Blackpool Pleasure Beach
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an amusement park in the town of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It was founded in 1896 by Alderman William George Bean, who said his intent was to create "...an American Style Amusement Park, the fundamental principle of which is to make adults feel like children again and to inspire gaiety of a primarily innocent character."
It is the home of the Pepsi Max Big One, a 235-foot-tall steel roller coaster built in 1994 by Arrow Dynamics. Until 2002, this was the tallest roller coaster in Europe.
Entrance to the park is free and rides may be paid for in tokens bought throughout the park, or wristbands may be purchased. Wristbands cost £29 per person at peak times, or up to £15 on Super Saver Weekends
Each autumn, Blackpool presents the Illuminations, an electric light show along the seaside. The displays vary from simple patterns to representations of fairy tales and illuminated models.
Today, Blackpool Pleasure Beach attracts about 8 million visitors a year. The park was the subject of a somewhat unflattering six-part BBC documentary in 1998.
The park is being upgraded, along with the rest of Blackpool, in an attempt to make it an international tourist destination.
Other rides at the park include Big Dipper, Grand National, Rollercoaster, Spin Doctor, Bling, Valhalla, Ice Blast, Irn Bru Revolution, Log Flume, Avalanche, Space Invader, Steeplechase, Wild Mouse, Vikingar, and Zipper Dipper.
The park is generally closed outside of the tourist season due to the reduced number of visitors. A notable exception is made for Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha when many Muslim families from across North West England visit the park.
The pleasure beach’s Ghost Train has received alleged sightings of real ghosts, many reporting that a man called “Mr Cloggs”, a former employee of the ride, haunts it and that his footsteps can be heard. This lead to Most Haunted conducting a paranormal investigation there, in which psychic Derek Acorah claimed that there were three ghosts residing inside the ride. Most Haunted also investigated the alleged ghostly sightings of some mischievous children in the gift shop.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach is also able to be played on he computer game Rollar Coaster Tycoon when you install the Loopy Landscapes expansion pack.
External links
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