JOHN!

[furie]

It hit record numbers in 2004 AND 2009.

Most people thrown out for causing fights?

I thought Thorpe had that one

Ahhhh, I'm assuming you mean visitor numbers? You'll find that 1994 had record numbers and numbers declined each year (by a few hundred thousand per year) until they introduced the gate fee in 2009 when they switched from recording "visitor numbers" to "paying guests". Obviously their first year of recording will set the record

 

[Martyn B]

^ You really do love it there, dont you?

:lol:

 

[furie]

^ You really do love it there, dont you?

:lol:

I sit and count the days left until I shall return... Currently on 13,821 and counting down

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Oh I do love Blackpool, in a sort of... It's so terrible, kind of way. It's just nice to have a park in the UK that you can walk from ride to ride with barely a queue and not run out of rides in an hour.

But it is such a dump, too.

Big one is fab though. <3

 

[Martyn B]

Just under 38 years.... they might have a new coaster by then!

 

[STC]

Sorry, I don't mean to be rude.

But are people actually joking when they're saying that the Nash should be removed?

It may currently have a few problems, but on pretty much every other coaster forum except this one, it's seen as easily the park's best coaster, and one of the best 'classic' woodies in the world.

Is this an in-joke that I'm missing? :?

 

[furie]

It may currently have a few problems

It's currently been having a few problems for about four years. It's a superb coaster when it's running well, but you only have about a 25% chance of that happening.

Blackpool need to either fix it, or replace it. I'd rather they fixed it, but they don't seem to want to. If you have a lame dog, no matter how much you may have loved it, if it's in pain then you put it out of its misery.

In this case, the dog (coaster) is causing others pain

 

[Martyn B]

I think you may have misunderstood the topic, its not necessarily a case of wanting it to be removed, its about the large amount of space that it takes up.

IF they're going to invest heavily in a large major attraction, it would make more sense to remove Nash due to its size. There's nothing else in the park that you could remove to gain as much space as Nash sits on.

 

[STC]

I don't really think it does use up that much space (you could get a much better coaster on the Big Dipper's footprint). But even so, that doesn't necessarily mean it should be the first to go. The removal of Nemesis would create vastly more space than the removal of the Beastie, so should Nemmy be the first to go?

furie, I don't think your dog analogy works. Because every part of a wooden coaster is replaced eventually, unlike a dog, it has no finite life span. Also, it doesn't just degrade and get worse. If it's got worse recently, it could easily get better. Over it's lifetime, it must have had a dozen refurbishments. The latest one was a bodge job. There'll be another one reasonably soon, and hopefully that will improve the ride.

It's been open nearly 80 years, and hasn't been running well for four years, nothing compared to it's overall lifespan. Maybe if it hadn't been running well for 30 or 40 years, then fair enough. But it could easily be a great coaster again in the future, and demolishing it based on the last four years would be a kneejerk reaction. It's one of Britain's greatest ever rides, and demolishing it would be nothing short of a heritage disaster.

 

[furie]

Sorry, I suddenly found myself in the middle of a 30 minute support call so my post wasn't quite as well rounded as it could have been :lol:

In terms of space, the majority of Grand National covers ground where it's just the coaster and it's a huge area. Replacing anything else and you'd only be able to follow that coaster run.

I agree that the coaster should have an indefinite life-span, but only with constant, high quality maintenance. Each year the trains are left with square wheels is another year that people will avoid the coaster, until eventually the ride is so unpopular that it's justified to burn it down because it's simply not popular enough to justify the high maintenance costs - you end up in a catch 22.

If they're going to let that happen then I'd rather it went while everyone had a great memory of it, rather than the "sick dog put down" scenario we could easily end up with. If that makes more sense?

 

[Jake]

^^ Oh for god sake, you're clearly a Nash fanboy so what's the point? You'll never, ever accept any faults in the coaster, or back down even if presented with a decent argument. Fanboys are just the ultimate worst </3.

 

[STC]

I'm not really a Nash fanboy (ignore the signature), I just really like the ride. It's not my all-time favourite coaster or anything. Is there any need to be so dismissive and rude?

It's not like I'm defending a generally hated coaster. On every other forum except this, the Nash is generally regarded as a very good coaster, and either it or the Mouse is always seen as the best coaster at Blackpool.

Because I don't want it demolished I'm a fanboy?! Putting aside the argument about it being a great coaster in its own right, it's also a very unique historical ride. I don't really see how you could be in favour of knocking it down, even if you don't like the ride much. It's historical and heritage value is immense compared to almost any other ride in the UK.

It really seems like a lot of people round here really couldn't give a toss about historical importance or heritage. I do accept faults in the coaster: there is a lot wrong with it in its current state.

 

[Ben]

I'm not really a Nash fanboy

Yes you are.

Just because something is old, doesn't mean it's "historical" or "full of value".

It'd be great if they ripped it out. Big Dipper's loads better now.

 

[furie]

It really seems like a lot of people round here really couldn't give a toss about historical importance or heritage. I do accept faults in the coaster: there is a lot wrong with it in its current state.

I spent three months helping to compile the report to get the rides at Southport listed to save the rides and to try and save the park too.

Part of that also included a detailed historical review of all the historical rides at Blackpool, with evidence and arguments for getting all of the (historic) rides there listed.

I give a serious amount of toss about historical importance and heritage.

The listing request for Blackpool never went ahead. We had such a massive negative push and anti-listing campaign directed towards us that it was heart breaking. So after submitting the Southport report, we gave up with Blackpool.

The people anti-listing? All the Pleasure Beach fan groups/sites we asked for help from to get accurate historical data. The idea of the rides there being demolished now just washes over me. If the fans don't want them saving, then why should I put my heart and soul into caring about them? It makes it much easier to view things objectively and the idea of the Nash making way for a bigger ride was seriously put forward several years ago on Pleasure Beach fan sites, before the ride got dreadful. So the idea here isn't anything new and it's certainly not controversial...

 

[STC]

Probably because PBB fanboys are some of the worst in the community. A lot of them genuinely think that the Big One is the country's best ride.

Ben, the National is far more "historical" and "full of value" than the Dipper. There are hundreds of coasters very similar to the Dipper all over the world, whereas there is only two coasters even vaguely like the Nash. The station is also really quite special.

It seems both the most recent TTF European coaster poll and the 2011 Mitch Hawker poll published yesterday show that most people think the Nash is a lot better than the Dipper (#10 to #36 and #40 to #62 respectively).

 

[furie]

I agree that the Möbius element its fantastic. I also think that when it's running well, The Nash is one of the best wooden coasters I've been on (and one of the best in Europe). It's a very special coaster, but if nobody but a handful of people care about it (including PBB Ltd. and their fans), then meh :lol:

The station has been rebuilt too, it's no longer the original which means it's of no historic importance at all, even as an accurate rebuild of the original design (The Cyclone at Southport also fell down at this point (amongst others).

Plus, this is all theoretical. I don't want the ride demolished, but if in theory Blackpool was to propose an exact copy of Superman or Boulder Dash on the spot, you can't deny it's a good move. In reality, we're more likely to get another POS like PMBO

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Probably because PBB fanboys are some of the worst in the community. A lot of them genuinely think that the Big One is the country's best ride.

You don't need to be a PBB fanboy to think the Big One is one of the countries best rides. It's definitely 1 of the top 3 in my books, and I actually think there is an absurd amount of pressure to underrate it from many people.

It seems both the most recent TTF European coaster poll and the 2011 Mitch Hawker poll published yesterday show that most people think the Nash is a lot better than the Dipper (#10 to #36 and #40 to #62 respectively).

When TPR come back to the UK and ride Nash again, watch it plummet.

It's changed a lot since many people who vote in the poll last rode it.

Nash is a MILLION times better than the Mobius at Kennywood, so the yanks are comparing it on those grounds. Big Dipper is no where near as good as say, Phoenix. And that's the mentality a lot of people vote with, instead of just "how much did I enjoy this ride". Visiting Blackpool with a large group of enthusiasts is going to raise the enjoyment of Nash on top of all that.

I don't want Nash to go. I think there's a tonne of other stuff that should go first... Do something with the Space Invader building, get rid of Revolution, use the building that had that dark ride in it, something towers? **** the ark since it's just ON with no one using it. I wish they'd renovate Ark.

 

[furie]

No Joey, PMBO is just dreadful. Everyone is welcome to their opinion, but it's awful.

It's got "character", but let's not mistake that for being good

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Best first drop of all 310 coasters on my count. Easily.

What I love about PMBO is that, well... Firstly, it's actually terrifying. That first drop is incredible. The wind battering creates a sensation of speed simply not present on on many 200ft+ coasters, as without scenery whizzing by you, there's little judgement for speed. The bumpy roughness is enough to enhance the sensation of speed, but not so much to make it uncomfortable. It's long, really long. The height of it is pretty special, as it stays up in the air for a long time. And it's also pretty damn forceful.

It IS a good ride. None of these points can be denied, so I can only assume that people just don't value these points like I do.

The wind battering point is something I've never heard anyone else make, I will admit. It's why I liked Alpengeist so much, too.

 

[Hixee]

See, I think the drop of PMBO is good. I love the sharp twist, with the hangtime, and then the drop behind/between the buildings. You get a great sense of speed and I, like you, don't mind the bumpiness. It's not really rough, it just jostles around a bit. I think it does make you feel like you're going faster, and I've never really noticed the wind point before, but I can see where you're coming from.

However, I think the rest of the ride is dull...

As soon as you climb out from behind the shops, I just find it boring and uninteresting. Sure, it's fun being high up, but now I'm riding the coaster for the view I don't think it's quite as good anymore. I think the second half of the layout (after you've crossed through the lift hill essentially, it boring, slow and uninspired.

So yeah, I genuinely think the drop is good, I just don't like the rest of the ride. Best first drop? Not sure about that, but it's certainly got a good one.