Me and a friend came to Blackpool pleasure beach today for the first time in years. When I was younger I would come to the park every year for my birthday and always loved it however my time spent their today was disappointing in comparison. We ordered our wristbands online for £15 each, which is perfectly reasonable for the time of year as it is still cold, rainy and gray. It was the price we paid inside the park that shocked us as we spent nearly £40 and came out with nothing to show for it, this included two waterproof ponchos for Valhalla (at £1.20 each for a thin bit of plastic that we might as well not have bought!), 2 hotdogs and 2 coffees and a go on the dance machine in the arcade (which only let us have half a go out of three just because we missed a few steps!!). Personally I don't see how they can charge so much for so little and belive that the quality of what we bought was terrible for what we paid. It left us wishing we had gone to Alton Towers as we believed Blackpool would be a cheaper day out, it turned out we wouldn't have spent much more at Alton Towers and would have got better quality rides! As for the queueing we were waiting up to 45 minuets just to get on one ride, and we understand that they cannot help the volume of people wanting to get on the rides however for a lot of them they only had one carrage going at one time which clearly couldn't compensate for the amount of people on the park. Getting into the park was also a problem for us as we were asked to hand our bags over to be searched as soon as we had received our wristbands, I understand that they need to do checks however being female it can be quite embarrassing when a male security guard looks in all pockets and comes across items that are better left private. It left us feeling awkward and slightly violated our privacy before we had even entered the park. This is something you wouldn't have to be faced with at parks such as Alton Towers or Thorpe Park and is unnecessary as Blackpool is such a mediocre park in comparison. Overall our experience today was dull and dissapointing and after traveling a long time to get their I was really unhappy with the time spent standing around in the cold waiting for something exciting to happen. On a positive note the rides we managed to get on were great and the service from some of the staff (not all!!) was good.

We went in August 2014. Spent too long queuing for rides (40 mins). Never will visit a theme park again in school holidays or summer. Also, very annoyed with their stupid policy of no pack lunches allowed and was forced to pay £4.50 for locker. Be warned - security guards search your bags and will not let you in if they find a packed lunch, so try hiding sandwiches in little pockets if you can!!

Blackpool Plesure Beach is an enjoyable attraction in Blackpool but you spend more time queing than on rides. There are a good selection of rides for everyone, however the wrist band price on the door of £35.00 for one adult is excessive if you have a larger family and you are not likely to get your moneysworth due to horndous ques especially for rides like Avelanche, Nickelodeon Streak and The Bign One. You need to be there all day to get your moneysworth if you get an adult wristband.

I'm afraid that the shine was taken off our long-awaited day at the Pleasure Beach because officials who searched our bags would not allow usw to take in our sandwiches. We are a hard-working family and our wristbands for rides cost well over a hundred pounds. We had prepared a sandwich lunch to try to keep additional costs to a minimum. Other visitors were also upset. Some resorted to passing sandwiches through security railings -- a bit like food parcels going into a prison camp. We are on a very tight budget, but like to treat the kids to something special now and again. I'm afraid the sandwich ban put a negative spin on our whole day and we won't be going back.

Rides are good though lots of queuing (april 11) very disappointed that staff threw our sandwiches away (on a limited budget) like lots of families as we entered the pleasure beach park where my bag was searched!!!! was told i could keep going out of the park to find a locker to put them in but come on kids wanted to spend their time on rides not queuing to get in and out of the pleasure beach. Can't say it left a bad taste in my mouth 'cos we didn't eat for 6 hours ha!!! come on the pleasure beach is for families and fun, why on earth won't you let us to take in a few butties!!!!! it's tradition!!!! ooops sorry money comes first!!!! annoyed nana

I am originally from Blackpool but moved to the South-east more than 15 years ago. I now have 2 boys, aged 6 and 4, and took them to the Pleasure Beach during a week in Blackpool. I grew up absolutely loving everything about the Pleasure Beach.
I do appreciate that times change but the airport-style security that 'greets' you is comnpletely out of synch with other theme parks we have visited such as Chessington and Legoland Windsor. It also appears to have the ulterior motive of being a means of confiscating any food you were planning to bring into the park. Had a 'no food' policy been better publicised, I wouldn't have minded, but as my wife is a vegan, we do need to plan these things. The manner of the guy who searched us was aggressive and offputting, and we ended up having to leave the queue, scoff down our sandwiches before 11am, then rejoin the security queue. I couldn't help comparing this to the more welcoming experience of entering other theme parks we have visited recently.
I think we were a bit unlucky when we visited, as Nickelodeon Land was closed but nearing completion. However, all the advertising indicated that it was already open. As a consequence, there were very few rides suitable for our 4-year-old, and those that were open had long queues- we had to queue for 40 minutes to get on the Alice In Wonderland Ride.
One of the plus points of the Pleasure Beach has always been the uniqueness of some of the older rides-Alice Ride, Ghost Train, Goldmine, and River Caves in particular. These are all excellent- however, the Pleasure Beach is looking rather tired when it comes to the bigger rides. I had a go on Infusion on my last visit, probably their flagship white knuckle ride. It was OK but nothing special, and does not compare favourably to newer rides at Alton Towers or Thorpe Park. Wooden coasters such as Big Dipper and Grand National are good but a lttle tame in this day and age. And the Revolution is looking very tired now. I should probably give a special mention though to the Avalanche- an excellent bobsleigh coaster with a height restriction of 113cms, well below the standard 120cms of the tamer 'big' rides at most theme parks. My 6-year-old loved it, and so did I, and it is just testing enough for a brave younger child, whilst also looking safe enough to chance.
Apart from these positive points though, I do think the Pleasure Beach could and should be more welcoming. I do appreciate that the days of wandering on to the park from the promenade are gone, but the hostile security is unnecessary, as is the food ban. There could have also been more concessions to the lack of childrens rides when we visited.

booked Blackpool Pleasure Beach on the internet as we were taking our grandchildren - 6 and 4 years.

still waited 1 hour to get into the park. then had to queue for every ride.

although we got there at 12 noon, we only managed about 6 rides. not too much for the under '5's. won't be going again - staff miserable and unhelpful. apart from when they wanted money from you. rides were badly signposted.

only plusses - food okay in a cafe - also, had some fun at the water show. this was outdoor fountains set to music (every 1/2 hour or so)

Having paid eighty pounds in advance for 4 children, we were very disappointed to be asked for another five pounds for us as parents to accompany our children into Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Wont be going back any time soon.