Blackpool Pleasure Beach has reopened the Valhalla dark water ride for the first time since 2019.
Having received £4 million of “reimagining” works driven by sustainability needs, the 2000-built ride reopened on Wednesday.
Previously the Pleasure Beach said that Valhalla may initially operate “intermittently throughout the day” and that some elements of the attraction “may not be functioning”.
Indeed, the ride opened several hours after the park’s opening, at about 14:30. It later closed briefly before then reopening.
The Pleasure Beach describes this initial opening period as “technical rehearsals”, but it is not clear when the ride will be considered fully open.
Delays
Valhalla’s reopening has been repeatedly pushed back, with Pleasure Beach owner Amanda Thompson herself at one point criticising the delays.
Closed in 2019, the Intamin-manufactured ride was originally scheduled to reopen in 2021, but was then delayed to 2022.
It failed to reopen last season, and then in March this year the park announced that the ride would reopen “after 7 April”.
On the afternoon of 6 April, the Pleasure Beach then announced that the ride would reopen “from 12 April”, attracting considerable criticism from customers on social media.
Built at a cost of £15 million in 2000, Valhalla is one of the UK’s most expensive rides. It has been voted the best water ride in the world five times in a row.