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Blackpool Pleasure Beach
vs
Thorpe Park

On a typical day Blackpool Pleasure Beach queues less: about 17 minutes a ride against 24 at Thorpe Park, a difference of roughly 7 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right nowCompare other parks

01 · On a typical day

What you would normally queue.

Averages across recent weeks, so one broken ride or one wet Tuesday cannot decide it. This is the comparison to plan a trip on; the live figures below are the one to act on today.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Thorpe Park compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyBlackpool Pleasure BeachUnited KingdomThorpe ParkUnited Kingdom
Average wait per ride 17 min (best of the two)24 min
Rides with recorded waits 29 (best of the two)21
Longest typical queue Big Dipper32 minHyperia54 min
Shortest typical queue Wonderpets Big Circus Bounce3 minVortex6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running90% (best of the two)88%

Averaged across every ride at each park with recorded waits. A ride that never opened is left out, so a park is not flattered by counting a shut ride as a queue of zero.

02 · Right now

Both parks, this minute.

Live queue times at both parks. These fill in as soon as the page loads, and keep updating while you are here.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Thorpe Park compared on live queue times
Right nowBlackpool Pleasure BeachUnited KingdomThorpe ParkUnited Kingdom
Average wait right now --
Rides open --
Opening hours today --
Longest queue --
Shortest queue --

These keep refreshing while this page is open. A closed park posts no waits, so its rows read as dashes rather than zeroes.

Verdict, on a typical day On a typical day Blackpool Pleasure Beach queues less: about 17 minutes a ride against 24 at Thorpe Park, a difference of roughly 7 minutes on every queue you join.

03 · Choosing

Which one is your day out.

Every line here is earned by one of the figures above - nothing is a generic sentence with a park name dropped into it.

Pick Blackpool Pleasure Beach if…

  • You want shorter queues: Blackpool Pleasure Beach averages 17 minutes a ride against 24 at Thorpe Park
  • You want more to do: 29 rides here have recorded wait data against 21 at Thorpe Park
  • Big Dipper is on your list - it is Blackpool Pleasure Beach's longest typical queue at about 32 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Blackpool Pleasure Beach's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Thorpe Park if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 24 minutes a ride here against 17 at Blackpool Pleasure Beach - for what Thorpe Park has that Blackpool Pleasure Beach does not
  • Hyperia is on your list - it is Thorpe Park's longest typical queue at about 54 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Thorpe Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is the UK's most-visited tourist attraction outside London and has been running on the Lancashire seafront since 1896. It's famous for its historic wooden coaster collection - the Grand National (a rare duelling Möbius-track woodie from 1935), Big Dipper, Nickelodeon Streak - alongside modern rides like Icon (a double-launched Mack coaster) and The Big One (a 235-foot hyper coaster, the UK's tallest).

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is busiest during UK summer school holidays, Bank Holiday weekends, and the famous Illuminations season from September to early November. Weekdays in June, September and October stay much calmer. Check live wait times for Icon and The Big One on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter midweek date for marathon coaster days.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach live queue times

Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park is the UK's premier thrill-ride destination, sitting on a lake-filled 500-acre site in Chertsey, Surrey. Owned by Merlin Entertainments, the park is built around adrenaline: Stealth rockets from 0 to 80 mph in under two seconds, Hyperia stands as Britain's tallest and fastest rollercoaster at 236 feet, and Nemesis Inferno, Saw and Colossus round out one of the most coaster-heavy line-ups in Europe.

Queue times at Thorpe Park swing dramatically with the seasons - quiet in spring and on weekdays, extremely busy during Fright Nights in October and summer weekends. Check live queue times before your ride priorities, and use the crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit if you want to hit every major coaster in a single day.

Thorpe Park live queue times

05 · Questions

Blackpool Pleasure Beach or Thorpe Park?

Which is better, Blackpool Pleasure Beach or Thorpe Park?

If you are judging on queues, Blackpool Pleasure Beach: it averages about 17 minutes a ride on a typical day against 24 at Thorpe Park, roughly 7 minutes back on every queue you join. Blackpool Pleasure Beach has 29 rides with recorded waits against 21 at Thorpe Park. Blackpool Pleasure Beach also runs its rides more reliably - 90% of opening hours against 88%.

Which has shorter queues, Blackpool Pleasure Beach or Thorpe Park?

Blackpool Pleasure Beach, by about 7 minutes a ride. On a typical day Blackpool Pleasure Beach averages 17 minutes against 24 at Thorpe Park. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Blackpool Pleasure Beach best time to visit and Thorpe Park best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Thorpe Park in the same trip?

Yes - both parks are in United Kingdom, so a two-park trip is realistic over a long weekend. Split the days so you start at whichever opens earliest and drive to the other in the evening.

How many rides does each park have?

See the tables above for ride counts - or jump to Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Thorpe Park for the full ride lists.

Is Blackpool Pleasure Beach bigger than Thorpe Park?

By rides we track waits for, Blackpool Pleasure Beach is the bigger day out: 29 rides against 21. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Blackpool Pleasure Beach is the quicker park.

Then pick
the quiet day.

Both parks have a crowd calendar with six weeks of forecast and the best day left to go.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach calendarThorpe Park calendarCompare other parks
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