Jazz Van

 The Jazz Van was a white and pink vehicle with a musical theme, manufactured by Whittaker Brothers and released in the mid-1990s.  The van was sold in both double and single seater versions, the latter having a dalmatian figure "passenger" on one of the seats.  The ride played "Pookie Doodle Puppy" when in motion, and there were three buttons for additional sound effects (two different barking dog sounds and a beeping horn).


Jazz Van with Dog - 1990s Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

As with many other Whittaker Brothers rides of this era, the van's colours were updated a few times to give it a more modern look.


Jazz Van with Dog - 2000 Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

The ride measured 57" x 28" x 60" and weighed 245lbs.


Central Pier, Blackpool, August 2018


Green and orange variant - Humber Pastimes, Cleethorpes, September 2021


Tie-dyed variant - Palins Holiday Park, Towyn, May 2017

The same mould was also used for updated versions of Whittaker Brothers' "Road Transport" rides (School Bus, Police Van and Post Van), released in the mid-1990s.  The puppy passenger was then offered as an optional extra for those as well.


School Bus with Dog - Merrivale Model Village, Great Yarmouth, September 2012


School Bus - 2002 Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

To add to the confusion, Whittaker Brothers then decided to make further versions of the Road Transport Series around the turn of the 21st century, this time with the Post Van replaced by a Fire Engine.  The dog passenger was also replaced, with a different human character made for each vehicle and Welephant the elephant becoming a second option for the Fire Engine!  These later versions don't seem to have been very popular and I never saw any of the non-puppy characters in real life.


School Bus with Child Passenger - 2002 Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

The mould itself was also slightly updated in the early 2000s with a small ridge added to the back of the roof of the car, among other things.


Jazz Van with Dog (New mould) - 2002 Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

Another variation of the Jazz Van which used this later mould was the Ice Cream Van.  Coloured in white and yellow and decorated with pictures of ice creams and lollies, this van was also made in single or double seater versions, with a yellow teddy bear being the passenger of choice on the single seater.


Ice Cream Van - 2002 Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

Park Ranger

 Manufactured by Whittaker Brothers of Oldham, this safari trick ride was released in the early 1990s.  There were several different versions.  Firstly, it was available as either a single or double seater ride (with or without an animal passenger on one of the seats, in other words).  The animal in question was either a lion or tiger cub.  There was also a cub sat on top of the vehicle.  On the single seater version, the roof cub would always be painted as the opposite species to the passenger cub.  So tiger in the passenger seat, lion on the roof or vice versa.


Park Ranger - 1990s Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

The cubs always reminded me of Simba from The Lion King, although they were obviously not officially licensed as such!


Park Ranger (with lion cub passenger) - 1990s Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

The third jungle animal character featured on the ride is a giraffe sitting up on the back of the van holiday a 'L' plate.


Park Ranger (with lion cub passenger) - Location Unknown, April 1997

The ride played "Daddy's Taking Us To The Zoo Tomorrow" when in motion and had three push buttons for different sound effects; a roaring lion, beeping horn and laughter.


Double seater with tiger on roof - Merrivale Model Village, Great Yarmouth, June 2021.  This is the earliest version of this ride, complete with original soundtrack.


Single Seater (Lion Cub Passenger, Tiger Cub on Roof) - Barry Island Pleasure Park, June 2019.  This is a later edition with updated colours.

While the earliest version of the Park Ranger was painted in "camouflage" yellow, green and black strips with red highlights, later versions saw the entire van's colour scheme changed and the ride renamed "Big Top Circus" or "Toytown Zoo".


Big Top Circus - Early 2000s Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

The wildlife characters remained the same in Big Top Circus, but the van was now predominantly white with red and green details.


Toytown Zoo - Early 2000s Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

In Toytown Zoo, the sitting lion/tiger cub passenger was usually replaced by a teddy bear.  This van was painted in white and blue.


Old Mac's Van Double Seater (Left) and Single Seater (Right) - 1990s Whittaker Brothers Leaflet

Another version was "Old Mac's Van", a blue van with green and red details which could be purchased with an optional orange-spotted white dog passenger on one of the seats.  A cockerel rode on the back of the van in place of the giraffe and the tune it played was, unsurprisingly, "Old MacDonald Had a Farm".

Canmobile

 Manufactured by Cointronics of Hastings, the Canmobile was a cleverly designed car/drink can hybrid, released in the mid-1990s.  It was sold in a variety of different colours/brands including Tango, Cola and Vimto.


Tango Canmobile - Blackpool Pleasure Beach, September 2014

I love how the Tango car plays Hernando's Hideaway (tango dance music) when in motion!  Sadly, I can't remember what music the other versions played.  They were such lovely quirky little rides which sadly don't appear to have been very long-lasting in their popularity.  I can remember them being seemingly everywhere in the summer of 1996, but not so much even by the following year.  A hidden gem in the history of coin operated rides.

Rupert the Bear

 Manufactured by Photo-Me, the first Rupert the Bear kiddie ride was released around 1996.


Wookey Hole Caves, May 2023

Motorcycle

This motorcycle was manufactured by JM Kiddie Rides and made its debut at the Amusement Trade Exhibition in January 1977.  It has an actual motorcycle headlamp which illuminated upon coin insertion, as well as twist grip and twin exhausts.


Coastal Bay Hotel, Blackpool, December 2023

As with all of JM Kiddie Rides' machines of this era, it was made to be easily removed from its base and replaced with another toy from their range.  The galloper horse and dolphin were described as ideal replacements for this particular model's base.


Coastal Bay Hotel, Blackpool, December 2023

Speed-Boat

 Manufactured by Robinson Partners, this speedboat was released in time for the Amusement Trade Exhibition in March 1956.


Mr T's Amusements, Dymchurch, September 1997


Robinson Partners Stand, 1968 Amusement Trade Exhibition


Burnham-on-Sea, 1960s.  Many thanks to Nicola Explores on YouTube!

Photo-Me

Ride Releases

1996 - Noddy, Rupert the Bear