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Wardley to retire

One of the most down to earth and loveliest people you could ever meet, always replied to any e-mails you sent him and never hesitated in going the extra mile.

John Wardley is the foundation blocks of alton towers, he provided the spine of Alton and since then it's grown.

Such a shame to hear he is retiring but I believe he has created an amazing legacy, and will always be well known in the industry.

Have a happy retirement John, thank you for making Alton Towers what it is today!

PS: Your bio inspired me...
 
I know John reads these forums and I just wanted to say thank you for all you have done John in your career. Being someone who lived near Barry Island myself, visiting the wacky gold mine often, then seeing that you lived near and the input you had into the park, then the huge changes you made in Alton with the haunted house, runaway mine train, and then the highlight of your career, nemesis, then air, oblivion, the work you did at Chessington..... You sir have put so many smiles on so many faces..... And the best part is that everyone who has met you ( me included ) have found you to be the most down to earth, patient, friendly person always having time for us coaster geeks lol.

I shall be raising a glass to you this evening John, thanks for everything and all the best in your retirement! Cheers!
 
He surely won't be able to resist the lure of a possible 4D B&M at Alton within the next 6 years. Especially not considering his excellent relationship with B&M.
 
I'm happy for his decision because he's had a wonderful run in the industry and deserves the rest. Yes it's a shame he won't be adding towards new rides or developments in the years to come but what he's already done is a massive benchmark in the UK theme park industry which I doubt anybody will forget.
 
Alastair said:
He surely won't be able to resist the lure of a possible 4D B&M at Alton within the next 6 years. Especially not considering his excellent relationship with B&M.
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That's what I was thinking. I was hoping that he would retire just after B&M unleash a 4D. He will no doubt stay in close contact with B&M, Alton Towers and Merlin. Hopefully there may be a chance of people bumping into him once or twice at some Merlin parks. Depends whether he's decided to stop visiting the parks completely (which I doubt - who could not resist a visit to Alton to ride Nemesis?).



I never got a chance to meet John. But he seems like a very nice down to earth guy who has done a lot of good for the industry. We all knew this news would be soon coming, but hopefully The Smiler will be a great mark of his on Alton Towers.

Thanks for all your work John, your work will live down in history.

Hopefully Candy and co. have learnt a lot from him to continue some great work within the Merlin chain!
 
I was lucky enough to work with John when I worked in the Ents team during Scarefest 2010, building Carnival in it's first year. He was very down to earth, seemed very grounded and humble and not afraid to get his hands dirty. A true gent.

It is sad news, but he's given a lot to us. I think he can rest a happy man. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him knocking around Towers in the future, retired or not.
 
I wonder if he has a life long MAP :p


Truly - he's an inspiration, living legend and a wonderful attribute to the history of British attractions. Let's hope The Smiler is a wonderful curtain call for him!
 
nickhutson said:
I wonder if he has a life long MAP :p


Truly - he's an inspiration, living legend and a wonderful attribute to the history of British attractions. Let's hope The Smiler is a wonderful curtain call for him!
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Surely he doesn't need one? He just has to walk up to the attendants, say "The name's Wardley, John Wardley" and that's his entry secured :p
 
Awesome, I've always wanted to know more about uncle Frankenstein's, even better from the man himself :D

That Skeleton trick is classic Wardley and I notice he pulled the same compressed air stunt that he'd later use to emphasise the drop on Th13teen. A shame a few of these tricks weren't preserved by reusing them in the Haunted House.
 
That article, while very insightful, I find very sad to read.

Barry Island used to be a gem in South Wales, I only visited the place a few months ago and the state of the place now is appalling. It's completely fallen apart and been left to rot, with some cheap travelling fair ride plonked in front of the parks abandoned rides.

Anyway, reading the work Wardley did at Barry is quite amazing. I laughed at the fact they built quite robust effects so if vandals tried damaging things they'd come off worse. Very clever!

I love the detail Wardley has gone into with the course of the ride! Very interesting to read how the ride was experienced.

Hopefully there will be more of these to come over the years. I'd be interested in seeing Wardley write more about his early work with Tussauds and turning Alton Towers into what it is today.
 
Thank you for the link, I've been waiting for an article such as this turning up somewhere and from what I've seen, it's a good read! Very worthwhile.
 
I assumed no information would ever come to light on John Wardley's 70s rides, such is their obscurity and short lifetimes. He had previously given a few hints about the Scream Machine, but now for him to sit down and recall all that is something very special, especially since it coincides with his retirement.

The Scream Machine was demolished years ago and all that remains to my knowledge is the Uncle Frankenstein animatronic currently perched on the Haunted Goldmine. Unfortunately, I have never been to Barry Island, so the Pleasure Park is a grey area for me, but I can appreciate the significance. The Scream Machine also sheds more light on his early fascination with mock-horror and the supernatural, which in turn gives more of a perspective on the Haunted House at Alton Towers.

Imagine, he progressed from that small team effort to refurbish a ghost train to hugely creative and famous roller coasters within two decades. He was quite a showman - a magician, of sorts. I firmly believe he brought the magic to Alton Towers.
________________

My favourite quotations:

John Wardley said:
I have always tried to design my rides to have the widest appeal, and believe that although mystery, surprise and the occasional fright are perfectly acceptable, I am dead against sheer horror and depravity.
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Exactly what I have been wanting to hear! Why have new rides been no negative recently? Look at how he pulled off Tidal Wave - that has a 'devastation' theme, but the underlying humour and originality is what makes the ride so enjoyable and fun. Also Nemesis with its exaggerated sic-fi characteristic and melodramatic music, rather than pure destruction and depression. Not like Saw or The Swarm - whose themes comprise of rubble, bloodied metal instruments and junkyard vehicles. There is nothing wrong with being artistically dark and sinister, but there has been hardly any humour, charisma or showmanship since John Wardley left his creative role.

John Wardley said:
I had intended to stay down in Barry to keep an eye on the ride for another week after Easter, but much more was to follow...
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The sheer coincidence of John meeting John is fascinating, because, without that friendship, the British theme park industry would have really struggled to develop beyond seaside resorts and fairgrounds. And the fact that he ended up living in South Wales for years based on the success of this one ride...
 
Now that's one riviting read. I'm sure I'm not the only one who whould love to see him write a book about all this. Sure, it would only be us geeks that would care, but I'd like to think he would give us loyal fans a parting gift :p
 
I disagree, I reckon if he published a book it'd sell quite well if they marketed it properly.

Surely it's not just us uber-geeks that have an interest in behind the scenes? I bet it'd be a very interesting book for 'casuals' who just enjoy a trip to theme parks to get an insight into how it all happens. Plus there's all his experience in film.

Who wouldn't want to read "John Wardley - The story or the man who made James Bond's car jump over a river and do a 360"? :p
 
That's true actually, if he writes a full autobiography including his days in film, it would have a much wider audience.
 
I'm not sure how many of you are ECC members or were at their AGM at BPB in Feb, It was announced there, and it's in the current issueof First Drop so if you don't know and want to come, here's the details....

John will be joinng the ECC on the Saturday of the ECC annual Oakwood camping weekend. Yes, he's coming all the way to South Wales to join us for our BBQ & Coaster Quiz where he will chair a Q&A session about his life in the industry. He'll also present prizes to the winning quiz team in our annual Coaster themed quiz and there are some other surprises to celebrate the 15th year of ECC Oakwood camping. If you're a club member look out for the invite soon, The trip runs Fri-Sun on the 1st weekend in August and is open to ALL ECC members...

So if you've any burning questions you want to put to the man himself, when you get the invite, BOOK EARLY, and if you're yet to join the ECC - Do so Now! It's a great social trip, with ERS's, a BBQ, camping in park, quiz and other fun.

Sorry for the advert, I thought it'd be of interest to you all...

Kev,
ECC Secretary...
 
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