Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
Reviewed by Lindsey Knight
During a short visit to Great Yarmouth we decided to take a family trip to the Pleasure Beach, this included myself (30 weeks pregnant), my partner and our nearly 3 yesr old twin girls. In all honesty we had slightly dampened spirits before arriving as it was 3 degrees and VERY windy on the coast, not the most ideal weather for a trip to a theme park, however we put on a brave face and ventured out for the sake of the girls.
The first positive is the free parking offered to all wristband holders and those purchasing tokens, it is situated at the far end of the park and has plenty of space. We didn't actually realise until we'd parked that the road parking was free until April 1st anyway, but if that wasn't the case it would have cost approx £1.50 p/h for the first 2 hours and £2 p/h after that. As a result of the weather we only spent about 2 hours in the park, but on a sunny day, we would definitely have made a big saving having parked in the free car park.
The park is free to enter, and you have the choice of purchasing individual tokens at a £1 each, or a Wristband. The wristband option most suited to us, was the Parent & Toddler wristband. This includes full use of the rides (excluding the go-karts) for a child under the age of 3 and an adult. This is £25 in peak season. For anyone with children who are little thrill seekers, this is a fab deal in my opinion, especially if the weather is good and you are planning to spend all day in the park. Once you receive the Wristband and UV stamp, you can come and go as you please and ride as many times as you'd like.
In our case, we had one thrill seeker, and one wimp. So it might be worthwhile checking your little one is ok on rides before purchasing the wristband, unfortunately for us it meant that one set of wristbands was well used but the other set a bit of a waste.
On arrival into the park it does look quite tired and in need of some brightening up, however it wasn't the nicest of days and perhaps in the summer a different opinion may be formed? The surroundings were clean and tidy and there was no litter to be seen. After walking the length of the park we found the ticket office where we collected both sets of wristbands. One slight downfall was that our toddlers had to have the wristbands tight round their wrists and even though we requested they be put over the top of a jumper, we were told a flat no. Given that it was really cold that day, it was a bit of a faff having to roll back their coats, gloves and sleeves everytime they had to show the band, and it would have been a lot easier, given the weather situation and quietness of the park to make an exception that day.
We started on the rides at the top end of the park by the ticket office and worked our way back down to the car park. As previously mentioned, one of my twins Maddie literally went on everything she was tall enough to go on and thoroughly enjoyed herself. She went on a total of 10 different rides, all of which were quite varied and some of those more than once. One perk of the cold weather meant we never queued for any of the rides and she could come straight off and back on again which she definitely took advantage of. I must say, I wasn't expecting such a range of rides for toddlers and was pleasantly surprised. Of the rides she went on, 3 of those she was able to ride on her own (occasionally her sister would join her) and all the rest she either had me or her daddy willingly riding along with her.
One thing I would note is if a pregnant person were to visit the park, I would avoid the monorail completely. Thinking it would be a lovely thing for us all to do (even though it was actually snowing at this point) we realised once I'd squeezed myself into the seat that there was no possibility of the safety bar lowering enough for us to continue. After informing the attendant that it wasn't going to work he ignored my protests and tried to push the bar down on my pregnant belly, whilst assuring me it would fit and then questioning how far gone I actually was, whilst I was fighting with him to keep the bar up and reassuring him that it definitely wasn't a good idea! Needless to say, my more cautious twin Megan seemed quite happy to be told we wouldn't actually be riding and that we should once again leave Maddie and Daddy to it.
One attraction I was really looking forward to visiting was the 4D Cinema experience. The website proudly advertises it as "far more than just a cinema" and boasts a 3D film about 10 minutes long, which is shown daily throughout the season. Unfortunately from our arrival at 11.30am and during the two hours we were at the park, the shutters remained down and it didn't open. Such a shame considering both my girls would have no doubt enjoyed it.
We decided due to the weather that we'd buy lunch on site, however only saw one food outlet open and a couple of picnic benches in front of it, so considering the weather we chose to eat elsewhere.
There was a good range of larger rides for an older crowd and even though we didn't get to ride any, I was jealous of the people queuing for the roller coaster and more exciting looking rides. I would definitely say the park overall is suited to families and teenagers the most, and if I were to visit as a single adult with a friend or partner, I'm not convinced I'd get the most out of purchasing a wristband but would instead pay for individual tokens. However as a teenager in a group of friends, or a family of mixed ages who were planning to spend an entire day at the park, I think a wristband would be well worth the money, given that the more adventurous rides range from 2-3 tokens and a full wristband is £19.50.
The staff at the park were very friendly. One member in particular told us what rides were suitable for our age range and where to locate them and given the really cold weather seemed in very high spirits. There was also a range of arcade amusements on site as well as your usual seaside games where you have the opportunity to win a teddy or similar prize.
Value for money – if you have an adventurous child/adult who will want to visit a lot of the rides then I think a wristband is good value for money, but would definitely suggest buying individual tokens for those who are a bit more cautious to save some pennies. Given that the park is free entry you get to have a little wander round before deciding what to buy anyway which is a great help.
Overall – I would definitely come back again as a family and would hopefully like to do so in warmer weather to be able to spend a lot more time there.
Rating – 4 out of 5, I think if the appearance of the park was a little more up to date and a little less worn looking it would improve the rating.
For more information or to purchase wristbands online (saving 20%) visit www.pleasure-beach.co.uk
