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Hi guys. In recent years, I think it’s fair to say that Alton Towers have had a bit of a nostalgia push, for lack of a better term. In 2023, the park revamped Duel into The Curse at Alton Manor, which harked back to the ride’s roots and brought back something more akin to the Haunted House from 1992 (while Curse is not the Haunted House, it’s a haunted house with enough shared DNA that I think the two could be conflated with one another by a casual visitor). In 2024, the park retracked Nemesis. And in 2025, the park have opened Toxicator, which brings back a ride akin to the late Ripsaw from 1997 (while Toxicator is not the Ripsaw, it’s a Top Spin with enough shared DNA that I think the two could be conflated with one another by a casual visitor). Argaubly more so than ever before, Alton Towers’ recent investments seem to be leaning heavily into nostalgia for the park’s past. This is an interesting change of pace for the park compared to years gone by, so I’d be interested to know; what are your thoughts on the recent nostalgia push at Alton Towers? Do you love that the park is harking back to the glory days of the past? Or do you think that the park is fixating overly on past glories and not bringing enough new things to the table? Personally, I’m in two minds. I think there’s a balance to be struck between nostalgia and new ideas. On the one hand, I don’t think any of the projects that have been done have been unnecessary projects or excessively fixated on nostalgia to their detriment. Curse did not attempt to synthetically “revive” the 1992 Haunted House as some were advocating for and as I feared might happen; it did attempt to put its own spin on the haunted house concept and I think it works really well. Nemesis Reborn was a revival of a ride that was by all accounts revered and a core part of the park’s DNA, and I think the changes were excellent and breathed new life into the concept to bring it into the 21st century. Toxicator, perhaps ironically with it being the only new piece of ride hardware, is perhaps the one that feels like it was most done for nostalgia’s sake; there are a lot of other types of flat ride to pick from, and they still went for the one that the park had in 1997. But even still, Alton Towers lacks flat rides and the Top Spin as a ride type does objectively offer a lot of positive attributes. These projects have good ideas at their core, and one could argue; why should a good idea go unused just because it has been used before? Newness for newness’s sake is not necessarily a good thing; sometimes the old ones are the best, as they say! On the other hand, however, I have a key concern about the park relying on nostalgia for multiple recent investments. That concern is that an excessive focus on nostalgia for multiple investments in a row might contribute to a public perception that the park is stood still, and isn’t moving forward. I’m not saying that projects like the revamps weren’t good, but I think more so than any decade prior, Alton Towers has felt like it’s stood still during the 2020s so far. We as enthusiasts might be interested in projects like Curse and Nemesis Reborn, and the park are undeniably splashing the cash, but for the casual visitor, I have my concerns that it looks like the park is simply living off past glories and rehashing the past. To the casual observer, I can see why Curse is “just the Haunted House in a new colour”, Nemesis Reborn is “just Nemesis in a new colour”, and Toxicator is “just Ripsaw in a new colour”. In isolation, I think all of these projects were fundamentally good and beneficial, and nostalgia in moderate doses is not necessarily a bad thing… but when put together and being the only things done for multiple years in a row, they give off an impression that the park has run out of ideas and hasn’t done anything meaningfully new in years. People might rhapsodise about “the experience” in years gone by, but I feel this sentiment ignores the key thing that gave Alton Towers its popularity and status in the first place. During the 1980s and 1990s, the park was forward-thinking and brought several new and innovative ride installations to the table, and it attracted the public’s attention in a big way. Heck, even during the 2010s, the park was still forward-thinking and bringing new and innovative ride installations to the table in the form of rides like Thirteen, Smiler and Wicker Man. But when Alton Towers has spent the last few years in a row doing nothing but refurbishing and/or “reviving” things from the park’s past, I fear that that forward-thinking and innovating mentality that gave the park its name will be perceived to have gone. Multiple nostalgia-driven projects in a row could feel like the park is rehashing the old hits and living in the past rather than bringing anything new to the table. So personally, my view is that there is a place for nostalgia, and good ideas should not necessarily be abandoned for newness’s sake, but that the park’s reliance on it in recent years could perhaps be excessive, particularly if continued into 2026 and beyond. If we, for instance, see a new enterprise to “revive” Enterprise in 2027 and a new pirate ship to “revive” Blade in 2028, I fear it will just fuel a perception that the park is stood still and living in the past. We need some legitimately new blood interspersed in with nostalgia to make it feel like the park is moving forwards, and I’d argue we’ve reached a juncture where Alton Towers could perhaps do with some new blood rides-wise. But I’d be keen to know; what are your thoughts on Alton Towers’ recent nostalgia push? Do you think it’s a good idea to hark back to the glory days? Or do you think the park could do with bringing some new ideas to the table?

I couldn’t find an exclusive topic for it (apologies if there is one), but I did Toxicator for the first time over the weekend. I shared a few thoughts in my trip report from the Saturday, but I’ll give a few slightly more in-depth thoughts here. Let me start with the theming and presentation… Presentation On the presentation front, I think it overall looks really nice. To give a few more refined thoughts: I was unsure on the platform prior to the ride’s opening, but I have to say that it does make the ride look really dominant and visually striking; that platform absolutely towers above the area! Theming-wise, I think they’ve done an excellent job. There are some really nice little details around the area and queue, as well as in the underpass, and I also really like things like the audio and the toxic waste tanks (?) on either side of the ride. Yes, it might not quite match the grandeur of something like Talocan (from what I’ve seen of that one), but it’s better themed than 95% of flat rides out there, including any of the ones that used to populate Alton Towers in years gone by, so I’d consider the theming we have on Toxicator a big win! As with anything designed by John Burton, there are quite a few Easter eggs, or “nods to the past”. Maybe not as many as on some of his other work, but I did notice a couple of “Can you cut it?” references, as well as a reference to 1997 somewhere. I would say, though, that the platform is a double edged sword. I say this because while I think it makes the ride look really dominant, it does maybe sacrifice some practicality in that when the ride is in operation, it seems to leak water everywhere. I’m not sure if this is intentional or a design flaw arising from the ride’s placement on top of a platform, but there was a bit of the queue that I noticed people not standing in because the ride was raining water into it during operation, and the underpass is difficult to walk under for similar reasons. But on the whole, I would give the park top marks for presentation on this one; the ride looks great thematically! Let me talk about the ride now… The Ride Now prior to Saturday, I had never actually ridden a Huss Top Spin before. I never did Ripsaw when it operated, and I also never did Rameses Revenge either, so this was a new ride type for me! I’m not a great lover of flat rides in general, but I had heard people say that Ripsaw “wasn’t as bad as it looked”, so I wondered if I might like Toxicator. Unfortunately, I’m sorry to say that the ride really wasn’t for me at all. I really hoped I might like it or not dislike it that much, but unfortunately, I would say it was right down there with Air Race at Drayton Manor and Samurai at Thorpe Park as one of the most vile flat rides I’ve ridden, and I would it was my least favourite thing I rode all weekend at Alton Towers. I’m aware this is quite strong criticism, so I feel I should back up my stance with reasons. My reasons for disliking the ride so strongly are two fold: Firstly, it has a fair amount of slow and very sustained upside down hangtime. I can take brief or fast hangtime to a point (e.g. the inversion on Swarm’s dive drop, or Smiler’s indoor inversion), but the really slow and sustained kind of hangtime where it just leaves you hanging upside down for ages and ages is the kind that I absolutely hate. Toxicator seemed to have loads of it, unfortunately, and that turned me off it for sure. Secondly, I found the flipping a bit too violent for my liking. I’m not someone who’s averse to going upside down by any means (I’m absolutely fine with it on coasters), but Toxicator seemed to flip over and over in a ridiculously violent fashion that I just did not find remotely enjoyable. It made me feel a bit queasy, if I’m honest, and I just found the flipping too violent and jerky for my liking. I’m sorry if that’s controversial. I know many, many people love these Huss Top Spins, and rate Toxicator and also the likes of Talocan really highly, but that experience just was not for me at all. In a park like Alton Towers, where there are loads of great rides to pick from, it’s not a ride I see myself rushing back on any time soon. Wetness-wise, I didn’t get as wet as I feared I might. I got a bit of spray on my legs, but nothing overly terrible; it dried quite quickly, even on an overcast morning like Saturday. I can imagine the spray might be nice on a hotter day! I really want to be excited by Toxicator, and I do think the park should be applauded for building a new flat ride, but my experience on it over the weekend reminded me why I have little to no personal excitement for the idea of new flat rides at Alton Towers. I’m just not a massive fan of them in general, and the types I do really like (namely drop towers and S&S Screamin’ Swings, to name a couple… mainly things that offer notable airtime and don’t really spin!) are types of ride that Alton Towers can’t build due to height restrictions. I get that the park lacks flat rides, but I struggle to muster up an awful lot of personal enthusiasm for any hypothetical flats that Towers might build in the future, and Toxicator has definitely not changed that, I’m afraid. One other thing I would say, which I admit is perhaps slightly picky, is that if the park builds any more flat rides in the coming years, I hope they go for something that the park hasn’t had before. As much as Toxicator is a brilliant visual piece and looks really cool, I get the overriding impression that many people see it as “Ripsaw in a different colour”. While Toxicator is a new ride, the fact that it’s effectively a revival of a ride from 1997 does only add to the impression that Alton Towers isn’t really progressing and hasn’t done much that’s meaningfully new in years. Curse and Nemesis Reborn were brilliantly executed projects, but they were refurbishments and/or revivals of old staples rather than meaningfully new things, and I feel that Toxicator kind of has this feel to the casual visitor as well. I don’t think Toxicator being a Top Spin was necessarily a bad thing per se, as the ride type does offer many really cool aspects, but I do hope that future flat ride additions to Alton Towers offer something the park has never had before rather than simply being similar “revivals” of Enterprise, Submission, Blade et al. My fear is that the casual visitor might lump Toxicator in with the likes of Curse and Nemesis Reborn as being a refurbishment or revival of the old rather than properly new blood, and I feel that Alton Towers is maybe at that point where it could do with some properly new blood ride-wise. I hate to leave negative reviews, so I’ll try and be somewhat balanced and diplomatic with my summary. In summation, I would say that Toxicator is an excellent ride visually, and I will give them top marks for presentation. The ride really does look brilliant! I will also applaud them for trying to fill the flat ride gap in Alton Towers’ lineup. And if you like flat rides more than I do, I’m sure you’ll really enjoy the ride itself! But I’m afraid that the ride experience was not for me at all, and it’s probably a one and done within the sphere of Alton Towers for me; I don’t see myself rushing back on it any time soon. I’m sorry to leave a negative review, but I feel obliged to be 100% honest whenever I review things, and that is how I honestly felt. Here are a couple of photos I took (I didn’t take many, as I didn’t spend very long in the queue): On the plus side, being disappointed by Toxicator was the only real dampener on what was a broadly excellent two-day visit to Alton Towers! Operations were generally excellent; Nemesis was hardly stacking, Galactica was in “slowing down on the lift hill” territory on 3 trains and 2 stations, and Thirteen was throwing out trains at a rate I’ve never seen before! They were getting dispatch intervals as fast as 50 seconds on there, and even with a few larger guests who needed an extra restraint check as well as a dispatch where people weren’t leaving the exit platform quickly enough to dispatch, my average dispatch interval while in Thirteen’s station was 56 seconds, or 1,272pph. That is awesome! Wicker Man and Smiler were also doing well on a full capacity service. Availability was also generally pretty good, and some of the rides were running as excellently as ever! Wicker Man remains my favourite on park, and I got a particularly fantastic row 11 ride this trip, but Oblivion was also running brilliantly and I got my first front row ride on Nemesis following the retrack, which was sublime! The hotel was also really nice overall; it was nice to stay on-site again, and given the drama around Aramark, I thought the breakfast was absolutely fine! Given some of the negativity around Towers at the moment, I feel I should give credit where credit is due and say that this was an excellent trip to Alton Towers overall!

Another couple of very well structured reports along with interesting guidance, especially the single rider queues. I do like Thirteen but still maintain I don't know where I've been when I get off it. Well done and thanks. Fred (planenut)

27th July 2025: Alton Towers Day 2 We had our second day in the park today! I was looking forward to getting back into the park and doing some rerides, as well as potentially some things I hadn’t done on the first day! After breakfast in the Alton Towers Hotel, which I actually thought was perfectly nice given all of the drama around Aramark, I headed into the park on my own and took advantage of a perk that I haven’t seen offered in years… Early Ride Time! I can’t think of the last time that I remember having Early Ride Time at Alton Towers for hotel guests, particularly the full hour from 9am, but it was on offer today, so I took full advantage! I left the hotel room at around 8:50am and got admitted into the park at bang on 9am after a short wait: After entering the park, I headed to my first ride… Nemesis Nemesis was on a very short queue and was the only major thrill coaster open for ERT, so I decided to give it a go. I only waited 5 minutes, which I can never complain about, and I was on the ride swiftly. So, how was it? Well, I was in row 7, and it was brilliant as always; for a morning ride, the ride was running quickly, and packed brilliant speed and intensity! That initial sequence never fails to deliver, and overall, the ride was definitely a brilliant way to wake me up this morning: After my first ride on Nemesis, I liked it so much that I headed straight back round for another while the queue was walk on! I was once again in row 7, and it was once again brilliant; I do love Nemesis, and it was running very well today! After my second ride on Nemesis, I headed over to Katanga Canyon to get on a ride I didn’t do yesterday… Runaway Mine Train Runaway Mine Train was part of the ERT lineup and on a 5 minute advertised queue time, so as I hadn’t ridden it yesterday, I decided to give it a go. The queue time board stayed true to its word, and I was pretty much batched onto the next cycle after joining the queue. So, how was the ride? Well, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Runaway Mine Train, and today was no exception; I was seated in row 15, and the ride was good fun! Of the powered coasters I’ve ridden, I do think that RMT has one of the strongest layouts; it maintains good speed throughout, and that helix into the tunnel is surprisingly intense for a family coaster! All in all, then, I was glad to get back on Runaway Mine Train; in a way, going on it almost makes me nostalgic for the Alton Towers trips of my childhood, what with it being one of my first ever coasters back when I first rode it in 2009: After I got off the Runaway Mine Train, it was around 9:40am, so I decided to head over and join the pre-opening queue for my in-park favourite… Wicker Man Wicker Man is an ever popular ride and I was keen to do it again, so I decided to get into the pre-opening queue and try to score an early ride. The pre-opening queue was not overly long, and I ultimately got on the ride in around 30 minutes after it opened; for a popular ride like Wicker Man first thing in the morning, I don’t think that’s too bad! So, how was the ride? Well, after my slightly more middling seat placements yesterday, I was very pleased that my single rider status benefitted me today, as I scored row 11! And I have to say that this ride was definitely a cut above any of the rides I had yesterday; Wicker Man is always excellent, but a ride towards the back of the train is a definite cut above the rest, in my view! When on the back, you really feel the speed and whip, and there’s also quite a bit more airtime as well! Today’s row 11 ride absolutely creased me like very few rides I’ve ever done; I find Wicker Man so much fun, and the back of the train is especially fun: After I got off Wicker Man, my parents entered the park, and me and my dad headed to ride… Oblivion Oblivion was on an advertised 30 minute queue time, so me and my dad decided to give it a go, as my dad loves Oblivion and hadn’t done it yesterday. However, we decided to do something slightly different… even though we were together, we decided to go in the single rider queue and ride separately in an attempt to reduce our queueing time. This was very successful, as we got on in less than 5 minutes… and even more successful in that we got unexpectedly batched together! I’m not sure that is technically how single rider is supposed to work, but I’m certainly not going to complain! But how was the ride? Well, as with yesterday, Oblivion was absolutely fantastic; I had a particularly loose restraint on today’s ride, and I absolutely flew out of the seat! The speed in the tunnel was also hitting hard as always; even having ridden the likes of Red Force, I still think that Oblivion’s tunnel is quite possibly one of the fastest feeling roller coaster moments I’ve ever experienced. That tunnel feels ridiculously fast! On the brake run, my dad and I were enthusiastically agreeing with each other that the tunnel on Oblivion definitely adds something to the experience compared to SheiKra; it’s taken me years to realise it, but I definitely now think Oblivion is the superior Dive Coaster for me. It may be short, but that drop-tunnel combo hits every time!: After we got off Oblivion, I decided to head for a single rider ride on the other coaster in the area… The Smiler The Smiler was on an advertised 30 minute queue time, but as I was on my own (mum and dad didn’t fancy Smiler after yesterday’s ride), I decided to go in the single rider queue to give Smiler a go. And as per usual with my single rider exploits, I did make a time saving, getting on in just 15 minutes; I can never complain about that! But how was the ride? Well, I was seated in row 3, and it was a little bit smoother than yesterday… but I’m still not a great fan of The Smiler. It’s a ride I really want to like, as I think the layout is creative on paper, but there’s something that doesn’t quite rub me the right way about how the layout rides in practice. The restraint was also tightening horribly today; it seemed to have my thighs locked into an almost vice-like grip after the first half, and I couldn’t move them at all, which definitely impeded my enjoyment. Perhaps controversially, I almost think the restraints impede my enjoyment of Smiler more than the roughness; I do find it tough to enjoy myself on there when the harness is digging into my thighs so much: After my ride on The Smiler, I met back up with my parents, and me and my mum headed to… Thirteen Thirteen was on an advertised 50 minute queue time, but after me and my dad’s single rider success on Oblivion earlier in the day, me and my mum decided to go up the single rider queue and ride separately. We did not get batched together like me and my dad did, but in terms of time, it was possibly the biggest single rider success yet; there was no one ahead of us in the queue, I was batched onto the next train, and my mum was batched onto the one after! You can’t complain about skipping a 50 minute queue without using Fastrack! But how was the ride? Well, I was seated in row 6, and once again, it was a really decent ride. Even without the first drop pull of the back, I still really like the outdoor section of Thirteen, but the indoor section and backwards helix is where it really comes into its own! All in all, then, Thirteen was thoroughly enjoyable, and I was gratified by another single rider success: After I got off Thirteen, I decided to go on an attraction that I hadn’t ridden in a couple of years… Hex Hex was on an advertised 5 minute queue, so I decided to take a ride on there. Neither of my parents wanted to go on Hex, so I went alone for this one, and I ultimately got on in around 10 minutes. So, how was it? Well, I was interested to ride Hex again, as I hadn’t done it since March 2023, and the ride has been renovated somewhat since my last visit, following its period of extended closure. The changes have been contentious to say the least, but I have to say that perhaps controversially, I think the changes made have really enhanced the experience! They seem to have added loads of little enhancements; little things like the on-cue lighting in the cinema room and the big pyrotechnic that they’ve added in the Octagon are absolutely awesome additions, and I also really like the very controversial new lighting in the vault! Overall, then, it was really nice to get back on Hex; I wouldn’t say the Madhouse ride system is my absolute favourite, but of the four I’ve ridden, Hex is definitely my favourite example of the genre. It’s brilliantly theatrical, and I also think it feels brilliantly ambient in a way that none of the others do. Those new changes were a brilliant move for me that have made it possibly the best I’ve ever known it be: After Hex, it was around 12:20pm, and mum and dad made it abundantly clear that they were ready to start gradually heading towards an exit. As such, we headed over to some of the final rides of the day in Forbidden Valley via the Skyride. It was really nice to get back on there for the first time since 2022; I got some interesting views of The Gardens, and when we stopped in the air at one point, the wire bounced possibly mode than I’ve ever known it bounce!: After the Skyride, my dad and I headed for a reride on Nemesis, on an advertised 30 minute queue time. The advertised queue time was broadly pretty accurate, with us waiting for 35 minutes or so, and this time, we got really lucky and scored the front row. This was the first time since the retrack that I’ve ridden the front row on Nemesis, and I have to say that the ride really comes into its own on the front; in contrast with Wicker Man, Nemesis is 100% a front row coaster for me! The sense of speed in the front is absolutely astonishing, and the near misses are quite something; that initial sequence with the helix and the zero-g roll in particular is sublime in the front! That ride was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me, and I was really glad to score a front row ride on there: After that awesome front row ride on Nemesis, I headed for my final ride of the trip… Galactica Galactica was on an advertised 10 minute queue time, so I decided to give it another go. I pondered using the single rider queue, but as the main queue was so short (not even stretching to the merge point), I decided not to bother. 10 minutes was if anything an overstatement; I was on that ride within 5 minutes! So, how was the ride? Well, as with yesterday, I have to say that I actually enjoyed Galactica a fair bit more than I have on previous visits. I was seated in row 6, and while I would never describe Galactica as a favourite of mine and would still say that the position is a bit uncomfortable, the ride was good fun. In that position, I very much appreciate Galactica’s focus on slightly gentler manoeuvres more than the focus of the bigger B&M flyers on big, intense elements! All in all, then, Galactica, while not an absolute favourite of mine, was still a fun way to end the trip: After Galactica, it was 1:30pm and my mum and dad had had enough, so we headed out of the park via the Galactica gate and headed home, getting off Alton Towers property by 1:45pm. So, that wraps up our second day at Alton Towers, as well as the trip more broadly! Even though today was a bit shorter than yesterday, it was still fruitful; I got on 11 rides including the Skyride, and 10 rides even excluding it, which is not to be sniffed at given I was only in the park for a total of 4.5 hours, in my view! I also greatly appreciated having ERT for the first time in years, and I had some of my best rides of the trip today; Wicker Man on row 11 was incredible, but Nemesis on the front was also a huge highlight! And on the whole, it was another fruitful day to cap off a generally excellent trip to Alton Towers; I know I’ve been to Alton Towers a lot over the years, but when on form, it still does it for me like no other park in the country! Thanks for reading; I hope you’ve enjoyed this report! I’m not sure when my next trip report will be, but chances are that it will either be from Thorpe Park or a visit to Barry Island Pleasure Park to go and tick off some more local cuisine theme park-wise!

26th July 2025: Alton Towers Day 1 Hi guys. Today was an exciting day; it was the first day of my annual Alton Towers visit for 2025! After a rather light season so far, comprised mainly of my MSc course aside from two visits to Blackpool and Paultons Park, I was looking forward to returning to some more familiar turf and getting on some of my favourite rides in the UK, as well as checking out the new for 2025 addition: Toxicator! As an added bonus, I also have two days on park and an overnight stay in the Alton Towers Hotel, so I’m going back in tomorrow as well! We left our home in Gloucestershire at around 7:30am and arrived on site at Alton Towers a little after 10am. The satnav went a little bit rogue, taking us off the M6 at Cannock and sending us through Cannock, Rugeley and many other previously unseen bits of rural Staffordshire, but the journey was mostly seamless aside from a little bit of queueing around JCB due to the LIV Golf event (which we turned the satnav on specifically to avoid, but it unfortunately failed us in this endeavour!). After we parked up, I headed on in to the park ahead of my parents and passed the threshold at the hotel entrance at around 10:15am: After entering the park, I headed to my first ride… Galactica Galactica was on an advertised 5 minute queue time, so I thought I’d be foolish not to take a ride on there seeing as I was right next to it! The queue time board stayed pretty true to its word, with the queue only taking around 10 minutes; you can never complain about that! So, how was the ride? Well, I’m not normally the biggest fan of Galactica, but I have to say that it was perfectly enjoyable today! I was sat in row 4, and there was some nice speed and fun twisty bits! Perhaps controversially, I do find Galactica more enjoyable than the larger B&M flying coaster I’ve ridden, Manta, because I don’t like the pretzel loop on Manta and Galactica is much more tolerable in terms of forces. I still don’t find the position the most comfortable, and would never describe it as a favourite of mine, but it was better than I’d remembered and it rode perfectly pleasantly today: After Galactica, I met up with my dad, and we headed to ride the other coaster in the area… Nemesis Nemesis was on an advertised 5 minute queue, so we decided to take a ride on there. We got on the ride within about 5 minutes of passing the entrance, when you include the walk to find the back of the queue; Nemesis’ queue is quite a walk, even with bits of it closed! But how was the ride? Well, I’ve always loved Nemesis, and today was no exception! For something that’s not overly tall or fast, the ride packs absolutely superb speed and intensity, and some of those sequences of elements are truly inspired! I particularly love the sequence leading from the first drop through to the zero-g roll; the sheer build up of speed there is so exhilarating! I also have to say that I maintain my view from last year regarding the rattle; I think the discussion about it is over egged myself. I do not find it to impede my enjoyment at all, even in the outer seats; it’s there, but I find it largely benign and honestly hardly notice it most of the time. Overall, then, I thoroughly enjoyed my ride on Nemesis; it’s definitely one of my favourite coasters on park (albeit not quite my very favourite), and I loved getting back on there: After we got off Nemesis, I split off from my parents to head to something a bit different… Toxicator Toxicator was on an advertised 5 minute queue, so as it was the new draw for the year, I decided to give it a go. As with the other two Forbidden Valley rides, the queue only took around 10 minutes; for a new ride, I can’t complain about that! But how was it? Well, I’m not a big flat ride lover, but I never did Ripsaw when it operated, so resultantly, Toxicator was my first ever Huss Top Spin and I wanted to give it a try for that reason alone. I was interested to see how it rode, but also mildly nervous to see how wet I would get given it wasn’t that warm and I’d heard tales of people getting absolutely soaked by Toxicator with the fountains on. The ride looks really nice with all the theming and audio, and I have to say that I did not get nearly as wet as I’d feared, with only one fountain spray on my legs… but I’m really sorry to say that I did not like Toxicator at all, and found the experience absolutely vile. My reasons for not liking it are two fold; the first is that it does a lot of that sustained upside down hangtime that I absolutely hate, which turned me off it, and the second is that if I’m being honest, I think I find all the flipping in a row too much in terms of nausea and too violent for my liking. It is quite violent when it flips over and over, and I didn’t like it at all. I’m sorry if that’s controversial, as I know people have been raving about it as well as the likes of Talocan which is the same ride style, but as someone who doesn’t go mad for flat rides in general, I would say that Toxicator was right down there with Air Race at Drayton Manor and Samurai at Thorpe Park as one of the most vile I’ve ridden. In a park packed with brilliant rides like Alton Towers, it’s definitely a one and done for me; I don’t see myself rushing to ride it again any time soon: After Toxicator, my mum fancied a ride on Nemesis, having not ridden it earlier. I was never going to say no to a reride on Nemesis, and after a 15-20 minute queue, we were once again seated in row 5, and it was once again absolutely excellent. While I’m on the subject, I should also add that operations on both Forbidden Valley coasters were absolutely superb; Nemesis was on 2 trains and hardly stacking, and Galactica was on 3 trains and 2 stations and in “slowing down on the lift hill” territory, which I think is brilliant myself: After an awesome reride on Nemesis, we headed out of Forbidden Valley towards some of the other rides, taking a dark ride detour on the way… The Curse at Alton Manor Curse was on an advertised 5 minute queue, so as it was on our way out towards the rest of the park, me and my dad decided to have a go on there. If anything, the 5 minute queue time was overstated, as we practically walked straight on there; Curse is a very reliable walk on ride! So, how was it? Well, I have to say it was very good; I think it was a brilliant overhaul that vastly improved on Duel, and it was on fine form today, with pretty much every effect working! One effect on there that I’m a particular fan of is the Trommel Tunnel; when working properly, that is a really cool effect, particularly with the clock at the end of the tunnel! I also really like the whole story they added to the ride, as well as some of the projection mapping, and the effect with the mirror and the finale are some other really cool effects! I’ll admit that 1 or 2 of the projections (namely the skull and Emily popping out of the coffin) look a bit naff, but on the whole, I think the revamp was a major victory for that ride in that it made it a good, cohesive dark ride again! I’ll admit, though, that I do get a bit jumpy in there at times, and I think it’s about the top of the scare threshold I can tolerate; it’s the air cannons that get me! Given that some air cannons and audio on Curse make me jumpy, I think it’s perhaps for the best that I don’t do actor led attractions like Sub-Terra: After Curse, we headed down the Haunted Hollow to our next coaster… Wicker Man Wicker Man was on an advertised 45 minute queue time, so we decided to take a ride on there. As it turned out, the 45 minute queue time was overstated, taking only 30-35 minutes; you can never complain when that happens! As usual, operations were really good on there, with 3 trains running and dispatches being prompt, but I have to say that I do think they could maybe do with getting rid of the pre-show on there now, or at very least not holding you in there like they do. I noticed that they were often having to wait for the pre-show to end to fill trains on occasion, so it does seem to slow things down a tad at times. That’s enough about the operations, though; how was the ride? Well, I do absolutely love Wicker Man, and today was no exception; I was seated in row 7, and it was a phenomenal ride! It’s perhaps controversially my favourite ride on park, for the simple reason that while not the most intense of rides per se, it is possibly one of the most fun coasters out there, and absolutely creases me every time! It’s still no slouch layout-wise, though; the sense of speed in places, particularly on that first s-bend drop and buildup beforehand, is absolutely amazing for a coaster that only goes 44mph, there’s some nice airtime in places, the laterals are really good fun without being excessive (and I say that as someone who doesn’t rate wild mouse coasters at all because I don’t go nuts for excessive laterals), and the layout is twisty, fun and generally flows really nicely and is great fun to ride! It’s also really smooth and comfortable for a wooden coaster, and on the whole, I just find it so much fun and like it a whole lot more than I feel I should! This first ride was made unique, though, by the company sat behind us; my dad was sat next to a teenage girl who let out possibly the loudest, most piercing screams I’ve ever heard on a ride from the second we pulled out of the station! I think we were all slightly deafened by the end of the experience, and it reduced my mum to fits of laughter! Overall, though, that first ride on Wicker Man was phenomenal as ever; I do love getting back on there: I had noticed while climbing the lift hill on Wicker Man that the queue had dropped significantly, so after we got off, I hopped straight back in the queue for another go while my parents went and ate lunch. I waited around 25 minutes for this reride, and it was once again phenomenal! I did, however, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in trying to get the back; I was in the right order in the queue to be assigned to row 12, but as I was a single rider, I was asked to stand aside and instead ended up in row 3 due to a group of 5 coming directly behind me! The ride was still awesome nonetheless, and the operator on there acted exactly as they should have done to maximise operational efficiency, but even still, I was slightly disappointed to miss out on the back so narrowly! After I got off Wicker Man, I headed back to meet my parents and eat my own lunch before we headed together to ride our next coaster… The Smiler The Smiler was on an advertised 30 minute queue time, so we decided to have a go on there. The queue was in fact overstated, taking only around 20 minutes; that’s always a bonus, particularly on a popular ride like Smiler! But how was the ride? Well, we were seated in row 2, and I have to say that it’s not the best ride I’ve ever had on there. There were a fair few rough bits, albeit it perhaps wasn’t quite as bad as the last time I rode it, and the restraints also seemed to tighten quite uncomfortably during the ride. I don’t hugely rate The Smiler, if I’m honest; it’s not a terrible ride by any means, but I find it a little bit too rough in places, and I also find the layout, although creative, feels a little bit repetitive in its motions in a flat ride-style manner that makes me feel a tad queasy. I have to say, though, that the second airtime hill on there is awesome! Overall, then, Smiler wasn’t my favourite ride of the day, and I think my parents agreed; both of them admitted that while they were impressed by it, they were unsure if they actually liked it. My mum in particular said she found it “a bit too rough”: After we got off The Smiler, we were initially going to ride Oblivion, but the ride was experiencing a temporary delay, so we instead decided to head over to… Thirteen Thirteen was on an advertised 45 minute queue and was one of only 2 big coasters I hadn’t done today, so we decided to head over there. Well, I say “we”, but my parents told me to head on over on my own and I ended up riding alone. As such, I decided to use a secret weapon that I have never been able to use on Thirteen before… the single rider queue! This was added to Thirteen at the end of last year, and I have to say that I found this offering highly beneficial; on the first ride, I was batched promptly at the baggage hold, and I almost entirely bypassed a 45 minute standby queue… as I got on the ride in 5 minutes. I can’t quibble with that at all! So, how was the ride? Well, I actually scored the back row on there for the first time in ages, and it was brilliant! Thirteen has definitely grown on me over the years, and this ride was great fun! As I was in the back, the first drop had some surprising airtime, with me really getting pulled out of my seat, the outdoor section had some fun twists, turns and mild pops of airtime, and the indoor section was a laugh as ever! I always find that backwards section so funny, and I find it feels a lot faster than it likely is in reality when you’re in the darkness! Overall, then, I really enjoyed Thirteen; I think it’s a brilliant ride, and I find it really good fun: After my brilliant ride on Thirteen, I met back up with my parents, thinking that we might ride something else together… but at this point, they decided that they were going to exit the park, play the free round of Extraordinary Golf that came free with the hotel room and check in early. As such, I was left to my own devices from here on in. The first thing I did, while I was in Dark Forest, was have another single rider reride on Thirteen. As the single rider queue was so quiet and I found the first ride so enjoyable, I thought “why not?”. The single rider queue was a little busier this time, but still only took 15 minutes, which I can’t complain about given that the main queue was still 45! As I was in the station a little longer, I should mention that I also got a more comprehensive view of operations on there, and I have to say that they were absolutely outstanding today! The average dispatch interval was less than a minute, and at times, they were attaining 50s intervals on there. There were times where the staff were checking the trains so fast that they were having to usher people off the exit platform from the previous train before they could dispatch… it was brilliant! As for the ride itself, I was seated in row 5, and it was once again really good fun, although the punchy first drop from the back row ride was lacking this time. After I got off Thirteen, I headed to X-Sector to tick off the final operating big coaster that I hadn’t ridden today… Oblivion Oblivion was on an advertised 25 minute queue, so as it was the last major coaster I hadn’t yet done, I decided to give it a whirl! As with Thirteen, Oblivion has obtained a newly added single rider queue since my last visit; I used this to great effect, getting on the ride in just 10 minutes! So, how was the ride? Well, I have to say that it was absolutely fantastic; I love Oblivion, and today was no exception! It’s a coaster that’s grown on me a lot over the years; when I was younger, I used to put it down a lot for being short, but as I’ve grown older, I’ve grown to value how well it executes the few seconds of ride time it has. It may be less than 10 seconds long, but those seconds are sublime; the sustained airtime on the drop is wonderful, and the raw sense of speed in the tunnel provides raw exhilaration quite unlike few coasters I’ve ever ridden! Even though Oblivion is short, I’m a fan of anything with speed, airtime and a comfortable, rerideable ride experience in tandem, and it ticks all of those boxes for me; this might sound like a bizarre take, but I think it’s probably the closest thing Alton Towers has in terms of sensations to a big, airtime-focused hyper coaster, and I like it for that! Another potentially hot take that I grew to realise today is that I think I might marginally prefer Oblivion to SheiKra; while SheiKra has raw size and additional length on its side, the sense of speed in Oblivion’s tunnel is quite unlike anything SheiKra offers; you really feel the speed down there! All in all, then, I loved getting back on Oblivion; short though it may be, I think it’s absolutely fantastic, and it’s my favourite steel coaster on park (yes, I put it ahead of Nemesis!): After I got off Oblivion, I went back round again not once more, not twice more, but three times more, capping off my Oblivion tally for today at four rides. I think it’s probably the most easily rerideable coaster in Alton Towers for me; while I personally prefer Wicker Man by a small margin, the faff of the pre-show and the often longer queues make Wicker Man a less effortless reride than Oblivion, in my personal opinion. Oblivion is a very fun coaster to lap, particularly with the single rider queue; this provided me with queues no longer than 10 minutes on all four occasions today! After my Oblivion riding session ended, I headed to ride a coaster that I hadn’t done in a little while… Spinball Whizzer Spinball Whizzer was on an advertised 25 minute queue time, but the single rider queue looked very short, so as I hadn’t actually ridden it since 2022, I decided to give Spinball a go. Once again, the single rider queue was highly beneficial, getting me on the ride in only 5 minutes; I can’t complain about that at all! But how was the ride? Well, Spinball is my least ridden coaster at Alton Towers aside from Octonauts, and today’s ride made me remember why; I’m not a massive fan of it, and would probably say that it’s my least favourite of the bigger coasters at Alton Towers. I’m not the world’s biggest lover of spinning coasters anyway, and as with a lot of the Maurer spinning coasters, Spinball can get quite spinny. As well as that, I also find it very jolty and jerky in places, which doesn’t make for the most pleasant of ride experiences. Overall, then, Spinball has a fun enough layout and is a nice family coaster for the park, but it’s not one I hugely rate, unfortunately. Nonetheless, it was interesting to get back on there after a 3 year hiatus: After I got off Spinball Whizzer, I headed over to Wicker Man for another reride. This time, I was seated in row 5, and it was once again phenomenally fun, although I was seated next to a Brummie gentleman who wouldn’t stop effing and blinding as we negotiated the circuit: After I got off Wicker Man, I headed over to Forbidden Valley for one final reride on Nemesis. I was seated in row 6 this time, and it was once again absolutely fantastic; the ride had warmed up wonderfully, and that first sequence of elements in particular was hitting hard: After I got off Nemesis, it was around 5:45pm, and as I had to meet my parents for a dinner reservation, I left the park there. In retrospect, I substantially overestimated how long it would take me to walk from the Galactica gate to the hotel and could probably have squeezed in another ride on Nemesis, but I didn’t want to be late to arrive back with my parents: Before I wrap up the trip report, I should probably mention where we ate this evening, seeing as food, or more specifically avoiding the on-resort offering, is a hot topic at Alton Towers currently. We went to The Bull’s Head in Alton, and despite highly mixed TripAdvisor reviews that were worrying my mum, we thought it was absolutely lovely! The staff were pleasant, the food was lovely, the service was quick, and on the whole, we couldn’t recommend it enough if you’re wanting to avoid the on-resort food offering at Alton Towers, even if it is admittedly slightly difficult to park! We did have an interesting experience when coming back, though, as the main resort entrance was closed and we had to re-enter Alton Towers through the staff entrance… we were greeted by a security guard who looked surprised to see us and gave us a slightly bemused “Good evening!”. We then went back to our room and briefly sat down in the hotel bar… although I must admit that I didn’t stay down there long as I found the entertainment a bit too loud. Does anyone else find the entertainment in the Alton Towers Hotel absolutely deafening when you’re sat having a drink in the bar, or am I just too miserable? So, I think that just about does if for our day at Alton Towers! I had an excellent day; if you’ve lost track, I got 17 rides, which might be the highest number I’ve ever managed at Alton Towers! This included at least one ride on every big coaster that was operating and rerides on multiple, so I was chuffed with that! Crowds weren’t too heavy for a Saturday in the summer holidays, and given how much flack Alton Towers receives in enthusiast circles nowadays, I have to say that operations were also broadly excellent; dispatch times were excellent in most cases, and ride availability was also pretty good, with relatively limited downtime. I was also a big fan of the proliferation of single rider queues; so many rides have them now, and it’s awesome! Rides-wise, I have to say that Wicker Man was my highlight as always, but Oblivion and Nemesis are also rides that I’m a big fan of, and I also really enjoyed Thirteen today… there’s so much to pick from in Alton Towers! As a coaster fan in the UK, I almost feel like a child in a sweet shop when I visit Alton, with there being so much good stuff to ride; it is quite unlike most other UK parks in that regard, with only Thorpe seriously competing with Alton Towers in that sense for me! All in all, though, I had an excellent day today, and I can’t wait to head back in tomorrow! Thanks for reading; I hope you’ve enjoyed this report! Keep your eyes peeled for another report tomorrow, as we head back into Alton Towers for another day of fun!

The full Old Town soundtrack has just been uploaded on my youtube, go check it out

Not a baker, but I did notice similar when I (rather unusually) had some at Towers a couple of months ago. I also noticed they weren't the same size, with us being given many more than 5 actual doughnuts to compensate for the fact many were small. I'd hazard a guess that they've changed the recipe to include less flour, using a different kind of flour or substituting flour with something else (and still using some flour). Flour would be where the gluten comes from that binds the dough together, and in turn gives the doughnut its structural integrity to not fall apart. The falling apart - and irregular sizing - would suggest less gluten at the very least.

Any bakers in the house? Whats going wrong with the doughnuts that they fall apart when hold them up and are a yellow colour inside?

Those posters - my guess, now that the new stuff doesn’t seem to fit, is that there’s a new room in Trailers based on X:\NWO - one poster clearly says X, and the other resembles one of those manakins there used to be on the old X:\NWO brake runs.

Ultimately the park are keeping the line up the same and adding a free scare zone (and a lack of free stuff was something people complained about last year). So that's good. I can't lie, I'm a bit concerned about how they'll effectively staff all that, but we'll see. I wonder whether we'll see much in the way of changes to the existing mazes. At the very least, the posters that appeared outside Trailers don't match up with the description of the new scare zone.

Lineup has been released for 2025. - 4 scare mazes from last season returning - The crows scare zone - IT 4d cinema - Lucifers Lair - Creature Campus with a new show ‘Shock to the system’ - A new scare zone revealed soon ‘Something lingers in the shadows... a place even the damned dare not tread. This Halloween, we open the gates to an all-new realm - where lost souls wander in purgatory and time stands still. But beware: step inside, and you may lose all sense of where you're going... or why you came.‘ In an ideal world it would’ve been nice to see something new in Trailers place, but this is still a good lineup and to be honest another free scare zone is exactly what the event needs in my opinion. Looking forward to seeing more details and where it’ll be located?

So - no new maze (not that one was necessarily anticipated...) A new scarezone. Creature Campus show gets a retheme.

pom ba da bom bom bom

I think it's worth pointing out that Survival Games ended up costing more than Trailers. And Creek Freak Massacre was, at the time, the park's single highest investment for a maze and lasted 3 seasons. So high cost doesn't mean it has to be around for a long time, although I understand the point and broadly don't disagree. I've seen people on social media talking about how Trailers in particular is "old". It's a very interesting discussion point. It's had 4 seasons now, and last year was the first year we saw substantial changes to it (though arguably, those changes weren't really substantial, just a redress), and is the oldest in the line up. But in the past, the park had mazes last for several seasons... Asylum - 9 seasons Saw Alive - 9 seasons Se7en - 6 seasons Hellgate - 6 seasons And there's even more recent examples of mazes lasting a few years... Platform 15 - 6 seasons Blair Witch - 6 seasons (with a brief gap) The Curse - 5 seasons Containment - 5 seasons Obviously the glaring difference right now is the fact the mazes are upcharge. But then, plenty of places keep mazes for a long time. Towers is a fine example. Lots of international parks (some of which have better Halloween events than Thorpe) do. And scream parks, some of which have mazes set up in situ all year round, have kept mazes for a long time (Tulleys has 5 mazes which are at least a decade old, have just retired one which was 15 years old, and have a couple which have been rethemed but are otherwise the same). My point is, keeping attractions the same for a long time isn't uncommon at other places either. Thorpe certainly gets held to a high expectation with Fright Nights. And recently that's at least partially their own doing thanks to the high maze costs, and their own marketing hype. But at the same time, I don't think a maze potentially having a run of 5 seasons is that long or necessarily a bad thing. It will be interesting to see what happens this year. The park have introduced a new maze every year since 2010 (if you include Saw Alive). Okay, there's a couple of loose definitions of new in that list but still. It's the expectation that there will be a new maze every year. In the same way in the past there was an expectation of a new ride every year. But with changing budgets and a complete behind the scenes overhaul, plus this being the last year that Thorpe run Ents themselves, who knows what this means. But if they don't introduce a new maze, I'll be very interested to see how they market the event and where they place their focuses.

I think there’s a discussion to be had around permanent maze spaces. Theres a higher cost to create the mazes in permanent spaces. For stitches and survival games this is even more apparent. The quality of mazes has gone up and it saves them setting mazes up every year. However because of the high cost and its that it’s a permanent feature. It has to operate for quite a few years and you start getting bored of mazes. Trailers for example, I see everyone complaining that it’s still here and it’s defintely one of the weaker mazes too. However it has to come back to make it worth it

Parm Pap is referencing the current repaint of Trailers' entrance, which was looking rather tired... https://x.com/ThorpeParkMania/status/1947946070564368440?t=sTe6cAWh7v_3yI8gFwd9Mg&s=19

bor bor cha, bor bor cha, bor bor cha and the bor, cha, bor tick tock, tick tock, trailers, tick tock paint nice paint nice nothing new budget's gone

Wow, that's incredible. I have a old prop from vampire somewhere.. it's probably in one of my old boxes

No Russ, no Tidal Wave flame effect 😥

Thanks, both! I doubt I'll end up doing it anyway. If there are probably actors in it, I'm not sure I'd want to take the chance, and besides, there's too much at Thorpe that I actually like for me to be overly worried about not having done The Walking Dead! I'll probably be far too tempted by the bigger coasters on my next visit, particularly seeing as I definitely need more goes on Hyperia...

Actors are in there in the afternoons most days this year in my experience. They always place a sign outside the entrance when there are actors, and there almost always won't be actors in there if that sign isn't out. If you want to experience it without actors, I'd try to ride it before noon.

It could be as simple as spending existing budget with the future in mind. They clearly had some form of budget set aside for the “sparkle project”, which (to some extent at least) was for the purpose of improving and polishing the existing park in general. What better way to achieve that than to tidy up old and defunct things, which at the same time will reduce the cost of a project later on as the clearance step will be partially done. Seems like quite a sensible decision to me as it has the future in mind.

I’m sorry I can’t answer your question, but in my experience it’s extremely rare, and on the few occasions when they have had actors in there during my visits over the years, it’s simply one in the pre-show room, but the “scares” are minimal and it’s more of an “opening and closing the doors” sort of role. Another actor or 2 is then in the corridor just after the station exit, although realistically the scares here are minimal too and it’s more for show as you file past. My advice would be, if you’re really wanting to ride TWD, depending on your phobia of course, it isn’t comparable to a scare maze and is a very brief interaction. You’ll be walking past them for a few seconds at most, and the environment doesn’t lend itself to being scary or really give the staff any opportunity to hide. you’ll also be one of a trainload of people so it’s safety in numbers! If you just come through the doors, keep your head down and walk, once you’re in to the narrow corridor you’re past where the actors usually are (if there are any!) I think there will always be someone in the preshow room, who often has a mask of some sort on, but as I’ve mentioned it’s far from a scary experience and really no different than any member of staff dealing with a preshow 🤷‍♂️ Do they even have actors in there anymore actually?

Out of curiosity, how often do actors appear in The Walking Dead? And do they ever appear when not advertised outside? I only ask because I haven’t actually done it since the retheme due to a bit of a phobia of/aversion to costumed actors, particularly scare actors. I rode the coaster hardware itself in 2014, prior to the retheme, but I haven’t ridden it since. I’m wondering if I should rip the plaster off and try it next time I’m at Thorpe, but I’d really prefer not to risk it if there’s a strong chance of actors being in there.