Adventureland 4-11
Adventureland 4-11 was Alton Towers first area dedicated to children.
In 1981, the Astroglide, which had previously operated in the Amusement Park, was relocated to sit at the end of Talbot Street. Beyond it, a selection of small rides were added into a five acre wooded area between Around the World in 80 Days and the coach park by the Flag Tower.
The largest of the new rides was the Adventure Railway, which bounded the area where the Baby Flug and Blue Carousel operated. And below the Astroglide a Fun Centre was added in the space underneath the slide, featuring a selection of fun house-style equipment.
For their first year, these rides effectively operated as part of Talbot Street, and it wasn't until 1982, when the Junior Apple Rollercoaster was also added, that the area became known as Adventureland 4-11. It was reported at the time that the new area cost in excess of £1million.
Initially, one of the selling points of the new area was that parents were able to leave their children in the enclosed land to be supervised by special members of the Alton Towers team, allowing parents to experience the larger rides whilst leaving their kids to enjoy the junior rides. This concept seems to have been dropped quite early on, however.
Adventureland 4-11 operated for around a decade at Alton Towers, with little changing about the area during that time. But all that was to change after Tussauds took over, and in 1992 the area was absorbed back into Talbot Street and some of the smaller rides were closed.
The major rides continued to operate for one more season, but at the end of 1992 the area was permanently closed and most of the rides were retired. Only two Adventureland rides remained at Alton Towers in later years: the Baby Flug was moved to Festival Park and became known as the Junior Flyer, whilst the Junior Apple Rollercoaster was renamed and relocated into Talbot Street in front of the former entrance to Adventureland 4-11.
In 1993, the area was permanently closed and the former Adventureland 4-11 became a backstage area of the park.