Past rides: "Where are they now?" The Guide

What rides and attractions do you miss? Share your memories of Alton Towers' extensive past here.
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Paws
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I thought Id make a topic dedicated to where about and what happened to Alton's past rides. I have really always been snooping around finding out about the lost rides and where they went so thought id put them altogether. I have only really included the major rides that fully left the park and weren't rethemed over. Some I haven't found out yet so if anyone has any more information about anything here it would be amazing of you to share it.


Spaceboat [1983] - Was removed after a few months and sold onto many parks including Dreamland, Pleasure Island and stayed at Loudoun Castle for a few years before the park closed. In 2011 it was sold to Lightwater Valley who opened it under the name "Black Pearl"
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Magic Carpet [1984 - 1985] - Sold on. It traveled the UK fairgrounds for a few years. Its now at M&D's still running at full force (There is even still a sign in one of the cabins with "ALTON TOWERS" on it)(Image here)
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Cable Cars [1963 - 1986] Presumed scrapped.


Alpine Bobsleigh [1980 - 1986] Presumed Scrapped. I can recall a few years ago someone found two track sections in the woodland area and took photos.


Ferris Wheel [1985 - 1986] Currently unknown most likely sold on.


Planetarium [19?? - 1987] Scrapped. The Projector itself is now part of the themeing in oblivion queue. Its the big black machine looking object in the circular building.


Turbo Star [1984 - 1989] Currently unknown I could be wrong but I believe it was the same one that appeared at Loudoun Castle. It was later removed.


4 Man Bob [1985 - 1990] Before arriving at Alton this coaster was at Trentham during the 1970's. After serving its time at the towers it was sold onto many different parks including Pleasure Island in 1993, Flamingo Land in 1998 and Grove Land in 2001. It was then refurbished in 2003 before arriving at Loudoun castle in 2011 where it is has been SBNO since the park closed down. It is currently for sale on the ITAL International website.
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Mississippi Showboat [1985 - 1991] Currently unknown Presumed scrapped. Some of it might have been recycled and used in the Haunted House.


Spider [1986 - 1991] Currently unknown Most Likely sold to a park. There is the same type of ride at Lightwater valley that opened in 2005 and there's also some Traveling ones in the UK and Europe so it would be very hard to track this.


Alton Mouse[1988 - 1991] Sold to Idlewild & SoakZone in the USA where it lives inside a forest. It was the same orange colour until it was repainted black a few years ago.
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Octopus [1984 - 1992] Currently unknown Most Likely sold to a park. Again, there is the same type of ride at Lightwater valley that opened in 2005 and there's also some Traveling ones in the UK and Europe so it would be very hard to track this.



Tri Star [1989 - 1992] Sold to Dreamland then onto Pleasure Island and then New Pleasurewood Hills where it operates today under the name "Thunder Struck"
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Gravitron [1990 - 1992] Sold to Pleasure Island where it is today.
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Doom & Sons [1981 - 1992] Scrapped and rethemed. I recall it being mentioned some of the inside themeing was placed into the Haunted House.


1001 Nights [1984 - 1994] Currently unknown Most likely sold to a park or possibly sold to Europe where it traveled.


Park Railway [1953 - 1996] Everything was pretty much Scrapped a few years after closure. the route was then used for the Haunted Hallow walkway. I'm pretty sure the Locomotives were preserved and are now running on a miniature railway somewhere. Can anyone Remember where?


Thunder Looper [1990 - 1996] Sold to Hopi Hari in Brazil under the name "Katapul". In 2013 it was painted red and Blue received a superman theme and lost a few carriages.
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Mini Apple [1982 - 1997] Sold to Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach.


Alton Beast/New Beast/ [1988 - 1997] Sold to a park called Divertido in Mexico in the late 1990's. It was put into a tent very similar to the Black Hole's and called "Space Mountain". It was removed in 2004 and went into storage for 6 years (probably being refurbished) until 2010 when it showed up at Salitre Magico in Columbia. It is now painted green and grey and called "Tornado".
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Swan Boats [1987 - 2003] Boats were sold/donated to nearby places such as pubs and parks. I think there is some that have been left in the storage area and boneyards.


Astro Dancer/Dino Dancer/Dynamo [1993 - 2003] Sold to Mondial (Others say Huss) who completely refurbished the entire ride. The only parts kept from the ride was the gondolas and the main ride base. It is now owned by showman Hoefnagels who travels it around Europe under the simple name "Break Dance 3"
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Energizer/BoneShaker [1995 - 2003] It was sold back to Mondial and that's pretty much all that's known. Probably became a parts donor or refurbished. There is a used Super Nova for sale on their website with the construction date as 1993 with a photo of the "Crazy Tiger" one in Denmark which was Built in 1990. Only one Super Nova was constructed in 1993 which is currently in the Netherlands. I do believe the one listed for sale on the website could be Boneshaker. For this to be true it must have been built in 1993 and not sold to Alton Towers until a year later where it was shipped over at the end of 1994.


Black Hole [1984 - 2005] After being dismantlement it was Sold to Gerstlauer who refurbished everything and sold it to Furuvik in Sweden under the name "Rocket" in 2011. It was repainted red and blue and runs very well.
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Corkscrew [1980 - 2008] The trains were taken to Heide Park Resort in Germany to replace the old Arrow trains on "Big Loop". One of the carts was sold on ebay. The Corkscrews elements were preserved and put on display at Alton's entrance. The rest was either sold for scrap or used to create the Tree on Th13teen's station but this isn't known to be true or not.


Beastie [1983 - 2010] UK showman Walter Murphy purchased the coaster and now travels it under the name "Dragon Challenge". It was last seen in Dubai along with his 2Xtreme Mondial Capriolo. Walter Murphy uploaded a video of it while Dubai and looks as if it needs a full refurbish as it has to be properly pushed out the station. Video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IF0qpt9xGw


Bonus: in 1994 Both Alton's Space Boat and Tri Star were at Pleasure Island and placed right next to each other, so in a way they were reunited (Even though they were in the park at different times).(Image here)

And that's pretty much it so far. Ill post updates if anything shows up.
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Shockadelica
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Posts like this are the reason I still love Alton Towers forums.
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Altonboy001
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i swear i remember seen the Mississippi showboat has moved somewhere i cant remember where though

as you drive to wetley rocks there is a swan boat used as a huge flower pot in a garden
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UPDATE Alpine Bobsleigh - I found the photo of the two track parts. They are hidden somewhere in the woods behind Dark Forest. They are in a very overgrown area surrounded by big bushes and since it was a few years ago its not knowen if they are still there or not.
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Altonboy001 wrote:i swear i remember seen the Mississippi showboat has moved somewhere i cant remember where though
Can you remember if it was an actual boat or if it was fake and just meant to look like a boat? The showboat was stationery and fixed to the ground.
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Paws wrote:UPDATE Alpine Bobsleigh - I found the photo of the two track parts. They are hidden somewhere in the woods behind Dark Forest. They are in a very overgrown area surrounded by big bushes and since it was a few years ago its not knowen if they are still there or not.
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Altonboy001 wrote:i swear i remember seen the Mississippi showboat has moved somewhere i cant remember where though
Can you remember if it was an actual boat or if it was fake and just meant to look like a boat? The showboat was stationery and fixed to the ground.

no the real thing on a towers website somewhere
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Ryan.B
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I believe it could be at terra mitica, I'm sure others had said it might be the one there.
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Paws
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AT lover wrote:I believe it could be at terra mitica, I'm sure others had said it might be the one there.
Had a look around loads of websites and Google maps and couldn't see or find anything resembling it, do you have any links? Unless you were referring to Energizer/boneshaker as Terra Maitica also has a Mondial Supernova called "La Cólera de Akiles"

UPDATE Energizer/Boneshaker
Tracking Boneshaker is really confusing because of all the dates. It was dismantled in 2004 and shipped over to Mondial around June 2005. During winter that same year a photo appeared on James Mellor's website of his Space Roller Topscan receiving Maintenance and refurbishment at the Mondial plant, but in the background a Supernova could be seen with the same design (The yellow lines - although they differed slightly at the top) and colour scheme on the support as was on Energizer when it first opened.
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(Shoutout to the Internet Archives for still having that image! Also it may take a minute or so to load.)

Then a few months after that in 2006 the Supernova arrived at Terra Mitica with the exact same colours but the Yellow line design had almost been fully painted over as seen here:
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The ride has since then been painted over many times.

There was a whole year between Boneshaker getting shipped over the one opening in Terra Mitica which is probably a decent amount of time to refurbish the ride and getting running again. Its also a lot cheaper buying a second hand refurbished ride than a brand new one. Also considering the last Supernova ever to be built was Energizer/Boneshaker in 1995 its unlikely that they would construct a brand new one when there is one already available. It all makes pretty much sense that our beloved Energizer/Boneshaker is now at Terra Mitica.

There is still some problems though. The one at Terra Mitica is currently classed as a brand new ride manufactured in 2006 and for the second hand Supernova for sale on the Mondial website that was built in 1993, only one of these rides opened in 1993 and that one is still currently operating in the Netherlands. After that the only one to open was Alton's Energizer/boneshaker in 1995 and if it isn't the same ride the Terra Mitica "La Cólera de Akiles" one in 2006, but for now its still a mystery.
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If this article from Towers Street' website is true Mississippi showboat was demolished

But the story didn’t end there… well actually for the Alton Towers Mississippi Showboat it did, as it met the wrecking ball at the end of its time in the park. A change in culture in the UK soon caught up with this staple of the 1980s, with the American Adventure’s model soon following the same path and Drayton Manor’s closing quietly in the final years of the last millennium.

However other cultures were kinder to these classic fun houses and the attraction was also rather popular in Spain with versions such as Reina de África at Parque de Atracciones de Madrid surviving until 2010 and where at least one showboat still survives today, operating in Parque de Atracciones Zaragoza. In fact closer to home in fact, one Mississippi Showboat can still be found propping up the side of a lake in Staffordshire as, despite having been shuttered for over ten years, Drayton Manor’s model can even now be found just outside the parks boundary, acting as a rather large pieces of theming as well as a timely nod to popular attractions of the past.
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I’m new here, so I really hope this isn’t too wordy, but I think I can help out a bit here...

As far as I know, the ‘Space Boat’ that operated at Alton in 1983 didn’t operate anywhere else in this country, and was presumably exported pretty quickly.

These Weber Traum Boats were more common than you’d think, with my records showing around 6 more that operated in this country. The ‘Black Pearl’ that has been operating at Lightwater Valley since 2011, started life as the ‘Mary Rose’ at Dreamland, Margate in 1983 (operating simultaneously as ‘Space Boat’ at Alton), leaving there with the ‘Looping Star’ at the end of the 1994 season. It was presumably stored or operated abroad until it resurfaced at Loudoun Castle from 2004 to 2010. Pleasure Island’s ‘Dream Boat’ debuted in the park’s opening year (1993), having operated at Flamingoland from the ‘80s until 1992. I think it stayed there until the end of the 1999 season.

As with a number of the flat rides introduced during the ‘80s at Alton, the Zierer ‘Magic Carpet’ wasn’t brand new. It operated with German showmen Kinzler & Muller in 1982 and 1983. As has been said, upon leaving the park it travelled the UK fair circuit with Matt & Doug Taylor, before settling at their park in Strathclyde.

I don’t think that the ‘Turbo Star’ operated elsewhere in this country, and so would have been exported. The other 2 HUSS Troikas to operate in this country were at Coney Beach, Porthcawl [1977 to 1983] which moved to Barry Island [1984 to ‘80s], and one at Pleasurewood Hills [1985 to 1995] moving to Loudoun Castle [2004 to 2010].

I believe that the C.A.H. ‘Spider’ polyp spent a little time at Trentham Gardens before coming to Alton, and was moved from there when John Broome pulled out of turning Trentham into another Theme Park. This would also explain the duplication of having both the ‘Octopus’ and ‘Spider’. Presumed exported, although other C.A.H. polyps have operated in the U.K.

Two HUSS Tri-Stars have operated in this country, although are often mistaken as being one machine. The first operated at Dreamland, Margate [1982 to 1995], moving to Rotunda, Folkestone [1996 to 2000]. The second, imported 2nd hand by Alton [1991 to 1992], to Pleasure Island [1993 to 1994], Flamingoland [1995 to 2004] and currently at Pleasurewood Hills since 2005.

The ‘Gravitron’ is indeed the one at Pleasure Island today. Others have operated at Barry Island and Flamingoland.

The Weber ‘1001 Nights’ would have been exported, although 2 others have operated in the U.K., firstly at Flamingoland [1991 to 1992] then Pleasure Island [1993 to c.2001], and also at Loudoun Castle [2001 only].

I think that one other Mondial Super Nova operated in the U.K. at Loudoun Castle [c.2000 to 2002], although this obviously wouldn’t be ‘Energiser’ / ‘Boneshaker’.
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That is amazingly helpful thank you so much. I never even knew a Supernova appeared at Loudoun castle even though I live quite close to there. I had a look on Google Maps and you can still see it and appears to be the prototype that traveled the Netherlands owned by Seggers-Melissen that more or less went missing after 1996 which is why that one is often confused to be the same machine as Energizer/BoneShaker.

As for the Spaceboat I think its speculated to be the same as Dreamlands due to the fact that they were pretty much Identical with the exact same colours and themeing design but I am beginning to believe they were different as both of them were operating at the exact same time in 1983. Many Dreamland website state that Mary Rose was sold to Budpest along with the Looping Star But i'm unsure if this was true. There is also rumors of Loudoun Castle's opened way earlier in the mid 1990's before leaving the park and returning.

I was trying to look into 1001 Nights and just judging by appearance its Extremely close to the one now at Knoebles Amusement Park in the USA. There is a few close ones for sale on the Ital website. The ones that still travel don't seem to fit into time frames to be the same one that was at Alton.
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The information in this thread is fascinating! Thanks guys, I await more discoveries eagerly.
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It's pretty hard to tell apart most of the flat rides around at Alton in the '80s from others of the same type, as they didn't really have any distinguishing features and were totally 'off the shelf' :|

And I think the ride at Loudoun in the '90s you're referring to was actually a HUSS ranger, operating there from 1995 to around 1998/99. The other Weber traum boats I know of were at:
Atlas Park, Clacton (formerly Butlin's) [1984 only]
Barry Island [1985 to 1987 or later]
Bridlington [1984 only] moved to Ocean Beach, South Shields [1985 to '80s]
Pleasurewood Hills 'The Tempest' [1990 to 1994] moved to Camelot 'Excalibur' [1995 to 2000]

I've never had the chance to see a SuperNova in person, are they really as mundane as they look? Haha. They obviously never really took off...
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Wow, I never realized how popular of a ride Weber Traum Boats were! I did see and ride BoneShaker, I don't really have full memories but they are one of my favorite flat rides due to how sheer crazy they look and move. There was either 11 or 12 of them built altogether, most of which from 1990-1992. Most of them are now very tame but If you go on the Mondial website there is a video from the 1990's of Manfred Zehle's "Star Of Rio" SuperNova which shows how crazy they originally were. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLdI149tiik
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I'd forgotten about most of these rides!!

Nice to see some of them having a decent lifespan after Towers. Really fab work guys - loving the information :)
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daveclarkedaveclarke
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Surely this is in the running for post/topic of the year? Lots of info and a good read. Thanks!
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Paws
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I noticed that in the background of some construction photos of Mondial's first Turbine ride you can see the supports and arms along with some parts of the Super Nova that's for sale on their website just laying there.

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Another thing I noticed is that the website states that this one has a captivity of 48 (12 rows of seats) while Energizer / Boneshaker had a captivity of 44 (11 rows). But oddly, Boneshaker is marked as having a 48 captivity on the control panel.
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I found something very interesting about the train Altonia! In 2002 it was purchased by a private owner in Surrey, but didn't actually end up operating on the private line, it was then sold in 2010. http://www.oldkilnlightrailway.com/1769-altonia.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; One of my relatives down in Surrey sold a couple of trains the same scale in 2010 which is to me, A weird coincidence, If anyone knows who actually owned Altonia inbetween 2002 and 2010 I would be very interested to know, I'm currently trying to figure out what trains he owned/owns because my relative has a same scale small railway in his garden in Surrey that he started around he years of 2002 ( when I was born according to my grandma, I'm probably talking rubbish but I'm just interested in this due to the fact a lot of things are similar :lol
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Great post Paws. It's so good to see the Black Hole and Thunder Looper having new homes and new colours. Does anyone know whether Alton Towers still has the Bouncing Bugs in storage, or whether they were sold?
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I've always wondered, but what actually happened to submission? Who was it sold/moved to, or was it scrapped (or still in storage)? Thanks :P
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MRWTHO-AT wrote:Great post Paws. It's so good to see the Black Hole and Thunder Looper having new homes and new colours. Does anyone know whether Alton Towers still has the Bouncing Bugs in storage, or whether they were sold?
sum1mad wrote:I've always wondered, but what actually happened to submission? Who was it sold/moved to, or was it scrapped (or still in storage)? Thanks :P
Bouncing Bugs was most likely sold on or put into storage but since there is so many types of these rides it would be hard to find out. As for Submission nothing has turned up either so it was most likely scrapped or put into storage awaiting its fate just like the other Chance Double Inverters around the world.

Also noticed the picture of Dynamo has disappeared so here is another one:
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