I hadn't been up Blackpool tower since i was 8 so to say this visit with my husband and 2 year old (plus a new one in a pram) was a disappointment is an understatement.
We went with another couple who have a 3 year old boy so we were looking to make it a big day out.
Firstly the shabby entrance is not the most inviting. There is no ramp at the front to allow ease of access for prams or wheelchairs. You have to enter the back way for this. Secondly the prices. It shopuld have been £33 for a family of 3 so i questioned our little lads age to see if he could get in for free. I was told he had to stand against a board with a picture of the tower on it. The basics were if he was taller than the tower - he had to pay. Now my lad is approx 3ft and he was a whole head above the tower. Luckily we had a free child entry vouvher with us as back up so we didn't need to pay.
We went first of all the the aquarium. I was so excited about seeing the giant turtles but sadly there were none. A small sign was on the tank telling visitors that they had been been moved to 2 different zoos as they had grown too big for the enclosure. All the other fish just weren't as exciting as them - so i was disappointed.
We then went to the amusements. Drop the penny machines a plenty. The only good thing is there is a buggy hold where you can leave your buggy/pram for £1.
We then went through to the eating area where everything was closed. This was at 1pm so we weren't outwith normal eating times. There was a small sandwich area charging £7.05 for 1 pack!!!!
We decided to eat in the area in the play area. £2.99 for a meal and it was rotten. if i hadn't saw the food being cooked infront of me i'd swear they were reheats. The other thing here was it was the one person serving and making the food and it was stricktly one order at a time so be prepared to wait.
Jungle Jims - the play area, is for under 14s but iwould say more suited to under 10s. It has big slideds, ball fun, rope bridges, rope climbs etc. There was a whole area that was closed off but there was no explanation as to why. Our kids did have massive fun here but they are so small they didn't really notice the tatty surrounds. There is a small part for smaller children but it is limited in fun.
Next stop was the Dinosaur ride. WE got up to it and it was closed. Now i don't know whether it is getting upgraded or replaced. Not much info given.
The ballroom. Nothing has changed about this. The music was playing, the dancers were dancing. IT was nice.
We then went to the tower top. It has nice view over the sea and the piers but the other end is just a sad look over a town that was. Blackpool doesn't look the best on the ground but it looks worse from up the tower. There is a shop where you can buy postcards, souviners etc and a post box to post your cards to relatives. It even gets a stamp ;posted from the top of the tower'.
There is also the walk of faith. A clear 3ft square piece of perspex which you can walk over if you have the guts. The tower also has an old fashioned red phone box which works.
We took the lift back down to the ground again to come face to face with the amusements again. It was pretty dingy and to say the place was crying out for a make over is an understatment.
We did head into the circus but there aren't any rooms for prams and as we had a 4mth old, there was no room for us. Also the other little boy that was with us was scared of the clowns so we had to leave. From the reports that i have heard, the circus is the only good thing about the tower so well worth a visit.
In total we spent 3 hours in the tower. It was ok but i can safely say that i wouldn't pay the money to get into it again unless it has a much needed, long, long overdue makeover.
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