Crown Carousel

oldgitBEN · Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:48 pm

what ever happened to the crown carousel? It used to be where the 'off road' section of the driving school is.
I remember it lasting up until the driving school opened in 2005 (? i think).

It was a rather ornate double level carousel, not frequently open - due to gallopers being almost next door. It seemed to dissapear when the driving school was built, no trace of it thereafter.

While on another topic today I always thought the olde-world grand style of it would have looked wonderful in the gardens of ATH.

Does anyone know any more?

djtruefitt · Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:11 pm

Some details about the ride can be found here http://old.towerstimes.co.uk/history/ol ... rousel.htm

Website · Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:24 pm

A little off-topic, but I always wondered why they removed the Cred Street Carousel instead of Gallopers, was it due to age (the reason probably why the Crown Carousel was removed)? It could of easily been moved to the Gallopers site.

Dave · Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:46 pm

i remember when it was first closed there was a lot of talk and or demands that it was rehoused down at ATH as it sort of fit in with is quirky theme. alas it never happened

Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:12 am

I too wonder why they got rid of the much more impressive Cred Street Carousel over the smaller Galloper's.

Website · Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:23 am

BigAl wrote: I too wonder why they got rid of the much more impressive Cred Street Carousel over the smaller Galloper's.

Penny pinching for the new additions in 06 maybe?

Sun Apr 01, 2012 1:08 pm

The Crown Carousel was removed in 1999, replaced by the Cred Street Carousel which was itself removed in 2006, I think a few post on here are confusing the two different rides?.

oldgitBEN · Sun Apr 01, 2012 10:56 pm

indeed you are correct Rita, I meant the stunning double level cred-street carousel (which I believe took the place of the crown?).

I got the name confused thinking the more stunning one would be named the crown, or got the places confused etc.

But any ideas on what happened to the cred-street one?

Website · Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:42 am

oldgitBEN wrote:
But any ideas on what happened to the cred-street one?

My theory is that is was harder to maintain than Gallopers and Alton were penny pinching for the new additions in 06 so they kept the more newer, more reliable carousel instead.

Sat May 19, 2012 5:52 pm

*sigh* I dont think you should EVER remove a carousel, if its a classic one.

Website · Sun May 27, 2012 5:14 pm

MattsDesigns wrote: *sigh* I dont think you should EVER remove a carousel, if its a classic one.

It's very different if you have more than one near each other though. It had to be done really, one was more superior than the other but one was more cost efficient and newer so decisions were made. Would love to see the Crown Carousel back though.

Sun May 27, 2012 8:29 pm

MattsDesigns wrote: *sigh* I dont think you should EVER remove a carousel, if its a classic one.

None of the carousels at the Towers have ever been classic carousels. They've pretty much one and all been off the shelf models. The only carousel the park has ever had which has been truely unique is the Doodle Doo Derby.

Of the Cred Street Carousel and Gallopers, whilst the Cred Street was certainly the more striking of the two, I believe the Gallopers are technically the better crafted ride, using better quality materials and design (for example using real horse hair for the tails).

That said, I would agree with the above, and say the reason the Gallopers was the ride which was saved comes down to the fact its easier to maintain (and also has a smaller footprint)