Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach facts for kids
| Previously known as Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach | |
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| Location | Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England |
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| Coordinates | 52°35′37″N 1°44′10″E / 52.593742°N 1.736076°E |
| Opened | March 1909 |
| Owner | Pleasure & Leisure Corporation PLC |
| Operating season | March–October |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 27 |
| Roller coasters | 4 |
| Water rides | 1 |
The Pleasure Beach Great Yarmouth is a super fun amusement park located in the sunny seaside town of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. You can find it on the east coast of England. This awesome park first opened its doors way back in 1909 and has been making people happy ever since!
The biggest and most popular ride here is the famous Roller Coaster. It was built in 1932 and is still a huge hit! Besides that, the park has about thirty other big rides. You'll also find cool entertainment for kids, exciting arcade games, yummy food places, sweet shops, and ice cream parlours. It's a perfect spot for a day of adventure!
Contents
History of the Fun
How it All Started
The very first amusement ride in Great Yarmouth arrived in 1887. It was an American-style ride called a Switchback Railway. This ride was so popular that its operators earned a whole year's rent in just one weekend! Later, this ride moved to another park.
In 1909, a man named Charles B. Cochran convinced the local council to let him use some sand dunes. He wanted to build an amusement park there. The council agreed and leased him a piece of land. The first ride built was a "scenic railway." This ride looked like it went through mountains made of plaster! It also had two sections where the cars were pulled up a hill. Another early ride was a spooky "haunted attraction" called the Katzen Jammer Castle. The park kept growing until World War I.
When the park reopened in April 1919, a fire sadly destroyed the scenic railway. But don't worry, it was quickly rebuilt and reopened that same year! Throughout the 1920s, the park kept getting bigger. In 1925, a huge water slide was added. Other fun rides from that time included a slide called Creasta Run and a toboggan-style ride called Jack and Jill.
In 1928, the famous Pat Collins, from a well-known British fairground family, took over the park. His first big addition was a new roller coaster called a Figure 8 roller coaster. It was a hit from 1929 to 1931.
The Amazing Scenic Railway
In 1929, Pat Collins visited an exhibition in Paris. The biggest attraction there was a huge Scenic Railway. Pat Collins loved it so much that he bought it! The ride was shipped to England and built at the Pleasure Beach in 1932. It opened to visitors in April 1932.
Just like other scenic railways, this one was decorated to look like mountains. It even had castles built around parts of the ride! The ride came with five trains, each with three cars. What's super cool is that a "brakeman" still rides on each train to control its speed. This is because there are no brakes on the track itself! New trains were built in the 1960s, and they are still used today.
In the late 1960s, the ride got a makeover. The old plaster was replaced with steel, and the ride was painted with a beautiful mountainous landscape.
Today, the Scenic Railway is still the most popular ride at the Pleasure Beach. It's super special because it's the only working scenic railway roller coaster in the UK! It's also one of only a few roller coasters in the world that still have a brakeman on the train. The park takes great care of it, doing work every winter to keep it in top shape. The ride even celebrated its 75th birthday in 2007! It has also been named an ACE Coaster Classic.
The Botton Brothers Take Over
In 1954, the Botton Brothers, Albert and Jim, took over running the park. They grew up in the amusement park business, so they knew a lot about fun! They started adding new rides and attractions every year.
Some of the cool rides from this time included Dodgems, a Go-Kart Track, and the massive Water Chute. In 1982, a walk-through attraction was built inside the Roller Coaster.
Albert Botton passed away in 1975. His daughter Jane Botton's husband, Jimmy Jones, then became the Managing Director.
In 1982, the famous pop group Madness filmed parts of their music video for the song "House of Fun" right at the amusement park! How cool is that?
Today's Fun and What's Next
In 1992, the Botton Brothers' companies joined together to form Pleasure & Leisure Corporation PLC. They bought the lease for the Pleasure Beach site in 1993. Jimmy Jones's son, Albert Jones, then became the Managing Director.
The Pleasure Beach has continued to grow! In 1996, they added the Pleasure Beach Gardens. This is a quieter place where you can relax away from the main park's excitement. The Gardens have Sara's Tearooms, a themed mini-golf course, and even an Upside Down House!
The park now has about thirty big rides, with new ones arriving every couple of years. There's something for everyone, from gentle rides for younger kids to thrilling rides for teens and adults. Some rides, like the Scenic Railway, have been there for decades. Others, like the Carousel (from 1954) and the Snails & Fairytails (from 1966), are also part of the park's history. Newer thrill rides include Evolution and Sky Drop. In 2008, the Pleasure Beach even got a huge ferris wheel called The Yarmouth Wheel!
The company that owns the park, Pleasure & Leisure Corporation PLC, also has plans for a new entertainment complex nearby. It will be called 'The Edge' and will have a cinema, a bowling alley, a hotel, and restaurants. Construction started in 2018, so exciting new things are coming!
Awesome Rides and Attractions
| Name | Opened | What it's Like |
|---|---|---|
| Log Flume | 1989 | A big water ride where you float in 'logs'. You climb up big hills and then splash down, getting soaked! The biggest drop is 11 meters high. |
| 4-D Cinema | 2010 | An indoor show for 18 people. It shows a 3-D film and adds cool physical effects to make you feel like you're really there! |
| Disk'O | 2004 | A Zamperla Disk'O ride. 24 riders sit facing outwards on a giant disk. The disk spins and slides along a curved track. |
| YoYo | 2000 | A small children's swing ride. Seats hang from arms that spin around a central point. |
| Gallopers | 1954 | Made in 1901, this classic carousel has 30 horses and 2 chariots to ride. |
| Lightning 360 | 2020 | This custom-built ride has a tall tower with eight arms. Each arm holds a two-seater plane that you can spin 360 degrees yourself! |
| Pirate Ship | 2001 | A fun Zamperla Pirate Ship that swings back and forth like a real ship on waves. |
| Dodgems | 1972 | A track with 20 modern cars. Get ready to bump and spin your friends! |
| Fun Factory | c1980 | An indoor walk-through adventure with moving floors. It got a big update in 2018. |
| Haunted Hotel | c1990 | A spooky dark ride. Two people ride in cars through a themed haunted hotel. |
| Twister | 1999 | A classic twister ride. There are 12 cars, and 2 people sit in each car. |
| Family Star | 2013 | A Fabbri spinning roller coaster ride that spins as it goes around the track. |
| Formula 1 | 1991 | A small children's ride. A train of different vehicles goes around a small track with a hump-back bridge. |
| Big Apple Coaster | 1998 | A small steel roller coaster with a caterpillar-shaped train. It seats 24 riders and goes around the track three times. |
| Reverse Time | 2017 | Holds 24 riders in a circle, facing outwards. As it spins, it lifts into the air, and the base spins the other way! |
| Sky Drop | 2004 | A Zamperla drop tower ride that is 22 meters high. Riders go up and then drop down super fast! |
| Bonanza | 1989 | A small children's ride. Riders sit on horse-shaped cars that move along a track, nodding up and down. |
| Monorail | 1987 | The Monorail has 8 cars, each seating 4 people. It takes you on a tour over most of the southern part of the park. |
| Snails | 1966 | A fantasy-themed ride. Riders sit in 'Snails' that move along a track through different scenes. |
| Scenic Railway | 1932 | The biggest ride at the park! This wooden scenic railway was built in 1928 and moved here in 1932. |
| Freefall | 2015 | A small drop tower that spins as you ride up and down. |
| Raft Ride | 2008 | This ride has 8 seats for 2 people. The seats spin and move up and down when you press a button. |
| Go Karts | 2001 | There are 5 electric karts you can drive around an oval track. This ride is not included in the wristband offer. |
| Cups & Saucers | 1993 | A small, classic cups & saucers ride perfect for children. |
| Flying Dumbo | 2017 | Twelve cars shaped like Dumbo. They are on arms that spin around a central point. The ride spins constantly. |
| Whirlwind | 2015 | A figure-eight roller coaster with four cars. Up to four people sit back-to-back in each car. The cars spin on their own as the train zips around the track. |
You can also get cool on-ride photos from the Scenic Railway, Log Flume, Big Apple, and Snails rides!
