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Pleasure Island to close down

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Enter Valhalla

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http://riderater.co.uk/6239/pleasure-island-theme-park-to-close-down/

Pleasure Island theme park in Cleethorpes is to close down at the end of this season, owners have announced.


Its fireworks event on 29 October will be the park’s final day of operation, director Melanie Wood confirmed.

She told the Grimsby Telegraph that it was with “deep sadness” that the attraction was closing.

“For the past seven seasons we, as a team, have tried very hard indeed to keep the business going but unfortunately there have been too many hurdles,” she said.

“Despite heavy investment over the years the visitor numbers continue to fall and the good August weather this year sadly was not enough to sustain the business.”

Pleasure Island opened in 1993, on the site of Cleethorpes’ former zoo and stock car racing track.

It was launched as a subsidiary of the Flamingo Land theme park in North Yorkshire.

Following a family fall-out in 2010, it was announced that Pleasure Island was to close. However, it almost immediately reopened under Wood when she broke away as an independent operator.
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I've just heard the news also. Gutted about this, it's never nice to see a park close forever especially when you never see any opening
 
Hopefully the Boomerang and the Vekoma Junior coaster will stay in the UK. Never got to visit the place, but it's a shame it's closing. :( I don't wish it on any park over here except M&Ds
 
Any good rides? Always makes me sad to hear a parks closed, even if its not a particularly good one. Don't think I've even heard anything about this park (I recognise the name, but that's about it), but its still one less park that will probably end up being replaced by housing.
 
They've got a rather cute Bubbleworks rip off. And Alton's old Gravitron. Oh, and the bastard child of a Zamperla Volair and a Huss Enterprise.
 
Don't forget Hydro Max, a mad booster, and Hyperblaster, a really small but intense shot tower!

They also have Terror Rack, but we don't talk about that! :p
 
I'm not entirely sure what the politics was with the split between Flamingo Land and Pleasure Island, but it's a shame that Flamingo Land couldn't have somehow come back in to bail them out. There's been the recent news about Flamingo Land planning a mini park in Scarborough, and now by some kind of strange coincidence, on the same day that Pleasure Island announced they were closing, Flamingo land announced a plan to get involved with a project in Scotland:
http://www.attractionsmanagement.com/detail.cfm?pagetype=detail&subject=news&codeID=327083
 
Yeah it's sad. But it was inevitable.

I had a feeling this new was coming soon when their opening times came out for this year... they didn't open on Sundays...

On paper it is a good park, with the best selection of flats in the UK. A couple of decent coasters, a couple of good dark rides, neat selection of shows and a farm area. Boating in Lake and mini trains etc.

But in reality is was just depressing, and I ALWAYS felt like I wanted to die after riding their flats.

Would be good to see some of the old stuff go to Dreamland, like Century 2000 and Gravitron.

The mental Huss Frisbee wouldn't be out of place at Towers... (neither would Hyper Blaster in XSector...?)

The Huss Flyaway needs to stay in the UK, and I could see that going to Southport, with a few other smaller things.

Wouldn't be surprised if the Boomerang ends up down the road at Fantasy Island, along with the double inverted ship.

Obliterator and Terror Rack will hopefully just be put out of their misery.

Mini Mine Train to Pleasurewood as a replacement for Rattlesnake?

Go Gator to Thorpe.. coz that's just how random that place is at the mo...

Waves winger, Pirate Ship, Paratrooper, Razzle Dazzle, Tilt-a-Whirl and Hydro Max....wow, when you list it like that they have how many flats?!lol

I just hope everything can find new homes, preferably in the UK. This is sad, but it's happened. Let's just hope our other smaller parks can benefit from this with some good decision making.
 
Seems that the Flamingoland owners are wanting to set up camp at Loch Lomond in Scotland (in theory send the rides up there), but sadly it seems that a number of folk don't want this to take place, no surprise there. I know we like to bash the quality of FL saying it's cheap and all, then again thanks to M&D's the bar is set pretty damn low in Scotland so I can imagine they'd have nothing to lose.

Then again it would be probably more easier if they buyout M&D's and develop on there.
 
So Flamingo Land are now planning to build new parks in both Scarborough and Scotland. Are they trying to be the Merlin of the north?!

I think it's fair to say that a lot of politics will have been involved with Flamingo Land's decision to sell Pleasure Island off to Melanie Wood, who I'm pretty certain is FL's owner's sister in law and who used to be very heavily involved in the management of Flamingo. Their family affairs are, of course, none of my business but it is interesting to speculate why they turned their back on Pleasure Island which was the park they built themselves.
 
The Scotland operation won't have any rides though, it's just a camp/caravan site. Plus, Flamingoland have said that they won't continue if there's any local opposition.
 
It's worth noting that rides have moved between Flamingo Land and Pleasure Island since the split, with Voltar moving/opening last year.
 
Probably a good thing. Doesn't look like there was anything of value at the park and its closure will probably give the other struggling small parks nearby (Mingo, Fantasy) a bit of a boost.
 
This was my local park growing up and the first theme park I ever went to, so I've got some great memories of the place and am pretty sad to see it shut. Can't say I'm surprised though, the parks location and small size meant it was never going to appeal to many people outside of Lincolnshire and neighbouring counties.

It does say a lot about the current state of the UK theme park industry that while Alton Towers are currently building what will most likely be another £10M+ rollercoaster, a small park such as this one has had to close down.
 
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