Blackpool Pleasure Beach
The big one. Nickelodeon Land covers the primary ages properly while the Big One and the wooden coasters wait for brave older kids. August queues are real; go in expecting them and it is a great day.
The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse
- Cost
- Children from £12, adults from £5, book online
- Ages
- 1 to 9
- Where
- Blackpool, Lancashire
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Book online - pre-booking is described as essential
The Julia Donaldson attraction sits on the promenade underneath Sea Life, and it is exactly what it sounds like: a soft play built out of the books. There is Deep Dark Wood adventure play and a separate soft play, a Room on the Broom toddler zone, a Gruffalo's Child sensory room, Zog's Dragon School challenge and a Snail and the Whale seaside area. It is built for children under 10, and it shows.
Tickets start at £12 per child and £5 per adult, booked online for a timed slot. At busy times you get 90 minutes inside on a wristband. Adults can only come in with a child aged 14 or under, which keeps it firmly a family place. Socks are compulsory for everyone, and the building is cashless.
It is sold as a combo with Sea Life upstairs, from £18 per child, and Sea Life says the combined tickets are valid for 90 days. That is the sensible version for a rainy Blackpool day: fish in the morning, soft play in the afternoon, and nobody has to walk more than a few metres.
What it costs: Standard entry from £12 per child (1 to 14) and from £5 per adult, pre-booked online for a 15 minute entry slot. Under 1s free but still need booking. Adult + Toddler ticket £9 for one adult and one child aged 2 and under, Monday to Friday in term time only. Clubhouse + Sea Life combined from £18 per child online. Tickets can be rescheduled free up to 24 hours before.
Know before you go
- At busy times you get a wristband for 90 minutes inside. Off peak they are often more relaxed about it, but plan around the 90.
- The Adult + Toddler ticket (£9 for one grown-up and one child aged 2 or under) only runs Monday to Friday in term time, and is the cheapest way in by a distance.
- It is cashless, so bring a card. The nearest big car park is Central Car Park, satnav FY1 5QB.
Worth knowing: Built for under 10s. Adults cannot visit without a child aged 14 or under.
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