slappy mcguire
Mega Poster
South Shields
I am prepared to eat humble pie. I fully expected to pour scorn on this trip report, on what is the North-East's last remaining theme/pleasure park, and honestly, I cant bring myself to do that, because it really isn't that bad. Bad is when a park has given up; think Frontierland Morecambe in the mid nineties - that is what I was expecting, but in truth I found something that had better standards of cleanliness and care than BPB.
This was at least in part to the unexpectedly well looked after seafront, which offered up a raft of photo opportunities, which I won't bore you with on a theme park forum, but take my word for it, the beaches were some of the best that the North has to offer.
With my parent head on, I notice things like how kid friendly that a park is, and Ocean beach is again unexpectedly accomodating, both in terms of how the kids are treated, and ride selection. That isn't to say that regular size people aren't catered for, with again an unexpectedly good selection of rides.
Albeit with some of them having unexpected souvenir stalls...
...and the warning that you may wait 10 mins between rides..
Special mention to the ghost train though; I went on it in sympathy more than anything, but on finding the ride had a steering wheel to spin around sharp corners, is dark, and the lasers actually do something, I came off thinking that it was more fun than the lamentable duel at Alton Towers, something which never, never should have been possible. And to be honest, that just summed up the day.
Blackpool
I really can't make my mind up on Blackpool. The news that the park will give it's own weather reports, because the MET off ice can't offer the park's own unique perspective, indeed proudly displaying that the day of my visit would be glorious sunshine, and not the deluge that actually occurred, kinda summed the park for me - promises a lot, but not everything it should be.
Started the day with my youngest refusing to go on the Alice in wonderland ride, so I stood in the rain, while my wife and eldest checked it out. Then onto the Grand Prix, just as the heavens opened, and halfway round, the cars started to fail
mine crept along while my wife's stopped in the rain...
Now soaking, we paid through the nose for some hot chocolate, and went via infusion through the chinese maze.
The wife then went on Avalanche with the eldest,
whilst I wandered around with the youngest for photo ops.
Buoyed by the ability to have fun, despite the rain, and already wet, Me and the eldest then headed for Valhalla
Which we enjoyed (read: I enjoyed), albeit fire and ice effects aside feeling slightly let down by the hype.
As the weather stayed bad, we had food in Beaver creek, stopped for an hour there, and headed back for my début ride of INfusion. Which again, I enjoyed, with some of the theming being excellent, and the first part being fabulous, but the back end being if anything, more uncomfortable than Drayton's G-Force.
Tatty, expensive and badly laid out, I still like Blackpool, the new fountains were fantastic, and for their comparative inexpense, more UK parks should have them. I just wish the park looked like it imagines itself to look.
Oh and the bag search, in a yogi bear style hunt for pick-er-nick baskets, is frankly, ridiculous.
[/b]
I am prepared to eat humble pie. I fully expected to pour scorn on this trip report, on what is the North-East's last remaining theme/pleasure park, and honestly, I cant bring myself to do that, because it really isn't that bad. Bad is when a park has given up; think Frontierland Morecambe in the mid nineties - that is what I was expecting, but in truth I found something that had better standards of cleanliness and care than BPB.
This was at least in part to the unexpectedly well looked after seafront, which offered up a raft of photo opportunities, which I won't bore you with on a theme park forum, but take my word for it, the beaches were some of the best that the North has to offer.
With my parent head on, I notice things like how kid friendly that a park is, and Ocean beach is again unexpectedly accomodating, both in terms of how the kids are treated, and ride selection. That isn't to say that regular size people aren't catered for, with again an unexpectedly good selection of rides.
Albeit with some of them having unexpected souvenir stalls...
...and the warning that you may wait 10 mins between rides..
Special mention to the ghost train though; I went on it in sympathy more than anything, but on finding the ride had a steering wheel to spin around sharp corners, is dark, and the lasers actually do something, I came off thinking that it was more fun than the lamentable duel at Alton Towers, something which never, never should have been possible. And to be honest, that just summed up the day.
Blackpool
I really can't make my mind up on Blackpool. The news that the park will give it's own weather reports, because the MET off ice can't offer the park's own unique perspective, indeed proudly displaying that the day of my visit would be glorious sunshine, and not the deluge that actually occurred, kinda summed the park for me - promises a lot, but not everything it should be.
Started the day with my youngest refusing to go on the Alice in wonderland ride, so I stood in the rain, while my wife and eldest checked it out. Then onto the Grand Prix, just as the heavens opened, and halfway round, the cars started to fail
mine crept along while my wife's stopped in the rain...
Now soaking, we paid through the nose for some hot chocolate, and went via infusion through the chinese maze.
The wife then went on Avalanche with the eldest,
whilst I wandered around with the youngest for photo ops.
Buoyed by the ability to have fun, despite the rain, and already wet, Me and the eldest then headed for Valhalla
Which we enjoyed (read: I enjoyed), albeit fire and ice effects aside feeling slightly let down by the hype.
As the weather stayed bad, we had food in Beaver creek, stopped for an hour there, and headed back for my début ride of INfusion. Which again, I enjoyed, with some of the theming being excellent, and the first part being fabulous, but the back end being if anything, more uncomfortable than Drayton's G-Force.
Tatty, expensive and badly laid out, I still like Blackpool, the new fountains were fantastic, and for their comparative inexpense, more UK parks should have them. I just wish the park looked like it imagines itself to look.
Oh and the bag search, in a yogi bear style hunt for pick-er-nick baskets, is frankly, ridiculous.
