Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire, United Kingdom

4Krisg1 5:00 PM Aug 12, 2022

Better this year.
My son and I visit each year and the crowd levels seem back to normal this year, compared to the last couple which was nice. We had a great day, got on all the rides we wanted too. We were on the park from 10am to 6pm and it flew over. We had lunch at Burger King which was ok. Staff were all great and queue times were not too bad for anything. M only niggles this year where people who were smoking or vaping in the queues, that was uncomfortable and staff didn't say anything to people. I thought it was a no smoking park/designated areas to smoke etc. The operator on the grand national letting the people in front of us know he didn't care that they were not filling the trains up full as he gets paid regardless of how many people get on the ride. The other niggle is the turnstile at every ride entrance. I could understand this when the park was free for anyone to walk in, but now surely this needs scrapping. I know people can buy spectator tickets but it hardies seems worth it for the trouble these barriers cause. They slow the ride loading times down considerably, some were not working and some we were asked by the operators to press a button on the back of the turnstile to let the next person in as the scanners weren't working. Get shot of them, charge one price for entry and the ride load time efficiency would shoot up. Overall a great, good value day out though. We'll be back next year no doubt. Oh, Valhalla still not reopened either, guess we'll have to wait until 2023 to try that :)

3Charlotte 5:00 PM Aug 27, 2022

Pricey but fun. Food policy is very restrictive.
We visited Blackpool Pleasure Beach in August 2022, with one adult and one teenager. We are a family of four (two adults, one 18 month old, one teenager) and were unsure as to how much would be available for our toddler. After reading reviews we decided to not bring our youngest and I feel this was a good choice, there wasn't much for a child of her age. Positives were: my teenage son loved all the white knuckle rides especially Icon and The Big One. Infusion stopped working for a time but reopened later in the day, this had the longest wait time of 75 minutes. Everything else was mostly 30 minutes, or 40 minutes for the bigger rides. The staff we met were very polite and happy to help if we needed it. Favourite rides for me as an adult were: the Ghost Train (vintage but always a classic) and Wallace & Gromit (very new and on a par with that of places like Disney, it had a great story). Criticisms would be: it is pricey for what it is. The app with your e-ticket on is frustrating and required scanning at every single ride entry gate. It failed on multiple occasions for us and other people, slowing things down. There's very little signage around the park, making it confusing to find your way to the rides you want. This is made harder as everything is crammed into quite a small space, with lots of rides weaving in and out of each other. You cannot bring your own food or drink with you. My son has a severe nut allergy requiring him to carry 2 epipens on him at all times. This policy is very restrictive for him and others like him and whilst the park say you can discuss it with them and they will issue exceptions, this is just another way that life is made harder for people who have these health issues. Making people justify their needs to eat food that is safe for them isn't a great policy. Blackpool Pleasure Beach wouldn't want to make their park inaccessible to someone with a visible health issue or disability and I would urge them to consider the impact of these policies on people who have less visible health issues. In addition to this, the range of food available is not good or varied... it's various burgers, chips and sugar. Let people have the freedom to choose what they consume, for multiple reasons. Overall, my son was happy with the rides and the day was about him doing something fun.