Previously known as Ice Blast, and before that, Play Station: The Ride, this S&S Worldwide tower ride blasts guests up a 210ft tower at speeds of up to 80mph thanks to its brand-new pressure cylinder. Offering not only breathtaking views, either ‘beachside’ or ‘parkside’, Launch Pad offers a fun and intense experience for all those brave enough to ride.

Pleasure Beach Resort CEO, Amanda Thompson OBE, opened proceedings which included a speech on the importance of not only building new rides, but concentrating on re-imagining much loved experiences – something that Pleasure Beach Resort is becoming known for, with experiences such as Valhalla in recent years and River Caves on the horizon.

With the ribbon cut, it was brilliant to see the main creative team at Pleasure Beach Resort getting the opportunity to be some of the very first riders. And they certainly enjoyed seeing their project come to fruition.

With the formalities over it was our turn to board. On entering the queue area, located beneath an impressive new sign affixed to the operator’s booth, you're treated to great close-up action of the ride itself, launching guests every few minutes.

Whilst there isn’t any real ‘theming’ located around the attraction, there is plenty of attractive planting and the ride itself looks great in its new colour scheme. The ride also now boasts an impressive new soundtrack and queue area. Launch Pad looks fantastic alongside the Flying Machines attraction, and through well established planting, doesn’t clash too much with the nearby Valhalla and Loki's.

On each cycle, synchronised sound effects, including a loading sequence and countdown, is accompanied by smoke which bellows from beneath the ride vehicle before park guests are launched towards the sky.

On completion of our first ride, which we were ‘beachside’, we were handed a complimentary ‘first rider’ certificates, and it was great to see that this continued throughout the day for those park guests that got to experience the ride after opening to the public from 12pm. This was a really nice touch from Pleasure Beach Resort and something that we loved to see.

Following our first ride, we continued to test each of the different viewing positions and also experienced a sneaky launch when the countdown had only reached two!

After a re-fuel at the nearby Loki’s, which provides a great viewing area for those not brave enough to experience, we headed to the main park store to check out some of the great new Launch Pad merchandise. As with all Pleasure Beach Resort ranges, the merchandise looks to be of great quality and design.

In conclusion, the re-imagining of Launch Pad was a great decision by the team at Pleasure Beach Resort and we are sure that this ride will continue to excite and thrill guests for many years to come. The ride offers a very different experience to anything else in the park and it serves as a vital flat ride following the current closure of Sky Force.

Before leaving, we got the opportunity to experience some of our favourites including Icon and The Big One in the Lancashire sunshine.