Rate the BPB wooden coasters

[RevolutionRuleZ]

I'm sure this has been done before, but with many complaining the National is un-rideable these days and others suggesting the Streak is dull, neither of which I agree with i thought it may he interesting to see the results of this.

 

[Matt N]

I’d say that my favourite of Blackpool’s crop is Nickelodeon Streak. It’s not the greatest woodie I’ve ever ridden, but the layout is fun enough and it’s not too rough either.

I’d say that Big Dipper and Grand National have stronger layouts than Streak on paper, but the roughness puts them down a peg to varying degrees for me.

Big Dipper is the less rough of the two, and has some nice pops of airtime in places, but is still pretty rough and a bit too rough for my personal taste.

Grand National has an excellent layout, and would easily be one of my favourite Blackpool coasters if it were smoother, but my last ride was just absolutely brutal. I may have ridden in a bad seat, but it was just a non-stop battering from start to finish; easily one of the roughest coasters I’ve ever ridden, and I’d say it’s in my bottom 15 overall purely due to how ridiculously rough it is.

So in terms of personal preference, I’d rank the 3 of them as follows:

1. Nickelodeon Streak
2. Big Dipper
3. Grand National

However, in terms of the actual layouts, I’d almost say that my ranking would be the inverse of that. It’s the roughness that holds Dipper and National back for me, National more so than Dipper.

 

[Howie]

Honestly, if I was to rank every coaster I've ever ridden, all three of these would be so far down the list that it really makes no difference. They're all sh*t.

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

0. Wild Mouse

2. Big Dipper
2. Nickelodeon Streak
3. Blue thing

1563. Grand National

 

[Sandman]

Sadly I have to agree with Howie, which is a shame because they're my local woodies.

Grand National, in theory, would be the best if it wasn't so rough and uncomfortable. Rather than an in-house refurb, that thing needs some GCI intervention and fast.

 

[Graeme]

1. Streak/Roller Coaster - The drops are smooth and floaty, which is what I want out of a classic woodie. I'm not sure if the actual airtime is as good as it used to be (the return bunny hills in the back seat were fantastic), but the forces are great. It's an example of a ride staying smooth because the profiling is right.

2. Big Dipper - I was so excited to first ride it in 1999 that I had an evening ride the day before I bought a wristband. It's just a bit sub-par, sadly. It's a bit rough, the airtime is OK and the pacing is a bit slow. Not a terrible ride, but something that looks so good should be better.

3. Grand National - In all honesty, I've had better rides on Grand National (front seat) than Big Dipper, but I can't say I "like" something so violent. The ride fundamentally bangs down on the track so hard, I can't see it ever staying smooth for long.

At the end of the day, I've long thought Big Dipper and Grand National should be reprofiled. They both have fantastic layouts that are too good to go to waste, but you would have to radically change the shape of the drops before I liked them enormously. A drawback of "heritage", I suppose. As much as I enjoy the historical side, I'd certainly love to see what GCI or Gravity Group could do with them.

 

[RevolutionRuleZ]

I have to admit I absolutely adore all 3, but my vote has to go to the National. Its the better of the 3 by some distance, and it was my first coaster besides the Little Dipper what got my hooked on coasters.

The RollerCoaster, I never really rated as a child, I always found it tame, however as I got older I appreciated it and its history a lot more, and during the busy 50p weekends it was always the ride you were guaranteed to be able to get on quickly due to it having such a high throughput back then. Along came the ex Dipper train with lapbars, and boom, it found a new lease of life. I thought they would ruin the ride by putting lap bars on, infact the heavier train made the thing so much better.

The Dipper has always been somewhat overshadowed by the National, it doesn't do anything wrong but it simply isn't the National. At almost any other park it would be my favourite coaster, but here its not quite good enough.

That said, the Nash is in serious need of some love. Its a shadow of its former self, it hasn't been right since 2006 when the new trains went on but its certainly getting a lot worse now.

GCI need to redo the entire layout, and new trains need to sourced with more suitable lapbars. Along with that the station needs reworking to make 4 train operation something other than a pointless activity.

Anyone who rode it before the 2004 fire will know how much airtime it can deliver, the first drop didn't require you to brace yourself, the second double was a reason to laugh and everyone came back to the station smiling often re-riding. These days you often see people holding their back, walking like they messed themselves, and staggering off elsewhere. It really needs to be put ride, its the one ride in the park that doesn't just need a few million spending on it, it actually deserves it. For around 60 years its been the signature ride at the park, and its got some many enthusiasts into coasters, to see it referred to as 'sh*t' is actually upsetting.

 

[Rob Coasters]

Grand National #1. Though I have to admit I purposely avoided wheel seats and sat snugly on a second-to-back seat that wasn't guaranteed to attempt murder (apparently). Enjoyed it plenty. Don't want to risk completely ruining my enjoyment of a ride just to see if others are right in if it really is that bad, so non-wheel seat all the way through.

Dipper 2nd Streak 3rd. Fun enough rides but not much between them, but definitely need a reride on Dipper as I forgot most things about it

 

[EmmaUK]

Rate them? - well they're all a bit rubbish aren't they.

Rank them? - it's kind of like ranking your favourite venereal diseases isn't it? Or your favourite African Warlord? Or Rob Schneider films? At a push - Streak. Then the blue thing. Then Big Dipper. Then 'Nash.

 

[emoo]

FInally visited Blackpool for the first time in many years and was shocked at how poorly they ran. Haven't there been major refurbishments over recent times? What happened to make them incapable of turning a corner. How have I got (minor) bruises on the insides of my arms? Fixing the sudden side to side walloping jolts would make a world of difference to me. My opinion of the Streak and Dipper sank dramatically.

Wheel seats can make or break a ride here way more than I have ever noticed before. We could hear other guests noticing the difference they had while being so close to each other.

Its not all sad though, Grand National still unfathomably fits in my goldilocks zone where I love it - constant rumbling and double upty downs that's loads of fun. The flexibility of the cars and sofa padding mean the restraints don't cause me issues and I can just go along for the ride. Sometimes roughness works although I can absolutely see why some would avoid like the plague. I was more bothered by the erratic scenes in Wallace and Gromit.

Blue Flyer is an ideal starter coaster made from any material for just about any one.

Icon was as much as a disappointment as the overall woodie experience, and I had much lower expectations for that. Somehow a janky Arrow nearly 30 years old is still the highlight of the park.