The first Blackpool Pleasure Beach fan club event kicked off this past weekend and it really was quite the experience! Here’s our Blackpool Pleasure Beach Grand Day Out review.
The first Grand Day Out event of its kind from the park had guests pay £25 to go behind the scenes of two iconic Blackpool Pleasure Beach rides.
There was a behind-the-scenes tour of the Derby Racer ride which opened at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1959 and we then got to walk the entire Wallace and Gromit Thrill-O-Matic ride which used to be the old Gold Mine dark ride that opened in the park in 1971 and was refurbed to the Wallace IP in 2013.
Before visiting I thought the price was a little steeper than I was expecting for a tour of two rides (I was expecting around £15-£20) but after doing the event it was clear that you got your money’s worth with dedicated staff tours and even some additional rides which we weren’t expecting!
Blackpool Pleasure Beach Derby Racer Behind the Scenes
Our event began with a meet-up at Derby Racer as easily 100+ people gathered around this iconic Pleasure Beach ride.
We were batched accordingly and sat on our horses for a complimentary ride before a prize draw began for some lucky people to get a ride on ENSO during the event and the ultimate prize, a ride on Valhalla on opening day.
But not just any old ride. One of the first rides on a public boat on Valhalla. Those lucky devils who won! They were so excited and it was great to see this bubbly, friendly and overall happy atmosphere just take hold of everyone.
We then made our way down underground into the belly of Derby Racer and I was blown away. The intricacy of the mechanisms and pulley systems and more to make this ride work were astonishing. Hats off to the maintenance team as just one look at it, I sympathised immediately, it was a plethora of mechanical confusion yet it was history in front of my very eyes.
Take a look at the video we shot of the experience below:
Something that goes severely underappreciated when you ride it and I for the life of me didn’t think it would be so complex! One of only three in the world this model is the youngest one (so I’m told) opening in 1959.
The carousel consists of 56 horses that go around to the tune of a 72-key Belgian Organ.
It’s theme park history and a testament to the park to keep these rides operating for us all to enjoy a slice of history even in the year 2023.
Mind you head when you’re down there though as it’s very narrow and even the poor maintenance staff have to crawl through a tunnel just to access certain horses within the ride.
Wallace and Gromit Behind the Scenes
A British classic and a ride that has been thrilling guests since 2013 this old-school dark ride from the early 70s has certainly withstood the test of time and we got to walk through its entire duration.
We popped on a hard hat and went down into the ride on a very narrow walkway (mind your step) as this felt more like an assault course at times than a ride tour but once I lay eyes on my first set it all felt worth it.
Everything felt so exclusive and tailored and with both Derby Racer and this particular walkthrough there was knowledge shared from start to finish and any questions you had would be answered accordingly.
Check out the Wallace and Gromit video below:
I was too busy taking it all in to even muster a question and seeing everything lit up and just how large it is, it’s something you just don’t appreciate when you’re flying around the scenes. There’s so much I missed and we even saw Han Solo in Carbonite down there that had been rethemed with a fedora (essentially Indiana Jones in Carbonite) as part of a Space Invader / alternative ride rebrand.
The fact that the team have left that still down there and just covered it up with a black cloth after the IP expired is quite funny. Just remember that the next time you’re on the Wallace and Gromit ride, the force really is with you… Dr Jones?
I enjoyed this walkthrough far more than the Derby Racer tour purely because there was more to see but I was drooling at the thought of a Ghost Train walkthrough at a future event, or even a Valhalla one at some stage would be nothing short of magical.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach Grand Day Out Positives / Negatives
This was a solid first event, it truly was and the two experiences took up a solid 2 hours+ of entertainment for everyone. There was a great atmosphere around the event and lots of content creators dying to get those walkthrough shots and photos.
If I had any comment about the event I’d say that the batching of the groups was a little poor with quite a lot of people just waiting around for the experience.
I feel as though the group should have been divided down the middle with one group going to Wallace whilst one went to Derby Racer and then they swap over. I think this way would have helped to reduce the wait times significantly for people. I heard a few people complain that they had been waiting close to an hour to do the Wallace tour, I’m sure that was an exaggerated dramatic figure but it was certainly in the 30 mins+ mark.
You want a behind-the-scenes experience to feel exclusive and almost have a VIP quality to it, waiting is NOT acceptable haha (my inner diva coming to the fold here).
What I absolutely loved about the experience was the extra ride on Derby Racer and the ride on ICON that we all did, that was such a nice touch to throw a ride on a coaster into the mix (we managed to have two rides) and it didn’t rely on the coasters / extra rides to make the event, the event stood strong on its own.
Unlike a certain other Halloween event that relies too much on the rides A Grand Day Out absolutely struck the perfect balance and if I had one other niggle, I only wish there was more. Maybe one more behind-the-scenes experience in there.
There is already another event planned for August which will explore The Big Dipper and Revolution, but I believe the Revolution part of the experience is a photo-op only. One can only assume that a track walk is going to happen as that’s a whole chunk of event dedicated to one ride.
There is also limited edition fan club merchandise available to purchase on the day but after being given our free lanyard and a certificate of event completion, I was more than happy with what I got, what I experienced and what I’d paid for.
This was a solid first event and I very much look forward to attending the next one and the company was nothing short of fantastic!
Find out more at https://www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com/pleasure-beach-fan-club/
