Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an amusement park founded in 1896 by Alderman William George Bean in the town of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. Bean said his intent was to create "...an American Style Amusement Park, the fundamental principle of which is to make adults feel like children again and to inspire gaiety of a primarily innocent character." It is the home of the Pepsi Max Big One a 213ft tall steel coaster (built in 1994), it was the tallest rollercoaster in Europe until 2002. Unusually for major amusment parks entrance to the park is free and rides may be paid for in tokens bought throughout the park - although the customary wristband may also be purchased.
Each Autumn, Blackpool Pleasure Beach presents the Blackpool Illuminations, an electric light show along the seaside. The displays vary from simple patterns to representations of fairy tales and illuminated models.
Today, Blackpool Pleasure Beach attracts about 7 million visitors a year. The park was the subject of a somewhat unflattering, six-part BBC documentary in 1998.
The park is being upgraded, along with the rest of Blackpool, in an attempt to make it an international tourist destination.
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