Contemplating writing - lack of inspiration :O( will be back around soon I hope :O)
Contemplating writing - lack of inspiration :O( will be back around soon I hope :O)
Member since:29.09.2002
Reviews:42
Members who trust:45
It’s the summer holidays and for most kids this can end up being quite boring if there’s nothing to do. This year I took my second visit to Alton Towerstheme park. I visited the park on a Sunday as part of a bus trip that was being ran by Durham city coaches. The price for the day was £31.50, which was my bus there and back and my entry into the park. Normal prices differ due to peak or off peak times (see below). From Washington the journey to Alton towers was quite long and we didn’t arrive at the park until 12. We had to be back at the bus for quarter to 6 giving us 5hours and 45minutes. We all thought this would be ample time to explore and go on the rides but in order to see the whole park I would recommend getting there early.
Alton towers is owned by Tussards, which has a total of 6 places throughout the UK. It is a theme park with some of the most famous rides including the Oblivion which is the first ever roller coaster with a vertical drop. Although you've probably only ever heard off huge rides for thrill seekers like the Nemesis, Oblivion and Air there is a huge amount of other stuff for the whole family. There are rides for young children and plenty of other attractions. All in all it’s a great family day out.
Alton towers is quite easy to navigate but one of the most helpful things was
the map. I got my map from the guest services, which is just as you enter the park. Here you can also get a locker to put belongings in. The lockers were £3. The park is set out into various parts:
TOWERS STREET: This is as you enter the park and is where the guest services are situated. There is also a guest shop, as Costas coffee shop and the Bagshaw Suite family restaurant. As I was walking down here the one thing that caught my eye were the cute frogs that are part of the water feature so if you ever go to Alton Towers look at the frogs they're great!
MERRIE ENGLAND: This is a family section of the park and if you find yourself near there go on the log flume. This created endless laughs for us but I do warn you be prepared to get wet especially if you're sitting at the front which is where I was. If it’s a scorching hot day like it was for us then I wouldn’t worry too much about getting wet, as you'll dry off quickly. There’s also the teacups and the swan ride here but I didn’t go on either of these. Other attractions in this section include the 3D cinema. There are height restrictions for the rides.
KATANGA CANYON: Here you'll find the runaway mine train, which is great fun for the family. It’s a mini roller coaster train and it can be a great laugh. The queues for this can be quite big. There is also the Congo River rapids, which are a huge laugh! Again though like the log flume prepared to get wet! There are height restrictions on these rides. Also in this area are a KFC and a Pizza Hut express if you fancy a bite to eat.
GLOOMY WOOD: This is where the haunted house is. The queues for this can get quite long but I thought it was worth the wait. The ride has been redesigned since I last visited Alton Towers and so I was pleasantly surprised. The ride now includes blaster guns in which you use to shoot the monsters. A quick tip. You aim for the yellow lights, it took us a few moments to work out what to do but maybe we were just glum! This is the only ride in this area of the park but there is also a shop, which sells merchandise relevant to the ride.
FORBIDDEN VALLEY: This area of the park is the area for thrill seekers. Some of the parks best rides are here. The Nemesis, Air and Ripsaw are here. I went on both Air and the Nemesis. The queuing for these attractions can get huge and so it’s a great advantage that Alton Towers have introduced the fast track system. You get a ticket and you come back to the ride at the time displayed and you don’t queue. We planned on getting passes for both Nemesis and Air but you can only have one fast track ticket at a time, which is a slight disadvantage. There is also a MacDonald’s kiosk here for those who are feeling a bit peckish. The rides here are aimed more at older visitors and have height requirements.
UG LAND: As the name implies UG land is designed in the Stone Age. This area is designed for the whole family and has rides such as the corkscrew and the boneshaker. There are height requirements on the rides here. There is an arcade here as well, which has everything from bandits to Dance machines.
CRED STREET: This area of the park is aimed mainly at the younger visitors to the park. The attractions include the Tweenies playground and the Tweenies theatre, which is new for 2003. Also here there is a MacDonald’s, which is huge, but the interior is designed hugely for young children.
X-SECTOR: This is the area of the park, which houses Oblivion. Unfortunately there is not a fastrack system for Oblivion but the queues aren’t that bad. The ride is the first ever to have a vertical drop and it’s amazing. Also here is the black hole, which is a roller coaster in the dark. There is also the enterprise and submission. This area of the park is designed for thrill seekers and older visitors. There are height requirements for the rides. Also here is a KFC and Pizza Hut express.
ADVENTURELAND: This area is aimed highly at young children. Inside is the squirrel nutty ride and the Webmaster, which is new for 2002. Webmaster is an adventure on ice. This area of the park is extremely eyecatching and looks rather fun but unfortunately I think I’m a bit old for it all.
OLD MACDONALDS FARMYARD: This is an area for young people. There is old MacDonald’s tractor ride and riverbank eye spy. This area is hidden and can be accessed through Adventure land. Also new for 2003 there is the Ribena Berry Bish Bash.
THE TOWERS: This is the castle, which has recently been transformed into a ride “Hex” I found this ride quite confusing, and at the end of it I felt very disorientated.
THE GARDENS: You can walk through the gardens, which are very beautiful, but you also have the option of seeing them from above if you take the sky ride.
~*~OTHER PARK FEATURES~*~
SKYRIDE: The sky ride is an alternative to walking which can prove to be a great advantage. There are 3 stations in the park. One near Cred Street, another in the forbidden valley and the third in Merrie England. The ride takes you over the top of the gardens, which look absolutely stunning, and they can be a great view. You can fit quite a few people in one carriage. I don’t know exactly how many people but there were 8 of us in one with seats left over.
EATING: There are places to eat situated all over the park. There are various well-known kiosks and full outlets such as MacDonald’s, KFC and Pizza hut. Some of the main rides have their own kiosk as well where you can purchase foods such as hot dogs and burgers for example Nemesis Nosh. Where ever you are in the park there will be somewhere nearby where you can grab a bite.
AMUSEMENTS: All over the park are various games and amusements in which you can win great prizes such as teddies. The games are pried at roughly £1 - £2 a turn.
TOILETS: There are toilets placed all over the park. There are toilets in most of the food places but there are also toilets randomly dotted around for your convenience.
ELECTRONIC QUEUE BOARDS: Throughout the park are boards, which show the queue times for the main rides such as Nemesis and Oblivion. Throughout our visit we found these extremely handy as it helped us to plan out the day.
~*~TIPS~*~
*Use the fastrack service as it can be a great timesaver and it can help you avoid queues.
*Plan the rides that you definitely want to go on as queues can get long and can be very time consuming so its best to plan ahead to avoid disappointment.
*Head to Alton Towers early as we spelt half a day there and we didn’t get to go on all the rides that we had wanted due to queues.
*Leave the park before closing to avoid congestion
Alton Towers has recently just opened a water park called Cariba Creek which has an accompanying hotel called splash landings as well as the original Alton Towers Hotel.
All in all I felt that Alton Towers was a brilliant day out. The rides were sensational and I loved every minute of it. We found as a group we constantly needed refreshments to keep us walking but had no problems getting a drink or ice cream, as there was do many shops. If you plan to go on one of the water rides I’d advise from personal experience to head there first as if its left till last and you get wet it can be very uncomfortable travelling home wet. I think that the day is great value for money as it’s a fun filled day out for the whole family and you can gain great memories from it. I can’t wait to go back next year!
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