Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the north-west of England opened the UK's first Nickelodeon Land a few months ago so I thought I would go along (with my niece and friend in tow) to find out what it's all about.
I have to say I was really impressed with the whole area, the rides, the atmosphere and the attention to detail all made for a great day out (and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves as well!). There was something for everyone from Big Circus Bounce and Dora's World Voyage for younger kids to Fairy World Taxi Spin, which sees the guest make the cab "fly" by pressing a button, to SpongeBob's Splash Bash which is by far the best ride and a personal favourite…getting you more soaked than you might have anticipated and involving everyone, even passers-by!
Then you've got roller coasters Blue Flyer, good for those not quite brave enough to attempt Nickelodeon Streak and then there's adrenaline ride Avatar Airbender, which sees guests spin round while 'riding the airwaves'. Oh and we can't forget the Rugrats Lost River log flume ride, which absolutely drenched the lot of us! Even the restaurant area did the Pleasure Beach proud.
Theme parks have become somewhat infamous for bad fast food, but not here… the all you can eat pizza, pasta, salad buffet isn't over-priced and you can sit in nice surroundings that feel just that little bit more up market than some of the other eating establishments within the park.
At the moment there's no arcade in Nickelodeon Land but the park and operators would do well to cash in on this new opportunity. As far as I could see, while there are a number of arcades within the Pleasure Beach all offering some Nickelodeon plush toys as prizes in cranes, there is still no ticket redemption area, which is a great shame as while arcade games are a secondary spend in a theme park they do still attract the guests.
There are some great Nickelodeon themed coin-op games out there that would do particularly well in this new area and I really hope operators realise the potential business these games could bring into the park…especially a redemption area which would tie in nicely with the Nick Shop that's there and was packed at all times! Overall, a really great day out and the weather even did the UK proud and stayed dry (I even burnt my nose!).
I have uploaded some pictures and videos of the rides on our facebook and YouTube pages, which you can view here.
