Spinball Whizzer is located at Alton Towers Resort in the beautiful Staffordshire countryside. The spinning roller coaster ride is loosely themed on a pinball machine and the name was a pun on the song “Pinball Wizard” by The Who. Between 2010 and 2016, the ride was named Sonic Spinball as part of a sponsorship deal with Sega.
Spinball Whizzer at Alton Towers
The Spinball Whizzer opened in 2004, featuring a loose pinball machine theme. The popular ride received a Sonic the Hedgehog re-brand in 2010 as part of a partnership with Japanese video game company Sega. As part of the sponsorship deal, the roller coaster track was repainted red and blue, new decals, signage and audio, including songs from the games were also added and the ride was renamed Sonic Spinball. This deal came to an end in 2016 and the ride returned to its original name of Spinball Whizzer.
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Spinball Whizzer Statistics
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Top Speed – 60km/h 37mph
Original Cost – £3.5m
Est Cost Today – £5.5m
Length – 1540ft 470m
Height – 56ft 17m
Manufacturer – Maurer Sohne
Type – Steel Spinning
Lift/Launch – Chain Lift
Inversions – 0
G-Force – unknown
Trains – 8
Passengers per Train – 4
Ride Duration – 1m 15s
Theme Park – Alton Towers Resort
Year Opened – 2004 (as Spinball Whizzer) 2010 (as Sonic Spinball) 2016 (as Spinball Whizzer)
If you have not played the game before view our Roller Coaster Top Trumps instructions.
Spinning Roller Coaster
Spinball Whizzer is a joy to ride. It will bring a smile to every rider’s face as the cars randomly spin a full 360 degrees in any direction whilst they whizz along the track. Every ride is unique, depending on the weight distribution in the car, you might end up spinning a lot or you might end up spinning very little. There’s no guarantee what kind of ride you will get but that’s half of the fun. The more your car spins, the more intense the ride experience. Spinball Whizzer is a whole lot of fun that will have you laughing with excitement.
Mäurer’s signature “Immelman” element
This short video features the highlight element on Spinball Whizzer at Alton Towers Resort. Mäurer’s signature “Immelman” element, in which the track rises until vertical, then turns 180 degrees and drops back to Earth. This element is nicely framed by a smaller horseshoe turn that threads through the main arch.
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Alton Towers Roller Coasters
There are seven thrilling roller coasters on offer at Alton Towers. Follow the links below to learn more about each of them.
🎢 Wicker Man is the UK’s first new wooden coaster built in over 20 years, a globally unique experience that will reconnect riders with the primal essence of rollercoasters.
🎢 Galactica is a flying roller coaster located in the Forbidden Valley area of the Theme Park.
🎢 One of the best roller coasters here in the UK, Nemesis Reborn is an angry alien creature trying to rip its way out of the ground. It was Europe’s first inverted roller coaster and features a truly thrilling storyline.
🎢 Oblivion was the world’s first vertical drop roller coaster featuring a 180ft drop at 87-degrees. As each car reaches the drop it is briefly held giving the rider a clear view of whats ahead before falling into Oblivion.
🎢 Rita starts with the train racing forward from the station area, accelerating from 0 to 98.3 km/h (61.1 mph) in 2.5 seconds.
🎢 The Smiler is the world’s first and only 14 loop roller coaster.
🎢 The £15m Th13teen ride was the world’s first vertical freefall drop roller coaster, on which the track and train freefall in darkness.
Attractions at the Alton Towers Resort
In addition to the famous Theme Park, you will also find a wide range of other Attractions at Alton Towers Resort.
Learn more about whats on offer at Alton Towers Resort.
Theme Park
