The Sky-ride as we know it was installed in 1987. Alton Towers had Cable cars many years prior to this. The original system followed the same route as the sky-ride but only travelled from Towers Street to the area where Forbidden Valley is today. The old system was quite limited, there was a maximum capacity of 4 people, due to the gondolas & cable not being as strong as the one used today.
Due to the increasing popularity of the park and the fact a new area was planned (Forbidden Valley) it was decided that a more modernised cable car system was necessary for the park. The new gondolas were designed and manufactured by Poma. The Engineering was implemented by Sir Robert McAlpine. Not only did Alton choose to upgrade the system, the decision was made to extend the cable to fountain Square where a third station was put in place, which is conveniently located close to the Towers.
The new system consists of many gondolas; each one can carry up to twelve people at once. They travel at only 4 miles per hour but it feels faster, especially when your high above the gardens! The sky ride is not so much of a ride but a means of transportation around the park with some stunning views
