Blackpool Pleasure Beach 2017 Review

Reviewed by Louise Turton

This was our first visit to the Pleasure Beach for 12 years and we certainly will not be leaving as long between visits next time.

After confirmation of our tickets as reviewers for What’s Good To Do, our family; 2 adults and 2 children aged 12 and 6 were very excited, so much so that it took a while for two children to fall asleep the night before!

We set off from North Wales early to ensure we arrived for the 10am opening of the park. We found a side street just a 5-minute walk away from the Pleasure Beach which enabled us to have a day of parking for free! From our car, we could see the track for the ‘Big One’ in the distance, and easily found our way to the main entrance.

We collected our tickets from the information desk with the help from Conor with ease, he explained which rides our youngest child would be eligible for and much to his delight it was almost everything! Armed with our attraction wristbands, entrance tickets and park map we set off for a day of family fun, determined to not let the overhead grey clouds put us off. Entrance into the park was also straightforward and although a queue had formed due to the imminent opening of the park it moved swiftly and efficiently with the appropriate safety checks required.

We made our way over to Nickelodeon Land with its 12 rides, featuring SpongeBob, Dora The Explorer and the Rugrats amongst many more, as this was high on the list of priorities of our youngest, with a quick stop off at Wallace & Gromit’s Thrill-O-Matic along the way as it was about to open and we would be first in line. This fun, gentle, family ride was the perfect tonic to begin our day of adventure and from there we soon found ourselves in the heart of Nickelodeon Land.

Our morning was spent hopping from one great ride to another with the perfect mix of family rollercoasters and children’s fair rides, and what we were all pleasantly surprised and pleased to discover was that the queues were small and quick which meant all rides could be experienced, often more than once as both children had there firm favourites the eldest being the high thrill Avatar Airbender and the youngest the exhilarating rollercoaster Blue Flyer which we managed to ride no less than five times throughout the day!

After a great morning in Nickelodeon Land we ventured into the main part of the Pleasure Beach to try out some more of the rides this great park has to offer and again we were delighted and surprised to discover that although busy all the queues moved rapidly. The main part of the park has many high thrill rides with certain height restrictions but still also manages to cater for its smaller customers with plenty of rides that they can enjoy. There is so many fantastic rides to try and we were lucky to manage the majority including Grand Prix, Avalanche, Wild Mouse, Red Arrows Skyforce and my all-time favourite from previous visits, and this, The Grand National.

 All this ride hopping made for a very hungry family and we headed for The Big Pizza Kitchen which is located by Nickelodeon Land. Here we were treated to an all you can eat buffet of pizza, pasta and salad with refillable soft drinks. The food is prepared freshly and is constantly being replenished and is of a very high standard. We all agreed it was delicious and very reasonably priced.

We ventured back into the park with full stomachs and re-visited some of our favourite rides of the day, before unfortunately rain stopped play, though by now it was early evening.

To finish off our perfect day we had a quick stop off at one of Blackpool’s’ many amusement arcades before beginning our sad journey home. The greatest testament I can give the Pleasure Beach is that as a family we visited Florida last year and both my children have declared here as SO much better and as my little boy informed me this morning it was “his best day ever”

Thank you, Blackpool, for a truly memorable day and one that this family will always treasure.

Rating: 5/5

Wristbands cost from £18 to £32.50 (get the cheapest price by booking online 10 days in advance. Wristbands gain entry to the park and allow unlimited all day riding on all rides including Nickelodeon Land, subject to Height Restrictions.

For more information or to buy wristbands visit www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach, 525 Ocean Boulevard, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 1EZ | 0871 222 1234