Today, Alton Towers shared some devastating news as three rides have been axed from the line-up ahead of the 2025 season with the oldest ride in the park set for the chopping block.
The Blade has been operating at the park for 44 years, opening in 1980 the ride was originally known as the Pirate Ship and located in Fantasy World which eventually became X-Sector.
The ride stood on the former site of Submission before being relocated to Forbidden Valley replacing Thunder Looper in 1997.
Given a new name to match its new location, the ride was given the backstory of being a piece of shrapnel that was flung from Nemesis’ pit during evacuation by the Phalanx.
The ride has welcomed millions of visitors (roughly 500,000 each year) from across the globe but sadly it has come to an end with absolutely no final ride announcement made by the park for those who could have wanted to get their last rides in.
Alton Towers closes Blade without any prior knowledge and just Kingda Ka’d us all.
But wait, there’s more!
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In other news and one that is the least surprising was the announcement that the Alton Towers Dungeon was closing for good. This indoor experience and boat ride was closed in July 2024 for a revamp into the Scarefest attraction, Amigos in the Afterlife but even wandering around that attraction, it felt very temporary and it was clear that Dungeon theming had been stripped away in preparation for its next lease of life.
The Alton Towers Dungeon building was recently involved in an application by the park to receive solar panels across its roof so it’s safe to say the building is staying put but what those solar panels will be powering remains to be seen.
Last but certainly not least Flavio’s Fabulous Fandango located in The World of David Walliams will be leaving the park as this Twister funfair ride attraction was the last of The Retro Squad and certainly overstayed its welcome.
The ride was initially only intended to stay for the 2021 season but ended up staying an extra 3 years!
With a swinging ship-shaped gap in Forbidden Valley, an empty Dungeon building and a gap in David Walliams World could this be the first step towards more indoor attractions at Alton Towers Resort?
The R-Cade building has been tipped as a new ride location for quite some time now, The Dungeons were costing Towers more in wages than it ever got back in ticket sales and now has opened up a huge building with a boat ride within it and last but not least, Favio’s space is right next to the proposed new land which will house Project Horizon.
Despite the clear cutbacks, it may not be all doom and gloom for Towers, there could be light at the end of this very dark tunnel if only the purse strings from the higher-ups were opened wide enough to allow them to execute these plans.
So, Alton Towers closes three rides in one day… let’s hope this is the last devastating announcement from the Staffordshire theme park.
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