In the 1980s the park began to expand in size, building on the former grass car parks. Take an aerial look at Towers Street under construction and the area prior to any development.
This amazing aerial photo from the 50s shows the entire North side of the park just after it opened to the public. The same picture today would show Forbidden Valley and the Resort accommodation in the distance with Mutiny Bay, Towers Street and CBeebies Land where the nearer open fields lie.
Looking towards the lakes you can see some of the early park attractions, the sea lion pool and lakeside bandstand (today behind fences opposite Spinball). Also notice the cars parked on the fields where Towers Street now exists.
Beyond the trees today you’d be able to see Forbidden Valley and the Resort accommodation. Where the trees end is Gloomy Wood and in front the Rapids and Flume.
A closer look at the Rapids and Katanga Canyon site. Some of the road running through the bottom of the picture still exists in the maintenance road into Mutiny Bay.
Mutiny Bay itself with the Flume site beyond. The courtyard buildings seen here are still in the park today.
The road running from left to right through this picture is today Towers Street. The trees towards the bottom of the picture are where the entrance gates now stand.
Above the trees here is the present day site of CBeebies Land.
Finally an image of an area which has changed surprisingly little since the 50s. The road leading up the left-hand side of the image is the entrance road to the park that still exists today. Looking closely you can see the gates in the same location they are today.
A rare look at Towers Street under construction from above in 1986. Whilst the main attraction here is the construction itself, the picture also gives us several other interesting insights into the park of the late 80s.
A look at the freshly installed Grand Canyon Rapids at the end of their first season in the park.
Next door is The Flume – notice the white framework station with no roof.
A look over Aqualand (Mutiny Bay) featuring the Octopus and Cine360 (which would become the 3D Cinema) on the site now occupied by Sharkbait Reef. In the lower right hand corner you can see the coloured canopy of the Crown Carousel and the white Cable Car station. Both of these would be removed at the end of the 1986 season to make way for the Tea Cups.
The other end of Aqualand. The Mississippi Showboat sits in the top right hand corner, where the Sales and Info kiosk sits today. In the courtyard you can see the outdoor tables of the Pizza Place restaurant (today the Courtyard Tavern) and at the bottom of the picture are the buildings which housed the Aquarium and Shell Shop.
The grey circle marks the spot where the Big Top once resided before it was moved to the site of the Ice Arena. It looks to have been removed for winter maintenance. Everything in this picture has since become backstage areas, today housing the maintenance and Skyride storage facilities. The trees at the top of the picture mark the current border of Mutiny Bay.
Alongside the Towers Street Construction can be seen the park’s entrance gates and tower, which were built the previous season. Note the space already in place for the Monorail to run along the entry gates. The trees on either side of the entrance are the same one highlighted in the previous section.
At the foot of Towers Street sits the Sea Lion Pool, as already seen in the previous section.
Finally another shot of the site which would just three years late be the site of the Farmyard (now CBeebies Land).