Blackpool Pleasure Beach Coaster Review13/8/14

[cjbrandy]

PART 1/3

Big Dipper

First ride of the day was Big Dipper. I was fortunate to be allocated to the back row which has a significant effect on the ride experience, because unlike almost every other airtime hill out there, the hills on Big Dipper are tightest at entry and exit and gentler over the top which causes sudden and brief bursts of airtime on the way down. However, I think you can only experience this towards the back of the train. Another strength this ride has is that it is fairly long. The ride experience is far from perfect- it was considerably rougher and bumpier than last year and although I found it fairly enjoyable, I didn't feel like a second lap.

Here is a picture of me on the back row going up the mini lift hill.

Pros: - Good bursts of airtime
- Quite a long ride
Cons: - Painful bumps in the track that can hurt your back
- A bit dull

I give it 3 stars. Re-ridability score= 2.5 stars

Infusion

I thought this ride was fun the first time I rode it. I didn't think the roughness detracted from the ride experience too much. That was one year ago when I was even less experienced. Now my opinion of the ride is that it can be an awful experience, especially if you sit in the second half of the train. It turned out to be a brutal ear and back basher especially on the last two inversions. My opinion of the ride is not 100% negative however. It has a nice colour scheme and it is an intense ride. I thought it was more intense than Nemesis Inferno but it is obviously nowhere near as good. I would love to have an ERS on Inferno but an ERS on Infusion would be borderline torturous. The highlight of the ride is the long swooping first drop- it's quite good and the third inversion which is a side winder with a ramp underneath the track isn't too bad either. I must admit the ride is kind of fun on the front row because it is a bit less painful and there are some good foot choppers.
Here are some pictures of me on the front row- I'm the one with the yellow shoes.

Pros: - Intense
- Decent first drop and third inversion
- Nice colour scheme
Cons: - Ear and back basher

I give it 2 stars. Re-ridablity score= 2 stars

The Big One

It was not a great day for The Big One. It was a windy day so it opened an hour late and the worst part was the completely unacceptable one train operation. This meant the ride was taking 30 people every four minutes making the queue painfully slow. The queue started just outside the station and it would have been about 15 minutes with two trains but instead it was about 35 minutes. The ride experience was average this time. Gone was the nervousness and anticipation of the first drop since I had rode it before. However, the drop was still impressive even though it is so steeply banked to the right that it kills any feeling of weightlessness. The rest of the ride was a monorail and a rough one at that. There is ZERO AIRTIME. None what so ever. If anyone tells you The Big One has airtime then they are an outright liar. Even though this review seems fairly negative, I really do like The Big One. It's my favourite steel coaster in the park and I would ride it multiple times in a row even though it is a bit of a headache inducer. It was built in 1994 after all!

Pros: - Good height
- Exciting first drop
- Long ride time
Cons: - It is getting quite rough and painful
- Zero airtime

I give it 3.5 stars. Re-ridability score= 3.5 stars

*THIS IS NOT FINISHED. UPCOMING REVIEWS INCLUDE REVOLUTION, WILD MOUSE, BLUE FLYER, STEEPLECHASE, GRAND NATIONAL and VALHALLA

 

[CookieCoasters]

Good in-depth review of the coasters so far. I agree with most of what you said about these three fairly mediocre coasters. The first drop on the Big One still scares me, although I personally don't think it is a very good drop as it just rattles at the top which seems to ruin it for me. Then again it is definitely more interesting that what comes after :wink: . Infusion is actually one of my preferred SLC's, but I don't ride it more than once per visit because I get bored of them. Back row on Big Dipper is a bit vile, so I prefer the row in front of it. The moment of airtime coming down the first hill is great, but after that I find the rest very dull.

Do they allocate you to rows on the Big Dipper? I always thought you could chose, as I believe I always have. Maybe it's a new system. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the other rides.

 

[cjbrandy]

Do they allocate you to rows on the Big Dipper? I always thought you could chose, as I believe I always have. Maybe it's a new system.

Its wasn't exactly allocation because the back was simply the last available row and the ride ops just stand around looking very bored and miserable. My only complaint with Pleasure Beach is that the ride ops all seemed to be very miserable and in a case I will write about in my Steeplechase review, rude.

 

[cjbrandy]

PART 2/3

Revolution

This Arrow shuttle loop coaster was built back in 1979 and featured Europe's first roller coaster inversion. The ride still packs a punch today and justifies climbing the stairs. The ride experience begins with a gentle launch into a modest 47 ft drop. When viewed off ride, the drop doesn't look like much however it produces powerful ejector airtime which is a little painful when combined with Arrow OTSRs but it is still very good. The backwards drop can be a huge shock if you sit at the very front of the train. The loop is quite forceful and pulls a decent 4 G as it is relatively small at 56 ft tall. I must add that I'm glad they dropped the soft drink sponsorship because the new grey track and supports with red train aesthetic looks badass in my opinion and this is the most intense steel coaster in the park. The only negative thing I have to say about this coaster is that the seats and restraints are not very comfortable but it's a 1979 Arrow after all.

Pros: - Strong airtime
- Forceful loop
Cons: - Uncomfortable seats and OTSRs

I give it 3.5 stars Re-ridability score= 3 stars

Wild Mouse

I know that there are mixed opinions about this ride. Some people really like it such as ECG who has it in his top 10 whilst others hate it and say it's one of the worst coasters they have ridden.
For me, this was love at first ride (I had a total of two rides but I wanted more). It is currently my second favourite coaster of all time and I reckon it will stay in my top 10 for a very long time. Maybe even forever :shock: ! The ride experience starts with the ride op doing the seat belt for you. I told my brother to have his own mouse so I sat alone and the seatbelt is clearly designed for two people. It was doing **** all to prevent me falling out or being ejected as it was a good 30 cm in front of me. Note that this is not a criticism, it's just an observation.

The ride begins with a lift hill where ducking is mandatory or you really will hit your head on the track above! After that there is the first drop. It's a steep one and it produces airtime inbetween floater and ejector. Next is a series of 180 degree turns which produce some lateral G but nothing compared to the 90 degree box turns that are yet to come. After the U turns there is 2 drops. These 2 drops produce massive ejector airtime and actually made me scream. Next is a wide U turn which is apparently designed to look like the mouse has burst out of its cage (the support structure) which is followed by a vicious chicane and a little dip which produces absolutely insane ejector airtime. I was practically standing up for a moment. The mouse isn't quite finished yet! It ends with two 90 degree box turns which produce a huge 1.8 lateral G! You will struggle to find a coaster which produces more lateral G anywhere else in the world! Furthermore the ride experience is violent but not particularly painful. I personally found Infusionator more painful.

I have so many positive things to say about this ride! It tracks reasonably smooth for what it is, it has great ejector airtime and impressive lateral G. I love how the layout is a random assortment of drops and turns because most wild mice have formulaic layouts which begin with a series of U turns followed by a series of mild drops. Pleasure Beach's Wild Mouse is an extreme ride and when it is gone, it is really gone. What I mean by this is that there will almost certainly never be a wild mouse as extreme or intense as this one again. Even if a modern wood coaster company such as GCI were to have a go at building a wooden wild mouse, I bet they would design it to appeal to everyone.

Pros: -Massive airtime
- Impressive lateral G
- Fairly smooth for what it is
- A very unique ride experience that is OTT and intense
Cons: - Poor capacity

I give it 5 stars Re-ridability score= 4 stars

Blue Flyer

It's a kids wooden coaster. Quite a rare thing in the world of coasters. I'm glad I got a ride on it because it is an ACE (American Coaster Enthusiast) classic coaster because of the way it is operated. Anyway the ride experience begins with you getting in the cars that are clearly not designed for adults. At 5ft 10 I am not super tall yet the lap bar was crushing my lower leg. Not a great start however the ride really was quite nice. It is a series of small airtime hills which still manage to produce more airtime than The Big One (not hard because it has none) followed by a long tunnel. That's it really. It's not much but it's miles better than a soulless cloned kids coaster such as a Vekoma Roller Skater

Pros: - Charming
- Smooth
- Long tunnel
Cons: - Cars were really not designed with adults in mind!

I give it 2.5 stars Re-ridability score= 1.5 stars

*Part 3 will feature my review of Steeplechase, Grand National and Valhalla*

 

[Robbie]

They were running a one-train operation on Big One when I went a couple of weeks ago (despite the park being full). There must be some logic to it, but I've no idea what!