Key Information
The Skyride is Alton Towers’ major internal transportation system, enabling guests to cover the vast distances between the park’s different lands without having to travel on foot. There are Skyride stations in Towers Street, Forbidden Valley and Cloud Cuckoo Land.
Originally installed in 1987, the Skyride replaced an older cable car system from the 1960s. It features gondolas that can hold up to twelve people at once, as well as accomodating guests in wheelchairs. The entire fleet of gondolas were replaced in 2009 with a new multicoloured set.
Fire has struck the Skyride twice in recent years. First, the Forbidden Valley station was destroyed in 2007 during the Halloween Scarefest events. The ride reopened during the 2008 season, but the Cloud Cuckoo Land station was badly damaged by a second fire in July 2009. Again, the station was rebuilt and ride reopened for the 2010 season.