Cal

Yeah its good to see them well prepared. Meanwhile Chessington can't even open all of their rides on a weekday 😆

A bit criminal of me but I'd never visited Blackpool pleasure beach. Always been a bucket list park for me from a young age due to their wide selection of coasters, a lot of which are very unique. 
 
I visited last Thursday for my first ever time so I thought I'd share my thoughts. Heard lots of mixed things about Pleasure beach recently, mainly negative so I was a bit skeptical on how my day was going to be, but I had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
 
The park was open 11-5, and advertised to be closed was Ice Blast, River Caves and Grand Prix, (now announced it'll be closed for good) Nickelodeon land is also advertised to close at 4pm an hour before park closing. 
 
I expected the park to be quiet, but the park was empty, according to staff this was the quietest day so far this season at just over 600 people on park. Most of the queue times on the app showed 10 minutes but nothing had a queue all day. 
 
I'll list the coasters in the order I rated them worst to best...
 
10. Blueflyer - Smooth classic woodie, but very short and more of a kids coaster. Would be a great first coaster.
 
9. Infusion - Was dreading this but not as bad as people make out. Not a lot else to say really, standard SLC.
 
8. Steeplechase - Good fun and very unique but I did find a little uncomfy, every corner the seats dug into my hip a little.
 
7. Avalange - Enjoyed this, much preferred it to Europas. Although its short, it had a lot of force. Lovely station and a nice soundtrack.
 
6. Nick streak - Great airtime hills and very very smooth for its age. Trains were really comfy with all the padding.
 
5. Big one - Didn't know if I was going to get this as it was closed all day Wednesday due to high winds and high winds predicted for my visit too. Looking at the forecast winds were due to pick up at 1 so my best chance of getting this was getting on it early. Luckily it opened first thing but it did later close for the rest of the day. They were only loading the front 2 cars with the rest sandbagged.
 
First drop was great but apart from that, the rest of the layout nothing really happens. I imagine it was running slower than usual due to the winds. Would've liked to have tried the backrow (backrow looks lethal on that first drop) but was happy to get on it nonetheless! 

4. Big dipper - Oldest rollercoaster I've ever ridden but was riding great for its age. Had some good drops and good airtime hills. All round enjoyable.

3. Grand national - I expected a lot from this, with people saying this is the best woodie in the country. I went straight on the back row and honestly felt like I'd just been beaten up. I saw someone on the other train on the 2nd to last row and it reminded me to ride non wheel seats 😆 Much more enjoyable but could definitely do with some more work. Would've loved to have tried the other trains back in the day. The racing aspect of it is great fun and you do get some nice airtime.
 
2. Revolution - Had never done an Arrow launched loop so was great to get on one of these - good airtime moments especially on the front and back row. Chucks you out your seat. Particularly enjoyed going backwards on this. 
 
1. Icon - This was great fun. Although this is my favorite at the park is it my favorite in the UK? Absolutely not. Do think its a bit over-hyped but its up there. Some good airtime on the back row and really enjoy the top hat too. Its a great length and its great how it interacts with other rides too.
 
Unfortunately didn't get to give Enso a go. Apparently they had the Enso train on first thing but took it off as it was predicted to be really quiet. Its a management decision weather to put it on or not in the afternoon based on crowds but they didn't, but understandable. Very expensive for what it is but would've liked to have gave it a go. 
 
 
Onto Valhalla - although it was a cold, windy and little wet day I couldn't come to Blackpool without getting on this. 

Always loved indoor water rides, but wow. Completely blew me away. Hands down my favorite dark ride in the UK by far. I didn't know how I was going to find this as reviews are nowhere near as good as they were before. 
 
I didn't get particularity wet on the drops, just from the effects but every time I went on the boat was to myself so I imagine thats down to the weight of the boat.
 
I know from reading before that the effects are unreliable and can differ all the time so I did lots of re-rides to see if it was any different.
Everything was consistent on my rides apart from the ring of fire which I only saw twice, although all the other fire was on every other ride. Also the waterfall as you go into the building didn't turn off on my first ride. For the rest of the day this was then just turned off. 
After doing a bit of research since I've been back, the only effects I didn't see on any of my rides were the crashing logs and the rolling log. There also didn't seem to be any mist outside the ride like I've seen online too.
 
 
Particularly enjoyed Skyforce too. My first Gerst Sky Fly and really enjoyed this. 1 good gust of wind and you are off for the rest for ride. Operator said I did 64 spins, which is certainly the most I've ever been upside down on a ride before.
 
 
So overall a good day. Got on everything I wanted to with lots of re-rides. For the most part staff were friendly enough and were fine with re-rides if there wasn't anyone waiting in the air gates. Hard to comment on operations, everything was on 1 train but there wasn't need for more than that on anything. I got my ticket just the day before for £35 which is reasonable too. I wouldn't rush back. Its nearly a 6 hour drive for me so unless they get something new worth traveling up for I wouldn't bother.
 
Bit worrying a bit recent ride closures and hearing how quiet it is even on weekends at the moment. Will be interesting to see how the park does going forwards as the future isn't looking particularly great. They have a lot of old rides which can't be cheap to maintain and the park isn't the most presentable... 

They've confirmed Slammer is being removed this closed reason - what are the chances we get a new flat ride there? Or do you reckon we're getting a new picnic area?
 
Would love for them to get a new modern water ride. Get rid of Rumba. Worst rapids in the UK by a mile. Can't really see that happening though unfortunately. 
 
I personally don't think we'll see another dark ride until they finally decide to sack off the ghost train and use that building. But who knows.
 
I really hope we're past the days of permanent scare attractions and actor led experiences 🤞

Initially guests wanted it at Helix, it got complaints that it felt unsafe.
 
Then with Icon its because  the restraints had double redundancy in case of failure, the seatbelts give it a third redundancy if something was to go wrong.
 
Looking at a few others, Copperhead Strike opened with seatbelts (unsurprisingly, Cedar Fair after all) and DC Rivals Hypercoaster didn't, neither do the majority of the Blue Fire clones, Star Trek or Capitol Bullet Train.
 
Merlin being Merlin, I can just see the guest perception taking precedent with Hyperia. This is the company that wouldn't batch a station at Mandrill and has ugly queue lines where every new ride has fences over 6 foot tall. 

I've heard rumors of a permanent closure but no one knows for sure I guess as they've still not communicated any update. Its still showing on their ride availability page as 'closed until further notice'
 
Although it was testing a little last season I don't think theres been any movement since and the area is closed off so its not looking like it'll be open any time soon!

The operator would switch the lights off (switch in the console) and I believe to not play the launch audio they'd use the mic to override it. 
 
They've stopped doing these now thankfully. They were good fun a good few years ago, but when the word got spread and people were asking for them every other launch they got very boring. 

Yep, Detonator really looked nothing like the concept art did it... Oh wait.

I love it when Jack comes back every year or so to complain about Fastrack at Thorpe.

It's like when Steve posts every now and then to tell us how **** Merlin are. It's like a comfort blanket. 

Hopefully this is the start of slightly stronger ops on Oblivion! In previous years, it's often had slightly weaker operations, with throughputs slipping to 800-900pph on occasions, so I was pleased to see this improved throughput reading!
 
That's an interesting finding with Wicker Man. Clearly it was going a bit slower during your visit, as both of my readings had it closer to 800pph, or dispatches roughly 10s or so faster.

Samurai is looking fresh! 

Yeah I must admit I didn't know whether or not to add it to the list, but the park are still yet to announce a permanent closure.
 
Its also still listed as closed on the ride availability page (https://www.chessington.com/plan-your-visit/resort-information/ride-availability/) but looks like this page hasn't been updated for a good while! 
 
Its a strange one as I thought they would be desperate to get this back open, and it was seen testing last season. But maybe they have bigger plans for this area now! 

Not that it makes a difference to your point, but Scorpion hasn't run since mid-2022, and is completely absent from the park's map now.
 
Whether it's died a slow and painful death or just taking a hibernation, who knows...

So today Chessington has the following closed all day; 
 
- Mandrill Mayhem
- Rattlesnake
- Tiger Rock
- Zufari
- Tomb Blaster
- Tiny Truckers
- Seastorm
- Monkey Swinger
- Scorpion Express
 
Dragons Fury has operated for 1 hour so far today and is currently closed. 
 
What an absolute shambles. I swear this is getting worse every year. I feel like Thorpe and Towers have both turned a corner and are making the right decisions and investments. The same can't be said for Chessington unfortunately...
 
The park also re validated tickets yesterday due to ride availability.

Thanks for this @Matt N always find these interesting! 
 
Its so satisfying being in the Nemesis queue, always seem to have a good team running it and the queue constantly moves. Nice to see Oblivion is being ran slightly better this year hopefully that continues. 
 
Only timing I got last week was in the Wickerman queue as I was bored and was interested how it does on 2 trains. Were dispatching trains roughly every 2 mins so 720.

Thanks Parm this is a brilliant update! I don’t think anyone on here expected the trains to arrive soon

For anyone who's interested, I managed to time various ride throughputs on my visits to Alton Towers yesterday and today. The throughput readings I managed to attain are as follows:
Galactica (Theoretical: 1,500pph on 3 trains/2 stations): 871pph (3 trains/2 stations, 24th March 2024, average of 10) Nemesis Reborn (Theoretical: 1,400pph on 2 trains): 1,301pph (2 trains, 23rd March 2024, average of 8 ) Oblivion (Theoretical: 1,900pph on 7 shuttles/2 stations): 1,146pph (5 shuttles/2 stations, 24th March 2024, average of 7) Rita (Theoretical: 1,150pph on 2 trains): 394pph (1 train, 23rd March 2024, average of 5), 357pph (1 train, 24th March 2024, average of 8 ) Runaway Mine Train (Theoretical: 1,061pph on 1 train): 473pph (1 train, 23rd March 2024, average of 4) Note: The back car was missing, so the 473pph figure, which assumed a full train of 46, would have been more like 432pph in reality due to the train actually only carrying 42 riders as opposed to the usual 46. The average dispatch interval was 5m 49s, for reference. Wicker Man (Theoretical: 952pph on 3 trains): 829pph (2 trains, 23rd March 2024, average of 8), 770pph (2 trains, 24th March 2024, average of 8 ) I also have a few other side observations and insights to offer:
Operations on Nemesis Reborn were noticeably slower today than they were yesterday. Yesterday's operations, listed above, saw dispatch intervals of 90s or less and little to no stacking, with a train often being dispatched as the one in front of it was still completing the course. Today, however, dispatch intervals of no faster than 2 minutes were being attained and stacking was routine. I'm not sure what the difference was, but today's operations were notably slower. I was unable to get a proper timing, but a brief attempt I made at timing saw a dispatch interval of over 2 minutes being attained, and I'd say that this was quite par for the course for the time I was in the queue. Pretty much every train I saw stacked outside the station for a notable period. For some perspective, I waited 60 minutes from the gun for my ride yesterday, while I queued 50 minutes from a little before the Phalanx shipping container lab for my ride today. The Smiler looked as though it might have been running 4 trains today, but I wasn't sure. I say this because the ride was often attaining perfect duelling, which I wouldn't imagine is possible on only 3 trains! I noticed that the intervals on Galactica appeared to be pretty inconsistent when I was doing the timing above. The intervals appeared to range between 80s and over 3 minutes!

Station organ audio is back and some audio added to the lifthill too. 
 
The most welcome change however is that the Swarm vests no longer lock at dispatch, making for a far more comfortable ride. This brings it in line with more modern B&M Wing Riders.

A staff member told me Oblivion was meant to have a huge station overhaul for this year, including 5 lines into the station (not sure what the 5th would be for?) which would include the return of the SRQ, but was pushed back to next closed season. Hopefully that still happens for next year! 
 
And agreed was nice to see them smashing throughputs on it for once. On Tues they were using 2/4 trains (every other train) as it had no queue, first time in years I've not had to wait on the break run! 

I was in the area due to work so I thought it would be rude not to pop in Tuesday and Wednesday, so thought I'd share some thoughts from this season below.
 
I didn't bother visiting with no Nemesis last year so was my first time in a couple years, meaning it was also my first time on the Curse. Was really impressed with this, couldn't comment on what effects were working/broken as I'd never been on before. Easily my favorite dark ride in the UK.
 
Main reason for visiting was to get as many rides as possible on Nemmy. Got 5 on Tuesday, but was only open half a day so was expecting a better day on Wednesday, but with it only operating with half a train I only went on it twice. One of them I got in the queue just before 4pm, and it still took 85 mins with no fastrack/rap. 

Got back on Sub Terra for the first time in yearssss, same as I remember nothing special but nice to have a filler attraction back, something towers really lack.
 
The park in general looks really fresh. Oblivion in particular looking really good. Could tell the Smiler has had some touch ups but still looking pretty poor in some places. Towers always seem pretty consistent on the effects and audio front. Audio everywhere was sounding great, didn't notice any broken/distorted speakers. A lot of their speakers are still bose too which I prefer. 
 
Operationally wise, pretty poor. The staff were all doing a great job with what they had, but every major coaster bar Nemesis has started the season on reduced capacity. This isn't just due to it being a weekday as well, as I've heard it was the same on the weekend.
Rita - 1 train
Thirteen - 2 trains (3rd train currently in pieces under the lift hill) 
Oblivion - 4 trains 1 station. No complaints here, team were smashing it and it didn't have a queue. 
Smiler - 3 trains
Wickerman - 2 trains
Galactica - 2 trains 1 station
Nemmy - 2 trains Tuesday, till around 20 mins before closing 1 train. Opened on Weds on half a train and remained like that all day.
 
Few other points;
 
- Never been the biggest fan of Wickerman but I was really enjoying it this trip. It was absolutely flying round in the rain on Wednesday, the back row and front row rides I had are the best I've ever had on it. 6 years on its still looking like a brand new ride, solid edition to their lineup and nice they're looking after it.
- Same goes for Smiler, never been the biggest fan but no matter where I was sat was riding really smooth and really enjoyed it. Single rider queue on it is lovely too.
- Pleasantly surprised to see roaming actors at Nemesis, Curse and Wickerman on an offpeak weekday. They do add to the areas, and I wish Thorpe had this approach rather than the cringe we get there. Would prefer a few actors at Swarm and Saw than the 'thrill makers' 
- Love the fact the park opens early, believe the entrance opens at 9. On Wednesday I got in just after 9:30, went straight to dark forest. By just after 10, I had done 2 rides on Rita and and Thirteen thanks to them both opening early.
 
- Galactica really doesn't fit in with Forbidden Valley anymore and is looking in a state. The track looks pretty terrible, half the TVs off, projector off in the station. Just looks like they've given up with it, so hopefully a re-theme coming with the new flat next year.
- 4pm close. In my opinion if queues are anything more than 10 minutes, especially a park the size of Towers, it should never close at 4. 5pm minimum.
- As someone who really likes flats, there really isn't a lot to do apart from going coaster to coaster. It seems they're going to address this though, I do hope there is more coming than the 1 they've already put plans in for.

I was in the area due to work so I thought it would be rude not to pop in Tuesday and Wednesday, so thought I'd share some thoughts from this season below.
 
I didn't bother visiting with no Nemesis last year so was my first time in a couple years, meaning it was also my first time on the Curse. Was really impressed with this, couldn't comment on what effects were working/broken as I'd never been on before. Easily my favorite dark ride in the UK.
 
Main reason for visiting was to get as many rides as possible on Nemmy. Got 5 on Tuesday, but was only open half a day so was expecting a better day on Wednesday, but with it only operating with half a train I only went on it twice. One of them I got in the queue just before 4pm, and it still took 85 mins with no fastrack/rap. 

Got back on Sub Terra for the first time in yearssss, same as I remember nothing special but nice to have a filler attraction back, something towers really lack.
 
The park in general looks really fresh. Oblivion in particular looking really good. Could tell the Smiler has had some touch ups but still looking pretty poor in some places. Towers always seem pretty consistent on the effects and audio front. Audio everywhere was sounding great, didn't notice any broken/distorted speakers. A lot of their speakers are still bose too which I prefer. 
 
Operationally wise, pretty poor. The staff were all doing a great job with what they had, but every major coaster bar Nemesis has started the season on reduced capacity. This isn't just due to it being a weekday as well, as I've heard it was the same on the weekend.
Rita - 1 train
Thirteen - 2 trains (3rd train currently in pieces under the lift hill) 
Oblivion - 4 trains 1 station. No complaints here, team were smashing it and it didn't have a queue. 
Smiler - 3 trains
Wickerman - 2 trains
Galactica - 2 trains 1 station
Nemmy - 2 trains Tuesday, till around 20 mins before closing 1 train. Opened on Weds on half a train and remained like that all day.
 
Few other points;
 
- Never been the biggest fan of Wickerman but I was really enjoying it this trip. It was absolutely flying round in the rain on Wednesday, the back row and front row rides I had are the best I've ever had on it. 6 years on its still looking like a brand new ride, solid edition to their lineup and nice they're looking after it.
- Same goes for Smiler, never been the biggest fan but no matter where I was sat was riding really smooth and really enjoyed it. Single rider queue on it is lovely too.
- Pleasantly surprised to see roaming actors at Nemesis, Curse and Wickerman on an offpeak weekday. They do add to the areas, and I wish Thorpe had this approach rather than the cringe we get there. Would prefer a few actors at Swarm and Saw than the 'thrill makers' 
- Love the fact the park opens early, believe the entrance opens at 9. On Wednesday I got in just after 9:30, went straight to dark forest. By just after 10, I had done 2 rides on Rita and and Thirteen thanks to them both opening early.
 
- Galactica really doesn't fit in with Forbidden Valley anymore and is looking in a state. The track looks pretty terrible, half the TVs off, projector off in the station. Just looks like they've given up with it, so hopefully a re-theme coming with the new flat next year.
- 4pm close. In my opinion if queues are anything more than 10 minutes, especially a park the size of Towers, it should never close at 4. 5pm minimum.
- As someone who really likes flats, there really isn't a lot to do apart from going coaster to coaster. It seems they're going to address this though, I do hope there is more coming than the 1 they've already put plans in for.

I was in the area due to work so I thought it would be rude not to pop in Tuesday and Wednesday, so thought I'd share some thoughts from this season below.
 
I didn't bother visiting with no Nemesis last year so was my first time in a couple years, meaning it was also my first time on the Curse. Was really impressed with this, couldn't comment on what effects were working/broken as I'd never been on before. Easily my favorite dark ride in the UK.
 
Main reason for visiting was to get as many rides as possible on Nemmy. Got 5 on Tuesday, but was only open half a day so was expecting a better day on Wednesday, but with it only operating with half a train I only went on it twice. One of them I got in the queue just before 4pm, and it still took 85 mins with no fastrack/rap. 

Got back on Sub Terra for the first time in yearssss, same as I remember nothing special but nice to have a filler attraction back, something towers really lack.
 
The park in general looks really fresh. Oblivion in particular looking really good. Could tell the Smiler has had some touch ups but still looking pretty poor in some places. Towers always seem pretty consistent on the effects and audio front. Audio everywhere was sounding great, didn't notice any broken/distorted speakers. A lot of their speakers are still bose too which I prefer. 
 
Operationally wise, pretty poor. The staff were all doing a great job with what they had, but every major coaster bar Nemesis has started the season on reduced capacity. This isn't just due to it being a weekday as well, as I've heard it was the same on the weekend.
Rita - 1 train
Thirteen - 2 trains (3rd train currently in pieces under the lift hill) 
Oblivion - 4 trains 1 station. No complaints here, team were smashing it and it didn't have a queue. 
Smiler - 3 trains
Wickerman - 2 trains
Galactica - 2 trains 1 station
Nemmy - 2 trains Tuesday, till around 20 mins before closing 1 train. Opened on Weds on half a train and remained like that all day.
 
Few other points;
 
- Never been the biggest fan of Wickerman but I was really enjoying it this trip. It was absolutely flying round in the rain on Wednesday, the back row and front row rides I had are the best I've ever had on it. 6 years on its still looking like a brand new ride, solid edition to their lineup and nice they're looking after it.
- Same goes for Smiler, never been the biggest fan but no matter where I was sat was riding really smooth and really enjoyed it. Single rider queue on it is lovely too.
- Pleasantly surprised to see roaming actors at Nemesis, Curse and Wickerman on an offpeak weekday. They do add to the areas, and I wish Thorpe had this approach rather than the cringe we get there. Would prefer a few actors at Swarm and Saw than the 'thrill makers' 
- Love the fact the park opens early, believe the entrance opens at 9. On Wednesday I got in just after 9:30, went straight to dark forest. By just after 10, I had done 2 rides on Rita and and Thirteen thanks to them both opening early.
 
- Galactica really doesn't fit in with Forbidden Valley anymore and is looking in a state. The track looks pretty terrible, half the TVs off, projector off in the station. Just looks like they've given up with it, so hopefully a re-theme coming with the new flat next year.
- 4pm close. In my opinion if queues are anything more than 10 minutes, especially a park the size of Towers, it should never close at 4. 5pm minimum.
- As someone who really likes flats, there really isn't a lot to do apart from going coaster to coaster. It seems they're going to address this though, I do hope there is more coming than the 1 they've already put plans in for.

I noticed Russ mentioned this too, but unless I'm imagining things they were definitely spinning all of last season 😄

I noticed Russ mentioned this too, but unless I'm imagining things they were definitely spinning all of last season 😄

I noticed Russ mentioned this too, but unless I'm imagining things they were definitely spinning all of last season 😄

I'd imagine with Nemesis there would be some sort of grandfather ruling where because it's the same ride, they can keep the same station / airgates set-up.
 
Which begs the question further why Detonator had tweaks.