With Merlin bosses hoping to rekindle interest in Alton Towers after a poor summer, the UK theme park has revealed a teaser for “Something Exciting!”, rumoured to be the addition of virtual reality to its Air rollercoaster.

Attractions Management exclusively revealed last month that Mack Rides and VR Coaster are working on at least nine new virtual reality rollercoasters, with the new technology to be announced for a major attraction in January. Prior to Alton Towers releasing the teaser trailer, there were rumours that Air would be getting a VR addition – a first for the UK.



The 21-second teaser indicates a space theme for the addition, using the line “in space you can’t hear yourself scream because there is no Air”. The online spot also promises an “out-of-this-world” experience, which will be officially revealed on 12 January.

Alton Towers would be leading the way for VR coasters worldwide, with Mack telling Attractions Management that it is working with several major IPs for branded VR ride experiences for 2016, which will be revealed in the coming months.

The £12m (US$17.7m, €16.2m) Air rollercoaster, designed by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), first opened in March 2002. The ride was the first flying rollercoaster and at the time of opening was one of the most expensive rollercoasters ever made and among the most technologically-advanced.

The theme park closed for the year in November 2015 and will reopen on 19 March. The park suffered an estimated £50m (US$77.6m, €70m) hit last year after the Smiler rollercoaster crashed, seriously injuring a number people, including two who underwent leg amputations.