The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an iconic roller coaster. This Arrow Dynamics hyper coaster opened in 1994 as the world’s tallest roller coaster. And it was the tallest coaster in the entire United Kingdom until Hyperia opened in 2024. This monstrous coaster sprawls along the edge of the park and it dominates the skyline. Does this iconic ride still hold up? Find out in this review.
Video Credits
Big One Original Drop (Where Seagulls Dare)
Big One POV (Front Seat POVs)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaOmV2CvbQ4
Big One POV (Nik Kershaw)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw0VH4ni77Y&t=38s
Big One Retrack (Taziker)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3UthQqU0xk
Defiance (B&M Fanboy)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUq0ButhtAc
Desperado (Savage Coasters)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBQ93sYE-Us&t=88s
Fujiyama (ElToroRyan)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OiNDOcRn3k
Steel Phantom (psyclonesteve)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTKEXQF8PdY&t=214s
Steel Phantom (Sean Flaharty)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptMqSMXJJOI
Background Music
Big One Soundtrack (Pleasure Beach Resort)
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I love magnum so so so much… this ride looks quite worse
We could have had magnum but better 😭
Magnum is my favorite pure hyper coaster so I really want to check The Big One out
Super controvertial but I find this coaster extremely entertaining and just fun to ride. The first drop in the back row with ample room is utter insanity and the rest of the layout only features a few sligt airtime moments yes.. but the way it rides feels like you are driving over cobblestones in a car at 90mph or something. Also the minimalsist trains help.
And thank you so much for mentioning the soundtrack! I absolutely adore it and the atmosphere it gives to the station.
Got to love how at least two British coasters have the Union Jack on them, it’s not a lot but it’s funny it happened twice
For some reason it rides a lot rougher since being retracked. I used to love the ride but it's gotten to a point where it isn't fun for me and I love most 'rough' coasters lol.
Id say the 2 things that save this coaster are the first drop and visuals.
The Big Ramp
You should do a review on the New for 2024 Danse Macabre at Efteling! After you ride it.
i adore the Big One. Hyperia might be newer but i wholeheartedly prefer Big One. Big One just has so much charm and it’s just so much fun to ride you have a smile and are laughing from start to finish. Hyperia didn’t wow me but Big One still wows me even after 7+ years of regularly riding it
The first drop is fun but it doesn't do much after that. I think it's had its day.
Hyperia is amazing.
people call it a monorail sometimes but having a massive fast monorail with some forces here and there sounds great to me
Big one has never been the fastest in the world even when it opened in 1994,Steel Phantom was.
Absolutely the perfect big one review!
I know I would be totally underwhelmed by the rest of the layout, but I'm still ready for that first drop to change me as a human being.
I love this review. I know the Big One technically isn’t great, but I love the first drop, the speed, the retroness, the out of control feel, the views, the sound of the lift hill, the soundtrack, the way it looks, the interactions and the near misses. I could ride it all day everyday if I could. I think it suits a traditional seaside park (almost) perfectly. Sometimes I think about if they could replace it with a modern smooth hyper, but it just wouldn’t be the same. I hope they can eventually retrack the whole thing and paint it up.
5:44 weird… the original profiling looks a lot smoother 😂 Maybe its the angle
Rode this in the rain. Absolutely insane. Get by the bullets hitting your face and it’s just so much faster. Even overshot the breaks. Best ride I’ve had on it
Do you find big one better than the giavalona hypers? The giavanola hypers have two great helixes but a severe lack of airtime more so than this coaster although I’ve never ridden this. And the giavanola hypers have poor pacing given the fact that there’s several dull moments.
When i hear "Postive G" i think of a really nice black friend always supporting you when you need.
I love arrows so much. This ride is terrible though.
I’ve heard this ride described as the Millennium Force of the UK. Incredible first drop, but not really that much else to it.
A bad hyper coaster is like bad sex or bad pizza: bad for sex or pizza, but good for food or fun. Therefore: The Big One is a bad hyper coaster but it's still a good roller coaster, if that makes any sense.
Magnum’s drug addicted cousin
The views from the top of the lift hill are incredible, as is the first drop. After that it's still a fun fast ride, though definitely on the rough side. I love the old fashioned clackety-clack sound of the lift hill too.
The first drop is amazing. The views are awesome. I like the turnaround and the helix too
First drop Is a twisting devil and great fun …..after that it's just a nice ride around…. I think they could definitely look at restyling the ride in the future do something bold and daring with it to keep and update it's iconic status … part of Blackpool skyline
How does Arrow go from making Magnum to this? Clearly they didn't learn why Magnum was so popular