Air, the iconic flying rollercoaster in the Forbidden Valley at Alton Towers, was re-themed and is now known as Galactica. It officially opened as Galactica in 2016, originally featuring virtual reality headsets before transitioning back to a standard flying experience.
Galactica is a flying roller coaster located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers amusement park in Staffordshire, England. It originally opened as Air on 16 March 2002 and is the first flying coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard.
Originally built as Secret Weapon 5, our 'Aerial Inversion Ride' (AIR) was the first flying roller coaster at Alton Towers Resort. A reference to Galactica's previous name can be found in the ride's station - see if you can spot it!
Galactica (formerly called Air) is a steel flying roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Alton, Staffordshire, England, UK. It was built by Bolliger & Mabillard and situated in the Forbidden Valley area, in close proximity to Nemesis.
On 12 January 2016, Alton Towers announced that Air would be re-themed as Galactica for the 2016 season and would include on-ride virtual reality headsets simulating a ride through the cosmos. The announcement was made at an event held at the Science Museum.
Alton Towers revealed updated Air roller coaster as Galactica
Is Alton Towers getting rid of Galactica?
Goodbye Galactica 😞 I can't believe they're removing this iconic coaster to make way for a car park . #altontowers #galactica #themepark #rides #rollercoaster.
The creator of the 1978 version was Glen A. Larson, an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons), who infused his religion's religious beliefs into the storyline.
Initially, Galactica featured VR, but a few years later it was soon dropped as the technology became dated and unreliable. Many guests also preferred the original experience.
It's great to see that Hex - The Legend of the Towers is back open for the 2025 season 🥳 This fantastic dark ride opened 25 years ago and adds some much needed capacity to this side of the park 🌳⛓️ #altontowers #altontowersresort #hex #hexthelegendofthetowers #themeparks #themepark #themeparkworldwide.
The Son of Beast at Kings Island closed due to persistent construction issues, a rough ride experience, and several serious incidents, including a major structural failure in 2006 that injured 27 riders and a later injury claim in 2009, leading to its indefinite closure and eventual demolition in 2012 to make way for Banshee.
Riders on Rita experience a maximum G force of 4.7. That's the highest g-force roller coaster you'll find at Alton Towers Resort! Rita was built by Intamin, the thrill ride experts who also created Th13teen.
With 360° rotating seats and head-first, face down drops, X2 is downright scary. Go ahead and take in the view on the long ride up before careening down this one-of-a-kind thrill coaster. Flamethrowers and all, X2 is carefully designed to keep you in total sensory overload the entire ride.
What is the most intense roller coaster in the UK?
The most intense roller coaster in the UK is widely considered to be Hyperia at Thorpe Park, which opened in 2024, holding records as the UK's tallest (236ft) and fastest (81mph) coaster, featuring huge drops, Europe's tallest loop, and significant weightless moments with lap-bar restraints for maximum intensity. Other highly intense UK coasters known for unique thrills include Stealth (for its extreme launch) and Nemesis Reborn, but Hyperia currently leads in overall records and intensity factors.
Universal Orlando's Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit permanently closed on August 18, 2025. The reason for the closure is to make way for a new attraction, though details are scarce. The ride, which opened in 2009, featured customizable music selections and reached speeds of 65 mph.
Gaeta and Zarek are executed by firing squad for their crimes at some later point (TRS: "Blood on the Scales"). The remaining mutineers are imprisoned on the Astral Queen, though they are later freed in exchange for participating in the Battle of The Colony (TRS: "Deadlock" podcast; "Daybreak, Part I").
The longest officially recognized time spent in VR for media consumption is 55 hours, set by Lauren Cass in April 2025, while the longest VR gaming marathon is 50 hours, achieved by Robin Schmidt and Based AF in October 2023, both documented by Guinness World Records. These records involve specific rules, with Cass focusing on watching content and the gaming record played in Minecraft.
Alton Towers is likely to pay out well over one million pounds to the victims of the Smiler rollercoaster crash after the amusement park admitted "full responsibility" for the incident.
What was the worst roller coaster crash in the UK?
The worst UK roller coaster accident was the Battersea Big Dipper disaster in 1972, where a rope snapped, causing a carriage to derail, resulting in five children's deaths and injuries to thirteen others, making it the UK's deadliest fairground tragedy. Another severe incident was the 2015 Smiler crash at Alton Towers, a collision between two trains that caused serious injuries but no fatalities, highlighting major human error and management failings, notes this YouTube video.
In a press release today, the park confirmed that the smiler is being completely redesigned for the 2026 season and the ride will become a full virtual reality experience. They've said it will be the world's first fully virtual reality multi-inversion roller coaster.
Battlestar Galactica's frak, a word that Lee Goldberg characterized as "something truly amazing and subversive" and that Scott Adams called "pure genius", has also escaped its original context. Originally spelled frack, it along with felgercarb were coined by writer Glen A.
Mormons talk about a Jesus who was the spirit child of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. They refer to Jesus as the brother of Lucifer who proposed a better plan of redemption and won the designation “Messiah.” They believe in a Jesus who filled in the gap of humanity's need through his atoning sweat in the garden.
