The Viva shows were a series of ‘floor shows’ presented in the Casino’s Horseshoe bar. They featured a number of variety acts combining dancing, singing and comedy. They were known for their elaborate and risqué costumes. The shows were replaced by Mystique in 1988.

We produce a monthly summary of everything that has been added to the site – there’s lots to keep track of! If you can’t wait for the monthly summary you can see the latest updates across the site at the bottom of the page, or if you’re looking for the most recently added or updated news in the archive, there is a dedicated list on the News page.

Featuring a cast of 21 and over 200 costumes, Forbidden was the new production for 2007 replacing Eclipse in The Globe. The show featured a ‘sumptuous glamour fuelled boudoir of song, dance and glorious style’.

Eclipse was a fusion of ballet, trapeze, gymnastics and acrobatics. The show featured a number of special effects incorporating fire and water and was so unique that a new classification was required, the ‘CircBallet’ was born in 1998 in The Globe and ran for nine seasons.

Mystique was a long running illusion show that was presented in the Casino’s Horseshoe bar. It featured a number of highly complex illusions alongside song and dance.

Leonard Thompson began the tradition of presenting ice shows at the park in 1937. These are performed in the purpose built Ice Drome (now known as the Arena), designed by Joseph Emberton. The name of the ice show has evolved over time, with the current ‘Hot Ice’ name first being used in 1984. Since 1994, the show has been directed by Amanda Thompson OBE,

This page explains the logic that is used for compiling news on this site. Similar notes are available for Rides.

• News is only posted when it appears in print, on the web or via another news source. Official press releases are also used.
• Rumours or hearsay are not posted.
• Stories pre-June 2023 are written retrospectively, but are written as if they were contemporaneous.
• Where possible, contemporaneous images are used – but this isn’t always possible
• For historic stories, the date used is the date something occurred which may not always be the date it was first reported. For example, if an event occurred on the 10th of the month, it might not have appeared in the press until the 12th, however the story will appear on the 10th in the database.
• The news archive is not complete and will likely never be, but we’re adding news stories from a significant backlog.
• We have taken the decision not to post a very small number stories relating to accidents and incidents. This information is available elsewhere if you want to consume it.
• The date of the news story is in the headline on purpose – although this is not the cleanest way to present the information, it’s done to ensure that the age of the story is always evident, irrespective of where the story is linked from.
• You can see stats about the number of records in the database on the About page
• You can contact us with questions or queries via the same page.

This page explains the logic that is used on this site for rides. Similar notes are available for News.

• You can view the ride index via the Rides page
• Rides are separated into three categories: Former, Current and Future
• From the late 1800s, there were rides on the site that we know today as the Pleasure Beach. Some of these rides later became incorporated into the park (like the Switchback, for example), others like a Figure of Eight roller coaster that opened around 1905 did not and remained independent and detached as the Pleasure Beach came into being. Therefore, the former has an entry, the latter does not.
• Rides are listed with their most recent name, or the name that was used at the point the ride was removed.
• Where a ride has been reimagined, there are two different approaches:
  • Where a ‘new’ ride has reused elements of an existing attraction but has substantively changed, there are two entries (for example … Gold Mine and Wallace & Gromit’s Thrill-o-Matic)
  •  Where a ride has been refreshed but is still essentially the same ride, there is one entry (for example …the Launch Pad entry covers the ride’s operation as Playstation: The Ride and Ice Blast too).
• Where rides have been combined to create a new attraction, the individual rides retain their entries and a new entry is created for the combined experience (for example … the Haunted Hotel and the Tagada were combined to create Trauma Towers – all rides retain individual entries).
• Games and challenges are not listed on this site.
• Live entertainment (like Hot Ice) is listed in the Entertainment section, however attractions akin to live entertainment that operate continuously (like a ride) such as the Indian Theatre or the Hard Luck Bears are listed in the ride section.
• We have tried to be consistent, but occasionally it’s difficult and somewhat subjective – if you really think something is incorrect, contact us via the About page and we’ll take a look!
• You can see stats about the number of records in the database on the About page

You can contact us using the form below. We’ll do our best to get back to you as soon as we can.

Alternatively, you can contact us via the Pleasure Beach DataBase Contributors group on Facebook.

Our News page is divided into two self sections, Latest and Archive.

We have provided some notes about how we report news, specifically, what is included and what isn’t. A list of recently added and amended articles is available at the bottom of this page.

Details of all updates & additions made across the site can be found on the Site Updates page.