Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Wild Mouse at BPB Closure - R.I.P. 1958-2017

Interesting what Robb Alvey thinks of the whole ordeal:-

Oh, trust me, I completely get why they did this. Had they announced it in advance, or did a "come get your last rides" type of thing, you'd have every nerdy roller coaster enthusiast angrily bad-mouthing them and harassing them to the point of making it not worth their while to allow someone to get a "last ride" in. Clearly the decision was made to close the ride a while ago, as a park doesn't just wake up one day and go "Hey, you know what? After lunch, let's go demolish that ride over there..." so this means they purposely made the choice NOT to let people know that it was going to be demolished.

Honestly, I cannot blame them. Parks don't HAVE to do anything for "enthusiasts" and regardless if you are happy or not about this decision, it's not going to stop the masses from coming to the park. I've seen plenty of times parks go out of their way to allow guests a "last ride" on a classic ride at a park only to have that bite them in the A$$ and people moan and complain about it.

If I owned a park, I would have done exactly the same thing. In fact, if it were up to me, I probably would have done a live stream of the demolition!
 
^
Tell that to Alton! :p

But let's face it, the sad truth is that we'd all still be going to Blackpool this year if they'd demolished every wooden coaster there.

v Aside from the fact that the thoroughly grating statement isn't right, I totally agree. We're all reading from the same page for once, so we don't need to turn this into a 'rage at other site's opinions' thread.
 
Last edited:
It's like he HAS to post regardless of the garbage he comes out with.

I do agree with Alvey though (on the most part, needlessly crass and on the wind-up with the latter part), guarantee some people would end up causing a scene, chaining themselves to the ride or something silly. Take this on the chin with all the negativity it'll bring but know that 95% of that will dissipate when Icon opens.
 
Well, that's probably the worst news of the year already and we're only 6 days in! Loved that ride and always ensured I did it while at the park. Kind of wish I'd brought a Mouse wheel instead of my Big One wheel now. Hopefully, they'll auction off bits of the ride like Kings Island did with Son of Beast.

I do agree though that removing this and demolishing the remains of Trauma Towers does open up a sizable chunk of land for them. Removing the nearby arcades, food stalls and possibly even closing/relocating Impossible would open up almost a quarter of the whole park for them to play with.
 
ATI said:
I think if they put food and drinks in Wild Mouse's location, they will remove the Bowl-a-drome, the current food stalls that are next to it, and maybe even impossible so that they can install a decent-sized coaster.
Click to expand...
The fact they've taken town Trauma Towers facade (at long last) makes me think they'll simply add another food option where the Mouse would be and have more seating on the other side of the fountains.


ATI said:
Interesting what Robb Alvey thinks of the whole ordeal:-

Oh, trust me, I completely get why they did this. Had they announced it in advance, or did a "come get your last rides" type of thing, you'd have every nerdy roller coaster enthusiast angrily bad-mouthing them and harassing them to the point of making it not worth their while to allow someone to get a "last ride" in. Clearly the decision was made to close the ride a while ago, as a park doesn't just wake up one day and go "Hey, you know what? After lunch, let's go demolish that ride over there..." so this means they purposely made the choice NOT to let people know that it was going to be demolished.

Honestly, I cannot blame them. Parks don't HAVE to do anything for "enthusiasts" and regardless if you are happy or not about this decision, it's not going to stop the masses from coming to the park. I've seen plenty of times parks go out of their way to allow guests a "last ride" on a classic ride at a park only to have that bite them in the A$$ and people moan and complain about it.

If I owned a park, I would have done exactly the same thing. In fact, if it were up to me, I probably would have done a live stream of the demolition!
Click to expand...
Well, he sounds like a dick. Blackpool Pleasure Beach owes it's existence to enthusiasts and nostalgia. A big chunk of people go there because they have been doing so for years, and it's a park that makes a great deal of it's heritage - from having listed rides, to using Heritage Lottery funding to restore buildings, and playing on the fact it's been run by the same family forever.

Removing a ride like this without any fanfare or a farewell weekend is a slap in the face to long-term visitors. It feels a bit like they don't care about us. They could easily have explained the decisions that led to the closure and most people would understand. But to do it like these feels like they know it's a ****ty move and are trying to hide it.
 
Thekingin64 said:
Well, that's probably the worst news of the year already and we're only 6 days in! Loved that ride and always ensured I did it while at the park. Kind of wish I'd brought a Mouse wheel instead of my Big One wheel now. Hopefully, they'll auction off bits of the ride like Kings Island did with Son of Beast.
Click to expand...

Don't worry, the Pleasure Beach already sell ride parts in the shop. Hell, they've sold stuff from the Greatest show on Earth in 2017, and that closed in 1997!

Shocked by the news. It really was a great ride, easily the most wild roller coaster I've ever been on. I know in 2017 it had a lot of downtime and was down to 3 cars when it did run, don't know if that had anything to do with the decision (after they put on the automatic braking).

Don't really know when the final decision was made though - work was being carried out on refurbishing Wild Mouse cars throughout 2017. Don't know how many visits it will be before I finally get used to not seeing the red and yellow top of the wooden frame, or hearing the sound of the cars quickly rattling around the bend over the queue line.

Luckily I already bought a running and mushroom wheel from the Wild Mouse a few years ago in the shop, but can someone confirm for me that there was a mouse clock inside the station? I remember there was one, I mean, if parts do hopefully go up for sale....
 
Removing a ride like this without any fanfare or a farewell weekend is a slap in the face to long-term visitors. It feels a bit like they don't care about us. They could easily have explained the decisions that led to the closure and most people would understand. But to do it like these feels like they know it's a :emoji_poop:ty move and are trying to hide it.
Click to expand...


They probably were, but a leaked photograph has caught them off guard on a weekend. Hence the rushed statement.
 
Wild Mouse is a huge loss to the industry, and I'm absolutely gutted to see it go. Whilst new developments are great, Wild Mouse was truly a one of a kind ride, that can never be recreated in the future. Pleasure Beach have lost a huge part of what made the park so special, and no modern ride can ever replace that.

On a personal level, the Mouse has provided me with many years of fun & laughter and was without question one of my favourite ever coasters; I've never known a ride with such incredibly unrestricted airtime, especially that last drop - brilliant!

One thing I feel is important to mention. Pleasure Beach spent a lot of money on Wild Mouse last year with the installation of the new magnetic brake system, new evacuation walkways, and endless re-tracks/wood replacements throughout the season. It clearly was not their intention, at that time, to remove Wild Mouse in the near future.

With that said, I do not abide with the terrible way the park have handled the closure and demolition of a much-loved ride which holds memories for so many people, it's nothing short of a disgrace the way the ride has been unceremoniously torn down with no initial statement made to appease long standing fans of the ride or the park. In addition, the statement the park have hurriedly released today doesn't even care to mention what a fantastic coaster it was, the history behind it or the legacy it left. It's like they couldn't wait to be rid of it, and really stinks of a park that couldn't care less.
default_sad.png
 
It will be interesting to see if any parts from it at all were salvaged to be put on sale in the shop. I have a Mouse running wheel too, also a chain dog, and late last season when I heard the closure rumours I got a mushroom wheel and 'T' safety bracket metal thing that I might use as a pen holder! I would seriously love one of those mice from the strip that ran along the top of the structure. Still feel shell shocked, the thought of that area without the Mouse is very sad
 
People will talk about the Mouse in 20 years' time and still miss it. Whatever short-term benefits and cost savings have led to this decision, they will turn out to be long-term mistakes.
 
sandgrown said:
People will talk about the Mouse in 20 years' time and still miss it. Whatever short-term benefits and cost savings have led to this decision, they will turn out to be long-term mistakes.
Click to expand...

Long-term mistake how?

People are still going to visit to ride Icon. They've also saved money on having to update the ride with modern safety measures that were previously the rumoured reason for it's closure. Plonk some cheap garish food outlets in it's place and suddenly you're making money.

I can understand where people are coming from when they say about it being a large part of BPB's charm, the classic historic rides etc..., but a bit of perspective is needed; The park isn't going to go bankrupt as a result of this decision, everybody in here is still going to visit next season when Icon opens. Hopefully a bit more light is shed by the park over the next few days about why the decision was taken. But so far I've seen people threatening to email and demand a new coaster, others saying the park will close. I'm sure the park will be just fine.
 
Smithy said:
Long-term mistake how?

People are still going to visit to ride Icon. They've also saved money on having to update the ride with modern safety measures that were previously the rumoured reason for it's closure. Plonk some cheap garish food outlets in it's place and suddenly you're making money.

I can understand where people are coming from when they say about it being a large part of BPB's charm, the classic historic rides etc..., but a bit of perspective is needed; The park isn't going to go bankrupt as a result of this decision, everybody in here is still going to visit next season when Icon opens. Hopefully a bit more light is shed by the park over the next few days about why the decision was taken. But so far I've seen people threatening to email and demand a new coaster, others saying the park will close. I'm sure the park will be just fine.
Click to expand...


It will be seen as a mistake from a heritage point of view - not just from the type of enthusiast who posts on here, but by the people of Blackpool. We will miss it terribly. It's the most significant ride that we've ever lost. Also, as I stated before, Icon will just be some other ride in 10, 20 years' time or whatever, whereas the Mouse's uniqueness would continue to grow and grow, whilst already having the intrinsic value of actually being a good coaster.

The Pleasure Beach is at its best when it looks and feels like a funfair that just happens to have massive rides in it. The danger is that it will become a few massive rides with no funfair around it, and the experience of going there will die. The way that many of its smaller features are being stripped out, even down to catering, defunct arcades, fewer rides, games and mini-attractions means it's losing its spirit. The park has to change (no-one is going to spend a tenner on video games in an arcade anymore), but it has to change in a way that works in the context of what the place has always been since its inception.

I'm not saying it will lead to the end of BPB, I'm saying it's a mistake and a kick in the soul for the park, which it will regret in the future.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top