We live in Blackpool and therefore have a vast array of activities (or temptations!) available on our doorstep.
The latest addition to these being Nickelodeon Land as Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
My 7 year old son had been nagging me to take him as soon as he heard that it had opened. Passing it on the way to school on a daily basis also didn't help!

Part way through the Summer Holidays I decided to give in - well partly.....I used my Tesco Club Card vouchers!
£11 of club card vouchers can be exchanged for 1 adult/child wrist band, valid for one day. The wrist band provides entry to all the rides at The Pleasure Beach as well as Nickelodeon Land.

For those actually paying for wrist bands, they cost £22 when bought online, it is one price for all regardless of age.
The price increases when bought at the gate on the day:

Adult £32
Junior £27
Senior £27

Wrist bands for Nickelodeon ONLY cost £18, online or at the gate.

For those not wishing to use the rides eg accompanying children, Pleasure Beach passes are available for £5 per person, allowing entry into the park and also the maze, Pleasure Beach Express (train ride) and a couple of children's shows.
If a pass is purchased and you decide that you then want to buy a wristband the £5 is deducted from the cost.

Children under the age of 2 years are provided with a free pass but once they can walk unaided and wish to use the rides they must have a wrist band or ride tickets - come on Pleasure Beach, have a heart!!! £18/£22 to go on a few baby rides when the rest of the family have purchased wrist bands at great cost, it's a bit mean!!

Likewise, if an adult wishes to accompany a child on the Nickelodeon rides they must also pay £18, the Pleasure Beach pass does not permit this. This can result in a very costly outing.

The Pleasure Beach opens it's doors at 10.00am, although the rides are not in operation until 10.30am, times are also staggered, so some open later. It closes at 8pm but check the website for confirmation prior to visiting.
I used to work at the Pleasure Beach and had not been back since it had changed to wrist bands and the fee entry system.
I assumed entry would be a speedy process as previously but unfortunately it wasn't!

We arrived at 10.45am. There were two large queues adjacent to the rear car park - there was no distinction in the queues. Those who had purchased online, buying on the day or exchanging vouchers - all queue together. A very poor system.
If you happen to go - use the left hand queue heading through the Globe Theatre, it looks much longer from the outside but it is far quicker.
It took us around half an hour to queue to get in. Compared to other theme parks their entry system is a bit of a joke.

Nickelodeon Land is situated at the far side of the park up the ramp next to the ice drome and down the other side.
Those who have visited the Pleasure Beach previously will recognise the new attraction as the old Beaver Creek - what was the children's park, housing rides such as The Magic Mountain, Lilttle Dipper etc.
This area has not increased in size and it must be noted that it forms only a small part of The Pleasure Beach.
If you have not visited before do not have any grand ideas on the scale of Alton Towers or even Gullivers World. There are probably only a few more rides for children in this area than there are on South or Central Pier.

Nickelodeon Land is made up of 12 rides, the odd gift shop and a couple of eateries.
There are at least three rides that remain from the old beaver creek - the log flume - now named The Rug Rats Lost River, the little dipper now known as The Blue Flyer and the roller coaster - re-named The Nickelodeon Streak (the old wooden frame has now been painted bright orange, whilst the carriages have had an orange make over!).
One of the better rides for young children - The Magic Mountain has gone and has been replaced by Dora's World Voyage. A very tame water ride. Floating along in a would be balloon sailing past various forms of plastic wildlife!

The problem with Nick Land is that it is not aimed at any one age range - if anything it is too broad. Height restrictions apply on the rides meaning that many children cannot ride without an adult.
Rides such as The Nick Streak are far too scary for younger children - even if they did break the height barrier. Many of the children on this ride had come over from The Pleasure Beach side and were I would say a minimum of 8/9 years old, quite a few were teenagers, not to mention lots of adults without children.

Like wise for the new Avatar Airbender. Similar in thrills I would say to a Pirate Ship but a bit sleeker and faster and also on rails (how simlilar?!). Too old for most children visiting.
There is of course the obligatory basic up and down ride, similar to the old style helicopters and planes but a more modern, bright pink and named The Fairy Taxi Spin - there was no way I was getting my son on that! I assume it would be the same for other boys.

By far the best ride in this area is Spongebob's Splash Bash. Children and adults alike were clamouring to get back on it after their first ride. It is a ride you walk on to. Once in the multi capacity boat, the floor drops and water rises outside.
The boats then spin quite slowly passing other boats (I think there are about three, each holding 6+ people).
It doesn't sound all that great until you take into account the guns!

Each person has a water gun which they operate by spinning a lever, pumping water out of the gun. The idea is to drench as many people as possible be they in other boats or innocent bystanders. The innocent bystanders do get a chance to wreak revenge as there are guns situated just outside the ride aimed at the boats.
Both my son and I thought this ride to be hilarious. We were completely wet through after the first time so went on twice more!

Because Nick Land is quite small it becomes extremely congested, particularly as many of the guests have a pram or two! We didn't queue that long for any ride - we averaged around 15 minutes per ride although The Nick Streak was by far the longest at around 35 minutes.
Each time you enter a ride you need to scan your wrist band at a turnstile. I think this slows down the process somewhat.

There certainly was not enough in Nick Land to keep my 7 year old amused. Had we purchased only the Nick Land wrist bands I would have felt cheated.
I recommend that if buying a wrist band for whatever age to spend the extra £4 per person (online price) and go for the full pleasure Beach/Nick Land combined wrist band.
There are still plenty of rides on the Pleasure Beach itself that younger children will enjoy such as Alice In Wonderland, The Flying Machines, The River Caves and The Gold Mine - this list is not comprehensive, I'm sure that I forgotten quite a few!

Food isn't cheap on The Pleasure Beach so I would advise taking drinks and snacks. If you plan to go on the water rides and not get wet some kind of waterproof wear is a must!

A handy tip - Nick Land does quieten down considerably after 5pm. We returned after going on the bigger rides on The Pleasure Beach and found we could walk on to any ride without queuing, it was then that we took advantage of the Spongebob wet rides.

Get there early, if you plan to go on all rides in both parks, you will not have time to do them all.
Pleasure Beach would be better to offer a discounted second day ticket so that full advantage of all rides can be taken. It would also ease the pressure when rushing from one ride to the next!

They do however offer cheaper early evening tickets. although it remains to be seen how much a person could do in such a short time.
In my day, the park would remain open until midnight - the wrist band system has removed any need for late night opening, unfortunately at the expense of the consumer - pay the same price for a limited service. It's always the way!

A fun but costly day out.