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Talbot Street Tuesday/Thursday (Picture Heavy)

Some fascinating geekery in the last few posts thanks for sharing.

I was a regular visitor as a child and still am as an adult but genuinely cannot remember that shop. Never mind. I can remember the construction though and how cool it looked when first built. I know things age but the state of the original 4 sw’s now compared to opening is a travesty.

We need a billionaire playboy enthusiast to buy the park and put it all right
 
The Oblivion queue line building didn't used to be cladded. Etched into the concrete was "SW4 QLB 001". It's a shame they covered it, as there's just not enough geeky inside trivia at Alton Towers these days.

Edit to add photo:
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Credit: Theme Park Review forum
Think that was lost a couple of years ago when they re clad all the station. After ignoring it for about 15 years it was all rotting and old. And rather that replace it the same, then chose the cheaper option and just clad the whole lot.

Knowing Merlin and coat cutting, the original cladding is probably still under the new stuff rotting away.
 
Knowing Merlin and coat cutting, the original cladding is probably still under the new stuff rotting away.
Yeah the spraycrete was clad over in vinyl. The buildings looked good but were not particularly built for long life, this was probably the beginnings of Tussauds also cutting budgets right back, though not nearly the way things are today.

I don't think it would be too pricey to refurbish the buildings properly. Looks like cladding in plastic was the best cheapest option given no proper budget...

It's a headline ride and deserves more really, it could still be fantastic all round with a refurbishment to restore the theme. The whole payoff to the ride was really just an effect cleverly built up by the over-the-top queue, otherwise it's just a shabby looking one trick ride.
 
The part about tussauds cuts are probably true. Shortly after they gave as a half finished air

Still. Those days were way better than now. In the defence of Merlin ( and I hate to say this) the budget to keep all this theming top notch must be huge and you can why it’s just not there. Especially when the day after doing a job you can guarantee some idiot will deface it.
The tussauds era themeing has lasted well and only really needs redoing now. I wonder if merlins themeing will last as long?
 
The tussauds era themeing has lasted well and only really needs redoing now. I wonder if merlins themeing will last as long?

Let's take a look at current Merlin theming; 13; eight years old and half the station has rotted away. CBeebies Land; four years old and already having needed extensive refurbishment each year, the worst of these is Octonauts, now on it's 3rd station rebuild...
 
Completely agree with the above post. I remember AT like that, just. And whilst I welcomed developments like nemesis and oblivion and innovation like thirteen and Air I have to say I preferred the charm of the park back then. I will say it time and time again I don’t think there has been a better year than 2002
 
We have one last treat under the tree for this week Talbot Street Thursday.

What better time of year than Christmas to revisit the park's very own toy factory and take a look back at the much missed Toyland Tours.

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This really was a unique and charming little ride - better than the monstrosity that replaced it. It would have been worth the investment to maintain it
 
Oh how I loved Thunder Looper :)
Would probably think it’s a pile of garbage to ride today.
Well, you can still ride Thunder Looper at Hopi Hari in Brazil! It's now called Katapul and is themed to Superman! Not sure how it rides, though.
 
https://flic.kr/p/RWW5nS

That's a super cool photo. Even though we all know it shut after Nemesis opened, for someone younger like me very surprising to see Thunder Looper and Nemesis together and how different the area was

And to think that for a while, the entire other half of the park didnt exist. Just a skyride station to nowhere, then a couple coasters out there on their own, until the route from the rapids through to Nemesis was created
 
Lovely to see Jason Snape's photos again. That man is a legend.

I can see which bits of the queue now form The Blade's - but which formed Ripsaw's? I seem to recall Blade's entrance moved at some point; did that have something to do with it?
 
What a great photo that is! Thunder Looper was one of the first coasters I ever went on and I remember being utterly terrified waiting in the queue for it with my older brother. It genuinely looked like it was 1000 mph and went up off into the clouds. I must have been 6-7 years old (height was on my side) and it was the same day that I rode Corkscrew for the first time..what a day!
 
I can see which bits of the queue now form The Blade's - but which formed Ripsaw's? I seem to recall Blade's entrance moved at some point; did that have something to do with it?
Going by that photo I linked above there was no Thunder Looper queue on that side in the years just before Ripsaw opened, so think it's just a mistake in the article.

Oh yeah I remember the entrance in its original place, the path is still there overgrown, with the two rocks where the sign used to be positioned near the Burger King.
 
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