The Black Hole's queue line sported a stage with an animatronic floating alien's head that would interact with passers-by and actually speak with customers waiting in the queue, using what was then a sophisticated set up of cameras and communication devices. This money helps me to carry on running the channel and posting high quality videos for you guys to enjoy! The park operator Six Flags escaped prosecution for not having sprinklers and smoke detectors as it was deemed a temporary building. The ride wasn't really for those scared of heights as it involved being suspended from an animatronic toadstool on a seat hanging on by chains at quite a height. The rope that hauls the cars to the top of the launch hill snapped and then, the anti-rollback mechanism failed. 6 people could fit per car and there was only one car per train. Opening in 1983, The Black Hole was located inside a large green and yellow tent. Investigators are still probing the cause of the Alton Towers rollercoaster disaster, but some thrill-seekers have have declared their intention to ride its lightning again despite fact four people were seriously injured. Not so much a rollercoaster, but instead purely a product of its time, before 3D was even a thing. Join me as I take a look at the history of one Alton Towers most iconic ride The Black Hole. The car derailed due to undercarriage failure. The ride was an adrenaline rush, although you usually left feeling as though your neck would never be the same again. The coaster itself was a Jet Star II, designed by Anton Schwarzkopf. For the third time that day, his flaps fell off. The toadstool would then rotate and the seats would swing outwards, before it lowered back to ground level. They stated: "It's correct that we have Alton Towers old roller coaster Black Hole. It was also a UK first, following successful launches in Germany and Belgium. The Black Hole Few rides, either before or since have captured the imagination and affection of park guests quite like The Black Hole. Links. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it opened in 2013 as the world's first Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster. The Black Hole accident happened in 1984, not very long after opening. We know how irritating it is to find your inbox filling up with emails you don't want. The roller coaster was given a space theme and debuted at the park in 1983. Lights were also added to the lift, so that riders were able to brace themselves for the first drop. The ride sadly closed in 2016, to make way for the latest wooden rollercoaster, the Wickerman. It is located in the X-Sector area of the park. It was constructed in what was then known as Fantasy World, which has now been re-dubbed with the more futuristic name of X-Sector. In later years, the Black Hole became costly to maintain, and the park decided to close the attraction in 2005. It was previously named the Wave Swinger, and then the Ug Swinger, before its closure in 2016. "When Alton Towers decided to remove the ride the manufacturer Gerstlauer bought it back and restored. The ride's demise came about as the ride's programme was modified to be slower and less intense. Three people fell to their deaths and the fourth suffered serious neck and chest injuries. Reports say the tragedy was caused by a faulty, loose screw. Six people have died in separate incidents at the notorious Action Park which opening in 1978. Recent history is littered with catastrophes involving high-adrenaline attractions - and some have claimed lives in the most terrifying circumstances. Black Hole was one of Alton Towers' classic rides. [1] The roller coaster track was dismantled and sold in 2007. What rides and attractions do you miss? There was a lot of info about this on one of the other threads. The Black hole is a Schwarzkopf Jet star 2 coaster with a length of 1919ft, Height of 44'3 and a duration of 1min 50 seconds. I don't think AT ever revealed what happened, but obviously it was deemed safe to ride after inspection. From here, the layout comprised mainly a set of clockwise and anti-clockwise helixes. The second happened a year later (approx) on MindBender at West Edmonton Mall, Canada, where poor maintenance and loose bolts caused the undercarriage to fall away from the last car of the coaster, killing 3 people. But in June 1986 missing bolts caused the four-car-train to fly from the track. The 12 lost Alton Towers rollercoasters as well-loved Nemesis comes to Want to make sure you never miss the most important headlines from Stoke-on-Trent daily? More than 30 accidents have been logged at Alton Towers in the last three years, the Birmingham Mail can reveal. Asia Ferguson, 17, had lost his hat while on the ride but ignored warning signs to go and fetch it. Enclosed within a giant tent, Black Hole was a rollercoaster which took place in near complete darkness. So how do I sign up? Riders board one of the Black Hole trains, Black Hole's entrance was found half way up the hill descending into X-Sector, Ice Mountain (Mellors Group/Ryan Crow - travelling), About If you have an email address, then you're sorted. As far as I know, it was the first Schwarzkopf coaster to fail in this way. In July 1982, a 15-year-old boy drowned, in 1984, a 20-year-old drowned, and in July 1987 an 18-year-old was also killed in the pool. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. A 17-year-old died from a crushed chest, and all 32 others were taken to hospitals. The Black Hole took its final voyage on March 5th 2005, much to the dismay of enthusiasts and guests alike, and then not a lot. Posts: 1. Inside Alton Towers Black Hole Tent - Best Theme Park Attractions and The Smiler - Wikipedia You can make donations VIA By Me A Ko-fi.Donation page: https://ko-fi.com/themeparkenthusiastWhat is the Black Hole?Black Hole, briefly known as Black Hole II and New Black Hole, was an enclosed steel roller coaster at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. Sporting a vivid new colour scheme, and no longer hidden within a tent, the ride lives on to hopefully thrill many more Swedish guests in the years to come. Black Hole had an outer space theme, with the queueline and station featuring Jules Verne style scenery. Some of the animations experienced technical problems in the first season and were replaced, including one where a phantom flew above the riders on an overhead track. Arsonists were believed to have started a blaze which, whipped by winds, became a furnace, melting metal walls and leaving eight trapped teenagers torched beyond recognition. It was removed in 2010 - the iconic double inversion element is now situated at the park's entrance, where those of us who were tall enough to ride before its closure can fondly remember the bone-shuddering experience of Alton Tower's first huge coaster. It was themed around space.The Black Hole Was Replaced By The Smiler In 2013Alton Towers - The Corkscrew If you are a fan of Alton Towers Resort, then no doubt you will know about the iconic Corkscrew rollercoaster. However, it did not become a theme park as we know it today until the 1980s. Thunder Looper attracted hoards of visitors during its six-year stint at Alton Towers as it hit a whopping 53 mph. The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. So let's take a look back at some of the rides which no longer set our pulses racing after being confined to the history books. Probably the people at the front of the train would of got hurt the most I would imagine, do you think it would if been on the brake run? The coaster was located within a huge silvery black tent (formerly green and yellow) that ensured the ride took place in total darkness. In 2013 the new ride to replace the Black hole was announced as "The Smiler", to open on the 31st of May 2013. The rollercoaster itself was refurbished by Gerstlauer, and can now be found operating as Rocket at Furuvik in Sweden. It was later found the safety barriers were not designed for amputees and he should never have been allowed on. Black Hole was an enclosed steel roller coaster at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. At the time of its closure, there were no plans on what to do with the now redundant area, so the building that once housed the ride was never removed. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Have you ever really been to Alton Towers if you don't have a photo of you and your friends or family on the log flume - your faces frozen in an expression of excitement or terror? Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. When a man fell into a pond two others jumped in to rescue him. It was then reopened, and named Black Hole II, the New Black Hole, before going back to its original name. Click this link and you'll see what you can expect. Black Hole, briefly known as Black Hole II (1988) and New Black Hole (1989), was an enclosed steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers theme park near Alton in the English shire county of Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Nearly all of us have enjoyed a day out at Alton Towers over the years. For the 1988 season, Black Hole was dismantled and transported to Europe, where it had an overhaul by BHS (later becoming Maurer Shne) of Peienberg in Germany, to accommodate dual-car trains. Black Hole - The Park of the Past - Your premier Alton Towers guide John heard about two similar rides which were opening in Europe by Dutch manufacturer Vekoma. Why would Alton Towers Remove the UK's Space Mountain.Enjoy my content? She later died of internal injuries. World's 11 worst theme park disasters in Alton Towers aftermath Black Hole underwent another refurbishment and was integrated into the new themed area. Thanks For Watching Theme Park Enthusiast#BlackHoleAltonTowers #AltonTowers #1990'sAltonTowersThanks to the following channels for the footage used in this video.CREDITS:GaryH - https://www.youtube.com/user/Garyholccoasterinc - https://www.youtube.com/c/coasterinc1987Attraction Source - https://www.youtube.com/c/AttractionSourceMerlinMedia - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDcVe7WAVopVvZdhvTdGIgThemeParkCollective - https://www.youtube.com/user/ThemeParkCollectiveJGAdventureZone - https://www.youtube.com/user/JonnieGriffithsBritish Nostalgia - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXq6P-Ek8dVQZHIYkMDyR2gATJakee - https://www.youtube.com/user/ATJakeeThames News - https://www.youtube.com/c/thamesnewsGary Hodgson - https://www.youtube.com/user/pontoon01Theme Park Archive - https://www.youtube.com/user/MrElectricBillTowers Expert - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIyQPx6-ugafjz1U1ZclVcwElliot Mller - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoh24UYnq3wvmM876Xv4G3ATheme Park James - https://www.youtube.com/c/themeparkjamesAdamConlea - https://www.youtube.com/user/AdamConleaBBC - https://www.youtube.com/c/BBCNewsThemeParkFanaticUK - https://www.youtube.com/user/ThemeParkFanaticUKPHOTOS SOURCE/CREDITSWikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_Star_(Casino_Pier)Micheal PamtenbergGreg PearmTheme Park Tourist - https://www.themeparktourist.com/Theme Park Central - https://www.facebook.com/TheThemeParkCentral/Towersalmanac.com - http://www.towersalmanac.com/Rudi Enos Design - http://www.rudienosdesign.com/alton-towers-black-hole-structure.htmlAlton Towers Wiki - https://altontowers.fandom.com/Theme Park Guide - https://themeparkguide.biz/MUSIC:Black Hole Station Earth Soundtrack - Alton Towers Resort They're have been some accidents however nobody has actually died. Boy, 11, 'pricked by used needle' in Stoke-on-Trent taxi, Yak Yak Land's back as one family find man upside down in their bin, 'Never-ending' roadworks leave Tunstall traders in turmoil, 11 abusive Stoke-on-Trent men who put their partners through hell, Former Dudson worker, 69, died six days after positive Covid test. 6 people could fit per car and there was only one car per train. wait wait wait.. did the black hole not have the under wheel? Cookie Notice Black Hole | Alton Towers Wiki | Fandom It caused a chain of cars to hurtle back into the boarding area, smashing into a wall and killing five children and injuring 13 more. The dome plunged 35 feet to the ground, on fire, with more than 44 people inside. Later that month, at the graduation ceremony, 17 students accepted their diplomas in wheelchairs. Having wound through the ride's outdoor queue-line, guests would enter into the futuristic (by 80's standards) indoor queue, before entering the space-station, which provided riders with their first glimpse of the ride itself. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Closed: The ride shut for a year after Hayley Williams death. It took you on an (initially quite relaxing) winding ride around some of the park, before featuring three drops. It operated from 1984 until 2005. During the park's annual Halloween Scarefest event in October 2011, the former Black Hole tent was used to house two temporary scare maze attractions. Its interior was redesigned, featuring a modified queue layout and station, which were restyled with a Jules Verne theme. It would not have been a full derailment, a partial one maybe, a wheel may have failed, but it wouldn't have completely left the track. This new generation rollercoaster was called Corkscrew with Bayerncurve and opened to huge crowds at Holiday Park in Haloch, Germany, and Walibi Belgium in Wavre, Belgium.Did you ride the Black Hole? Over the following years many rumours circulated, both about potential purchasers for the coaster as well as what might replace it, though none came to fruition. They're a digest of all the most important local headlines of the day in an easy to read format. Eco-Adventure Valley Space Journey at Overseas Chinese Town East, Shenzhen, China. The rollercoaster itself was a Jet Star II, designed and manufactured by the legendary Anton Schwarzkopf. The wave pool became known as the "Grave Pool" after a series of deaths in the 1980s. The coaster's continued popularity, saw its queue line expand in 1993 to swallow the neighbouring Vintage Cars site, and for its remaining years in operation, the Black Hole's extended outdoor queue-line was actually sited on the former track of the Vintage Cars as it snaked through the bushes at the top of Fantasy World. There were no confirmed plans to reuse the site, and the tent remained unused for several years. The colour scheme of the original tent was changed from yellow and green to a dark blue, and the entrance was revamped to reflect the X-Sector theme. All that happened, by reading that article at least, is part of the undercarriage became loose and impacted with the track, causing the train to sharply stop and the track to be lightly damaged. For more pictures of the Black Hole and Alton Towers, check out this website:http://orchardoo.com/school/altontowers.htmlBuy Defunctland T-Shirts:https://teespring.com/stores/defunctlandDonate on Patreon:https://patreon.com/defunctlandIn Defunctland's first international addition, Kevin explores the history of Alton Towers and its Space Mountain rip-off coaster, the Black Hole. Indeed for those who had never ridden before, the enigmatic nature of the ride built up tension and upped the fear factor. An investigation showed a broken axle caused the derailment, and none of the rides axles had been replaced for 15 years. [3] If you want to use any photographs on this blog please get in touch paul@ridemad.com im quite happy to share and have high resolution copies of everything used, to see the complete gallery visit the Ridemad Gallery, Copyright ridemad.com | All Right Reserved. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The thriving amusement park opened in 1970 with more than 40 rides and attractions. But you can always sign up again whenever you like. Most recently, the ride system has been reused again as part of the Alton Towers Dungeon. At the same time it gained new effects within the tent as well as an updated restraint system. It was a Jet Star 2 (Jet Star I did not have a spiral lift hill i don't think) as far as I know, a smaller (45ft) version of Jet Star 3 (Alton Beast). The ride opened in 1981, and at the time was the longest flume attraction in the world. The reconstructed coaster, complete with an overhaul of the internal special effects, then operated briefly as "New Black Hole", and then from 1989 it operated as "Black Hole II" before reverting to the original name. It was also designed to allow a high throughput whilst allowing the cars to travel the ride separately, and at different speeds, to allow the effects to spook visitors. While riding Hydro, a water roller coaster, she suddenly flew out of her car, falling 100 ft to the ground. Roller coaster disasters: The 11 worst the world has seen, Fun on the Big Dipper at Battersea Funfair, London, 1966. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Black Hole was one of Alton Towers' classic rides. Due to the pitch blackness, occasionally punctuated by illuminated asteroids and other space objects, Black Hole felt more intense than the ride perhaps really was. The park shut in 1996 due to legal action, but reopened under a new name in 1998 following a safety-led refit. The ride featured differentiating (and disorientating) floor levels, and included a dollhouse which moved by itself (which terrified me as a child). By the mid-2000s, however, it was becoming unreliable and costly to both maintain and keep in line with modern safety standards. Originally titled Energizer, it opened in March 1995 in what was formerly known as 1001 Nights, and was a flat ride aimed at thrill-seekers.