Big One Re-Tracking @Pleasure Beach
- Thread starter CrashCoaster
- Start date
Tonkso
Hyper Poster
Fixed that for you.
It is iconic, but it's also ****ing turd.
I'm personally hoping for something akin to an RMC makeover. Maybe not as drastic as adding inversions, but something should be done with those triangular hills.
SilverArrow
Certified Ride Geek
Yeah, it's a shame that if they're retracking it they can't somehow improve the profiling. If a modern manufacturer had a go at re-designing this ride I reckon it could do amazing things! Obviously anything major would need support alterations (and a ton of cash) but some small changes could make a big difference to the ride experience.
AidanCKY
Mega Poster
Theme parks are a business, the Big One is iconic to the park, and the general public love it. And so do I - there are many better rides obviously but it's a classic.
They keep replacing track because doing anything else would be pretty stupid.
RMCing it or something sounds like a good idea, but I feel like once they analysed the structure they have, it would become really difficult to do especially when you consider the rides windy location.
This post perhaps provides a good excuse for me to clarify.
Ride's still ****ing turd.
Agreed.
Agreed.
Agreed.
Agreed.
Agreed.
Agreed.
Ride's still ****ing turd.
AidanCKY
Mega Poster
To an extremely tiny percentage of the parks attendees, yes. Almost insignificantly small you could say
Agreed.To an extremely tiny percentage of the parks attendees, yes. Almost insignificantly small you could say
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
Sorry, I don’t agree that it’s a classic for 2 reasons… Iconic yes, maybe but a classic no….
firstly, it is in the company of Nash, The Big Dipper and Streak… Next to them it’s a youngster… It’s the second newest coaster in the park. Do we declare every coaster but icon a classic? Doesn’t give them much room to grow in the future does it?
Secondly it’s crap, has always been crap, and I personally think that to be classed as a classic, a coaster needs to have at least been good at some point!
firstly, it is in the company of Nash, The Big Dipper and Streak… Next to them it’s a youngster… It’s the second newest coaster in the park. Do we declare every coaster but icon a classic? Doesn’t give them much room to grow in the future does it?
Secondly it’s crap, has always been crap, and I personally think that to be classed as a classic, a coaster needs to have at least been good at some point!
AidanCKY
Mega Poster
To the general public, it is good. To anyone who was a kid in the mid 90's it was very good then, obviously by worldwide and modern standards it isn't,
I forgot why i don't bother with enthusiast forums anymore, so much pedantry, narrow minded thinking and pettiness.
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
No it’s really not… I visit with large groups of GP regularly, such as my team of staff on work outings, and they’re all blown away by it’s height at first… but their reactions after riding range from disappointed to agony!!!
I don’t speak for all GP of course, but neither should you, it’s not nearly as universally loved as you’re implying! The ones I’ve visited with recently have unanimously preferred icon, and PMBO has on each occasion been a once and done!
Also btw, I’ve been riding it from opening year!!! (Not that I need to explain that to you, either your photo’s old or you look half my age
)
Matt N
CF Legend
My parents both absolutely love the Big One, for what it’s worth; my dad in particular has it as one of his favourite rides, and says it’s “one of the most insane things [he’s] ever done”. I know my dad actually prefers the Big One to Mako (the only other hyper we’ve done), as he says Mako is “a bit boring” and “lacking in a sense of thrill and danger compared to the Big One”, but I think my mum still prefers Mako.
When I asked them, they also both said they vastly preferred it to Icon (they’re both quite apathetic towards Icon… my dad says that Icon’s most memorable part is its baggage system), and they had it as their favourite of the UK 1994 trio (Nemesis, Big One and Shockwave at Drayton, in case anyone’s wondering) when I asked… I’m in a vast minority among my group in not being a huge Big One fan, and my parents are pretty bemused by how lowly I rank it. (It’s actually my least favourite of the 1994 trio…)
So I certainly think that the Big One is more loved among the general visitor than enthusiasts would expect if my parents are anything to go by!
When I asked them, they also both said they vastly preferred it to Icon (they’re both quite apathetic towards Icon… my dad says that Icon’s most memorable part is its baggage system), and they had it as their favourite of the UK 1994 trio (Nemesis, Big One and Shockwave at Drayton, in case anyone’s wondering) when I asked… I’m in a vast minority among my group in not being a huge Big One fan, and my parents are pretty bemused by how lowly I rank it. (It’s actually my least favourite of the 1994 trio…)
So I certainly think that the Big One is more loved among the general visitor than enthusiasts would expect if my parents are anything to go by!
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
It’s my least favourite of the trio too… And I did ride 2 of them in 1994… (Shockwave came a year later)
Big One was the most beautiful looking ride though, it was the one I liked to draw, it was actually the best sketch in my secondary art book! I got really good marks for it!
But I digress, as a ride, it really does nothing… looking back at my most recent visit with none goons… My friend Lexy got bruised up (she’s very very slim) Her brother Bran and his partner hated it. Siobhan rode it years ago, hated it and won’t ever ride it again.
Cara hates it, but will ride it with me, and finally Kayley and Kyle just find it boring… Although they’ve done numerous 200ft + coasters, including Shambhala, Hyperion, Zadra, Red Force and Silver Star… So I’m not sure they count as GP, but would never count themselves as enthusiasts either… I just drag them along and they generally enjoy it (I hope!)
Coaster
Mega Poster
It's funny isn't it, how subjective coasters are.
Big One is one of my favourite coasters, even after factoring in parks I've been to overseas (e.g. Cedar Point). PMBO is still easily in my top 15 coasters.
I like the cobbled together, 'Arrow-like' nature of The Big One. It's got character and the layout and ride sensation is completely different to that of a modern coaster. Everything from the strong forces as you hit the dips, being pulled over the top of the banked hills, the sound of the lift-hill and the rattle, gives it something unique.
It can also be an absolutely wild ride. This year it was running better than I've ever known it and I had countless rides on still days where it was absolutely flying round, to the point where I was virtually stood up over star hill and going into the MCBR. Especially given the park actually let it run until 10pm this year on the LNR's, it was absolutely hauling round on those evenings.
Sadly, it is hampered by the wind a lot which leads to far inferior ride experiences when the wind slows it down.
Big One still has my favourite first drop of any coaster in the world and I really rate the rest of the ride's layout because it's different. It's not for everyone, but the same could be said of any coaster really. It gets far too much hate.
Big One is one of my favourite coasters, even after factoring in parks I've been to overseas (e.g. Cedar Point). PMBO is still easily in my top 15 coasters.
I like the cobbled together, 'Arrow-like' nature of The Big One. It's got character and the layout and ride sensation is completely different to that of a modern coaster. Everything from the strong forces as you hit the dips, being pulled over the top of the banked hills, the sound of the lift-hill and the rattle, gives it something unique.
It can also be an absolutely wild ride. This year it was running better than I've ever known it and I had countless rides on still days where it was absolutely flying round, to the point where I was virtually stood up over star hill and going into the MCBR. Especially given the park actually let it run until 10pm this year on the LNR's, it was absolutely hauling round on those evenings.
Sadly, it is hampered by the wind a lot which leads to far inferior ride experiences when the wind slows it down.
Big One still has my favourite first drop of any coaster in the world and I really rate the rest of the ride's layout because it's different. It's not for everyone, but the same could be said of any coaster really. It gets far too much hate.
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
I don’t think it gets a lot of hate, I know of far more enthusiasts who enjoy it than I do GP. Having spent time with PBE at their events… It almost has it’s own cult like fan club.
You’re right though they are subjective. One of my favourite things to say about this hobby is that it’d be very boring if everybody liked the same things, as park’s would just follow the same formulas over and over.
That being said, I stand by what I said, in a park like BPB especially, with all it’s history, PMBO does not deserve the title of ‘classic’ imo. It has about 50-75 years to go yet!
I used to like the first drop, shame they nerfed it… I’d probably still prefer the likes of Hyperion these days for the pure ejector, but it was certainly better before the reprofiling, if my memory serves me correctly.
*Another great thing about this hobby is comparing favourites and debating their merits and pitfalls
Edited to add: I forgot to say, I haven’t ridden it this year!!! Is the retracking really making that much difference?
Matt N
CF Legend
In fairness, I get why people like the Big One, and I do think I’d like it a fair bit more if it weren’t quite so rough. Which the retracking may well be helping with, for all I know (I haven’t done it since 2019)…
Yes, the layout isn’t the most airtime-filled (I’ve never personally experienced airtime on it), but I don’t think it was really meant to be, and I don’t personally think it’s as forceless as many often make out (I once had a ride towards the front where I greyed out on the first drop rushing into the first triangle… it was an odd one, given it didn’t happen when I rode on the back later in the day and never happened on my first ride in 2018 either…); while I don’t think it’s blisteringly relentless per se, I think it feels really quite fast in places, and I think it does the whole “sense of speed” thing very well, personally!
I’ll admit, also, that it seems to be a coaster that blows hot and cold for sure. It currently ranks 5th at BPB for me (behind Icon, Avalanche, Streak and Revolution, in that order), but that’s based on my second visit, where it seemed to be running faster and a little bit smoother (albeit it was still very rough, and a bit too rough for me to really enjoy); based on my first visit, I genuinely didn’t like the ride much at all and would have been hard pressed to go any higher than 8th within BPB (I seem to remember only Steeplechase and Infusion ranking lower for me in 2018). The first time I rode it, it seemed quite slow and almost as excruciatingly rough as Infusion; I must have hit it on an off-day.
Yes, the layout isn’t the most airtime-filled (I’ve never personally experienced airtime on it), but I don’t think it was really meant to be, and I don’t personally think it’s as forceless as many often make out (I once had a ride towards the front where I greyed out on the first drop rushing into the first triangle… it was an odd one, given it didn’t happen when I rode on the back later in the day and never happened on my first ride in 2018 either…); while I don’t think it’s blisteringly relentless per se, I think it feels really quite fast in places, and I think it does the whole “sense of speed” thing very well, personally!
I’ll admit, also, that it seems to be a coaster that blows hot and cold for sure. It currently ranks 5th at BPB for me (behind Icon, Avalanche, Streak and Revolution, in that order), but that’s based on my second visit, where it seemed to be running faster and a little bit smoother (albeit it was still very rough, and a bit too rough for me to really enjoy); based on my first visit, I genuinely didn’t like the ride much at all and would have been hard pressed to go any higher than 8th within BPB (I seem to remember only Steeplechase and Infusion ranking lower for me in 2018). The first time I rode it, it seemed quite slow and almost as excruciatingly rough as Infusion; I must have hit it on an off-day.