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 and has been family owned and operated since its inception. The current managing director is Bean’s great-granddaughter Amanda Thompson.
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. 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). Currently, the ride holds the record as the tallest roller coaster in the United Kingdom, standing at 213 ft (65 m), with a first drop of 205 ft (62 m).
The park was the first in Europe to introduce a fully inverting steel coaster, Revolution 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. The latest record is taken by Icon, a multi-launch coaster manufactured by Mack Rides in Germany.