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A lovely bright & comfortable dining room with plenty of room to move around.
A little Information On Blackpool Pleasure Beach
The History of Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
"They wanted an American type fun Park, the whole idea was to make adults
feel like children and to create an innocent form of happiness" The founder
and inital creator of the pleasure beach was William George Bean. It was 1896
when he bought the forty two acre site where the Pleasure Beach still stands
today. Even some of the original rides used back then are still in use today
including the Sir Hiram Maxim Flying Machines. Progress halted during the
first world war due to import restrictions from the USA and lack of people
seeking to enjoy themselves during such somber times.
It then entererd in to the Thompson family where the site was succeededby
his son in law Leonard who become Managing Director of the Company. The 1930's
saw the rapid growth of many new rides, like the the Rollercoaster, the Pleasure
Beach Express, and the world-famous Grand National, my wife went on that a
couple years ago and whacked her head on the metal bar at the front and ended
up with a huge bump on her head, I think it needs a few safety features adding,
I also remember Ricky Banks who fell of it and survived but it mangled his
face, I hope he is alive and well today. Both with pleasure and or travel
comes danger as we all know!
World War II came along and again put a stop to progress for a while. Can
you believe it but During WWII the Pleasure Beach Blackpool remained open
all year round but the Thompson family would not have it any other way!!At
least it offered escapism from the perils of the war for a while at least.
Once the war was over Blackpool pleasure beach still continued to prosper.
In the 1960s a great deal of development took place and the UK's first commercial
Monorail was built here, and Blackpool pleasure beach also built The Monster,
The Astro Swirl and the Log Flume during this period.
In 1976 Geoffrey Thompson became MD of the Pleasure Beach after the death of Leonard his father and Mrs L D Thompson Chairman. It was now that the newer more daring rides were added like the spectacular Revolution, the bobsleigh and the Avalanche.
Always profitable the Pleasure Beach have re-invested in new rides also developing and refurbishing the Park. During 1990 the exterior on the sea facing side was re-designed and a new Edwardian type shopping complex created called Ocean Boulevard.
In 1994 a £12 million investment was made for the Pepsi Max Big One, Europe's tallest, fastest rollercoaster. This was followed in 1995 with a £2 million investment to create a brand new cabaret and hospitality venue, The Paradise Room, showing once again the commitment of the Thompsons to provide world-beating quality rides and entertainment. 1997 saw another UK first - the 210 foot, £2 million Ice Blast-The Ride, opened in June of that year by the then 94 year old Chairman of Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, Mrs L D Thompson MBE, and pop supergroup Boyzone.
2000 @ £15 million Valhalla. the world's biggest dark ride 2002 @ £1million
white knuckle ride Spin Doctor. 2003 The Big Blue Hotel opened its doors at
the south end of the park offering luxury accommodation at an affordable price
taking away a yet more business from the poor Blackpool Hoteliers especially
in that area, shame on you!! 2004 @ £2m the ride Bling and £5
million investment in a park refurb but it needed it. In 2004 Geoffrey Thompson
died and Amanda became Managing Director, she is a hard woman I know! so she
will do well for the profitability of the pleasure beach her brother Nicholas
became Deputy Managing Director a wise choice. In 2004 Mrs LD Thompson died
at the age of 101 which was a great shame the change she has witnessed over
her lifetime must have been just amazing.
Luckily the Pleasure Beach, Blackpool remains the No1 British tourist attraction and has over 6.2 million visitors it is unfortunate that the majority of people only stay for the day & if we are lucky 1 night.