Alton Towers Almanac

A stomach-churning ride that's a barrel o' laughs

Why, where, when?

This ride was installed in 1987, when park expansion was getting more and more every year. The demolition of an old toilet block left a wide open space in the AquaLand area, and Mack's Tea-Cup ride was installed.

It seems from the design on the ride, that the Merrie England theme was in mind from as early as the mid-eighties.

The ride stayed the same for over 20 years, until the area's retheme into Mutiny Bay prompted a different 'look' - an exploding barrels theme which fits perfectly.

But what is it like?

Although this ride never has much of a queue and is nearly always ignored by the die-hard thrill seeker this ride, this ride can be very nauseating and rough.

The ride is based as barrels on an individual turn table with groups of three barrels on their own turntable, and each barrel spins individually gently round with a large stack of explosives centred in the middle of the ride. The element that can change it from a gentle to rough ride is the wheel in the middle, that lets you give your barrel that extra bit of a kick.