Alton Towers Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride auction raises £10,000 for charity
An auction of items from Alton Towers Resort's former Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride has raised more than £10,000 for charity.
Theme park and Roald Dahl fans jumped at the chance to get their hands of the memorabilia to raise an Oompa-lump sum of cash for two UK charities.
It raised £10,781 and attracted more than 1,400 bids on the unique items. Prices started at just 99p and the lots included five Ooompa Loompas, giant inflatable blueberries, squirrels and a chocolate covered Augustus Gloop, as well as quirky signage from the 'Inventing Room' and 'Juicing Room'.
The final bids saw an Oompa Loompa go for £1,000, while Augustus Gloop sold for £620. An entrance sign sold for £501.
Money raised from the auction will go to Merlin's Magic Wand, a children's charity which supports children facing challenges of serious illness, disability or adversity, and Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity which funds Roald Dahl specialist children's nurses in communities across the UK.
The Charlie and Chocolate Factory ride, formerly situated in Cloud Cuckoo Land, opened in 2006 and closed at the end of the 2015 season to make way for new attractions within the Staffordshire-based theme park. From March 23, the former ride will be unveiled as the new Alton Towers Dungeon.
Kate McBirnie, who headed up the auction at Alton Towers Resort, said: "We are absolutely thrilled with the success of the auction and overwhelmed by the interest the ride memorabilia attracted It’s such a unique array of fun and quirky items.
"We are now really looking forward to learning about where the items will go to and be homed from the winning bidders.
“We are now full speed ahead for the opening of our 2019 season and the opening of the new Dungeon in just a few weeks’ time. This will soon be followed by the opening of our Stargazing Pods in April, so it’s an incredibly exciting time for the theme park and this has been a great way to kick off the year.”
It is not the first time Alton Towers has auctioned off ride memorabilia – in 2017 they sold the log flume boats to make way for the new Wicker Man ride. The boats helped raise £20,000 for charity and are now being used as beds, plant pots and even a motor boat in locations across the UK.
