Blackpool Pleasure Beach - Friday 30th June 2023
Due to Blackpool being a long drive from our home we had stayed overnight in a hotel somewhat nearby and were greeted in the morning by very overcast skies and a weather forecast of rain and wind all day, but that wasn’t going to stop us.
The park opened at 11 am and would be closing for the day at 5 pm, 6hrs seemed maybe a tad tight to get the 11 credits that were meant to be open on that day. We were not fortunate enough to be able to delay this trip for big dippers reopening so would be missing 1 credit no matter what happened.
Our first stop after a brief detour to pick up our photo pass thing was The Big One, the history and it being the tallest coaster in the UK made it our must-do first of the day. Everything was going fairly smoothly and quickly till we were two trains away from boarding when the ride had a technical issue and was delayed for around 20 minutes, however waiting paid off and we were able to get our first credit of the day in the front row. We both thought the ride was quite thrilling in places, excellent first drop, but due to the age of the ride less airtime than more modern hypercoasters. Jason felt it was a tad too long and didn’t seem to know what to do with the end of the ride, but notes if he had ridden it 20 years ago probably would have been one of his favourites. The rain and wind had picked up so our faces felt a little sandblasted.
Once we got off of the Big One it was straight to Icon, but as we approach we noticed and very long barely moving queue, we joined but noticed the ride seemed to be only running 1 train, upon checking the app for wait times we were shocked to discover they have Icon closing at 1 pm just 2hrs after opening and only 1hr from now. This put us in a predicament the queue was going to take well over an hour (even if the app has it listed as 40mins) and though we would board that would take us down to 4hrs to get the remaining 9 credits. Though we are not ones normally to pay for fast pass systems we felt it was necessary on that day as we have no clue when we would next be up this way and didn’t want to travel all that way just to experience only half the park. So we bit the bullet and bought speedy pass each.
So while the speedy pass was counting us down on Icon we moved over to Avalanch, having both only experienced one bobsleigh coaster before, and my experience only being recent, we were both excited to see what else this model had to offer. In comparison to Trace Du Hourra this course was a lot shorter and more compact which did lead us to prefer Trace but this does not mean the coaster was bad it was a lot of fun and did a lot in its limited space, and the theming in the queue and the station really added to the experience. Seems like it was the right size for the park it is located in and is probably the reason it has lasted so long, they are unfortunately a dying breed no matter how fun they are.
Right so speedy pass ready to go, just one issue the normal entrance to Icon’s speedy pass queue is blocked off for the big dippers refurbishment and we have no clue how to get down there. Some walking around like headless chickens for a bit we spotted people joining the speedy pass queue from above, who helpfully guided us in the right direction. The age of the park does seem to lead to some odd pathways and access routes.
Chatting with the guy checking us in speedy pass we discovered that the high wind we had experienced on The Big One had got worse and The Big One was closed due to the weather, we were lucky to have got on when we did which did unfortunately mean we would not be getting a photo of The Big One if the ride remained closed, which it did. Between the big one and Icon closing early, it was not a great day for Blackpool Pleasure Beach, however, we were sent an email about getting in free the next day due to their rainy day policy which was a nice thing for them to do but we would not be able to make the most of this as we were heading over to Flamingo Land the next day, so we had to get as much done come rain and high wind.
On to Icon as we believed this to be our only ride on it (more on that later) we opted for the front row, cause why not. This Mack launch coaster has earned its popularity, the layout uses the terrain well embracing the tight space it had to be built in weaving its way through, above, and past other rides. Both launches are powerful and followed up by fun elements, the whole experience is smooth and comfortable while delivering excellent airtime. The only letdown is the end, Jason put it best after we got off “it kinda Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 auto-completes its way back to the station.” But we both agree it is a must-ride and one of the best things at the park.
As we were leaving Icon we found a ride attendant closing out the ride and closing the door, we thought this would be our opportunity to snap a photo of the train passing over the entrance gate to the queue. While waiting for the train to dispatch we overheard the attendant telling people that Icon was closing to go through maintenance as there was an issue with one of the trains so that it could be up and running properly for the next day. Even if this was the reason I feel like they should not have said it, it came across as Saturday crowds are more important than Friday’s crowd, but we did get our ride on it so guess it is what it is. The photo came out great and a thank you to the random crowd of people who stopped without asking to make sure they didn’t block the shot. Even though it would not have mattered it was a nice thing to do.
While we were on Icon we had been counting down on speedy pass for our first ride on Grand National of the day. We both love the design of this station and at the time we had not thought of nor started PolarParks so a little regret is not getting a photo of the station. On the day they were running the red and blue trains, our first ride was on the blue train loading on the right-hand side of the station. I slightly regretted keeping my phone in my pocket even if it was a cargo pocket, the shaking had me worrying it would somehow fall out. The ride itself was as all old woodies should be, rough with air time and no slowing down till the final break run. And it wouldn’t be a British racing coaster if it wasn’t accompanied by the usual jeering and swearing between the trains. All in all a lot of fun and we would be back later to get the other side.
Next up was Steeplechase, this had a delayed opening so when we left Icon we saw that it was finally open and planned to head over after Grand National. Our first ride on this was again through speedy pass so the Red track was our first. The design of the cars reminds me of those slow-moving horse rides that nearly always have an upper height limit if not accompanying a child, so this unique coaster being open to all was refreshing. For the age of the ride, it wasn’t all that rough some of the corners gave you a bit of a bruise as it forced you into the restraint hook, but this was rarely what you were focusing on as you were cheering on your fake horse hoping to win the race. The layout was surprisingly long and the interaction with the maze and Icon added to the experience. Unfortunately for our ride on Red track, we did not win but there were two more attempts to try to get us a win.
No time to slow down as it was time for Jason to ride his first SLC, he’d heard about them notoriously being rough but this is coming from the man that loves Goudarix so he was sceptical about them being as rough as people were claiming. We got lucky with the front row, and to my surprise was not the roughest SLC I’ve ridden, pretty okay for an SLC. Jason unsurprisingly really liked it.
One next to the two other wooden rollercoasters, we really didn’t do this park efficiently but not the largest park so manageable walking back and forth.
First up was Blue Flyer and we quickly discovered that those rows are not meant for two adults together, we were a little squished, to say the least. Cute kiddie coaster with the unique draw of being a wooden coaster for that age range, maybe not anything to write home about for adults and teens but fun and seems like kids would love it, even if it is a tad rough. We also enjoyed watching the operator as how the old ride works with the leavers is right in front of you to see while at the air gates.
Nickelodeon Streak was our next stop, still odd seeing such an old coaster with a modern bold paint job but I kinda liked it, the station was a little awkward with the lack of row gates leading to some chaos when boarding. The ride was pretty good, had a decent speed which it maintained fairly well during the course of the ride, especially for a smaller coaster. It also had a lot of airtime and it wasn’t as rough as the blue flyer which was a plus.
Finally, it was time to climb the tower to revolution. At this point, we hadn’t really taken a break, 6hrs was a very short amount of time for this park even with speedy pass mainly down to the time we spent in the queue at the big one and Avalanche, we had decided we could break once the credits were done.
We were really surprised by the load station for Revolution mainly down to the lack of air gates, and did seem like they were needed the number of times we heard “Please stand behind the yellow line” in the maybe 15 mins we were on the load platform was far too many, does feel like an accident waiting to happen. As for the ride itself, the first drop acts as a speed bump in the back row at least, I came out of my seat and the photo has the exact moment I hit back down, otherwise forceful and fun. This was Jason’s first-ever grey out so he rates it highly, and at least you get a workout walking up to the platform and down. So long as the maintenance doesn’t start to become an issue I could see this ride lasting a while just down to the position in the park and technically how little space it takes up.
With revolution in the books, it was time to get the remaining credits on Steeplechase and Grand National. As we were closer to Steeplechase we started there. For the next track, we chose Yellow to see if that would net us a win, it did not with us coming last by a way. Our final attempt to win was on the green track, and our grey horse needed a name this time it inspire it to win, I went with Blackjack. And what would you know the green track and Blackjack led us to that sweet victory. But no time to celebrate less than an hour left in the day and we had 1 more credit to get and… Icon to re-ride!
While we were on the loading platform for revolution we had seen Icon testing empty, which we assumed was part of the maintenance they were performing on it. Then queueing for our ride on the green track of Steeplechase we started to notice it going around with staff on the ride, after a small break in testing a train full of people went around. Upon checking the app we discovered it had reopened for the last 1hr 15mins of the day.
So a quick brisk walk over to Grand National, we lined up a speedy pass for Icon while we queuing. The queue took a little longer than expected but we got to experience the other side of Grand National in the Red car and Jason snapped his photo on the ride, the panicky moment of being handed that Instax while on ride in the wind, held on to it like my life depended on it and I’m glad I did as it came out fantastic.
Back over to Icon for a back-row ride (had to get both ends of the train of course), and we were pooped. The plan had been to get on Wallace and Gromit and Valhalla as well at some point but we were exhausted and already drenched from the rain didn’t feel like getting absolutely soaked on top of it. So we opted for a couple more photos, one of Revolution and one of Infusion, before going and getting some food outside the park. We left about 15mins before park closing
Overall our day at Blackpool may have started out on a bit of a sour note due to Icon closing early and the weather taking down The Big One, and we would have liked to not of had to of bought speedy pass, but we enjoyed our day in the end no matter the weather and situation. We managed the 11 credits we had down for the day, and though we did not get to ride anything other than rollercoasters maybe we can if we end up back up this way.
I think the park has its good parts and some less good parts, most notably the cleanliness and upkeep in some places, areas came off a little dingy in parts. However the rides themselves were great, we enjoyed everything we rode and didn’t come off any thinking I wouldn’t do that again or that sucked. I’m glad the park is trying in some areas to keep its history and seaside amusement feel and it makes it rather unique for this historic park.
Landmark Credit - Jason’s 50th - Nickelodeon Streak
Credit Counts at the end of the day:
Kate - 175 Jason - 54