| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
cfc Having a Senior Moment
Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Total posts: 11226 Location: In the lair of the Huge Hummel Boy (which is conveniently located near Williamsburg, Va.) Age: 49 Gender: Male |
 Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:37 pm Post subject: Photo TR: The Dark Rides of Blackpool Pleasure Beach |
 |
|
When it comes to the TPR UK Trip, I can only echo what everybody else has been saying--freakin' fantastic! What a time! Mucho thanks to Robb and Elissa for putting this all together and putting up with all of us.
One thing I especially appreciated was the excellent mix of coasters and dark rides. I am a serious dark-ride fan. From the smelly, cheesy carny rides with their bang doors and skeletons on springs to the high-tech animatronics and 3D digital images of Disney and Universal, I love 'em all nearly as much as the coasters.
So, instead of a general trip report, I thought I'd focus on Blackpool's cool collection of old-school dark rides (with pics aplenty).
Please remain seated and pull down your safety bar. We're off to our first stop . . .
Magic Mountain
Well, this is more like Blackpool's version of It's a Small World than of a steel-entwined mountain in Valencia. It even has an incessant, grating theme song: "Welcome to our world!/Welcome to our world!/Welcome to our World of Toys!" Fortunately, the ride vehicle, a train of four cars, makes enough noise to effectively drown the song out. This seems appropriate, as this ride, unbeknownst to many who ride it, is a hard-hitting expose of the darker aspects of the "World of Toys." Yes, this is a ride that pulls no punches, as the following pictures will show!
Be warned--this is not for the faint of heart!
Stay tuned for more dark-ride goofiness.
|
| Description: |
| Welcome to Not Six Flags Magic Mountain! The cheerful entrance belies the darkness within! |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| Hmm--looks like other crazed coaster dorks have commandeered this train. We'll have to wait. |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| "Now arriving, the Sad-and-Pathetic Express for Magic Mountain's World of Toys! Last call!" |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| "B-o-o-o-ard!" Off we go, into the "Heart of Darkness." |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| Here we see a strange pagan rite from the early Mezowhatzit Era of Toy Evolution--the sacrifice to Eyore, the Great Donkey God. The fluff of many a stuffed animal was spilled in such a manner. |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| Behold the Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name: Interspecies Toy Lust! |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| Many lower-caste Toys are forced to toil for long hours at low pay in the fluff-and-velcro mines of the World of Toys. Unionization is but a distant dream to these tortured souls. |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| We delve deeper into Toy decadence. Here we see a typical opium den, where Toys of all social classes slowly destroy their psyches by smoking and snorting glitter and tinsel. Many take desperate measues to support their habits. |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| Such as this unfortunate woman. She doesn't even attempt to hide her shame from us. (Yes, we have a side-boob shot on this ride.) |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| Not that the upper Toy classes care: "Prepare the merwench for the pleasure of Sultan Ali Ben Gropeangrab, ruler of the World of Toys!" |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| Other Toys try to drown their frustrations in cheap rotgut. Yes, it's not all fun and games in the World of Toys. |
|
| Viewed: |
10181 Time(s) |
Last edited by cfc on Fri Jun 30, 2006 6:39 am |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
| MollyG I Love Donkeys!
Joined: 21 May 2006 Total posts: 47 Location: St Louis MO Age: 60 Gender: Female |
| Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:54 pm Post subject: The Dark Rides of Blackpool Pleasure Beach |
|
|
Very funny stuff! Makes me wonder what kind of childhood you had... hmmmmmm. 
MollyG
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Luxo The Smiley Face Pizza
Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Total posts: 1456 Location: LRARUSA Age: 17 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 7:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Haha, thank you, I'm also a big dark ride fan, and your captions are hilarious. 
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| live2tell75 Bonafide Donkey Expert
Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Total posts: 1032 Location: Tampa Bay, FL Age: 34 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 8:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
My dark ride buddy! Great dark ride TR Chuck. Can't wait for all of your reports.
--Eric J.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| CoasterFanatic The Resident Smart-Ass
Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Total posts: 4495 Location: Weirton, WV Age: 34 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 5:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
Awesome. I only took a picture of the bar scene. That was too much!
FAO Schwartz meets Darkride. What could go wrong?
Also, since you seem to be such a big fan of dark rides, you may want to check this out if you haven't already.
www.dafe.org
_________________
Ted
http://www.coasterfanatics.com
onridephoto.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Ed THE BOY
Joined: 16 Feb 2005 Total posts: 2408 Location: Manchester, England Gender: Male |
| Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 5:57 am Post subject: |
|
|
They took out the best scene this winter unfortunately. 
I think they cottoned onto the fact that black people burning white people in pots is generally not PC anymore.... 
_________________
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| CoasterFanatic The Resident Smart-Ass
Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Total posts: 4495 Location: Weirton, WV Age: 34 Gender: Male |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ECZenith Good to the last drop
Joined: 14 Jun 2005 Total posts: 3364 Location: Garden Grove, CA Age: 25 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 6:46 am Post subject: |
|
|
As a dark ride fan, I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of this report.
I'll be doing something similar with all the newly renovated dark rides at Wildwood NJ and the surrounding area.
_________________
-Sean 
BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILROAD
Crew 2009
Indiana Jones Adventure (Since 2008)
Disneyland Railroad (Since 2007) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| cfc Having a Senior Moment
Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Total posts: 11226 Location: In the lair of the Huge Hummel Boy (which is conveniently located near Williamsburg, Va.) Age: 49 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 7:45 am Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks for the link, Ted. I've heard of this group, but have yet to visit their site. Another good one is www.laffinthedark.com.
But onward and, well, downward. Please keep your hands and arms inside the boat at all times as we plumb the depths of Blackpool's . . .
River Caves
Old-style dark rides tend to be exercises in randomness. Look! The devil just popped up in that window! Eek! That mummy's gonna fall on us! Eww! The shapely naked chick is actually a decayed corpse! Randomness is part of their charm, actually.
Blackpool's River Caves, however, seems to take randomness to a new extreme (not necessarily a bad thing). It's a "Tunnel of Love" type boat ride past scenes of exotic places, with a bit of narration here and there (most of which probably doesn't work anymore, I gather). Heck, you even get a peek at one of Blackpool's restaurants during your trip (shades of the Blue Bayou--or is the Blue Bayou the shades of the River Caves?).
So here we go around the world in 80 ways, or something. (Some of these pics are a bit blurry--I think the mist effects in the Caves fogged up my lens a bit.)
|
| Description: |
| Welcome aboard the River Caves! First, we pay a call on an ancient Chinese emperor as he grants an audience to Boy George. |
|
| Viewed: |
10010 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| But then we go back to the time of cavemen--the hell? |
|
| Viewed: |
10010 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| "Hey, stupid mammals in the boat! This is my period--you best get back to the future!" |
|
| Viewed: |
10010 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| And so we do. Here's Mad King Ludwig in the sumputous grotto under one of his Bavarian castles (the restaurant overlooks this cool-looking set). Looks like his Highness has been on a serious bender (and has a sick thing for dolphins). |
|
| Viewed: |
10010 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| Randomness kicks in again: "So shall it be written, so shall it be done" in the times of ancient Egypt. |
|
| Viewed: |
10010 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| And now the Wayback Machine sends us to the ancient city of Ankhor Wat. I wonder if Angelina Jolie is in town? |
|
| Viewed: |
10010 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| Aghh! Snake! Where's Lara Croft when you need her? |
|
| Viewed: |
10010 Time(s) |
|
| Description: |
| "I say, Friday, what the hell was that all about?" |
|
| Viewed: |
10010 Time(s) |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| eskater132 Full Fledged Donkey Enthusiast!
Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Total posts: 283 |
| Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 7:48 am Post subject: |
|
|
| creeeeepy!
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
Register
Calendar 
FAQ 
Search 
Memberlist 
Statistics 
TicTacToe
Profile 
Log in to check your private messages 
Log in 
Calendar
