Beauties of Blackpool: the Classic Attractions of Blackpool Pleasure Beach

There are few parks in the UK that sum up that seaside amusement park experience like Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and no wonder- in its 125 years of operation they’re sure to have picked up a few tricks. Since its opening in 1896, this beachside park has accumulated a lot of history, and has made its place in the UK themed entertainment industry as an attraction for thrillseekers and families alike.

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Today, Blackpool Pleasure Beach is home to over one hundred attractions, from immersive dark rides like Valhalla to innovative and thrilling rollercoasters like Icon and The Big One… and with all this new technology its easy to forget about the early rides and attractions that made the Pleasure Beach what it is. This year is Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s 125th anniversary, so what better time to explore the stories of some of the park’s most classic and nostalgic rides, and celebrate all the history this park really has to offer!

River Caves, opened in 1905

Where best to start off this list than with one of the oldest rides of all? The River Caves opened in 1905, just nine years after Blackpool Pleasure Beach opened, and brought to life the concept of dark rides before it was popular. This pioneering dark ride is the epitome of a gentle ride in the middle of what is essentially a thrill park: surrounded by all sorts of different coaster tracks and a stark contrast to a lot of the newer attractions around the Pleasure Beach.

Your experience begins as you enter under an arch stylised as a traditional ‘Tunnel of Love’, however this is where the romantic elements of this ride end. The surrounding screams begin to fade out as a voiceover welcomes you to “the River Caves at the fabulous Blackpool Pleasure Beach and you begin your expedition through time. There doesn’t seem to be much of a chronological order- which could be argued makes the ride even more fun and unpredictable, and the first evidence of this is when you go from a scene set in Ancient China, to one in the prehistoric era.

Jagged rockwork and the roars of dinosaurs fill the air as you gradually make your way to the next scene: a world under the sea. On this underwater adventure riders can spot fish swimming and jellyfish glowing, before rising above and into the jungle. A slightly unsettling crocodile watches you as you sail past, and when you see a spinning sun you know you’re safe from the croc’s hungry eyes. The next portion of the ride takes you underground, through a grotto of sparkling purple crystals.

The mine ends and a sign informs you that you are entering the Valley of the Kings, where the voiceover returns and tells the story of the Egyptian pyramids. Elaborate poles and statues line the walls of the scene, and as you enter the next room you are greeted by murals depicting Ancient Egyptian art. The final scene of the ride takes guests to the lost city of Angkor Wat, with animatronics and huge sets entertaining guests as they climb a lift hill.

If its a hot day and you’re looking for a way to cool off (Lets face it, the recent heatwaves in the UK have made us all want to!) the next and final part of the experience is perfect for you. With stunning views of BPB’s coasters Icon and the Big One, you descend down a small drop, getting a good helping of splashing in the process. If its cold or raining however, the splash may not be the most pleasant experience. Just make sure you’re wearing a poncho.

River Caves may have opened over a hundred years ago, when dark rides weren’t particularly common, but its age is almost imperceptible. Preservation and maintenance has meant that the ride has kept its fresh and charming feel throughout its operation, and this fun but underrated dark ride will likely continue to operate for years to come!

Nickelodeon Streak, opened in 1933

If you’re thinking ‘Nickelodeon wasn’t around in 1933!’, you’d be correct: it wasn’t actually founded until 1979. So how exactly did this 1930s wooden coaster come to be themed after a cartoon company? Well, it all started when the ride opened, not-so-creatively named Roller Coaster- between this name and calling another coaster The Big One, there has definitely been an improvement on BPB’s coaster names more recently.

This plainly-named Roller Coaster may have opened in 1933, but it has history dating all the way back twenty-four years before it debuted; before many of the rides on this list were even designed. Velvet Coaster, an out-and-back wooden coaster, opened in 1909, built by William H. Strickler who would also go on to build Big Dipper. Having been building and opening rollercoasters since the 1890s, BPB knew when it was time for a ride to be replaced, and when Velvet Coaster’s time came in 1932, plans began for a new attraction to take its place.

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But with some parts of the ride still in full working order, Velvet Coaster would never truly be gone. The lift hill and a few other parts of the ride would form areas of the new rollercoaster, opening the following year. Interestingly, there’s also a block of holiday apartments and even a Wetherspoons not too far from the park, with the same name! On the Velvet Coaster Wetherspoons’ website it does state that the restaurant is named after the coaster, though I’m not sure if the same applies to the apartments.

The ride that replaced Velvet Coaster, named Roller Coaster, used the same out-and-back layout. Unlike its predecessor however, Roller Coaster has operated for a lot longer, at an impressive eighty-eight years as of 2021. The ride got rougher and older, but aside from that most things about it stayed the same- there was even an old train from Velvet Coaster displayed in the station. That was, until 2010, when Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s kiddie area Beaver Creek’s Children’s Park got a bright and modern refresh, and Roller Coaster along with it.

Nickelodeon Land opened on the 5th of May 2011, with many of the older attractions that were in the area before being completely rethemed. Roller Coaster’s neighbouring attraction, Zipper Dipper, became Blue Flyer, whilst the Roller Coaster itself was painted a bright Nickelodeon orange, renamed as Nickelodeon Streak. Nick Streak offers fleeting views of its surroundings, from houses to rollercoasters, and remains an icon (not to be confused with the coaster actually called Icon!) of Blackpool Pleasure Beach to this day.

Blue Flyer, opened in 1934

The opening of Nickelodeon Land was a pretty big event in Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s recent history, so its no wonder Roller Coaster/Nick Streak wasn’t the only coaster to get the Nickelodeon treatment. However, unlike its much more thrilling counterpart, this classic kiddie coaster is a lot tamer, and is painted blue rather than a bright orange. And these two neighbouring rollercoasters have actually been around nearly as long as each other.

Less than a year after engineer Charles Paige finished designing Roller Coaster, he began working on a new project, another rollercoaster with a slightly more creative name. With the help of Dayton Fun House and Riding Device Manufacturing Company, the new family coaster quickly came to fruition, and opened as Zipper Dipper in 1934. Little did designers and fans of the ride know back then, that this rollercoaster would grow to hold a lot of historical significance. According to historicengland.org, Blue Flyer is one of just six pre-WW2 coasters in the UK that are still operating, and is even the second oldest family coaster in the world!

Zipper Dipper continued to operate mostly unchanged up until 2010, other than a brief time when the ride was sponsored by food company Warburtons and became the Warburtons Milk Roll-o-Coaster. Even this didn’t really have much of an impact on the actual ride experience however- signage for the ride still called it Zipper Dipper, and a lot of guests probably did too. But the biggest change was yet to come.

Beaver Creek’s Children’s Park was a theme park inside a theme park; too big to be a themed land but in a way it was its own park inside of Blackpool Pleasure Beach. This small park was home to an impressive ten attractions, from a teacup ride to a log flume, and of course Zipper Dipper. The whole area closed on 5th September 2010, and while some of its rides were removed, others were completely reimagined. Zipper Dipper’s transformation was one of the most drastic. The track and frame were painted a bright blue that contrasted well with Nickelodeon Streak’s orange, and the attraction was renamed Blue Flyer, loosely themed to the kids TV show Blue’s Clues.

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Nickelodeon Land opened the following year on May 5th 2011, with a myriad of attractions from water rides, to rollercoasters, to even a Zamperla Disk-O! But while a 1930s family coaster themed to a show for young children may seem innocent enough, this isn’t entirely the case. Or at least, it was, until June 2016. Reported by the Guardian, four teenagers were described as having broke into Blackpool Pleasure Beach for a “4am Joyride” on Blue Flyer, before having a food fight and subsequently running away after being confronted by security. Come on, people, I know theme park tickets can be expensive, but THAT is quite extreme! In all seriousness, though, don’t do this. Park employees do not want to clean up your mess, and it is extremely dangerous to operate a ride without the proper training and safety checks.

On 4th April 2017, Blue Flyer’s historical significance was officially acknowledged with a Grade II listing, and it is also an ACE Coaster Classic. This little blue family coaster may not look like much, but there’s a ‘rollercoaster’ of a story within its tracks and trains!

Alice’s Wonderland, opened in 1962

No, I did not make a typo, and you did not read that wrong. While many of us loved as kids (and maybe still love!) a story and film named Alice In Wonderland, this classic dark ride puts a bit of a spin on the name, eliminating the ‘in’ altogether and adding an apostrophe ‘s’ instead. This dark ride adventure through Alice’s magical looking glass first opened in 1962, and at first glance seems remarkably similar to the original version at Disneyland. The two rides opened within five years of one another, they have the same highly-raised track on the outside, and were even built by the same manufacturer, Arrow Dynamics.

As you board your vehicle and tumble down the rabbit hole into the ride however, the striking similarities mostly fade out. Riders go on a bright and charming adventure through Wonderland, first being greeted by the very late White Rabbit, and soon travelling through a colourful flowerbed, a giant game of croquet and eventually ending with the playing cards being defeated as you leave via a track themed as a vine. And while the version at Disneyland uses voiceovers and sound effects for audio, this ride has a catchy soundtrack that sounds pretty similar to the “I’ve Got A Golden Ticket” tune from the film adaptation of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Despite this, the soundtrack situation is probably just coincidence: Alice’s Wonderland opened with the music in 1962, nine years before the film was released.

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Alice’s Wonderland is one of the lesser known attractions at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and is one of the few dark rides in the UK that still holds the unique nostalgia and charm some parks have lost over the years. If you’re ever at the Pleasure Beach and have a bit of free time, this three minute experience is a great way to relax and take in the magic of the park!

Grand National, opened in 1935

The Grand National may be a famous horse race in the UK, but is also the name of one of the oldest rides at Blackpool Pleasure Beach! During the 1930s, the Pleasure Beach was going through a programme of expansion, described as the “greatest” in the park’s history, and even back then, expansions of major theme parks were bound to include a new or rethemed coaster. Work on the project began in 1933, and among various other attractions, were plans for a Mobeius Loop wooden rollercoaster, the fifth in the world.

The park’s owner at the time, Leonard Thompson, worked with engineers Charles Paige and Henry G. Traver, in order to make the dream a reality, and 3302ft of wooden coaster track later, it was. The ride, named Grand National, opened to the public in 1935. With trains that duel, a sign reading “they’re off” at the beginning of the ride and another reading “Winner’s Post” at the end, Grand National is designed to make you feel as if you are really in a high-intensity, high-speed horse race.

Despite getting off to a flying start, it has not always been plain sailing for this classic racing coaster. In May 2004, something went wrong with the lighting systems of Grand National’s station, leading to a fire destroying the station and damaging two other attractions. Both of these: the walkthrough attraction Trauma Towers and the dark ride Alice’s Wonderland, were able to reopen soon after the fire, and while Alice’s Wonderland is still operating, Trauma Towers closed a few years later. The station of Grand National was rebuilt, and the ride was eventually able to open in October 2004.

As with many famous older rollercoasters, this ride has had some… interesting events and gathered some pretty strange world records throughout its operation. On March 2nd 2019, 195 people had the unusual idea to break the world record for ‘Most Naked People on a Rollercoaster’ on Grand National, succeeding and still holding the record two years on. On a more heart-warming note, a marriage has also happened on the coaster! Andy Hine of the British Rollercoaster Club tied the knot while riding Grand National in the early 1990s, and one of the ride’s trains is now decorated with a plaque commemorating the romantic event.

Like Blue Flyer, Grand National has been recognised as a Grade II listed building, due to being one of just six UK rollercoasters opened before World War 2 to still be operating. Some riders can find Grand National to be pretty rough, but whether you enjoy this coaster’s sharp twists and turns, there’s no denying that it is a hugely significant part of Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s history, and will likely continue to offer thrills and headaches for many more generations of riders in the future!

Ghost Train, opened in 1930

Ghost Trains have been around for nearly as long as amusement parks themselves. The experience of sitting in a small ride car and passing by spooky scenes of varying realism has become synonymous with dark rides, and it seems almost every park has one. But where did these darkly-themed dark rides originate? Well, look no further than Blackpool Pleasure Beach! Blackpool’s Ghost Train gave its first ride in 1930, at the time being built on a single level and being pretty basic compared to the rides we are used to today. Back then, however, the attraction was revolutionary, putting a much darker spin on the ‘Tunnel of Love’ type rides that were so popular at the time.

The pioneer of the Ghost Train was now-defunct company Pretzel, who sadly did not make salty twisted bread treats, but instead built and designed rides for amusement parks and travelling fairs. Pretzel’s most successful model was The Pretzel (which the company was named after!), a type of dark ride that used a twisting track that creates a sense of immersion as you feel yourself going further and further into the attraction. Some say that the Pretzel got its name after a rider commented they “felt like I (they) were turned and twisted like a pretzel”!

Most Pretzel rides had a specific theme, and while some were relatively cheery, taking riders through a magical circus, winter wonderland or a lost mine, others were a bit more scary. One of these was the Devil’s Cave, which after a few rethemes was renamed Bucket O’ Blood, but thankfully the Pretzel ride built at Blackpool Pleasure Beach was slightly more family friendly. This version brought to life ghosts and ghouls instead of blood and devils, but it wasn’t too long before the ride would start to get a bit of a reputation for having real ghosts!

The Ghost Train is said to be haunted by the spirit of a former employee, named Cloggy, who during his life he was known for always wearing clogs when operating the ride. This hasn’t been the only supernatural event to plague the attraction however. Various ghosts and apparitions have been spotted, lights have supposedly turned on and off of their own accord, and the mischievous ghost of a nine-year-old girl has been seen in the gift shop moving items when no one is looking. The fear of ghosts on classic rides isn’t completely unique to Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom has developed its own ghostly legends, surrounding a former employee named George who Cast Members must say ‘good morning’ to otherwise parts of the rides will malfunction and break down. Whether you believe in ghosts or think the whole idea is ridiculous, the thought that there could be spirits haunting these rides definitely adds an extra dose of fear when riding!

Since the Ghost Train opened in 1930, the attraction has gone through a few changes. Six years after the ride’s debut, it was redesigned by designer Joseph Emberton to have a second floor, and about twenty years later in 1957, when it was moved to make way for another ride, the Wild Mouse. The most recent major change made to the Ghost Train was in 1973, when the façade was updated to become an imposing, grey-brick castle. Today this old-but-fun dark ride continues to operate at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and some say ghosts and ghouls can still be seen throughout the ride!

Big Dipper, opened in 1923

If there’s any ride that’s iconic to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, it’s the Big Dipper. Dating all the way back to 1923, Big Dipper features everything riders could ever want from a classic wooden rollercoaster, with drops, twists and turns blending together to create a thrilling and fun experience.

The story of the Big Dipper begins all the way over in Nebraska, five years before the ride would eventually open. Designer John Miller was enjoying a day at the amusement park Krug Park, when he had an idea. Before long, entire designs had been drawn up for an out-and-back coaster, inspired by Krug Park’s own ride of the same model and name. The Big Dipper at Krug Park actually had quite a serious accident in 1930 after a train derailed from the lift hill, but thankfully nothing of this severity has ever taken place on Blackpool’s version.

John Miller consulted with engineer William H. Strickler, and soon the project was well underway and nearing completion. The Big Dipper opened in 1923, with innovative side friction wheels to speed up the train, and a greater-than-90° bend. But little did anyone know that while the ride seemed complete, there would still be some pretty large alterations made to it along the way.

The first of these was in 1936, when Charles Paige was contracted to extend and improve the coaster. A few new drops were built, and arches were added over the South entrance to the park in order to increase the anticipation for guests wanting to try out the new-and-improved Big Dipper. The ride had to undergo repairs in 1975, after a fire destroyed the coaster’s lift hill and first drop.

Big Dipper continued to operate mostly without incident, until 2009, when a crash left twenty-one riders injured, some of which even had to go to hospital after being rescued. Work was undertaken to ensure something like this wouldn’t happen again. Seven months later, the Big Dipper reopened, with an updated track and some changes around the ride too, most notably a newly decorated station. The ride did end up derailing again in 2010, but there were thankfully no injuries and operations were able to resume later that day.

For many fans of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Big Dipper is a nostalgic, fun ride that holds a special place in the hearts of many. In 1990, a teacher named Richard Rodriguez decided to take his love for the coaster to the next level, creating a new record by riding it for one thousand hours! Two years later he smashed his own record, doubling it to two thousand! That is some impressive dedication.

Big Dipper is the second oldest operating rollercoaster in the UK, just three years behind Scenic Railway at Dreamland in Margate. Whether it’s because of its age, the experience or just how iconic the ride is to Blackpool, there’s something special about a ride like Big Dipper, and with its hundredth anniversary coming up in a few years, I think its safe to say this coaster will continue to entertain for many more years to come!

Have you ridden any of the rides on this list? If not, what’s the oldest ride you’ve ridden? Let me know in the comments below!

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Photo credits:

@gingerfreckledgirl on Instagram Melissa 🎢 (@gingerfreckledgirl) • Instagram photos and videos

@diary_of_a_rollercoaster_girl on Instagram 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓻𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓪 𝓡𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓻𝓒𝓸𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓖𝓲𝓻𝓵 (@diary_of_a_rollercoaster_girl) • Instagram photos and videos

And be sure to check out their blogs here!

Ginger Freckled Girl – | Melissa | Theme Park Enthusiast | Travel | (wordpress.com)

Diary of a RollerCoaster Girl – Theme Parks & Roller Coasters (wordpress.com)

You are all clear… and outta here! Thanks for reading!

-Lily 🙂