The History of Air and Galactica - Secret Weapon 5 | Expedition Alton Towers

Join us on Expedition Alton Towers as we look at the history of Air - The first B&M Flying Coaster and it's VR re theme Galactica. Planned from the opening of Nemesis before Oblivion but delayed this ride offers a unique experience not found elsewhere in the UK. The VR section would last less than 3 years before being reverted back to a experience more similar to Air - Secret Weapon 5

Credits -

All used under Fair Use for education purposes. Please check the original videos to support them.

[Bexx]

i remember when i was like 13 i was on my like 3rd ride through single rider and got grouped with probably a bunch of stoners and the guy next to me just kept shouting 'I'M A PIGEON I'M A PIGEON' and it has remained one of my most vived and fond memories of this ride hahahah

[laurencebois]

You need to do a feature on john wardley, the guy is a legend

[TheNobod]

"Hmm, what can we do in our commercials to sell this coaster as serene and non-threatening?"
"How about an unsettling muted color palate and creepy whispering?"
"Perfect!"

[MegaRayland]

One thing is clear: Alton Towers’ commercials are consistently weird.

[sulphuric_glue]

"Now flyyy"

Hearing that just made me sad. I miss the old Air so much.

[blackbearish]

they even had audio description of the visual affects on the vr for blind people. this was amazing to me, riding galactica, as i'm totally blind. while the vr was lost on me, the inclusion of the audio description track describing the visual affects was worth strapping the headset on for, though you had to get the speakers correctly aligned to hear it properly, something i only managed second time around, but even so, it was great to feel included.

[carys]

they really should’ve just kept the air theming, it wasn’t much but the idea of it being a relaxing flying coaster is just so intriguing. galactica isn’t up to par, especially when the theming only really works with the vr which has now been removed anyway

[truemetalsonic]

Air's advert is still one of my favourites. I'm glad you jabbed at the tunnel - it's so bare.

[SpikePBB]

Can't believe you left out the opening day fiasco where the metal beam that pushes the train into its flight position snapped in half. It was delayed for weeks. 😯

[RolyWestYT]

I don't mind that they took away the VR because I hate it and think it's not nice to wear! BUT seeming they have kept the theme they should paint the track and add more things around the track to make it fit better and make you feel a little immersed in space

[tom-chii]

I remember visiting during Scarefest 2015, the park was dead. All I could hear was Air's soundtrack mysteriously playing in the ride plaza, I've never felt more magic in that area ever since. It's weird, I know, because the Galactica soundtrack is awesome but it's just not Air...

[sarahmichie]

Just realised I 100% fell for the "gentle family ride" marketing - Air was my first rollercoaster. So glad I did!

[Xtream_Arrow]

Air is such a cool name it’s simplistic and the theme gives it meaning.

[archive]

Literally I've made it a tradition that whenever I see a video about Alton Towers (Especially Secret Weapons) I drop everything and watch the video the second it comes out!

[LOC-Ness]

The entire Air logo and theme is so Y2K, I love it.

[TheEastieA]

I always really resented the Galactica re-brand because I genuinley loved Air so much as a kid, I still really miss the "now flyyyy" bit before the coaster sets off.
Also every time I went on Galactica the VR was always off or down for the day which just made me hate it more, I wonder if I'd been able to try the VR I'd have been more on board with the new theme

[kimzee]

I'm glad there is someone who is talking about the British roller coasters. It seems that most people talk about just the American ones, but as someone who was born and raised in the UK, I've only ever really known UK rollercoasters

[wolffuryanimates]

You've gotta admit, AIR and galactica's theme song are arguably the most relaxing in the park.

[yuxaredd]

So now that it it doesn’t have VR, I just tend to refer to it as a combination of the two - Galacticair.

Also, VR is weak to rain. AND YOU MAKE A VR COASTER IN THE UK. WHY?

[galacticgardevoir]

I can't get over that on-ride interview. I know he's probably ridden it a hundred times but he sounds so passive 😂