Blackpool Pleasure Beach located in Blackpool, in the United Kingdom, is a unique and historic theme park. The park itself is located near the shore of Blackpool, giving the rides at the park some very scenic views.
The park opened in 1896 and is home to an impressive 13 coasters. Most of these coasters aren’t the biggest or the best but they are all very unique and historic. Besides the rollercoasters, Blackpool Pleasure Beach is home to a plethora of other well known rides such as the highly acclaimed dark / water ride Valhalla, the classical carousels and other dark rides.
We visited the park for two days on the weekend of the 18th of November and we had a great time. Although the weather was awful and it was very cold, which is a given at this time of the year. The park has an unique atmosphere with some quirky elements. It isn’t the most beautifully themed park that you can find in Europe but it sure looks nice.
Getting to the park
To get to Blackpool Pleasure Beach we took an airplane which flew into Manchester Airport. You can fly here for quite a bargain as it only costs us 70 euros both ways. From here you can take the train to Blackpool North and take a tram through Blackpool or you can take a train to Preston where you can transfer to a train that goes directly to Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Keep in mind that the fare to take the train is quite expensive in the UK.
The park itself has a tram stop that resides right in front of the park and the station is located at the back of the park which means you do have to walk a little if you take a train directly to Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Entering the park
Before you go to the park you should buy your tickets online. The price for one ticket is 39 pounds which is the equivalent to around 44 euros. This differs a lot to the price that you pay for a park ticket at the gates, which is 50 pounds.
When you get your ticket you will have to download the Blackpool Pleasure Beach app to download your e-tickets. You will need your e-ticket several times during your visit as you need to scan the ticket before you enter the queue or attraction.
The entrance of the park is located near the promenade that resides next to the beach. To enter the park you will firstly have to go through a security check. Afterwards you will need to scan your ticket at a turnstyle. Once you have done all of this you will be in the park and you are ready to start your day at Pleasure Beach.
Rides
Blackpool Pleasure Beach is home to some iconic rides. Ranging from The big One, which is still the tallest coaster in the UK (as of 2023) to Icon, which is a world renowned Mack Rides launch coaster to Valhalla, probably one of the wettest rides in existence.
We started our first day with a ride of Grand National (the right side). This coaster was built in 1935 by PTC and it is a duelling wooden coaster. This coaster is home to two sides that race each other. Although the coaster is very rough, it is fun (if you ride each side one time). It provides some airtime throughout its out-and-back layout which is really a present as you would rather not sit in your bumping seat during the coaster's runtime. Later that day we also rode the left side of Grand National, and although it was still very rough, it was more bearable than the other side of the ride. Besides it being very historic and very rough, it doesn't have much to it.
After Grand National we went to the back of the park. Here we found Revolution, which we rode next. To get to the station of Revolution you first have to climb a lot of steps. The station is elevated 17m above the ground. The park was very windy on the first day that we went so I was scared to death with those high winds that high above the ground. We bordered the classic Arrow trains, which had a seatbelt that was knotted onto the restraints. After you get onto the coaster, it launches directly and goes into the drop. Afterwards you go into a loop and you get a mirrored version of the station (just without the station building). Then you traverse the whole layout backwards. To my surprise this coaster was surprisingly forceful and super fun.
The third coaster that we rode was Icon. Icon is a Mack Rides launched coaster that is located in the middle of the park. The ride itself isn’t the most forceful, hasn’t got the most inversions or isn’t the tallest or fastest, but it is very fun and also very good. The back has some good airtime and hangtime and the front is great if you want to experience the best sense of speed and the best airtime on the first tophat. Overall it isn’t one of the best Mack multi launch coasters but is sure is a fun one with one very unique feature.
This unique future being an add-on named Enso. One of the trains' back seats is converted to be a spinning seat. This experience is called Enso. To ride this you do have to pay a hefty fee of 30 pounds but it is worth it. It makes Icon so much more fun in my opinion and it makes all the elements stand out even more. The airtime you get is way better than all other places in the ride and the forces are better overall. it is really a must do when you are at the park.
Afterwards we did The Avalanche, which is a Mack Bobsled coaster. This is certainly the best Mack bobsled that I have ever ridden! The layout consists of s-bends going down, but it generates a lot of speed which results in quite a big pop of airtime at the end of the ride.
After The Avalanche we decided to go on a wooden coaster marathon, starting with Nickelodeon Streak. This wooden coaster, located in Nickelodeon land, was constructed in 1933. The coaster has an out-and-back layout that resides at the back of the park. Nickelodeon Streak wasn’t anything special but it was fun. It is really rough but also kind of smooth which provides a weird sensation.
After Nickelodeon Streak we did the other colourful wooden coaster named Blue Flyer. The coaster built in 1934 by PTC is one of the smallest coasters in Blackpool Pleasure Beach. It is located right next to Nickelodeon Streak. The coasters’ trains are so small that it isn't possible for two adults to sit next to each other. The ride isn’t really rough but it also hasn’t got any great forces.
The last big wooden coaster, and arguably the most historic was The Big Dipper. This coaster, which is also built by PTC, opened in 1923. That means that the coaster marks its 100th anniversary this year in 2023. Big Dipper was a fun ride, but nothing out of the ordinary. The ride was really rough but it was bearable. The trains on this ride only have a lap bar which provides a great opportunity for some airtime. But besides it being really historic, it doesn't do that much.
The last ride that we rode on our first day was Steeplechase. This is a single rail coaster built by Arrow Dynamics. This ride is really sketchy as you sit on a horse and are only secured by a loose seat belt. But it does have a racing element to it which is really fun as you get to race your friends throughout the layout. The ride has some really good lateral forces which feels even stronger because of your seat belt. When we were there only the Red and Green tracks were open so we sadly missed out on the yellow track. Red does feel a bit faster than green (as I almost rolled back on green several times) but overall the layout is the same. It really is a must do when you are at the park.
To start our second day we went straight to The Big One, which was closed our whole first day due to high winds. We were lucky because The Big One opened for around 20 minutes. They weren’t loading the whole train, most likely because of the high winds. The Big One is one of the most iconic rides in the UK so we were really hyped. The ride itself just feels like a big rough and fast monorail but that makes it so much fun. Sadly we had only ridden it once before it shot down again.
The last coaster that we had to do was Infusion. Infusion is a Vekoma SLC, which hasn’t got the best reputation. The ride is squished between The Big One and Big Dipper and is located on a pond. It is your standard SLC with the older trains. It was really rough and if you keep your head in the wrong position, you will get a lot of headbanging, but it wasn’t the worst SLC out there.
Besides roller coasters, Blackpool Pleasure Beach offers a lot of dark rides as well. To hide from the bad weather we rode the Alice in Wonderland Darkride and The Wallace and Gromet dark ride which were both really fun.
Valhalla is the last big ride that I did. Valhalla is a combination of a dark ride and a water ride. The ride has a viking theme to it. You travel into the realm beyond death where you can find beautiful scenes. This ride really is outstanding. From the beautiful set pieces to the amazing effects. One of the most unique features about this ride is its second drop. Before you drop into the water you go through a bunch of fire. This water ride is one of the wettest rides that you can find out there. You will not stay dry, so if you have anything with you that can’t get wet, you should give it to someone in your group who is not riding with you or you should rent a locker.
Facilities
The park itself was very clean. I didn’t see any litter anywhere on the ground. There were plenty of bins that you could throw away your garbage. Toilets on the other hand were unfindable. And if you could find them they weren’t very clean. I counted a total of two toilets throughout the whole park, which can result in having to walk across the whole park just to use the toilet.
Food
Blackpool Pleasure Beach has a lot to offer when it comes to food, although it is very basic. The first day we ate at a Burger King, which has very normal prices, the same as you can find at a Burger King outside the park. We also ate fresh doughnuts. These you can also find throughout the whole park and these were so good. The second day we ate Fish and Chips which was good but nothing really extraordinary.
Conclusion
Blackpool Pleasure Beach is a great park located in a great area. The park itself isn’t the best but it is very historic and unique which makes it worth visiting. The rides aren’t that good but they are all pure fun and that is really what a park is about. The food is great and isn’t that expensive. The park is beautiful in its own way. When you are around you should really try to visit Pleasure Beach, although I recommend going for two days as there are a lot of breakdowns.
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