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Blackpool Pleasure Beach: Future Predictions

CrashCoaster said:
No, but we haven't seen any plans filed, any markings, any kind of work taking place, nothing.
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To be fair, did ICON have plans filed? I don't remember there being any around when the rumor started up. However, the Tom Sawyer bridge was redone in 2015, and there was a huge pit where that Native American display for the Pleasure Beach Express, Caterpillar ride and bumper boats with a lighthouse used to be. Flat rides generally don't require a ton of site preparation, as unlike coasters they only need a few supports/footers, so I'll wait until this fall to expect any signs of groundwork.
 
Kw6sTheater said:
To be fair, did ICON have plans filed? I don't remember there being any around when the rumor started up. However, the Tom Sawyer bridge was redone in 2015, and there was a huge pit where that Native American display for the Pleasure Beach Express, Caterpillar ride and bumper boats with a lighthouse used to be. Flat rides generally don't require a ton of site preparation, as unlike coasters they only need a few supports/footers, so I'll wait until this fall to expect any signs of groundwork.
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I don't think Icon ever had plans filed!
 
Many moons ago, "The Family" traded land for the promenade and tramlines, that they owned outright, for open planning for the future on the park.
They have to put lights up for aircraft, and respect the rights of local residents, but that is about it.
 
I am not sure how well Icon has done and i don't know the attendance figures so it might be a while before anything new comes along, even if it is just a flat. I will not be surprised if there is nothing thrilling for 5 years and the next coaster.......10 years away if lucky, i don't think they have the money to push new investments for a while.

In my dreams the park would:
  • Get a Mack big dipper.
  • Replace The big one with a Mack Hyper coaster.
  • Replace Infusion with a Vekoma launch flying coaster
  • ( sorry ) GG or GCI woodie or RMC in Nick streaks place
  • Bring back modernised Wild mouse or Virginia reel
  • New indoor ride like a flying theatre
  • Thrilling flat ride
  • Some tower rides to save on space, an observation tower and a Face down drop tower
  • etc etc
In reality the future holds:
  • A fountain, maybe two if were lucky
 
Niles said:
I am not sure how well Icon has done and i don't know the attendance figures so it might be a while before anything new comes along, even if it is just a flat. I will not be surprised if there is nothing thrilling for 5 years and the next coaster.......10 years away if lucky, i don't think they have the money to push new investments for a while.

In my dreams the park would:
  • Get a Mack big dipper.
  • Replace The big one with a Mack Hyper coaster.
  • Replace Infusion with a Vekoma launch flying coaster
  • ( sorry ) GG or GCI woodie or RMC in Nick streaks place
  • Bring back modernised Wild mouse or Virginia reel
  • New indoor ride like a flying theatre
  • Thrilling flat ride
  • Some tower rides to save on space, an observation tower and a Face down drop tower
  • etc etc
In reality the future holds:
  • A fountain, maybe two if were lucky
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I'd say this seems a bit pessimistic. Before Icon, the park had been making medium sized investments every couple of years with Nickelodeon Land, the Wallace and Gromit ride and Sky Force. It wouldn't be that surprising if another similar investment opened in 2020, as it would follow the trend of the last decade. I'm pretty sure not long after Icon opened there were rumours of a 2020 ride on the Bowl-a-Drome site, or something?
 
^Icon was a big investment, so was The big one 1994 it then took to 2000 for a thrilling attraction Valhalla to be built. The next coaster (relocated) came in 2007.

Not saying it will be the same but that is what i am going off of. So i though i was being hopeful in what i said that time wise?
 
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Realistic predictions, or wild wishlisting based on uneducated observations of a park I've only ever experienced via Google Maps, with blatant disregard for money, the park's history or protection statuses? You decide!
  • Soon-ish: Big and thrilling flat ride on Wild Mouse's old spot. They already have a Star Shape, but a ride somewhere in that vein would be good.
  • Medium term: Avalanche swapped for something more modern. It kind of occupies the same space as Grand Prix, and as such it seems hard to do anything about one without touching the other, but spare parts for old Mack Bobsleds can't be cheap to come by these days and the coaster is more than 30 years old. Besides, the land is in the middle of the park's noisiest area, where there is actual freedom to build big. Perhaps this is the plot where BPB could fit a modern woodie or even an RMC? Some arrangement with Grand Prix could presumably be made in any case.
  • Medium-long term: Infusion out, something tall and imposing in. This part of the park is the furthest away from any complaining neighbours, and neatly wrapped in something that's already tall and noisy. They could go big here. Dive Machine big. It would just have to be very, very compact.
  • Medium-long term: Behind the Bowl-a-drome, there is an open-air car park, a massive waste of space in a park so strapped for land. Make it a garage and use its roof for something fun. Small coaster, big flat ride (again, no neighbours but The Big One), scenic gardens, a fountain or two, just anything. It would probably be a good idea to fix the drainage issues of the roof on the north end of the Bowl-a-drome too, if Google Maps is anything to go by.
  • Long term: overhaul The Big One. The coaster was built just 5-10 years too early, right before modern CAD design took off and before everyone agreed putting wheel assemblies of the inside of the track was a silly idea. The New Big One would largely follow the layout of the old, even reusing many of the supports, but with a new track, more modern trains, and profiling that allows for a lot more air and a lot less ouch. Triangular hills aren't in style anymore, and nowadays there are computer programs that can tell you how much the track should be banked.
 
Niles said:
^Icon was a big investment, so was The big one 1994 it then took to 2000 for a thrilling attraction Valhalla to be built.
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It didn't take until 2000 for a new thrill ride, Ice Blast opened in 1997 (3 years after the big one).

That's not to say that the situation has to be the same now, but the park invests a lot more than most enthusiasts give them credit for. Over the last decade we've seen new attractions in 2011, 2013, 2015 & 2018 with a new hotel added for 2019 as well.
 
I hope i am wrong @MakoMania and @elephant58 and they add a flat soon and we see rapid growth and investment in the park, i should have looked more into what they have got over the past 25 years before my posts.

But i still see them sticking to plopping something in here and a big thrill might come in a few years. From what i have heard Icon did not bring tons of people in ( i cannot find park attendance ) and it did cost a lot, that is why i am so pessimistic about more investment soon and don't want to get my hopes up.
 
I'd much rather a KMG Afterburner or Zamperla Discovery than a Top Scan, but oh well it's a new ride. I guess it will basically be Bling 2.0, if it does end up being a top scan.
 
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Coaster Chall YouTube said:
One of my subscribers was at BPB today and three operators have said a flat ride is coming in 2020 and in the next few years, we'll get a coaster.

In terms of a flat, I'd like to see them do a Gyro Swing in that Space Invader plot of land or maybe somewhere else.

It's not 100% confirmed cause this is what I've just found out today. But, it's something right? ??
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Not to be rude man, but that's one unreliable source relying on another unreliable source with the vaguest of information. It's not happening ;)
 
I'd quite like BPB to get a tall drop tower. Lots of parks now have a shot tower/ drop tower combo and something like Ikarus at Grona Lund would be awesome with the views of the whole park, can't imagine the footprint is too big either?
 
Dipper_Dave said:
Just looked up that one. . . "The ride starts with a short dark ride section which features some clever holograms. It then has an enclosed vertical lift hill in almost complete darkness. The car stalls midway up the lifthill and there is a brief reverse freefall which is quite alarming if you are not expecting it! The main drop is near vertical."

Holy s***, why can't we get badass rides like this in the UK? Surely a tower with a vertical / elevator lift hill coaster like these would be the perfect fit for BPB, with its limited space? Not only that, it would be first of its kind in the UK. Of course I don't count Speed, Saw & Smiler with their vertical lift hills, I mean a massive tower lift hill like Cannibal / Kärnan.
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I mean if your looking for the first elevator lift in the UK your abit out of luck
Greenwood have had one since 04
 
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