Blackpool Pleasure Beach

[pluk]

I really like the look of the actual ride, and what they have done with it with the Red Arrows theme. Good work Blackpool!

[stretchy]

This Saturday was my first available slot for revisiting Blackpool. So 4 of us of us left stoke and hit Traffic. Please note the careful capitalisation of the word Traffic. This was such Traffic that it was 13:30 by the time we reached the park. Luckily, unlike Merlins policy of closing earlier and earlier each year. BPB was astoundingly open till 8pm - Brilliant move guys, that one move made our spirits significantly better.

So we headed into the park and headed straight over to skyforce. MY mind conjured up images of a queue out of the area and all the way down the boardwalk to near the Big Dipper entrance, But no, as we passed the 91 yr old, there was no sign of a queue. Surely, I thought, there would be some kind of cattle pen of doom set up then, working back and forth where the old south entrance once stood. I was ready for the disappointment of the queue being so full that they had stopped allowing guests to join it. So as we walked under The big One's mighty structure  I stopped agape. There in front of us was... nothing. No Queue, well not more than 50 or so people (and less than 50 people is just an unsuccessful illegal rave).

So we entered the ride and soon a picsolve lady/girl (you know you are getting old when you see someone and think - your not old enough to work at a theme park) was telling the guys in front of us, the secret to getting a good spin. I listened. She said, as soon as the car swings lean one way, then lean the other. I listened more. Lean till you get a rocking motion, pushing down the flap down as you leaned in that direction. and then up as you leaned away. I was, by this point, listening so intently that she has noticed and then proceeded to chastise me for eves dropping. I was, though, in search of KNOWLEDGE, and KNOWLEDGE is the key to any 'audience participation' ride. (like the best barrel is number 5 on Marauders Mayhem as that one is always the loosest and gets the fastest spin).

So the 4 of us climbed onto the first 4 planes and we lifted off. The planes are locked as you ascend (Take off, I hear is the most dangerous time during any flight so I understand the need for autopilot at this point. And then, just as I expected to be locked forever, my plane freed up. I leaned, then I leaned the other way, getting more and more of a swing. 30 degrees, then 40 slowly getting more and more. You need to have patience as you work your way, closer and closer to upside down then all of a sudden your spinning and your spinning fast. Round and round, faster and faster, You spin me right round baby right round like a record baby right round round round. You spin and spin. It is odd, on the ground, I was worried that the cycle didn't look very long. It looked like about 2 minutes of flight time. Well let me tell you. 2 minutes is a lonnnng time when the world is constantly acting like a tumble dryer. I am, here, assuming that our cycle was the same length as the previous ones. To be honest it felt like about 5 minutes of flying when the breaks slowed my spin and the ground slowly came up/down to meet us.

As we staggered out the ride op congratulated us on being the first time he had seen 4 planes spin constantly. What was odd was during the time he was congratulating us he span around us. Well I think that he did or maybe it was all in my head. So what did I think of the ride? It was really fun. You get a real amount of dizziness on it. My shoulders hurt from the repeated thud of them hitting the restraints as I inverted, but that is my own fault for having shoulders. I do, though, know how my washing feels and vow to wash more clothes more often. I think it might be the perfect ride to go on after Valhalla.

So rather than drone on about the rest of the day, which was most excellent (as Bill and Ted would say) Ill throw up a couple of pics.











Conclusion

Skyforce is my favorite Gerstache - It brings a new and wonderful type of ache in the form of bruised shoulders.
8pm opening is brilliant
The only thing that would have made the time at the pleasure beach better would have been an open Valhalla
New Weatherspoons next to the entrance is also brilliant


Thanks for another excellent day Blackpool. All you need is a world class B&M inverter and I would spurn towers completely and defect to the Cheesy Side.

[AstroDan]

A new coaster?

Pigs might fly.

[Coaster]

The Big One, the ride that put BPB on the map and brought the park to where it is today has reached 21 years old.

 

Now why the hell haven't they even bothered to even acknowledge this?  Alton Towers have brought out specific merchandise, and added "21" signs (may be cheaply done but at least it's something) for Nemesis, yet once again BPB fail to cash in on what could have been a good celebration.  Failing that, at least some acknowledgement would be nice, but they haven't even bothered with that.

 

I'm not sure what is going on with the management at the moment but they seem to be missing so many opportunities - why is Vampire Beach still only one day, why don't they sell merchandise (when they do it's the same old stuff all the time - they could have brought out loads of "21 years of The Big One" merchandise) and finally, why haven't they even bothered to celebrate the birthday of the most significant coaster in the park's history?

[Project LC]

21 isn't exactly a significant milestone. 20 I can understand or 25 but 21 not so much. Then when you look at their other rides. They have far more years to their name. I doubt that the nemesis21 merchandise makes that much more than it would with out the 21.

[AstroDan]

Maybe because they know it's rubbish?

*runs*

[JoshC.]

Pretty sure the same discussion cropped up with Nemesis.  I guess the reason why some parks celebrate a 21st birthday is because it's a big milestone for people, and some parks can cash in on that to help advertise it.  Celebrating a 21st birthday of a ride is no big deal in my eyes, though it would be nice if they did acknowledge it.

 

Personally, I've never really cared that much about a ride's anniversary beyond the point of it being a fun little fact.  The only one that's ever really got to me is the fact that Thorpe didn't cash in on Colossus' 10th birthday a couple of years back - that was a marketing idea sitting right in front of them, and they did next to nothing about it!

[Benin]

It's so strange how UK parks, which are so obsessed with easy marketing, usually tend to miss out these chances...

 

That said, Air's queue board still mentions the 10 years, shows how much staff notice things...

 

Hell even Chessie did something for Vamp's 21st...

[Coaster]

21 isn't exactly a significant milestone. 20 I can understand or 25 but 21 not so much. Then when you look at their other rides. They have far more years to their name. I doubt that the nemesis21 merchandise makes that much more than it would with out the 21.

I agree that 20 years old is a much more significant milestone, but they didn't celebrate that either.

[Matt 236]

Difference between big one and Nemesis

If Nemesis opened this year, it would still be an amazing and well received coaster and appraised by most enthusiasts alike

If a big One opened this year, it would look old out dated and behind the times

Big one is an okay ride but compared to rides like Shambhala & Silver Star (which I'm hoping to experience in the near future), it's not a patch

[Benin]

But if it was built today, would it be an Arrow ride?

 

Assuming the rest of history stays the same, then no, it wouldn't be... So you'd then have to wonder who would make it if built in a modern world? Intamin? Mack? B&M?

 

It's still an icon, even if it's not as iconic as the Dipper or Nash...

[pognoi]

Didnt they release the big one game in an honour for its age?

 

Your pictures are amazing stretch, really do the park justice! Can't wait to visit again.

[Mark9]

Maybe because they know it's rubbish?

*runs*

 

I miss the optimistic AstroDan. 

[Adam P]

I had the best theme park visit of the year to the Pleasure Beach on Friday, even though the park was busy.

 

All the coasters were on dual trains, except the Streak with operations the best I have ever seen at the park. Flying Machines looked amazing after its referb at the end of last season and the whole park really did look excellent.

 

Sky Force was just amazing fun and rather an intense experience, the fact that many can't get it to spin is because much like general safety videos no one is watching the how to in the queue line, but as said if you do get it to spin, it just doesn't stop! The great thing is that it is always windy in Blackpool, at the top if catches the wind its more like a washing machine spinning than a tumble dryer it is insane. On the same note if you can't get it to spin its possibly the most boring ride ever built.

 

In terms of operations I've had some amazing days at Chessington and Thorpe Park this year but Blackpool were streets ahead for the first time in my many years of visiting all the parks. Much like Chessington they may not have the best rides but generally you will always laughing which is hugely important when visiting a theme park! We left Alton Towers with there miserable staff and broken rides at 1.30 today, whilst staying at Blackpool til 7 pm close (and I live on the South Coast so don't go often)

 

On that note thanks to the "Big One" app the family of 4 got in free along with 4 free burger meals for the day, saving well over £100!

[Spurden]

I want to share my experience on SkyForce with as many people as possible as it was quite possibly the worst ride experience I've had and I'm still certain that it is unsuitable for commercial use during windy weather. 

 

 

I've had 4 nose bleeds since I rode the ride at around 3pm yesterday. The managers of the park paid absolutely no attention to my concern or state. The instructional video states that if you want to stop spinning you need to let go of the wings, after a couple of spins the wind caught the wings on my plane and the speed was unbearable so I let go, the plane didnt stop but instead increased its speed at which point I lost my vision, feeling in my feet and had the sensation of my eyes popping out of my head. Eventually I managed to reach out and grab the wings again to try stabilise the cart but this wasn't until I had been spinning at high speed for what I can only imagine was 2/3 of the ride. 

 

I cant imagine how a child would cope under these circumstances as I am a thrill seeker and was in a complete mess for a number of hours after. The ride puts out negative g force to which humans can only withstand at low levels especially if the rider has previous cardiovascular issues. If nothing else they need to revise the instructional video at the very very least.  

[Tom]

Wait, you rode it even though you have cardiovascular issues?

[Spurden]

No, I said it would be a greater problem 'if' a rider had cardiovascular problems. I'm a fit and healthy 25 year old with zero underlying health problems.

[Coaster]

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience, I heard that Skyforce was intense but I never realised it was that much so!

In fact I said from day one that they hadn't considered the wind problem, as lots of Blackpool's rides already suffer with high winds so to install another ride with the same issue is a bit of a bad decision.

 

I've had 4 nose bleeds since I rode the ride at around 3pm yesterday. The managers of the park paid absolutely no attention to my concern or state. The instructional video states that if you want to stop spinning you need to let go of the wings, after a couple of spins the wind caught the wings on my plane and the speed was unbearable so I let go, the plane didnt stop but instead increased its speed at which point I lost my vision, feeling in my feet and had the sensation of my eyes popping out of my head. Eventually I managed to reach out and grab the wings again to try stabilise the cart but this wasn't until I had been spinning at high speed for what I can only imagine was 2/3 of the ride. 

 

I cant imagine how a child would cope under these circumstances as I am a thrill seeker and was in a complete mess for a number of hours after. The ride puts out negative g force to which humans can only withstand at low levels especially if the rider has previous cardiovascular issues. If nothing else they need to revise the instructional video at the very very least.  

The fact that the management of the ride didn't care is shocking to hear, was this people in the ticket centre or just general ride staff?  I would be interested to hear exactly what you said to the managers/staff and what they said in response if that's possible?

 

Their reaction to this is completely unacceptable and stinks of a management that doesn't give two hoots about its customers, years ago they had a huge first aid building which they would take injured people into and allow them to rest whilst they contacted the local hospital, this seems to have been abandoned.  I have heard reports about several other incidents at the park recently and they seem to have taken a similar attitude to those as well.

[Ian-S]

My wife's just read your post and decreed I'm never going to be allowed near Skyforce.

[Adam P]

The instructions need to be updated already, when the wind caught letting go doesn't remove the spin as the paddles don't move back. At the same time if you manually pull them back central the plane does stop spinning very quickly, this has to be done at the base of the ride or heading up to the top when the wind (general Blackpool direction) doesn't catch. From top to bottom in the wind you have not chance to correct it and will be fighting against strong winds.

 

It can be done on a windy day BUT its if you know how to do it.

[Spurden]

Throughout the ride I was screaming help, it won’t stop, please stop the ride, I can’t make it stop etc. I feel really silly looking back but I just didn’t know what to do at all it was awful. When the ride stopped everyone was just staring at me, the one operator I remember (female with curly hair, possibly ginger) gave me a sort of bemused look as I staggered from the ride, no one approached me and kind of just avoided eye contact. As I walked past them I was shaking, crying and clearly not just a bit upset from a 'scary ride' I said loudly to the ignorant female operator 'you know it says on that video to let go of the wings to make it stop... well it doesn’t f****** work'. Which looking back on probably wasn’t the best thing to say but I just couldn’t believe no one approached me and worst still gave me a look of 'what an idiot'. I walked through the shop and stood just outside this for a few seconds keeled over when I noticed my nose was bleeding, I then went into burger king and sat with my partner for a few minutes cleaning myself up. 

 

I actually left the park at this point. I just wanted to go home, I was in a real state. It wasn't until I got in the car and saw signs for the ride as a new one that I felt like I needed to go back and let them know what happened. I was really concerned that as a new ride there might be operator or installation faults. I went back in and spoke to some girls on the ticket desk who were lovely (one girl in particular with slicked back black hair which might have been partially shaved on the side), they got a medic and called for the manager. 

 

The medic was an older gent who was fine to talk to in his manner but didn’t understand what I meant by burst blood vessels in my eye. He was referring to floaters which are something altogether different. He was trying to minimalise my condition which I think was him genuinely trying to make me feel better rather than dismiss them. A second medic came who was a little arsey to start with but was ok.

 

Whilst this was happening a young manager came, a guy who I would assume is late 20s early 30s, he was then followed by an older manager who would be in his 40s.

 

I can’t really remember the full details of the conversation at this point (my partner was with me so he probably does!) because of how upset I was. I basically told them I was concerned as it didn’t feel ok to leave a ride in this state. They said that they have these rides all over the world, that it would shut off if the wind was too strong, that they couldn’t understand why the wings didn’t go back to normal. I asked them to tell me how much g force I had experienced and they said they couldn’t as they wouldn’t measure the g force of individual carts (this was the older manager who was vile, conceited and patronising, the way he said this to me was horrible and at this point I just wanted to get away from them). This same guy then proceeded to say ‘so what do you want me to do for you’ basically attempting to get me to ask for a refund. It’s not really goodwill if I have to say the words ‘I would like a refund’ is it? Lucky for him I didn’t want a refund. I told him that I thought the ride was unacceptable, that I didn’t want my money back and that I only wanted to let them know my concerns as it’s a new ride.

 

This was almost an hour after the incident and I was still shaking, experiencing severe headaches and having a nose bleed.

[Ian-S]

The eye thing is probably a 'Subconjunctival Hemorrhage', I've had that a couple of times (not from roller coasters) and it clears up in a week or so, eye drops will help if it itches.

To show some comparison that not all parks are filled with insensitive ****ers, when my wife fell over getting off vampire, her legs had gone because it was the first coaster she'd ever been on, the ride ops were there within a few seconds to check if she was OK.

It does sound like they need a panic button that slow or stops the capsule spinning that the ride can hit if the spinning gets out of control.

[pognoi]

Haha, most people would love this experience who are on this forum... par the nose bleeding.

[Coaster]

You did right to report it to the management, they are not on for responding in such a manner.

I'm quite saddened to hear about this, previously BPB have been very good with things like this but I don't know what is going on with the place this year, it seems to be taking a definite turn for the worse.

[pluk]

Sounds pretty awesome to me, but I can understand it if you weren't quite so keen!

 

Having not been on one, what do the wings do 'at rest', what is their default position? If they just flop to the side it's easy to see how with the right (or wrong!) wind conditions they could stay on the slant and cause excess spinning. If they are horizontal at rest and have to be pushed against a spring mechanism to tilt and cause the spinning it should be much harder to have that problem.