Pleasure Beach theme park proves to Katherine MacAlister it’s still the UK’s No. 1 venue for thrilling rides

My daughter had grown, I discovered, during our annual trip to Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach theme park.

As a result, 10 minutes later I was upside down on a rollercoaster I had vowed never to set foot in, and screaming harder than Gwyneth Paltrow during an acceptance speech, while my brain rattled around my skull and my body was flipped 360 degrees.

The kids loved every single second of the Revolution ride, but I kept my eyes firmly shut from beginning to end and prayed for it to end.

Why were we there? The Pleasure Beach has been named one of the top 10 rollercoaster centres in Europe and No 1 in the UK by TripAdvisor.

That is exactly why we go there every year.

It's brilliant, adventurous, contained, cheap and possible.

You don't have to queue for two hours to get on a rollercoaster and you can do endless different versions in one day, as I discovered, to my detriment.

Plus, if you stay in the Big Blue Hotel, you get your own special entrance so that at 10am you can walk straight in, wristbands already on for a day of ultimate thrillseeking on the 125 rides.

We didn't exit again until 7pm that night, when I needed a stiff G&T and a sit down on something that didn't whisk me up into the air or hurtle off into the distance.

But in terms of a day out you can't beat it. We'd arrived the previous night and checked into the fabulous four-star Big Blue Hotel, a notch above most accommodation in Blackpool.

The family room has a separate section for the kids with TVs built into the bunkbeds, which they love.

By the time you stride into the park the next day you are fully refreshed, have had a good night’s sleep and fed at the massive buffet breakfast.

Keeping it down is therefore your next challenge – the hotel’s own entrance to the theme park, ensuring you can be among the first in line.

The kids immediately charged off to Nickelodeon Land, which has 12 of its own rides and its own rollercoaster The Nickelodeon Streak, which warms up your voice, and a pirate ship and log flume.

It was here we realised that, although the children were tall enough, we felt they were unable to go on these adventurous rides alone and too tall to be persuaded otherwise.

Hence we rode the Big Dipper, Avalanche, Steeplechase, Grand National, Mousetrap – and those were just the rollercoasters.

We dined in the eat-as-much-as-you-can pizza restaurant and then went back for more, the park being big enough to keep you amused all day.

Managing to avoid the Pepsi Max was a bonus. The rollercoaster takes you out towards the sea and then descends in a terrifying plummet.

Waking up thep next day, after another comfortable night at The Big Blue, we departed sadly, watching the rollercoasters on the skyline disappearing from view.

We could only console the children with news that a new ride is opening later this year – the Red Arrows Skyforce ride – a 72ft high, 12-seat white-knuckle ride, which will take you on a 360-degree tour of the skies from the safety of your very own Red Arrows cockpit, keeping Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach up-to-date and ahead of the game.

All in all then, the perfect weekend away. All I need now is a holiday to get over it!

FACTFILE

* Blackpool Pleasure Beach is open daily until November 1.  For online wristband savings see blackpoolpleasurebeach.com
Wristbands from £16 when booked in advance online.  

* Gate priced wristbands – adult £30, junior (11yrs and under) £27.

* Big Blue Hotel, Superior family rooms from £79 per room per night.  Check website bigbluehotel.com for deals.

* Official ride opening Monday, May 25: – Red Arrows Skyforce ride with a display from the world famous Red Arrows aerobatic team.