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Valhalla: Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Zak said:
In reply to keeping your feet dry Ive always found putting the poncho over your knees and putting your feet on the side of the boat.

Upon entering the ''out side'' part of the ride before you drop backwards on the left hand side is it an air cannon that shoots up? If so it seems abit pointless? And is there any reason why the boat stops then moves forwards and litteraly BANGS and jolts forwards?
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There is an air cannon on that part of the ride yes, also there is the huge wind machines which are supposed to be blowing the boat around slightly later on. And I believe that the stopping and moving on is a deliberate effect to make you think that the boat's going to go over the edge - even though there is the netting blocking the open bit. I agree it is a bit forceful though, feels as though there is a little too much speed in it.
 
Feet up on the side of the boat or the seat in front of you, therefore knees up under the poncho and water not gathering. Hold onto poncho hood below chin in manner of old-lady-plastic-scarf. Voila! Obviously you're never going to stay completely dry, but I have found this method leaves you 'bearably wet' 9 times out of 10. ;)
 
Did someone mention Valhalla...

As most people may know, I love the ride to bits and I know most things about how the ride effect wise has ran in the past and today...

The effects are never on rotation, just I think the effects system can't cope with triggering the effects, power problems ect.

On average you have to ride at least 3 times straight after each other to have an idea what effects aren't working... As one ride they may just not trigger, but there not broken so a re-ride will confirm this...

The amount of water that's splashed about the place it's a wonder it's working at all...
 
In regards to your comment Dean I wonder if you'd be able to help the scene where the 2 logs ''smack'' together and a gush of water comes from both sides then as you turn left that spinning thing comes towards you theres metal rods sticking out on the right hand side in themeing? what are these just air cannons? they make a weird noise as you go past though. Hopefully you'll understand what im talking about and not talking complete nonsense :p
 
Zak said:
In regards to your comment Dean I wonder if you'd be able to help the scene where the 2 logs ''smack'' together and a gush of water comes from both sides then as you turn left that spinning thing comes towards you theres metal rods sticking out on the right hand side in themeing? what are these just air cannons? they make a weird noise as you go past though. Hopefully you'll understand what im talking about and not talking complete nonsense :p
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I think I know what you're on about. The metal rods are part of an effect that is supposed to be several flaming arrows. What normally happens is that an air canon fire's at the boat at the same time as a sound effect of a near miss arrow is played. A metal rod then flips up from the wall and catches fire, completing the effect that a flaming arrow has just been fired at you. This happens several times to make it seem like you’re under heavy fire.

Now the Metal rod's you're referring to are either the air canons or the metal rods that catch fire. I would have thought you were referring to the flaming rods but as you said the right hand side it was probably the air canons as I only remember the flaming arrows to be on the left hand side. I could be wrong though.
 
This ride is just so interesting to learn about! Did they run out of money/ideas towards the end of the ride aswell with the last scene it seems abit pointless with a big statue, a metal viking and a fireball when everything else in the ride is really well themed?
 
Zak said:
This ride is just so interesting to learn about! Did they run out of money/ideas towards the end of the ride aswell with the last scene it seems abit pointless with a big statue, a metal viking and a fireball when everything else in the ride is really well themed?
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It's just so complex that perhaps they realised that it would be impossible to continue the number of effects consistently throughout the ride?
 
I used to try and keep myself as dry as possible on Valhalla. I have never yet succeeded even in the slightest - I don't even bother now!

The last ride I had on Valhalla was August last year, and it was the first time I'd seen the tunnel/ring of fire at the bottom of one of the drops - I was stunned :D.

As impressive and grand as the ride and its effects are, I'm afraid the epic soaking kinda ruins it for me :(.
 
Had the privilege of riding Valhalla six times yesterday, and unfortunately one of the side effects of the new façade is that upon exiting the station, you get an unfortunate shower of water deflecting off a nearby surface of fibreglass rock. So after this point (as early in the ride as it is), you wouldn't care less about getting a royal soaking for the following six minutes.

After a huge number of effects working on my first day on the new Valhalla last month (Which ended in ten rides that day!) it is a shame to see the ride being quite temperamental merely a few months in. Unfortunately the last fire cannon has only worked on one of my 16 rides - a shame really, seeing as it is now the last thing you see with the Valhalla shop now a mere memory.

All in all it is in my opinion Britain's best water and dark ride, but only the latter when things are working to standard.
 
Adam said:
Had the privilege of riding Valhalla six times yesterday, and unfortunately one of the side effects of the new façade is that upon exiting the station, you get an unfortunate shower of water deflecting off a nearby surface of fibreglass rock. So after this point (as early in the ride as it is), you wouldn't care less about getting a royal soaking for the following six minutes.

After a huge number of effects working on my first day on the new Valhalla last month (Which ended in ten rides that day!) it is a shame to see the ride being quite temperamental merely a few months in. Unfortunately the last fire cannon has only worked on one of my 16 rides - a shame really, seeing as it is now the last thing you see with the Valhalla shop now a mere memory.

All in all it is in my opinion Britain's best water and dark ride, but only the latter when things are working to standard.
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It's so poor how they designed that rock facade without anticipating the way the waterfall would flow onto it. The station will deteriorate a lot faster than it did previously due to the constant water falling onto it from that piece of poor modelling.
 
Monday 25th June

Effects not working at all...

Crow Audio
Left Hand Fire Torch (This is not broken, but turned off for safety reasons. Should be back soon!)
Snow Guns
Fire Square
Final Fire Ball

Tuesday 26th June

Effects not working at all...

Crow Audio
Left Hand Fire Torch (This is not broken, but turned off for safety reasons. Should be back soon!)
Fire Square (On, but very hit and miss...)
Final Fire Ball (On, but very hit and miss...)

The blaster thing at the end of the ride has now had it's sensor put back up, so this is now back in operation...

This was my 1st visit where the waterfall on the front has been in use, and if there is a slight wind pushing the waterfall to the left this creates a river by the exit in the station.

Wind blowing to the right and it soaks people leaving the station, so today it was turned off as we had a river by the exit, yesterday wind was blowing to the right and it was left on all day...
 
I hope that they are going to restore the 'FauxFire' effect in the scetion after the first lift (which is presently known as the "hissing steam room/tunnel" among other things. When I spoke to one of the original effect creators, he indicated that the park had expressed an interest in doing so: http://riderater.co.uk/?p=1926

I don't know when that effect was last working properly, I certainly have never seen it and I don't think I have ever spoken to anyone that remembers it or has even seen it. It must have died quite early in the ride's lifetime.

The effect I'm talking about is the same one that is used at the Dungeons during the burned at the stake scenes - it's quite cool.

I've always suspected that many effects are deliberately turned off/rotated to save money for the most part, as opposed to them simply not working - but that's just my take. Although I know the orange/red lighting doesn't actually work on the FauxFire bit, hence we just have the steam/mist and hissing of the system.
 
The FauxFire was working fine both days on my trip (was slightly weak), the lighting for the FauxFire was changed during the recent reburb to coloured strip lighting.

The only thing that I've seen wrong with the FauxFire this season, is the left hand side sometimes is not working, but the right hand side goes mentle, as it doesn't have to run the other side as well.

Over the year's it been repaired, as the boiler went so they had to get a new one...

It's not the FauxFire that needs retuning, it's the there water tunnel they need help with. Even though they clean it daily, it's still not perfect and still soaking riders, not that it matters with the other things that soak you throughout the ride...
 
Dean said:
The FauxFire was working fine both days on my trip (was slightly weak), the lighting for the FauxFire was changed during the recent reburb to coloured strip lighting.

The only thing that I've seen wrong with the FauxFire this season, is the left hand side sometimes is not working, but the right hand side goes mentle, as it doesn't have to run the other side as well.

Over the year's it been repaired, as the boiler went so they had to get a new one...

It's not the FauxFire that needs retuning, it's the there water tunnel they need help with. Even though they clean it daily, it's still not perfect and still soaking riders, not that it matters with the other things that soak you throughout the ride...
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I didn't realise that it had been working, it seems you are quite lucky to see it (or I and others are unlucky as not to have).

As for the tunnel, yes indeed. To me that comes across as a pump pressure issue, the water seems to fall slightly short of where it's menat to land basically.
 
I also visited the same day Dean was there and it's the first time I've ever seen the snow sprayers working and along with the effect I mentioned on here the arrows with the fire. Also after coming out the snow room it's the first time I've saw the drop so misty/foggy which was a great effect! But on our 3rd ride all the fire effects didn't work asif they'd been blown out. A member of the general public also mentioned a "ring of fire" effect? Is this true or them just over exhadurating?
 
Zak said:
I also visited the same day Dean was there and it's the first time I've ever seen the snow sprayers working and along with the effect I mentioned on here the arrows with the fire. Also after coming out the snow room it's the first time I've saw the drop so misty/foggy which was a great effect! But on our 3rd ride all the fire effects didn't work asif they'd been blown out. A member of the general public also mentioned a "ring of fire" effect? Is this true or them just over exhadurating?
Click to expand...

I have never seen it, but from what I understand from others, on the final drop there is an archway over the track which is ignighted and also bubbles of gas are pumped through the water from under the track and also ignite - causing a 360 degree ring/square through which the boat passes (or maybe it is turned off just before?).
 
I never even knew the 'steam' room was supposed to be 'fire', I always thought it was just supposed to be steam? Never seen the arrows before either.

I think I've seen the ring of fire before, but thought it was more of an illusion and you were just seeing the fire in the room reflected to look like you pass through it. Either way it's one of the most effective effects.
 
I have been on with the ring of fire working and it is spectacular, its what looks like a charred wooden structure around the very bottom of the drop that is completely on-fire and you pass through it. I think i have seen it work twice and both times quite a few years ago.
 
I often wish that the ride was just built as a dark ride, without the ridiculous wet part... Yes, it could have been a boat ride with a couple of drops, but surely it would have been possible to make it dryer yet still have fantastic effects. It may have made the effects less hit and miss and would certainly encourage me to ride it. As it is now, I am put off the thing because it is so damn wet!
 
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