Alton Towers has announced that the Blade swinging ride has been retired after 44 years of operation.
The modified pirate ship attraction had reached the end of its “technical life”, the Staffordshire theme park said.
It was one of the few remaining examples of original attractions dating from Alton Towers’ transition to a modern theme park.
Park engineer Mark Hambelton said: “I’ve worked on The Blade for 30 years in all weather conditions and it’s been a joy. I’ll be sad to see it go, but it’s time for its retirement.”
A new Huss Top Spin flat ride will open in the same Forbidden Valley area next season.
It will sit on the former Ripsaw ride’s site, and be of a similar but update modern design.
Rumoured to be named Toxicator but now with potential trademark opposition, the ride is being marked with the “submit to the spin” tagline.
‘Evaluating lineup’
Meanwhile, a blog post on Monday confirmed that the Flavio’s Fabulous Fandango flat ride would also be removed.
“Evaluating our lineup of attractions is an ongoing process that occurs at the end of each theme park season,” Alton Towers said.
“With continued reinvestment in our world-class rides and attractions always front and centre, we look to deliver fantabulous memories to everyone that visits our Resort.”
In a contradiction to statements made earlier this year, Alton Towers also confirmed today that the Dungeon attraction would not reopen.
Introduced in 2019 as an up-charged attraction, the Dungeon reportedly received minimal visitation.
It closed this summer to make way for a conversion into the Amigos in the Afterlife scare maze.
Alton Towers today cited this “investment” as being the reason for the Dungeon not reopening.