BPB 18th & 19th Feb 2017 PTR

[Coaster]

Our day started getting up at 4am to get to BPB early, so we could get our passes processed.  This proved a good move as we were first in the queue, and it was good to see a separate room for processing passes where thought had been put into the layout, to speed up the process.

 

Following this we entered the park, I can't remember the order we did the rides, but here's a few of my thoughts from the weekend.

 

Ride availability was generally good aside from Grand National (which kept having stoppages), The Big One opened late on Sunday and Valhalla closed at around 3:30pm (due to an issue of some sort).

 

The Big One and Avalanche were both on a one train service both days, which caused lengthy queues to build up.  I will cut the park some slack on this, given that it's very early in the year, however I'm hopeful that this won't happen once main season starts.
Grand National started on four trains but went down to two, fair play to Pleasure Beach for trying though!

 

I was however disappointed to see Speedy Pass being used on both PMBO and Avalanche, they had main queues well over an hour at points, so I thought this was a bit off.  Also, the SP's were being upsold outside Noah's Ark as we walked in.

 

It was frustrating to see empty rows sent out numerous times on the coasters when they were holding long queues.

 

The PMBO shop has been refitted into a donut cafe, I think it's a shame to see the signature ride without a shop, but at least the space is being used for something.  The Skyforce shop is now empty.

 

Staff were fantastic across the park, top notch customer service.

Grand National, Big Dipper and the Streak were running exceptionally well for February, very fast and full of airtime!
The Big One was also running well, the evening ride in the fog on Sunday was brilliant!

 

Valhalla was great, there have been a lot of lighting improvements, audio balance seems better in some areas, the refurbished wolf looks much better and the general condition of the scenes has improved a lot since last season.
With that said, the projection is still far too quiet, and there was too much daylight coming in from the left at the top of the second lifthill.

 

River Caves was in a terrible state, aside from Blue Grotto the audio was completely off, and the exterior looks bland and messy without the theming IMO.
The dinosaur anamatronics were all working though, and I spotted some new (or repurposed) signs hanging from the ceiling in the queueline.

 

Similarly, there were lots of effects broken in the Ghost Train, and audio was far too quiet!  Also, two of the lighting effects in the boiler scene (new last year) were broken.  New giant looks brilliant though!

 

It was amazing to see the progress on Construction 2018, really makes you appreciate the complexity and scale of this project when you see it in person.

 

Ride Counts:
Saturday 18th February
Valhalla x3
The Big One x2
Big Dipper x2
Grand National x1
Revolution x1
Steeplechase x1
Nickelodeon Streak x1
Ghost Train x1
River Caves x1
Wallace and Gromit x1
TOTAL: 14

 

Sunday 19th February
Valhalla x6
Big Dipper x2
The Big One x1
Grand National x1
Revolution x1
Steeplechase x1
Avalanche x1
Skyforce x1
Wallace and Gromit x1
TOTAL: 15

 

Highlights:
- Getting back on the rides!
- Coasters running well
- Friendly staff
- Revolution looks great with its new paint
- Season pass registration
- Construction 2018 progress

 

Lowlights:
- Lower ridecounts than I would have liked
- Speedy Pass on PMBO and Avalanche when both were on one train
- State of River Caves and Ghost Train
- No merchandise shops in south park

 

Construction 2018;

 

 

 

Night time;

 

Big Dipper in the fog;

 

Infusion;

 

River Caves minus its theming...

 

Hopefully not too long until Mouse reopens!

 

Casino;

 

Overall, a fantastic weekend and great to be back at the Pleasure Beach.

 

Thanks for reading