A lovely sunny day and my first visit to Pleasurewood since 2011...
We arrived on park at about half 10, at a similar time to the handful of school trips who were also visiting... Despite the initial thought of "oh crap, there's gonna be kids everywhere!" the park was actually dead quiet and the only queue faced during the day was for Hobs Pit. After entering, we made our way straight to Wipeout which was running well. Smooth and still packing a bloody good punch considering the old girl's age! I didn't look to see how many cars were operational (mainly as my glasses were off) but the staff seemed to be dispatching and loading fairly efficiently. They're still doing that weirdly friendly thing of asking if your restraint is okay though.
Moving on, we took a walk down to the dead end of the park. The walk down still looks pants due to the empty Hungry Bear site - though the flags and new peddalo platform look nice. The dodgems were fun as ever, though they still look like they belong in a travelling fair unfortunately. Next it was to the Rattlesnake - which I swear gets louder and louder! The op on this ride today was fairly useless... He didn't utter a single word and instead communicated everything through hand signals. What happened to the days of getting people to shout and scream? Also, and I think this has been mentioned before, but there is a bit of a worrying hunk of metal sticking out on the ride. It's part of the rusting frame of the old lift tunnel but it properly juts out over the track and I really think that it could be a health hazard to riders if it is not looked at!
Moving on from that slight negative, we walked back up the park and past the Castle Theatre. Although we didn't use the Laser Labyrinth, I was intrigued to see just how BIG the queue lane is for it... Does it ever get slightly full? Anyway, we walked through the new 'Kids' area and this part of the park looks fantastic! All the rides in a small space really make the area feel busy and fun, and the Pony Rail (although fairly unimaginative) seems to have bedded in nicely and is a good addition to the parks offerings.
After this, it was time for a quick ride on the Kite Flyer before lunch. We ate in the Merry Mariner. The food was reasonably priced (£5.60 for a coke, sausage roll and chips) but the food itself was distinctly average and lukewarm at best when served - and we were eating at about 12, so it shouldn't have been sitting around for long.
It was then on to the main attraction itself... Hobs Pit! The ride opened at midday and so had gained quite a queue by the time we got to it. We probably waited about 30 minutes for the ride in total and I must give praise to the girl in the shop who vigilantly stopped some queue jumping and sent some kids to the back! Good stuff! As for the ride itself, I won't go into major detail as most of us on here have ridden it by now... However, I do have some gripes with the whole thing unfortunately. Whilst the whole concept, idea and finished project are fantastic for the park and really amazing considering the budget available, I felt it just was nowhere near as scary as the hype made out. The queueline tension is fantastic, and I love the theatre surrounding that element of it, also the key set piece is fun, as is the narrow passageway in the walkthrough. The actors in the station and at queueline batching were also brilliant too. The actual ride element though is just not even mildly scary. The tactics employed are clever and work well, but there isn't enough of a 'near miss' sensation for them to work. Equally, I feel like lighting could be worked on - as the ride is too light for many elements to be effective. Other small touches like air cannons/fans or some water squirter's (for example, in the fan scene) would be fantastic too. I also noted a lack of actors in the ride section. There was just one who jumped out before the ORP and that was it, though it was a quiet day so that may explain it... I don't mean to knock the ride, as it is a solid experience and fantastic for the park, I also appreciate it is only version 1, however I just think it could do so much more.
Moving on from Hobs, we then rode Timber Falls, which got us as wet as usual (though the water was a tad murky!) and it was on to Jolly Roger. This was my first time on a drop tower that wasn't part of a bigger ride (I've only ridden Th13teen, Sub Terra and Tower of Terror before) and I loved it! The suspense at the top was heart-pumping and the view was amazing too! It really packed a punch and it is a great addition to the park. After this, we then rode Enigma. I tried to view it with an open mind - knowing that it is due extensive refurbishment - however it really is in a sorry state. It's in dire need of a repaint and general clean and spruce up, though I know this will be happening soon. The ride itself ran really well though, and was fun as always. The breaks on the final slope/bend were still bloody dangerous but I guess that's Schwarzkopf for ya ;)
From Enigma we went and watched Sean Alexander. The show is really good. It's well put together and his tricks did impress me. However, I found chunks of it dead cheesy and a bit cringey... particularly the dancing sections! Despite this, it was very entertaining and everyone seemed to enjoy it! We missed the sealions and parrots but I'm sure they're as good as ever...
After this it was time for Tales of the Coast, and the less said about this the better... The inside looked awful, there was natural light flooding in and allowing you to see the ceiling easily. No props moved, the scenes don't even make sense and the whole thing is just awful. I appreciate though that the park know this and I'm sure there are plans to make it better - plus I'm eager to see what will be done at Halloween! After TOTC we hopped on Moby Dick which is a fun little kids ride that looks bloody great! One tiny criticism would be that the queue/exit/paths around it are falling apart as the stones have come out of the cement and are littering the ride area. It's good though...
Finally, we took another ride on Wipeout and caught a go on the little train before going home just before 5. It was a really good day, the park in general is looking fantastic and its amazing to see how well the park can seem when the owners actually care about the place. Though there are still shortcomings, I feel more forgiving and hopeful because I know that these things will be looked at in time, and the park in general has a great atmosphere about it!
:)
Some other points:
- Wizzy Dizzy was swinging high(ish) but for one swing only.
- Menus in restaurants had many things taped over - Arcade looks awful (but I understand this is run by HB Leisure?) - Tide Traveller was operating like a Twister - New marketing style looks bloody great - need this around the park more next year please! - New merchandise is great quality and reasonable too, not much of it though. Main shop looked bare - and full of random tat...
Ride Count:
Wipeout x2 Dodgems x1 SITG x1 Pony Rail x1 Kite Flyer x1 Timber Falls x1 Jolly Roger x1 Enigma x1 Hobs x2 Sean Alexander x1 TotC x1 Moby Dick x1 Little Train x1
-- Edited by mrbrightside on Thursday 18th of July 2013 11:52:26 PM
-- Edited by mrbrightside on Thursday 18th of July 2013 11:53:09 PM
-- Edited by mrbrightside on Thursday 18th of July 2013 11:58:16 PM
I feel exactly the same about Hobs Pit. Especially the end scene, after the ORP..... it was just a pointless little trundle to the station with nothing going on at all. And they need to try and keep the people waiting to get on, away from the people getting off. It's a proper moment killer when you wait for people to get out, so you can get on.
When we went on they stopped us before we could see the station to let the others get out. The ride op was excellent at freaking us out with this glare as he made us wait - without saying a word mind.
I completely agree with the lighting element and some effects would be better off if we couldn't see them coming so clearly. As for the "trundle" towards the end it is such a shame that the original intention couldn't have been implemented as it would have been incredible. Perhaps these things will be looked at for the future. If the ORP section ends up staying empty then it would be a waste of that track which would have been better utilised for a separate on and off station setup.
The hype for Th13teen was also overdone but it's still a very good quality and enjoyable ride and I feel the same about Hobs Pit.
Whoa that was an expensive lunch...
I also think it's a little degrading to calling someone "fairly useless" because they're not screaming and shouting.
Giving Enigma a 'paint' job isn't like slapping some colour on your bedroom wall.. lol It's a mighty task to do it, not cheap either.
im sure many of the younger guests find Hobs 'scary' and that's the main thing. I think it's better to create atmosphere than scare the $hit out of people lol although The Chills will no doubt take every opportunity :D
Excellent, 16th was my Birthday, I spent it in a dark, dank, grotty dirty house... at least someone made the most of the day. :)
Can I see Baby woodys in that Hobs window????
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It's always the cracked ones that let the light in.
Bubbles, I wasn't being degrading but the member of staff in question did not utter a single word at all. He vaguely waved as a signal for going again and he sorta raised his hands to get people to move them for the restraints to open. There was no interaction, no smile, no hello, no goodbye. Nothing. That's fairly useless to me.
As for Enigma I know it's a very difficult task to paint a coaster but the track and general area look awful right now though I'm sure this will be rectified in time :)
And yes, there are woody toys in the window :)
(I find it degrading because I am very much like that myself) You see that's what I prefer, someone who's getting on with the job not 'messing around', I feel very awkward and uncomfortable if they're being too involved, just push the buttons, check safety bars and work the queue line. I also dislike the idea that not being very sociable or 'smiley' is considered useless, we're not useless. :)
Enigma was last painted in 2007 or 06 (?) .. doesn't seem that long ago... some of that handy work is mine. ;)
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It's always the cracked ones that let the light in.
I can't comment on the specific person, as the lad running SITG when I went was great fun... However, I do think it is entirely fair to comment when you interact with someone who seems to be just "going through the motions".
Some jobs require a certain level of chat and smiles. Working at an attraction like PWH is definitely one of them!
On the whole, the staff seem a lot more energised than in the recent past. I've seen loads of comments on Facebook about how good the staff are, so visitors obviously care about these things.
Well you can still do a good job and not scream and shout, it's not essential, I just found the term 'useless' degrading to those of us who aren't loud and over the top. But I shall not say any more in the matter.
I now want one of those baby woodys...
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It's always the cracked ones that let the light in.
He wasn't doing a good job though... He looked thoroughly bored and like he would rather be down the pub (and this was only at 11!). To have that kind of attitude and lack of attention to your guests when you're in a customer facing role isn't great. Though I do feel we're kinda labouring the point here over a small matter :)
haha I dunno what you do for a living but I hope you're never board and all smiles at work. But I have had members of the public report me for 'talking' to them, latest complaint was I was seen having a cup of tea.
This is why I find your comment wrong, because i deal with the public and difficult people, i know what it's like to be in the receiving end, and sometimes the public forget we're human too.
Also, lets consider how many times a ride operator has been brilliant and gets abuse from guests? i witnessed this when i worked at the park, fact is 90% the public treat those who are serving them like dirt and it makes me angry.
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It's always the cracked ones that let the light in.
Then you also know how poorly the public can treat you.
There's a change he wasn't like that all day, and you just caught him at the wrong time or something.
Still think calling someone useless is a bit strong.
On one of the other trip reports recently spoke about the lack of shops open.. was this an issue on your trip?
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It's always the cracked ones that let the light in.
