Blackpool Pleasure Beach

[Earlyspencer]

Been a long (not) lonely time (hail to all Zep-fans) since I've been on this forum.

One of the few undiscovered spots on my personal Theme & Amusement Park Map in Europe is BPPB.

A shame, I know.

 

I prefer a trip when you Brexiteers don't have holiday.

That was rather a succes last Ascension Day at Thorpe.

 

The Ascension break (10 & 11th of May 2018) might be an option but ...

- this trip would be more complex than travelling to West-London (leaving from Antwerp, Belgium)

- I'm not sure if BPPB would be open those days

- I guess the new Mack might not be operational next May

 

Another option would be the Halloween period.

In Belgium, we have holiday the whole week around first of Nov.

This year, BPPB will be open these days, but if you might know about next year in November (based on your experiences): please inform me.

With my Bobbejaanland Pass I have free entrance at Blackpool Zoo until 4th of November 2018.

 

For those interested in some of my recent visits in France, Holland, Spain and Sweden: check attached file and links.

 

 

 

 

 

TR's summer 2017.pdf

[Coaster]

2 hours ago, Earlyspencer said:

The Ascension break (10 & 11th of May 2018) might be an option but ...

- this trip would be more complex than travelling to West-London (leaving from Antwerp, Belgium)

- I'm not sure if BPPB would be open those days

- I guess the new Mack might not be operational next May

 

Another option would be the Halloween period.

In Belgium, we have holiday the whole week around first of Nov.

This year, BPPB will be open these days, but if you might know about next year in November (based on your experiences): please inform me.

With my Bobbejaanland Pass I have free entrance at Blackpool Zoo until 4th of November 2018.

Pleasure Beach is open every day from Easter until the park closes in November, so as long as the operating schedule is the same next year the park should be open on those days in May.

Not sure when Icon is opening, the official word is "spring" however that could mean anything at this stage.

 

The park usually closes for the winter after the first weekend in November, but again this could potentially change in 2018.

[Mark9]

3 hours ago, Earlyspencer said:

Been a long (not) lonely time (hail to all Zep-fans) since I've been on this forum.

One of the few undiscovered spots on my personal Theme & Amusement Park Map in Europe is BPPB.

A shame, I know.

 

I prefer a trip when you Brexiteers don't have holiday.

That was rather a succes last Ascension Day at Thorpe.

 

The Ascension break (10 & 11th of May 2018) might be an option but ...

- this trip would be more complex than travelling to West-London (leaving from Antwerp, Belgium)

- I'm not sure if BPPB would be open those days

- I guess the new Mack might not be operational next May

 

Another option would be the Halloween period.

In Belgium, we have holiday the whole week around first of Nov.

This year, BPPB will be open these days, but if you might know about next year in November (based on your experiences): please inform me.

With my Bobbejaanland Pass I have free entrance at Blackpool Zoo until 4th of November 2018.

 

For those interested in some of my recent visits in France, Holland, Spain and Sweden: check attached file and links.

 

 

 

 

 

TR's summer 2017.pdf

 

Brexiteers generally holiday at PortAventura, not Blackpool. 

[Coaster]

Very exciting!  

 

 

Picture posted by Blackpool Pleasure Beach to their Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/blackpoolpleasurebeach/

[planenut]

It's certainly going to be an interesting flight through The Big One, then to return.

[Mega-Lite]

I don't think people are prepared enough for how great this coaster is going to be and just how much it's going to impact the UK coaster line up.

 

Because I have this in built UK never gets the nice stuff anymore feeling, I completely forget about Icon, then when I'm reminded, I scream "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH", fanboy out, calm down, then get into deep internal debates on if this thing is going to be fighting Nemesis for best in UK crown.

 

Exciting times indeed. 

[Mark9]

I am excited but I'm reigning it in until we start to see track going in. It's exciting to finally be getting a top drawer coaster again in the UK, it feels like ages.

[paige]

what has happened to valhalla?? I know a lot of the effects tend to get turned off but it was the worst I’ve seen it. if it wasn’t for the fact the queue moved quickly and o was fairly chilly as it was I’d have been more disappointed. 

 

also, bpb really needs to expand their crepe supply  

[Mega-Lite]

Whenever I've seen Valhalla at it's worst, it's during a day of frequent and prolonged downtime. I'm sure Coaster will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe a lot of the effects time out during downtime and need resetting. Then because the staff are working so hard to just keep the ride running, they forget. Or they figure it's going to continue to break down so don't bother.

 

You're lucky though really, didn't get to ride at all this year because of downtime. Shame because I haven't been to Pleasure Beach if I miss Valhalla!

[Coaster]

9 hours ago, paige said:

what has happened to valhalla?? I know a lot of the effects tend to get turned off but it was the worst I’ve seen it. if it wasn’t for the fact the queue moved quickly and o was fairly chilly as it was I’d have been more disappointed. 

I have to agree sadly, I've said this about the state of Valhalla elsewhere but it's interesting to hear that more people are noticing.  I visited BPB a few weeks ago with someone who hadn't been for a few years and they said exactly the same about Valhalla.

 

5 hours ago, Mega-Lite said:

Whenever I've seen Valhalla at it's worst, it's during a day of frequent and prolonged downtime. I'm sure Coaster will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe a lot of the effects time out during downtime and need resetting. Then because the staff are working so hard to just keep the ride running, they forget. Or they figure it's going to continue to break down so don't bother.

 

You're lucky though really, didn't get to ride at all this year because of downtime. Shame because I haven't been to Pleasure Beach if I miss Valhalla!

Yeah that's accurate, it does tend to have less effects working after a lot of downtime for that very reason - however the experience in general has been extremely poor this year.

 

So many of the ride's staple effects are broken, and even then the ones "working" are not even presentable.  The fantastic feature on the first lifthill is inaudible, plus missing the trommels, fibre optics and Viking chanting in the background.  The barking dog anamatronic used to look lifelike, now only one of the heads moves (on half its original animation) and you can hear air escaping from the other one!  The ice room has been broken since before summer, as have the cascading waterfalls.  It's not good enough.

 

The scenes themselves are in a terrible state with blackout curtains torn, doors missing which ruins the light-locks and back-end maintenance areas visible from on the ride.  In addition there's only 3 shields on the boats instead of the usual 8 and the station (which used to be AMAZING) looks a mess.

 

I miss the days when the first lifthill used to sound (and look) like this

 

As someone who has held Valhalla for such high regard for many years it saddens me to see it in this state.  I have very fond childhood memories of being terrified of the booming voice on the first lifthill, and the boom caused by the final explosion, whereas all you hear nowadays is "is that it?" or "I thought this was supposed to be better than this."

 

Whilst I understand the state of the ride can't be rectified overnight, I hope that some of it will be addressed over the closed season.  The show aspect should have never been allowed to deteriorate as much as this, where the park is now at a point where it will require a huge financial outlay to get the experience into even a moderately-acceptable state.

[Mega-Lite]

That's such a shame to hear, let's hope with the hugely increased crowd numbers for Icon, Pleasure Beach take the time to get the World's best dark ride back into the life altering state it belongs.

 

This has got me thinking. Wild Mouse, Valhalla and soon Icon, the park is going to have an untouchable (for the UK) ride line up.

 

Having to pick between Mouse again or Valhalla till I can't stand was already hard enough and this is only going to complicate things.

[JoshuaA]

I may bash Infusion and Big One a lot, though I gotta say I think Icon is going to be easily one of the best coasters to be built over here..

The layout looks long, creative, and maybe even better than Blue Fire's layout?

 

Yes its speed is meh, though speed really isn't the reason I ride a Mack Launch..

Blue Fire is generally a coaster that crawls through its elements, though its hangtime, airtime, and that crazy heart-line at the end is the reason its loved so much.

 

Lets hope Vahalla gets some work done for next year though, as holy god is that ride good when its effects are working.

 

[Coaster]

I think (hope) that despite a moderate launch speed, Icon will retain its sensation of speed and intensity throughout due to the low-to-ground nature of the layout and quick transitions/airtime moments.  The off-axis airtime hill near the end of the ride is one of the elements I'm looking forward to the most, as are the turns under Steeplechase and Big Dipper.

 

Having never done a Mack Megacoaster before I've no idea what to expect in terms of how it runs, but Icon looks ridiculously good for a UK coaster and seeing it come to my favourite park makes me very happy.

[Mega-Lite]

Icon will be much more like a scaled down Helix (that is a compliment, trust me) than like Blue Fire.

 

It has been said before but I'll say it again Mack Launch coasters use their launches to set the pace and keep it rolling. I'm certainly not worried at all by "slow" launches.

[Benin]

It'll be even better once people start realising that stats aren't the be all or end all... Rides focusing on speed are all one trick ponies that don't really do anything beyond that initial rush, even Dragster is guilty of that issue (when it's not trying to destroy itself)...

 

Though it did surprise me that Taron apparently hits 72mph, it doesn't really feel like that at all...

[Charlesberg]

13 minutes ago, Benin said:

Though it did surprise me that Taron apparently hits 72mph, it doesn't really feel like that at all...

Probably that glorious second launch.

 

Back on topic, I’m actually really excited for this. It has a lot of similarities to Cheetah Hunt in a way (not talking about colour which is TBC anyway), the layouts have a similar style with their funny twisty moments and focus on constant speed. CH really did impress me, I even preferred it to Taron! And this does look right on par with CH so I’m sure that I’ll be satisfied by the ride experience.

[Earlyspencer]

22 hours ago, Coaster said:

Having never done a Mack Megacoaster before I've no idea what to expect in terms of how it runs ...

Sharp as a knife trough half melted butter. The recent Macks (not the powered coasters from the past Millennium, nor their watercoasters) are among the most comfortable coasters when it comes both to seating and to riding without shaking. Blue Fire has to be considered as a proto-type, belonging to stand in a factory hall and not in a theme park. The real stuff however is to be experienced in Göteborg. On a lower budget scale, the Star Trek launch coaster at Movie Park was very enjoyable: smooth and smart with the double-track loading system. But do not expect exploding launches like Intamine sometimes offers (Taron, I-Speed).  Having never done an S&S launch coaster before, I've no idea what to expect.

 

WTF Valhalla stripped from its SFX? I've booked my trip to BP 20-24th of Aug. next year. I hope to experience UK's best water attraction in full force and glory.

[Coaster]

I'm expecting the launches to be more "a way of powering the ride" rather than the focal point, I won't be fussed if they're tame as long as the coaster is good as a whole.

 

Icon looks like a complete package, almost two minutes long, full of sharp turns, twists and airtime... bring it on!  

5 hours ago, Terry Terry said:

Back on topic, I’m actually really excited for this. It has a lot of similarities to Cheetah Hunt in a way (not talking about colour which is TBC anyway), the layouts have a similar style with their funny twisty moments and focus on constant speed. CH really did impress me, I even preferred it to Taron! And this does look right on par with CH so I’m sure that I’ll be satisfied by the ride experience.

The colour scheme is confirmed as white track with dark grey supports;

[Mark9]

On 26/09/2017 at 9:22 PM, Coaster said:

Having never done a Mack Megacoaster before I've no idea what to expect in terms of how it runs, but Icon looks ridiculously good for a UK coaster and seeing it come to my favourite park makes me very happy.

 

They are everything you want from a rollercoaster. Blue Fire, Helix and Alpina Blitz (does that even count btw?) are all in my top ten, just sheer quality from beginning to end.

[BenC]

6 hours ago, Mark9 said:

 

They are everything you want from a rollercoaster.

 

^ They sure are. Had the pleasure of riding Manta at SeaWorld San Diego a few weeks ago; pitched firmly as a family ride with the launch(es) just a little over 40mph, and it was still a joy. Smooth tracking, the most comfortable seating, and an completely nonrestrictive riding position. We were the only people in the station; I went round 5 times in a row

 

(Yes, SeaWorld are still struggling with attendance).

[Coaster]

Now this is where it gets exciting!  

Quote

Something ICONic is arriving at Blackpool Pleasure Beach tomorrow. Keep your eyes on this page for some more details tomorrow.

 

Quote and image from Pleasure Beach Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/blackpoolpleasurebeach/

[Mega-Lite]

I don't normally click like on posts that are intended just to break news, opting rather to save the honour for when a member writes a post I really enjoy reading or strongly agree with. However this is worthy of an exception!

 

AHHHH! It's really happening!!

[Matt 236]

Always exciting watching any new coaster begin vertical construction, especially in the UK.

 

Regardless of whether this is a Blue Fire beater or not (let alone Helix), I think it's great to see a Mack mega coaster of this and scale coming to the UK, and one which will hopefully compliment an already interesting variety of rides at the park. 

 

The interaction segments are likely to enhance this ride.

 

I honestly hope this is a massive success for the park. 2018 is easily the most exciting year for new things in the UK for sometime.

[Coaster]

Amanda Thompson (MD of Blackpool Pleasure Beach) will chair IAAPA in 2020;

http://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/news/latest-news/334500

[Mega-Lite]

Never understand all the negative sentiment Amanda gets for her rule of Pleasure Beach, I think she's fantastic and has done wonder for the place, so congratulations to her, well deserved.

 

Note, if you attempt to fire back with criticism of Amanda my only response will be, MACK MULTI LAUNCH COASTER! You have been warned.