Skyride provides transportation across the valley in a colourful gondola between Towers Street, Forbidden Valley and The Towers, allowing guests to take the weight off their feet whilst also enjoying magnificent views of the gardens below.
Need2Know
- Min. Rider Height:Â None
- Max. Rider Height:Â None
- Age Restriction:Â Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult
- Ride Photography:Â No
- Fastrack:Â No
Tech Specs
- Manufacturer:Â Poma
- Ride Type:Â Gondola Lift
- Opened:Â 28th March 1987
- Refurbished:Â 28th March 2009
- Length:Â 1048m
- Max. Height:Â 61m
- Max. Speed:Â Approx 4m/s
- Average Speed:Â 2.8m/s
- Station Speed:Â 0.35m/s
- Passengers per Gondola:Â 10
- No. of Gondolas:Â 52
- Duration:Â 5 mins 00 secs
Towers Street – Forbidden Valley
The Skyride station at Towers Street can be found at the bottom left, when approaching from the park entrance, along the path to Mutiny Bay. Guests may experience a short wait before climbing aboard a gondola, with the queue constantly moving as gondolas continuously enter and leave the station.
As the gondola departs, its doors will lock shut before beginning the ascent and journey across the theme park. Guests will firstly be taken directly over Mutiny Bay’s courtyard, before continuing on across the park over Wicker Man, providing unique views of the Resort’s wooden rollercoaster. As guests continue their journey they’ll be taken across the estate’s gardens, with plenty of magnificent views to be had of the lakes and landscaping below.
The gondola makes its way into Forbidden Valley’s station (or Main Drive as they call it internally), before being brought down to a slower speed. Once safely in the station, a member of staff will open the doors, and allow guests to either stay on board or head off and enjoy other attractions.
Forbidden Valley – The Towers
Forbidden Valley’s Skyride station can be found at the area’s entrance pathway, with the building also housing toilets on its ground level.
Upon leaving the station to begin their journey, guests are immediately taken above the gardens, with this journey arguably offering the better views of the valley below as well as spending much longer over one of the most tranquil areas of the park. As the gondola clears the surrounding trees, guests will be taken alongside Rita as they make their way over Dark Forest. After travelling the length of Rita’s launch track, the gondola will descend into the final station, which is situated between Dark Forest and The Towers.
The Skyride was originally installed in 1987, although Alton Towers had Cable Cars many years prior to this. The 1960s system followed the same route as the Skyride but only travelled from Towers Street to the area where Forbidden Valley is today. The old system was quite limited, with a maximum capacity of 4 people per car, as the gondolas and cables were not as strong as the system used today.
Due to the increasing popularity of the park and the upcoming development of Forbidden Valley, it was decided that the introduction of a more modernised cable car system was necessary. The new gondolas were designed and manufactured by Poma, whilst the engineering was implemented by Sir Robert McAlpine. Not only did Alton Towers choose to upgrade the system, the decision was made to extend the route across the gardens, with the addition of a third station conveniently located close to the Towers.
The new system consisted of a fleet of much larger gondolas; each one able to carry up to twelve people at once as well as wheelchairs and push chairs, making the attraction much more accessible. For many years the tinted brown gondolas were part of one of the iconic skylines of Alton Towers as they floated serenely over the gardens.
Other than occasional wind based issue (due to the ride’s high altitude), the Skyride operated largely without issue for almost twenty years. However during Scarefest in 2007, a fire broke out in the Forbidden Valley station, gutting the roof and damaging the workings of the ride. While the damage was repairable, it meant the ride closed for a six month period for work to be carried out, before eventually re-opening midway through the 2008 season.
By this stage the gondolas were showing their age, and in fact several had already been decommissioned which reduces the ride’s capacity. It was therefore decided to replace the fleet for the 2009 season with the multi-coloured versions used today.
After just a few months of operation with its new gondolas, calamity struck the Skyride again on the night of 21st July 2009 as a second fire in less than two years tore through the Towers station entirely devastating the building. Over the following closed season, the station was redesigned and rebuilt ready to reopen for the 2010 season.
Skyride continued to operate until the start of the 2023 season, when the attraction did not open with the rest of the theme park. It wasn’t until the Summer when Alton Towers provided an official update, which confirmed that Skyride would remain closed for the remainder of the 2023 season. This was to enable extended maintenance to be undertaken in order to ensure the attraction’s long-term future at the Resort.
Although Skyride was expected to reopen in 2024, with the stations receiving new paintwork and signage, another update just before the start of the season confirmed that it would remain closed for another season. Nonetheless, Alton Towers stated that this would allow completion of a multi-million-pound investment project in collaboration with the manufacturer, POMA.
Throughout the 2024 season, there were visible signs of work being undertaken across Skyride’s route and stations. Following the end of the main season, Skyride could be seen testing when the park was open during the winter months for the Christmas event, with it acknowledged that the refurbishment project had entered its “final stages” in an update provided in December 2024.
In mid January 2025, Alton Towers released a photo and short compilation of video clips showing Skyride testing, generating further optimism that the attraction would be back in operation from the start of the main season in March, however there were further delays until the eventual reopening on May 3rd.
