Big One (Pleasure Beach Blackpool)

Big One General [[File:|link=|center]] ' ' Park Pleasure Beach Blackpool Location Blackpool, England, UK Status Operating Operated Operated May 28, 1994 - Opened May 28, 1994 Opening Cost Height restriction Statistics Manufacturer Arrow Dynamics Builder Designer Type Steel- Hyper Type Model Riders per train 30 Riders per hour 1,700 Lift/launch system Chain Lift Height 213 feet Drop 205 feet Top speed 74 mph Length 5,497 feet Dimensions feet x feet Duration 3:00 Inversions Steepest drop 65 degrees Maximum g-force 3.5G

Big One is an Arrow Dynamics hyper roller coaster located at Pleasure Beach Blackpool in Blackpool, England. The ride cost £12,000,000 ($18,000,000) to build and was sponsored by Pepsi. It is the 2nd tallest rollercoaster in the United Kingdom, just behind Hyperia, and was the tallest in the world when it opened in 1994.

Trivia

• The ride was the tallest, fastest, and steepest in the world when it opened in 1994. All these records have been taken from it, but it it is still the tallest rollercoaster in the United Kingdom, but it is no longer the fastest as Stealth in Thorpe Park is the fastest at 80 mph.
• The ride has suffered two crashes. One in July 1994, just weeks after its opening, and one in August 2000. These crashes were only minor, and so were the resulting injuries, but they made international news. There was also a breakdown (not a collision, so no injuries) on 4 April 2016.
• The Pleasure Beach leaflet incorrectly says the ride's speed at 87 mph, when it is actually 74 mph. The leaflet also exaggerates the ride's height, stating it as 235 feet. The correct figures have been stated by Ron Toomer, the ride's designer, who (unlike the park) has no reason to exaggerate these figures.
• The ride's height restriction is 52 inches or 4 ft 4in
• The opening in 1994 of The Big One, Nemesis and Shockwave resulted in 1994 being celebrated by UK parks and fans as the "Year of the Rollercoaster".
• The ride's height (according to its designer) of 213 feet means that by the horizon formula (the distance to the horizon, in miles, is approximately 1.2 times the square root of the height above sea level of the viewpoint, in feet; the error percentage is small enough to be negligible for any but the tallest heights), the horizon from the top of the lift hill is 17.5 miles; so it should be possible to see Preston, the county town of Lancashire (straight-line distance 14 miles). This does not happen in practice, as when going up the hill Preston is behind you. Perhaps it's briefly possible if you look to the right at the top of the hill, just after the turn to go down the drop.
• It is also theoretically possible to see Southport (straight-line distance 12 miles; look to the left), but not Morecambe (straight-line distance 19 miles).

Preceded by Magnum XL-200

​World's Tallest Complete-Circuit Roller Coaster May 1994–July 1996 ​

Succeeded by Fujiyama

Photo Gallery

Big One's drop

Big One towers over the rest of Pleasure Beach