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Southport Pleasureland

Shaggy_Dog_ said:
Looking at the booking page online it seems that it’s £25 for admission now (£15 for Over 70s, Under 90cm kids go free).

That’s absolutely mental pricing. You’d think that a vitally important part of those kind of seaside amusement parks is getting people to pop in for a bit for free to have a look at the park, maybe go on a few rides, spend money on the stalls, buy some food, etc alongside those that go there to ride all day with a wristband. That just seems insane shutting the park off from casual trade. I bet quite a few families will get a hell of a shock when they turn up only to find that it’s full admission ticket or nothing.
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Yes, it's a stupid decision. They only have to look up the road to see another park that is failing with a stubborn POP policy.

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shakey said:
Yes, it's a stupid decision. They only have to look up the road to see another park that is failing with a stubborn POP policy.

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That's crazy money and is on par with parks Like Drayton Manor who offer alot more
 
It was paid entry only through Covid though...they obviously didn't make as much with free entry for a year as they expected.
 
shakey said:
Yes, it's a stupid decision. They only have to look up the road to see another park that is failing with a stubborn POP policy.

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IMO the pay one price works for Blackpool pleasure beach. It's had it for years and up until Covid with the entry pass. They're not technically being stubborn with it in my eyes. It's not the 90s anymore I don't think the park can go back to the pay per ride free entry days. It's obvious they know that or they would've trialled it and seen how it would go these days. Not technically a question of being stubborn I'd say it's more what's economically viable. Though take that with a pinch of salt
 
jesterrace989 said:
IMO the pay one price works for Blackpool pleasure beach. It's had it for years and up until Covid with the entry pass. They're not technically being stubborn with it in my eyes. It's not the 90s anymore I don't think the park can go back to the pay per ride free entry days. It's obvious they know that or they would've trialled it and seen how it would go these days. Not technically a question of being stubborn I'd say it's more what's economically viable. Though take that with a pinch of salt
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Does it work ? If you call losing money almost every year working, then yes.

But I suppose this is a debate for the Blackpool thread and one we have had many times before.



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The reason so many parks are ditching the pay-per-ride model is two fold:
One: this belief or assertation that people walking around the park but not riding will buy food, drink and merch to drive a profit is clearly a fallacy. As much as we like to think it happens, clearly it doesn't otherwise parks wouldn't be ditching this model.
Two. It isn't the 90's. You can't staff attractions in the morning and either send them home or expect they work late depending on how busy it is. The world has changed and people just won't do this anymore.

Times have changed. We need to all adapt.
 
Most seaside parks still have some sort of pay per ride option. This may not mean totally free entry, as is the case for Great Yarmouth for example (where you must buy a minimum amount of tokens to enter), but I think it is a mistake for parks that have a lot of walk up trade to ignore the PPR option completely.

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shakey said:
Most seaside parks still have some sort of pay per ride option. This may not mean totally free entry, as is the case for Great Yarmouth for example (where you must buy a minimum amount of tokens to enter), but I think it is a mistake for parks that have a lot of walk up trade to ignore the PPR option completely.

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Southport doesn't have the walk-up-trade it had even just a few years ago. The pier has even been closed for a good few years now. So unless it's a blisteringly hot day, I would be surprised if walk-up's are nowhere near as prevalent as they were in the past.
 
ScottishChris said:
Southport doesn't have the walk-up-trade it had even just a few years ago. The pier has even been closed for a good few years now. So unless it's a blisteringly hot day, I would be surprised if walk-up's are nowhere near as prevalent as they were in the past.
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Maybe, I don't really know much about Southport. Visited Pontins there when I was a kid in the 70s.

I am so old !!


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shakey said:
Maybe, I don't really know much about Southport. Visited Pontins there when I was a kid in the 70s.

I am so old !!


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Oh, it is a lovely place. But it has been hit quite badly with a drop-off in visitor numbers in the last few years. It really is worth a visit, but it's the sort of place that is dead if the sun isn't out... which is a shame.

I drove past Southport Pontins a year or so ago. It looked grim. It is another thing that has recently closed in the area.
 
shakey said:
Does it work ? If you call losing money almost every year working, then yes.

But I suppose this is a debate for the Blackpool thread and one we have had many times before.



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Can't be losing that much money if it's still in place. It's clearly working. If it wasn't and they were losing huge amounts of money every year don't you think they would obviously do something about it?
 
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Southport is quite spread out. For example Pontins is in Ainsdale which is a long way outside of Southport and even then it's a long way out of Ainsdale village. The fair and marina are all quite spread apart and a good walk from town.
It means that passing trade doesn't really happen. You have to make the effort to reach the fair and you'll pass a lot of attractions on the way if you are walking.
 
ScottishChris said:
The reason so many parks are ditching the pay-per-ride model is two fold:
One: this belief or assertation that people walking around the park but not riding will buy food, drink and merch to drive a profit is clearly a fallacy. As much as we like to think it happens, clearly it doesn't otherwise parks wouldn't be ditching this model.
Two. It isn't the 90's. You can't staff attractions in the morning and either send them home or expect they work late depending on how busy it is. The world has changed and people just won't do this anymore.

Times have changed. We need to all adapt.
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Oh dear mate...The Beach at Blackpool do that every day of the week when it is quiet.
Staff arriving on zero hour (or ten hour a week) contracts at ten am, and being sent home at 1pm because there is little trade.
Saw it personally on at least half a dozen occasions last year.
Welcome to Blackpool, Victorian business practices a speciality.
The world has changed, the Beach hasn't.
Edit...sorry wrong topic!
Back on topic, going Southport today, would have had a wander, but not worth pop for an hour while my good lady does Lord St.
 
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jesterrace989 said:
Can't be losing that much money if it's still in place. It's clearly working. If it wasn't and they were losing huge amounts of money every year don't you think they would obviously do something about it?
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Accounts say differently I am afraid . Almost every year is a loss. Sometimes a big loss. They are visibly struggling. But the park is run by a very stubborn woman who knows best.



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shakey said:
Accounts say differently I am afraid . Almost every year is a loss. Sometimes a big loss. They are visibly struggling. But the park is run by a very stubborn woman who knows best.



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Pleasureland or BPB?
 
Yes, get back on topic you bloody tyke.
Last time I did pleasureland I was amused by the number of food and drink stalls.
Probably more than the Towers!
 
ScottishChris said:
Pleasureland or BPB?
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Sorry, I meant Pleasure Beach as I assumed that is what @jesterrace989 was referring to.

Apologies as we seem to be slightly off topic here. So I will leave it there.

Back to pleasure land. If they ever get that new coaster , I will definitely pay a visit. But I can't see it coming any time soon.

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I was having a bit of a look at their website. They have a new "Steam Punk" land - to say it looks half-assed is an understatement. It also seems like they aren't doing season passes (I might be wrong), which seems really odd as you would think they would want to encourage return visits.

Pleasureland has never been for me - I went a good few years ago, and it was fine but I have absolute no desire to go back. If I owned the place I would ditch the idea of a new coaster and start looking to turn the place into a proper, well themed park for young families. Think Paulton's level theming. Demographic wise, there isn't anything really around this area that competes with that. They could even use some of the land they own on marine drive to have a few pay-per-ride higher thrill amusement rides as a separate entity to catch the discretionary spend of warm-weather tourists.
 
I'm pretty sure all the land is council owned...hence the overall lack of investment.
The council have never got on board fully, they see funfair stuff as below the standards of their style of resort.
I agree completely a Paultons style park would do well though...but money money money.
 
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