Coaster

In more positive news, BPB have applied for planning permission to demolish the disused Star Pub in January 2018 to make way for a new 120 room hotel. Image from Everything Blackpool on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EverythingBlackpool/

True. As I mentioned, the issue isn't that there are effects down, it's that presentation of the overall scenes is poor and the effects are taking longer to be fixed. The projection itself has been working on almost every ride I've had on Valhalla this season, however the audio has been inaudible for at least two seasons and the projection itself looks terrible with wires hanging down! Thunder audio? Two-headed dog audio back on its sensor rather than looped? The trommels stopped working part-way through 2016 (to my memory), and haven't worked since. When you say they were all "working" does that mean they've fixed the 'boom' on the final explosion? It has been broken all year and hadn't been fixed on Vampire Beach weekend, my last visit to the park in 2017. Yeah, they've removed the doors from the backwards drop, entrance into the ice room and exit of the final fire room. Shame as it lets light leak into the scenes, and I suspect has prevented the ice from freezing properly as the cold air can escape rather than being contained. I have defended Valhalla over the years because I understand it's never going to be 100%, with it being such a complex attraction - but it just feels that there is no pride taken in it at all at the moment, from the higher budget fixes to small things such as repainting parts of the ride station which is just being left. I understand BPB are short of cash at the moment, and the fact they're opening a huge new coaster next year is fantastic - Valhalla (and the dark rides) only make up one element of the overall park and are one of my only gripes with the place at present.

Looking at it from this perspective, of course I'd much rather see a new coaster, especially one on the scale of Icon which is a huge investment for a family owned park - it's just a shame other areas (such as Valhalla) have had to be sacrificed as a result. Bringing the discussion away from Valhalla, it has been confirmed that the minimum height restriction for Icon will be 130cm.

A Walking Dead theme for a family coaster?

It's certainly true that the park's finances took a turn for the worse after Valhalla was built, and I'd argue that if it was replaced with an easier and less expensive ride to run (in the long term), BPB would have much more money to spend elsewhere. I disagree with your point about it looking okay to new riders, it looks shabby and lots of people comment on how tired it all looks. This isn't limited to Valhalla either, River Caves is looking neglected as well for example - but it's much more noticeable on a ride which is marketed as one of the world's best examples of its type. Effects wise, they have always tried to repair them whenever possible, but this year it just feels like everything has been left - there was literally only a handful of effects working towards the end of the season! Budgets are of course an issue, but I'd suggest there are improvements which could be made to the dark rides without spending huge amounts of money.

But if nobody cared, why was it designed differently in the first place? It's the difference between giving people an outstanding experience, or being happy with an average log flume in the dark. Whilst some people may still enjoy Valhalla, it won't be as highly regarded or talked about as it was when it was amazing. I heard a lot of comments from people on the ride this year along the lines of "didn't this used to be better" or "I thought this ride had good reviews" - but it's probably the difference between enthusiasts who will drill down to work out what the ride is missing, whereas the majority of guests will just see it as a forgettable experience. Ridership was noticeably lower towards the end of this season than it has been in previous years despite the park being busy.

Very true, I think Valhalla has always caused problems for the park however my argument for keeping it was that it was brilliant... now I don't see any point in the ride being there when it still takes up a huge chunk of the park's resources and doesn't even offer a good experience in return. With that considered, I do think some of it comes down to a lack of care; whilst the cost of maintaining the biggest effects will be high, I would argue that fine-tuning the lighting and audio and ensuring the presentation of the ride is up to scratch (for example, some of the sheets which separate the scenes have been torn for months!) comes down to creativity and taking pride in their attraction. The effects have never been 100% consistent (that would be near enough impossible with Valhalla), however they used to get fixed much more quickly than they do these days. Several of the ride's biggest and most talked-about effects have been broken for the majority of this season, for example. Combined with the terrible upkeep of the scenes, exterior and audio systems, I really don't think the ride is worth keeping unless BPB are prepared to invest a lot into restoring it.

Valhalla rant incoming... I'm aware I may care more about this than most people do, especially with it being my favourite ride and all, but it makes me so sad to see how crap Valhalla is these days Most of the effects being broken and the general state of the scenes has been highlighted a few pages ago in this thread, but seeing these two stills of the ice room really shows how one of the world's most impressive dark rides has been reduced to a poorly presented, unimpressive mess. Ice scene, 2011; A recent shot of the same scene; (Image sources; https://youtu.be/FJ2oF8OMVUE, https://youtu.be/k6SN9ho5P6U) I think Valhalla is misunderstood by the park's current management, and is being maintained as a piece of ride hardware rather than the themed, theatrical experience it was built as. All the creative thought and detail that went into the original ride, from the hugely impressive effects to tiny little things such as the colour of lighting used, or how the audio triggers, is lost. Personally, I would be in favour of the ride remaining closed during WOW Weekends in 2018, with the operating costs instead being ploughed into getting the experience back to the standards it has previously set. Failing this, I would rather see it removed for the park's next big investment (after Icon) rather than continued to operate as a shadow of its former self.

I don't have an issue with the Icon boarding passes, it's a nice novelty for those willing to pay but doesn't affect anyone who doesn't buy one. Speedy pass on the other hand...

I'd be against the following; Closure of a perfectly good family coaster. Prioritisation of an IP deal over starting work on restoring one of the park's staple family rides. Permanent TWD maze or attraction. Saw Alive failed, Sub Terra failed, why would this be any different? Don't need to elaborate on this one, VR on Swarm would be terrible and would undermine the investment that went into creating the theming and near misses originally!

^ If the above has any truth it, I think Thorpe really need to sort their priorities out!

I'm not a huge fan of cloned coasters, original layouts are much better IMO however I don't really have an issue with manufacturers building ride models with the intention of cloning them (SLCs, Boomerangs/Junior Boomerangs etc); however I do think it's a cop out for a park/manufacturer to copy an original design coaster in another park.

True, but that doesn't affect BPB if the customer can't get in! Also, you'd have to be daft to buy a band for a fiver expecting to get in! I'm sure it's a means of measuring the popularity of rides as well as consumer behaviour, could be wrong though!

Surely the hand stamp policy ensures that isn't possible, as you have to show the stamp to prove you have already been in the park on that day?

I think it's better to hold back on releasing an opening date until the park feels sure they can meet the expectations they set to their customers. Nothing worse than having to delay a ride and let down thousands of people... twice in some cases!

I believe they scan the wristbands to see which rides people have been on - just a research thing I think

Blackpool Pleasure Beach will reopen on the 10th February 2018

I could visit Fright Nights in 2008 without paying £5, and the standard/premium thing was brought in around 2010/11 if I recall correctly?

I remember when an annual pass meant an "annual" pass, there was no standard or premium, simply that an annual pass got you into the parks... annually!

I'm not expecting Loggers to reopen purely because of the way Merlin are, however I don't think it is unrealistic in terms of being achievable, next year will be the THIRD year of the ride being closed, surely that is more than enough time to refurbish and reopen a log flume?! There is more than one ride SBNO, Slammer is also closed, and I would hope for the ride to be removed over the winter (well, actually I'd rather it reopened but it won't!) rather than left there to rot. In addition, over the course of the season several rides are standing but not operating at different times, for example Rumba Rapids and Rush during Fright Nights. Whilst I appreciate this is at times unavoidable, I would suggest that Rumba in particular was down to a cost cutting measure at the expense of the overall theme park offering. This is where I feel that ride availability should be prioritised over short-term "world's first" attractions such as IAC.

Couldn't agree more with the above, IMO Thorpe needs to focus on providing an enjoyable day out next year, as this is a priority which seems to have been dropped in recent years. In my opinion the priorities for next year should be reopening the SBNO rides, sorting out the terrible entrance and improving park operations, these fundamental basics should be perfected before any new attractions are even considered IMO. Sadly, I expect we'll see budgets spent on yet another pointless, short-term gimmicky attraction at the expense of the overall guest experience of the theme park.

It's that depressing time of the year again, winter is here, closed season is upon us... but with 2018 just around the corner, at least there's a lot to look forward to! Which theme parks did you visit in 2017, and how many times? Still no abroad parks for me, but that will be rectified next year! I did however reach my 100th coaster, the Rittisberg Coaster in Austria; https://rcdb.com/13066.htm I'll start with: Blackpool Pleasure Beach: 28 Thorpe Park: 6 Alton Towers: 2 Oakwood: 2 Fantasy Island: 1 Paultons Park: 1 Adventure Island: 1 Dreamland Margate: 1 Legoland 1 Bottons Pleasure Beach: 1 Southport Pleasureland: 1 Clarence Pier: 1 Funland, Hayling Island: 1 Chessington: 1 TOTAL: 48 With the 2017 season over, all that's left to say is that I CON't wait for next year!* *...I'll get my coat!

This year has been the worst I can ever remember for Thorpe. The park doesn't need a new gimmicky attraction for next year, it needs Loggers back open and a general focus on getting the park back up to even approaching an acceptable standard for the paying customers who visit. In my opinion of course!

Last Icon photo update of the year from me, the next time I'm at BPB will be February and the ride will hopefully be almost fully constructed! More track has arrived; Station platform has gone in; Not too sure what to expect from the exterior of the station, but I hope it's themed to match the ride's logo; Roll on 2018!

I'd say there is plenty of space in Old Town, even if Loggers was to reopen. I could see a coaster interacting with the pathways, maybe even Colossus's first drop and over the last two turns of Loggers being fantastic. In addition, the Blair Witch area could potentially lend itself to a small, compact attraction?