Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic is a dark ride at Pleasure Beach Resort (better known as Blackpool Pleasure Beach) in Blackpool, England. It opened on 29 April 2013 as a retheme of the former The Gold Mine ride, which utilized the building and track from 1971 to 2011.
The Gold Mine was installed at a cost of £150,000, and was originally designed by Arrow Dynamics. The Gold Mine closed following the 2011 season, and the ride was overhauled by W.G.H. Transportation Engineering. The current iteration of the ride is based on the Wallace & Gromit films.
Design and ride experience The ride's opening ceremony was hosted by Nick Park, Amanda Thompson, Nick Thompson, Nick Farmer and Merlin Crossingham.
The ride, which cost £5.25 million, was created by Pleasure Beach Resort in association with the creators of Wallace and Gromit, Aardman Animations. The ride's cars are designed to resemble one of Wallace's slippers. The ride lasts approximately four minutes, and features scenes from the Wallace and Gromit films A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and A Matter of Loaf and Death. The ride shares exactly the same track layout as the previous Gold Mine Ride, with small drops throughout the ride.
The ride exits into a gift shop with Wallace and Gromit merchandise. Additionally, a concession operated by Picsolve allows on-ride photos to be purchased.
In 2025, the ride was updated to include scenes from Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
Reception Rhonda Carrier of The Guardian noted the ride's "nostalgic ambience" and called it a "gentle dark ride".The Guardian. London, Greater London, England. 6 Jul 2013. Page A6
Emma Clayton of Telegraph & Argus called the ride "delightfully bonkers" and "great fun".Telegraph and Argus. Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. 26 Aug 2017 Page M44
See also 2013 in amusement parks Wallace & Gromit
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