Valhalla at Blackpool Pleasure Beach to be refurbished for 2023

[Coastercal]

Just got back from the park. Terrible. Rushed down after work. Got there an hour before park close.

Barriers closed off the queue and around 150 guests queued outside presuming they’ll be re opened….

50 minutes later word gets out no one else will be allowed into the queue line to ride.

Heard the first half of the ride is different but the second half isn’t changed at all and isn’t 3 years work. But I didn’t get to ride to I can’t say.

Why bother with this technical rehersal soft opening. It’s just more people leaving disappointed Having laid out 50£ a ticket. Just get the damn ride open for good!

 

[Swat]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1646182356552765441

 

[Matt N]

Here’s another one from Sean Evans:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1646189586459025409

If I’m being frank… the reviews aren’t sounding very good so far. Let’s hope that the ride can be improved between the technical rehearsals and the grand opening!

 

[rob666]

I'm proud to say I was the first one to walk off from the queue on the first breakdown...after about ten minutes!
Followed by about a hundred others.
Many coming off the ride were less than impressed, and very wet.
I got a Big One walk on, opening after heavy gales, a front seat on Icon, and chose wisely not to join the queue for the queue for Valhalla at the end of the day.
The view of the Valhalla queue is very nice from the old Cableway bar.

 

[spicy]

Oh dear..

I guess the “technical rehearsal” term is a safety net as any disappointment can be blamed on “what do you expect, it’s not ready yet!”

However they have had 3 years to get this refurb done, you would expect at least 80-90% of the effects to be working on these rehearsals?

Let’s hope there’s more to come as doesn’t sound promising from the opening reviews..

 

[Jamesss]

In a "technical rehearsal" you at least attempt to do things properly.

This just sounds like it's not finished.

Or worse, maybe it is finished.

 

[Sandman]

Yeah, the technical rehearsal thing is not an acceptable excuse at this stage.

3 years in the making. Problems trickling from the top down (looking at you Mandy).

I don't think BPB have the financial firepower to afford to pull off a world class thematic experience. Nor do I think there's much of a creative mind within the company to aim for anything particularly innovative.

I'll still reserve judgement until I have been on it, but I saw this sort of meagre disappointment coming from a mile off.

 

[ScottLann]

Why do I have a feeling that this 'technical rehearsal' situation will be similar to Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Orlando where it's STILL in it's 'rehearsals' stage now, even months after opening back up.

 

[Coastercal]

Tex

Why do I have a feeling that this 'technical rehearsal' situation will be similar to Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Orlando where it's STILL in it's 'rehearsals' stage now, even months after opening back up.

Technical rehearsals with a planned full scale opening in 2024?

 

[Intamin Forever]

Even Disney can get a ride open in time!

 

[Robbie]

In a "technical rehearsal" you at least attempt to do things properly.

It depends what the rehearsals are for. If the aim is to see what works and what doesn't so they can fix/change things then not everything is going to be working every time.

 

[Sandman]

It depends what the rehearsals are for. If the aim is to see what works and what doesn't so they can fix/change things then not everything is going to be working every time.

Just playing devil's advocate here but... surely there have been prior tech rehearsals with the operations and creative team(s) doing countless runs of the ride prior to the current 'rehearsals'?

Why on earth would you allow all the social media thoosies to come and ride knowing full well they'll all be throwing reviews and opinions online at the first opportunity if you haven't even nailed the beta stages of ride/effect testing?

At this stage I would expect it would be rehearsals simply to allow staff to get their timings, maybe to test audio levels and iron out some small finishing touches.

Judging by most of the reviews I've heard so far, it's a long, long way from feeling complete; even the die-hards have remarked on this. Couple that with Mandy's social media meltdowns, and I think we've got a disaster fit for Kevin McCloud and Grand Designs.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Is it true that the turntable and backwards drop have been tossed?

 

[Sandman]

Is it true that the turntable and backwards drop have been tossed?

This has pretty much been confirmed.

I think the problem is a lot of the best bits of Valhalla may have now gone, only to either not be properly replaced, or replaced by some cheap naff set pieces from River Caves / Gold Mine etc.

I'd rather just see the back of Valhalla and be left with the good memories than have it there in name only.

 

[UKCoasterFan]

I'm surprised BPB opted for a refurb instead of a dismantle of Valhalla. Perhaps too much nostalgia and the whole getting endless awards every year clouded sane judgement here.

Surely the ride costs an arm and leg to run and maintain even when we had "normal" electricity prices.

At least half of the people riding it wear the disposable ponchos that get dumped at the exit. This is an enormous waste of plastic which I think could make the headlines (I'm surprised it hasn't already).

The ride is hardly suitable for the Blackpool climate, let alone even thinking about re-rides.

I think the safety aspect cannot be overlooked either. We've seen people talk about completely flooded boats in the past. Hopefully the new boats fix that problem at least!

I think a ride like this needs big Disney money and such sized crowds behind it to keep it going and to improve upon it. Really a bygone time when we consider what is going on in Blackpool now.

I would have preferred to have seen a reliable and safe new Vekoma coaster such as Fonix or Lech Coaster in its place. Make it Viking themed if you have to.

 

[Foxstar1387]

Honestly I'm holding out a bit of hope that it will get better. But I'm also not sure if it will have that same draw like it used to.

These " Technical Rehearsals " should slowly get better over time. Though they may also show up the bigger problems.

The removal of the backwards drop and the now more numb experience feel. That is a slight concern.

The audio stuff is an easy fix but it does sound like it may have been slightly rushed to meet a deadline that's been forever moved and extended.

 

[RevolutionRuleZ]

There is clearly something very wrong with BPB somewhere. They have had the longest closed season in my memory, the National is down and has been for about a week now, meaning the Streak has been single handedly carrying the parks wooden coasters over the Easter period, on one train.

The Avalanche has seen queues well over an hour today, ontop of other high profile rides being down and no doubt it continues to run a 1 train service.

Nick Land continues to close at 4pm, taking away yet another potential coaster just because its in Nick Land, while Icon, Infusion, the Big One, Nash and Dipper are closed...


I wonder if anyone will receive refunds or free tickets?

(I actually don't because we all know they wont)

Ontop of all this, Valhalla which has been closed for 3 years somehow manages to open in a worse state than it closed.

 

[UKCoasterFan]

There is clearly something very wrong with BPB somewhere. They have had the longest closed season in my memory, the National is down and has been for about a week now, meaning the Streak has been single handedly carrying the parks wooden coasters over the Easter period, on one train.

The Avalanche has seen queues well over an hour today, ontop of other high profile rides being down and no doubt it continues to run a 1 train service.

Nick Land continues to close at 4pm, taking away yet another potential coaster just because its in Nick Land, while Icon, Infusion, the Big One, Nash and Dipper are closed...


I wonder if anyone will receive refunds or free tickets?

(I actually don't because we all know they wont)

Ontop of all this, Valhalla which has been closed for 3 years somehow manages to open in a worse state than it closed.

Hey at least Impossible is open (according to queue times)

Why is Icon closed? Also winds?

 

[Sandman]

Honestly I'm holding out a bit of hope that it will get better.

Firstly, apologies for the bombardment of posts in this thread. I'm just having a cheeky rant because Valhalla has always been my favourite ride at BPB, and I've felt this was inevitable from the start:

I'm braced for the backlash here, but I just can't see this being anything but a cheap looking refurbishment.

Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love to go in with such low expectations and be blown away, but I just can't envision it.

Maybe my skepticism comes from the fact that when Valhalla was originally designed, it was done so by industry leaders like Tecnifex & Attraction Services. Even the brilliant craftsmanship of the ride station which was done by the Russian carpenters. It all felt so intricate and pioneering.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there are no large companies like that involved in the refurb, are there?

Valhalla was my favourite BPB ride, so I do hope I'm well off the mark here!

But, the cold hard truth is that even if BPB did decide to make further changes based on feedback, I don't think they have a clue how to make this thing any good.

Most of the early marketing material involved some sexy viking woman - like something you'd see on a Fresher's fancy dress night out. Apparently the ice room scene is now like a Hot Ice fever dream. I wonder where that idea came from.

I don't really know how to point it out any more, but the problems are coming from the wannabe interior designer at the top

 

[spicy]

I'm surprised BPB opted for a refurb instead of a dismantle of Valhalla. Perhaps too much nostalgia and the whole getting endless awards every year clouded sane judgement here.

Surely the ride costs an arm and leg to run and maintain even when we had "normal" electricity prices.

At least half of the people riding it wear the disposable ponchos that get dumped at the exit. This is an enormous waste of plastic which I think could make the headlines (I'm surprised it hasn't already).

The ride is hardly suitable for the Blackpool climate, let alone even thinking about re-rides.

I think the safety aspect cannot be overlooked either. We've seen people talk about completely flooded boats in the past. Hopefully the new boats fix that problem at least!

I think a ride like this needs big Disney money and such sized crowds behind it to keep it going and to improve upon it. Really a bygone time when we consider what is going on in Blackpool now.

I would have preferred to have seen a reliable and safe new Vekoma coaster such as Fonix or Lech Coaster in its place. Make it Viking themed if you have to.

It does make you wonder what Geoffrey Thompson was thinking spending £15 million on this back in 2000 (Around £26 million adjusted for inflation)

It was incredibly ambitious for what isn't even a theme park. The original wouldn't have been out of place in a Disney/Universal park.

The running costs are obviously it's downfall and why so many effects have been removed over the years..

Taken from Wikipedia, so could be BS - "Valhalla reportedly has very high running costs given the complexity of the ride system and its effects, reaching £147,000 per month in peak season. It is claimed that the ride makes up a third of the park's total power demand"

I guess with the refurb they have tried to recreate the ride on a budget and reduce the running costs, unfortunately that is going to lead to a diluted experience so people aren't going to be happy with it.. I would still rather have a diluted Valhalla then it be completely removed though..