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Pleasure Island to close down

Just felt it during riding, the rotating dimension felt grindy and jerky. Also Obliterator needed scrapping ;)
 
Has much as a despise them rides, Obliterator actually seemed in good condition.... and besides that's off to a new home in the Czech Republic!
 
Lets hope they turn up the rotation speed for it,MIT was slow enough to be uncomfortable as forces were weaker
 
Obliterator just never felt safe to me. Its entire thrill factor came from the overwhelming fear of falling out of the damn thing whilst upside down. Yet at the same time, the ride sensation itself was incredibly dull. It won't be missed.
 
Took the kids I used to work with to Camelot to ride their version of Obliterator...Excalibur 2 I think it was called.
One of the lads (very tough nut) found this one ride absolutely terrifying, and said he was very close to falling out of the harness.
I took the mick, then there was an accident on the ride a few weeks later, a 12 year old fell out of the ride, then my young client gave me hell for months!
Didn't put him off coasters though I'm pleased to say.
 
I don't know why I do this to myself, but I'm going to ask anyway. Someone explain how its anything to do with Merlin that Pleasure lsland shut down?

If it was Drayton, I'd tend to agree - but it isn't, it's Pleasure Island. The latest victim of an industry that is too big, that remained unpruned for far too long. Pleasure Island is a park that existed because of its location, it was never intended to be a destination park, always a facility that existed to serve the needs of the transient holidaying population of Cleethorpes.

It suffered from poor transport links, a lack of local population of the required demographic and competition from Fantasy Island. As the years rolled on, it's become more and more expensive to operate such a facility therefore margins have collapsed. Most (surviving) parks diversifying to offer overnight accommodation and additional facilities on site.

Pleasure Island has continued to operate as if it's 1992, you can't do that anymore. I don't think it was through choice - more that you need capital that just wasn't available to them.

The British seaside parks and smaller regional parks have really battled to survive, but so many couldn't make it. When people visited the seaside for a week, you'd head to the park for a day or an evening because you were already there - but many of those attractions did not warrant a trip on their own.

See Camelot, American Adventure, Granada Studios, Pleasureland, Ocean Beach, Frontierland, Spanish City, Marvels, Kursaal or Belle Vue, for other examples. Times change - it's not just a UK thing, either.
 
never fear - you can always bid on a piece of the place from 9am TODAY!
https://www.bidonthis.co.uk/catalogue/5928-prestige-auctions-grimsby
Everything from coffin shelving to signage, tat merch to the staff canteen kitchen sink, even a Henry Hoover.
Empty space in your garden and cash to burn? Why not chuck a bid on the dodgems!
Or if you really want to splash the cash the carousel is up for sale.
After an unusual garden feature? they recommend the monorail cars or Tinkerboo boats....
 
This park is my life I got some of the signs from it also I won a toffee head but had it taken away from me we went to pick it up and they said we did not win but I do know someone who has one in skegness. If you ever got on Tommy Tinkaboos Sweet Adventure it's not a rip off and knocks Bubbleworks 2006 Imperial Leather upgraded version out of the water. The only thing I like and made Bubbleworks a success was the fountains a lot of people get triggered when I say stuff like this but it's true the story. Was good but animations and characters was very poor as where Tommy Tinkaboo has every character with at least one moment and they basically let Rex go wild on the ride making it even better.
 
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Theme Park Worldwide uploaded a video they filmed at an auction that was held at the park back in March.
It makes me feel so sad :(.

 
Whilst it is always sad when a park closes, if your product isn't compelling enough, you simply won't attract visitors.

I consider myself very well travelled within theme parks really, having ridden many coasters over the world.

But I didn't bother with this place because, to be brutally honest, it looked rubbish.

Hopefully something else can crop up in this neck of the woods in the years that come.

:)
 
AstroDan said:
Whilst it is always sad when a park closes, if your product isn't compelling enough, you simply won't attract visitors.

I consider myself very well travelled within theme parks really, having ridden many coasters over the world.

But I didn't bother with this place because, to be brutally honest, it looked rubbish.

Hopefully something else can crop up in this neck of the woods in the years that come.

:)
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Problem was, that it was no way near anything of worth... The UK holiday has basically died now and those that do would go to the places you think of when you suggest a UK seaside trip such as Skegness, Blackpool etc. all of which have closer and some what, better quality propositions for those looking for thrills.

There is probably only a small amount of people that really think "We will go to Cleethorpes" as there is nothing there...
 
KingNemesis said:
Problem was, that it was no way near anything of worth... The UK holiday has basically died now and those that do would go to the places you think of when you suggest a UK seaside trip such as Skegness, Blackpool etc. all of which have closer and some what, better quality propositions for those looking for thrills.
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What do you mean exactly by "The UK holiday has basically died now", out of interest? My family still go on many holidays in the UK. In fact, the only abroad holidays we have are our Florida holidays!

Also, the sorts of places you mention (Skegness, Blackpool etc.) are actually the sort of places that my family like to avoid! I personally think they look quite nice, but my family does not agree! The only reason we're headed for Blackpool in summer is because I wanted to go to BPB and ride Icon! In terms of British seaside places, the only seaside places I've been to more than once are Pembrokeshire and Torquay.
 
Clearly Pleasure Island wasn't one of the UK's top theme parks, but I certainly wouldn't say it was rubbish. When I visited the shows were pretty good, albeit similar to the ones Flamingo Land offered at the time. There was a sea lion show, parrot show, costume character show and African acrobats. I seem to remember the scripts having quite a few jokes and the performers had a lot of enthusiasm. The shows were just as well as most of the rides spun you round, so without the shows to break up the day I can imagine you would have ended up feeling sick. When I went there was more live entertainment at this little park that few people have heard of than most of the major parks have now.

There was a good range of flat rides. Looking at it objectively the Booster was probably the best one. The coasters weren't anything special, although the Vekoma roller skater looked quite nice with it's section over the lake. I also liked the miniature railway and Tommy Tinkerboos wasn't a bad dark ride (although not as good as Bubble Works/Toyland Tours). The go karts were included in the admission price (which is unusual) and there were some classics which had become rare such as the Power Tower. I'm not trying to make out that this was some kind of secret Europa Park, because clearly it wasn't, but I had a really good time on my only visit when I happened to be in the area.
 
Matt N said:
What do you mean exactly by "The UK holiday has basically died now", out of interest? My family still go on many holidays in the UK. In fact, the only abroad holidays we have are our Florida holidays!

Also, the sorts of places you mention (Skegness, Blackpool etc.) are actually the sort of places that my family like to avoid! I personally think they look quite nice, but my family does not agree! The only reason we're headed for Blackpool in summer is because I wanted to go to BPB and ride Icon! In terms of British seaside places, the only seaside places I've been to more than once are Pembrokeshire and Torquay.
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Compared to 10 - 15 years ago and even more so, the UK holiday / seaside break idea has dropped drastically. Gone are the days where a family have there "big" holiday at [INSERT SEASIDE TOWN HERE] and instead they are taking cheap flights abroad.

A majority of people that still do go to the more popular resorts such as the aforementioned Skegness, Blackpool etc. and even they are a shadow of there former self.

There are some "popular" seaside towns but when I said it has basically died, I meant by the variety of locations has diminished dramatically... Places like Cleethorpes are no longer the "ideal" holiday location like they once were.
 
It had the best boomerang in the country, a decent dark ride and a couple of half decent flats. Areas had a nice charm but it lacked on the coaster lineup. If they'd had managed to buy another large standout coaster in between 2010-2016 I think they'd have survived, even a USP flat or off the shelf coaster for this country. Cleethorpes and Grimsby aren't very attractive places to visit though. ;)
 
KingNemesis said:
Compared to 10 - 15 years ago and even more so, the UK holiday / seaside break idea has dropped drastically. Gone are the days where a family have there "big" holiday at [INSERT SEASIDE TOWN HERE] and instead they are taking cheap flights abroad.

A majority of people that still do go to the more popular resorts such as the aforementioned Skegness, Blackpool etc. and even they are a shadow of there former self.

There are some "popular" seaside towns but when I said it has basically died, I meant by the variety of locations has diminished dramatically... Places like Cleethorpes are no longer the "ideal" holiday location like they once were.
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Thanks @KingNemesis! People do still go to these seaside towns en masse, but I would agree that not many really go to the seaside as their "big" holiday anymore. For example, our family's "big" holidays are our Florida holidays.
 
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