Nickelodeon UK Vacations to Pleasure Beach

Nickelodeon is getting serious about reeling in and keeping close its UK viewership. The children's entertainment group announced this week the official opening of Nickelodeon Land, a six-acre park/playland stocked with network- and character-branded games, rides, stores, and more. Classic and contemporary nicktoons hope to give kids a summer break worth looking forward to -- the price tag Nickelodeon Land's twelve-ride spectacular apparently totals an estimated 10.3 million British Pounds (USD $16,900).

Nickelodeon Land is located in Blackpool, England, a popular UK holiday destination. In fact, the new Nick recreational area measures only one-seventh the total size of the Pleasure Beach amusement park. Pleasure Beach has plenty of attractions in the way of theater, dining, and more for family or social group outings.

However, Nickelodeon Land is for the kids, and the six-acre site reportedly boasts twelve rides and is one of only three Nick theme parks outside the United States (including Australia and Germany).

Animation characters represented through the new theme park rides bring visitors into the worlds of the fantasy adventure Avatar: the Last Airbender, perennial slapstick favorite SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon classic Rugrats, and several preschool properties, such as The Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, and The Wonder Pets.

Beyond the rides and games, parents and kids will have the opportunity to engage various costumed meet-and-greets and hit the UK's first Nick Shop.

In the way of park rides, "Avatar Airbender" sits visitors in a spinning wind-embellished disk that whizzes through a curved, half-circle track (with plenty of wind gusts thrown in for good measure). The SpongeBob rides -- "SpongeBob's Splash Bash," "Bikini Bottom Bus Tour," and "Krusty Krab Order Up" -- offer the perfect distraction for fans of the cartoon undersea sponge. "Splash Bash," for example, is a water game that allows contestants to partake in a jellyfish expedition with on-board water cannons for backup. "Order Up" is an ascension-drop ride, bringing participants to the top of the Krusty Krab only to take a "stomach-lurching plunge" back down.

Younger kids might take a liking to "Diego's Rainforest Rescue," which further visualizes the kid-adventurer's everyday animal rescue scenarios.

The ride fictionalizes a bouncy, hot air balloon ride where tourists might take in a more peaceful view of the Pleasure Beach amusement park (and take up a search for endangered animals or birds in the meanwhile).

Pleasure Bleach Blackpool has roughly 125 rides throughout its complex, making Nickelodeon Land a small but relevant piece to a much larger weekend excursion. But Nickelodeon Land UK, with a dozen rides and a thoroughly green-and-orange decked store (complete with a Build-a-Bob toy workshop), will likely be more than enough entertainment for area kids looking to spend a day with a swarm of familiar cartoon characters.

Additional Information:
Nickelodeon Land official site map: {view}

Recent Nickelodeon UK News:
"Nickelodeon Magazine UK's Issue #1 on Newsstands" at AnimationInsider.net (03/2011)