Mattgwise

Certainly a good thing. Not many would openly discuss. Let's hope she is on board for several years as these divisional directors seem to move on rather rapidly in Merlin.

Seems Hex will get some enhancements too. Full update from Bianca here... As we gear up for the new season, I’m delighted to share some thrilling updates from Alton Towers Resort with you! Firstly, let me extend a heartfelt thank you to all who joined us for our swashbuckling Pirate Takeover during the February half term. It was an epic adventure filled with treasure hunts, family thrills, and enough pirate shenanigans to make even Blackbeard blush! The success of this event truly sets the tone for what’s to come in our future events program and I can’t wait to explore more uncharted waters together as we dive into these later this year. For now, with the main season just a week away, excitement is reaching fever pitch across the Resort! We have already gone public with some of the exciting elements making their debut this year, including track walks, VIP experiences and confirmed that we’ll stage celebratory activities marking ten years of CBeebies Land. However, I wanted to share an exclusive sneak peek behind the scenes: over the winter, we’ve invested millions back into the Resort, focusing on enhancing the overall look and feel with our incredible resort team working hard to deep clean and enhance many of our attractions. For many of our rides this means a refreshed look and feel – in stations, on the track and in queue lines. Plus, we’ve also invested in technology upgrades, additional theming, as well as branding throughout. From floors to ceilings, pathways to fencing lines, seating, and everything in between. I am sure you will recognise this in some of your favourite spots. And that’s not all—our waterpark and hotels have also received some enriching upgrades. I can’t wait for you to experience these enhancements first-hand! As you know Alton Towers is so much more than our rides and attractions. We pride ourselves on our rich heritage and being caretakers of our historical artefacts. Over the winter we have undertaken specialist work on The Choragic Monument and Scalloped wall in our Grade Listed gardens. The monument, designed by Peter Hollins of Birmingham and completed around 1830, is a Grade II listed building that features marble bust of the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury and the inscription ‘he made the desert smile’. Aptly, the quote ‘he made the desert smile’ refers to the 15th Earls dedication to improving the gardens and wider estate despite its lack of a natural water source. I’m thrilled the work carried out by our teams will bring smiles for generations to come. But wait, there’s more! Get ready for new types of merchandise in our shops, limited-edition items (wait till you see our Nemesis Reborn range!), and exciting food and beverage options. It’s all about bringing something fresh and exciting that we’ve never done before, and we’ll keep listening to guest feedback to keep the momentum going. Plus, following the positive response to the launch of The Curse at Alton Manor video overlay, we’re expanding options for capturing memories across more attractions, so get ready for some new ways to relive your favourite moments! And here’s a little teaser: next week, we’ll be launching something special to bring a piece of Alton Towers Resort to you, no matter where you are in the world. Stay ‘tuned’! We’re dedicated to providing unforgettable experiences for all our guests, and we’re committed to driving further excitement and innovation throughout the season. From events to new attractions, it’s my ambition that there is always something to look forward to in 2024 – long after opening! And speaking of excitement later in the season, get ready for the triumphant return of Hex: Legend of the Towers! We’ve invested in brand new special effects to take this twisted tale to the next level, and I can’t wait for you to experience it. This significant investment reflects our continued passion for dark rides and creating truly immersive experiences. It has led us somewhere really exciting with this attraction. I have been blown away by the work undertaken so far. It is already phenomenal, and I cannot wait to see it come to life further as we continue to work through this project ahead of its return later in 2024. Stay tuned for more details on this much-anticipated comeback! I know you are going to love it. For me, this kind of investment is crucial now and for the future success of the Resort. Some of our assets require more love and investment than others. Over the last year during its closure we have been carrying out crucial work behind the scenes on the Skyride. It has been extensive but needed. As we have worked through this project in collaboration with the ride supplier POMA, we have had to make some critical decisions about the attraction’s future longevity. This went beyond our commitment to just keeping the Skyride operational, it became around the desire to ensure it remains a beloved feature of the park for generations to come. The Skyride isn’t just a ride; it’s a piece of Alton Towers history and an iconic sight at the theme park since the 1960’s. Since its debut, it has whisked millions of visitors across the park offering breath-taking views of our historic Listed gardens and their hidden gems. My ambition is not to lose this from the park. Therefore, we are opting to place additional, significant investment into its infrastructure to protect this much-loved attraction that has been a staple of the Resort for so long. This means Skyride will remain closed in 2024 as we continue our work and undertake this multimillion-pound project. Rest assured that specialist teams are already at work behind the scenes and will ensure its eventual return will be nothing short of spectacular. You will no doubt see work progress over the coming months when visiting the Resort. In the meantime, we’ve doubled down on our commitment to accessibility with investment in expanding our fleet of mobility scooters to continue to support guests who require additional assistance to navigate our park. In other exciting news, we’re thrilled to announce that the Alton Towers Dungeon will undergo a thrilling transformation this Scarefest season. From summer, this space will close as it is reimagined to create something truly special for our beloved event. Prepare for spooks and scares around every corner in a brand-new experience! With just a week to go before season opening, I want to finish by saying how excited the colleagues and I are to welcome you back through the turnstiles. There’s so much to look forward to this season. Nemesis Reborn will soon deliver screams once more, accompanied by a reimagined Forbidden Valley that pays homage to this iconic coaster. I cannot wait for you to experience this thrilling space and enhanced immersion. I am incredibly proud of the team that have worked hard to deliver this area of the park and I am confident you will agree what an incredible level of theming they have achieved. If you were excited for Nemesis Reborn before, the next few days and ultimate opening day are set to really cement the anticipation of this thrilling return. The reaction to the news that Bluey will arrive at the Resort this Easter has also been incredible. I am so proud we are bringing this award-winning and much-loved IP to the Resort in 2024. As we celebrate 10 years of CBeebies Land, we have even more exciting announcements in store to mark this milestone over the coming weeks. It’s another fantastic reason 2024 is set to be a truly memorable year for the Resort for both families and thrillseekers alike. As always, we still have plenty of announcements to make in the coming days and lot’s more to share. So much has been achieved over the winter season from rides and attractions to facilities and infrastructure, it’s all aimed at our passion delivering a first-class experience to you, our guests. And as one final ‘spoiler’ I can confirm to you that our passion to deliver excitement has extended to our beloved park map – all will be revealed in the coming days! With just a week to go before the season opens, I can’t wait to welcome you back to the Resort for more unforgettable experiences and memories. Get ready for an incredible year ahead!

They have kept the sign so i'd say it seems very possible 😂. You can see it down Monks Walk by Rumba Rapids.

Courtesy of the Thorpe Park Annual Pass group linked above are a few shots...

It certainly isn't the same as shown, but give it a chance. Foundations are down for a theming structure and some other paintwork has been done! The work over at other areas under the sparkle work shows they can still do a good job! And some more Detonator photos courtesy of Jack. https://x.com/J_Silkstone?s=20

Some fantastic work done over at Stealth shown in the latest Sparkle update, and definitely isn't **** thankfully! Best the area has looked in all it's history I think! Awesome signage that really brings the area to life! Let's hope that everyone manages to leave their permanent markers, pens and scratching devices at home and it's not ruined within two weeks! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/qfnVACEa4J7jhutm/

Slammer is confirmed by the parks social media team to be going at the end of this year. I say go ahead with that B&M hyper by putting the station there and change layout to send it round the outside of Hyperia and up monks walk to the old treasure island and back 😂.

Aside from literally Lech which is excellent Legendia is a mess! Visited last two summers and run down, broken rides, SBNO and just a sense that they are massively struggling. Both visits a major issue with the twin looper including a chain snap and almost having to have fire brigade called to get me out of the restraint manually on the lift.

The look has grown on me, we are always so judgemental before works complete haha! Lots of work in the Nemesis Inferno shop including removal of the slide! Some queue TLC too.

Clearly fake, but that said... Red river Birmingham 😂

What are people's thoughts on that blue? Will get used to it but it's a tad too much on the outside of the building.

Thorpe said the following on their Facebook update from the 28th December...

Nope, I like the shift to a much milder (and less dark) theme. Like you say it's more styled rather than theming. A little like Cedar Fair which I think that approach would suit Thorpe quite well.

Discuss all Sparkle Project related stuff here... https://forum.maniahub.com/topic/28860-sparkle-project/

To discuss the official refurbishment project at Thorpe. Revealed in the Christmas video 2023 the following is planned for the 2024 season. Colossus repaint (half initially), control system upgrade, dispatch screen, rockwork and theming repairs/upgrades to queue and long term track replacement. Stealth station/photo kiosk repaint, refurb to entrance & queue, new TV screens Rush & vortex repainted to original colours Samurai repainted red/black (AKA original chessington colour scheme) Refurbished toilets in Amity Cove, Big Easy Boulevard & Swarm Island. Virtual interior rebuild of Old Town toilets including Gender neutral toilets, baby change and a second "changing places" toilet Tidal wave work including new bridge, exit ramp and more open view of lagoon. KFC refurb/enhancements (not removing Shark or theming) New digital screens, park wide audio enhancements, further new food outlets, shade cover in some queue lines Further refurbishments to some classics. Discuss and share further ideas as the are announced. Video below...

Lots of talk online about this and looks likely to be something in the works. Will planning laws, NIMBYism and snowflake society get in the way of this becoming a reality! Let's hope there are no unique insects on the site!

The park simply adding these rings to the background make it better! They should make that a permanent addition. (taken from the FB annual Pass page)

Seems there is an astronomical amount of work to do this closed season! Good to see as like you say stuff is usually left for a couple of months.

Haunted hayride whilst great can mess your evening up as it often has an extremely long queue. Yep I'd say miss Hellements. Get there at opening and you should just be able to do the majority of attractions. Creepy Cottage has always been quiet to begin on my visits and leave The Cellar until later as everyone goes there at the start.

Looks like it is going to be an incredible inversion/drop, and looks set to be a top element for many!

I'm not sure we can really say the park is struggling with capacity most of the time. Thorpe has overall been run pretty well most of the year, far better that Towers and CWoA, but always faces it's largest crowds this week and into the last couple of FN weekends. It's a similar state of affairs all over. Look at King's Island last Friday for example. It's the experience on those days that needs improving such as a slightly lower cap on their 'capacity' and Fastrack much more limited. However, that is money which they won't want to lose as FN brings in a fair proportion for the years income. Think we need to look at the year as a whole for judging capacity and operational issues, rather than a couple of almost sell out days. Last week and the first couple of weekends (aside from a specific Sunday) crowds were completely manageable and park ran well.

I think what was shocking for me this Howloween is that Barrel Bail Out had 11 seats/guns taped off and Ostrich Stampede two broken sets of arms (6 seats), both of which have only been open less than two years. Croc drop also a seat down to give a further kick in the teeth to capacity. RAP and Fastrack seriously hinder operations (which we have known for years. Example being vampire taking an hour from the tunnel, but as soon as close hits less than 30 mins to the station from that same point once Fastrack and RAP have vanished! Agree the park needs to revert back to 8pm! It was still quite busy at 7pm too!

In a real world the park should be able to stay open late and have shifts like many US parks do in the long summer months, but getting that number of staff seems tricky these days. Instead the staff work the entire day and with busy 10pm closures they would be at worst working 9am to 12am! Far too much!

Except for one, and that is detonator with it's lighting synced to the soundtrack.

Nice little lighting package syncing up to the FN soundtrack. VID20231017195009.mp4 On a side note It does appear that Detonator is the only ride to have it's own FN audio this year that I've noticed, apart from a couple that play the repetitive park wide audio.