Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion

[AstroDan]

The majority are ok, but Flamingoland and Blackpool remain the only parks where I have either been casually or aggressively sworn at by staff.

Once at FL and three times at BPB over the years although I must say, not recently.

Nick land aside, there's just no interaction at BPB with riders.

 

[Oatcakedodger]

http://youtu.be/i8bOJDLnBjU superb aerial footage and love the tunes. :twirly:

 

[Dave]

So are BPB's staff really as bad as people say they are?

I will genuinely say no.

Some of the ride staff there are fantastic, had great chats with lots of them... But they are maybe less consistent that Alton Towers.

To be fair to Pleasure Beach their welcome staff are better than most parks, their ride staff it depends. It seems to me that Pleasure Beach have focused guest satisfaction training at the Entrance and service points rather than the whole park, so their entrance and service staff are better than most parks but their ride staff can be variable.

But i love Pleasure Beach (yes not as much as Towers) so i may be bias.

 

[Mark-Cal]

I rode Infusion today.

Yes, yes I know, it's a Vekoma SLC and everyone hates them and I deserve everything I got, blah, blah, blah !

But to be honest I don't mind them, I rate Kumali, enjoy Odyssey and rode Infusion late last season and found it to be a decent ride, in fact my eldest son and I re-rode it four times in a row due to the lack of queue without any issues at all. It even featured for a short while at the bottom of my top ten steel coasters on Coaster Count.
So yes, it's fair to say I don't have any issues with the type at all.

At least that was the case until today.

I took my daughter today to get some early season riding in and on the whole enjoyed the visit, I know you don't go to BPB for the silky smooth refined coasters and you know Big Dipper, Grand National and Wild Mouse are going to knock you about like a wife beater who's come home to find no tea on the table, but it's an enjoyable bit of violence and you come off the ride with a smile on your face.

I 'd told my daughter how much I'd enjoyed Infusion on my last visit so after getting the Big One in before the wind got up we headed straight for queue innocently expecting a decent ride but what we actually got was the most awful coaster ride I've ever experienced !
My ears are only just recovering now from the beating they received from those over the shoulder restraints. The first half of the ride was terrible but the second half was even worse, almost unbearable !

I thought it might be because we had sat near the back, I know Odyssey gives a much smoother ride at the front so later on we tried again further forward but no it was just as bad ! This was on two different trains as well .

Has the ride deteriorated so badly over one closed season, or does the ride quality of a Vekoma SLC improve over the season ?
Everyone I saw coming off the ride today was complaining about it.
Anyway I've learned my lesson, I shall leave it well alone next time I visit ! :'(

 

[BigAl]

My ears are only just recovering now from the beating they received from those over the should restraints.

Ooh, the trademark tomato-coloured Infusion ears, eh?

Yep, it really could benefit from the new vest restraints which Vekoma have been fitting to some of their more recent rides. Shame the PB can't afford them. Or anything, for that matter.

 

[Poisson]

Mouse and Dipper and Nash offer fun and beatings and don't hurt anything vital (usually). Infusion hurts the second most vital part of a bloke's body and makes one wish they hadn't ridden it.

 

[Ian]

I'm the same. I used to quite like Infusion. It was the fun sort of rough. However, after riding the other week at Half Term I can only think something drastic has happened between then and last September. The ride was AWFUL! Literally, I don't think I've ever wanted a ride to end so much, and I'm sure Sammy will back me up on this one!

It was so brutal we bought the ORP just to preserve the look of sheer pain, and to remind us never to make the same mistake twice

The image in question!

 

[Mark-Cal]

Good, thanks for that, I'm pleased to hear it's not my imagination or that my pain threshold has worsened exponentially over the closed season !

I'm just amazed that the ride quality (that I experienced) can be so different compared to late last year.
I know Infusion has a bad reputation and I went last year with all sorts of preconceptions but ended up actually enjoying it.

The rides I had today were unpleasant at best and actually really painful at times where as late last year I had an enjoyable ride session with no complaints.

I assume the raised portions of the over the shoulder restraints are a newish addition (although they were there when I rode last year), they seem to have been glued into place as an after thought, maybe to prevent head banging, but they actually appear to cause more problems than they solve.

I can't think of any reason I would ever want to ride it again and shall head for the Mouse instead.

 

[Sammy]

I'm the same. I used to quite like Infusion. It was the fun sort of rough. However, after riding the other week at Half Term I can only think something drastic has happened between then and last September. The ride was AWFUL! Literally, I don't think I've ever wanted a ride to end so much, and I'm sure Sammy will back me up on this one!

It was so brutal we bought the ORP just to preserve the look of sheer pain, and to remind us never to make the same mistake twice

I certainly can vouch for that... It was absolutely horrific! Following that particular ride on it, the only coaster I have experienced that was more painful than that, is Goudurix!! And believe you me, Infusion came pretty damn close... It was AWEFUL!!

 

[Dungeons master]

I agree infusion can be a right head banger, best thing you can do is get nearer to the front, the 1st 3 rows, your head won't bang as much, I will happily refuse to sit at the back if possible. Other than that it's my favourite rude on pleasure beach.
Went a few weeks ago, through there FACEBOOK offer, and paid £16, which I thought was a great bargain, my only downside was, a lot of the staff talking on avalanche and big one, and not asking customers to jeep moving down the platform. As there are no air gates on the big dipper staff looked like they where getting annoyed telling customers to stand behind the yellow line.
With the Facebook offer I was surprised that it wasn't busy, with an offer like that you would expect people to come in.
My final thought is, with the money they spent on creating Wallace and grommit ride, they would have dine better building a new family roller coaster, or the lack of thrill rides.

 

[TheMan]

Oh dear, what's happened to it?

I've only ridden a couple of times, and that I believe was actually on it's opening day. It looked pretty stunning, rode relatively smooth (for an older Vekoma) & I found it quite thrilling. I enjoyed it, was a fun ride.

I have not been back for a while though, genuinely sounds like it's become a monster, what has happened to it??

 

[Poisson]

I have not been back for a while though, genuinely sounds like it's become a monster, what has happened to it??

It feels like they have strapped bricks that are spray painted black to the sides of the restraints....

 

[Coaster]

I'll be riding it next weekend so I'll be making a judgement then!
It's usually a ride I really enjoy.

 

[TheMan]

I have not been back for a while though, genuinely sounds like it's become a monster, what has happened to it??

It feels like they have strapped bricks that are spray painted black to the sides of the restraints....

 

[chillib]

Went to the PB today to pick my pass up. Weather meant very few people there, so there were no queues (other than Infusion, but nobody cares about that).


The Mouse was shut. I took a couple of pictures that some of you may be interested in:

Errr.....


Anyway, I also saw Revolution riders being evacuated from the second platform down the stairs. No pictures, sorry; happened while we were going up the lift on Nash.




P.S. Blackpool's gourmet burgers are amazing! <3

Reading that's just made my day, I'm a Gourmet Burger chef

 

[macca.seadon]

Does anyone know the actual height restrictions for The Big One, Infusion and Ice Blast? They state 132cm on the website but i was wondering if they rounded them to 1.4m? My sister is about 138cm so wouldn't get on a 1.4m restriction. We are going next sunday and it would be useful to know if she can get on.

any help is great, thanks

 

[John]

It'll be exactly 132cm, most height restrictions at BPB are based on imperial measurements, in this case 4'4".

 

[macca.seadon]

It'll be exactly 132cm, most height restrictions at BPB are based on imperial measurements, in this case 4'4".

Thank you

 

[Sam]

Indeterminate construction work happening on the old Loki's restaurant next to Valhalla, formerly the cable car station.

PBE think it is being demolished for some reason, though that doesn't look like what's happening.

 

[nemesis1994]

Extension into a dark ride? Not necessarily a haunted house or cable dark ride.maybe a little rollercoaster. I don't know how big the building is but would like some ride in there, maybe even a flat.