The Life and Times
The first song was sung in Old MacDonald's Barn midway through 1995, the year everyone's favourite nursery rhyme farmer first arrived at Alton Towers. But in case you weren't familiar with the nursery time in question, a whole host of Old MacDonald's animals could be found in the Singing Barn to remind you of the tune.
Entering the cosy barn, younger guests found themselves surrounded by a variety of animatronic farmyard animals, along with a rare singing tractor and even Old MacDonald himself makes a cameo appearance. Using buttons around the barn, guests can activate each animal and hear their unique (and sometimes very funny) rendition of Old MacDonald Had A Farm. If you were quick you could try to activate them all at once to create one massive silly singalong.
Old MacDonald's Singing Barn was located in the area that had previously been the park's Pottery Studio, and when the attraction opened it was sponsored by Safeway, the supermarket that had previously been the sponsor in the area's former life as Safeway Farm.
What Happened Next...
Old MacDonald's Singing Barn soon became one of the cornerstone attractions of the farmyard, bringing with it the charm that marked out the park in the mid-nineties.
The Safeway sponsorship of the attraction continued until the late nineties, though eagle-eyed guests might have found reference to the disbanded supermarket right through until 2007, as its logo would appear when the sun put its hat on for the chicken in the booth at the entrance of the singing barn. The logo was eventually removed in 2007 when the (by now tired looking) Singing Barn received a full refurbishment, bring a new lease of life to the attraction.
The attraction continued to create memories for young and old alike right through to 2013 when Old MacDonald moved out of his farm to be swept away by CBeebies Land.
But the story didn't end there... or did it? Old MacDonald's Singing Barn was one of the few attractions to be completely removed as part of the new development with the barn becoming The Little Explorers Toy Shop for CBeebies Land.
It is yet to be seen what becomes of the animatronics found Old MacDonald's Singing Barn. Whilst it is unlikely the attraction itself will ever reappear, it would be surprising not to see at least some of the animatronics (or the mechanics powering them) re-purposed at one of the Merlin attractions at some point in the future.