Around the World in 80 Days was an attraction in the Talbot Street (now David Walliams World) 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, ...

theme park,

Staffordshire 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 Cou ...

, England. The attraction opened around 1981 or 1982, one or two years after the park first opened. It was the first dark ride at Alton Towers, one of the largest in the UK at the time, and was produced by

Keith Sparks Keith Henley Sparks was a British attraction designer and developer for theme parks around Europe; an early innovator of theme park attractions and dark rides in the United Kingdom (UK). He was known for his characteristic production style and ...

for the park's owner John Broome. It was a 4-minute boat ride which followed the adventures of Phileas Fogg and was loosely based on Jules Verne's 1873 novel ''

Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'' and took riders through various different countries from around the world. Each boat could hold 9 people and there were 10 boats with 1,000 guests an hour. Each country had its own music and some animated characters. You could travel through London, Siam, Egypt, New York City,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Greenland, Las Vegas, Vienna, Holland, Brazil, Paris, London Docks and

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

. The ride station was themed around the London docks and featured an animated Phileas Fogg in a hot air balloon. Guests would board from the right hand side and exit on their left. In 1991, at the end of the ride, was a model of the haunted house's facade, advertising the opening of the attraction in 1992. The ride was popular in its time, but was closed in 1993 and received a complete overhaul after the Tussauds Group took over Alton Towers. The ride was replaced by

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 ...

in 1994 and then Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride in 2006. The ride track and boats stayed much the same but with all new scenes. In 2019, the ride system was reused once again as part of the Alton Towers Dungeon.

References

External links

Full on-ride recordingAround the World in 80 Days at Alton Towers Almanac
Dark rides 1981 establishments in England 1993 disestablishments in England Works based on Around the World in Eighty Days Water rides manufactured by Mack Rides Water rides Alton Towers Amusement rides based on works by Jules Verne {{Amusement-ride-stub