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Talbot Street Tuesday

Who took their first drive aboard the Vintage Car Ride?

We have a rather more sedate Talbot Street Tuesday for you this evening, as we jump aboard a Model T Ford and take a trip down memory lane aboard this classic attraction

The Vintage Cars opened in Springfield Centre/Fantasy World in 1983, before later finding a new home by the Towers in Cred Street. You can still spot reminders of the ride today, dotted around the Driving School.
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Interesting that it kept the same layout when it moved. I thought they were totally different. Could (and more probably) just be my memory playing tricks on me. There seemed to be a lot more twists and turns and a more compact layout when next to towers.
 
That was my understanding. I think somewhere knocking about is a fantasy world plan with a very similar layout to the later incarnation.

Though I must admit the picture featured in the article seems to have a very long straight section, so I may be misremembering.
 
For some reason, we thought we might take a look back at The Haunted House for today's Talbot Street Tuesday. 👀

This classic attraction opened in 1992 as one of Tussauds first major additions to the park. Designed by John Wardley in collaboration with Sparks Creative Services, the ride operated for ten years before closing to be converted into Duel in 2003.

Many of the original effects still survive to this day, in varying states of operation.
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Keep these up @Squiggs it keeps reminding me what day of the week it is :tearsofjoy:. Fitting one for this week though.
You and me both, believe me. In the olden days of Talbot Street Tuesday, it regularly turned in Talbot Street Thursdays. The TST 2021 Edition has been a remarkable run of on-time content! It's also run about three months longer than I was expecting... my original plan had been to finish in May. o_O
 
I thought it was an ace ride.

Was it not situated where Thirteens queue is, behind the photo both?
From memory, I don't think it was that far back, wasn't that Corkscrews queue line tucked in there?

You could be right though as they had to fit in Enterprise and Wave Swinger along there. The inclusion of Rita has completely thrown out my bearings of that area.
 
1001 Nights was in the 13 queue/photo kiosk area as far as I remember it.

The Corkscrew queue line actually ran the other side of the ride, so in the area where Rita’s station is now.

The main memory I have of 1001 Nights is of the restraints failing to open after one ride we had on it. In the days of Alton Towers being far less corporate, the ride op seemingly just left the operation booth and ran off! Presumably to try and get some help, but it just left those on the ride looking at each other wondering what was going on. Many guests managed to actually squeeze themselves out of the lapbar and off the ride before any help arrived.

Ah, different times!
 
Over the coming weeks and months, we're likely to be hearing an awful lot about Coaster Corner, as details emerge about what the park might have in store for the area.

So for this week's Talbot Street Tuesday, let's take a look at this legendary area; where it is, what it was, and the opportunities that exist in this corner of the park, which was last open to the public over 30 years ago.

Remember, if you're wanting to discuss the new proposals, head over to the thread dedicated to the consultation... but feel free to discuss the 1980s here!
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Amazing picture. I've just spent too long trying to work out whether it was before or after Coaster Corner.

I was leaning toward before since you can still see lines on the pavement from its time as a Coach Park, but I'm not entirely sure they were actually removed when rides were sat on top of them?

In any case what settled it (eventually...) was that Mini Apple isn't visible, and it would have been toward the bottom of this shot if the photo were taken in 1992 (and it couldn't be any later otherwise Cine 2000 would have gone). I'm sure there are bigger giveaways which I'm missing!
 
I don't remember Kiddies Kingdom but do remember Coaster Corner vaguely. I have a habit of remembering weird details but remembering very little of substance. One of those was in the early 90's when most of the park was laid with the brick paving it still has throughout today. Before this, most of the pathways were laid to tarmac (some still are). I think Towers Street and Talbot Street were laid differently (as can be seen in the above 1986 picture), or maybe both just painted tarmac? But both were laid to the generic brick paving they have today around 1990-1992.

Anyway, point is, I'm pretty sure they also laid this brick paving in Coaster Corner around the same time. This leads me to believe that Coaster Corners closure could possibly have been a quick and hasty decision as they wouldn't have bothered to lay new paving in an area they were going to close shortly after?

Or perhaps I'm just going senile and someone who has worked there and been in that area since it's closure can confirm I'm just going crazy? I don't know why, I just have this lingering memory that it was originally tarmac and then laid to brick paving with the rest of the park shortly before it's closure?
 
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