Ride Releases
Unknown - Mickey Mouse Car
Sunday, August 2, 2026
Mickey Mouse Car
Manufactured by Elektro Mobiltechnik of Germany, this was one of the earliest in their wide range of Disney kiddie rides, released in the mid-1990s.
Skegness Pleasure Beach, June 2017. This unit had been refurbished with a Stamar timer.
There are several versions of this ride. The first is the one shown in the video above, on the high long EMT base. I have fond memories of these in Woolworths clothing departments in the 1990s. I seem to recall them playing the same music heard on the EMT Pocahontas carousel and Modhesh rides but can't be certain.
The second version was released on a smaller EMT base around 2002, meaning the coin slot had to be moved into the wheel arch of the car. This version was distributed in the UK by Northern Leisure Kiddy Rides.
Happyland Amusements, Bournemouth, September 2020
Later versions were made by GeWeTe/Merkur Gaming.
Most of these seem to play either the "Mickey Mouse March" or "It's a Small World" when in motion. There is a push button inside for a car horn sound effect.
Saturday, August 1, 2026
Nessy
1990s Whittaker Brothers Leaflet
Manufactured by Whittaker Brothers, Nessy was released in the mid-1990s. Sharing a similar style to many other Whittaker rides of the time, Nessy had a cut-out in her back with space for two riders...and a steering wheel on each side. Yes, no monster would be complete without vehicle parts inside. I'm sure somebody is happily driving the real Monster around under the calm waters of Loch Ness...
2002 Whittaker Brothers Leaflet
The ride played "Dinosaurs Dinosaurs" when in motion. I have a hazy childhood memory of the first one of these I ever saw playing "You'll Never Find a Nessie In The Zoo" from The Family-Ness, but I find it hard to believe that would have been the case due to copyright. Maybe I was just singing it in my head. However, my mum also remembers this! If anybody else has memories of these rides playing that tune, please let me know and help us clear up the mystery!
It also had two sound effect buttons which made "dinosaur" sound effects when pushed, a roar and a chirpy little squeak!
Pensarn Pleasure Beach, May 2017
As with many Whittaker Brothers rides, Nessy underwent the colour makeover around the turn of the 21st century to bring her up to more modern standards! No longer did monsters just have vehicle parts inside them, now they wore fashionable shirts with bone patterning!
Fairworld Amusements, Cleethorpes, June 2017. While most Nessy rides were yellow, this one is a rarer blue version. I couldn't resist filming her, even though I already have more than one Nessy filmed. She was in pretty good condition to be fair, and the guy who worked in the arcade was lovely about me filming the rides, so it was a win-win situation!
According to old Whittaker Brothers promotional material, the ride measures 64" x 32" x 71".
Blackpool Zoo, October 2023. Like most of the rides at Blackpool Zoo, I'm unsure if this Nessy has been refurbished or if this is original paintwork for a later release that I haven't come across before. This one wears traditional Scottish tartan! He also plays different music, "If You Saw a Dinosaur"... I've never heard a Nessy play this song before but it certainly sounds like original Whittaker Brothers music. Still not "You'll Never Find a Nessie In The Zoo" though!
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
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".
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
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.
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