What's new

Blackpool Pleasure Beach 18/6/19

WillsThrills

Roller Poster
Hello coaster friends! ?

This is one of the first trip reports I’ve written, so please do let me know what you think, be it positive or constructive. I took my DSLR camera with me and took well over 200 shots, but unfortunately most of them turned out to be a bit naff as i’m still not quite used to my new camera. I’ve salvaged what I could of them and edited them to high heaven, and I like to think they turned out reasonable! A bit grainy in places, but not too bad anyway.

I’ve only visited Blackpool Pleasure Beach once before – no one in my family can remember exactly when, but I think it was around 1999 - 2001. As you can expect, my memory from back then is a touch fuzzy, and I was far too timid/short to ride a lot of the big coasters. I remember enjoying all of those beautiful classic woodies a lot though, so was really looking forward to getting back on them. I was also very excited to finally get a ride on Icon after hearing such good things about it. I was very eager to get on and see if it actually lived up to the hype or not.

Blackpool is about a 3.5 hour drive away from my ever so delightful home town of Northampton, so me and my Fiancé decided to make an over night stay of it. I booked us 2 nights in the Big Blue hotel directly next to the park, and when I got to the room, I was greeted with quite a stunning view from my window!


BPB1.jpg



I couldn’t quite believe I was staying quite so close to the action. Due to bad traffic and a naughty sat nav that sent us on several detours along the way, we arrived too late to see any of the rides running, but it still was a great view. It certainly got me very excited to finally get back into the park! We didn’t stay in the room for long though, as after all of the gloomy weather we’d had recently we wanted to get out in the beautiful evening sun.


BPB2.jpg



You can get some seriously gorgeous views of the rides from outside of the park! We headed to the Velvet Coaster, a Wetherspoons pub named after one of the earliest coaster at the park, and enjoyed a few drinks as we watched the beautiful sunset across the sea. I was crazily excited and my poor other half had to listen to me rambling on about rollercoasters for hours that evening, the poor sod!

Finally, morning came. The park was open from 11:00 – 17:00, giving us only 6 hours of ride time. The rides started testing at around 9AM, so I sat there with a cup of tea watching through the window for way longer than any sane person would or should. I could literally not think of any better way to start the day.


animated.gif



As we were staying at the Big Blue hotel, we were able to use their special VIP entrance to avoid having to walk around to the front of the park. This was very welcome, and meant that we had quite fast access to Icon. We joined the growing queue of people outside the ride entrance, and were let in moments later.


BPB3.jpg



I was surprised (not in a good way) to see that the park were running their newest, signature attraction on just a one train service. It was an off peak Tuesday so I knew the park wouldn’t exactly be busy, but it was by far the most popular ride on park, and the queue peaked at around 30 minutes for me at one point. I know that’s not super long, but the capacity on a one train service is quite low, so it felt like it was moving quite slowly. For our first ride we queued extra for the front row, and it was well worth the wait.


BPB11.jpg



The ride itself was flippin’ fantastic. I was in total awe of how smooth it ran, and any of my worries about it’s slow looking pacing were blown truly out of the water. It was my first time on an inverting coaster with a lap bar restraint and I loved it. The feeling of freedom you get from those lap bars is insane, and the seats feel so comfy and roomy. The layout was really fun with some great elements, and the interactions with the surrounding rides is amazing. The ride felt surprisingly long too. The only slight let down was the launch. For me, it just didn’t have enough punch or intensity. Although I have no idea what the theme of the ride is supposed to be (if anything), I loved how the park had decorated and themed the ride and the surrounding area. The music around the queue and in the station was a nice touch and a good breath of fresh air from the pop ****e that was blasting around the rest of the park too.

Overall, I loved it. I was keen to get a few re rides before forming a solid opinion, but it defiantly scored a spot in my top 10 for sure. After this, we headed to the parks’ other iconic coaster, the Big One.


BPB12.jpg



Although this was built in 1994, I was too young and short to ride it on my previous visit so this was my second new cred of the day. I’ll be blunt here – I really did not like it. My first mistake probably was sitting in the very back row. Now I’m quite a tall, broad, and somewhat chubby guy, so I’m used to occasionally feeling snug in coaster cars. But this was a whole new level. There was hardly any leg space in my row, and the seat felt so hard and uncomfortable. My knees were pressed hard against the seat in front and try as I might I could just not get even remotely comfortable – and this was before the train had even left the station. The views of the park and surrounding area as you climb the lift are beautiful, but all too soon you find yourself plunging down that drop. It looks stunning when you watch it from the ground, but it was absolutely savage. Nothing could have prepared me for how rough the ride would be, and the layout was so… meh. It just felt boring and uninspired. I should probably be grateful that the ride wasn’t packed with air time though as that probably would have made my discomfort and pain a whole lot worse than it already was. I was so happy when we hit the brake runs. One ride on this was enough.

Up next, steeplechase. My Fiancé decided to sit this one out, and if I wasn’t a crazy fanatical cred counter, I would have too. The thing feels rather unsafe which definitely added something to the thrill factor. As I expected, the seats were quite uncomfortable and somewhat awkward to get in and out of. When you hit the corners, especially the tighter ones, your body kind of rams into the very inadequate back rests (if you can call them that), and was quite painful. I’m writing this report 2 days after my visit and i’m still feeling sore from it! Only 2 of the 3 tracks were operating, which means I missed out on one of the creds but honestly was not sad about that at all. The only time I’ll ride it again is if they are operating that red track on my next visit just so I can get the cred. Other than that, I’ll pass! After my ride on the Big One, and 2 goes on Steeplechase, I started to get the impression that most of the rides here are out to cause pain and misery.

Next up was Revolution. This ride completely took me by surprise. I rode in the back row, and was not expecting or prepared for such a crazy pop of ejector air time as you go down that drop.


BPB13.jpg



The loop was fun too, and for such an old coaster it was running quite smooth. The backwards launch and loop, followed by another pop of air time as you re enter the station left me feeling quite disorientated and in awe. For such a simple and basic looking ride, it packs a seriously good punch. Much to my surprise, this ride never really had a queue at all. In fact, I don’t think I actually saw them run a full train once during the times I was in the area. I really wanted a re ride, but by this point it was already well after 12PM, and there was so many more rides to do.


BPB7.jpg



Whilst in the area, I had a go on Avalanche too. I’ve only ever been on one bobsled type coaster before – Bob, at Efteling – and I wasn’t too keen on it. I wasn’t expecting to like Avalanche, but I really did! I think the reason I didn’t like Efteling’s Bob so much is because of the frequency of the block brakes, which I felt interrupted the flow of the ride. Although Avalanche is short, it whizzed marvellously down the course, gaining more and more speed before hitting the brake run. Again, this ride was also running just one train, but at the time of my ride it didn’t really need a second train on it. I did notice that the queue was outside of the building later in the day though. Overall, a rather enjoyable family coaster. Nothing overly remarkable, but good fun and I will for sure ride again next time I return!

I had one final new cred to pick up, and that was Infusion. I’ve heard many, many bad things about it and indeed most Vekoma SLCs. It was my first time ever on an SLC so had no idea quite what I was letting myself in for. I was already feeling rather beaten up after Big One and Steeplechase, so just wanted to get it over and done with. After waiting about 20 minutes, I was on, and braced for a bumpy ride.


BPB4.jpg



Truth be told, it totally didn’t feel bad at all. I remember quite clearly thinking ‘wtf, it’s actually smooth?!’ at a few points throughout the course. There was a bit of headbashing during the double barrel roll element, but the restraint was so well padded that it caused very little discomfort. The layout was ok, and the water fountains looked great from the ground and queue but I didn’t notice them when actually on the ride.


BPB5.jpg


Overall, I thought Infusion was a surprisingly solid coaster and adds some nice diversity amongst the ride line up. Much to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it! So far, although still feeling a bit sore and tender, I was having a great day. Sadly, my Fiancé was not. Try as he might, he’s just not an enthusiast and was already feeling like he’d had enough. He found a spot in the shade to sit and chill whilst I went off to ride the grand national.

The Grand National was the first coaster that I rode when I visited all those years ago, and is quite possibly what sparked my initial love of all things coasters. I was so excited to get to ride it again!


BPB10.jpg



Once again, being a tall, stocky and chubby guy was a bit of an issue here. The seat was so restrictive on my legs that my thighs were uncomfortably squashed together, seriously crushing my man parts in the process. As if the rough and jolty ride wasn’t enough, this added a whole new realm of discomfort and pain and I was desperate to get off before we even left the lift hill. I was sat on the front row though which was cool, and I do still love the layout, air time and out of control feeling it gives. But damn, I was uncomfortable. Next up, I had a ride on Ice Blast and Flying Machines as I was in the area.


BPB6.jpg



Ice Blast was alright I guess. It felt a bit forceless and didn’t really give me any kind of sensation of freefall or weightlessness. It was just so tame. It did however give stunning views of the park and surrounding area.


BPB8.jpg



I briefly entertained the idea of riding Valhalla, but everyone coming off of it looked far too wet for my liking. It’s a bit of a shame as I’ve heard it’s the country’s best water ride, but I really did not fancy getting such a drenching.


BPB9.jpg



Flying Machines was up next, and I had great fun. It’s such a classic ride and not really thrilling, but I still loved it. You exit the ride through a gift shop, and inside it you can buy old used ride parts such as wheels and other such things…


usedrideparts.jpg

Photo taken from my phone, excuse the quality!

In case you were wondering, yes, I did buy some. I really wish I could have taken a photo of my fiancé's face as I told and showed him what I had just purchased. He was feeling better after having a sit down and bite to eat, so we headed over to Nickeloden streak. I rode this years ago when it was known simply as Roller Coaster. It was exactly as I remembered and expected – a good coaster with an enjoyable layout. A great family ride. It was somewhat rough and jolty, but for such an old coaster, that’s to be expected. It had a lot of charm to it, and I enjoyed my ride. Sadly, after this, my Fiancé declared that he’d had enough and headed back to the hotel room for a nap and some chill time. I had around 2-3 hours left of park time, and had done most of the rides I wanted to do. After my painful experience on Grand National, I decided against riding the Big Dipper in order to avoid a similarly uncomfortable and painful experience. I already had the cred from my previous visit.

The only ride left to do was the Ghost Train. This was the first ever ghost train ride and opened in 1930. Sadly, I didn’t have an encounter with Cloggy, but I still enjoyed it a lot. The scenes were good and it’s clear that the park have taken good care of it over the years. The scene where there’s 3 skeletons riding bikes was not working, but everything else looked fab. Well worth a ride!

It was time for some re rides, so I headed straight over to Icon. After a ride in the middle and on the back row, I realised just how much I loved the ride. It glides so smoothly along it’s beautiful layout, which I appreciated more than ever after being destroyed by a few of the parks’ other rides. I thought about where it would rank, and ultimately decided that it’s my new number 4. A fantastic ride with a great layout and super comfy trains and restraints. The park did a great job with their branding and making the ride look gorgeous too, and it had great atmosphere. The only thing that somewhat lets it down for me is the slow launch. I really would have loved it if there was a bit more of a kick to it. Personally, I think it’s the second best coaster in the country – only just falling behind Nemesis which still remains my number 1. A fantastic addition, and it’s making me excited to see what the future holds for the park.


BPB16.jpg



Time was rapidly running out, so I went to check out the park’s Gerstlauer flat ride, Sky Force. I couldn’t quite get the hang of how to flip upside down on it, but still had a blast trying! I like how you can control how thrilling or tame you want your ride to be, making it nice and versatile to suit a lot of people.


BPB14.jpg

Those poor people...


I headed back up to Revolution, stopping at the top to take in the beautiful views and grab a photo or 2. I had another back row ride, and once again found myself completely in awe of what an amazing little ride it is.


BPB15.jpg



It’s such a unique gem. Well worth hauling myself back up all of those stairs for! There was only 10 minutes left before ride close, so I swiftly made my way over for one last ride on Icon.


Another back row ride. Seriously epic. I highly recommend to any UK enthusiast who has not yet checked it out to give it a ride urgently. Oh so good! I hung around the area watching the last trains of the day whizz past, before making my way over to the park exit.


BPB17.jpg



BPB18.jpg



I met back up with my other half, and once again we headed back to Wetherspoons. I stupidly hadn’t eaten a thing all day, so by this point I was ravenous and destroyed all of the food that was put in front of me. Slightly tipsy from several pints of Kopparberg, I finally had a chance to reflect on the day as we adventured out onto the beach. Overall, the park is great and offers a good variety of rides. I booked the wristbands in advance and only paid £23 each for them, which I thought was excellent value for money. Half the rides seemed like they were trying to kill me, but apart from Big One and Steeplechase I enjoyed them all. Icon is by far the highlight of the park though, and is a glorious addition to the UK coaster scene. It definitely lived up to the hype for me, and I can’t wait until I can get back to ride it some more. I just wish it wasn’t running one train for the whole day!


BPB19.jpg



The sun was setting and looked beautiful. After a few more ciders, it was time to get back to the hotel and watch some trashy TV. I was exhausted from such a fab day and fell asleep super quickly.


BPB20.jpg



I woke up in the morning to the sound of the coasters testing once again. I had a slightly sore head and couldn’t decide if it was because of the ciders or rougher coasters. I’ll let you be the judge of that one! ;) I watched on as Icon tested, feeling a bit sad that I probably wouldn’t be back at the park again for quite a while due to how it’s distance from home. A fantastic few nights away, and I would recommend it to anyone who has yet to visit. I hope you've enjoyed reading my report if you made it this far!?
 

Hixee

Flojector
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Social Media Team
Sounds like you both had a great time at the park! Similar feelings to me in many ways - I really like the place but it's just so far away it's hard to justify lots of repeated trips. That or I'm just lazy... maybe both...
 

HeartlineCoaster

Theme Park Superhero
I was there the very same day and also disappointed to see one train op on Icon. After me bigging it up last year as being the best thing in the country, but also the most accessible for a good 'whoring session' because of how well they usually run things, I could only be arsed to queue half an hour 3 times in a day and felt a little let down. Is nothing sacred any more?

Shoulda done Valhalla man.
 

WillsThrills

Roller Poster
I really like the place but it's just so far away it's hard to justify lots of repeated trips. That or I'm just lazy... maybe both...

Haha, same here. I liked the place a lot but not quite enough to make it up there more often, especially seeing as the hours could have been longer and operations weren't always what they could have been. The only way I'll make the long trip back any time soon is if they open up a decent ride in the near future, or as part of a larger north England trip.

I was there the very same day and also disappointed to see one train op on Icon. After me bigging it up last year as being the best thing in the country, but also the most accessible for a good 'whoring session' because of how well they usually run things, I could only be arsed to queue half an hour 3 times in a day and felt a little let down. Is nothing sacred any more?

Shoulda done Valhalla man.

Honestly I'm glad it's not just me who felt that way about Icon. I was worried I was being a bit pedantic about having an issue with the one train ops but it meant that I couldn't have a whoring session like I really wanted. My non-enthusiast other half thought I was being a bit of a butt when I was moaning about it to him! I just can't fathom why they weren't running their newest and best ride to it's full potential.
Now that I'm home I do regret not doing Valhalla. Next time I'll be more prepared and bring some spare shoes and something waterproof so that I have no excuse ?


Tip from one big dude to another - cross your legs before pulling the restraint down it gives a lot more space, especially on the Big One!

Cheers for the tip dude! Will deffo remember that for next time. ☺
 

rob666

Hyper Poster
Sorry WillsThrills, yesterday was the first "schools" day...two train service on Icon and Big One.
Big One had no queue all afternoon, Icon was less than five minutes.
I managed a dozen coasters,a couple of beers, and a paddle in the sea in about three hours!
My local park, ninety quid a year, absolutely ace big pub with rides attached.
 

WillsThrills

Roller Poster
Sorry WillsThrills, yesterday was the first "schools" day...two train service on Icon and Big One.
Big One had no queue all afternoon, Icon was less than five minutes.
I managed a dozen coasters,a couple of beers, and a paddle in the sea in about three hours!
My local park, ninety quid a year, absolutely ace big pub with rides attached.

Damn! Looks like I visited a day too early! What about Infusion? That was on one train for me too and I waited just under 30 mins if my memory is correct. I wish I could have such a good local park. Mine is Wicksteed park with a naff Pinfari and 2 kiddie coasters ?
 

rob666

Hyper Poster
Infusion, Dipper and National were on single trains, but I would say the longest queue was for the dodgems at about fifteen minutes.
Schools days are often terrible, I just hit it lucky.
 
Top