Spinball Whizzer is a

spinning roller coaster A spinning roller coaster is a roller coaster with cars that rotate on a vertical axis. Models Virginia Reel The first spinning roller coaster was the Sierra Sidewinder, first built in 1908 by Henry Riehl. Instead of trains, the ride had "tubs ...

located in the Adventure Land area of

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...

Staffordshire, England Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Coun ...

. Built by

Maurer Söhne Maurer AG, formerly known as Maurer Söhne GmbH & Co. KG, is a steel construction company and roller coaster manufacturer. Founded in 1876 in Munich, Germany, the company has built many styles of steel buildings, ranging from bridges, industrial ...

, it was previously sponsored by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

, the company that created the ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...

'' video game franchise, and was known as Sonic Spinball from 2010 to 2015.

History

Opening in 2004, ''Spinball Whizzer'' featured a loose pinball machine theme. The name was a pun on the song "

Pinball Wizard "Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band the Who, featured on their 1969 rock opera album ''Tommy''. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts ...

" by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

. In 2010, it was announced that Spinball Whizzer would be receiving a ''

'' re-brand as part of a partnership with Japanese video game company

. The roller coaster was therefore given a red and blue track repaint; new decoys, signage and audio, including songs from the games with the station announcements provided in-character by

Roger Craig Smith Roger Craig Smith (born 11 August 1975) is an American voice actor. He is well known for his video game voice roles as Chris Redfield in the ''Resident Evil'' series (2009–2017), Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series ( ...

Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain *Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities *Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...

(prior to his official debut as the character in ''

Sonic Free Riders is a motion controlled racing video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega exclusively for the Xbox 360. The game requires the use of Microsoft's Kinect peripheral and was a Kinect launch title in November 2010. ''Sonic Free Riders'' ...

''). The ride re-opened to the public as Sonic Spinball on 13 February 2010 during the park's February half term event. A Sonic-themed room was also made available at the Alton Towers Hotel, which featured various playable ''Sonic'' games and wallpaper based on '' Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I''. Sega previously had a deal with Alton Towers for the

Toyland Tours Toyland Tours was a former attraction in the Land of Make Believe area of Alton Towers theme park, Staffordshire, England. The attraction was opened in 1994, replacing Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (fren ...

dark ride. A ''Sonic'' animatronic featured in one of the ride's scenes along with associated sound effects and music. However, the ride was closed for refurbishment in June 2005 to make way for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride, and currently the Alton Towers Dungeons. Sega's sponsorship was set to end in 2013 as part of the three-year deal. At the end of 2013, the sponsorship was renewed, and continued until 2016. On 2 June 2015, the ride was temporarily closed, owing to an accident on

The Smiler The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it opened in 2013 as the world's first Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster. It is located in the X-Sector area of the park. With ...

. Sonic Spinball reopened on 15 June 2015. The ride's original Spinball Whizzer theme was restored for the 2016 season as part of an area of the park called Adventure Land.

References

{{John Wardley Roller coasters in the United Kingdom Roller coasters operated by Merlin Entertainments Tourist attractions in Staffordshire Buildings and structures in Staffordshire Roller coasters introduced in 2004 Alton Towers 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom Sonic the Hedgehog

History

See also

References