47 minutes ago, Mattgwise said:

Stop complaining that everyone always complains! ?

This is the biggest problem compaining about the complainers...... who hate the non complainers for not complaining..... who complain about the problem behind the companies backs but dont front it up. The company hates complainers who makes the company out to be in the wrong. Who hate the people who ......

#complaining

1 hour ago, Glitch said:

Can I insult this? If this was Merlin you would be all on the offensive attach?

What do you mean?

1 hour ago, Coaster said:

What do you mean?

 

 

Prime example merlin cutting offpeak hours everyone complaining..... blackpool well its ok for them with no reaction.

4 hours ago, RobF said:

 

 

Prime example merlin cutting offpeak hours everyone complaining..... blackpool well its ok for them with no reaction.

I'm not sure what is meant by "no reaction", I've voiced my opinion that the further reduction in hours (6pm close) is shocking but that the Mon/Tues closures do make sense.  Even so, it's perhaps wrong that they didn't release this information until after the various season pass sales.

 

Believe me, PB don't get off lightly with things like this, in some ways they're worse than Merlin these days.

Maybe Blackpool could do a Liseberg and instead of opening at 9/10am (most rides open later anyway) and open at 12/1pm (or later) which would allow them to open later?

 

I mean, would 2-10pm hours be better than 9am-5pm?

I guess the issue with opening late is that people associate Blackpool evening / nightlife with not the Pleasure Beach. Shifting the opening hours would be a catastrophe if they couldn't get people on board.

 

Equally, I do think they should try it. It'd require a good level of marketing, but given the rewards it could reap, they should be giving it some serious thought.

1 hour ago, JoshC. said:

I guess the issue with opening late is that people associate Blackpool evening / nightlife with not the Pleasure Beach. Shifting the opening hours would be a catastrophe if they couldn't get people on board.

 

Equally, I do think they should try it. It'd require a good level of marketing, but given the rewards it could reap, they should be giving it some serious thought.

Pleasure Beach always did open late up until the last 5-10 years, it worked under free entry but would need to be marketed differently with the current entry system in place.

 

The 10pm closes the park does are usually busy, with a discounted wristband offered after 4pm there is a second wave of customers.  More of those (every Sat during summer, Oct half term etc) would be great - preferably without fireworks and keep the rides open until 10 though.

 

Absolutely agree with @Benin that during holidays, illuminations etc later opening and closing times would be beneficial, particularly on Friday evenings where the town is heaving yet PB is sat there in darkness having been closed since 5pm.

 

Enthusiasts not at Blackpool opening weekend be like, 

When did going to Blackpool for February half term and getting smashed in Wetherspoons become a thing? Has that just completely passed me by and I'm only becoming aware of it because of Icon..

I wasn't on park or anywhere near Blackpool today, but it sounds like it's been one of the worst days in the park's history.  Icon closed by lunchtime, every coaster (apart from Dipper and Icon in the morning) on one train, PMBO e-stopping on the lifthill constantly, most coasters closed for some or all of the day and Valhalla/flats going down constantly.  The Big One only started testing in the last week, is that really long enough?

 

For comparison, I went to opening weekend last year and whilst there were a few breakdowns (as to be expected really) and some rides on low capacity, it was an enjoyable weekend and we managed to get on everything.

 

This highlights, IMO, how far the park has fallen in the past year in terms of being able to hold together on a busy day.  It was awful towards the end of last season, and seems that it's even worse now.  The park has lost many of its most experienced staff and it shows.

I'm at the Pleasure Beach right now with @Kerfuffle and this is his first visit to the park too...... I feel so sorry for him currently.

 

Saying today has been horrendous is a massive understatement. Driving 6 friggin hours for a park with less than 50% of rides open is the biggest mistake I've made since declaring DBGT was the "best dark ride in the country" when it had just opened.

 

Anyone fancy a 2 hour queue for Big One on 1 train; engineers giving up on reopening Icon; Valhalla operating like a Windows 98 system and a Vekoma SLC being the most reliable ride at the park for the day?

14 minutes ago, Marhelorpe said:

I'm at the Pleasure Beach right now with @Kerfuffle and this is his first visit to the park too...... I feel so sorry for him currently.

 

Saying today has been horrendous is a massive understatement. Driving 6 friggin hours for a park with less than 50% of rides open is the biggest mistake I've made since declaring DBGT was the "best dark ride in the country" when it had just opened.

 

Anyone fancy a 2 hour queue for Big One on 1 train; engineers giving up on reopening Icon; Valhalla operating like a Windows 98 system and a Vekoma SLC being the most reliable ride at the park for the day?

That's just terrible   I'm sorry, this place isn't BPB anymore.  It's just an embarrassment.

 

If you're still on park I'd recommend going into guest services (or if you've left maybe speak with the staff outside Noah's Ark).

It's the same every year though, isn't it. 

 

Blackpool attract the most attention for being the first park to open the largest proportion of their park. But the park is never ready, and 3 months isn't long enough for the park to do winter maintenance and get everything back to full capacity, so they can't handle the crowds. It's just been a case that the bad weather for opening weekend had helped masked the opening weekend issues the last couple of years.

 

Thorpe had the exact same heat on them when they had February Half Term events, and they had the exact same issues.

 

It should come as no surprise, and anyone expecting anything different is living in false hope frankly.

1 minute ago, JoshC. said:

It's the same every year though, isn't it. 

 

Blackpool attract the most attention for being the first park to open the largest proportion of their park. But the park is never ready, and 3 months isn't long enough for the park to do winter maintenance and get everything back to full capacity, so they can't handle the crowds. It's just been a case that the bad weather for opening weekend had helped masked the opening weekend issues the last couple of years.

 

Thorpe had the exact same heat on them when they had February Half Term events, and they had the exact same issues.

 

It should come as no surprise, and anyone expecting anything different is living in false hope frankly.

Opening day last year was fine.  A couple of breakdowns but the rides reopened shortly afterwards, some coasters on low capacity but the park held together pretty well overall.

7 minutes ago, Coaster said:

Opening day last year was fine.  A couple of breakdowns but the rides reopened shortly afterwards, some coasters on low capacity but the park held together pretty well overall.

Your review from last opening weekend scrapes the definition of fine, and part of it masked by the poor weather.

On 2/12/2018 at 6:07 PM, Coaster said:

The park was running fairly well for February, reliability was decent overall with only a few rides down all weekend (Flying Machines, PBE and Grand Prix) and a few breakdowns.  The Big One didn't move at all due to wind on Sunday but was open on Saturday, Infusion late opening on Sunday and Avalanche had a breakdown later on in the day.

 

Dark rides were atrocious, nothing working in Ghost Train and theming ripped out, Valhalla worse than ever (disco lights on the first lifthill?!) and the less said about River Caves the better.  It's clear the park has no care for maintaining the themed experience their dark rides should offer, a shame.

 

Grand National was running really well for early season, as were Dipper and Streak.  Amazing to get back on and was hilarious riding Dipper and Streak in the snow/hail!

Coasters is being redone with a balcony overlooking Icon, will be great once it's done.

 

I have very mixed thoughts regarding BPB this year but one thing is for certain...  Icon looks outstanding.

Blackpool's opening weekend always gets a negative reception, yet going there is becoming more popular with the enthusiast community. And they whine when it's negative as if they expected something different.

1 hour ago, JoshC. said:

It should come as no surprise, and anyone expecting anything different is living in false hope frankly.

 

56 minutes ago, JoshC. said:

Blackpool's opening weekend always gets a negative reception, yet going there is becoming more popular with the enthusiast community. And they whine when it's negative as if they expected something different.

So after I spent over £40 in petrol, 9 hours in total of driving, £60+ for a hotel room and £20 for admission, you're saying "Put up or shut up. It's normal and you should live with it"?

 

Try telling that to the thousands of other people today who like me have had one of the worst visits to a theme/amusement park since Thorpe Park's 2011 Annual Pass Day...

1 hour ago, JoshC. said:

Your review from last opening weekend scrapes the definition of fine, and part of it masked by the poor weather.

Blackpool's opening weekend always gets a negative reception, yet going there is becoming more popular with the enthusiast community. And they whine when it's negative as if they expected something different.

Not really, last year's opening weekend was decent enough with a few breakdowns (but in most cases the rides reopened shortly after) and some rides on low capacity; about what I'd expect from BPB in February.

 

The weather affects The Big One, it can't run in high winds otherwise it would stall.  With that said, the operating limits to seem to be getting lower and lower and often they just send the staff home now whereas they always used to keep the staff on to do cleaning around the ride until such time as the winds lowered; even if the forecast suggested that they wouldn't.  But that's a whole different debate.

 

Today sounds much, much worse than last year.  The number of rides closed, breaking down and/or on low capacity far surpasses that of last year, plus Icon which closed at lunchtime today and failed to reopen.

 

Ultimately operations at PB have, in recent years, been very hit-and-miss.  But in the second half of 2018, they got worse and worse (there were reasons for this which I won't go into but ultimately the operations are in a mess behind the scenes).

 

I see today as a combination of early-season teething troubles, but also, far more worryingly, a continuation of the downturn we saw towards the end of 2018.

 

As for why enthusiasts rush to go to opening weekend, I can't answer that one.

4 minutes ago, Marhelorpe said:

 

So after I spent over £40 in petrol, 9 hours in total of driving, £60+ for a hotel room and £20 for admission, you're saying "Put up or shut up. It's normal and you should live with it"?

 

Try telling that to the thousands of other people today who like me have had one of the worst visits to a theme/amusement park since Thorpe Park's 2011 Annual Pass Day...

No?

 

I'm not excusing the park, it's not good enough.

 

But history points to this day never being good for the park. To expect it to be dramatically different is living in false hope in my opinion. 

 

I question yours and anyone else's judgement who invested so much time into visiting today. That's not my being rude, just honest.

 

By all means formally complain to the park, seek compensation, or whatever. Tell the park you had a bad day, and vote with your feet and don't return on an opening day. It's the only way they'll take notice and try and make improvements.

20 minutes ago, JoshC. said:

I question yours and anyone else's judgement who invested so much time into visiting today. That's not my being rude, just honest.

A paying customer should expect a product to be delivered in return for their money no matter what day/time they visit. Generally at a theme park, one would hopefully expect operational rides, good ride management and preparations for crowd levels thanks to sunny weather. Today, almost none of that was present which is what made it horrendous and a real contender with TP's 2011 AP day as the worst visit at a theme/amusement park.

 

I visited today purely because from previous years I had heard from many sources despite new season technical problems and cold weather, they were still great weekends with short queues which are definately worth attending. So I figured I'd give it a try.

 

What a huge mistake.

25 minutes ago, Marhelorpe said:

A paying customer should expect a product to be delivered in return for their money no matter what day/time they visit. Generally at a theme park, one would hopefully expect operational rides, good ride management and preparations for crowd levels thanks to sunny weather. Today, almost none of that was present which is what made it horrendous and a real contender with TP's 2011 AP day as the worst visit at a theme/amusement park.

I don't disagree, but that's an ideal scenario. Every park has its days to avoid, and with some research you find out what they are and try to avoid them. For those who can't avoid them, it's unfortunate, but you have to hope the park deal with it as best as possible.

 

And even if ride breakdowns had been minimal, could Blackpool have handled the crowds it had today with the rides being on minimal capacity? And is it in a position to do so with February Half Term and Wow Weekends becoming more popular?

 

I don't know the answer, but I personally think something has to give for the park. 

C'mon guys, Blackpool being open is better than nothing.

2 hours ago, MattyMoo said:

C'mon guys, Blackpool being open is better than nothing.

Once Icon gave up, we quite literally had nothing!

The TPW vlog is quite positive about the day, but does mention some reliability issues in the afternoon.

 

 

35 minutes ago, Marhelorpe said:

Once Icon gave up, we quite literally had nothing!

 

4 hours ago, Marhelorpe said:

Once Icon gave up, we quite literally had nothing!

Just to clarify, once Icon broke down for the day there was zero rides open?

Okay Icon is their new ride but there is 9 other coasters at the park and a good supporting lineup, there is other things to do at the park.

If Icon was shut I would just lap Big Dipper and Revolution. Sure Icon probably is the best ride there but technical issues happen.

Technical issues on rides happens at every park. Well, bar Europa.