Alton Towers, Stafford

Alton Towers (from here on called "The Towers" cus that's what the stokies call it!)..........theme park extraordinaire!

-----LOCATION-----
Alton! Well sort of. It is very near to Stoke-on-Trent (you will see many Staffordshire Uni students bumming around in this place!) Stoke is situated in the Midlands in the UK, somewhere between Birmingham and Manchester.

-----TRAVEL BY CAR-----
Alton Towers is clearly signposted from the following motorways:
Travelling North M1 - Junction 23a or M6 - Junction 15
Travelling South M1 - Junction 28 or M6 - Junction 16

Car Parking costs £4 - which is paid when you leave via pay boxes, where you receive a token for the exit. (Bit of a rip-off if you ask me!)

-----TRAVEL BY RAIL-----
In order to get to the Towers by rail, you simply have to get to Stoke-on-Trent train station. There is then a bus that leaves around 10am to go to the park.
** From the North - best way is to get a direct train to Stoke from Manchester Piccadilly. There are also trains that go from Crewe etc.
** From the South - Virgin Trains have a direct train that goes through Stoke to get to Manchester Piccadilly, this leaves from London Euston.

-----PRICE-----
I'm one of the lucky ones who is best friends with someone who works at the towers, so I get in for freeee! mwahahaha. As for those unlucky ones........

** Adults (12 or over): £28
** Childen (4-11yrs): £21
** Children (under 4): FREE
** Disabled Visitors: £14
** Seniors: £14

A family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children costs £78. If you buy tickets from the Alton Towers internet webpage then:
** Adults: £22
** Children:£15
So you'll be saving quite a bit!

You can also get saver tickets that include travel. You just have to have a look around for these deals if they are around...I know for a fact that there have been several that involve travel to and from London.

-----OPENING TIMES-----
Alton Towers theme park is open from 12 March to 30 October 2005.

The theme park opens from 9.30am daily. Rides open from 10am. Closing times vary from 5pm onwards depending on the time of year.

-----SPECIAL EVENTS-----

** Daily Carnival - 12th march - 30th October 2005
Different themed carinivals...

** Sound Of music tribute week - 30th may - 3rd June 2005
The Sound Of Music is celebrating it's 40th anniversary and Alton Towers are marking this with a special week with events all over the park.

** Scooby Doo Magical mystery Tour - 18th July - 31st August 2005
Scooby and Shaggy visit Alton Towers! Help solve the mystery of the haunted 3d cinema or take the mystery tour around the towers hearing ghostly tales as you go!

** Halloween Spooktacular - 15th - 30th October 2005
This year Halloween returns to Alton Towers bigger and better than ever! The Terror Of The Towers live attraction returns to the ruins this year with more gore, frights and crazy actors than ever before!

** Fireworks Spectacular - ??
There's usually a huge, rather impressive fireworks display around the beginning of November, but this hasn't been announced yet as far as I can see

-----SET OUT OF THE PARK AND THE TOWERS-----
The park is set out into several themed zones, which are within walkable distance of each other.
The park is basically centred around 'Alton Towers' which is actually a castle that used to belong to Charles Talbot in 1753. It was he who redesigned the gardens basically to how they are now. There is a myth about a curse on the Talbot family, which I will not spoil for you, as all is revealed in the HEX ride.

-----RIDES (for the adrennaline rush...)-----
Here we go, the reason you are going to the towers, the rides! Here's the lowdown on whats hot at Alton Towers.

** RITA (The Queen of Speed)
The newest edition to Alton Towers, and I would say the BEST!
This rollercoaster catapults from 0 to 100 kph in an awesome 2.5 seconds - and never really slows down. Its just...breathtaking. There is no way to describe it, you've just gotta experience it for the thrill! RANK: 1st

** AIR
Ever wanted to fly? This is the closest you'll get to it! Strapped very tightly into your seat (you get to try the seat out at the entrance to the ride just in case you don't fancy it...) you are then tilted onto your front, so you are face down. Air then flys you around the track, throws you around so all you can see is the sky then the ground (as well as the feet of the person in front of you!) Fly away.... RANK: 2nd

** NEMISIS
The first hanging rollercoaster in the UK. Suspended from a track, your feet are freely hanging. The rollercoaster hosts a good deal of twists and turns, a big loop which results in a dive into a deep tunnel. Not one to be missed! RANK: 3rd

** OBLIVION
Don't...look...down. This one is legendary, the vertical rollercoaster. A large carriage with two long rows of seats, takes you to the top of a a 200-foot drop, tips you over the edge....pauses....the throws you down into a dark hole full of smoke at 4.5G. Not one for the faint hearted, although it is over quite quickly and you safely emerge on the other end of the tunnel. RANK: 4th

-----RIDES (Splashing fun!)-----
Here we go, the wet and the wild!

** The Flume
A basic log flume, with boats in the shape of bathtubs (sponsered by Imperial Leather, go figure) Has two or three drops, the large one being at the end. You will get soaked on this one, no doubt about it... RANK: 13th

** Congo River Rapids
A big circular boat that allows seating for 8 people (at a squash!), takes you round a rapid ridden river, with a large tunnel, some water falls etc. Not massively exciting, but most of you will still get wet. RANK: 11th

-----RIDES (a brief glance at the rest...)-----

** Hex
A walkthrough of the castle, telling the story of the Alton Towers curse and the chained up tree. Involves a horrible bit at the end (well i hate it) where you sit down on long benches either side of a long room, and the room kinda spins around...

**Spinball Whizzer
A rollercoaster which spins as it goes along. Don't do this one straight after lunch!

Also....
** Spinning Teacups
** Duel (shoot at evillies as you go around with a lazer gun)
** Runaway Mine Train
** Squirrel Nutty Ride
** Corkscrew

As for the rest...go find out for yourself! NOTE: The Black Hole has been closed. Noooooo!

-----QUEUE TIMES-----
This varies with the season. Best times to go (if you can!) are beginning of season, non-school holidays, weekdays. To cut down queue times see the FastTrack options and special passes available. There are some good passes for those with disabilities and those with young children.

-----SHOPS-----
There are many places to eat across the park, with most Fast Food places operating (McD's, KFC, Pizza Hut etc) and other places selling a variety of foods, snack shacks, sweet shops, even asian cuisine! What I would say though, is that if you're not made of money, take a packed lunch. Prices in the park for food are ridiculous.

There are also souvenier shops around, where you can buy gifts and stuff, again for pretty silly prices. But then i'm a student so there we go!

-----PHOTOS-----
Ride photos are available. I think for something like £4.99 for a photo. You can get a package for 5 ride photos that will end up being a bit cheaper overall if you want momentos of your time at the Towers.

-----SPECIALS-----
You can buy priority passes which makes you be able to legally queue jump as it were. Saves you a lot of time. More on this can be found on the Alton Towers website again.

-----ACCOMMODATION-----
Alton Towers hosts two hotels, one being the Alton Towers Hotel, the other being Splash Landings hotel ("a relaxed Caribbean village, on the shores of one of Europe's top indoor waterparks")
See the Alton Towers webpage for more details. You may get somewhere cheaper around Stoke-on-Trent though! If travelling via Stoke-on-Trent station, the nearest hotel to the station is 'North Staffs Hotel', which is actually directly opposite the station.

-----OVERVIEW-----
Alton Towers is a great place for all ages. There are rides for thrill seekers, rides for families and those with younger ones. There are good facilities across the park, with a first aid place, toilets and baby changing facilities.
The one downfall about the park is its maintainance. They're doing their best, but parts of it are in need of a little updating.
The park is kept clean though, and the staff are generally helpful.

Enjoy yourself!