Thousands of us will have visited Alton Towers over the years and ridden on some legendary rollercoasters.
Many of our favourite rides have since been sent elsewhere, but while they are gone from the park they are very much not forgotten.
Some of the most famous decommissioned rides include The Corkscrew, The Thunder Looper, The Beast, Alton Mouse and The Black Hole.
Rollercoaster enthusiast and Birmingham Live journalist Steve Wollaston decided to find out where some of these thrilling rides are now.
Here's what happened to some of Alton Towers most famous former rollercoasters.
The Corkscrew
Built in 1980 for over £1 million, The Corkscrew sat proudly as the country’s finest coaster for 28 years before making way for world’s first family thrill coaster, Th13teen.
What’s left of the Corkscrew now sits at the entrance to the park as a lasting tribute – a nice touch.
Mini Apple Coaster
Visitors to Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach merrily ride the Big Apple Coaster but it’s actually an old Towers favourite – the Mini Apple Coaster.
It operated from 1992 to 1997 before heading to the seaside.
Andrew Martindale from Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth said the ride is a firm favourite with holidaymakers, he said: “It’s the perfect first taste of a rollercoaster for any child.
"The Big Apple has been, and continues to be, one of the most – if not THE most – popular children’s rides year after year here.”
The 4 Man Bob
The 4 Man Bob was another popular family ride that operated from 1985 to 1990, after Alton, it embarked on a journey around the British Isles.
It retained the same name for a stint at Pleasure Island in Lincolnshire before being rebranded as The Flying Trapeze at Flamingo Land in Yorkshire.
It stayed there from 1998 to 2001 before heading to the now obsolete Grove Land in Wales as Thunderbolt.
Still not quite finished, it made a final journey to Loudon Castle in Scotland where it had a one-season stint as Gold Rush before being retired.
Alton Beast
This ran from 1988 to 1997 and was removed to make way for world first ‘flying’ coaster, Air.
It was sent to Divertido in Mexico City and operated as Space Mountain until 2004 when the park closed.
In 2010, it was transferred to a Colombian theme park where it worked happily as The Tornado until 2017.
The similarly named Beastie – or the Mini-Dragon, as it was also named – was a smaller attraction that ran in various guises in different areas from 1983 to 2010. It was last seen sitting proudly in Barry Island as Dragon Challenge.
Alton Mouse
Everyone will remember the Alton Mouse, its tiny little carts hurtling around corners at death-defying speeds, breaking the laws of physics and forcing plenty of screams from riders.
It was opened by Kylie Minogue and was a hugely popular type of ride in the late 1980, and ran until 1991.
The Mouse now resides in Idlewild and Soakzone in Pennsylvania, where it has become the Wild Mouse – and, at the park, Jeff Croushore at the Pennsylvania attraction said the ride is still thrilling theme park visitors.
He said: “The Wild Mouse coaster was purchased from Alton Towers and reassembled here in 1993.
“The thrill of the Mouse is its feel of almost leaving the track. When the four-person mouse-like cars reach the highest corners of the ride, they make such a sudden turn that it gives the illusion of nearly flying off into space. No other ride matches that.
“It’s well-known for its fast dips and quick turns and, most notably, for the way it is built around Idlewild’s wooded landscape.”
The Thunder Looper
With speeds of up to 60mph, the vertical loop rollercoaster opened in 1990 and was a huge hit, mainly due to the speed and the sheer drama of the fact that you had just a lap bar holding you in.
Strangely, it lasted just six years, for a number of reasons. It was thought that it breached the rules of the park’s planning regulations: everything needs to be below tree height due to the local environment.
Some said it was too loud, and its thunderous roar upset the local cows. The coaster’s din interfered with Daisy and friends and they started calving too early as a result.
After its stay in Staffordshire, the Thunder Looper was relocated to the Hopi Hari amusement park in Brazil, where it remains today as Superman.
It’s still really popular too, and scary, as online comments attest. Naah Rodrigues said: ”I went on this twice in a row, it felt like my bones were going to break at the time of looping, but it was top.”
Pedro Cabal called it ‘a delight’, and Beatriz Rei said it was simply ‘impossible to forget.’
The Black Hole
The Black Hole ride, an enclosed rollercoaster began life in the park in 1984 and thrilled generations of visitors until 2005.
This was a huge part of the park’s history and was very much the enthusiast’s choice. Who doesn’t love a whirling, swirling pitch-black coaster in a huge dome tent?
The site on which it once stood is now home to The Smiler, the 14-loop world-first coaster that needs little introduction.
The Black Hole is still in operation. If you fancy a ride on it, it now operates in Sweden at Furuvik Zoo as ‘Rocket’.
Sadly, not in a pitch-black tent, but still massively popular!
A representative of Furuvik Zoo explained that the ride is still a real hit.
They stated: "It's correct that we have Alton Towers old roller coaster Black Hole.
"When Alton Towers decided to remove the ride the manufacturer Gerstlauer bought it back and restored in their factory.
"It was bought by our owners Parks & Resorts Scandinavia in 2010 and was placed here in Furuviksparken in 2011.
"Today it is no longer a dark ride as it used to be at Alton Towers, but it is one of our most popular coasters with over 200,000 riders each summer."
