Coaster

I asked about this, apparently they are not allowed to use it as people were becoming too competitive - and spinning "too fast" regularly. A shame as it was a brilliant feature!

According to BPB's Construction 2018 webpage it'll have 15 interactions; https://www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com/construction/

In fairness it doesn't need a heavy theme or story, that isn't BPB's thing when it comes to coasters. Also, a heavy theme wouldn't really work given that the ride goes through different areas of the park. I'll be happy with a modern design, decent soundtrack and maybe a good "idea" - but not a theme as such. Something similar to the presentation of Helix would be great IMO.

Cornish Pasties!

There's another interesting video on BPB's Facebook page with more information about the ride, as well as interviews from Amanda, Nick and the Mack family. https://www.facebook.com/PBExperience/?fref=ts It says at the end of the video that work is set to begin next month.

Thanks for the tips, I've booked for Saturday 8th, really looking forward to it! I'll most likely post a review for each maze

There will be plenty of near misses with other coasters at the park; Park World Magazine announced yesterday that "it will interact 15 times with other Pleasure Beach coasters."

Wow, this looks fantastic! The layout looks phenomenal, especially the interaction with other rides - that turn over the Big Dipper at the end especially! I also like how it will be visible from many areas of the park. The only thing I'm not sold on is the maximum speed, which is around 50 mph - it seems relatively slow for a launch coaster, so will it have the thrill factor? I'm also not a fan of the colours, however I believe that is not yet confirmed. I'm incredibly excited for this, the fact that a coaster on this scale is coming to the UK is fantastic, and it should well and truly put BPB back on the map. The park have added a construction 2018 section to their website which includes some facts about the ride; https://www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com/construction/#usermessage22a

Yeah that's a fair point - I just meant that Mack would be the most likely candidate for a high budget coaster given the park's relationship with the family. Of course I'm not looking to be picky, I'm just as excited for this new coaster as anyone else!

Of course, the ride experience is always down to personal opinion. With that said, I'm fairly sure Helix was a more expensive investment, and in terms of quality of product probably a better investment than The Smiler. I can't compare The Swarm or Thirteen to Helix however I don't rate either of those very highly; but again, this all comes down to personal opinion.

I'd argue that a Mack coaster at Blackpool was going to happen eventually, given that BPB have had a good working relationship with Mack for years. Don't hold me to this as nothing is confirmed, but I believe that the only attraction that will close for this is the Go Karts (located under Steeplechase). Just to emphasise though, I'm not 100% certain on that.

A concept (not sure if official or unofficial) has been posted by Park World Magazine on Twitter; I like the colour scheme, but again I've no idea if it will actually be that colour. Interestingly the above render is slightly different to the layout plan that went online a while ago, so who knows...? Also, Park World Magazine has said that the coaster will have "15 interactions with other Pleasure Beach coasters." Sounds amazing! EDIT: This has just been posted to BPB's Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/blackpoolpleasurebeach/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

Or maybe it was simply announced too early...

It's a joke based on my review of Derren Brown's Ghost Train (I think)! Either way, it has no relevance in this topic Interestingly the second Tweet (confirming a double launch coaster) has been deleted.

Amanda Thompson has confirmed that Blackpool Pleasure Beach will open a double launch roller coaster from Mack Rides in 2018!

Amanda Thompson has Tweeted this; I believe we will be seeing a big announcement, possibly about a certain 2018 project, later today.

Though in fairness, Helix (in terms of an investment, can't comment on the ride experience as I haven't been on it) is far superior to any Merlin roller coaster. I'd much rather wait a few more years and get something outstanding, rather than smaller/lower quality rides installed more regularly.

Just seen this video which shows the full CCTV recordings of the incident. I've linked it because it shows that the train stopped on the inversion for 20 seconds before rolling back, which I wasn't aware of. https://youtu.be/rttaQxF3eDc

As it's just a rumour at the moment I'll take that with a pinch of salt. With that said, I was suggesting that Rumba could be refurbished over the winter ready for the park reopening in 2017, not closed throughout next season.

I find the state of Tomb Blaster frustrating because it still has, in concept, the potential to be an amazing ride. That building houses some of the most impressive theming elements in the UK, the ride has a decent soundtrack and the exterior is designed very well. Due to the total lack of care for the ride experience it falls far short of the quality it should be at, effects are broken, the new lighting highlights the warehouse roof more than the scenes and the sound effects are either off or out of sync. Looking at the exterior, the appearance is ruined by those awful metal bars. Why is a ride that could be so much better left in this state?

Whilst there have been various improvements in recent years such as restored effects and a few areas repainted, the overall park still feels tired IMO. I'd like to see the park have a huge cleanup for next year as well as the reopening of Loggers, and a refurbishment of Rumba. As has been said above, we'll probably get "X Factor: The Maze" or something instead.

£5 million isn't anywhere near enough in my opinion. Despite the fact that Merlin's response after the crash was, on the most part, good - I think that the complete lack of safety protocols and appalling procedures that caused the crash deserved a much higher fine than £5 million. The fact that the crash was so avoidable is the worst thing, with the correct procedures in place it simply wouldn't have happened. Now that the full details have been released it really makes you think though; how many rides at Merlin parks were running without the correct safety procedures, and for how long?

I all honesty I think it would have been pretty obvious that the emergency services were required. I'm still in disbelief over the full details that have emerged today. The amount of neglect both in terms of training and procedures is ridiculous, far more than I originally thought.

True, however (assuming today's news articles are accurate) the ride flagged up an error message, therefore everything should have been thoroughly checked prior to starting the ride.

Interesting, it could have been a combination of both (brakes and wind) but I guess there's no way of telling for sure. I do find it bizarre if Smiler didn't have a wind metre of its own, especially considering that element is prone to stalling.