Club Pleasure Beach

"It was Geoffrey who brought us the newest and most exciting rides and attractions to the Pleasure Beach: the Steeplechase; the Revolution, Space Invader, Avalanche and in 1994 debuted the biggest, fastest, most exhilarating ride of your life, the record-breaking Pepsi Max Big One roller coaster. Surely the Pleasure Beach couldn’t have enjoyed a more remarkable success! In 1996 The Pleasure Beach celebrated its centenary to terrific fanfare and a yearlong celebration"

The history of the Pleasure Beach can be traced to 1896 and one man’s vision of 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 - William George Bean (1868 - 1929).

Before long the Pleasure Beach was attracting ever-growing numbers of visitors to Blackpool and Bean, a most innovative entrepreneur continually raised the bar and installed ever more ambitious rides and attractions to entertain the masses. 1 August 1904 saw the opening of the Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim Captive Flying Machine, an attraction that still wows the crowds of today! Other attractions installed under Bean were the River Caves, Switchback Railway and later, the Big Dipper.

When Bean died unexpectedly, the Pleasure Beach reins were passed to his daughter, Lillian Doris Thompson (1903 – 2004) and her husband Leonard Thompson (until 1976). By now, the Pleasure Beach was welcoming unprecedented numbers of visitors and the rides and attractions came thick and fast: the internationally acclaimed racing wooden roller coaster, the Grand National; the Wild Mouse wooden coaster, the Ice Drome and show, and the world’s largest Fun House to name but a few. The flourishing Pleasure Beach enjoyed decades of growth and prosperity.

Upon Leonard Thompson’s death in 1976, directorship was passed to his only son [William] Geoffrey Thompson (1936 – 2004) and Lillian Doris took the position of Company Chairman. It was Geoffrey who brought us the newest and most exciting rides and attractions to the Pleasure Beach: the Steeplechase; the Revolution, Space Invader, Avalanche and in 1994 debuted the biggest, fastest, most exhilarating ride of your life, the record-breaking Pepsi Max Big One roller coaster. Surely the Pleasure Beach couldn’t have enjoyed a more remarkable success! In 1996 The Pleasure Beach celebrated its centenary to terrific fanfare and a yearlong celebration.

To bring the story up to date, In 2004 Geoffrey’s eldest daughter Amanda Thompson took over as Managing Director. Who knows what delights Amanda has for us, and what subsequent years will bring. For now the secret is safe, but what is known is that across four generations, the Thompson family have never ceased to thrill, amaze and astound the faithful patrons of The Pleasure Beach, Blackpool. No wonder they call it The Entertainment Adventure Capital of The World.

Source: A Century Of Fun (Peter Bennett)