Frontierland Family Theme Park
2000
Frontierland Western Theme Park
1987 - 1999
Morecambe Pleasure Park
? - 1986
Fun City
unknown
West End Amusement Park
unknown
Frontierland Family Theme Park
Amusement park in UK
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Frontierland Family Theme Park was a seaside amusement park located in Morecambe, Lancashire, England, UK. The site where the park once stood largely remains vacant.
The park was owned by the Thompson family, who owns the nearby Blackpool Pleasure Beach and also previously owned Pleasureland Southport.
History
In October 1986 at an event led by Geoffrey Thompson, it was announced that Morecambe Pleasure Park would be redeveloped into Frontierland Western Theme Park with a new Wild West theme. It was billed as the first "genuine theme park" in the country.[1] Frontierland opened on 4 June 1987 with two out of three phases of work completed.[2]
Due to declining attendance, issues involving clashing with Morecambe Town Council and the bleak future of Morecambe as a seaside tourism resort, it was then decided to gradually downsize and shrink the park over a three year period, which started in late 1998 with the removal of the Stampede and Percolator rides and lasted to the end of 2000. This would result in the closure of the park due to these factors. During this process, the park's rides were either relocated to sister parks Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Pleasureland Southport, put up for sale or ultimately scrapped. The permanent theme park's final day of operation under Blackpool Pleasure Beach was 7 November 1999.[3]
On 29 March 2000, it was announced in the local press that the property would be split in two. The theme park was reduced to two acres with plans to redevelop the remaining eight into a new retail park. The park went under the name Frontierland Family Theme Park for this final season only, closing by the end of the year.[4] A package of travelling rides were also brought in during the final operating season, on loan from Scottish showman M&D Taylor.[5] Blackpool Pleasure Beach continued to own and operate a small area of land, including the Ranch House Public House and a nearby storage area.
On 22 March 2001, it was confirmed to the public that a family entertainment centre (FEC) would be built and operated by Blackpool Pleasure Beach as part of the site's redevelopment, similar to the Casablanca family entertainment centre complex at Pleasureland Southport. The Polo Tower and Log Flume were expected to be retained as part of this. A retail leisure complex was also planned.[6]
Former coasters
| Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened | Closed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Coaster | Supercar | Kiddie | Unknown | 1999 | Travelling UK |
| Figure Eight | William Strickler | Wooden | 1909 | 1938 | Scrapped |
| Jamming | Barbisan | Spinning | 2000 | 2000 | Travelling UK |
| Jet Star II | Schwarzkopf | Sit-Down | 1980 | 1981 or later | Unknown |
| Rattler | Pinfari | Kiddie | 1991 | 2000 | Stored, later relocated to Blackpool Pleasure Beach |
| Runaway Mine Train | Blackpool Pleasure Beach | Wooden Wild Mouse | 1960 | 1999 | Relocated to Pleasureland Southport |
| Stampede | Pinfari | Sit-Down | 1988 | 1998 | Relocated to Billing Aquadrome |
| Texas Tornado | Harry G. Traver, Charles Paige | Wooden | 1939 | 1999 | Scrapped |
Former attractions
References
- ↑ "£1.5m on a new frontier". Lancaster Guardian. 1986-10-31. p. 1.
- ↑ "High Noon marks start of new era". Morecambe Visitor. 1987-06-03. p. 9.
- ↑ "Frontierland Morecambe: How The West Was Lost". Joyland Books.
- ↑ Sargeant, Wendy (2000-03-29). "Shop and ride time". Morecambe Visitor. p. 1.
- ↑ Sargeant, Wendy (2000-07-19). "Sunny future for the park". Morecambe Visitor. p. 3.
- ↑ "Frontierland Polo Tower to Stay". Joyland Books.
External links
- Images of the park - National Fairground & Circus Archive