Amusement park operators know only too well the impact that the weather can have on the day-to-day site management. UK skies can change dramatically within minutes. The impact of sudden high winds, lightning and torrential rain needs to be meticulously planned for to comply with rigorous legal requirements and to ensure visitor safety and comfort.
With customer reassurance never higher on the agenda, operators work hard to keep visitor numbers thriving. We were thrilled to be approached by Blackpool Pleasure Beach to provide a safe and effective wind monitoring system, allowing their customers to have all the fun of the fair, whatever the weather!
About Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Award-winning Blackpool Pleasure Beach is one of the UK's best-loved amusement parks. Founded in 1896, 2019 saw Blackpool Pleasure Beach mark its 123rd year of fun - a huge achievement by any standards! The park spans some 42 acres and is home to many rides, attractions and shows. Its flagship ride, The Big One, is Blackpool Pleasure Beach's tallest, fastest and most impressive roller coaster. Standing at a height of 235ft, measuring over a mile in length, with ride speeds of 87mph and drops of an incline angle of 65 degrees - it is an experience like no other!
The Challenge
Blackpool Pleasure Beach required a fully automatic weather monitoring and data recording system - essential for weather monitoring compliance.
As with any ride or attraction, height and location are key factors in planning how best to approach environmental monitoring. The Big One is situated close to the coastline - and therefore, has the potential to be impacted greatly by any severe coastal wind. Given its location, and at such a height, wind speed and direction can have a major impact on the operation of the ride. Operators need to be alerted to any changes in wind speed at the very first opportunity in order to take swift appropriate action.
Amusement parks must adhere to strict legislation including the European standard EN 13814:2004 on fairground and amusement park machinery structures and HSG175 - The Health & Safety Executive "Fairgrounds and amusement parks - Guidance on safe practice". Our systems and associated software allow for the stringent monitoring required by law and for insurance purposes.
Our Solution
Skyview Systems has been providing innovative weather monitoring solutions to the UK and Europe for 30 years. With our wide experience in providing systems for amusement parks and visitor attractions alike, we understand that no two site requirements are ever the same.
Following a detailed site assessment at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Skyview installed a fully automatic GPRS weather station, the Vantage Pro 2 Plus, plus a data logger to accurately track the information. The Vantage Pro 2 Plus system allows operators to monitor wind speed and direction among many other measurements, which was ideal for the specifications for The Big One ride.
Skylink-Pro
As subscribers to Skyview’s innovative Skylink-pro online weather monitoring portal, Blackpool Pleasure Beach can access their weather station data, any time and from any location. Skylink-pro’s modular set up allows users to pick and choose the parameters which are most relevant to them. The team at Blackpool have opted to monitor wind speed/direction, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, rainfall and UV. The system has been configured to send wind speed and direction alerts via email, SMS or both - allowing site operators at Blackpool Pleasure Beach to act on any weather changes.
