Coaster

What a nightmare

Ah I remember those dusty old TV's, they were in the queue for years but I never saw them working!

The Big One is one of the worst, it's lost all its team from two/three years ago and the operations have plummeted to absolutely unbelievable low standards as a result.

One of the biggest issues with ride operations is that they've lost virtually all the experienced staff who had been at the park for years, mainly due to awful, awful management who treat both their staff and guests with disdain. The Big One for example, a very complex ride to run and with no-one there who knows what they're doing now it's a complete shambles. Compare that to three/four years ago when they'd have it running two trains in 40 mph winds because they knew exactly what the operating limits and optimum wind directions were! The second issue is the engineering department, the team themselves are fantastic and dedicated people but when their hours are being cut a week before opening when the park is nowhere near ready, their job becomes impossible. Good old Amanda eh? The staffing at the park is an absolute mess and turning away staff with experience whilst keeping certain members of management on is, quite simply, lunacy.

Icon being closed was, from what I've seen and been told, the tip of the iceberg. Coasters and flats/other rides were going down left right and centre, the only coaster on full capacity was Dipper, catering sounds like it was a nightmare and a staff member in a managerial position was heard telling guests to "deal with it" and calling them "tits" due to them complaining about being evacuated out of Icon's queue, just after it had opened (mid afternoon!) It sounds like one of the worst weekends in the park's history, and due to many more factors than just Icon being down for the majority of the time.

Not really, last year's opening weekend was decent enough with a few breakdowns (but in most cases the rides reopened shortly after) and some rides on low capacity; about what I'd expect from BPB in February. The weather affects The Big One, it can't run in high winds otherwise it would stall. With that said, the operating limits to seem to be getting lower and lower and often they just send the staff home now whereas they always used to keep the staff on to do cleaning around the ride until such time as the winds lowered; even if the forecast suggested that they wouldn't. But that's a whole different debate. Today sounds much, much worse than last year. The number of rides closed, breaking down and/or on low capacity far surpasses that of last year, plus Icon which closed at lunchtime today and failed to reopen. Ultimately operations at PB have, in recent years, been very hit-and-miss. But in the second half of 2018, they got worse and worse (there were reasons for this which I won't go into but ultimately the operations are in a mess behind the scenes). I see today as a combination of early-season teething troubles, but also, far more worryingly, a continuation of the downturn we saw towards the end of 2018. As for why enthusiasts rush to go to opening weekend, I can't answer that one.

Opening day last year was fine. A couple of breakdowns but the rides reopened shortly afterwards, some coasters on low capacity but the park held together pretty well overall.

That's just terrible I'm sorry, this place isn't BPB anymore. It's just an embarrassment. If you're still on park I'd recommend going into guest services (or if you've left maybe speak with the staff outside Noah's Ark).

I wasn't on park or anywhere near Blackpool today, but it sounds like it's been one of the worst days in the park's history. Icon closed by lunchtime, every coaster (apart from Dipper and Icon in the morning) on one train, PMBO e-stopping on the lifthill constantly, most coasters closed for some or all of the day and Valhalla/flats going down constantly. The Big One only started testing in the last week, is that really long enough? For comparison, I went to opening weekend last year and whilst there were a few breakdowns (as to be expected really) and some rides on low capacity, it was an enjoyable weekend and we managed to get on everything. This highlights, IMO, how far the park has fallen in the past year in terms of being able to hold together on a busy day. It was awful towards the end of last season, and seems that it's even worse now. The park has lost many of its most experienced staff and it shows.

We've had top 10 coaster counts, we've had park counts, but what about your top 10 roller coaster manufacturers? I'll start with my current list, bearing in mind I haven’t yet visited many non-UK parks and am yet to ride an RMC (hence me not being able to judge them); 5. Intamin - They've produced some shockers and I'm not generally a huge fan of the UK collection we have, but they've also brought us some incredible rides such as Taron, and I'm sure with various ventures this year I'll get to ride some of their better rides. 4. Mack Rides - Their rich family values and innovative technology make them a special company, who have produced some of the most globally-recognised and comfortable coasters of modern times. They've started new design trends, but (from my experience) their coasters are a little to "polite" for my personal taste. 3. B&M - Some of their coasters are incredible, some I find fairly dull, but in terms of quality and durability they're second-to-none. 2. Great Coasters International – Just amazing. They've taken the classic concept of a wooden coaster and completely reinvented it with modern technology, from the insane fast turns of Troy to frantic bunny-hops on Joris, they push the capabilities of a wooden coaster to its absolute limits and it’s fantastic. 1. Arrow Dynamics - Just an absolutely incredible company with a fascinating history. Sure, they had their shortfalls; plenty of them. But this is the company that invented the modern steel coaster - the company that started log flumes, hyper coasters and so many other coaster/ride types that we now take for granted. I sometimes wonder where the industry would be today if Arrow hadn't existed. Considering the huge amount of concepts they introduced, and the fact that many employees from Arrow went on to work in other, or in some cases, started their own company, they truly left a huge legacy behind. I love the quirkiness and awkwardness of some of their coasters, which is probably quite telling of why I hold The Big One in such high regard, and the work Arrow did set the stage for the future of the industry in so many ways.

Efteling seem to be doing a lot of good, though the replacement for Bob does look to be a bit of a downgrade. Crossing my fingers that it's open in April, missed it by a week last October!

I like that way of thinking, sort the park out properly and then invest in something big once its ready - if that's what they're doing then fair enough. Should've happened years ago, mind.

Ahh, the memories! Ultimate Top 10 Thrill Rides was the classic.

Not a fan of the way Cedar Fair go about things, tbh. Didn't they buy Geauga Lake and close it down purely to eliminate competition for Cedar Point, losing a park over 100 years old with a rich history in the process?

Thorpe seem to have a one track mind with IPs at the moment, it's probably why any developments are delayed.

I'm not sure if they were available to purchase online, but I remember "bounce backs" being heavily advertised at Thorpe back in 2008-11ish; it might have been as you were exiting the park rather than on the way in though. Same with the "Towers 2 ticket" (think it was called that), I think they may have even offered the choice between returning the next day or any day for the remainder of the season at a higher price.

Trouble is, that's Thorpe...

I mean, they're damaging their own brand more than anything else. It's like the park has gone into "self destruct mode" recently..

What even is Thorpe's social media...

Another thing, I find it really naff that you see guests getting off the train carriage before/whilst you board, ideally the offload should have been on the other side surely? It'd be really nice if Thorpe arranged a behind the scenes tour for TPM, the same way that PBE members (myself included) have had tours round the interior of Valhalla.

I think the potential of the hanging train carriage and reveal that you've moved into an underground station are both massively underused, they're the most impressive features of the whole ride yet you're rushed off the train without even getting time to see the surroundings you've moved into? I'm sorry, who thought that up? Why go to the extent of creating such a clever illusion and then fail to present it properly? There should be a lighting sequence and audio when you get off that train, it should be a big moment. Also, has anyone considered that it could be a much more fun experience without the VR? It could be more of a multi sensory experience on the train with it plunging you into darkness, using audio and lighting cleverly to create actual, proper illusions, filling the train up with smoke and projecting figures onto it etc. In my opinion, the use of VR destroys the potential that the (extremely clever) ride system had and makes it an extremely poor and subjective experience. It never delivered on its promises and has only got worse since opening, then there's the completely destoyed live scene too.

Perhaps they should aim to provide a good customer experience so that people think positively of the brand? Why is that too much to ask when it should be the fundamental basic to any visitor attraction?? (Also 5 creme eggs instead of 6 when it used to be 6, what's all that about!)

Yeah, but I did say it wasn't all posted to the forum

Actually, I'm talking about this post. There were other posts elsewhere, never said it was posted directly to this forum.

You don't really have a point, since I said when the details were announced which was in January 2016. All we knew back in 2015 was that it would be psychological and that Derren Brown would be involved. The details (in particular that it would be a VR experience) were announced in Jan 16.