ONE UK theme park is home to Europe’s best water ride, for the second year in a row.
Valhalla at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort in Lancashire has been named Europe‘s best water ride by the European Star Awards.
Valhalla at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort in Lancashire is Europe’s best water ride[/caption]
This is the fourth time the resort has won the award for the Valhalla ride.
The European Star Awards recognise different destinations in the European leisure industry and Valhalla managed to beat a number of other popular rides across Europe including De Vliegende Hollander at Efteling, in the Netherlands.
Dubbed the ‘UK’s wettest ride’, Valhalla first opened back in 2000 and later underwent a £4million refurb in 2023.
Riders get to board a longboat, which then goes on a journey to the Viking afterlife, including battling different elements, such as fire, ice and water, along the way.
According to Ride Rater, narration and music occurs as the ride climbs, then there’s a jump scare, an ice-themed room and lots of light and water effects.
One recent visitor claimed that there “is nothing like it [Valhalla] in the UK”.
Another added: “Valhalla was one of the most creative rides I’ve ever seen!”
Pleasure Beach Resort’s director of operations, Andy Hygate, said: “Winning this award is a huge achievement, especially with so many other fantastic rides in the category.
“We’re incredibly proud to be home to the Best Water Ride in Europe.
“With the exciting arrival of our new ride Aviktas in 2026, our future is looking brighter than ever – but it’s fantastic to see our current line-up continuing to set the standard and bring home top industry awards.”
The theme park also won four more awards recently at the UK Theme Park Awards, including a gold award for the Best Re-Imagined Ride.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort also recently unveiled plans for a new £8.8million ride set to open in 2026.
The ride will feature a 138-foot swing, which will allow riders to fly through the air parallel to the coastline.
The new ride is set to be called Aviktas and it will be the ‘tallest of its kind’ in the UK, the park has claimed.
Up to 40 riders at a time will be seated with their legs dangling, on a giant spinning pendulum, that will then swing 120 degrees
The theme park is also set to open a new ride next year[/caption]
At the time of the announcement, Amanda Thompson OBE, CEO of Pleasure Beach Resort said: “This ride will be colossal, daunting, exhilarating and an incredible addition to the town.”
The theme park also revealed an update to its Wallace & Gromit’s Thrill-O-Matic ride earlier this year.
New features include fan-favourite characters such as Norbot and Feaths McGraw.
The ride, which was the first Wallace & Gromit themed ride in the world, is indoors and lasts four minutes.
Each visitor boards a giant slipper, before travelling through scenes of the iconic films including A Close Shave.
Use these tips on your next theme park trip
NEXT time you visit a theme park, you may want to use our top tips to make the most of your adrenaline-inducing day out.
- Go to the back of the theme park first. Rides at the front will have the longest queues as soon as it opens.
- Go on water rides in the middle of the day in the summer – this will cool you off when the sun is at its hottest.
- Download the park’s app to track which rides have the shortest queues.
- Visit on your birthday, as some parks give out “birthday badges” that can get you freebies.
- If it rains, contact the park. Depending on how much it rained, you may get a free ticket to return.
Blackpool was also named the top place in the world to take bored kids this summer.
Plus, the seaside town is also home to the hotel that’s now the UK’s best – with theme park views and free park tickets.
Earlier this year it also updated its Wallace & Gromit’s Thrill-O-Matic ride[/caption]
