Once upon a time you could just stroll into Pleasure Beach in Blackpool and pay per ride, the glory days of the park and something that many fans and guests would love to see return, Pleasure Beach have listened and for this anniversary year have brought it back if albeit with a little twist.
The Flex Pass has recently being introduced which allows guests to pay £18 to enter the park and then they can top up their pass with tickets to individual rides.
Using this Flex Pass guests have entry to the park, a ride on Pleasure Beach Express and between July 9 and September 10, it also includes free entry to the world famous, highly acclaimed Hot Ice Show, which is celebrating its 90th year this summer.
Visitors then have the freedom to pick and choose the attractions they want to experience by purchasing individual ride tickets using the Pleasure Beach app or scanning QR codes at the ride’s entrance. Ride tickets will vary in price depending on ride type and the day of the week, but will start at £7.
Excluding rides that are currently closed such as Grand National and Valhalla and the soon to open AVIKTAS gyroswing ride we have been kindly sent a list of the rides and their upgrade prices from Joey, a follower of the channel and a good friend.
Judging by the pricing above I’d hazard a guess that Valhalla will be in the £10-£12 range with Grand National sitting alongside Big Dipper on £11.
I can’t wrap my head around the dark rides (Ghost Train, Wallace and Gromit, Alice in Wonderland) being priced at £10 nor can I wrap my head around the Flex Pass being £18 so that if anyone did decide to do one or two rides they may as well just buy a general admission ticket at £32.
Amanda Thompson OBE, CEO of Pleasure Beach Resort, said:
“This year we’ve placed a real focus on identifying new ways to make Pleasure Beach Resort more accessible and enjoyable for all of our guests. The Flex Pass is a fantastic option for those who want to experience a more relaxed and flexible day out, whether that’s families with younger children, multi-generational groups, or visitors who would prefer to sample one or two rides.
“This new approach puts the choice firmly in the hands of our guests, allowing them to enjoy their day, their way.”
The new ticket makes Pleasure Beach the only major theme park in the UK to offer a pay as you ride option. Although this is offered by some smaller amusement parks such as Fantasy Island near Skegness, which is home to smaller, more ‘fairground-style’ rides, major theme parks such as Alton Towers and Thorpe Park only offer a fixed “pay one price” model.
It was one of a slew of new ticket options introduced at Pleasure Beach’s Season Launch, including the Annual Pass and the new free ticket for children under 2 years old.
Flex Passes will no doubt appeal to those guests wanting to experience Pleasure Beach’s brand new £8.72M ride, Aviktas, which is due to open in May.
