Gravitron

Although it only stayed at Alton Towers for three seasons, Gravitron became a very popular attraction with guests!

Approximately 40 entered a big room, with each person having a place to stand against the wall. As the room started to spin at great speeds, passengers were forced against the walls and moved up, so their feet left the ground. It was not a ride that made guests feel particularly dizzy, as once in the room they couldn’t tell that they were spinning.

This was the only one to be built by Vekoma (under license from Wisdom Industries, although others were later built by A.R.M. (UK) for the European market). This model was originally acquired by Pat Collins of Barry Island in 1986, where it operated for two seasons, before going off the radar in 1988 – it’s though it was possibly exported for a short while. It then turned up at Alton Towers in 1990, opening as a replacement for Turbo Star and sat roughly where Oblivion’s station now stands. It closed in 1992 but was not replaced until X Sector opened 6 years later.

The attraction was sold to Flamingo Land for use at Pleasure Island, however, as the Cleethorpes park was still not ready, the ride spent the 1992 season at Flamingo Land. It moved to Cleethorpes for the 1993 opening season, although then returned to Flamingo Land for the 1994 season (marketed as a brand new ride), before heading back to Cleethorpes for the 1995 season. It remained at Pleasure Island until the park’s closure and was later purchased by Simon Steele (who had been a ride operator on the ride at Barry Island) in October 2017. Since 2018 Simon Steele has operated the ride at Henry Danter’s Barry Island Pleasure Park.