with the Rainbow Wheel and the Hotchkiss. Times change, those rides won't stay as they are forever and they shouldn't do.

I don't doubt that The Big One has been repaired several times over, probably due to a combination of the battering the ride gets from both the sea salt and the wind as well as the build quality - but I think the majority of the problems come from the salt. With that said, I doubt the ride would be allowed to operate if it was "dropping to bits."

You worry too much and you are too far past the 'public' thing to remember what it's actually like to visit the park 'normally'. The public will visit once or twice a year. If a ride is closed on the day they visit, it's a bummer - sure, but it could quite easily be closed all day anyway for tech reasons. The fact that it's closed for 90 days is irrelevant because most people will only visit one out of the 90.

People complain when a ride is closed, and having a major ride closed for a year would not go without people noticing.

 

[Dar]

Having a ride closed for a year for no reason makes people complain but if there was actual observable work happening, people would be more understanding and, more importantly, more likely to come back to see what's happened to it.

The amount of re-tracking and repairs, the kind that need the track to be held down with clamps and not the kind due to salt, that have been needed on the Big One shows just how much of shoddy job it was. Look at how much they had to adjust the turnaround by!

The problem with the pleasure beach, for me, is that it's stagnating and has done for a while. Mandy has done a great job with the hand she was dealt. She's smartened the place up and made it look inviting and somewhere posh instead of the seaside fair it was. But the ride line-up has remained about the same for years, they really need to improve the rides they've got and get some new ones in. Project 2018 will be make or break for them I think and it's unfortunate that it now lines up with Alton's next big investment, we could be seeing another 1994.

I know someone is going to say something about Nick Land and Wallace & Gromit, and they'd be right. Nick Land was a nice refresh of a tired looking Beaver Creek, but Wallace & Gromit was a step back for me, it's far too bland in between the scenes and needs something else, I guess this where the hand-wavy word "charm" comes in, that Goldmine had.

Infusion is the worst adult roller coaster I've ever ridden and the only one to have left me with bruises, and I've done The Ultimate!

I don't understand this obsession with classic rides? The Grand National is painfully "boisterous, rough, throw-about-y or whatever word you wish to use-y", and the trains on it are destroying the track making it worse every season. Imagine a nice roll in place of the Valentines hill! Imagine the speed it could carry with proper trains and track! The Big Dipper is just boring. If these rides are in the way of progress, get rid. They do nothing that warrants special treatment. Memorialise them if you must but history shouldn't get in the way of the future.

 

[Coaster]

Having a ride closed for a year for no reason makes people complain but if there was actual observable work happening, people would be more understanding and, more importantly, more likely to come back to see what's happened to it.

Out of interest, what work are you suggesting on the wooden coasters during this closure? Retracking an entire coaster at once (as some people have suggested) would be pointless as newer sections do not need retracking yet - it would also be a huge financial outlay for the park with little return, as well as the negative impact on the park as already mentioned.

The amount of re-tracking and repairs, the kind that need the track to be held down with clamps and not the kind due to salt, that have been needed on the Big One shows just how much of shoddy job it was. Look at how much they had to adjust the turnaround by!

The turnaround (and first drop) were profiled badly by Arrow initially, but that was rectified. This has been the case with lots of rides over the years, even much newer ones which have required tinkering over the years (Smiler's track not lining up during construction comes to mind as an example).

The problem with the pleasure beach, for me, is that it's stagnating and has done for a while. Mandy has done a great job with the hand she was dealt. She's smartened the place up and made it look inviting and somewhere posh instead of the seaside fair it was. But the ride line-up has remained about the same for years, they really need to improve the rides they've got and get some new ones in. Project 2018 will be make or break for them I think and it's unfortunate that it now lines up with Alton's next big investment, we could be seeing another 1994.

I know someone is going to say something about Nick Land and Wallace & Gromit, and they'd be right. Nick Land was a nice refresh of a tired looking Beaver Creek, but Wallace & Gromit was a step back for me, it's far too bland in between the scenes and needs something else, I guess this where the hand-wavy word "charm" comes in, that Goldmine had.

I disagree that the ride lineup has remained the same. Over the past few years, BPB has opened Nickelodeon Land (£10 million investment) which included 6 new rides, Wallace and Gromit (regardless of your opinion on it, it was a new/heavily refurbished attraction) and Skyforce. Whilst this isn't what everyone wanted to see at the park, it is investment nevertheless.

As well as this, they have spent a lot of money refurbishing several areas and rides; Revolution had a completely new colour scheme, Steeplechase had a track repaint and refurbished station, Valhalla had its entire frontage replaced and updated scenes, new flooring was added around the park as well as several other repaints (not all for the better!) and considerable cosmetic work - something which a lot of other parks fail to carry out.

I don't understand this obsession with classic rides? The Grand National is painfully "boisterous, rough, throw-about-y or whatever word you wish to use-y", and the trains on it are destroying the track making it worse every season. Imagine a nice roll in place of the Valentines hill! Imagine the speed it could carry with proper trains and track! The Big Dipper is just boring. If these rides are in the way of progress, get rid. They do nothing that warrants special treatment. Memorialise them if you must but history shouldn't get in the way of the future.

The classic rides are fantastic examples of the rides that paved the way towards the rides you see being built today. They are unique assets to the park and set it apart from anywhere in the UK if not the world - removing them would be taking out the very thing that makes BPB special. Not to mention the fact that they are very fun coasters, but of course they split opinions as any coaster does - if you don't like them, that's fair enough - personally I don't like Rita at Alton, but I'm not calling out for it to be torn down as plenty of people do enjoy it!

I do agree that the National needs different trains (the old ones back would be ideal), but the layout should stay the same.

Regarding your point about the historical rides standing in the way of progress, several of the older rides have already been removed in the name of progress (or in some cases just removed), so I think that the park has reached a stage where it can develop as a fully functioning theme/amusement park whilst retaining the bulk of historical rides to run alongside new additions.

 

[shawnoc]

@Jamie the point your missing is that an entire re-track would be far more beneficial than the bit part re-track programme they have been doing. It would create a consistent ride in stead of ooooo this is smooth then ouch, damn this ride is rough.

As I said as well as dar, if work on one of the woodies was being done during the season and the GP see this ( with the right advertising etc) they would be less inclined to moan. They may be slightly disappointed but in the long run it may make them return.

There has been investment in the Pleasure Beach but any big new investment that would appeal to new guests have too far in between. Not saying what they have done is bad, but just not enough.

Re-paints and new paving (and fountains) are great, but ride quality is far more important for quests to feel that they have had a good day there.

 

[Ted]

From what I heard a while back, when the new coaster is under construction, the Big One will have to close for a bit because of it. This might bring out frustration yes, but it would be worth it in the long term. It would be the same with an upgrade for Dipper and Nash, it'd be worth it in the long run.

 

[shawnoc]

It would be costly yes to re-track a ride in one go, but it's a lot more expensive to do it in small sections, @TedTheHuman said as well as myself and others, it would be much better in the long run.

 

[Rick]

I don't doubt that The Big One has been repaired several times over, probably due to a combination of the battering the ride gets from both the sea salt and the wind as well as the build quality - but I think the majority of the problems come from the salt. With that said, I doubt the ride would be allowed to operate if it was "dropping to bits."

The track is not separating from the supports because of the salt. It's separating because it's built on a beach and badly built at that.

 

[DiogoJ42]

The track is not separating from the supports because of the salt. It's separating because it's built on a beach and badly built at that.

Good point. You only have to look at old photos of the park to see that once upon a time, it really was on the beach! I've seen an aerial photo that shows it was nothing but sand under the whole park, right up to the railway. I wonder how deep the foundations of PMBO had to go to hit rock?

 

[Rick]

Track clamps.

The most ridiculous support on the ride.