Pleasure Beach Resort

Location	South Shore, Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Coordinates	53°47′25″N 3°03′20″W / 53.79028°N 3.05556°W / 53.79028; -3.05556
Status	Operating
Opened	1896 (First Rides)
Owner	Thompson Family (Amanda Thompson)
Slogan	We create the fun. You keep the memories.
Operating season	2024 season: Weekends: 2–24 March 9–30 November Daily: 27 March – 3 November[1]
Area	42 acres (17 ha)
Attractions
Total	38 as of 2023
Roller coasters	10
Water rides	5
Website	Pleasure Beach Resort

Pleasure Beach Resort, formerly known as Blackpool Pleasure Beach, is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. The park was founded in 1896 by A. W. G. Bean and his partner John Outhwaite. The current managing director is Amanda Thompson.^[2]

The park is host to many records, including the largest collection of wooden roller coasters of any park in the United Kingdom with four: the Big Dipper, Blue Flyer, Grand National and Nickelodeon Streak.^[3] Many of the roller coasters in the park are record-breaking attractions. When it opened in 1994, The Big One was the tallest roller coaster in the world. It was also the steepest, with an incline angle of 65° and the second fastest with a top speed of 74 miles per hour (119 km/h).^[4] The ride holds the record as the second tallest roller coaster in the United Kingdom, standing at 213 ft (65 m), with a first drop of 205 ft (62 m) and the longest roller coaster in Europe, with a track length of 5,497 ft (1,675 m).^[5]

The park was the first in Europe to introduce a fully inverting steel coaster, Revolution^[6] and is the last remaining park in the world to still operate a Steeplechase roller coaster. The Grand National is one of only three Möbius loop coasters in existence, where a singular track "loops" around itself, offering a facsimile out-and-back layout and creating a "racing" effect on two parallel tracks. Sir Hiram Maxims Captive Flying Machine is the oldest amusement park ride in Europe having opened in August 1904. At the cost of £15 million, Valhalla was one of the largest and most expensive indoor dark rides in the world. Designed by Sarner and manufactured by Intamin, Valhalla won "Best Water Ride" at the 2018 Golden Ticket awards, an accolade it has held over a consecutive number of years. The park also operates a Nickelodeon Land and the world's only Wallace & Gromit ride, the Thrill-O-Matic. In 2015 the park introduced Red Arrows Sky Force, a Gerstlauer Sky Fly thrill ride which is the first ride of its kind in the United Kingdom.^[7][8] The latest record is taken by Icon, a multi-launch coaster manufactured by Mack Rides in Germany.^[9]

History of the Pleasure Beach

Early years (1896–1930)

Pleasure Beach was founded in 1896 by Alderman William George Bean after he failed in his attempt to become an advertising man on New York's Madison Avenue. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1897 and opened two separate amusement parks; one adjacent to Euston Road in Great Yarmouth and another in Blackpool, opposite the tram terminus.^[10] The Great Yarmouth amusement park failed to generate much interest and so Bean moved to Blackpool full-time towards the end of the century.

In 1903, Bean, along with local businessman John Outhwaite, purchased 30 acres of land known as the "Watson Estate" which was used to expand the amusement park in Blackpool.^[11] The original Pleasure Beach was built on the sand dunes along the promenade and consisted of a few roundabouts, a Bicycle Railway and several Gypsy stalls. Bean and Outhwaite decided to grow the business after visiting Coney Island in the United States. Using a small static fairground in London's Earls Court for inspiration, Bean added more rides and sideshows to the Pleasure Beach which began to garner the attention of holidaymakers. Bean's aim was to establish a fun park of a relative size that would "make adults feel like children again and inspire gaiety of a primarily innocent character."^[10]

The first notable attraction of interest to open at Pleasure Beach was Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machine, a rotary swing ride designed by the British inventor of the same name in 1904. A Mill Chute water ride followed in 1905, which opened under the name The River Caves of the World. Both of these rides are still operational today. In 1907 the park opened its first wooden roller coaster, which was known as The Scenic Railway. It was during this time that the park began to trade under the name Blackpool Pleasure Beach. In 1909, Bean expanded the Pleasure Beach business by purchasing a second amusement park up the coast in Morecambe under the name West End Amusement Park, which would later become Frontierland, Morecambe. The success of the Morecambe park led to a third amusement park opening four years later in Southport under the name Pleasureland Southport.

Meanwhile, the Pleasure Beach was developed with frequent large scale investments, including The Velvet Coaster, the House of Nonsense, The Joy Wheel and The Whip. Outhwaite died in 1911, leaving most of the remaining business to Bean; however, the Outhwaite family still obtained shares in the park and would occasionally have input into its growth. Following the First World War investment at the park ceased due to the difficulty in exporting rides from the United States and the next investments would not be until 1922 when The Virginia Reel and Noah's Ark opened. Despite the lack of investment, profits at the Pleasure Beach soared, and the company was noted as being one of the most prolific employers in the north-west of England.

Further into the 1920s, Bean invested in the Casino Building. Opened in 1913, it was designed by local architect, and former Mayor of Blackpool, Alderman Robert Butcher Mather, JP and styled on an Indian palace. The exterior of the building featured a white ferroconcrete façade with white electric lighting, and the interior housed a billiard hall, cinema, restaurant and gift shop.^[12] In 1938, it was demolished and replaced with a more modern Art Deco style building, designed by architect Joseph Emberton.^[13] Today the Casino Building features a number of function rooms and offices, and the ground floor space is used as the main ticket centre.

In 1923, land was reclaimed from the Blackpool seafront, and it was during this period that the Pleasure Beach moved to its 42-acre (17 ha) current location along the promenade. The same year Bean brought in John Miller to design and build the Big Dipper, an out-and-back wooden coaster and shortly afterwards a boating pool was built for boat rides. This was Bean's final investment before he died of pneumonia in 1929, having spent 33 years shaping and developing what would become one of the most significant amusement parks in the world. Following his death, his only daughter Lillian-Doris inherited the Pleasure Beach business.

Lillian-Doris Bean married Leonard Thompson, an Oxford Natural Sciences graduate and businessman in 1928. The Thompsons lived in London where Leonard worked at a Swedish Match Company. However, after Bean's death, the couple returned to Blackpool, where decisions regarding the future running of the Pleasure Beach were in discussion. Leonard up until that point had not had any active involvement with the Pleasure Beach whatsoever, however on a mutual agreement with his wife, it was agreed that Thompson would take over the running of the Pleasure Beach and have full responsibility for all its affairs. His first move was to appoint Oscar Haworth as the General Manager and George Palmer as chairman of the company. Over the next two years, Thompson worked with the Outhwaites to expand the business further, starting with the construction of The Ghost Train which opened in 1930.

Golden years (1931–2004)

In 1931 the remaining Outhwaite family sold their share of the park to the Thompsons, who now had complete control and ownership of the business. The following year Watson Road was built alongside the park, which resulted in the closure of the Velvet Coaster. Thompson's next major investment was the construction of the Fun House in 1934 and The Grand National, a Möbius loop wooden coaster built by celebrated coaster designer Charles Paige in 1935. Paige had designed numerous other rides at the Pleasure Beach, including the Rollercoaster, another wooden coaster that was constructed on the site of The Velvet Coaster in 1933.

The success of Paiges' wooden coasters resulted in a complete reprofiling of the Big Dipper in 1936, which was extended towards the south-westerly side of the park. During this time Thompson hired Joseph Emberton, an award-winning architect who was brought in to redesign the architectural style of the Pleasure Beach rides and buildings. He worked on The Casino Building, Noah's Ark and the Ice Drome, a 2,000-seat ice rink. Emberton continued to design for the Pleasure Beach up to his death in 1956. After which Jack Ratcliffe, who had been involved in the Festival of Britain, was brought in to continue the work. Ratcliffe worked for many years at the park, and much of his work can still be seen today.

Investments steadily decreased during the Second World War; however, the park remained open throughout the year to offer solace to the British public. The park returned to prominence between 1958 and 1961 when The Wild Mouse, Derby Racer and Alice In Wonderland opened and over the next few years the scale of investments increased, with the world's longest Log Flume opening in 1967 and The Goldmine opening four years later. The Walt Disney Company visited the park earlier in the decade, and Pleasure Beach was one of a few parks which became the basis for the first Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Walt Disney formed a friendship with Thompson, and the two would regularly inspire one another when developing their respective parks. After many successful years as the managing director of the Pleasure Beach, Leonard Thompson died in 1976, having run the business for 47 years. Following Thompson's death, Doris Thompson was appointed chairman of the business. Their only son, Geoffrey Thompson inherited his father's role and became the new managing director.

William Geoffrey Thompson (businessman) was born in Manchester in 1936. He spent most of his early working life administering the New Era Laundries in London before returning to the family business as head of catering at the Casino Building. He married his wife, Barbara Thompson (née Foxcroft) in 1962 and shortly afterwards they had three children: Amanda, Nicholas and Fiona. Geoffrey invested millions of pounds developing the business, carrying forward his father's legacy, which was for the Pleasure Beach to always be at the forefront of global amusement parks. He hired Keith Ingham to make extensive alterations to the Casino Building which was re-launched as the Wonderful World Building (since then the building has reverted to its original name of the 'Casino'). Thompson's reign saw the opening of the Steeplechase, Avalanche, Revolution and Ice Blast. His most notable investments include The Big One which opened in 1994 and was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world at the time, and Valhalla which opened in 2000.^[14]

Geoffrey was actively involved in promoting tourism in the North West of England. He sat on almost all the relevant agencies, including the English Tourist Board and the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions, and was awarded the Order of the British Empire status along with his mother for their contribution to tourism. In 1986, Blackpool Pleasure Beach Limited became one of the first companies in the United Kingdom to register with the Government Profit Related Pay Unit. Under this scheme, the company agreed that, where profits exceeded £1 million, 10 per cent would be distributed among the permanent staff according to their length of service.^[14]

In 2000, a recreation of Blackpool Pleasure Beach appeared in the theme park management video game Rollercoaster Tycoon as part of the Loopy Landscapes expansion. The map was created by Scottish game designer Chris Sawyer. It was one of two British amusement parks to be included as a scenario in the game, the other being Alton Towers.^[15][16]

Despite his reputation as a leading businessman in the industry, Thompson often found himself in dispute with Blackpool Council over their decision to allow private traders to operate on land opposite the Pleasure Beach. He also clashed with Morecambe Town Council, who would regularly oppose and disrupt his plans to develop the Morecambe amusement park. As a result of his frustration and due to declining attendance, Thompson closed Frontierland in 2000, which had operated for 91 years. Many of the rides were either destroyed, sold or relocated to Thompson's other parks.^[17] Further investments followed at the Pleasure Beach, including Spin Doctor in 2002, the Big Blue Hotel in 2003 and Bling, the following year. Geoffrey Thompson died of a heart attack at Blackpool Pleasure Beach on 12 June 2004 while attending a party to celebrate his daughter's wedding. Doris Thompson, MBE OBE died nine days later, on 23 June, the date of her son's funeral.^[18]

Later years (2004–Present)

Amanda Thompson, Geoffrey's eldest daughter and a director of the park for over 15 years, took over the whole Pleasure Beach business. Nicholas Thompson became the deputy managing director and Fiona Giljé (née Thompson), a fundamental architect, became a senior company director. Amanda had previously risen to prominence as the founder and president of Stageworks Worldwide Productions, which produced numerous stage shows at both the Pleasure Beach and international venues.^[19] Like her father and grandmother, Amanda was appointed an OBE for her contribution to tourism. During Amanda's reign, the park has seen vast redevelopment, including a re-branding exercise, as well as the removal of numerous rides including The Whip, Space Invader 2, Turtle Chase, Spin Doctor, Trauma Towers, Noah's Ark, Black Hole, Bling, Wild Mouse and Superbowl. In 2006, the family decided to close Pleasureland Southport which, despite extensive investment and development, had not turned a profit for several years. This move coincided with the closure of Pleasure Beach's Log Flume, Drench Falls and resulted in the introduction of Infusion, the park's first new roller coaster in 13 years. Infusion was relocated from Pleasureland, where it had operated under the name of Traumatizer since 1999, and was built on the site of the Log Flume.

In 2011, the Thompson family signed a contract with Viacom, owners of the American-based Nickelodeon brand to open Nickelodeon Land, a 4-acre area situated within the main park.^[20] Nickelodeon Land was a £10 million redevelopment of the parks' previous children's area Beaver Creek which closed in 2010. Notable changes include a complete retheme of the Rollercoaster which reopened under the new alias Nickelodeon Streak and the use of the formerly defunct Space Invader 2 building which is now occupied by a pizza restaurant. Many of the other rides were either replaced or repainted and renamed to represent the Nickelodeon brand.

In 2013, the park worked alongside Aardman Animations, owners of the Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep brands, to introduce Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic, a dark ride which replaced the Gold Mine.^[21] Two years later, in 2015, the park teamed up with the RAF to open the Red Arrows Skyforce a thrill ride based on the famous air acrobatic team.^[22]

In 2018 the park opened Icon, a £16.25 million multi-launched coaster built by Mack Rides of Germany^[23] and the first roller coaster to be built at the park in over a decade. In 2019 a second hotel Boulevard Hotel was built on the site of the former Star Pub.^[24] The hotel features 120 en-suite rooms, two restaurants and ten suites.

In February 2024 Blackpool Pleasure Beach rebranded as Pleasure Beach Resort. ^[25]

On 6 March 2024, The Big One lost its title as the UK's tallest roller coaster, after 30 years, with the completion of Hyperia at Thorpe Park.

Managing directors

Current park

Pleasure Beach is situated on a 42-acre (170,000 m²) site along the South Promenade (Ocean Boulevard) area of Blackpool, approximately 2+1⁄4 miles (3.6 km) from Blackpool North Railway Station. It is bordered by the Promenade, Balmoral Road, Bond Street, Burlington Road West and Clifton Drive, and is situated above Watson Road, which is underneath the grounds and runs under a tunnel bridge in the centre of the park. Guests enter the park by passing under giant metal arches which are illuminated in the evening. The main Ticket Centre can be found on the ground floor of the Casino Building which is situated to the north of the park, along with a large Gift Shop. The rest of the ground floor space is taken up by a show bar named The Horseshoe and a large Café named W.G Beans. The second tier of the building, known as the penthouse floor is home to a function suite named The Paradise Room and The White Tower Restaurant, a luxury restaurant overlooking the promenade. Above The Paradise Room is a second Moroccan-themed function room named The Attic. The basement area of the building is taken up by another licensed bar named The Horror Bar and an interactive horror maze named Pasaje del Terror.

Outside The Casino building towards the left of the main entrance is a second theatre named The Globe. The main park can be accessed via a number of turnstiles, each staffed by a security ambassador at the north entrance. A separate entrance towards the south end of the park is available for hotel residents only, and a third entrance is situated towards the east side of the park via The Arena. The park is heavily secured by metal gates; however, these gates are occasionally opened to permit large groups of guests into the park during the peak season. The park has five car parks and a coach park. Blackpool Pleasure Beach railway station, the Big Blue Hotel and the Boulevard Hotel are situated towards the south end of the park.

The park is split up into three sections: North Park, Nickelodeon Land and South Park. The main park is divided by separate themed areas. These are North Entrance Plaza, Heidi Strasse, Bean Street FY4, The Watson Overpass and South Entrance Plaza. Many of the rides in the park are built over or under other attractions and buildings, making the Pleasure Beach the most densely populated amusement park in terms of ride space in the world.

Pleasure Beach is the only private company in the United Kingdom not imposed by planning restrictions; however, attractions over 60 meters (200 ft) in height must meet strict regulations set out by the Civil Aviation Authority. These regulations include the placing of red and white lights at the top of structures and warning signals and beacons to alert airline traffic.^[26]

Rides

  – Rides located in Nickelodeon Land.

Roller Coasters

	#	Ride	Manufacturer	Type	Opened
	1	Avalanche	Mack Rides	Bobsled	1988
	A steel bobsled roller coaster. It is the first and only bobsled-style roller coaster to ever be built in the UK.[27]
	2	Big Dipper	John A Miller & Charles Paige	Wooden	1923
	A wooden roller coaster which was built in 1923 by John Miller and extended in 1936 by Charles Paige and Joe Emberton.[28]
	3	The Big One	Arrow Dynamics	Steel Hyper	1994
	A steel hypercoaster with its highest point being 235 feet (72 m) above sea level or 213 feet (65 m) above the ground. It reaches speeds of up to 74 mph (119 km/h).[29] It was the tallest and steepest roller coaster in the world in 1994–96.
	4	Blue Flyer	Philadelphia Toboggan	Wooden	1934
	A children's wooden coaster composed of bunny hills and a tunnel. Originally known as Zipper Dipper then renamed to Blue Flyer in 2011. It has also been sponsored by Warburtons and was known as the Milk Roll A Coaster.[30]
	5	Grand National	Charles Paige	Wooden	1935
	A wooden dual-track racing roller coaster. It is themed around the Grand National horse-racing event and is one of only five Möbius loop roller coasters still in existence.[31]
	6	ICON	Mack Rides	Steel Launched	2018/2022
	A multi-launched steel coaster built by Mack Rides. Icon is 88 feet tall, reaches speeds of up to 52.8 miles per hour (85.0 km/h) along 3,750 feet of steel track and features two launches and a barrel roll. Enso can be ridden as long as guests have prebooked a £15 standard or £25 VIP upcharge per ride.[32]
	7	Infusion	Vekoma	SLC	2007
	A steel inverted roller coaster suspended over water. It is a suspended looping coaster built by Dutch Manufacturer Vekoma.[33]
	8	Nickelodeon Streak	Charles Paige	Wooden	1933
	A wooden coaster found in Nickelodeon Land. From 1933 to 2010 it was known simply as Rollercoaster; in 2011 was renamed Nickelodeon Streak. It was built using the lift hill from Velvet Coaster, which was built in 1909.
	9	Revolution	Arrow Huss	Shuttle	1979
	A steel shuttle roller coaster that launches from an elevated station, through a loop before stopping and doing the same backwards it reaches up to speeds of 40 mph and forces of up to 4 g.[34]
	10	Steeplechase	Arrow Huss	Steel Racing	1977
	An Arrow Huss three-tracked racing steel roller coaster and the last of its kind in existence.[35]

Thrill Rides

	#	Ride	Manufacturer	Type	Opened
	11	Avatar Airbender	Zamperla	Mega Disk'O	2011
	Forms part of Nickelodeon Land, replacing a Beaver Creek retail outlet and pathway.
	12	Ice Blast	S&S Power	Freefall Shot Tower	1997
	Stands at 210 ft (64 m) above sea level, although is actually 180-foot-tall (55 m). Opened as Sony PlayStation – The Ride.
	13	Red Arrows Sky Force	Gerstlauer	Sky Fly	2015
	Stands at 72 ft (22 m). The ride features individual planes on a long arm which spin as the rider rocks side to side. Replaced Bling.

Water Rides

	#	Ride	Manufacturer	Type	Opened
	14	Dora's World Voyage	WGH Transportation	Scenic Boat Ride	2011
	A mini-boat tub ride located in Nickelodeon Land, opened June 2011. Replaced Magic Mountain.
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