Coaster Posted October 5, 2015 Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 Wow, what an amazing weekend! Friday evening saw us arrive in Blackpool and take a late night walk around the promenade and on the pier, Blackpool was heaving yet BPB closed at 5pm which was sad to see, especially considering that the pier was doing a huge trade. Saturday was spent in the park and we had a fantastic day - it started off quiet but the crowds picked up and the park was quite busy in the end, but not crammed full. Most rides were on their current-day maximum capacity but rides like the Ghost Train and Grand Prix were still holding ridiculous queues due to the awful way they are operated these days. Sunday was spent in the park again, and it was considerably quieter than the Saturday but did start picking up towards the end of the day. 5pm was too early to close IMO, no-one looked ready to leave and paths were very crowded with people leaving meaning that there were still lots of people on park. Furthermore, the promenade once again showed that demand was there for later opening. I have reviewed the rides enough in my other trip reports so I won't do so again, but there were a few stand-outs which are worth a mention. Big Dipper on the back row was insane, it has been running well all season but this weekend it was throwing me around and out of the seat brilliantly! Wild Mouse was also on top form with fantastic airtime, and the Grand National was running well (although I much preferred it before the recent TLC as it's too smooth in places now!) The Big One was also running very well, offering a great ride and insane first drop in the back row! It was a very pleasant surprise to see Grand National open considering that I was expecting it to still be closed for track replacement, and it was on four trains on Saturday (although dispatch times were terrible!) RIDECOUNTS: Saturday 3rd October: PARK OPEN: 10am - 8pm RIDES CLOSED: Crazy Daisy The Big One x4 Grand National x4 Big Dipper x4 Wild Mouse x2 Nickelodeon Streak x2 Valhalla x1 Avalanche x1 Steeplechase x1 Revolution x1 Infusion x1 Ice Blast x1 Blue Flyer x1 Wallace and Gromit x1 River Caves x1 Pleasure Beach Express x1 TOTAL: 26 Sunday 4th October: PARK OPEN: 10am - 5pm RIDES CLOSED: Crazy Daisy might have been, didn't actually notice. Valhalla x11 The Big One x6 Wild Mouse x3 Grand National x2 Skyforce x2 Big Dipper x1 Nickelodeon Streak x1 Steeplechase x1 Avalanche x1 Revolution x1 Ice Blast x1 Ghost Train x1 Wallace and Gromit x1 Blue Flyer x1 Avatar Airbender x1 Krusty Krab Order Up x1 Alice in Wonderland x1 TOTAL: 36 Highlights: - The wooden coasters were all in top form, as was The Big One. - Valhalla was in amazing form on Sunday, I haven't known it to be as good as that for years! It was great to see the dry ice ceiling misters back on again in the ice room, they haven't been working since long before the 2012 refurbishment (at least not when I've been there). Furthermore, on several rides the ring of fire was actually fully lit up on the track - it's one of the most impressive ride effects in the world when it works like that, shame it's so rare! - Great atmosphere on park both days. - Aside from the odd area, the park looks really clean and tidy. - The staff on the PMBO were once again really good at handling an E-stop and letting guests know what was happening, full credit to them for that. Lowlights: - The opening times were not good at all, 5pm closes when the promenade and pier are packed is just madness! - Lots of lighting broken around the park like the strobe/mini chaser on the top of the PMBO lifthill. - They still like to close some of the queues early, especially Skyforce and The Big One, which closed it's queue at 7:45pm on Saturday due to the time it took to reset an E-stop. This is unfortunate, but I still think it's wrong to close the queue early and there were lots of disappointed people walking up the ramp only to find the door closed. - Valhalla on Saturday was very poor, possibly the worst ride I have ever had on it. Sunday made up for it though! - Dispatch times weren't great, and Speedy Pass was causing havoc on most of the rides - such an awful system, get rid of it ASAP! - The E-stop on PMBO meant that we missed the night ride on Skyforce which we had timed perfectly! - The music loop on Sunday was about half an hour long. Photos! BPB from outside the park at night on Friday evening: (Photos taken at nearly 11pm). Get Funshine back on this sign ASAP! This is hilarious, it was quite clearly supposed to go on the other way round looking at the border! Park entrance; These photos were taken on Saturday 4th, with the night shots being taken after ride close. Big Dipper from the PBE; Blood river! BPB does look stunning at night; "Impo" (Amusingly, the sign was broken on Saturday but was working properly on Sunday when the park wasn't even open in the dark!) Thanks for reading. stretchy, Cal and OldFarmerDean 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFarmerDean Posted October 5, 2015 Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 the pictures look great! I am gutted I haven't been able to make a trip here this year.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pognoi Posted October 5, 2015 Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 You have reminded me how fab PMBO looks! A shame it doesn't ride as well as it looks heheh OldFarmerDean 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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