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Blackpool pleasure beach

436 replies

Roundthemoon · 12/10/2024 21:25

I just visited Blackpool and I Had a nice time going around the beach and activities.

But honestly- Blackpool pleasure beach - what are they thinking! Some of the rides are so old and dangerous, I don't know how they are allowed at all.

It was the first time that I went .

I went on one ride, and it went extremely high. It was like an old fashioned rollrr coaster, but you were sitting on a horse. It's called steeple chase.

. There was the tiniest old fashioned seat belt on the horse, like a car seat belt. Except it was just a horizontal belt. The material of the belt looked old, worn and thin. And it didn't hold you on properly.

You had to grip with your hands onto the handle bars. This ride went extremely high and it was extremely fast and jerky, and i was nearly jerked out of the seat several times. If the ride jerked and you fell out of the seat , you would slip through the seat belt and you would fall a very long way down. I was holding on for dear life. I very nearly came off and fell once.

People were getting off the ride at the end and were crying and looking extremely stressed.

The guy running the ride laughed and said to us "you won't do that ride again in a hurry will you haha". Because he knew it was bad

I saw other rides in the park, where the metal holding the ride up looked completely rusted through.

I don't know how the park is allowed from a health and safety standpoint?

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Rantypanties · 13/10/2024 01:04

The clown still lives but he’s somewhere near the back of the park if I remember rightly!

Aplaceinthecold · 13/10/2024 01:03

Yes I do remember the spinner and the moving walkway you had to cross to get in.
That evil looking clown was horrible, I have a fear of clowns anyway.
Sad it burned down, probably that bloody clown.

TheChippendenSpook · 13/10/2024 01:01

PurpleFlower1983 · 13/10/2024 01:01

I fell off something in there and got really badly winded. I also remember it had a terrifying vertical slide 🤣

The Monster drop! I wouldn't go on that either 🤣
I stuck to Jungle Jim's in the tower, after visiting the aquarium underneath it.

PurpleFlower1983 · 13/10/2024 01:01

TheChippendenSpook · 13/10/2024 00:58

The Fun House burnt down in a fire sadly,but the horrible laughing clown that was outside the entrance survived.

There was something similar inside the Winter Gardens that was called Professor Peabody's and it had a similar layout if I'm remembering it correctly.

Edited

I fell off something in there and got really badly winded. I also remember it had a terrifying vertical slide 🤣

TheChippendenSpook · 13/10/2024 00:59

Rantypanties · 13/10/2024 00:56

@Aplaceinthecold do you remember the spinning thing in the Fun House? Or was that just at Southport? Hang on to strangers for dear life while you span round and inevitably slid off into the mats. Absolutely loved it!

The Fun House did have one of those. I was too much of a wimp to go on it.

TheChippendenSpook · 13/10/2024 00:58

The Fun House burnt down in a fire sadly,but the horrible laughing clown that was outside the entrance survived.

There was something similar inside the Winter Gardens that was called Professor Peabody's and it had a similar layout if I'm remembering it correctly.

TheChippendenSpook · 13/10/2024 00:56

Roundthemoon · 13/10/2024 00:52

That mouse rollercoaster sounds interesting. I was looking at videos of it on YouTube. It looks very rickety. That probably added to the fear

It would occasionally go on two wheels as it turned a certain corner! You'd sit in it one behind the other. It was OK if you were at the back because you'd feel wedged in,but if you were in the front it was scarier!

PurpleFlower1983 · 13/10/2024 00:56

First went on Steeplechase with my grandad in the early 90s! Terrifying! 🤣 I’ve been on a fair few times since though! Wild Mouse was the worst though, not surprised that’s gone.
I remember when the ski slope ride crashed.

Rantypanties · 13/10/2024 00:56

@Aplaceinthecold do you remember the spinning thing in the Fun House? Or was that just at Southport? Hang on to strangers for dear life while you span round and inevitably slid off into the mats. Absolutely loved it!

Roundthemoon · 13/10/2024 00:52

That mouse rollercoaster sounds interesting. I was looking at videos of it on YouTube. It looks very rickety. That probably added to the fear

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TheChippendenSpook · 13/10/2024 00:52

I love the Derby Racer. If you look closely at the bottom of the horses, you can see where they've made them static. They used to rock backwards and forwards back in the day.

A lot of the old rides were bought by smaller theme parks. The Space Invader was sold and operated under a new name for a few years after the Pleasure Beach dismantled it.

It used to be great when you could go into town and walk around the site. More often than not, you'd buy some ride tickets and get some food and drink. They lost that atmosphere when they started charging a flat rate to get in.

Ah I feel all nostalgic for my youth now, which is a nice distraction! I'm flying in a few hours and I really don't like flying.

Aplaceinthecold · 13/10/2024 00:51

The Blackpool Fun house was awesome in the 70's though. Don't know if it's still there.
It had a huge slide that was almost vertical at the top.
I would be terrified now and would probably need an ambulance on standby.

IlovePond · 13/10/2024 00:50

@EngineStartStop - Red Rum’s jockey rode him through a sensor placed in something the shape of a winning post if I remember correctly 😹It was terribly exciting at the time!

The Steeplechase was a brand new ride in 1977 when RR opened it. He was the BTS and Blackpink of the horse world at the time and BPB must have been thrilled when he put his hoofprint to it!

Here’s an article about the history of BPB in case anyone is interested:

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/how-blackpool-pleasure-beach-changed-20360052.amp

How Blackpool Pleasure Beach has changed over the last 125 years

Blackpool Pleasure Beach will open its gates on Monday - here's a look back at the theme park over the years

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/how-blackpool-pleasure-beach-changed-20360052.amp

PadstowGirl · 13/10/2024 00:47

outforawalkbiatch · 12/10/2024 21:40

Cat and mouse was always the worst. Guaranteed whiplash

Steeplechase used to scare me as a kid though

Absolutely this. I damaged my neck badly on the cat and mouse ride

TheChippendenSpook · 13/10/2024 00:47

The rides will get rusty with them being right next to the sea but it's doesn't mean they're not safe. They'll be constantly checked.

The tower is always rusting and has to be periodically painted. It hasn't fallen down yet and it is very old!

The Wild Mouse was iconic but scary and it was a sad day that they removed it without warning anyone they were going to. I think they learned their lesson with that one because the Grand Prix recently closed and they made a weekend of it.

HundredMilesAnHour · 13/10/2024 00:46

PleaseAskSomeoneWhoGivesAFuck · 12/10/2024 22:52

Much longer ago than that!

2017

gegs73 · 13/10/2024 00:45

unmemorableusername · 13/10/2024 00:26

Fell off it in the 60s?

When it didnt open until 1977?

Ok.

🤣 must of been the 70s then she’s not sat with me to ask, I just know she came off it. She was fine by all accounts but I doubt she’d go on it again.

QueenOfHiraeth · 13/10/2024 00:43

@Roundthemoon I remember it opening in the late 70s but had to Google the year.

The fact remains that these rides are safe as is evidenced by the hundreds of people who ride them without accidents. The fear is part of the experience, that's what people pay for!

The Pleasure beach used to have a couple of weekends they opened to the public before the season began each year when the prices were very low. It was mostly locals who went and they were referred to "crash weekends" because, if there was ever a chance of a crash it was then as they trained new staff and practiced the rides with people on. Having said that, I have never heard of any crash or injury on any of those weekends in over 25 years

Roundthemoon · 13/10/2024 00:42

I queued up to get on the planes ride at the entrance, but when I saw how rusty and unsafe they looked, I couldn't get on. I did back out of that one. The man let me walk back down.

There was a child in front of me crying and saying she was scared. Her dad was saying "ah you'll be OK with us".

Bless her.

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Foopa · 13/10/2024 00:42

Red Rum backwards is murder.

Roundthemoon · 13/10/2024 00:39

Magnastorm · 13/10/2024 00:38

I wonder which is more likely to be correct 🤔.

And it's amazing, in either case, how someone's aunt managed to fall off it in the 60s.

Edited

Maybe something similar was there before with a different name. They slightly update rides a lot.

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Magnastorm · 13/10/2024 00:38

Roundthemoon · 13/10/2024 00:36

Its interesting because it says online that it was officially opened in 1977,

But another poster on here said that she remembers being on the ride on a school trip in 1976.

I wonder which is more likely to be correct 🤔.

And it's amazing, in either case, how someone's aunt managed to fall off it in the 60s.

EngineStartStop · 13/10/2024 00:37

IlovePond · 13/10/2024 00:31

The Steeplechase was opened in 1977 by Red Rum. It had the same sort of waist strap/belt that it has now. Not terribly secure, but it’s there.

The Derby Racers, 1959, is a quite fast horse ride that goes round and round - doesn’t have a seatbelt, just a handle to hold onto. If you fell off that whilst it was moving, (as with any ride), you could well be injured, but I felt safe enough on it myself as a timid child.

Did Red Rum cut the ribbon himself?

Roundthemoon · 13/10/2024 00:36

Magnastorm · 13/10/2024 00:34

😂😂😂 this thread really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Its interesting because it says online that it was officially opened in 1977,

But another poster on here said that she remembers being on the ride on a school trip in 1976.

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Roundthemoon · 13/10/2024 00:35

Wheelbarrowracer · 13/10/2024 00:34

Dd was scared shitless on the Wallace and gromit ride via she didn't like the rabbit.

I quite like the one that goes forwards and backwards and the one where your legs dangle.

Ah bless her :). The rabbits do pop out at you

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