Coaster

The other rides at BPB are Grade 2 listed, but if they want to remove them they'll most likely be able to find a way around it.

I don't think they care really, their statement said as much - whilst Icon is a promising sign of things to come, I do think it's a shame that the park is losing its most unique asset - the heritage rides.

That is true, but I would suggest that Wild Mouse took up a tiny amount of space for how thrilling it was, and BPB would be very hard pressed to fit a suitable replacement into such a small area.

It really sucks that Wild Mouse went. BPB would have had an incredible coaster lineup to claim this year if Mouse was still there, with the five wooden coasters and six steel. It does feel like there's something missing from the park even with Icon looking so fantastic. Icon is a huge step forward for the UK industry but in terms of BPB, I don't really see the "one in, one out" ideal as progress, especially considering they had in excess of 12 coasters back in the 90's.

The claim "first wooden coaster built in the UK for 21 years" isn't even that true, seeing as the Scenic Railway at Dreamland was re-built a couple of years ago. The Wicker Man structure looks good in those photos but as people have mentioned, it's probably only for the photo shoot - much like how the interior of Derren Brown's Ghost Train looks with the fog in promo pictures despite the fact it has never had that when operating to guests.

It certainly won't be heavily themed, particuarly the first half as it wouldn't really work given it passes over rides, pathways etc - but I'm hopeful it'll be styled well to match the Japanese branding - Amanda hinted at a garden a while ago so maybe they'll do something along these lines?

The last thing Thorpe needs is another horror or dull/drab theme.

An interesting interview posted by Pleasure Beach Experience. Whilst I don't necessarily agree with certain points raised in the interview (seemingly disregarding the "old rides"), it's fantastic to see such genuine passion and enthusiasm for a new coaster from the park owners. It's interesting that Amanda mentions theming, if the concept art is anything to go by I'm hopeful we might see something special; If you're visiting BPB over the next few weekends I'd recommend picking up a park map, this poster is on the back but is limited edition!

A cold weekend in February means only one thing, opening weekend at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and the first chance to see Icon in person (and cry about Wild Mouse of course)! The day started with a perimeter walk around the park in the rain; A very sad sight for any Pleasure Beach fan; The weather was quite nice on Sunday morning; River Caves still looks as mouldy as ever, most of the dark rides felt very neglected this weekend; The space formerly occupied by Trauma Towers; Icon is something else. Seeing it in person, it looks absolutely incredible and it's surreal standing underneath it. Crazy! The park was running fairly well for February, reliability was decent overall with only a few rides down all weekend (Flying Machines, PBE and Grand Prix) and a few breakdowns. The Big One didn't move at all due to wind on Sunday but was open on Saturday, Infusion late opening on Sunday and Avalanche had a breakdown later on in the day. Dark rides were atrocious, nothing working in Ghost Train and theming ripped out, Valhalla worse than ever (disco lights on the first lifthill?!) and the less said about River Caves the better. It's clear the park has no care for maintaining the themed experience their dark rides should offer, a shame. Grand National was running really well for early season, as were Dipper and Streak. Amazing to get back on and was hilarious riding Dipper and Streak in the snow/hail! Coasters is being redone with a balcony overlooking Icon, will be great once it's done. I have very mixed thoughts regarding BPB this year but one thing is for certain... Icon looks outstanding.

I hope they don't ruin it, like warehouse blaster.

Called it! Incidentally I'm hoping to visit Liseberg this year, does anyone know if the park operates a staggered opening policy on the rides?

I just want the fab lighting & audio to stay, sod the Walking Dead...

"European first" now!

I'd rather they focused on infrastructure and guest experience than short term investments such as this.

The visual impact of Icon on the rest of the park really is impressive. Looks great.

Absolutely stunning. Great work from Alton/TLC!

It would have been possible for the park to release a statement acknowledging the ride's history, maybe encouraging people to share their memories of the ride - just something that shows care rather than the soulless corporate statement they (hurriedly) released. Of course the situation was difficult to handle, but they made the decision to demolish it and therefore should have been better prepared to make the information public. Agree completely with this. It was one of the best coasters around, not to mention a piece of theme park history, and they couldn't even be bothered. No better than Merlin.

Attraction Images has footage of Wicker Man testing;

Wild Mouse had indeed been on thin ice for a while, however I think the shock has come from the fact that the ride's future looked secure for the first time in years after the significant investment of the new braking system had been made and the system bedded in properly. I do know that the heavier cars (due to the new magnetic slab on the side of them) were causing problems with the ride structure, which could be seen by huge amount of wood replacement in had during the 2017 season, and in addition the chain snaps. I do not believe this alone would have seen the demise of the Mouse, however. I disagree that the park handled it the right way. It has to be remembered that Wild Mouse opened in 1958, making it both historic and something that so many people hold memories of. I fully understand why they didn't announce it prior to demolishing the ride, however I feel that they have made a mistake in towing the corporate "it's progress, deal with it" line. In addition, the fact that people found out for themselves (rather than the park announcing it after the demolition) is pretty shocking and in my opinion BPB are being rightfully derided for it. I think it's unfair to dismiss these comments as stupid. It is true that 2018 looked to be a truly outstanding year for the park, with Icon opening and no ride removals. Now it's certainly bittersweet with us losing one of the UK's best coasters, and for some (myself included) a new coaster will not make up for this.

As this year will most likely see me visiting some European theme parks, here's my "UK top 10" as of the end of 2017; 1. Valhalla* 2. The Big One 3. Wild Mouse () 4. Grand National 5. Megafobia 6. Nemesis 7. Big Dipper 8. The Smiler 9. Speed 10. The Ultimate *When it used to be good

Alton Towers did not have a "worlds first" as fire has been used on wooden coasters before, therefore I think it is rightful that they have had to revoke the claim.

In my opinion, this was a PR exercise. Alton Towers announced hugely exaggerated cuts to opening hours & ride availability, then reversed them so they were slightly better but still massively cut back on last year. Because they appear to have "listened to feedback" this caused people to see it as a positive. If however, they had announced the finalised cuts to opening hours & ride availability first, people would have seen it as a negative and there would have been no positive to placate angry customers. It's unbelievable that people are actually PRAISING them for reducing the value of the product?!

2018 has to be one of the strangest UK theme park years ever - and we're only in January!

Yep. Looks good.