bgwfreak Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 ^ Sounds like what happened with Pedroland. The ladies father passed away and she took over and hasn't bothered to do anything with the park but let it rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verticalzero Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 This must be an act of "women" power. I did not ride it, it a great loss cos of it's age 1937, a classic. It should of been sold to another park to enjoy and treasure. I bet the "Nash" or "Rollercoaster" will only last another 20 years before they go. I don't think Amanda is a woodie/steel coaster fan. Bring back The Whip and Turtle Chase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 While this is sad to see... (especially wooden) coasters have a life span and they just won't make run forever due to either technical or financial reasons. I've had to see such classics like the Whalom Park Flyer Comet and the entire Lincoln, Rocky Point, and Crescent parks all go down by the bulldozer, sad to see but it happens all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinb Posted September 14, 2006 Author Share Posted September 14, 2006 I don't think Amanda is a woodie/steel coaster fan. She isn't a fan of anything to do with theme parks, apart from shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 I mean, if they announced Grand National was being torn down, OMG! But Cyclone? Meh.....I mean, how many people even cared the year after Frontierland's woodie was destroyed? *silence* That's right. Most people are probably saying "Frontierland?" If you mean the Texas Tornado in Morecambe, I was a bit gutted when they tore it down...I once rode that thing non-stop for an hour when I was a kid. I guess thats misty-eyed nostalgia for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinM Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 well yeah, accepted that the Cyclone wasn't all that. But for the local area (unimportant to you maybe!!) the loss of this park & ride means a great deal... Ensuring no-one else can operate the ride, wiping out any potential competition for the already greedy Pleasure Beach has major implications for the town of Southport, who's council are presently looking for ways to maintain their park. This rides' sudden destruction is really quite significant... to us over here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueThunder Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 well yeah, accepted that the Cyclone wasn't all that. But for the local area (unimportant to you maybe!!) the loss of this park & ride means a great deal... Ensuring no-one else can operate the ride, wiping out any potential competition for the already greedy Pleasure Beach has major implications for the town of Southport, who's council are presently looking for ways to maintain their park. This rides' sudden destruction is really quite significant... to us over here! I totally agree.... We need more parks not less.... All these smaller parks seem like they are getting bulldozed..... Our future generation will probably never know what a non-corporate amusement park is. The family owned parks are growing extinct quickly. I love the big parks, too. But I just can't understand why they can't co-exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis-storm Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 well yeah, accepted that the Cyclone wasn't all that. But for the local area (unimportant to you maybe!!) the loss of this park & ride means a great deal... Ensuring no-one else can operate the ride, wiping out any potential competition for the already greedy Pleasure Beach has major implications for the town of Southport, who's council are presently looking for ways to maintain their park. This rides' sudden destruction is really quite significant... to us over here! Well said & agree totally, yes it was not the worlds best wooden coaster but was a part of the UK coaster heritage. I was lucky enough to ride Texas Tornado at Morcambe & now I will just have fond memories of Cyclone also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinM Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 I was lucky enough to ride Texas Tornado at Morcambe & now I will just have fond memories of Cyclone also. Again, the ride in Morecambe wasn't all that! But I think the fact they relocated the mouse implied a future for S/port. So its come as quite a sudden shock. At least the Texas cyclone had a 'farewell ceremony'. The BPB co know that to allow that, could give enough time for that preservation order... not what they want at all. Grump NOT over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekRx Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 The ride wasn't really special by today's standards, but the fact that it lasted that long proved that a lot of people enjoyed it. I'm sure many locals in the area can recall their first ride on it, who they rode it with, how many times, etc. It wasn't very thrilling, but it was quirky, from its crooked lift to its PGA Grizzly turnaround. If only the most thrilling coasters were around, I think my coaster count would be like 130 instead of 630. Sad that the park had to close down, though it was in a pretty underwhelming state 3 months ago. But the fact that they're clearing the coaster so that there is no hope of it ever operating as a park again is pretty sad. Add to that the removal of a bunch of classic Blackpool rides for a run of the mill SLC and its no wonder a lot of people are a bit upset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vekoma Fan Boy Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Anyone know why they're taking it down with chainsaws instead of just wrecking the thing apart with bulldozers or something? Knowing the BPB company, there most likely going to chop it up into little pieces & sell them on ebay for £25 It's a utter disgrace that they have done this to Cyclone already My mom just said if they do that and if i had the money i could buy a piece!!!!!!!! OH HAPPY DAY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Yay, a $50 chunk of wood... woo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo210 Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 RIP Cyclone 1937-2006. Hopefully I'll buy some wood, woo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vekoma Fan Boy Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Yay, a $50 chunk of wood... woo. I just want to be able to claim I own part of a roller coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 The ride wasn't really special by today's standards, but the fact that it lasted that long proved that a lot of people enjoyed it. I'm sure many locals in the area can recall their first ride on it, who they rode it with, how many times, etc. It wasn't very thrilling, but it was quirky, from its crooked lift to its PGA Grizzly turnaround. If only the most thrilling coasters were around, I think my coaster count would be like 130 instead of 630. Yea, alot of the coasters that are built are really based on a minimum height requirements, so more people, especially families, will ride them. Look at the 1920's, right before the mass extinction of coasters. Around 2000 coasters were built at the height of their existence and then all of a sudden, only 200 were remaining (over a period of 40-50 years ofcourse). All those coasters that were lost weren't all monsters like the Cyclone Racer in Long Beach. Most were small to medium sized coasters and I'm pretty sure that even John A. Miller said that coasters can only go so high and fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 It sucks when any coaster goes away, but I have to say that if I was doing my coaster rankings right now, this one would be pretty near the bottom of the list. Like Robb said, this really reminds me of the Starliner situation. It's another of those rides that just wasn't all that great. I'm glad I visited the park, but the place was in very sad shape, and I'm not shocked at all that the place is closed. I don't know anything about how BPB is managed so I can't comment on that aspect, but it was certainly obvious on our visit that this place had not seen any sort of care or investment in some time. Ah well... dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueThunder Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 It sucks when any coaster goes away, but I have to say that if I was doing my coaster rankings right now, this one would be pretty near the bottom of the list. Like Robb said, this really reminds me of the Starliner situation. It's another of those rides that just wasn't all that great. I'm glad I visited the park, but the place was in very sad shape, and I'm not shocked at all that the place is closed. I don't know anything about how BPB is managed so I can't comment on that aspect, but it was certainly obvious on our visit that this place had not seen any sort of care or investment in some time. Ah well... dt Yeah, Starliner wasn't all that and a bag of chips -- but the fact that it was the first coaster built in Florida is what will keep saving it. Its got a historical significance that others didn't have. For example, I thought the Tornado at Petticoat Junction was a much better coaster and was built just a few years after SL -- it was probably Florida's best wooden coaster (not a fan of Gwazi), but it wasn't enough to save it from the wrecking ball in the 1980s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJJman Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 After the recent announcement of the park closing, this comes as really no surprise. However, I won't lose any sleep over it as well. It was a fun ride, and actually ran better this year than when we visited in 2002. But, the park as a whole, had also turned into that, a hole. When the TPR UK peeps showed up for the trip this past June, yes, we had fun. BUT, we can have great fun at even the worst places. (See Coney!) The only thing I would miss is the Funhouse as well. But it is a business. It's THEIR business. Perhaps, even with upgrades in recent years ($$ poured in) it still wasn't bringing in the money ($$ coming in) required to keep it viably afloat. It's like having an older car, sometimes pouring money in is just a waste, and you should cut your losses and let go. They (apparently) have. JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Apple Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 The fact is that BPB got their whole business plan for this park completely and utterly wrong. Southport and Blackpool are two completely different towns. Blackpool is all the razzmatazz, lights, nightlife which appeals to the younger element who also appreciate the white knuckle rides of the Pleasurebeach. As an aside, whilst you were on tour did any of your party visit Funnygirls in Blackpool ? http://www.funnygirlsshowbar.co.uk/ A really good night which isn't seedy in the slightest. TPRers would love it. I digress. Southport on the otherhand is much more genteel and posh and really is a town on the up. So basically BPB implement the same business model in S/Port as they do in Blackpool and invest a shitload of money into taller and faster scream machines. They therefore need pretty high returns and they need them pretty damn fast to recoup the investment (£15 squillion ?) What they should have done is realise that Southport will NEVER be Blackpool, not gone for big hitters, but spent more modest amounts on just tidying the place up, a few decent flats a good darky and the pressure on returns would have been considerably lower. BPB were up to their necks in debt anyway so why invest so much on just one ride (TRAUMAtizer) ? One good ride doth not a park make. They played the big stakes game and lost. I don't believe they had to. Southport could have been a really nice family park with far less money spent overall. Regards The Major Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyP Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Hey guys, I live in Southport and I was quite shocked to see them close it with all the investment in the area recently, a new indoor water place opens next year just across the road, and there are plans for other tourist things around the place. But this is life. The rumours running around at the moment (I'm 99% on this but I haven't read this as confirmed) is that the TraumaTizer will be relocated to BPB instead. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Thanks for the update Andy, if you have time, we'd love for you to post some pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyP Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Well if there is significant changes over the next 2 weeks I'll try and cycle down and take some snaps for you, after that I'm off to uni so they'll have to be quite quick. Work on the cyclone is not visible from the road, I didn't even realise they had been chopping it up until I came on the net and I drove past there today. Fences have appeared around the complex and some diggers too, if there are any significant changes I'll see what I can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Apple Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 anyone good at German ? Cyclone meets the Fatherland http://www.coastersandmore.de/previews/pleasureland/pleasureland.shtml And whatever you can do to prevent your favorite coaster getting A.C.E recognition then do it. It's the chuffin kiss of death I tell you. Regards The Major Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Apple Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 The latest is that BPB have said " that they are ensuring the safety of the ride over the winter" Since when does that involve cutting the end of the track off ? Errr, yep, OK. Blackpool PleasureBeachs' solution for over wintering rollercoasters. Cover the track with a special "invisibility" tarpaulin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollermonkey Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 I could think of many other woodies here in the US that I wouldn't be bothered about if they went away: Zippin Pippin, CLP's Blue Streak, that thing in Kansas, etc, etc. --Robb "And Joe, I actually thought the pics were really cool too!" Alvey Thank you, Robb. I don't get the fuss about CLP's Blue Streak. The only woodie in PA I care less about is/was the Williams Grove Cyclone! As for Cyclone? It's pretty low on my woodpile, too, but Derek said it best. The current management is pulling out classic rides and installing cheap crap at the PB, so why would anyone expect better treatment at the less favored park? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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