Sabrina's Brochure Spotlight: Pleasurewood Hills 2007

It's been quite a few months since SBS left the confines of the United States, so I decided it was high time for a little hop across the pond. This week we find ourselves on the east coast of England, in the friendly little town of Lowestoft. (I've never actually visited that part of England, but I'm going to give the locals the benefit of the doubt and assume they're friendly.)

Pleasurewood Hills is neither the largest nor the most well-known park in England, but it certainly seems to be a "big fish" in its immediate geographic area. As noted here, it was voted Best Attraction on the Sunrise Coast in 2006. And I'll tell you something else, these folks know how to market a new attraction. Can anybody guess what was new in 2007?

Time's up! Yes, it was Wwwwwwwwipeout. (Or "Wipeout", for short.) And yes, Wipeout is a Vekoma Boomerang, arguably the most tired of all one-trick pony coaster concepts. Yet Pleasurewood Hills found a way to make it look and sound like an awful lot of fun, and I get the impression that park patrons were not disappointed. Such are the benefits of being a lesser known, out-of-the-way park.

...And they're still marketing it. Seriously, this coaster really was a big deal for Pleasurewood! But as we progress through the brochure, you'll understand why. Prior to 2007, the park's biggest, baddest coaster was Enigma, a Schwarzkopf Jumbo V. (Although it was also home to a Reverchon spinning mouse for a handful of years.) You see, the "adventures" portrayed on these panels are just the right level of "thrilling" for this park.

Just as the last panel got an AC/DC song stuck in my head, this panel canceled it out with a little Donovan action. [Am I dating myself again? Oh come on, people! Everybody knows that catchy little tune known as "Mellow Yellow".] Pleasurewood's log flume actually goes by the name "Timber Falls" these days, but in 2007 it was still named after a soda...and a song which, I can assure you, was written many years before I was a twinkle in my mom's eye. Accompanying it here are photos of some of the park's other family friendly rides.

In addition to Wipeout, the Magic Circus also came to town in 2007. This spectacle featuring acrobats, magicians, and dancers provided a nice contrast to Pleasurewood's existing entertainment offerings, which appeared to be primarily of the animal variety.

Is that a cuddly park mascot I spy, keeping watch over the kiddie rides section of this brochure? As a matter of fact, it is! That's Woody Bear, and he'd like to assure you that even the smallest of patrons can have plenty of fun at Pleasurewood. Those food options don't sound too shabby, either, although I'll take a vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles in place of that "afternoon cream tea", if ya don't mind.

Did you know that Lowestoft is the easternmost town in all of England? I didn't, until today. No wonder we don't hear about this park more often! It's a shame though, because it looks really cute. It takes parks of all shapes and sizes to make the world go 'round, and Pleasurewood Hills has a lot to offer for a park of its size.