Alton Towers Trip Reports

[Marc]

Went to alton again yesterday for what must be my 6th trip of the season.Altons really doing it for me this year, not sure why but last year I always left feeling slightly let down, living down south it seemd such a huge effort and it never really seemed like it was worth that effort, but thats certainly not the case this year.Left here around 7, stopped of for an expennnsive burger king brekfast and got to the park for just before 11, being open till 7 thats no big problem for me. The park was quiet, much quieter than you would expect but I suspect its just suffering the same as the rest of them at the moment, but obviously for us this was a good thing.Ride count:Air 1Nemesis 2Thirteen 2Oblivion 2Rita 1Hex 1Congo 1Flume 1Duel 2Sonic Spinball 1Runaway mine train 1Other bits:Breakdowns wernt too bad, Air opened early afternoon, Thirteen seemed to have a queue line evac but we arrive just as it reopened so got on there twice with no queue, Rita had a failed launch whilst we were in the station, reopened but seemd to close not long after Oblivion staff were pretty slow in the morning, took far longer than it should, was much better in afternoon despite running only 1 loading car in the afternoon it was much quicker then when it had 2 in the morning..I liked the marketing campaign across the park, tvs at all the rides showing their adverts and why to vote for them "4 Inversions"

[JoshC.]

So...Tuesday 16th meant one thing for me - Alton Towers! It had been over 5 years since my last visit, and I had been waiting since the moment I left to go back. Strangely, I did not get at all excited about the trip. I knew it was coming, I was looking forward to it, but I didn't have 'that feeling' prior to the trip. It was just another day as far as I could tell...So, we hit the road at 5 in the morning and made good time getting there, arriving just before 8, an hour before ERT. We had a stretch and wander round and made our way to the Monorail gates. It was then, watching the TVs showing the rides, that I got excited and it has sunk it that I 'was really here'. The Monorail opened a little later than was expected, apparently, but it didn't matter, we were first ones on it. The weather at 8am. It was meant to be cloudy and rainy, and that's how it seemed to be going.Strawberry Monorail!We queued up at the Advanced Ticket Collection to collect my cousin's and uncle's tickets. However, much to our annoyance, it didn't open till ten to nine, meaning that queues were already building at the turnstiles, despite us being there way before most of the people there. Granted, it makes very little impact to the day, but it's just annoying knowing, if they opened the Advanced Tickets point earlier, we could have been in there that little bit earlier. This also brings me to another issue I have, with ALL Merlin parks, the AP entrances. Call me stupid, but wouldn't it make sense to have an AP queue, a queue full of some of Merlin's most loyal customers, move quickly, or at least quicker than the ordinary queues? It happens at Thorpe, it happens at Chessie and it happens at Alton. I was a tad annoyed that my uncle and cousin got in the park a good minute before us, despite them have a longer queue to get in, because of the slow procedures of getting AP holders into the park. Fortunately, this was probably the only problem I encountered from the Towers in my visit.Corkscrew <3Standard fanboy shot.A very nice image for the entrance to the park I think.Now that's outta the way, I can get onto the actual park. It's going to be slightly mundane in the sense of it's going to be me going through what I did in what order, but it will be much more deeper and interesting than that (I hope!) - it just helps me remember all of the day's doings. :lol:With the original plan to do Oblivion, Hex and possibly Rita for the ERT, which would then set us up for Th13teen once it opened, we were going to stick to that. However, on a last minute spur, we opted to do Nemesis. I dunno why in the end, but there we go. A tad unsure on the best way to get there, a staff member told us to go down Haunted Hallow and then through Gloomy Wood. Not necessarily the quickest route I think, but certainly an entertaining one!Haunted Hallow is just that nice light heartedness that I love about a theme park. It's interactive, engaging and humorous - yet it's got that underlying tone of it being something a bit more serious and sinister. I don't know when it opened, but I don't remember going through in 2006, but it is certainly a nice little touch there! These two little characters were a specific highlight.After what felt like a lifetime of walking (I've gotten in a bad habit from Thorpe it would seem, of being able to walk half metre from one ride to the next...) I started hearing that roar, that music - it could only be my favourite ride in the country, Nemesis. The theming on this thing is superb!Wait, what!? A cat in the Forbidden Valley. Ah well, added some more humour to the day I guess! tehe Have to agree with that sign.I have some serious love for this.Vertical Loops on B&M Inverters are quite photogenic.First ORP of the day, and I look ugly...A long walk around the queue and we were greeted by a nearly empty station and a train just leaving - just the way we like it! We headed straight for the back row and after a small hold up, we were winding up the lift hill. It was a bit rougher than I remembered, though I sort of expected that, but the ride was simply incredible! It just flows so well and everything fits perfectly together. Riding it again made me realise just why this was my number 1 ride. Needless to say, I bought an ORP (which was an increasing trend during the day, with 2 photopasses bought, due to the rarity of my visits) which isn't the greatest expression of me as I caught my ear somewhat painfully before the photo was taken..ah well!After a very looong walk, we reached the secret government facility known as X Sector. This was perhaps the most disappointing area for me on my last visit, due to be underwhelmed by a back row Oblivion and missing out on the anticipated Submission to a huge queue. Of course, only Oblivion was on the ERT, so Submission had to be saved for later. Much like Nemesis, the queue was a walk on - just a shame it was a blooming long walk! I remember from my last visit the queue line videos being a real highlight of the entire trip, so it was a slight shame missing out on them, but you can't win them all I guess. Greeted by a car moving out the station, we headed straight to the front row we disappointingly missed out on last time. As I said, I was underwhelmed slightly by Oblivion previously, but I was surprised just how much the front row experience adds to it all - it certainly moved up in my ranks after that front row ride. However, it's just too short and too much of a one trick pony. That, and when you are waiting to get back in the station you here 'There is no happy ended, etc etc' you're left thinking 'Err, oops, looks like there is' - it just spoils the whole atmosphere, and the whole story. I like the theme, I like a front row drop, but it's just not doing it for me. Anyway, photos:Approaching the not-so-secret secret government area.The hanging on the drop also seems to be shorter than I remember, strange..Pit of pitness.I'm a bit red in this ORP! :$I love this marketing campaign, simply brilliant. However, the Lord of Darkness can compel me as much as he likes, I'm not going to vote Oblivion!It was nearing 10, which meant it was nearing the time for Th13teen to open. We walked over there with the hope of a relatively short queue, being able to beat guests who were not part of the ERT. By the time we got there, there was a long queue outside the queue and it quickly became apparent the ride was not open. We decided, however, to join the queue (which was just under Rita's launch track) and bide our time. By about quarter past-ish, it was open and we were pouring in the queue, which oddly had no extensions open. From the time it had opened, we queued about half an hour with it on 2 trains, though I was expecting them to have had 3 on when it opened. As for the whole experience of Th13teen... I thought the queue line, though slightly unimaginative like some other queue lines at the park, was nice. I liked the subtle theming around and how it keeps you away from the ride, keeping as much as a mystery as possible. The audio I loved - it built up the atmosphere, and way always interesting to listen to! Then, getting to the station, I love the Tesla coil they've got, along with the girl's scream and the counting to thirteen - it is all just amazing! I've heard some people moan about the roof being little more than just black sheets basically, but I think it adds to the whole idea of the ride, with the restoration works and that. Whilst it's not brilliant, it's certainly better than the fake scaffolding and such which makes it just feel incomplete. One downside I think is the onboard and offboard announcements, by what I assume is meant to be some sort of Wraith. It slightly feels out of place and a bit dull - it just doesn't work, but I guess that could just be me.Now, the actual ride. I'm going to echo what many people have said: the outside is little more than a glorified mine train. Now, I know some say this is a bad thing, but I like mine trains - so a glorified one is all good in my books! I'm not a fan of the trims, like everyone else. It wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't painfully noticeable, but you can feel the train slowing down so much, it's just cringe-worthy! That first drop should be something special, not a missed opportunity. I was, however, a big fan of the zig-zag bit prior to the second lift hill. As for the inside, I knew what was coming, so nothing shocking. It did, though, take me by surprise still, and the actual drop did feel a bit, well, short. I was expecting it to last a little longer or something; personally, I think it is slightly weak, though that could have been because I knew what was coming. The backwards section is fun as well. Oh, and I absolutely love going back into the station. "How should we get them back in the station? Should the train just casually roll in? Naa, let's launch them in!" Being caught between the switchback and the offload station to get the third train on was interesting to watch, but they could have at least let us off first rather than wasting five minutes of our time stuck in the train helpless. Anyway, photos:%20http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/300915_2354159216459_1324550230_2825249_6890866_n.jpgCan't say I wholly agree, but true to a degree.I really like the signage; it's perfect!'If you go down to the woods today...' don't forget to pick up your van.Saw this in the queue and it made me chuckle. However, I strongly disgaree.The ladder is the type of subtle theming I liked. The scaffolding, not so much.Rita was quite photogenic from the queue line though - keeps you entertained that little bit more I guess!Unlike with the other two, this was my first time on the ride, yet the ORP was the best looking shot of me so far. How interesting..*Okay, I've been at this for nearly an hour now and I'm starting to get a little tired. I'll return to think soon, hopefully tomorrow where you can have the joy of my venture down to Cloud Cuckoo Land, my eerie first experience in Hex and so much more! Hope you enjoyed this first part *

[Fred]

Wait, what!? A cat in the Forbidden Valley. Ah well, added some more humour to the day I guess! tehe

Thats Ripsaw, nice to see a photo of him. He hangs around the old nemmy extentions and blade ride area most of the day.

[Tom]

Does Alton put food out for him?

[Fred]

No. There's bins and guests littering for that.He's a ferral cat, as they all are. They look cute, but if you approach they'll either run away or attack you .

[JoshC.]

The rest of my Alton Towers PTR... ;)After Th13teen was out the way, along with a bit of shopping, we have Rita a miss due to a relatively large queue. Instead, we headed over to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - a ride we missed out last time, despite really wanting to try it out.I was surprised that we got through a nearly full queue quite quickly. The little 'pre show' if you will is interesting, though after seeing it upteen times, it loses whatever magic there was to start with. The boat ride was okay I guess, though I was more interested in ensuring water didn't fill the boat up - it was only a couple of inches from coming in! It sorta reminded me a bit of Bubbleworks, not in a good way; instead, it was the way of 'this could be a bit better'. The waterfall caught me out and was the highlight of the attraction - I thoroughly enjoyed that part. The TV room was a bit of a bore really, it just seemed a bit shoehorned in really. The glass elevator was what I was looking forward to about the ride, though, it was a bit of a let down. I guess where it's more a kiddie ride it is doing it's job, but I would have preferred to have Oompa Loompas involved heavily in the ride, to give it a charm.From the start of the queue.Twirling Toadstool followed.Next up was Twirling Toadstool. Not going to dwell on this ride too much; much like any of these types of rides, it needs some sort of added effect to be worthwhile - that's why I find Monkey Swinger at Chessie much more enjoyable! Now, probably the ride I was most looking forward to. Hex. I'm pretty sure saying that word makes loads of fans hyped; rightly so. The queue was out of the building, yet it moved quickly and painlessly. The inside queue was different and imaginative and the TV screens and general setting kept us all more than entertained. It certainly sets the eerie tone that is required. At the time, I felt the pre show was being dragged out a little too long, and it was struggling to keep the attention of some people that I saw. However, on looking back at it, I think it was actually pretty much perfect. The Octagon room was something I really liked and the theatrics involved impressed me. As for The Vault; I had heard about it, but had no idea what it involved - fortunately, this ride had remained pretty much unspoilt for me - I found it absolutely amazing. It left me confused, slightly spooked yet highly entertained. Whilst you can pretty much guess you're not upside down, you really do think you are. The Vault is probably one of the best experiences I've ever had and it was certainly a powerful one!Really does sum the ride up perfectly.Now it was time for a wander over to the Skyride. After it being closed practically all day on my last visit, it was somewhat of a relief to have it there, meaning that long walks and extra careful planning weren't as prominent in our minds. The Skyride.Of at Forbidden Valley we got and it was indeed lunch time. After a little mix up of where what food outlets were where, we ended up having the in house Fish & Chips. Mixed reviews from our group of the place - I happily enjoyed me sausage and chips, but everyone else wasn't keen on the batter on the fish.. Meh, enough about the food really. To let the food go down a little, we did some Ripsaw watching:Top spins - fun to watch, but not to go on.Casually hanging around, y'know.Wet wet wet!After watching a circuit, it was time to 'prepare for air'. Now, last time, I enjoyed air for the simple fact of it's elegance, and how it does the job of recreating flight. However, I was disappointed by the lack of any sort of force whatsoever - something it needed to give it that little extra something to make it special. That, and it needed some more theming, just the add to that overall experience. Of course, like with all the rides, I tried to take it from a clean sheet and see where that got me. Some piccys:Wooosh...Air > Oblivion. Air < Nemesis however.That twist.If anyone looked at my shoes during the day, they'd have thought I was an air-obsessive, but nope.. Train close up.More on that twist!Ride review time.. I forgot just how comfy the seats are - it's certainly something that I think is a key to the ride's success! However, my main views about the ride stayed the same. It's elegant and is certainly a very comfy ride experience - but it needs that little something more. A bit more force, a bit more theming, just something a bit different - something that would have made it much more special than it is.. It's certainly got the ingredients to be a world class thing, but it's like it was under-cooked or something...Superman pose for the ORP had to be done!It was time to go back on ourselves and take the Skyride to the Dark Forest to get Rita out of the way. Some highlights from the way back there:Naff signs. Hate them, spoil every bit of atmosphere created in an area - sort them out AT!Pretty views from the Skyride.Rita from the Skyride.A train awaiting the horrors inside the crypt. As said, Rita was next and we seemed to catch the Dark Forest at a good time. Rita had quietened down to a 20 minute odd queue and Th13teen was down due to 'disturbances in the Forest'; love that announcement! So we joined the queue and awaiting the launch coaster. One thing I really like about Rita's queue line is how you get a good view of the ride, and even a bit of Th13tee, which keeps you entertained and doesn't make queueing feel as bad. Rita nearing the end of her 'escape'.Love this centre piece bit of theming! Top notch.Speeding away from those evil powers of the Dark Forest...Pesky wraiths.As for Rita herself, I'm not her biggest fan. At least it now roughly fits in with the area theme, which is something, but I don't like what they've done. From the announcements to the ORP cover, it's just not that good. I like the control cabin, but that's about it. I think we all know that the only way Rita would ever fit in is in some sort of racer theme, The ride itself is okay I guess, the layout is interesting, but it's just too rough for it to be enjoyed. I know some dislike the first turn after the launch, but I don't find that too bad...more half way through the circuit, that's when pain kicks in. In short, not a bad coaster, just not a very good one.Rita ORP. I prefer the Queen of Speed casing.

[JoshC.]

(Split into 2 posts due to number of images per post restrictions)With Rita out of the way and a quick toilet break achieved, we noticed Th13teen trains carrying passengers.. Th13teen had reopened! As this must have been fairly recent, we decided to venture to the woods for a second time. Though it did end up being a longer queue than we expected (probably the longest queue of the day at just under 40 minutes), we didn't really care - we all enjoyed the ride. I don't think I really need to go into much detail about it again, but even after knowing what experience awaited me, I still found it enjoyable and a great ride - to me, it is far from a little kiddie ride with a one trick pony ending. It gels together well, but suffers from trims and terrible marketing. In some ways, I think it would have been better to go for a more upbeat theme for it to have been more of a success. Anyways, enough rambling on about Th13teen, here's a few more pictures from the queue line:The hooded figure.The half-swallowed up van.The second Th13teen ORP. I seem happy... :DSo, with Th13teen out of the way for a second time, it was time to bid farewell from the Dark Forest for good this time, and time to go back to secrecy with the X Sector and finally ride Submission. Windows on the way there.Nice weather complimenting a nice scenery.It was raining earlier?So, we finally reached Submission. Unlike last time, when there was a full queue, we were greeted by a near-on empty queue - it pleased me muchly. It was quite amusing watching the cycle prior to ours - when the ride was hung upside, a 5p just dropped to the ground; certainly made everyone around chuckle. Now, I've read a few reviews of people saying that the restraints were more than a little bit uncomfortable, so I was slightly worried, especially as they reminded me very much of a Top Spin's restraints. However, ever being squished in at the edge of the row against the side barrier, I found them quite comfy. Granted, they weren't like air's, nor were they they most comfy thing around, but I couldn't see a reason for complaint. Anyway, as for the actual ride itself, I found it very much like a Swinging Ship, Magic Carpet and Sky Swat all thrown into one. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but I dunno, it was just great fun. It gets the best bits of them and turns it into something that works really well - it's just a good ride. However, what spoils it is the theme and the theming, or the lack of it. I didn't hear any audio for it, couldn't see any sort of theming and it just felt like and 'here's a ride plonked here, you queue for it, you ride it and you leave it' job, which is not what AT rides are like. Despite the great ride experience, I felt short changed by the lack of everything else, which is not great really..Now, in a sensible move, we wandered over to Sonic Spinball for a spin. Now, after my go on it last time, I rated the ride higher than Dragon's Fury at Chessie, which seems to be against the general opinion. I more put it down to riding Fury more often more recently, but a second go sounded good to see if that was the case.Nice shot of the Towers.Spinning around.Random photo.Just in case I forgot what ride I was queueing up for...You can guess where I was trying to get the car really..And I failed.Last one.I one thing I like about this more than Fury is the queue line. The little games make the queue seem that little bit quicker, and the actual queue layout is not as painful as the cattlepen of Fury. That, and interaction (sorta) with the ride itself. The half-full queue did move quickly really. As for the actual ride, we got a great spin, better than last time, on it due to get the weighting right. However, there's just something about it that didn't really give me the same feeling as last time. I don't know what it is, but I just don't rate it as highly any more. After all is said and done, I think the ride experience is as good as Fury, but I think Spinball's queue line clinches it for me; it still has that slight edge over Fury. Spinball ORP.The SBNO Beastie lies behind the fence of dullness.After some more treking, it was last ride of the day - Runaway Mine Train. After missing out on it last time due to it being closed because of the valleying incident, it was nice to be able to do a complete run-around of all 7 coasters. As I said, I like mine trains and this one did not disappoint! I enjoyed the theme, the theming, the interaction with CRR, the layout - it was just an enjoyable ride. One niggle was the operator, who seemed very half-hearted when giving announcements, even the 'Choo Choo' she gave sounded a bit 'Why am I here?' (I don't think it was 'Choo Choo Lady' though, it's worth saying). Apart from that, a great little mine train.Nice bits of theming work well for me.Speeding past.Despite the lack of enthusiasm on my face, I am enjoying the ride!Couple more photos before I round off:Congo River Rapids. Was disappointed not to get on any water rides during the trip, but the bigger rides took priority. Could have fitted this in at the end, but didn't fancy a 3 and a half hour odd car journey home wet..Another view of the Towers.Nemesis wins it for me!That's my trip really. As you can tell, I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it was certainly worth the wait. The weather was just what we wanted, the staff were more or less all brilliant: chatty, friendly, helpful and added to the day. The rides were brilliant as well - it was just an amazing day. Popped into the shop in Towers Street to pick up the ORPs from the day and did a fair bit of shopping; bought: the Monorail Mug Pack, Nemesis and Th13teen mugs (I'm a mug for Mugs, okay? ), Th13teen hoodie, Th13teen bear, replica Th13teen necklace from the advert, Th13teen paperweight and Alton Towers Monopoly. Okay, I splashed out more than a little bit, but this was basically my holiday for the year. The only real problem I have with AT was the wasps - there were tonnes of the blooming things around, and it did make getting drinks a bit of a nuisance. Apart from that, the place is absolutely perfect. I can't wait for my next visit - whenever that may be!

[AstroDan]

Great report, and pictures.With regards to the signage in the gardens - these were hastily placed when the Skyride went down for 2 months. Now that the Skyride has re-opened, I guess they should remove them altogether but they haven't (yet) got round to it.

[Fred]

Interesting how you (kind of) rate the boat ride of charlie, but dismiss the tit-juggler (lifts).I'm completely the opposite there, especially as so much stuff just doesn't work, and the fact it's always become progressively worse than better.

[Benin]

The boat ride is awful, especially so when NONE of the 3 characters meant to be seen on the ride, aren't seen...The ride is an embarassment... Even with the lifts (and TV room) being cool, it's not worth the effort... Next on the chopping board it should be...

[thorpeparkjack]

Totally agree about Charlie, what a waste of money...Great report though Josh, much enjoyed.

[JoshC.]

I dunno what it was, but I just found the boat ride more interesting, even though most do seem to think the opposite. The elevator was just such a bore and really didn't capture my attention or imagination at all. At least with the boat ride I found myself somewhat interested in what was happening, and had the highlight of that waterfall in it. Terrible ride, but the boat ride was the more interesting part for me. Definitely feel it should be next to bite the dust...

[AdamY]

Thought I'd write a quick note about my trip yesterday, which was wonderful! No pics due to a combination of technical difficulties with my Cybershot and not wanting to take my SLR.If you discount my insult of a visit on CCF camp last year (~3 hours on park... Yeah, let's discount that) this was really my first time at Alton for about 6 or 7 years. After a surprisingly fast and pain-free journey we got out of the car on the button of 10:00, and heard Air and Nemesis roaring about behind the trees which was really magical... After some general excited freaking out when walking into Towers Street, we set about some rides... The rest of the day went something like:OblivionHexTh13teenRitaCharlieCongo River RapidsLunch - Mexican Cantina (Mega noms!)NemesisAirDuelSealifeTh13teenI must say, I pretty much loved everything! Oblivion with no queue was a great start to the day, and then the combination of Hex and Th13teen works really well. I was too young to appreciate the magic of Hex on previous visits I suppose, but yesterday I was blown away by the way every square inch of the experience was obviously thought through. I loved the detailed theming in the queue, I loved the use of smells, and I thought the show lighting was excellent throughout. Th13teen seems to make a lot more sense straight after Hex too, and I must admit this time I really enjoyed it. I still think the actual ride is pretty poor, but there's so much more to it than that. By the time I'd enjoyed the area ambient music, great station exterior, the upstairs bit near the Tesla coil with the scrawled writing and the whispers, I really didn't mind that the outdoor portion of the ride isn't up to much. I also very much enjoyed the backwards helix ^_^I was also pleasantly surprised by Charlie - even though everyone slates it I think if you stop analysing in so much depth and just enjoy it for what it is, it works. It's perfect for a park like Alton, and all I saw were people coming out smiling. Mission accomplished right?Congo was fun, and major shoutout to the Mexican Cantina here - I had the chicken nachos which were amazing! They were delicious and I could barely finish the portion, which is rare in a tourist attraction.Forbidden Valley followed lunch, and huge disappointment followed arrival Air was down, and the staff outside by the shop were saying it was very unlikely to re-open the rest of the day. We went and did Nemesis instead, which was fun as usual (although I still say, I don't see it as an utter world beater... For whole experience it is certainly up there as far as the UK in concerned, but there are certainly better out there for me). Returning to Air, we decided to stick it out for a bit and sat outside Refresh for about 15 mins. When some activity started up on radios, a crowd soon gathered and began creeping down towards the entrance when the staff started heading back to the queue. It soon developed into an all-out run, and everyone piled into the queue My sister and I got front row on the third train dispatched, and then proceeded to hang on the brake run for 10 minutes when it went down again. Lots of disappointment evident in the queue, we eventually got back into the station and exited, two of the last 28 people to ride that day... I'm glad we ran!Two more surprise hits were Duel and Sealife - I really liked Duel and think like Charlie, it may not be technically amazing but it's a fun ride. Sealife was very impressive I thought, with a lovely ambience inside. The finger cleaner shrimp were bloody weird but fun :DRounded out the day with another go on Th13teen. I must say overall the day was fantastic - brilliant weather and a brilliant park. I love the beautiful landscape Alton is set in, which makes the day so much more relaxing than a day at Thorpe. I also love the variety of attractions Alton have, with everything from dark rides to the three huge B&Ms. After a very positive day we'll be making more of a habit of it from now on, and are hoping to return for Scarefest.Go Alton

[Fred]

Air reopened at the end of the day (right at the end), and the last guests were at 8.15pm. Lovely.Good trip report though, towers is a lovely place. However, completely disagree with charlie. People would not be smiling if the lifts weren't so incredibly awesome!

[TPGG]

Must have been a rather expensive visit buying all those onride photos Josh?

[JoshC.]

Must have been a rather expensive visit buying all those onride photos Josh?

The visit was rather expensive with all the buying I did, yeah.. ORPs weren't too bad though, as we got 2 photopasses. I bought one, my mum bought me one as the usual 'holiday treat' then my uncle and cousin got a £2 for £12. Yeah, it's a lot when you think about it, but as said, it was my actual summer holiday in a way, so it probably worked out cheaper (and more fun) than going away elsewhere on holiday.

[Mark9]

I was also pleasantly surprised by Charlie - even though everyone slates it I think if you stop analysing in so much depth and just enjoy it for what it is, it works. It's perfect for a park like Alton, and all I saw were people coming out smiling. Mission accomplished right?

See, I don't have so much of a problem with Charlie.. although in saying that the ride has got worse recently. For instance the Blueberry woman (can't remember her name) has no head whereas previously she did. Very odd to say the least..

[Benin]

^Pfft, last time I went, Augustus, Violet AND Veruca were all broken...It's kinda harmless, but it just looks worse and worse every time I go on it...

[AdamY]

Yes, I did notice the slight lack of head problem myself Mark!

[AstroDan]

It's nice to see some mention of Sharkbait Reef. It's not often talked about, but it really is one of the best themed attractions in the UK and probably the best themed attraction Merlin have yet installed in a UK park.

[AdamY]

Yeah, I thought it was really impressive and I enjoyed it a lot! There was just a great mood inside... I think it was the combination of great theming (I couldn't take my eyes off all the ceiling detail with the nets and boxes and planks!) with wonderfully atmospheric ambient music and lighting. It all complimented the tranquil and relaxing motion of the fish and the rays swimming about... Perfect I think we spent a good hour plus in there!

[Ellie]

Yeaa I loved Sharkbait Reef. Though I'm a sucker for aquariums anyway but I had to be dragged out of Sharkbait Reef, literally.

[Benin]

Aside from the Spider Crabs replacing the Rays this year.Worst decision ever in my opinion.

[thorpeparkjack]

Right, first ever trip to the Alton Towers Resort at Halloween, despite being numerous times in the last couple of years, I had never done Scarefest. I couldn't wait. In the weeks building up to my two day trip, the excitement of getting away to the resort just kept on building and building. I was not disappointed. An early start was called for 6.15am sharp. The trip involved me and 3 other friends, one of which could thankfully drive. We had a good run up the M25 then the M40 where we pitted at Warwick services for an expensive, but amazing cooked breakfast! No more traffic on the M42 or M6, and after a couple of miles of traffic heading to the Resort, we arrived at about 11am. I hadn't been on the monorail for ages. I think it adds to the excitement of it all, traveling through the park, seeing all the rides in action. I loved how Alton had gone to the effort to make a special Scarefest announcement on the Monorail, to inform guests about Halloween based attractions. Fantastic. It is small things like this that really make the difference to me, and hopefully to a lot of you guys aswell. I won't go through each individual ride experience as I did this summer, but what I will say is that Alton's ride lineup is unrivaled in the UK. It really is stunning with all 5 major coasters offering something different and special. Even Sonic Spinball was brilliant I have to say! But it wasn't even the rides that stole the show for me. It was the atmosphere that Alton went to the effort of creating. Maybe it was because I did FN first, and the atmosphere there was pathetic. But not only did you know it was Halloween, almost everything was themed. I mean from banners in Guest Services, to a WONDERFULLY decorated towers street, amazing lighting near hex, and even special food names in the pizza and pasta buffet such as 'Greedy Goblins Pasta'! I just could not get over the effort and detail the park put into the event. Amazing! There was something for everyone at the Resort, from the mazes to the Kids area, a classy family experience was offered. Onto the mazes... We decided to do Bolier and Carnival on the first night and ToTT the next day. On a negative note, lets face it 12 pounds is a complete rip off from Alton Towers. A joke infact. But we paid it nonetheless and headed to the Carnival first. There was literally no queue, which was expected. However this didn't stop Alton putting a group of 12, yes 12 through the maze. I mean I wouldn't of minded waiting an additional 5 minutes to go in as a group of 4, but no we were whacked at the back. And I was at the back of the whole group! The carnival was really good actually. I don't really like clowns, and being at the back of the group I was repeatedly picked on which was pretty good! The maze was a decent length with a great variety of rooms. It was well thought out and was extremely enjoyable whilst still maintaining a limited scare factor! I think it is a 7.5 or 8 out of 10 for me. The Bolier House. A storyline which intrigued all members of my group, including me. The queue was a little longer, but a great atmosphere was created by Alton with the Audio and the fact that you had to go down the stairs into the 'bolier house'. The Maze had a GREAT, I mean GREAT start. The intro scene was great where Viktor Hambles Mask is stolen, and should set up a terrifying maze. But no. It was absolutely, categorically ****. It was similar to The Curse on a bad day, limited actors, limited scares and poor theming. Just an all round disappointment. I don't think I jumped once. The end was decent I suppose, but by then the maze was over. 4 out of 10 for me. So after the disappointment of last nights mazes it was time to do TOTT. I don't think anyone else in my group was expecting much, considering this was the free attraction. But I thought to myself, this could be good. This is Alton Towers. This is a maze inside the towers. As we queued, I thought what a fantastic location for a horror maze. It was midday, yet dark, gloomy with light rain in the air. The Towers were beckoning, and boy did they deliver. We were put into a group of 10, of which I led. The first maze I had led this Halloween at Thorpe or Alton. The health and safety briefing was performed really well by an older gentlemen of I can't unfortunately remember the name of and we ventured into the Towers. From start to finish this was a great maze. The briefing video set the scene for what was to come. The maze was themed so elaborately, and being at the front there was plenty of scares, jumps from actors and special effects alike. At one point I was stopped in my tracks by a brilliant Vampire actor, who got right in my face saying 'LOOK AT ME'! Brilliant acting throughout, with a great finale. Probably the best maze I have ever been on to be honest. 9.5 out of 10 for me. Even the Zombie Scare zone was pretty good to be honest. It was a zillion times better than Thorpe's Dead End. It was really well themed and was a great attempt at a Scare zone. So as we headed down Towers Street, I look one last look back. The flags, the pumpkins, the Scarefest Characters and in the distance the wonderful lit Towers. After my last Towers trip in the Summer, I was slightly down on the place. At Scarefest, Alton most certainly does have the magic it used to have for me, maybe even more. It is a special event, I loved every minute of it. Video to come sometime this weekend.

[AdamY]

Like Jack, I was a Scarefest n00b on my visit yesterday! The day was brilliant fun overall, despite some potentially disastrous events which I shall detail herein...Thinking we probably didn't need 11 hours on park, we planned to leave home at the slightly more civilised than usual time of 8, to arrive at Towers about 11:15. In this we found our first hurdle, the inevitable 30 minute late departure, however we were soon on the road and in good spirits. A smooth and uneventful drive followed (apart from the damn 16 mile stretch of 50mph limit on the M1), until we got to the JCB place about 20 mins from Alton. We queued, I kid you not, the entire distance from here to the park. It later became apparent that this was caused by fairly big crowds for the park, a diversion which filtered onto the same route through Alton village, and an accident up there to! Negotiating this took about an hour, and we finally stopped all the way over by the hotels just before 1. Undeterred, we walked over to the entrance so as to take in the sights and sounds of the top of Air and Nemesis' lifts, which soon made us feel good again! However, we got lumbered with the worst service I have ever experienced when getting tickets for my mum and sister; it took us half an hour to get through the queue and finally get to the turnstiles. Upon arrival there my AP decided not to work which is always nice, add 5 mins for faffing at different gates and then finding staff. Finally into Towers Street, time check stated 2pm. Awesome.However, our moods lifted greatly as we walked in and saw Towers Street all done up for the occasion and looking brilliant! Even my no-longer-very-geeky sister commented that in the 15 metres from the entrance there was already more halloween stuff than in the whole of Thorpe Taking in the beautiful view by the lake, we headed off towards Hex and Charlie which were duly completed in a far greater amount of time than it took to tell of our doing them Copious amounts of fun had by all we returned at ~4:20 to Mutiny Bay in search of food. Given all that had sustained our day so far was a pack of M&S croissants and some Percy Pigs, we'd done well to last this long. Mexican Cantina again served as the chosen location for food, and we decided to use the time honoured half-lunch half-dinner technique so as to minimise time spent eating. At about 5 we rejoined the masses and went over to Forbidden Valley, where yet again, I find myself needing to commend Merlin actors! One of the hazmat-clad guys outside the Nemesis:WLB site came over to me and started talking about radiation melting his ice cream, the impractical nature of hazmat suits, and many other things besides. We talked for a good 5 minutes about various things, and he told me about the weird things going on at the site, then gave me a little card with the 2012 site address and some other stuff. Actually, I wonder where I put it...After that little interlude my sister and I joined the Nemesis SRQ. As some of you will have seen from my Facebook, this queue was rather brilliant. It had already started to get dark, then suddenly black clouds enveloped the area and it started raining a bit. It wasn't hammering, but was creating the perfect amount to really create a brilliant atmosphere. Let's call it thematic weather So queueing down in the bottom of the pit with black sky, rain, and the ride roaring it's way around us was wonderfully intense and atmospheric. We got on fairly quickly and enjoyed a brilliant night ride.Air being Air had gone down, up and down again several times during the previously described period, but as luck would have it, it reopened just before we left Nemesis. We did single rider for this as well though, because the main queue had already built up massively again. The two girls batching were doing a great job, and seemed really happy and enthusiastic. They were talking to everyone and not just standing looking grumpy. We were boarding in no time, and off into the darkness. You guys have probably noticed my love of Air before, but I can honestly say this ride was just something else. The lift hill looked amazing bathed in blue lights as we ascended, and then the ride itself just absolutely came alive. Flying over the dim and warm lighting of the Air plaza was a great experience, but then coming out of the inline and heading towards the turn over the car park was insane. Being so far out there were no lights at all, so we found ourselves flying into literally pitch darkness as we rounded the final turn. It's kinda hard to describe without being there, but I can honestly say it was one of the most exciting rides I've ever had on any coaster. I fell victim to an Air hoody on the way out, trying to convince myself that it was because the night was cold Following Air we headed back over to the middle of the park for Terror of the Towers. I'd managed to stay away from all spoilers and reviews on the internet, so I went in not knowing what to expect. Firstly it must be said that the Towers are just an undeniably perfect site for a maze; the lighting on the walls and in the garden area of the queue was excellent, and the music just completed the spine-tingling atmosphere. I won't state the eye-watering time we queued, but suffice to say we had plenty of time to take in the aforementioned atmosphere. Finally inside, the maze blew me away. The props and sets in the first areas of the maze were excellent and provided the actors with a great base to work off; for example in the large rectangular room one actor flew from behind a sheet and jumped on the table before thrusting himself right in my face while I was still reeling from the crash his jump had created! Smoke billowed out from under the table and he disappeared again. I thought the scenes and corridors were wonderfully put together, with excellent lighting and sound too. The final room downstairs made for a great contrast with the rest of the maze, and I found it even more disorientating than The Asylum. All in all, the maze was a great length (made it feel worth queueing for) and I counted 16 actors, some of whom made a couple of appearances. We came out into the black of the night and looked up at the towers bathed in a green glow, listening to the music and the screams echoing through the building and out of the windows, and I couldn't help feeling Thorpe's efforts are a little bit pathetic :PThe time was 21:40, but as we passed X Sector on the way back anyway we decided to check in at The Boiler House just in case. I'm glad we did, the guy outside very kindly let us in despite the time. The queue just filled the tunnel coming out towards the open, but we were immediately called forward to join a smaller group so even skipped that small wait. We chatted to another lovely member of staff who was presiding over the maze inside, who was still smiling despite the hour. We went downstairs and were briefed before entering our second maze of the night. The first scene with the disappearing mask was just brilliant, the actor was really energetic and the trick was amazing to watch. I felt pretty apprehensive as we left and entered the maze proper, I was again at the back of the group. Like TotT, the number of actors and the scares they managed to elicit were very impressive. One particularly memorable one was someone crashing about behind a fence begging to be let free, before lunging out from behind a curtain enclosing the area which I had somehow failed to notice. A scream directly in my face followed! Although this maze seems to get a bit of a bad press, I was again impressed by set pieces such as the exploded barrels, pipes running everywhere ect. I came out still feeling it beat Thorpe's.Thus concluded our Scarefest experience, which I must say could have been a disaster given the start to the day but was actually hugely enjoyable. The park looks great and is done up brilliantly, the extra halloween themeing and attractions complimenting the existing line-up wonderfully and making for a brilliant event. Leaving at the slightly later than planned time of 22:30, the rest of the night is lost in my memory to a swirl of coffee, energy drinks and loud music in efforts to stay awake. I can't wait for next year!