Today, The Big One rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach celebrates its 31st birthday. Since opening on 28 May 1994, this £12 million steel beast, manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, has towered over the seafront skyline as one of the most iconic coasters in the United Kingdom. But for me and my brothers, it holds an even more personal memory. It is where we once rode with the man who broke the Guinness World Record for the longest time spent on a rollercoaster.

Long before I began working behind the scenes for Walt Disney Attractions Technology, I was just a kid growing up in the northeast of England. Back then, like many northern families, we spent countless weekends making the pilgrimage to Blackpool.

Comedian Peter Kay once nailed the sentiment of every northerner perfectly. “Let’s have a change, let’s go to Blackpool.” For us, it wasn’t just a punchline. It was truly a tradition. There was sand in your shoes, vinegar on your chips, and if the weather was not sideways rain, you were winning. The town might feel a bit run down now, or maybe it always was and we just did not notice through the rose tinted goggles of childhood, but back then, it was pure magic.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach was the centerpiece. Every visit, we would make a beeline for the Grand National, the racing coaster that felt like it was held together by sheer force of will and northern grit. But we always appreciated the other attractions too, especially the Big Dipper. That is where we would see the sign, proudly displayed in the station, telling the story of Richard Rodriguez and his incredible feat, his world record for time spent on a rollercoaster.

That record became the stuff of legend for us. In August 1998, Richard had ridden the Big Dipper for over one thousand hours. He doubled that two years later to two thousand. But when Guinness World Records changed the rules in 2007, those records were nullified. So Richard came back to reclaim the title, this time on The Big One. We knew we had to see it for ourselves.

We planned the trip for August 2007. It was one of those typical Blackpool days, blustery, overcast, but buzzing with that strange energy the Pleasure Beach always seemed to have. As we queued for The Big One, we noticed that one row toward the middle of the train had been sectioned off. Word had spread on theme park message boards that Richard Rodriguez was riding again, aiming for over four hundred hours this time around.

With no staff directing us, we picked a lane, and as the train pulled into the station from its last circuit, we spotted him. He looked calm, focused, and unmistakably friendly. My middle brother, the biggest coaster enthusiast of us all, leaned over the barrier and asked if we could ride with him.

To our delight, Richard said yes.

When the gates opened, we climbed in. My middle brother took the seat next to him and I sat with our youngest brother in the seats directly in front. As the chain lift clanked into motion and we climbed toward the sky, I snapped a photo of my brother and Richard chatting behind us, which I will try to dig up later.

During the ascent, Richard chatted warmly about the experience so far. He said it was tough, sitting in the same car, hour after hour, day after day. But his tone never carried a hint of complaint. This was a mission, and he was fully committed. He told us about how the record had briefly been held by a team in Germany, but he was determined to win it back. You could tell he was not just doing it for the record itself. He was doing it for the joy of it, for the love of the ride, and for everyone who shares that passion.

He spoke with real reverence for the theme park community, and in that moment, it did not matter whether you were a world record holder or just a teenager on holiday. Everyone shared something in common. A love for the thrill. A respect for the craft. A deep appreciation for the stories that rides like The Big One told through height, speed, and nostalgia.

That single ride has stayed with me ever since.

It became more than a story we would tell over drinks or reminisce about at Christmas. It was a spark. Years later, that spark took me across the world. I moved to Orlando Florida to take part in the Cultural Representative Program at Epcot, and later built a career working as a Software Engineer with Walt Disney Attractions Technology and other Theme Park Tech companies

Richard Rodriguez officially set the record at four hundred five hours and forty minutes on The Big One. But for me and my brothers, that single ride we shared with him meant even more. It reminded us that theme parks are more than just places for thrills. They are places where stories unfold. The kind you carry with you for a lifetime.

That moment helped shape the path I would go on to follow. It showed me that even the most unlikely passions, like riding rollercoasters, can lead to something meaningful. Something worth chasing.

I’m still grateful to Richard for letting us join him on that lap all those years ago. Not just because it gave us an incredible story to tell, but because it reminded us what can happen when you follow what brings you joy.