It took me seven hours to rip, convert, edit and upload, but the
'Creating the Magic for Everyone' archive footage is also now online! Once again, Cybermen39 kindly sent this footage to me for uploading.
It's 1 hour, 47 minutes worth of footage from the park, shot by the park in 1996, and it focuses on the park's entertainers by looking at the various shows the park put on, roaming actors (includes bands, characters - even the original grounds keepers) and even Henry's Parade!
There's also some general park footage of attractions that very few people out there may have seen or remembered, such as the original indoor play area in Land of Makebelieve (now Cloud Cukoo Land) and brief footage inside the old Cine 360 attraction. The footage even looks at the hotel in its first season, as well as some of the entertainment they used to put on in there.
At the end of the video is a short news report that was done at the park about Alton Towers and the attractions industry. Among the few quick interviews that the news channel included, Nick Varney is also featured and talks about Alton Towers' position among other parks, and what they're doing to become the best in the UK. There's also a brief look at some of the funny tricks the park used to do in their advertising and marketing (when Drayton Manor opened their rapids ride, Alton Towers had to remind everyone that they too had a much bigger rapids ride
), so make sure to check that out too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INuIg7dAr9s#
To make it easier for people to find various parts in the video, I've also included this on the Youtube page (times are links to parts of the video on the video's page)...
00:00:00 - Towers Street roaming actors
00:01:30 - Peter Rabbit on Ice
00:27:45 - Land of Makebelieve attractions and roaming actors
00:31:15 - Magic Street Theatre Magic Show
00:54:25 - General park footage
00:57:00 - Children's Fun Factory (Show)
01:13:30 - Cine 360 pre-show short announcement
01:14:10 - Grease (Show)
01:32:05 - Alton Towers Hotel & various hotel entertainment
01:37:55 - Henry's Parade footage
01:40:55 - News report (various interviews, park footage and more)
Edit: Just uploaded yet more fantastic footage, courtesy of Cybermen39. This is a video of Thunder Valley in its final season, 1993. It features the classic Schwarzkopf roller coasters Thunder Looper and New Beast, and there's even a glimpse of Nemesis being built. Just look at the amount of people there too!
http://youtu.be/ppNVspbkjm4
Enjoy!