PBB, Bank Hol Mon

[Ash84]

Just a brief TR from the day in question.

Park open: 9.45am
Park close: 10pm

The park was rammed from the word go, however the way in which they cope with capacity crowds has changed for the worse in recent times. Avalanche, Big One, Streak, Big Dipper, Mouse and Nash all running on far lower capacity's that in recent years gone by.

Id didn't spoil the day, but its irritating none the less.

Great to see the park looking so good and busy!

Heres a few pics from the day.




RIP Swamp Buggies


Steeplechase


Big One


Rev












National is racing again!


Busy Nash




Open the bloody thing!


First extention


Busy Steeplechase




No room at the inn!


To be fair it was busy!


Now your talking!










Busy Streak




Rainforest Rescue



Ash

[djtruefitt]

10pm ride close! If only other theme parks in the UK were open so late.

Whats going on with the old swamp buggies site?

[DiogoJ42]

Puts Towers to shame, doesn't it?

[Pennywise]

Puts Towers to shame, doesn't it?

Avalanche, Big One, Streak, Big Dipper, Mouse and Nash all running on far lower capacity's that in recent years gone by.

... not really, no. Sure, it's great that they were willing to close so late, but Alton at least run their rides at full capacity on a constant basis. I'd much rather a day that's 3 hours shorter and minimal queues. Might just be me though, and I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at longer opening hours for Alton and other UK parks.

Nonetheless, it looks like a fantastic event and there are some really nice photos in there, thanks for sharing!

[Tom G]

Some very vibrant images. I loved the night time ambiance of the park in the 1990s. You still get it at Fantasy and Adventure Island to an extent, but the glory days at Blackpool are sorely missed.

[Adam James]

10pm ride close! If only other theme parks in the UK were open so late.

Whats going on with the old swamp buggies site?

It's just a shame the late opening was a one off really, the park really did look brilliant at dark in the nineties.
There is so much potential for nights (or at least there was prior to the entrance fee) during the illuminations.

As for the Swamp Buggies, they've now left the park fully along with the lighthouse building - however the Tom Sawyer Rafts turntable has been left for now it seems. Fortunately I had the chance to ride it once, however it is a shame that the cheaper of the park's remaining extra charge attractions has gone sooner.

[AstroDan]

10pm ride close would be unnecessary and pointless at Alton Towers. That said, Alton Towers do close too early and this season in particular, have been completely unwilling to extend ride close on the day.

Even on some of the 5:30pm closes, when the park has been moderately busy or the weather has been amazing, they have not.

Sadly, though, that's simply the situation with finances at Alton Towers/Merlin in 2012. Obviously less of an issue at Pleasure Beach. Extending to 10pm is brilliant and I commend PBB very much.

I wish PBB would pre-announce much later closes, though. If they had announced it as a 10pm, I may even have tried going.

[Scott]

... not really, no. Sure, it's great that they were willing to close so late, but Alton at least run their rides at full capacity on a constant basis. I'd much rather a day that's 3 hours shorter and minimal queues. Might just be me though, and I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at longer opening hours

Couple of things to pick up on there, Avalanche and PMBO getting a mention is because the days of them running on three trains are long gone, neither of them were on one train.

Dipper's capacity is knackered because of the slow lift hill, it hasn't helped the throughput at all.

The less said about the Nash, the better!

I wish PBB would pre-announce much later closes, though. If they had announced it as a 10pm, I may even have tried going.

They were originally down for 8pm close, but extended to 9pm, then 10pm due to how busy PB was.

I do agree that they should have later opening times though, and advertise them!

[Nathan]

Great to see the park so busy, and looking so vibrant!

Looking forward to my visit this summer, as always.

(Still wish they'd give the Valhalla skull some finer details. :P)

[Scott]

Great to see the park so busy, and looking so vibrant!

Looking forward to my visit this summer, as always.

(Still wish they'd give the Valhalla skull some finer details. :P)

Yeah, there's certaintly something missing as far as the skull is concerned, it just doesn't look right.

[Ash84]

Regarding capacity, its the unfortunate price you pay for living in the world we do today. The days of the Streak running 3 trains, without any barrier/turnstyle or bars and or belts to check have long gone. I am not quite old enough to remember it on 3, but I have seen it on 2 many times, and believe me it was one of if not the fastest queue muncher I've seen. Alas, todays age of lap bars, faffing picking who wants to sit with who, arguing with ride op's over height restrictions, and people being too stupid to be able to scan a barcode on there wrist, means its pointless the ride having 2 trains. The Avalanche suffered the same fate, and as a result no longer runs a 3 train service, as people simpley cant get into the ride fast enough anymore, which results in a lot of stacking, and ultimatley, E-stops, which then require resets....by the time you've done you'd have been better with 2 trains.

Ash