Alton Towers (Alton Towers (Staffordshire))

Member Name: sugarlily83

Product:	Alton Towers (Staffordshire)
Date:	10/06/02 (191 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good fun

Disadvantages: prices, queues

Come little children, I'll take thee away, into a land of enchantment......

Well I've always loved Alton Towers, and I must have been 12 times now, so I felt it my duty to write an op.

Alton Towers is situated in the heart of the Staffordshire countryside, which anyone can tell due to the last third of the journey being a veritable roller-coaster ride round bends and over bumps down the longest country road I've ever journeyed.

Every time we go we agree it would be best to leave nice and early so we get there in time for the opening of the park. Last time we went -- just after Easter this year, we arrived at ten fifteen.

Now, the park itself opens at nine a.m. so we weren't that late... but by the time we'd queued to ride the (thankfully free of charge) monorail to get to the park itself, it was past eleven. Way past.

Never mind! Chin up! Keep smiling! We were there at last! But stepping off the transport, we groaned sadly as we caught sight of the queues at each ticket booth. We stood and stood until eventually we were in! By now though, it was 12:30, and we were left with only five hours until the rides closed. Since we had just paid upwards of £20 each to enter we weren't best pleased that on such a sunny day the park was planning to close so early. To add insult to injury, the park had, since our last visit (the summer before) implemented a charge for parking! £2! Well sorry, but how else are we meant to get there?

Gritting our teeth, we paid, and trudged on into the park. Prices vary depending on what time of year you go -- but the cheapest is £18.50 for ages 12 and over and £15.50 for 11 and under, which is very expensive. There is no student discount either. For families of two adults and two children both aged 11 or under (how many families conform to that standard??) there is a family ticket available which starts at a stonking £62. To find out which price you will pay on th
e day you wish to go, you need to check out alton-towers.co.uk.

This however is a poorly planned -- though pretty site, which is very hard to navigate around. They don't give details on pricing, as they prefer to get you there first. Don't even dream of staying at their hotel. Upwards of £100 a night.

Stop complaining sugarlily! What about the rides??

Okay, yes. A new ride is added each year- more or less- and so sadly an older one is taken away. casualties include the beast, which, although it felt like you were riding in a breadtin, was a good ride. Alton Towers seem to have plumped for gimmicky rides rather than traditional roller coasters.

But, Corkscrew is still there- one of the older ones. I remember hopefully measuring my height at each visit, hoping to be allowed on. This ride is great. It's yellow, it has loops, and you feel satisfied at the end. Oh, great god of Alton, may you never take it away!

Nemesis is a very good ride. Over in Forbidden Valley, the queues may be very long-- around 90-120 mins, but it's lots of fun to ride as your feet dangle freely and you are spun round in twists and turns over a river of "blood".

Ripsaw is a ride in which you all sit in a long row and are spun around like a tombola and sprayed with water. Bags of fun, and you don't get too wet.

Black Hole is very similar to the Beast, which is of course now gone. Likely to give you a few bruises, but this ride is good fun, with the added bonus of beingin the dark. Expect a long queue.

The Blade is a big pirate ship. Always a good one, and it's fun to sit right at the back as you go the highest. Sadly it doesn't turn upside down, but this renders it great for the youngest and oldest visitors.

Oblivion... Well, you queue for hours-- two or three most days, and are bombarded with irritating videos that just repeat and repeat to try and get you in the mood. C
ome on guys, it's just a ride. an unfair queueing system-- queuers stand three and four abreast and as the queue loops around it's easy to feel cheated as the person you were infront of is now ahead of you. A very very short ride -- one single drop then it's over. My mother's bag was taken off her and was then stolen. She did not chose to leave it however, so it can be argued that it was not left ather own risk. I am disgusted with the park for this. Certainly not worth the queue.

Air? I don't know! The queue was three hours and when we came back later to see if it was shorter, we discovered that the ride was broken. Apparently the ride has been dogged with problems since it opened.

Log Flume. Oh yeah! I love this. You get soaked and queue around a big lake, so you can watch others getting soaked. The ride itself is lovely and long. Definitely worth it.

River Rapids. Another nice long one. Queue not too long as they fit 12 or 9 in a boat. Everyone has a seat though, so you won't be snuggling up to a stranger! heaps of fun and laughs as you try and dodge the jet sprays!

Toyland Tours. We went on this for the laugh. It's good-- a nice boat ride round a "toy factory/world". Could do with a lick of paint, though it's a good ride, especially for kids, or teens who fancy a snog!

Submission -- a fairly new ride, which just tips you upside down like a big pirate ship. The restraints hurt my thighs though.

Haunted House. The best bit is the graveyard -- filled with comedy headstones which pass the queue quickly, although recently, the queues have been very low. Recently has had a few internal changes, but still one of the best haunted houses I've ever visited.

Runaway Mine Train. ooh baby! The best ride in my opinion. Go at the end of the day-- you're likely to get a really long ride as the queue is right down. You can wave your arms in the air as you speed
through the tunnel, and wave as you pass the River Rapids ride. Do not miss this, I guarantee you'll love it.

The smaller rides include things such as the kiddie's tractor ride, and a squirrel storybook ride which weaves around a rail above the park. To me, the kiddie's section has been spoiled lately with the addition of Barney. An english institution, Alton Towers does not need the US Twonk that is the peverted purple dinosaur. What kind of kid aged 6-13 stays after school for hugs and kisses with an imaginary dino? That cannot be healthy... but I digress.

UG land, also for kids is better, and includes the UG swinger -- the old sky swings ride which has had a bitof a face lift. A good ride-- always room for everyone, you sit in a swing and are spun out with centrefugal force. Sitting on the outside is best, and it's fun to try and lift your legs into the air as you go around. A fun way to learn about G-Forces!

To eat in Alton Towers, you can choose from fast food, snacks, or a proper meal, though my trip to the on site McDonald's proved a waste of time as they had no drink left apart from Sprite and Milk. That was at lunch time.

To beat the queues, they've implemeted a fast queue system on a couple of the larger rides -- air and oblivion for example, where you geta ticket like ata cheese counter and come back to ride at your allotted time. But you have to get there early for that. By 1pm, there were no tickets left, and as I said, the normal queue was just too long.

The towers themselves are sadly neglected for the most part, though there are things to read inside. However, it would be nice to see the windows replaced and so on. Hex, the ride inside it, is very overrated. Mostly a walkthrough, it's hard to believe, and poorly thought out. The ride itself is quite poor and a big let down.

My final gripe is the misapostrophication I encountered once there. In the leaflet, on sign
s, in rides, everywhere! And you all know how much I dislike that! ;-)

All in all, I actually going on a wet Wednesday in October. The queues will be much smaller -- you won't die of heatstroke/boredom as you stand in line, and even if you get wet -- so what? If you're in good company thatwon't matter a bit. Especially if you get even wetter on the water rides! In this case, take a change of clothes and a warm blanket to have waiting in the car, and you'l have much more fun than on a busy, hot day.

Do go, but be prepared for queues and high prices.

Sugarlily. x

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