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Wild Mouse at BPB Closure - R.I.P. 1958-2017

I think the closest thing to this in the park now in terms of laterals and airtime is probably the Grand National. But luckily, that is Grade II listed.
 
This will upset a lot of locals though. it's not just GP vs. enthusiasts. Rightly or wrongly we think of some of the rides as ours, in the same way Londoners may feel about Tower Bridge. I'm still upset so not the best analogy but if you can get my broad point. Local historians won't be too thrilled either.

They could have explained it on the local radio, the local TV or through the Gazette. But an ice cold statement ignoring everyone's feelings and just saying "Progress" (Blackpool's sometimes ironic town motto) is it.

What a laugh the Mouse was. Icon will be a very good ride, but it will just be that. The same as The Big One, superseded rapidly by the competition within a few years, just another good ride. The Mouse was actually a strategic advantage over the competition. You can't build another one, you can make anything that looks, rides or sounds like it. What's the point of the Pleasure Beach if it's just some good rides, without all the quirks and weirdness that make it different.
 
nadroJ said:
Anybody have any info on why this may be?
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Read somewhere today (its all been a bit hectic this afternoon bouncing around trying to see whats going on) that some peeps tried to get it listed but it was rejected because of the non-original modifications (like the top level I guess).
 
davidm said:
Read somewhere today (its all been a bit hectic this afternoon bouncing around trying to see whats going on) that some peeps tried to get it listed but it was rejected because of the non-original modifications (like the top level I guess).
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That's a damn shame :(
 
TilenB said:
To be fair, I believe the Southport's Wild Mouse was dismantled and picked up by the people behind the Dreamland project. It's reported to still be in storage somewhere, but I doubt it'll get built anytime soon.
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It was, but was left to rot - there's nothing left of the ride now. It'll never be rebuilt.

Sent from my E6683 using Tapatalk
 
Well, that's a bit annoying. Loved that ride for about 3 decades and with next year being the first time I've actually bought a Season Pass I was looking forward to a few more rides.

But this discussion about it being Icon or Mouse is rather silly, isn't it? There's no real truly amazing ride at Blackpool, but you buy into the whole package. There's loads of decent rides of all types, and the way something decades old sits alongside something brand new is part of the appeal. But the last few years seems to have been an effort to take away the classic attractions and I don't really think it's helping the atmosphere of the place.
 
sandgrown said:
This will upset a lot of locals though. it's not just GP vs. enthusiasts. Rightly or wrongly we think of some of the rides as ours, in the same way Londoners may feel about Tower Bridge. I'm still upset so not the best analogy but if you can get my broad point. Local historians won't be too thrilled either.

They could have explained it on the local radio, the local TV or through the Gazette. But an ice cold statement ignoring everyone's feelings and just saying "Progress" (Blackpool's sometimes ironic town motto) is it.

What a laugh the Mouse was. Icon will be a very good ride, but it will just be that. The same as The Big One, superseded rapidly by the competition within a few years, just another good ride. The Mouse was actually a strategic advantage over the competition. You can't build another one, you can make anything that looks, rides or sounds like it. What's the point of the Pleasure Beach if it's just some good rides, without all the quirks and weirdness that make it different.
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The other thing is that the statement wasn't forthcoming - it came after the ECC asked them for one. Surely they of all people would know how much a closure like this would upset people? Crazy to me that they weren't better prepared.
 
Sad news. This was the first coaster I ever remember riding (my dad filmed a POV on a massive video camera in about 1983!) and to unceremonioulsy dump it this way is very disappointing, to say the least. Surely giving it one last season for its 60th anniversary would've made a lot more sense! :mad:
 
Weird that we assume that it wasn't a favourite of the non-goons... whenever I find myself talking to random non-goons about Blackpool, the Wild Mouse was always the one ride that they remarked upon (rather than t'Big One which I would have assumed would be the stand-out one).

Sad day.
 
Oh yeah it was definitely a favourite, 100%.

I think this will turn out to be a bad PR move for them - less so the closure just more how they’ve handled it. It’s dumb in a year where they’ve got such good favour with Icon to make a move like this. Thought they’d learnt how not to be ****.
 
Makes me very sad — definitely one on my bucket list — and quite angry — a sudden demolition just to avoid public resistance and a possible historic listing? Just seems evil.
 
davidm said:
Weird that we assume that it wasn't a favourite of the non-goons... whenever I find myself talking to random non-goons about Blackpool, the Wild Mouse was always the one ride that they remarked upon (rather than t'Big One which I would have assumed would be the stand-out one).

Sad day.
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Totally agree. Every time I overheard people in the ticket office being told the Mouse was closed that day, they seemed disappointed. Also overheard conversations by the ride, and anywhere in the park for that matter, of people being upset about it being shut. So, I don't accept at all that it was ONLY enthusiasts who enjoyed the ride.
 
davidm said:
Read somewhere today (its all been a bit hectic this afternoon bouncing around trying to see whats going on) that some peeps tried to get it listed but it was rejected because of the non-original modifications (like the top level I guess).
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Of course Big Dipper has NEVER been modified yet still got listed?!
 
Absolutely not just an enthusiasts ride. I don't even know any enthusiasts, but I do know that all the people I've taken to the Ples - friends and family, and randoms who've I chatted to about visits to my hometown, thought the Mouse was brilliant.
 
Robbie said:
Well, that's a bit annoying. Loved that ride for about 3 decades and with next year being the first time I've actually bought a Season Pass I was looking forward to a few more rides.

But this discussion about it being Icon or Mouse is rather silly, isn't it? There's no real truly amazing ride at Blackpool, but you buy into the whole package. There's loads of decent rides of all types, and the way something decades old sits alongside something brand new is part of the appeal. But the last few years seems to have been an effort to take away the classic attractions and I don't really think it's helping the atmosphere of the place.
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Unbelievable to me. It’s as if Coney Island decided to destroy the Cyclone in order to update the place and improve the appeal to the public, and no one at that board meeting actually had a clue as to what the real appeal of Coney Island is to the public, so they went ahead and demolished overnight to avoid any resistance.
 
ATI said:
I think the closest thing to this in the park now in terms of laterals and airtime is probably the Grand National. But luckily, that is Grade II listed.
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The airtime on that last drop was immense, and it was a tiny drop as well. If you were wearing a hoodie, it would flip the hood over your head guaranteed!
 
I think I will email the park and explain that I am reconsidering visiting this year unless they bring in another new coaster on the level of Icon (since their excuse is making space and the park evolving). Not that an email, or signing a petition, will do anything anyway.

I feel really upset right now, this is not what I needed after a bad day at work
 
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