Clacton Pier Reviews 

Unfortunately, our experience at Clacton Pier was extremely disappointing, particularly as a family with additional needs.
I have a 6-year-old son who is severely autistic, non-verbal and disabled, and I am his carer. I always explain this wherever we go and carry multiple forms of evidence, including his Blue Badge, Merlin Access Card, CEA Card and DLA letter. These have always been accepted elsewhere without issue.
We went to the soft play because my children were really excited to play, only to be told I couldn't receive carer access because I didn't have a Nimbus Card. This is one of the only disability cards I don't have. I shouldn't have to collect every possible disability card just to prove that my child is disabled and that I am his carer. There was no clear signage that I could see explaining this requirement, and I couldn't find anything obvious on the website beforehand either.
I also had issues with the rides. There was no clear signage explaining how the card/top-up system worked, and we only found out from another lovely couple that we could use the machine rather than queue at the booths. When I tried to top up the ride card, the machine swallowed the card. I waited around 15 minutes with no staff available to help, while my children became increasingly upset, so eventually I had no choice but to leave.
Another thing that really shocked us was the pricing of the temporary tattoos. There was a lady selling glitter tattoos and other temporary tattoos near the rides, but there was no price displayed anywhere. My daughter wanted one, and we honestly assumed it would be a few pounds. My partner then decided to get one for our son as well, so we had one tattoo done for our daughter and one for our son.
When my partner went to pay, he pulled out a £10 note and was told that they were £10 each — £20 for two temporary tattoos. We were genuinely shocked. I completely accept that I should have asked the price beforehand, but I do feel the price should have been clearly displayed before customers agreed to have them done. £10 for a temporary glitter tattoo is, in my opinion, an absolutely ridiculous price.
To make matters worse, my daughter's glitter tattoo was done on Wednesday and it's now Saturday, and almost all of the glitter has already come off. For £10, we certainly expected it to last longer.
Then we bought over £40 worth of fish and chips and sat outside with our children. Two huge seagulls swooped down, landed on our table, ate the fish and knocked the chips onto the floor. My children were absolutely terrified and ended up hungry.
I completely appreciate that the pier cannot control seagulls, but when I went back to the chip shop to explain what had happened, we were laughed at and then asked if we wanted to buy more food. There was no sympathy or understanding whatsoever.
I've also tried to raise the accessibility issue directly with the pier since returning, but unfortunately I've found the response very dismissive and, at times, quite rude. I was trying to raise a genuine concern about accessibility and how disabled families are treated, not cause an argument.
Overall, we found the pier very difficult as a family with additional needs. The lack of clear signage, accessibility information and pricing, combined with the way some of our concerns were handled, made the experience incredibly disappointing.
Sadly, after our experience and the way my concerns have subsequently been handled, I wouldn't recommend Clacton Pier to families with disabled children.

We visited as a family of 5 and bought the wristbands for the children. They had an amazing day and loved the rides and the golf. Overall it was a good day.
However the reason for the reduced star rating is the arcades. I know this may seem irrelevant to some but my children ended the day disappointed.
When we visit an arcade we put all tickets together and share out the total between the children so as not to cause arguments. we did this as usual and totalled the tickets before going to the counter so they knew how much they had and could decide quickly. BUT when we got up there the person behind the counter did NOT scan all of the tickets as we were a few hundred short of what i had added up to. When i said that wasnt correct he added an extra couple of hundred to the total straight away without going through them or anything else. This said to me that he knew he had been caught shorting us on the tickets.
I didnt want to cause too much of a scene at the time as it was towards the end of the day and the children were tired and getting grumpy but they had to change their minds on what they were going to spend their tickets on.
Who knows how many people they do this to but we ended up with much less than we were supposed to have.
We will be back but will be taking more notice of things like this now as if they do this for something as simple as the arcade tickets then what else are they shorting customers on.

Good family day out at clacton pier, I want to call out Matthew who was in charge of one of the rides, he’s so enthusiastic and upbeat and really makes an effort with all of the riders and children. He’s an asset to clacton pier.

It's dirty unsafe rowdy .didn't feel comfortable . People rude except 2 . Not the place to go with kids . Roads were dirty shops run down . It's a shame coz it used to be so nice. Don't know what's happening to these places.

Great pier. Despite growing prices it is reasonable. Great views on the pier but a tad scary to walk along the rickety wooden boards. Cool rides, mini golf, play area, arcades, bowling, darts, and more. Staff also friendly.

The staff working at the soft play this afternoon were absolutely amazing. Unfortunately there are no gluten free options for food on the menu but I can't fault how the staff went out of their way to make something that I was able to eat and taking the time to look at allergens despite being busy

Nice on hot days, alot of attractions, would attend again

The Clacton Wheel on the Pier was fabulous fun and a very gentle ride. Matthew was great as I was nervous and he said after one iteration of the wheel I could exit if need be - I completed all three turns and he kept an eye on me to ensure I was okay.

Had a lovley time here over the may half term. Matthew and Alex on the ferris wheel were lovely. Also the arcade machines (especially the 2p machines) filled with toys that were easy enough to win with lots of staff around to help if any got stuck. Would definitely recommend for a fun family day out.

My 9 year old daughter and I came here from London for a half term. So much fun, such lovely people, especially Debora who went above and beyond to make sure we found what we were looking for, and always with a big smile and without making it seem the least like it was just her job. I am embarrassed by how long I took to write this review thanking her but makes it no less heartfelt.

I Loved It ! We Done Golf It Was GREAT!!!!!!!! Then I Liked The Rides If There Were More Than 5 Stares I Would Give It To Them WELL DONE !!!

Had a great time on the wheel. Kasey at the payment kiosk was so approachable, kind and friendly. She was also able to help me later on by pointing me in the right direction to find a lost item my son had left behind. Ashley who was helping us on and off the ride was brilliant. Always making sure all customers were happy, feeling safe and supported. I noticed this more as one of the young girls on before us was slightly nervous, he mentioned making sure not to stop the ride as she was in the air so she didn’t get frightened and each time they came around made sure to check with her that she was okay! He did the same for us. The level of kindness and professionalism shown by Kasey and Ashley really was fab and made our day. Will be returning!

Ruby c on the donut stand 5 star service

yummy donuts and not that expensive for 5

I saw Ruby Chilton and she gave me fantastic service

We received a fantastic and friendly service, all with a smile from Ruby Chilton at Candy Corner on the pier. The hot doughnuts are the best that I've had in Clacton.

The staff is very sweet mostly kasey she is an amazing staff member she should be paied triple my fav ride is twister but it was closed so maybe waltsers

It was a nice day

We live close by so we're biased but the pier is a great place to bring the kids! I brought my daughter when she was younger and now I take my nephews and they love it. The annual pass is a fantastic deal too!

Enjoy coming here, Great rides and arcades and a bowling ally are here. The big wheel is excellent too you get wonderful views from here and the fireworks display they sometimes put on are quite spectacular.