So the 2012 season is over... we had new attractions this year including the Jolly Roger Drop Tower but what is your verdict on the park over all? Has 2012 surpassed previous seasons? Is the park moving in the right direction? Or, are you disappointed with the park this year?
This is your chance to sum up the 2012 season at Pleasurewood Hills in your own words...
I was happy and a bit disappointed with the 2012 season!
Firstyl I was over the moon that we had 5 new attractions and a couple of refurbs this year which made the park offer a little more in which it had previous years, but I was also a little disappointed that the JR had just been plonked there, looking tacky and quite fairgroundish. The PP are good for families and small children while the LL is in a perfect spot I think anyways. The Sean Alexander Show is a fantastic, breathtaking show, a defo to see whenever im at the park! As for the LL its brilliant too, alothough maybe increase time upto 15mins, but none the less its a brilliant 10 minute attractions.
The refurb of TTT is brilliant, alot better than I would of imagined coming from PWH. The Menu's this year could of been a little better, in bigger portions, especially for the price! The McCain chips are horrible!!!!! Prefered last years by miles! The kiddie area now has lots of life to it which is excellant, yet Main Street a 5second walk from the kiddie area is almost always dead!!!! The Sealion Show Amtitheatre refurb is looking better than it did last year with a new backdrop, signage within the arena and been completely re-painted, and the crows nest has been refurb a little with a new lick of paint and sign which looks good :D oh and ofcourse the refurbed show, which is funny, educational and fun for all the family, yet again a show that i will always see when im at the park!
Overall my score for PWH out of 100 for the 2012 season would be: 90
Its the same old same old for little ole PWH its these little jobs which need to be sorted out yet they never get done! Like the themeing on Wipeout, Snakes Tunnel, Wavecoasters carpet/woodchip. Fireball appearence, Engima Appearence, Dodgems Appearence, TotC Appearence, Mini Railway Woods Station and other little maintenance jobs!!
Anyways here to 2013, where the park celebrates 30years and lets hope we get some nre attractions and these little jobs get sorted over the winter!!
I have to agree - the park seemed to promise alot and actually failed to deliver on some very big promises!
The pleasurewood ponies are crying out for some simple but imaginative theming - didnt happen!
The jolly roger is good ride but looks awful.
The lazer quest game - is just plain weird.
I am hoping that Pleasurewood really invests in making 2013 season a much better all rounder season. Things need sprucing up - lots of areas of the park that are very neglected - if not falling to bits!
If we get one new ride - great but the priority has cleaning the place up - Things are improving but i cant help but feel that 2012 in many ways was a missfire!
It has been one of the best years for a long time, but it has ended on a bit of a low IMO.
We're starting to see a bit of imagination from people at the park, which is promising. The little things like that Woody character that was put near the entrance is a great touch, and the work done to Thunderstruck was very good.
It has probably been one of the worst years for ride downtime, and with no compensation, people were complaining by the bucket load. Also the lack of decent vouchers didn't help with the complaints.
One thing for sure today ( 4th nov season finale ) will be a washout, shame...wonder how busy it will be when i get there in just over an hours time....
2012 should have been the best season since the late 80's and mid 90's yet it was riddled with customer complaints and ride issues - none of which i think will be any different next year - it has been a difficult year for the park this year weather and complaints being such a issue
For the first time in well over a decade we were talking about new rides which genuinely sparked up alot of interest in Pleasurewood Hills. But the park park failed on getting everything sorted for the start of the season which all but put that spark out. I don't think the place recovered from the poor start TBH.
When it opened, TTT was brilliant - 100% the right decision to refurb it. Good work. But even then, it failed to see out the end of the season.
Jolly Roger may not have been the original choice for a tower ride, but is actually a better ride than the one first planned... it deffo needs cosmetic work this winter.
Fireball's programme (or lack of it!) also sticks in my mind when summing up this year. It is potentially a decent piece of kit but has never been run as well as it could and the way it ended the season was a joke TBH.
Main St: Too quiet, just what is going on??
No 2-4-1s which must bring more people in??
Alot of negatives, but fair ones I think. Great to have 5 new additons, but fell short almost everywhere else. Increased social media presence has led to more complaining, no doubt about that, but most of it is justified, perhaps?!
When we first found out about the FIVE new attractions I would never have thought I sit here - at the end of the season - saying I was content with just ONE visit. Shame.
I can't really review the season as I only visited on one day but that day was excellent. I think however the anticipation for the season was better than it was which is upsetting. As was said earlier the season was marred from the outset when a lot of the rides weren't ready and the offering was severely cut down. This drew a lot of complaints via social media platforms such as Facebook and Trip Advisor. Once the park managed to get everything open there was a fantastic amount to do with some great additions for the families and young children. Thrill seekers were also rewarded with the newly refurbished Tide Traveller and the addition of a very thrilling drop tower in The Jolly Roger.
The Jolly Roger is a very thrilling drop tower and a great addition to the park but it's temporary installation and fairground look didn't do it or the park any favours. I overheard a lot of guests avoiding it and I feel psychologically if it was permanently installed with great theming then people would probably give it more of what it's due.
I visited on one of the hottest days of the year and it was excellent (apart from the log flume breaking down, which was a shame but didn't ruin our day) but the park was deserted. Main Street was embarrassingly empty with no park offerings to entice people down there; it was essentially wasted space.
Sean Alexander was excellent and goodness knows why reviews were occasionally bad because to me it was fantastic and a great addition to the park. All in all I feel the year was good but it was let down by ride downtime and a lack of offers or online discounts.
One thing that really disappointed me was the state of the Main Street. Not so long ago it was probably the most vibrant area of the park, but this year it was just deserted, and reminded me a lot of what parks are like not long before they close their doors for good. Lots of empty space, no music and the main shop was closed.
If they really did keep it closed because they're redeveloping that side of the street for next year, then they should have put a sign up in the window, saying something like "brand new experience/attraction, coming 2013".
And despite there being 5 new attractions, it didn't actually feel like there was much more to do at the park. Obviously The Confusionist replaced the Circus Show, and when I visited Thunderstruck was still closed, so Jolly formed more of a 'replacement' than 'addition' back then. I dont even think the Laser Labyrinth was open, despite it being a very busy day, and obviously I'm not really bothered about going on the Lighthouse and Ponies. So for me, there was nothing 'extra' for me to go on, and if anything there was less as there was no point in going on Fireball with how it was being run this year. It's a shame really, as a lack of things to do has always been the issue for PWH since the turn of the Millennium, and even adding 5 new attractions didn't change that.
For me I think the biggest positive was the refurbs for Thunderstruck and Sky Hooks. It shows that the park are starting to take care with the appearance of the rides, and even the little things like the queue lane for Sky Hooks is a great improvement. These pics show the good little touches around the park:
(though I dont get why they couldn't stick to one fence style...)
And these pics sum up where the park needs attention:
(I do wonder if we've now seen the last of Fireball...)
(whats with the arrogant attitude on the ride signs? Its a family park ffs!)
(shrub areas look nice, but essentially it is just a mess of empty land)