Blackpool Pleasure Beach (Blackpool Pleasure Beach)

Member Name: edwardday

Product:	Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Date:	03/09/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great rides, park kept clean

Disadvantages: Pricing, lack of variety in food

I visited the Blackpool Pleasure beach a month ago and was impressed overall. Since my visit there has been some bad press as there was an incident involving the Big Dipper in which two cars crashed together. I would advise against this putting anyone off visiting the park as it is one of Britain's oldest and most entertaining attractions. In 2007, Pleasure Beach was ranked as the 14th most popular theme park in the world with 5.5 million visitors and has over 125 rides and attractions. Some of these include:

Grand National - one of the oldest attractions that was first built in 1935 and is one of the world's few wooden roller coasters. It is 3300 feet long and there are two cars side by side that 'race' each other over the various fences until one car emerges as the winner at the finishing line.

Pepsi Max Big One - When it was built in 1994, this was the world's tallest roller coaster. This record has since been relinquished to a coaster in Japan buit nonetheless at 213 feet high, it's pretty daunting! It cost £12m to build and is a traditional kind of steel track coaster

Valhalla - One of the scariest rides at the park, this is a kind of 'log flume in the dark'. Inside the arena in which the ride is housed, it is pitch black and you have no idea of when the drops are going to occur. It is classed as the largest indoor water ride in the world - not that there can be much competition for this crown!

Big Dipper - Built in 1823 and I think this is the first roller coaster to ever be built in the park and is similar to the Grand National with dips and turns.

As well as these white knuckle rides there are some smaller and family rides such as the tunnel of love, beaver log flume and the ghost train.

As well, as rides, there are traditional stalls such as basketball shooting, coconut shys etc. I would stay away from these however as they are a bit of a con and the chances of winning are very small. There are also arcades and many food stalls. My criticism of this is that all the outlets seem to sell the same kind of food - fast greasy food. It's very difficult to eat healthy in the park.

There has been a bit of controversy over the admission prices arisen over the last few years. You used to be able to walk on to the park without paying anything but this has now been scrapped and the admission just to get into the park is £5. The best way to get value for money is to get the wristbands which entitle you to stay all day in the park and go on as many rides as you wish with the exception of the go-karts which you have to pay for. These cost £25 for adults which is not too bad but I think the prices for children are way over the top. At peak times this is £20. Children have to pay from 2 years old and I thinbk this is scandalous.

A few years ago the park had a bit of a reputation for being dirty and full of litter. I'm happy to say that on my most recent visit, this seems to have been sorted out as there are now more bins and more visible staff cleaning up.

If you want to stay within spitting distance of the park, it has its own hote called the Big Blue Hotel. When you book with them they give you the option of getting park tickets at discounted rates. If you are staying elsewhere in Blackpool it is easily accessible on the tram system as it has its own stop.

In summary I would definitely recommend visiting the park as it is one of the best on the country for rides and tradition. Try and go at off peak times though to save yourself some money!

Summary: Great day out, but bring your wallet