MakoMania
TS Member
That is disgraceful. They have clearly not been hitting attendance targets for this season though.
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: General Discussion
It’s no surprise considering the customer service is on par with Towers this year.
I’ve only visited once so far and not made more visits due to the “earliest ride close” malarkey.
Obviously a fair amount of people wouldn’t make the trip until the new ride opens but it doesn’t give a good impression if rides are being shut early / not opening.
Coaster
TS Member
Where does it show this?
Whaaaaaaaat! That's absolutely terrible!
MakoMania
TS Member
It's on the thrill rides page on the website
On family rides page:
Please note: Carousel, Veteran Carousel, Alpine Rallye, Pleasure Beach Express, Grand Prix rides will be closed Monday – Friday during April and May excluding bank holidays.
On Nickelodeon page:
Please note: Bikini Bottom Bus and Dora’s World Voyage rides will be closed Monday – Friday during April and May excluding bank holidays.
On family rides page:
Please note: Carousel, Veteran Carousel, Alpine Rallye, Pleasure Beach Express, Grand Prix rides will be closed Monday – Friday during April and May excluding bank holidays.
On Nickelodeon page:
Please note: Bikini Bottom Bus and Dora’s World Voyage rides will be closed Monday – Friday during April and May excluding bank holidays.
Coaster
TS Member
Words absolutely and utterly fail me. First they demolish one of the most wonderful coasters ever built in a horrendous way, then they close 1 or 2 hours earlier than the advertised "earliest ride closing time" on multiple occasions, now this.
It's clear to me that BPB have absolutely zero concept of customer service. A park which treats its customers with such contempt is never going to be a success, IMO.
Just for reference...
The rides are good at BPB, but as an organisation they're terrible.
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venny
TS Member
Yep. Couple this with the earliest closing time fiasco and you have a picture of a park struggling. It’s a massive shame because they are a great park, but this is Merlin-like cost cutting I never thought we’d see at BPB. I’m truly sad it’s come to this. Let’s just hope Icon turns it around.
The other irony is that these details are on the ‘reasons to visit’ page.
The other irony is that these details are on the ‘reasons to visit’ page.
Dipper_Dave
TS Member
I can’t say I’m greatly bothered by a load of kiddy rides being shut midweek on weeks when it is highly unlikely for kids to be on school holidays. But to close the likes of Big Dipper and Pleasure Beach Express that are firm adult favourites midweek for 2 months is disappointing.
Although the park was quiet today, the majority of visitors were either students, young adults or couples probably enjoying not having their kids in tow. It’s a shame that the park deprives said visitors of certain rides but will open them for weekend visitors.
To be fair, work was being carried out under Big Dipper’s lift hill today, well in the morning at least. Also, Avalanche was shut as I believe the lift hill chain is knackered. I suppose we can’t be certain that the PBE train closure isn’t Icon related anyway, but I hope it will reopen midweek before long.
Just a shame that whilst some of us are still coming to terms with the gaping hole left by the Wild Mouse removal, another classic woodie now shuts midweek for 2 months.
On a positive note, Icon looks like immense fun and is already creating a buzz, although the water dummy riders aren’t giving away much as to what they think of the ride
Although the park was quiet today, the majority of visitors were either students, young adults or couples probably enjoying not having their kids in tow. It’s a shame that the park deprives said visitors of certain rides but will open them for weekend visitors.
To be fair, work was being carried out under Big Dipper’s lift hill today, well in the morning at least. Also, Avalanche was shut as I believe the lift hill chain is knackered. I suppose we can’t be certain that the PBE train closure isn’t Icon related anyway, but I hope it will reopen midweek before long.
Just a shame that whilst some of us are still coming to terms with the gaping hole left by the Wild Mouse removal, another classic woodie now shuts midweek for 2 months.
On a positive note, Icon looks like immense fun and is already creating a buzz, although the water dummy riders aren’t giving away much as to what they think of the ride
Grand_Nash
TS Member
I was on park today so saw the closures I don’t think it’s a park struggling with it’s last pennies, it’s one that is watching them day to day but I’d disagree it’s cost cutting,
Big Dipper having TLC yesterday and today was having track work done on the first drop
Avalanche having lift hill work done on both days
Pleasure beach express was being used to transport items around the icon site
Workmen were working laying paths right by the Grand Prix track painting and pressing the path in so h&s of guests forced that closure
Imo rev and steeplechase could be only signs of early close and cost cutting
I would of thought if they had cash there are rides that cost more to run *valhalla* coughs *
I think Merlin has made us all a bit synical to closures
Big Dipper having TLC yesterday and today was having track work done on the first drop
Avalanche having lift hill work done on both days
Pleasure beach express was being used to transport items around the icon site
Workmen were working laying paths right by the Grand Prix track painting and pressing the path in so h&s of guests forced that closure
Imo rev and steeplechase could be only signs of early close and cost cutting
I would of thought if they had cash there are rides that cost more to run *valhalla* coughs *
I think Merlin has made us all a bit synical to closures
MiserableMonkey
TS Member
Any park that closes 8 rides (kiddie or not) all day and closes a further 2 early, as well as potentially shutting the gates an hour or more before the online advertised closing time is not showing itself in a good light in my opinion. Add to those 10 attractions any late openings or downtime, and it's a fairly large chunk of your overall product unavailable for guests paying top dollar to be there.
Were you not around in 2001 when 3 rides were withdrawn from service for the entire year? (Vikingar, Cableway and The Whip)
What about 3 years later, when the Black Hole, Turtle Chase and Millennium Bug randomly stopped running?
Again in 2009 we saw the Space Invader, Trauma Towers, Gold Mine, Noahs Ark and the biggest worry of the time was the RollerCoaster all SBNO'd.
It's certainly not the first time BPB have gone down the cost cutting road, and at the side of the previous years events as outlined above, a few kids rides closing during the week is nothing to worry over.
As for the GP and Dipper, clearly Icon related along with the PBE which I understand is actively being used to transfer goods around the park.
Fair play to BPB for controlling the costs at what is historically a very quiet period of the year.
Rob
TS Team
Wow. I hope Icon pays off for them as the situation seems to be pretty dire, and they do not have a global company like Merlin behind them to provide financial support if a loss is being made.
This may well be the case, but that's no good to those who are visiting in this quiet period. And to be honest, if I was planning a trip and saw of these planned closures I wouldn't bother going. If you are going to open your big new coaster part way through the season then try and give people a reason to visit before as well as after it opens, rather than just give up on the period before it opens!
This may well be the case, but that's no good to those who are visiting in this quiet period. And to be honest, if I was planning a trip and saw of these planned closures I wouldn't bother going. If you are going to open your big new coaster part way through the season then try and give people a reason to visit before as well as after it opens, rather than just give up on the period before it opens!
Wow. I hope Icon pays off for them as the situation seems to be pretty dire, and they do not have a global company like Merlin behind them to provide financial support if a loss is being made.
This may well be the case, but that's no good to those who are visiting in this quiet period. And to be honest, if I was planning a trip and saw of these planned closures I wouldn't bother going. If you are going to open your big new coaster part way through the season then try and give people a reason to visit before as well as after it opens, rather than just give up on the period before it opens!
Without wishing to appear argumentative, but I have a hard time believing anyone interested in Icon is going to be overly worried about the mid week closure of Dora's world voyage or the Bikini Bottom Bus Tour and if anyone who is genuinely looking forward to a visit to try out Icon considers canceling on that basis they need to be in therapy rather than a theme or amusement park.
Shouldn't the main target audience of almost all Nickelodeon rides be in school anyway Monday-Friday?
shakey
TS Member
2-4 year olds won't be at school though and it's the smaller rides that are shut.
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Rob
TS Team
I'd argue that Big Dipper is one of the park's headline attractions (it's certainly their most famous) but each to their own!
My apologies, I thought it was a fairly clear thing that the Big Dipper, Grand Prix and PB Express were closed to allow work to take place on Icon. Whilst this is not ideal, when you are dealing with a compact site like BPB it's unavoidable, unless you want all Icon construction to take place in the closed season, in which case we would be looking at around 2025 for an opening date.I'd argue that Big Dipper is one of the park's headline attractions (it's certainly their most famous) but each to their own!
2-4 year olds may not be in school, but going on my previous week day term time visits, they weren't in BPB either.
It' worth remembering that we are talking about a period here that sees around 300 people a day on park, if it were up to me I'd shut the whole place because it runs at a loss on days such as this. I really can't believe such a stink is being created by coaster enthusiasts over a hand full of children's rides being closed during the week.
BPB has plenty of issues, I could write a book on them, but this makes perfect sense to me.
shakey
TS Member
Yes I have no doubt that the park has been very quiet, but if there is just one family with a couple of pre school kids in the park then they won't be too impressed that several of the rides aimed at younger kids are shut. Especially if the entry price is not reduced.
If they are going to open midweek then open fully or reduce the entry price accordingly.
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