At the heart of Forbidden Valley, amidst the devastation, stood a rusted swinging blade – another piece of shrapnel extracted from the pit during the Nemesis excavation. Guests who took their seat on board would be tossed forwards and backwards as they cut your their through the Valley.
Fact File
- Location: Forbidden Valley
- Manufacturer:Â HUSS Rides
- Ride Type:Â Swinging Boat
- Length of Boat:Â 13m
- Length of Arms:Â 10m
- Ride Height:Â 20m
- Max. Speed:Â Approx 18.7km/h
- Restraint:Â Hydraulic Lap Bars
- Weight:Â 28 tonnes
- Passengers per Boat:Â 45
- Capacity:Â 1800 riders per hour
- Duration:Â 1 min 30 secs
- Opening Year:Â 1980
- Rethemed: 1997 (15th March)
- Closing Year: 2024 (17th November)
When the ride operated as The Blade in Forbidden Valley, riders would queue around the imposing four-legged tubular steel rig, before eventually taking their seats on board.
Once aboard, and the lap bar restraints have come down, The Blade would begin to swing. With each swing riders would be taken higher and higher into the air, until reaching a near-vertical position.
The ride actually offered a surprising amount of ‘airtime’ (the feeling of weightlessness) at the top of its swings, with those who sat on the back rows experiencing a more thrilling ride in this respect.
Eventually the swings would decrease in height, before The Blade settled back to its starting position, allowing riders to disembark on the opposite side to which they boarded, exiting through a full-height turnstile back into Forbidden Valley.
The Blade was the oldest attraction at Alton Towers, after initially opening as Pirate Ship in Fantasy World (now X-Sector) in 1980 where the ride stood on the former site of Submission.
The arrival of Oblivion led to the ride being reborn as The Blade in 1997 as it was moved to Forbidden Valley as a replacement for Thunder Looper.
During the 2018/19 closed season, The Blade was subject to a relatively extensive overhaul, with local company Dusslast BOT stripping the boat itself back to its metal components, which were subsequently shot-blasted, treated and painted. This gave the attraction a very fresh look come the start of the 2019 season!
As part of Forbidden Valley’s overhaul for the 2024 season to complement the opening of Nemesis Reborn, the boat was repainted grey and the classic yellow design on the tops of its supports was reinstated.
After the end of the 2024 season, on 2nd December, Alton Towers announced that The Blade had been deemed to have reached the end of its technical life and would be retired after 44 years of operation.
