Coaster Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Wild Mouse will not be returning anywhere, there is nothing left of the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Blackpool on opening day: 1 step forwards, 2 back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Am I the only one who is looking at that picture as stacks of new looking wood on the pallets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 On 1/6/2018 at 4:39 PM, Mattgwise said: Am I the only one who is looking at that picture as stacks of new looking wood on the pallets? Expand I would imagine it's some kind of flooring to go in the area Mouse was in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Doyle Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Absolutely gutted by that news!! In my opinion it was not only the best coaster at the pleasure beach but by far the best wild mouse coaster on the planet!! Shame that they never gave it a fairwell like they did the log flume a few years back as it would of absolutely deserved that sort of send off. Them dealing with the angry fans of the ride on opening day in a nutshell...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Well that's one piece of history I'm never going to get to experience... Having not been to Blackpool, I have no sentimental attachment to the thing and I'll in no way miss it as a result. But I'm still disappointed that I'll miss out on it. I guess with H&S becoming more and more prevalent in the UK, and people being more 'complainy' these days, it was always going to be a matter of time before it went from what I heard of the experience. Still a massive shame... Also below is a statement the park gave to the European Coaster Club: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob666 Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 (edited) On 1/6/2018 at 2:30 PM, Coaster said: I'm very sorry and absolutely distraught to have to say that the Wild Mouse has been demolished. 1958 - 2017 Expand Come on now Jamie, chin up mate. All down to litigation and insurance costs in the end. You sound like me when I was your age when they closed the Virginia Reel...the ride of my youth. Stuff happens, at least we got a good play on it before it went. Will buy you a drink when we bump into each other in the coaster queues...again. And the wooden pallets are there every closed season, they stack the metal grids for the big fountain on them for maintainance I think. Edited January 6, 2018 by rob666 Spellin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 I think a lot of people deep down probably understand reasons behind it’s removal - the way they’ve done it though is quite baffling, they pride their self on the historic nature of a lot of their rides, to just remove it on the sly is somewhat strange to me. Mattgwise, SteveJ and Coaster 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HermanTheGerman Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 I mean, it’s hardly a surprise, but as Marc said, the way they’ve gone about the matter publicly is a little odd... To close such a historic attraction while pretending its no big deal is very strange... they didn’t even hold a closing event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Whatever the actual necessity or otherwise for it to have been removed, i really am very sad about it. It was a fantastic experience, and one that I'll really miss next time I'm there. It's probably the first coaster that I've really cared about to go. Can only hold out a small hope it has been dismantled rather than demolished, and that someone with the ability or apatite to continue running it can take it on. Seems unlikely though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPC Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 At least, we do now get an area for future development after Icon, especially with the haunted house thing also been demolished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieN Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Just a query, but which Blackpool rides are grade ll listed? I assume Grand National and Big Dipper are but I don’t know what else. I’m quite surprised that Wild Mouse wasn’t - but I’m very naive when it comes to the Pleasure Beach. HermanTheGerman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Wild Mouse is a huge loss to the industry, and I'm absolutely gutted to see it go. Whilst new developments are great, Wild Mouse was truly a one of a kind ride, that can never be recreated in the future. Pleasure Beach have lost a huge part of what made the park so special, and no modern ride can ever replace that. On a personal level, the Mouse has provided me with many years of fun & laughter and was without question one of my favourite ever coasters; I've never known a ride with such incredibly unrestricted airtime, especially that last drop - brilliant! One thing I feel is important to mention. Pleasure Beach spent a lot of money on Wild Mouse last year with the installation of the new magnetic brake system, new evacuation walkways, and endless re-tracks/wood replacements throughout the season. It clearly was not their intention, at that time, to remove Wild Mouse in the near future. With that said, I do not abide with the terrible way the park have handled the closure and demolition of a much-loved ride which holds memories for so many people, it's nothing short of a disgrace the way the ride has been unceremoniously torn down with no initial statement made to appease long standing fans of the ride or the park. In addition, the statement the park have hurriedly released today doesn't even care to mention what a fantastic coaster it was, the history behind it or the legacy it left. It's like they couldn't wait to be rid of it, and really stinks of a park that couldn't care less. SteveJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 On 1/6/2018 at 8:08 PM, CharlieN said: Just a query, but which Blackpool rides are grade ll listed? I assume Grand National and Big Dipper are but I don’t know what else. I’m quite surprised that Wild Mouse wasn’t - but I’m very naive when it comes to the Pleasure Beach. Expand List can be found here: https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1389506 THE CASINO AT BLACKPOOL PLEASURE BEACH Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II The Big Dipper Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machine Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II The Grand National Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II Noah's Ark Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II Blue Flyer rollercoaster (originally the Zipper Dipper) Heritage Category: Listing Grade: II (NB - I've totally just copied this post from member 'davidm' on Coasterforce - credit to him for creating the easy to read list) CharlieN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 On 1/6/2018 at 8:16 PM, Coaster said: Wild Mouse is a huge loss to the industry, and I'm absolutely gutted to see it go. Whilst new developments are great, Wild Mouse was truly a one of a kind ride, that can never be recreated in the future. Pleasure Beach have lost a huge part of what made the park so special, and no modern ride can ever replace that. On a personal level, the Mouse has provided me with many years of fun & laughter and was without question one of my favourite ever coasters; I've never known a ride with such incredibly unrestricted airtime, especially that last drop - brilliant! One thing I feel is important to mention. Pleasure Beach spent a lot of money on Wild Mouse last year with the installation of the new magnetic brake system, new evacuation walkways, and endless re-tracks/wood replacements throughout the season. It clearly was not their intention, at that time, to remove Wild Mouse in the near future. With that said, I do not abide with the terrible way the park have handled the closure and demolition of a much-loved ride which holds memories for so many people, it's nothing short of a disgrace the way the ride has been unceremoniously torn down with no initial statement made to appease long standing fans of the ride or the park. In addition, the statement the park have hurriedly released today doesn't even care to mention what a fantastic coaster it was, the history behind it or the legacy it left. It's like they couldn't wait to be rid of it, and really stinks of a park that couldn't care less. Expand It's kind of a disgrace to be honest. Their reasons are utter bollocks (excuse my French) also because this is a park that prides itself in fitting things in. Big One, Icon, Steeplechase all rides that knit and weave between other structures and something that made Pleasure Beach unique. Saying they are making room for future development, yeah I'm not buying it. We're not talking about a run of the mill Vekoma or a kiddy coaster either, we're talking about one of the UK's oldest coasters and its like they couldn't care less. Coaster and SteveJ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 On 1/6/2018 at 8:41 PM, Mark9 said: It's kind of a disgrace to be honest. Their reasons are utter bollocks (excuse my French) also because this is a park that prides itself in fitting things in. Big One, Icon, Steeplechase all rides that knit and weave between other structures and something that made Pleasure Beach unique. Saying they are making room for future development, yeah I'm not buying it. We're not talking about a run of the mill Vekoma or a kiddy coaster either, we're talking about one of the UK's oldest coasters and its like they couldn't care less. Expand I completely agree, in addition the Wild Mouse took up the smallest amount of space of probably any thrill coaster anywhere! It's a terrible excuse and really has shown the park in a different light to me. JoelAllen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshuaA Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Wild Mouse probably doesn't event take up the space of most flat rides, so I have no idea why BPB used the whole "we have no space" excuse. They could of bulldozed Infusion if they needed space as nobody would care about that one.. If they were going to scrap a ride last minute with no respect it should of been Infusion or that really tall red monorail.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Doyle Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 On 1/6/2018 at 9:07 PM, JoshuaA said: They could of bulldozed Infusion if they needed space as nobody would care about that one.. Expand Amen to that!! but no!! We lose an absolute classic whilst that abomination lives on!!....life is cruel sometimes :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 6, 2018 Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 Not the first time Amanda has destroyed a classic attraction before it could be saved... The 'new development' excuse is literally the quickest thing they could think of to try and quell the pr disaster out of their control... Disappointing really that they couldn't be bothered to give something beyond the standard copy and paste job you see on every single Trip Advisor review... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuntman707 Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Just speculating, but their intentions may have been to keep it running and formally close it. Maybe during maintenance it became clear that it would cost too much to re-open next seaon and they didn't want to pour money into something they were planning to tear down soon anyway. CharlieN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 On 1/7/2018 at 11:07 AM, Stuntman707 said: Just speculating, but their intentions may have been to keep it running and formally close it. Maybe during maintenance it became clear that it would cost too much to re-open next seaon and they didn't want to pour money into something they were planning to tear down soon anyway. Expand Whilst that’s obviously plasuable, they still could have announced it, I’m sure it would have been known for a few months - also was it not closed at the end of the season - so they possible knew then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetmagix Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 I was there 5/6 October 2017 and it was SBNO then, it had been like that for a couple of weeks at least according to some of the ride ops. As that was my first visit I never got a chance to ride the mouse, a shame as I've heard it was a brilliantly brutal little machine. I agree with the above posters, a very weird way to announce the closing of a ride. Someone was going to notice at some point that it had disappeared. I believe that's what happened and that's why they had to issue the press statement in a hurry. On a related note: I'm amazed that such a large park has such a poor press/PR department. As in, it barely has one. Their Twitter feed just has scheduled messages and retweets. No real advertising of ICON either. They failed to 'own' the closure of the Mouse. Very poor indeed for a park with 5.5M visitors a year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 The lack of care for what BPB stands stood for was already becoming more and more apparent last year. World class dark rides left to rot, terrible presentation of rides, stations & facades, rides running on low(er than usual) capacity on a more regular basis, closing the park early whenever they feel like it. Where's the pride gone? Where's the sense of fun, happiness and enjoyment that BPB used to be famed for? The park has become a bland, corporate entity and this is epitomised in the corporate "it's progress" statement which was released by them on Saturday. As someone who has been avid fan of Blackpool Pleasure Beach for as long as I can remember, I don't think I will ever forgive them for demolishing the Wild Mouse. The act of destroying a national treasure is a disgrace and the lack of communication, lies (maintenance?!) and subsequent faceless response is an absolute insult. Wild Mouse was a heritage ride which has brought happiness & laughter as well as holding special memories for so many generations of people, who deserved better than seeing it demolished without any farewell event, or even a proper, human statement made. I fully understand and support theme parks moving with the times; additions such as Nickelodeon Land, Skyforce and now Icon have shown that Pleasure Beach can keep up, and as a family park, an investment like Icon is quite something. With that said, this pales into insignificance when they remove one of the world's most unique and historic roller coasters. New developments are great, but ultimately there are plenty of launched coasters out there in the world - whereas Wild Mouse was truly one of a kind. It was rides like Mouse which made the Pleasure Beach stand about above other parks; any park (within their constraints of course) can build a new coaster, but no other park could claim to have a working collection of rides from across the last 120 years. They have ripped the heart out of BPB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 10, 2018 Report Share Posted January 10, 2018 You know a park gone done mucked up when one of your most fervent fanboys is angry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 This photo was posted in a BPB History Facebook group earlier today; * Image does NOT belong to me Absolutely horrendous SteveJ and Mattgwise 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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