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.
Showtown
Blackpool, Lancashire
Showtown is Blackpool explaining itself: the circus, the magicians, the dancing, the illuminations, the whole business of a seaside town that decided entertainment was the industry. It sits on Bank Hey Street a few doors from the Tower, it is a registered charity, and the galleries are built around doing things and not reading things.
Pricing is unusually sane for the Golden Mile. Adults are £9.50, children 4 to 15 are £4.50, under 4s and carers go free, National Art Pass members go free, and family tickets start at £17.50. Compare that with anything else on the promenade and it looks like a mistake in your favour.
Anyone paying council tax to Blackpool Council can visit free as many times as they like, provided they book a resident ticket in advance.
Entry is timed, so book. The museum suggests allowing at least an hour and a half. There are toilets on both floors including a Changing Places with hoist access, baby changing upstairs, free lockers at reception and a buggy park, but no cafe, which is the one thing to plan around. Snacks and drinks are sold in the shop.
What it costs: Adults 16 and over £9.50, children 4 to 15 £4.50, children 3 and under free, carers free, National Art Pass members free. Family tickets from £17.50. If you pay council tax to Blackpool Council you can visit free as often as you like, booked in advance as a resident ticket.
Know before you go
- If you pay council tax to Blackpool Council, everybody in the family gets in free, but you have to book a resident ticket online in advance. Turning up and explaining yourself at the desk does not work.
- There is no cafe on site, just drinks and snacks in the gift shop. Eat before you go in or plan to come out for lunch.
- The museum recommends allowing at least an hour and a half.
- It is the rare Blackpool attraction that is genuinely better in the rain. Save it for the washout day.
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★★★★★ 4.7 across 244 Google reviews.
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