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Valhalla at Blackpool Pleasure Beach to be refurbished for 2023

Hixee

Flojector
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Not necessarily - sustainability also means they could be changing pumps to more efficient ones, sealing any cracks in the trough that lead to water displacement (which is a problem for the ride) as well as updating ride technology that means downtime and engineering costs drop. It's not always a doom and gloom term.
You're right, it could. But it doesn't here. ;)
 

chainedbanana

Hyper Poster
Out of interest - How could they make the ride 'less wet' - i know other water rides and other parks are able to alter the wetness factor of splashes to depend on the season , technically how is this done? is it to do with the amount of water/water level in the splash troughs?

To be honest From the couple of times I've done it - it WAS too wet, and with the weather in Blackpool equates to a rather unpleasant few hours as your trousers and shoes are dripping wet! if It was knowingly less wet I'd be more inclined to ride again, as i love dark rides! One of the main problems was the water in the bottom of the boats sloshing about (a good 4 or 5 inches or a good foot if you're at the front or back when the water rolls on the lift hills/drops). I've noticed other parks water rides have that grill flooring to allow water flow underneath and through a plughole!
 

Pokemaniac

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Out of interest - How could they make the ride 'less wet' - i know other water rides and other parks are able to alter the wetness factor of splashes to depend on the season , technically how is this done? is it to do with the amount of water/water level in the splash troughs?
A lot can be done with the shape of the boats, for instance. I've read that the boats of SuperSplash at TusenFryd are built to create a very big and visually impressive splash, but also to direct the water away from the boat itself.
 

DelPiero

Strata Poster
The issues with the ride aren't that it's too wet, in reality that is one of the incredible things about the ride. People who think it's too wet should go ride the log flume instead, celebrate it's uniqueness. There's a reason why has been voted best water ride a few times.
The problems are the broken effects, water leakage and the boats not dumping the excess water effectively. If they can fix those in a year the ride will be better than ever. It's certainly one of the last rides which should be removed from BPB.
 
I think this is the best move for the park, especially for the anniversary, because Valhalla is one of the main draws to BPB and it needs to work in premium condition for that 2021 season. 2020 will feel slightly empty but it will be worth it
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
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It still keeps winning Golden Tickets, doesn't it? Would be strange to tear it down if it's such a star attraction, but if it's expensive to keep operating as-is, I could see how a refurbishment would be in order. Hopefully, it will be as good (or better!) after refurbishment, so I'll get to see one day what all the fuss is about.
 
I hope I'm wrong, but I'm predicting that we're getting all the expensive effects replaced with screens.

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See, I would like a couple of screens/projections, but not all. Just bring in new effects to replace old effects and maybe add some new projections. I think the big fireball finale could be removed maybe, even though I love that scene and maybe change the temperature room slightly, but not by much hopefully. I also think we'll get some new boat designs and possibly a rerecord soundtrack (hopefully the same music but just rerecord with the instruments, vocals and the latest music mixing technology). If we are getting a completely new soundtrack though, I think The Notable Stranger that did the new Big One soundtrack for its anniversary, would be best candidate, but we can all hope for IMAScore right? ?
 

gavin

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The fire and cold stuff will be the most expensive to run, so you can bet those are the first to go. The music doesn't need rerecording necessarily. The original recordings will be on file somewhere, but they need to do something about the volume of it (I seem to remember it being barely noticeable last time), or maybe do something with the mix.

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MestnyiGeroi

Giga Poster
I hope I'm wrong, but I'm predicting that we're getting all the expensive effects replaced with screens.

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This is exactly the kind of thing I’ve been stewing over since the announcement. Does the park have incentive to improve the ride experience? Not particularly. Does the park have incentive to put an end to all the effects that have been so expensive and unreliable? Of course.

I never got to experience the wild mouse, and now I fear I’ll never experience the full Valhalla that I’ve heard so much about over the years. At least it doesn’t disrupt my plans, as I’ve been hoping for a UK coaster tour in 2021, not 2020.
 

Lofty

CF Legend
Does the park have incentive to improve the ride experience? Not particularly
Actually, that's not specifically true - it's one of the most loved rides in the park and often has quite large queues, especially in the summer months. They know that it's much-loved by many people in the UK and has its own gravitas with mainstream comedians even making jokes about it in their sets etc. I'm quite interested to see what they do with it!
 
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