What's new

Valhalla at Blackpool Pleasure Beach to be refurbished for 2023

I know BPB are nowhere near as financially successful as Merlin/Towers, but it feels a bit 'flat' to see a very vague social media post announcing this, especially coming off the back of the impressive marketing push Alton Manor has had.

I'm well aware I'm probably being a bit pedantic, but it feels like this is a hurried announcement that they have crammed in before the season starts. I don't feel like there's any strategy whatsoever, just announce it and hope for the best.
 
If I'm honest, I'm not that keen. Too electronic/synthy at points.
Agreed, sounds pretty dire if that clip is anything to go by. I would say I'm surprised, but I honestly thought Icon had the only soundtrack that wasn't awful in my 2021 visit.
 
Excited to hear it. He's a brilliant composer and musician and his work on Icon was great. I think judging an entire soundtrack (some of the icon ones were nearly an hour) on a 90 second clip might be jumping the gun a little. I'm sure there's still a lot of the original melodies or influences in this. Time will tell.
 
Excited to hear it. He's a brilliant composer and musician and his work on Icon was great. I think judging an entire soundtrack (some of the icon ones were nearly an hour) on a 90 second clip might be jumping the gun a little. I'm sure there's still a lot of the original melodies or influences in this. Time will tell.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging the entire soundtrack yet, just that initial teaser.

I'm sure I'll be in the minority too, but it just sounds like any generic royalty free epic music you can pull from YouTube, with a bit of an electronic sound thrown in (similar to Icon in that sense). I'm hopeful that I'll have a different opinion after hearing it in its full context once I've had chance to get back on Valhalla.

On a more positive note, the below teaser track (posted last year) I actually think is great. Atmospheric, dark, moody; almost diagetic. More of this will be good.

 
I had been feeling worried that I hadn't seen any April Fool's press releases this year, giving me an uneasy feeling that I have failed to identify them. Luckily the Pleasure Beach has us covered:
 
Another misstep from the marketing team.

Throughout the last few months it's been "technical rehearsals in April" with no exact date specified.

They should have just stuck with that line really. I don't blame people for assuming that there will be an opportunity to ride over Easter / Bank holiday weekend with it being the busiest weekend of the month (plus forecasts have been promising).

Now they've shoved an exact date on it, it feels like they've tactically held off from announcing a date in order to maximise sales on the bank holiday, then once bookings are looking good for Easter... announce it as the following week to fill up what would probably be the quieter weekend.
 
Didn’t they initially promise 7th April?

I imagine something minor has probably happened at the last minute that means they’ve had to delay it.
 
After the 7th.
So I had no faith for Easter.
They have maxed out prospective sales before admitting a date.
Not subtle.
 
Honestly I'm surprised people are even waiting out on this anymore. The whole thing has just been an embarrassment in my opinion, and that's before anyone has actually seen the refurbishment. I really hope they did a good job of it after all this.
 
Honestly I'm surprised people are even waiting out on this anymore. The whole thing has just been an embarrassment in my opinion, and that's before anyone has actually seen the refurbishment. I really hope they did a good job of it after all this.

I’m at pass holder a BPB and live a 5 minute drive from the park. I wish they hadn’t bothered with this technical rehearsal rubbish. How long will technical rehearsals go on? How many days won’t it open at all? How many people will leave disappointed because the ride opened for an hour and 80% of guests didn’t get to ride having paid £45 for entry. Or how accurate will the ride experience be to what was intended.

It’ll just create more bad feelings and more bad press with enthusiasts and the general public alike.

The only reason I think they’ve done it is because people wouldn’t tolerate and turn up with their £45 for it being closed for god knows how much longer with no date set for a full opening.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JMW
My guess is...
Open it as much as they can on weekends and coming school holidays.
Open it for a single hour or so off peak so as to keep the low level day punters happy.
Use tech rehearsal as the excuse for such a cheap service until the school trip season kicks in.
 
Top