The UK is officially home to a theme park named the ‘Best of the Best’, as well as the ‘Best Ride of the Year’ – after a North West Resort swept both titles at an international awards ceremony.
Pleasure Beach Resort in Blackpool won two at the Park World Excellence Awards, on Wednesday September 23 – a ceremony recognising the best of the leisure industry across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The seaside resort took home the prestigious ‘Best of the Best’ award, which is reserved for theme parks, rides, or tourist attractions recognised for excelling as the best of all time within its respected industry.
Park World Excellence organisers describe the award as “the absolute pinnacle, reflecting everything that is great about our industry” and is one of the highest honours to receive within the leisure and tourism sector.
Pleasure Beach holds the unique privilege of being a fourth-generation family-owned park, making it one of the oldest theme parks in Europe. Now in its 130th year, the park was praised for its sustained success and constant contributions to the theme-park industry upon receiving the award.
It becomes the first UK theme park to win the accolade, joining legendary attractions such as Europa Park, Siam Park and Liseberg as former recipients.
The ceremony also saw success for Pleasure Beach’s newest ride, Aviktas, which was named the ‘Best Ride of the Year’, beating off international competition from Germany, Netherlands and Spain.
Aviktas, opened in May 2026, came as a £8.72M investment and upon its launch, broke records for being the largest ride of its kind in the UK, swinging riders 138ft into the air on its rotating pendulum.
To be named Best of the Best is a massive achievement for our park. Our industry is full of so much talent, so to be recognised among the best speaks volumes on the dedication and hard work that has kept us moving forward for 130 years.
Amanda Thompson OBE, CEO of Pleasure Beach Resort
Avitkas has been a hugely valuable addition to the park and I’ve been delighted by its reception so far. If they haven’t already I’d absolutely encourage people to visit Pleasure Beach and give our ride, now recognised as one of the world’s best a go!
This win continues a period of success for Pleasure Beach, having already claimed two honours earlier this week at the European Star Awards. Again, Aviktas was named Europe’s Best New Ride, while Valhalla was runner up for the Best Water Ride – its fifth podium finish in the category.
Pleasure Beach Resort remains open for the majority of September and October, excluding certain Mondays and Tuesdays outside of school holidays. It is also preparing for its Halloween event, Journey to Hell, opening October 17. The immersive scare experience, returns this year with three new scare mazes and a selection of rides running from 10am until 9pm.
More information on Pleasure Beach tickets and events can be found here: https://www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com/
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