What's at the end of the pier? Family Fun! (Blackpool Central Pier)

Member Name: rosebud2001

Product:	Blackpool Central Pier
Date:	02/07/09 (341 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very family friendly, fairground rides offer excellent value for money

Disadvantages: Full of places wanting to extract you of your cash

Last week found me in Blackpool for the day with my daughter.

Day trips run from the west coast of Scotland throughout the year, and I wanted my daughter to experience the town for a day before deciding whether we would want to come back for longer in the future. So we booked a trip with Parks of Hamilton which would give us 6 hours in the town.

I have not visited Blackpool in many years - the last time I was there was as a teenager back in 1981 so clearly much has changed. My memories of previous day trips from childhood were ostensibly of the beach and the piers.

This time my companion was my 12 year old daughter, and for her the attractions of a seaside town are fairground rides and arcades, both of which were on offer at Central Pier.

The Central Pier opened in 1868 and this pier has never been one for those who like a long stroll to the end of the pier for a sly fumble. Central Pier was always designed for fun and games and this hasn't changed in its 140 year history.

There is no admission fee to enter the pier but as soon as you arrive there are attractions galore, designed to relieve you of your cash.

My daughter is a huge fan of the Nintendo character Mario, and she has a plush Mario toy that goes everywhere with her - Blackpool being no exception. Many of the sideshows on the pier offer plush Mario toys as prizes and everywhere we went stallholders would ask us where she "won" Mario!

My daughter usually enjoys sideshows but this put her off a little so we passed them by, but needless to say there are a plethora of them, some of them offering soft toys so huge we would probably have had to pay for a seat for them on the bus home had we won!

The funfair offers a good range of rides - the main one being the big wheel. I lost my head for heights and going on such rides a few years ago so I was dreading my daughter asking if she could go on it, but fortunately her attention was drawn towards a speed ride called Crazy Frog and she went on that instead.

Like most funfairs these days, you have to purchase tokens to pay for rides, and one token costs £1. A ride on Crazy Frog required 3 tokens. I have to say I was impressed with the safety standards on this ride - the attendant went round several times to ensure everyone was safely strapped in before the ride began.

I was also very impressed at how long the ride lasted. My daughter had been on a similar ride at a fairground in Edinburgh earlier in the year and was barely on it before it stopped. On Central Pier the ride lasted a good five minutes and I really felt you got your money's worth which is a refreshing change for a parent.

We then spent a little time browsing the arcade games, with my daughter thoroughly enjoying throwing the money I gave her away on slot machines which offered little or no chance of a prize. I remember loving these machines when I was her age so I couldn't really refuse.

There is a theatre on the pier which stages the Legends show - which is a tribute show featuring people impersonating the famous. Not really my cup of tea, but this has been running on the pier for over 10 years and is clearly very popular.

There are also souvenir stalls, fortune tellers and novelty photographers to be found on the pier should any of these tickle your fancy.

We worked our way down to the end of the pier, which hosts a Family Bar. This was ideal and we timed our arrival just after a quiz had started. The host was very good - he made sure to include questions that all the family could answer - and I was only sorry I hadn't been able to take part myself as I knew most of the answers! My daughter enjoyed it here too and felt quite grown up being able to participate in the entertainment.

If you are in town with children and want an evening out, this is the place to go as there is a family cabaret held here every evening. The Family Bar also has an area filled with arcade games for distracted kids.

Given our time in the town was so limited we didn't spend anything like as long on the Central Pier as my daughter would have liked. While the selection of rides on here is pretty tame in comparison to those on Brighton Pier, that suited both of us fine and we liked the range of attractions on offer.

The emphasis on the Central Pier seems to be fun for all the family and it was mostly families we encountered here.

I would definitely recommend a visit here with children as there is plenty to keep them amused and since the Pleasure Beach introduced an admission fee, this is one place you can go with the kids and only pay for rides used, which helps your spending money stretch a little further.

The pier is located just to the south of Blackpool Tower and is very easy to spot thanks to the big wheel!

Summary: Blackpool's Central Pier is a great place for all the family.