NemesisRider
Roller Poster
As much as I love to be off in a foreign country visiting new and exciting parks, financial experts have unfortunately informed me that "you can't just keep spending all of your money on flights and hotels". So, inevitably, I have to look for a theme park fix closer to home. This thread will be gradually updated with shorter trip reports for UK parks, including reviews for cool new additions and inevitable gripes about areas where I think they could do better.
Without further ado:
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Part 1 - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (August 2024)
I recently realised that in nearly a decade of visiting Pleasure Beach I had never actually bothered to get the Blue Flyer credit and finish the set (an impressive oversight). I ended up going with a friend who hadn't been back since pre-COVID, so took the visit at a slightly less breakneck pace than I usually might. I hadn't been back since 2021, and with an excess of spare time before starting work post-degree, it seemed as good a time as ever to revisit.
Oh, Pleasure Beach... you are not holding up too well nowadays. But let's start with the good stuff.
I rode Valhalla for the first time since it's reimagining, and it's really fun. I still find it a bit too wet for my personal tastes, especially considering that Blackpool's weather is often wet, windy, cold, or some combination of the three. But the upgrades look great, the fire finale remains awesome, and I think it's reasonable to say it's still the UK's best water ride.
The Wallet & Gromit Thrill-o-Matic remains thoroughly charming and a necessary component in a day at Pleasure Beach. I grew up watching W&G and it's a perfect property for a dark ride. Bonus points for the costumed Wallace character chasing a child around the plaza at one point.
ICON was sadly packing less of a punch than I remembered, but remains easily my favourite ride in the park. It looks just as slick as when it was brand new, it's refreshingly smooth amongst Blackpool's mostly jank coaster hardware, and there's a handful of world class moments (the top hat, the barrel roll, the immelmann). However, the second half was definitely less intense than I recalled, and ended up feeling a bit toothless. Probably more importantly, since 2021 I've travelled more broadly and ticked off rides like Helix and Hyperia, which I find to be much stronger showcases for this type of hardware. I didn't experience Enso as my friend was unsure about it, though I think £15 is a very steep of a price tag for a single ride. Most guests seem to agree with this - I'd bet the spinning seats were empty for at minimum on 3/4 of the trains I saw, which was surprising given ICON's steady 20-30 minute queue throughout the day. I think a cheaper base rate or dynamic pricing would be a better idea if BPB want these spinning seats to get used.
Finally, the Blue Flyer +1 was indeed obtained. I was particularly amused by uncomfortable restraints, which open with a buzzing noise so aggressive it sounds like someone in the queueline has just received the electric chair.
So, hopefully you are now convinced that I do not, in fact, hate the place. Now for a quick fire round of "WTF BPB?":
- Ride availability left something to be desired. The Big One spent the whole day down due to high winds (annoying, but not the park's fault) and Ice Blast was in pieces.
- More frustratingly, key rides in the park have staggered openings and closes now. Most notably, Valhalla opened at 1pm and ICON closed at 5:30pm (an hour before park close). The latter caught me off guard and ruined my plans of a final reride to end the day, which was even more frustrating given that the queue was fully emptied by 6pm. Especially with their signature ride shut all day, I found this cheap. Why bother opening later if you won't run your big "new" coaster til then?
- The QR code system is noticeably less convenient than the wristbands were.
- The park feels increasingly split between modern attractions (ICON, Valhalla, Skyforce, etc) and classic amusements with variable quality. Of course, rides like the Grand National, Flying Machines and Derby Racer are fan favourites - and rightly so. However, our ride on the Ghost Train in particular left us with the feeling that it was dated, cheap looking and not even worth a 10 minute queue. At least there's the gyro swing to look forward to soon...
- There's just a general vibe of "eh, it'll do" at BPB which leads to it feeling, frankly, cheap. Examples of this include the mediocre operations on most rides, smelly toilets, and the Infusion water level being low enough to see big slabs of bare concrete. I appreciate BPB are not exactly flush for cash, but they need to do better if they want to be a destination park.
I think the ending of the Thrill-o-Matic puts it best: "well, that went as well as could be expected, Gromit". A fun day at Blackpool for sure, but one leaving me in no rush to be back especially soon.
Without further ado:
---
Part 1 - Blackpool Pleasure Beach (August 2024)
I recently realised that in nearly a decade of visiting Pleasure Beach I had never actually bothered to get the Blue Flyer credit and finish the set (an impressive oversight). I ended up going with a friend who hadn't been back since pre-COVID, so took the visit at a slightly less breakneck pace than I usually might. I hadn't been back since 2021, and with an excess of spare time before starting work post-degree, it seemed as good a time as ever to revisit.
Oh, Pleasure Beach... you are not holding up too well nowadays. But let's start with the good stuff.
I rode Valhalla for the first time since it's reimagining, and it's really fun. I still find it a bit too wet for my personal tastes, especially considering that Blackpool's weather is often wet, windy, cold, or some combination of the three. But the upgrades look great, the fire finale remains awesome, and I think it's reasonable to say it's still the UK's best water ride.
The Wallet & Gromit Thrill-o-Matic remains thoroughly charming and a necessary component in a day at Pleasure Beach. I grew up watching W&G and it's a perfect property for a dark ride. Bonus points for the costumed Wallace character chasing a child around the plaza at one point.
ICON was sadly packing less of a punch than I remembered, but remains easily my favourite ride in the park. It looks just as slick as when it was brand new, it's refreshingly smooth amongst Blackpool's mostly jank coaster hardware, and there's a handful of world class moments (the top hat, the barrel roll, the immelmann). However, the second half was definitely less intense than I recalled, and ended up feeling a bit toothless. Probably more importantly, since 2021 I've travelled more broadly and ticked off rides like Helix and Hyperia, which I find to be much stronger showcases for this type of hardware. I didn't experience Enso as my friend was unsure about it, though I think £15 is a very steep of a price tag for a single ride. Most guests seem to agree with this - I'd bet the spinning seats were empty for at minimum on 3/4 of the trains I saw, which was surprising given ICON's steady 20-30 minute queue throughout the day. I think a cheaper base rate or dynamic pricing would be a better idea if BPB want these spinning seats to get used.
Finally, the Blue Flyer +1 was indeed obtained. I was particularly amused by uncomfortable restraints, which open with a buzzing noise so aggressive it sounds like someone in the queueline has just received the electric chair.
So, hopefully you are now convinced that I do not, in fact, hate the place. Now for a quick fire round of "WTF BPB?":
- Ride availability left something to be desired. The Big One spent the whole day down due to high winds (annoying, but not the park's fault) and Ice Blast was in pieces.
- More frustratingly, key rides in the park have staggered openings and closes now. Most notably, Valhalla opened at 1pm and ICON closed at 5:30pm (an hour before park close). The latter caught me off guard and ruined my plans of a final reride to end the day, which was even more frustrating given that the queue was fully emptied by 6pm. Especially with their signature ride shut all day, I found this cheap. Why bother opening later if you won't run your big "new" coaster til then?
- The QR code system is noticeably less convenient than the wristbands were.
- The park feels increasingly split between modern attractions (ICON, Valhalla, Skyforce, etc) and classic amusements with variable quality. Of course, rides like the Grand National, Flying Machines and Derby Racer are fan favourites - and rightly so. However, our ride on the Ghost Train in particular left us with the feeling that it was dated, cheap looking and not even worth a 10 minute queue. At least there's the gyro swing to look forward to soon...
- There's just a general vibe of "eh, it'll do" at BPB which leads to it feeling, frankly, cheap. Examples of this include the mediocre operations on most rides, smelly toilets, and the Infusion water level being low enough to see big slabs of bare concrete. I appreciate BPB are not exactly flush for cash, but they need to do better if they want to be a destination park.
I think the ending of the Thrill-o-Matic puts it best: "well, that went as well as could be expected, Gromit". A fun day at Blackpool for sure, but one leaving me in no rush to be back especially soon.
