Walton Pier Amusement Arcade

Walton Seafront

Walton Pier is centrally located in the seaside town of Walton-on-the-Naze. Walton town has an interesting array of historic old buildings and the High Street boasts antique shops, bazaars and other unique offerings. There is also a good range of pubs and hotels located near the beach and around the promenade area. Beach huts seem to be very popular in the Frinton and Walton coastal areas. 

The Walton Pier itself can be reached from the coastal paths or by heading down Pier Approach. Here, one can find a selection of shops and food vendor kiosks outside the pier, both in front of, and facing the pier continuing round to South cliff Promenade.

It seems that once-upon-a-time the Walton Pier itself had clear skylight roofing and a central walkway with lots of separate shops, kiosk areas and exhibits. Recently the venue has undergone an extensive program of renovation to turn it into one single colossal amusement arcade venue. It is of a size and scale akin to what one might expect to find in Las Vegas, USA. 

Arcade Extravaganza!

Is Walton Pier the largest amusement arcade in the UK? It is certainly on the short-list!

The front of the Walton Pier Amusements has several double doors with one larger entrance. It seems they open all the doors on warm, sunny days and close them when the wind picks up. Upon entering, visitors will be astounded at the sheer size of the place. 

With high oval ceilings akin to an aircraft carrier, jet black painted internal décor and beautiful rainbow coloured strip lighting that matches the gaming machines, the place has a real 'Las Vegas casino' feel with massive depth of space. Even on busy days it would be a challenge to fill this gigantic venue. 

At the front right side of the venue there is a large food café called the Sea Spray Diner. Here visitors can order a wide range of fast foods and seaside staples. The pier also has a licenced bar serving draft beers and other alcoholic beverages. This area is very large and has lots of seating options that even extend to the outside frontage in high season. 

Crane Claw Grabbers

Most of the claw machines can be found nearer the front of the venue. They have a huge selection of different types of claw grabbers and many more can be found further along the venue. Near the front entrance to the adult casino area is a gigantic claw machine called ‘X-treme Drop’ that nearly reaches the ceiling! Here for just £1, players can win giant Disney branded plush toys including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.  

They also have rows of Giga crane machines with great branded prizes including Steven the Seagull, Garfield, Lilo & Stitch, Sonic the Hedgehog, Winnie the Pooh and many more!

With a keen eye patrons can spot lots of other grabber style machines dotted around the venue including machines such as Win Fall Revolution and Mini House, which is geared toward to younger kids with smaller hands. There is also a Dream Castle machine which is in the shape of a castle and has five separate claw zones to play.

Casino Slots Lounge 

Ideally situated at the front of the venue on the left side is the adult casino slots lounge. This in itself is extremely large and has a huge number of different fruit and slot machines games to play.  

An attendant is usually seated in this area to help with any needs patrons may have and to also help with food and drink orders. 

The slots lounge boasts many community slot machines including several Party Time machines (Arena and Party Games), Bullion Bars, Adders & Ladders, Gold Rush, Cops and Robbers, Gold Run and Rainbow Riches Community Spins. They also have Lady Luck Moon Struck and Bank Raid.

A large Deal or No Deal Bankers Offer four-player sit-down machine is available to play with friends or if Monopoly is favoured, then there is a Monopoly three-player sit-down machine with digital screen feature board.  

There are rows and rows of modern digital Blueprint Gaming terminals with variable top prizes going all the way up to £500 jackpots. These offer the latest casino games including Fishing Frenzy, Napoleon Megaways and Eagle Storm. 

If standalone fruit machines are more ones cup of tea, then fear not as there are many of these dotted around including a Queen £100 jackpot machine amongst others. 

A stand out machine in the slots lounge is the VIP 250 from Novomatic. This comes with a huge plush chair for fully immersive gaming similar to those found in high-end casinos. Games available to play on this machine also include the latest video poker games.  

Another standout machine in the adult gaming area is a triple row fruit machine called Creepy Cash, which has a £50 jackpot and an interesting upper feature board. Quite a rare machine to see in the UK today. 

With the slots lounge being near the front of the venue, it is also very handy for anyone working in Walton who wants to have a quick flutter after work and not waste any time in doing so.

£5 Jackpot Fruit Machines

There are several £5 jackpot fruit machines within the adult slots lounge, though keep an eye out as there are many dotted around the venue. These mostly included triple row £5 jackpot fruit machines including Rainbow King, Bullion Bars and Bullion Bars Deluxe.

Prize Shop Ticket Window

As visitors walk down the pier to the next section, they are surrounded by arcade machines of all shapes and sizes - there are simply too many to mention them all!

Here, patrons will find the prize shop on the left-hand wall with a fantastic range of prizes available. The ticket windows are illuminated with bright lighting helping display the prizes in all their glory.

Ten Pin Bowling and Pool Tables

On the right-hand side of the venue are six full-size ten pin bowling lanes. There is also a chill-out seating area here with pool tables to play on. This just goes to show how giant the venue is when visitors can casually stumble upon a full-sized bowling alley. Why not have a game just before lunch and then chill out on the chairs, whilst the kids play a few games of pool?

Coin Pushers

Coin pushers are the most prevalent arcade machines throughout the venue. Organised in rows, there are whole sections dedicated to the latest coin pushers with other types of arcade gaming machines dotted in between them.

Expect to find rows of the latest ticket paying coin pushers including Pac-Man, Cops and Robbers, Temple of Tickets and Monopoly variations.

It would be hard to find another venue with this many modern coin pushers all in one place. They all pay out ticket wins and have good shelf prizes to win also. Being in constant use, the coins are always falling generously. 

There are also nearly as many change machines available to players - so no need to queue at the change kiosk on busy days to get more two pence pieces. 

Kids Soft Play and Climbing Wall

After many more rows of exciting arcade games and machines, visitors can find a kiddies soft play area / adventure playground on the right-hand side of the venue. It is at this point that that the venue opens up a little more and the rows of coin pusher mix in with larger ticket arcade games. Many giant arcade machines can be found on the opposite side of the venue just after the prize shop window display. There is also a large climbing wall area with various different climbing courses and equipment, though this appears as if it may be part of a group-based activity.

Ticket Slot Machines

On the wall separating the soft play area, facing into the arcade, is a huge row of ticket slot machines. Here, there are several triple row ticket slots including Temple of Tickets, Cops and Robbers, Emoji, Count Dracula and Ticket Raider. There are also some standalone ticket slots including Adders & Ladders and Count Dracula.

Ticket Arcade Games

In the left-hand area after the prize windows there is a wide range of ticket arcade games. These come in all shapes and sizes, with some being gigantic in size. Why not have a play and see if the family can win a ticket jackpot!

Wheel Spinner Arcade Games

There is a large two-player Monopoly Roll-n-Go machine with upper Mega Bonus. They also have two Big Bass Wheels and a Wheel of Fortune wheel spinner, just like on the TV gameshow. For those more into pirates, why not try the 'Spin Me Wheel' game for a swashbuckling ticket prize win. 

Sporting Arcade games

They have a wide range of aiming and throwing games where players can win ticket prizes by using skilful accuracy. These include Let’s Bounce, Sonic the Hedgehog and Connect Four Hopes basketball arcade machines, bowling Champ and Across Skee-ball and also Dodgeball Ultimate Arena.

Ticket Arcade Games

For those who want to win tickets on machines that are more like the traditional arcade machines then check out Nerf Arcade and Dinosaur Era, which are three and four player arcade shooting games that also pay tickets. Fans of the classics will love winning tickets on Pac-Man Chomp Mania or the large-screened Space Invaders ticket machine. Music maestros can put their skills to good us winning tickets on the popular Piano Keys ticket arcade game. 

Perhaps the largest arcade gaming machine in the whole venue is the giant Connect Four ticket machine. This is a game of skill, where one or two players can battle to score four-in-a-row and win a ticket prize. An absolute must for boardgame enthusiasts.

Classic Arcade Games 

There are several air hockey tables located at the front of the venue, though the rest of the classic arcade games are closer to the back of the Walton Pier. Fans of classic arcade shooting games will be rewarded with Aliens Armageddon, Minecraft Dungeons Arcade, The Walking Dead, Injustice and Superbikes 3. There is also a Dance Dance Revolution dance machine and two boxing punch machines close to the fairground rides.

Amusement Park Rides

At the very rear of the inside area of the pier is a selection of smaller amusement park rides. These included 'teacups', a young kiddies race track ride and Waltzer rides next to the climbing area. 

In the very rear right-hand corner of the venue are the customer toilets and this area did not seem to be renovated inline with the rest of the venue (though appeared like it needed to be). 

At the rear of the venue are large doors opening out to the outside area of the pier. One can be excused if feeling slightly disoriented at this point after popping out of the dimly-lit pier building into the bright light of day with the waves crashing nearby. 

Outside is a courtyard section, secluded from the wind housing a large full-sized Dodgems bumper cars track for kids and adults and a Krystall Palace ‘hall of mirrors' fun house on the other side. Just after this is a dinosaur themed crazy golf course which looked like great fun to play with family.

Past this area, the pier continues on for many more meters and there are various other areas to sit down and relax and even more amenities to explore. 

With plenty of seating to take a break it is only part of the fun to see if the family can make it all the way to the end of the pier and back without losing a shoe or hat!

Venue Verdict

Walton Pier Arcade is one gigantic venue that caters for family entertainment and fun. It is clear that the amusements arcade machines are the main attraction here and no expense has been spared in the presentation and delivery of an epic amusement park on this scale.

With rows and rows of machines, there are not many other venues that can match Walton Pier which really is the size and scale of a casino on the Las Vegas strip. They have a great balance of arcade games and machines and every age group and type of gamer seems catered for. With so much to explore it is highly advised to spend at least one full day here.

If a larger amusements arcade in the UK exists, then please let us know where!

Featured Machine: Connect 4 Giant Ticket Machine