Alton Towers

Alton Towers Resort

Slogan	"Britain's Greatest escape"
Location	Alton, Staffordshire, England
Owner	Merlin Entertainments Group
General Manager	Ian Crabbe
Opened	13 April 1860 (1860-04-13) (as country estate) 4 April 1980 (1980-04-04) (as theme park)
Operating season	Theme Park March–December Accommodation Year-round Alton Towers Waterpark Year-round Alton Towers Hotel Spa Year-round Conference Centre Year-round Enchanted Forest Tree Top Quest Year-round Extraordinary Golf Year-round
Visitors per annum	2.958 million (2014)
Area	910 acres (3.7 km2)
Rides
Total	50+
Roller coasters	9
Water rides	5
Website	www.altontowers.com
Status	Theme Park Closed Resort Complex Open

Alton Towers Resort, commonly referred to as Alton Towers, is a theme park, water park, and hotel complex in Staffordshire, England. It is the flagship attraction of Merlin Entertainments in the United Kingdom. The site opened in 1860 with flower shows and garden tours until a theme park was built on the site in 1980.

The theme park opened on 4 April 1980. Major attractions include Nemesis, Oblivion, Runaway Mine Train, Congo River Rapids, Hex – The Legend of the Towers, Galactica (formerly known as Air), Rita, Thirteen, The Smiler and Wicker Man. A themed hotel, the Alton Towers Hotel, opened in 1996. It was followed in 2003 by the Caribbean-themed Splash Landings Hotel with an adjoining water park. A development of woodland lodges was completed in 2015, as the Enchanted Village. The resort also includes conference facilities and a crazy golf course.

On most days, the theme park operates between 10am and 5pm, however operating hours can change based on expected attendance. The park hosts special events throughout the year, such as concert nights, a Scarefest event for Halloween, and an end-of-season fireworks display.

History

File:Alton Towers Entrance 1.JPG

Entrance to Alton Towers, with the monorail behind

Main article: History of Alton Towers

The Alton Towers estate was a former seat of the Earl of Shrewsbury. Following its sale in 1924 a group of local businessmen formed Alton Towers Ltd and began to restore the gardens as a tourist attraction. In the 1950s this included the operation of a fairground, and by the 1970s included a boating lake and chairlift.

After millionaire property developer John Broome married the daughter of majority shareholder Denis Bagshaw in 1973, he bought out the controlling stake in Alton Towers. Over the next few years he laid the foundation for the modern theme park by installing various permanent rides and developing areas of the grounds in progressive stages. In the 1980s Broome marketed the park by installing a major new ride every year - including Corkscrew, Pirate Ship, Alpine Bobsleigh, The Log Flume and The Black Hole.

With Broome in financial troubles having acquired the former Battersea Power Station for development as a tourist attraction, in 1990 the park was purchased by The Tussauds Group, which itself was owned by Pearson Group. The change of ownership heralded an era of sustained investment and aggressive marketing based around the US theme park model epitomised by Disneyland, involving the development of major family-oriented attractions such as Runaway Mine Train (1992), The Haunted House (1992, now Duel), Toyland Tours (1994) and Peter Rabbit and Friends On Ice (1994), alongside state-of-the-art, high-intensity rides such as Nemesis (1994, Europe's first inverted roller coaster). However, Tussauds subsequently reoriented the resort's business strategy towards the teenage market with the introduction of Oblivion (1998, a B&M Dive Coaster) and Air (2002, a B&M Flying Coaster), both marketed for their innovative 'World First' ride elements and restoring, to a degree, the youth credibility it had established in the 1980s. Ride designer John Wardley was behind the concepts and layouts of the major attractions in the 1990s that brought success to the themepark.

2005 saw the acquisition of Alton Towers by the investment group Dubai International Capital (DIC) when it purchased Tussauds for £800 million. The Tussauds Group was then bought by Merlin Entertainments in March 2007 for over £1billion from DIC, placing Alton Towers under their control. In July 2007, the resort and park was sold to Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury, who now lease the park back to Merlin Entertainments to operate on a 35-year lease.

Events

Prior to the main open season, Alton Towers usually holds the February Half-Term event. For the event the Alton Towers theme park has opened with selected rides. However, the event has been cancelled for 2016; with the exception of Sharkbait Reef which will be open for Pirate and Princess Week held at the hotels. Cook and Line, from the Swashbuckle program on CBeebies, will provide entertainment for the event.

Scarefest is the resort's largest annual event. It celebrates Halloween with a number of temporary scare maze attractions, costumed characters and extended opening hours. Rides and areas are lit with coloured lighting at night, with rides continuing to operate after dusk. The Scarefest event has been running since 2007, although the park started celebrating Halloween with decoration several years before and has operated the Terror of the Towers scaremaze since 2002.

Seasonal Scarefest attractions as of 2015

• Terror of the Towers – What Lies Within, the signature maze situated inside the Towers themselves, first introduced in 2002. A new format was introduced in the 2009 Scarefest event, along with the new tagline "What Lies Within" replacing "Bloodfest Banquet". Visitors queue outside in Her Ladyship's Gardens, and the attraction itself starts in the derelict Conservatories. Batches of guests watch a short video showing two men exploring the Towers for ghosts. The video then cuts short, and guests enter the Towers to find the men. At certain points in the maze, the bodies of the two men are each seen hanging from a noose. Visitors become lost in the lengthy corridors and themed scenes in the Towers, with live actors pursuing them in every room. The finale to the attraction is a maze-like walkway that winds around actors in cages, with strobe effects.
• The Haunting of Molly Crowe, a new for 2015 multi-sensory maze set in the Towers ruins. The maze is based on the old and abandoned house of Molly Crowe, who was last seen engulfed in flames in the cellar of her house, emitting a scream of non human origin. Guests will be blindfolded for part of the experience.
• Sub Species: The End Games, is a new maze themed around a post apocalyptic sewer dwelling community infected by an unearthly species. The maze will feature two alternate endings.
• Forbidden Valley: Dark Apocalypse, is a new scare zone situated in Forbidden Valley based on a deadly virus spreading across the area, with Phalanx Control attempting to contain the breach.
• Dark Forest: Nox:Infernus, is a new scare zone situated in Dark Forest based on an undead cult rising, with guests facing a choice of joining the cult or joining the resistance.

Past seasonal Scarefest attractions

• Terror of the Towers. The first incarnation of this long-running annual scare maze was introduced in 2002, and was located in the Towers ruins themselves. Many scenes from the original maze are still used. Visitors walked through the long, winding corridors of the Towers, through themed scenes while being pursued by live actors. The finale featured a winding pathway around actors behind fences, who lunged towards visitors, accompanied with heavy strobe effects. For 2003 it was restructured and given the tagline and theme "Bloodfest Banquet".
• "TH13TEEN: After Dark" has an enhanced queue line for Alton Towers' newest roller coaster, using fog and lighting effects as well as live actors. This attraction did not return for 2012.
• Terror of the Towers – Bloodfest Banquet was a new version of the Terror of the Towers scare maze, running from 2003 to 2008. It retained much of the original version, but featured new scenes that included scripted dialogue from the several characters, and a new storyline was added. The strobe maze finale was moved to another point in the maze and replaced by a new ending, in which visitors become trapped in a small room with cages on every side, as actors reach for them through the metal bars for almost a minute. Every year, Terror of the Towers kept changing slightly with revised scenes and new scares. However, for the 2009 Scarefest event, Terror of the Towers was once again completely rethought, with the tagline "What Lies Within". The new incarnation drops the scripted scenes and characters; meaning it is similar to the original Terror of Towers of 2002. The whole layout for the maze was also reversed, with what was previously the entrance becoming the exit.
• Room 13 was first introduced in 2006 and was located in the conference room of the Alton Towers Hotel. It was only available to guests of the hotel, who were led around the maze as many live actors appeared to scare them. Room 13 had positive reviews and returned in 2007, but was replaced by The Boiler House in 2008.
• Field of 1000 Screams was first introduced in the 2007 Scarefest event and was the first maze at Alton Towers not situated inside a pre-existing building. The Field was located entirely outdoors in a moderately sized field of maize, which had to be planted especially for the event several months earlier. It purported to be a fictional village called Altonville that had become overrun by zombies. Visitors walked down a long pathway cut through the corn, and encountered characters and scares along the way, before the finale took place. The Field of 1000 Screams did not return for the 2010 event.
• Haunted Hollow Live was first seen in 2007 and consisted of several sinister, costumed actors performing along the Haunted Hollow walkway in Gloomy Wood. The attraction was similar to Duel Live, which was introduced the year later. Haunted Hollow Live returned for the 2008 Scarefest event, but was cancelled for 2009.
• Duel Live was first introduced in the 2008 Scarefest event. Throughout this period, the park's haunted house dark ride, Duel, became host to this attraction, which included live actors situated around the ride circuit. Duel was available to ride normally until 12 pm, when the laser guns and LED targets were switched and the actors took their positions. This was changed in 2009, when Duel Live took place throughout the whole day and many more actors than the previous year were present. Duel Live was aimed at the family audience, and included such features as new music playing throughout the ride (instead of the usual Duel theme music), as well as a butler or maid who would welcome you inside the house. The attraction was changed slightly for the 2010 season and featured the park's Scarefest mascots.
• Skelvin's Haunted Adventure was a newer version of Duel Live, introduced in 2010, and took over Duel – The Haunted House Strikes Back! throughout Scarefest. As in previous years, the attraction included live actors situated at different points around the ride. The laser guns and LED targets were switched off during this time. The ride featured the Scarefest mascots, notably the character of "Skelvin".
• The Boiler House was a scare maze first introduced in 2008, and was situated next to the Alton Towers Hotel. Originally, the scare maze was set in an abandoned industrial facility and featured live actors in make up. This was changed in 2009, when a new storyline was added. The scare maze later featured the fictional "Hamble Twins" serial killers hiding in the industrial building, and visitors have to escape them as they are chased through the scenes. Visitors queued outside, past a van labelled "Alton News 24", from which television screens play news reports on the activity of the serial killers. Guests then walk through a covered walkway, which hides the marquee that the maze is contained in from view. Once inside, a man appears and warns guests about the dangers of coming inside. The murderers then appear and kill him, before chasing visitors away. Each of the Twins are played by two different actors wearing the same grotesque, latex mask. They appear at different points in the maze, creating the illusion that one character is in several places at once. Dim lighting and scent effects are heavily used. For the 2011 Scarefest, The Boiler House moved along with the Carnival of Screams to the X Sector, where they both shared the old Black Hole tent. After three years it did not return for the 2012 season.
• Carnival of Screams was a scare maze that debuted for the 2010 Scarefest event. During its debut it shared the same temporary building as the Boiler House. John Wardley contributed to the development of Carnival of Screams, which was entered through a large clown face with horrific features. For 2011 it and the Boiler House were relocated to the X-Sector area. The maze is a mixture of humor and serious scares, and the music used is the former Toy Land Tours attraction theme music warped for dramatic effect. From 2012 onwards, the attraction was situated opposite the hospitality suite, with the exit inside the Goal Striker unit. In 2013 and its final incarnation, the maze gained a theatrical ending involving a knife thrower.
• The Sanctuary was new for the 2012 Scarefest event and returned in 2013 and 2014. The attraction was set in a research facility operated by "The Ministry of Joy". Alton Towers released the following description at the time: "Lost your Smile? Then check yourself in for a refreshing check up at The Sanctuary. After being closed for new patients for almost 50 years The Sanctuary, The Ministry of Joy’s earliest establishment, is now holding important trials searching for ‘Advocates’ for its 2013 project." It was revealed to be part of marketing for The Smiler roller coaster, which opened in 2013.
• Scary Tales Scare Zone was a walk through scare zone that ran for the 2014 event. The attraction setting revolved around fairy tale stories that were rewritten in a nightmarish manner.

For the last days of the season, Alton Towers host firework displays, these have been running annually since the 1990s on the Great Lawns. The displays were considered disruptive by some local residents, which led to formal complaints. Two local residents decided to take the theme park to court regarding this issue. The court issued Alton Towers with a noise abatement order in October 2005 which restricted the theme park to three shows a year, previously five, with noise readings not exceeding 40 decibels outside the park. In 2006, the display was rebranded as Electric Towers, but then discontinued. However, the fireworks and laser show was reinstated in 2010 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the theme park and has returned to being an annual event.

During the closed season months, Alton Towers holds regular Swashbuckling Pirate Weekends. The event entails pirate themed activities in the Splash Landings Hotel and the waterpark. The theme park's Sharkbait Reef aquarium also opens for the event.

During December, the Santa's Sleepover event takes place. Both resort hotels are decorated for the event and a pantomime takes place. The Alton Towers Theme Park also opens for Christmas with a small number of rides open as well as a Santa's Grotto. The event is largely aimed at children. In 2015, the theme park permitted entry to non-hotel guests for the first time.

Rides and attractions

Roller coasters

Name	Picture	Opened	Type	Status	Height Min.	Manufacturer	Park section	Notes
Galactica		2002 (as Air) 2016 (reopening)	Steel 4D flying roller coaster	Operational	1.4m	Bolliger & Mabillard	Forbidden Valley	The world's first Bolliger & Mabillard flying roller coaster, and from 2016 onwards, the world's first virtual reality dedicated roller coaster. Formally known as Air.
Nemesis		1994	Steel inverted	Temporarily closed for refurbishment/track replacement	1.4m	Bolliger & Mabillard	Forbidden Valley	Europe's first inverted roller coaster. Voted 9th best roller coaster in the world in the 2013 Mitch Hawker steel coaster poll.
Oblivion	120px	1998	Steel dive	Operational	1.4m	Bolliger & Mabillard	X-Sector	Dubbed as world's first vertical drop roller coaster yet its dive angle is not 90°, it is the world's first Dive coaster however.
Rita	120px	2005	Steel accelerator	Operational	1.4m	Intamin	Dark Forest	A launched roller coaster involving a race car succumbing to the powers of a supernatural forest.
Runaway Mine Train	120px	1992	Steel mine train	Operational	0.9m	Mack Rides	Katanga Canyon	A powered mine train roller coaster. The oldest roller coaster in the park following the removal of the Beastie in early 2013.
Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure		2015	Steel	Operational	0.9m	Zamperla	CBeebies Land	A new model of a children's coaster from Zamperla. Opened as part of a CBeebies Land expansion.
Spinball Whizzer	120px	2004	Steel spinning	Operational	1.2m	Maurer Söhne	Adventure Land	A spinning roller coaster featuring video game character Sonic the Hedgehog.
Thirteen	120px	2010	Steel Family Drop	Operational	1.2m	Intamin	Dark Forest	The world's first vertical free-fall drop roller coaster.
The Smiler	120px	2013	Steel Infinity	SBNO	1.4m	Gerstlauer	X-Sector	Holds world record for most track inversions (14). Currently closed due to major incident in 2015 however due to reopen in 2016.

Ride statistics

Name	Height	Length	Top speed	Max vert. angle	Inver- sions	Trains on ride	Riders per train	Designer
Galactica**	66 ft (20 m)	2,760 ft (840 m)	47 mph (76 km/h)	40°	2	3	28 (7 rows 4)	John Wardley
Nemesis*	43 ft (13 m)	2,349 ft (716 m)	50 mph (80 km/h)	40°	4	2	32 (8 rows of 4)	John Wardley
Oblivion*	65 ft (20 m)	1,223 ft (373 m)	68 mph (109 km/h)	88.8°	0	7	16 (2 rows of 8)	John Wardley
Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure					0	1	14 (7 rows of 2)
Rita	68.9 ft (21.0 m)	2,099.8 ft (640.0 m)	62.2 mph (100.1 km/h)	53°	0	2	20 (10 rows of 2)	Werner Stengel
Runaway Mine Train	36 ft (11 m)	1,000 ft (300 m)	22.4 mph (36.0 km/h)	29°	0	1	46 (23 rows of 2)	John Wardley
Spinball Whizzer	56 ft (17 m)	1,476 ft (450 m)	38 mph (61 km/h)	80°	0	8	4 (2 rows of 2, back to back)	John Wardley
The Smiler**	72 ft (22 m)	3,840 ft (1,170 m)	53 mph (85 km/h)	50°	14**	5	16 (4 rows of 4)	John Wardley
Thirteen*	65 ft (20 m)	2,480 ft (760 m)	42 mph (68 km/h)	70°	0	3	20 (10 rows 2)	John Wardley

Key: * = record holder upon opening; ** = current record holder (September 2014)

Flat rides

Name	Picture	Type	Status	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Additional information
Enterprise	120px	Huss Enterprise	Operational	1984	X-Sector	HUSS	A classic Huss enterprise.
Twirling Toadstool	120px	Wave swinger	Operational	2009	Cloud Cuckoo Land	Zierer	A wave swinger for families, featuring a large toadstool.

Water/Dark rides

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Notes
Battle Galleons	120px	Splash Battle	2008	Mutiny Bay	Mack Rides	A Mack Splash Battle ride, allowing riders to shoot at other ride boats and guests on land with mounted water guns.
Congo River Rapids	120px	Rapids ride	1986	Katanga Canyon	Intamin	An Intamin rapids ride around the perimeter of Katanga Canyon, interacting with the Runaway Mine Train throughout its layout. Refurbished 1992.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride		Water dark ride	2006	Cloud Cuckoo Land	Mack Rides	Boat tour and elevator simulator ride emulating Willy Wonka's CHOCOLATE factory. Based on the children's book by Roald Dahl.
Duel - The Haunted House Strikes Back!		Dark ride	1992 (2003)	Gloomy Wood	Mack Rides	A dark ride through a haunted house. Rides are equipped with laser guns to shoot the scenery and gain points.
Hex - The Legend of the Towers	120px	Walk-through/ Madhouse dark ride combination	2000	The Towers	Vekoma	A walkthrough attraction based on the legend of the chained oak. Concludes with a Madhouse attraction in the ride's Vault area.
Nemesis: Sub-Terra		Walkthrough/ Drop tower	2012	Forbidden Valley	ABC Rides	Walkthrough and drop tower combined to make a dark ride experience based on the Nemesis legend. Housed partly underground.
The Flume	120px	Log flume	1981 (2004)	Mutiny Bay	Mack Rides	A log flume based attraction with themed bath boats. Originally held the title of the longest log flume in the world. Rethemed 2004.

Children's rides

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Additional information
Driving School	110px	Driving Attraction	2006	Cloud Cuckoo Land	Peugeot	A children's car driving attraction.
Frog Hopper		Mini drop tower	1999	Cloud Cuckoo Land	Zamperla	A mini drop tower for children.
Galloper's Carousel	110px	Carousel	1991	Cloud Cuckoo Land	Bertazzon	A children's merry-go-round ride.
Heave Ho	110px	Rock 'n' Tug	2008	Mutiny Bay	Zamperla	A rocking and swinging boat ride.
Marauder's Mayhem	110px	Tea Cups Ride	1986	Mutiny Bay	Mack Rides	A tea cups ride re-themed to resemble barrels of gunpowder. Rethemed in 2008.
In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride		Boat ride	2014	CBeebies Land	Mack Rides	Boat ride taking in sights of In The Night Garden. Rethemed Riverbank Eye Spy.
Get Set Go TreeTop Adventure		powered monorail ride	2014	CBeebies Land	Premier Rides	Riders travel through the tree tops in their own vehicle above CBeebies Land.
Postman Pat's Parcel Post		Convoy Ride	2014	CBeebies Land	MSI	An interactive car ride based on the CBeebies programme Postman Pat.
Numtums Number Go-Around		Carousel style attraction	2014	CBeebies Land		A carousel style attraction featuring the Numtums.
Charlie & Lola's Moonsquirters & Greendrops		Walkthrough	2014	CBeebies Land	Merlin Ent. Studios	An indoor interactive attraction based on the CBeebies programme Charlie and Lola.
Justin's House: Pie-O-Matic Factory		Playhouse	2014	CBeebies Land	Merlin Ent. Studios	An interactive indoor play area based on the CBeebies programme Justin's House.
Nina's Science Lab		Activity Centre	2014	CBeebies Land	Merlin Ent. Studios	An indoor educational science attraction based on the CBeebies programme Nina and the Neurons.
Mr Bloom's Allotment		Gardening Area	2014	CBeebies Land	Merlin Ent. Studios	An indoor show and attraction based on the CBeebies programme Mr Bloom's Nursery.
Something Special Sensory Garden		Senses Trail	2014	CBeebies Land	Merlin Ent. Studios	An outdoor sensory garden based on the CBeebies programme Something Special.
Tree Fu Tom Training Camp		Play Area	2014	CBeebies Land	Merlin Ent. Studios	An outdoor play area based on the CBeebies programme Tree Fu Tom.
Wobble World		Play area	1993	Cloud Cuckoo Land	Tussauds	An indoor bouncy castle play area, refurbished 2009.

Other attractions

Name	Picture	Type	Opened	Area	Manufacturer	Notes
Ice Age: The 4D Experience	110px	4D Cinema	2012	Cloud Cuckoo Land	SimEx/IWerks	4D Cinema licensed by 20th Century Fox, located in Cloud Cuckoo Land Theatre.
Haunted Hollow	110px	Walkthrough	2007	Gloomy Wood	Tussauds Studios	Themed walk way from Gloomy Wood to Mutiny Bay
Monorail		Monorail	1987	Theme Park Entrance Plaza, Resort Hotels	Von Roll Habegger	Monorail system to transport guests from the resort hotels & car parks to the theme park entrance. Trains refurbished in 2008 by AV and multimedia company, Sarner, with different themes added for each of the 8 trains, including the jellybean and daisy designs. Trains were originally used at Expo 86 in Vancouver, Canada.
Sharkbait Reef		Sea Life Centre	2009	Mutiny Bay	Merlin Entertainments Studios	Large aquarium themed to a shipwreck that follows a similar layout to the Chessington Sea Life Centre which opened a year before at Chessington World of Adventures's Zoo
Sky Ride	110px	Cable car	1987	Towers Street, Forbidden Valley, Cloud Cuckoo Land	Poma	Cable car used to transport guests around the theme park giving views of the gardens. Was damaged by fire in 2007; refurbished in 2009; damaged again by fire 21 July 2009; Rebuilt for the 2010 season.
The Gardens	110px	Garden	1860	The Towers		Large Garden located within the valley with structures located around.

Past rides

Past roller coasters

Attraction	Opened	Closed
Corkscrew	1980	2008
Black Hole	1983	2005
Thunder Looper	1990	1996
The Beast	1988	1997
The Beastie	1983	2010 (SBNO until 2011)
Alton Mouse	1988	1991
4 Man Bob Coaster	1985	1991
Mini Apple Coaster	1982	1997

Main Past Attractions

Attraction	Opened	Closed
Around The World in 80 Days	1981	1993
Doom & Sons	1981	1991
Toyland Tours	1994	2005
The Haunted House	1992	2002 Now Duel
Submission	2001	2013
Dynamo	1993	2003
Aquarium	1974	1994
Boneshaker Formerly Energizer	1995	2003, SBNO until 2004
Ripsaw	1997	2015

Other notable past rides

3

Alton Towers Theme Park

The Alton Towers Theme Park is divided into ten themed areas: Towers Street, Mutiny Bay, Katanga Canyon, Gloomy Wood, Forbidden Valley, Dark Forest, Cloud Cuckoo Land, X-Sector, Adventure Land and CBeebies Land. The theme park is also home to the historic Towers and Gardens. The SkyRide cable car system travels between Towers Street, Forbidden Valley and Cloud Cuckoo Land and takes in views of the gardens.

The park's maximum daily capacity is set at 28,000 guests. In 2014, the park attracted 2,900,000 people, following the opening of the new CBeebies Land, as well as The Smiler rollercoaster the year before.

Timeline of park areas

1980	1981	1984	1986	1990	1992	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2008	2009	2010	2014
Ingestre Centre		Aqualand			Katanga Canyon
					Merrie England							Mutiny Bay
Springfield Centre		Fantasy World								X-Sector
Talbot Centre		Festival Park									UG Land			Dark Forest
	Talbot Street				Land of Make Believe				Cred Street				Cloud Cuckoo Land
			Towers Street
			Kiddies Kingdom					Adventure Land
								Storybook Land							CBeebies Land
				Britannia Farm	Safeway Farm		Old MacDonalds Farmyard
				Thunder Valley		Forbidden Valley
					Gloomy Wood

Gallery

• Alton Towers 01.jpg

  Towers Street
  View of The Towers

• MutinyBay2015.JPG

  Mutiny Bay

• Katanga Canyon at Alton Towers.jpg

  Katanga Canyon

• 

  Gloomy Wood
  Exterior of Duel

• Alton Towers Dark Forest entrance.jpg

  Dark Forest

• Cloud Cuckoo Land, Alton Towers - geograph.org.uk - 1464494.jpg

  Cloud Cuckoo Land
  Galloper's Carousel and Twirling Toadstool

• Nemesis at Alton Towers 162 (4756073039).jpg

  Forbidden Valley
  Nemesis theming

• X-Sector, Alton Towers - geograph.org.uk - 1464822.jpg

  X-Sector
  Enterprise and Oblivion

• Alton Towers Sonic Spinball cloeseup.jpg

  Adventure Land
  Sonic Spinball roller-coaster

Towers Street

Opened in 1986, Towers Street is the first area that visitors to the park encounter. Themed loosely as a town street, it leads to views of the gardens and the Towers across the lake in the distance. Along the pathway are the park's jumping frog fountains and a lawn where seasonal events take place. The first SkyRide station is located nearby, which is a 1048 m long cable car transport that opened 1987, and was refurbished 2009. The monorail moves guests from the three on-site hotels and the water park to the theme park; it opened 1987 and was refurbished in 2008. In this area during the hour before the park's daily closure, departing guests are entertained by three people wearing police costumes, two of them riding Segway-like vehicles which play party music and the third standing with an old-fashioned megaphone that is unused, and a man riding a miniature ship while dressed as a sea captain.

Katanga Canyon

Themed as an African village; created in 1992 and incorporated existing rapids ride. Rides include the roller coaster Runaway Mine Train and Congo River Rapids. Both are well-established rides in the park whose ride tracks share a tunnel. Congo River Rapids is a river rapids ride that opened 1986, as The Grand Canyon Rapids, and was refurbished in 1992. A 735 m long wild river rapids ride down the Congo River that lasts six minutes. Despite the gentle nature of this ride in comparison to a log flume, riders still may receive a soaking since other guests are offered the use of pressurised water jets aimed at the ride at the price of £1.00 for three shots. Runaway Mine Train is a steel sit down powered coaster that reaches a speed of 22 mph (36 km) on a 1000 ft long track (305 m) and height of 36 ft (11 m); height limit 90 cm. Opened in 1992 by Mack Rides, it was designed by John Wardley.

Gloomy Wood

Gloomy Wood is a small, haunted house themed area containing the ride Duel - The Haunted House Strikes Back!. The ride was originally a standard ghost train ride named The Haunted House from 1992–2002. However, the ride was upgraded in 2003 with laser-based plastic guns fitted to shoot LED lights scattered around the ride in order to deactivate scares. Each player's shooting score is recorded a digital display in the ride car to encourage competitive play.

In 2007, a path cutting through the woods was added to Gloomy Wood, named Haunted Hollow. The pathway follows part of the route formerly used by the old scenic railway, linking from Mutiny Bay to Gloomy Wood. Haunted Hollow includes tombstones, statues and other features, some of which interact with guests using sound effects.

In July 2015, Nitrogenie opened and replaced the old Waffles and Ices. It is a new way of making ice cream using liquid nitrogen. It is located outside the entrance to Duel.

Forbidden Valley

File:Alton Towers Forbidden Valley ride signs.jpg

Theming and signs in Forbidden Valley

Forbidden Valley is set in a frightening post-apocalyptic landscape, with large rocks and rusty pieces of metal and machinery scattering the area with waterfalls coloured red to look like blood. A SkyRide station also serves this area of the park, and there is The Edge: Video Arcade.

One of the major rides is Nemesis; designed by John Wardley and opened in 1994. Nemesis is a steel inverted coaster that reaches a speed of 50 mph (81 km) with four inversions (corkscrew, zero g-roll, loop, barrel roll). Nemesis is regarded as one of the most well-designed roller coasters in the world in roller coaster polls. It features an ancient, malevolent, alien creature which is now incorporated into the new ride: Nemesis: Sub-Terra – an indoor drop tower that opened 2012.

Also in the area, and continuing the apocalyptic theme, are the Ripsaw and The Blade thrill rides. Ripsaw is a Huss Top Spin ride with a water element which opened in 1997, resembling a piece of shrapnel supposedly thrown from the alien creature's pit. The Blade is an older Huss Pirate Boat featuring a pendulum blade. It opened in 1980, and was relocated to the area in 1997 from Fantasy World.

At the end of the valley is an "oasis", with calmer colours and plants, where the steel flying coaster Air, the world's first B&M flying coaster, can be found. Also designed by John Wardley, it has two inversions (fly to lie and in line twist). Opened in 2002, it was originally sponsored by Cadbury's Heroes, until 2007 when the 5 year sponsorship deal ended. Air is the only ride in the Forbidden Valley which does not follow the post-apocalyptic theme. Air was re-themed as Galactica in 2016, and the surrounding oasis and station building has adopted a space launch theme alongside the ride. In its early years, to create an immersive experience for riders, those who chose to go on the ride had the option to wear a Virtual Reality headset which gave the illusion of riders travelling though space by displaying a virtual environment in the headsets which was perfectly synced to the existing movements of the ride as it completed its course. This has since been removed from the ride altogether.

Since 2016, the area has hosted the 'Rollercoaster Restaurant', a dining outlet where guests have their food delivered by rollercoaster track. The restaurant opened on May 13, and operates daily from 10am - 10pm.

Adventure Land

Adventure Land is a small area consisting of 1, family rides. Spinball Whizzer opened in 2004. From 2010 to 2015, it was based on the hit Sega video game franchise Sonic the Hedgehog and named Sonic Spinball until the contract with SEGA expired. The ride is a Maurer Söhne spinning roller coaster, in which riders sit in carts that can spin on their base whilst travelling at speed around the track.

X-Sector

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View of Oblivion

X-Sector is themed as a sinister government experiment facility, which is controlled by the "Ministry Of Joy". The area has an Orwellian undertone and features elements of psychosis.

The area contains three thrill rides, two of which hold world records. The steel sit down dive coaster Oblivion, opened in 1998 as the world's first roller coaster with a vertical (88.8°) drop. The extra-wide cars are held suspended over the vertical edge for three seconds before plunging into darkness, playing on the fear of being forgotten. It was designed by John Wardley, as was the second roller coaster in the area, The Smiler. The Smiler is a Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster which opened in May 2013 and holds the world record for most inversions on a roller coaster (14 inversions). On 2 June 2015, The Smiler gained notoriety when it was involved in a major accident in which two young women had to have a leg amputated. It reopened for the 2016 season and has operated without issue since. Enterprise is a standard HUSS Enterprise model which opened in 1984, spinning riders 360 degrees and giving the illusion of defying gravity.

Previous rides in X-Sector include The Black Hole, which was a Jet Star 2 coaster enclosed in a tent and was replaced by The Smiler. Energizer (also known as Boneshaker) was a swinging gondola flat ride and was replaced by Submission, a Chance Double Inverter which was subsequently dismantled in early 2014.

Mutiny Bay

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Mutiny Bay's pirates

Mutiny Bay is a pirate-themed land, which re-themed Merrie England in 2008, is aimed at families. Live shows and entertainment include the live shows The Pirates of Mutiny Bay: The Kidnap of Lady Victoria Sponge, introduced in 2013. There are pirate walkabout characters in the area, Finn's Pirate Training Camp, and Meet and Greets with Finn the Shark.

Attractions in Mutiny Bay include: Battle Galleons, a large interactive "Splash Battle" water ride where guests sit in pirate boats that travel through a water channel, while soaking other riders with water cannons, which replaced the Splash Karts. Also in the area is the rocking boat ride, Heave Ho. The teacups ride was re-themed to become Marauders Mayhem, where rotating gunbarrels replaced the tea cups. Slightly outside the area is The Flume Unplugged ride, an updated log flume with boats themed as bath tubs and many rubber ducks quacking around the station area. The Flume opened in 2004 after being re-themed from a traditional log flume ride and at one point was the longest flume ride in the world at 886 m.

In 2009, a new Sea Life Centre, Sharkbait Reef, opened in the location previously home to the 3-D Cinema. This includes designated "touch pools" for interacting with underwater species and a 10-metre ocean tunnel. The attraction is one of the most heavily themed Sea Life Centres to open worldwide. In April 2010, a live webcam was installed to allow internet users to watch one of the tanks, which can be accessed via the official website.

Cloud Cuckoo Land

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Driving School attraction in Cloud Cuckoo Land

Cloud Cuckoo Land is aimed at the younger audience of Alton Towers, and is themed with bright colours incorporating oversized flowers and toadstools, as if in a fantasy garden. There are shows at the theatre, and as of 2012 the Cloud Cuckoo Land Theatre is the home of Ice Age: The 4-D Experience. A SkyRide station is located nearby, which was refurbished for the 2010 season.

Among the attractions are an indoor bouncy castle play area called Wobble World, and a Wave Swinger ride called the Twirling Toadstool originally located in UG Land. There are other rides in the area especially suited for younger children such as Frog Hopper and Galloper's Carousel. The Alton Towers Driving School gives children the opportunity to ride their own miniature electric cars around a British style road network. There is also Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride, based on the Roald Dahl novel. The dark boat ride opened in 2006, and is an 11-minute fantasy journey that replaced Toyland Tours, which in turn replaced the original boat ride Around the World in Eighty Days.

Dark Forest

The Dark Forest opened in March 2010; replacing UG Land which opened in 1999. Dark Forest is themed as a supernatural area of woodland that has been disturbed by recent excavation of an ancient burial ground. Among the three main attractions are Crypt Games. The new ride for 2010 was unveiled as TH13TEEN, a steel sit down partly indoor coaster themed as a haunted crypt. It features the world's first freefall drop on a roller coaster, and a drop into total darkness. The ride replaced the Corkscrew; the park's original roller coaster. Along with Thirteen's opening, the surrounding land was rethemed into the Dark Forest with refurbished outlets and game stalls to fit the theme. Rita, an existing roller coaster, was also altered, with new station and train designs to look 'engulfed' by the supernatural forest. Rita is a hydraulically launched steel sit-down coaster that reaches a top speed of 62 mph (100 km).

CBeebies Land

Main article: CBeebies: CBeebies Land

CBeebies Land is based on the BBC children's TV channel: CBeebies. The area is the newest addition to the Theme Park and opened on 24 May 2014. The area includes rides, shows and interactive experiences based on programmes from CBeebies, including In the Night Garden and Postman Pat. Attractions in the area are: In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride, Postman Pat's Parcel Post, Get Set Go Treetop Adventure, Something Special Sensory Garden, Nina's Science Lab, Numtums Number Go-Around, Charlie & Lola's Moonsquirters and Greendrops, Justin's House: Pie-O-Matic Factory, Mr Bloom's Allotment and Tree Fu Tom Training Camp. Shows at the Big Fun Show Time stage include: Mike the Knight, The ZingZillas and Nina and the Neurons. Octonauts Roller Coaster Adventure opened in 2015 and is now the park's children's roller coaster after the departure of The Beastie.

The Towers and Gardens

Main article: History of Alton Towers § Stately home and gardens

The Towers

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Main historic house

The Towers are the ruins of Alton Towers stately home and are the source of the park's name. They belonged to the Talbot family as a stately home until 1924 and largely designed by Augustus Pugin, also noted for his work on the Palace of Westminster. The Towers are now in a state of disrepair following decades of neglect. The ruins are open to the public during most of the open season. However, some areas are closed off as part of a £1.1 million project in place to restore the oldest parts of the Towers. Key areas of The Towers include the banqueting hall, the chapel, conservatories, and Her Ladyship's Gardens.

Hex – The Legend of the Towers, a walk-through dark ride based within the ruins themselves, opened in 2000. The finale to the ride is a Vekoma Madhouse located away from the real Towers but themed as a secret vault. The storyline is based on a local legend about the chained oak tree, located in a nearby forest, and makes use of the history of the Towers. It draws its theme from the legend of the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury who was said to be cursed by a beggar woman to suffer death every time a branch falls from an old oak tree.

During the park's Halloween 'Scarefest' event a temporary scare maze, Terror of the Towers, operates within The Towers and has done yearly since 2002. It takes guests through a tour of the ruins and uses live actors, lighting, mist and sound effects to add atmosphere. The attraction won the 2009 London Screamie Awards for 'Best Seasonal Attraction/Maze'.

The Gardens

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Gardens created by the eccentric 15th Earl of Shrewsbury

As an example of the mixed style of Humphry Repton's gardens, Alton Towers' garden was begun, circa 1814 by the eccentric 15th Earl of Shrewsbury, of whom J. C. Loudon (who was consulted on design features of which there were many) relates that he consulted every artist, only to avoid 'whatever an artist might recommend'.

Alton Towers grew into a collection of gardens: a Swiss Cottage, a Stonehenge, a Dutch garden, a Pagoda Fountain, said to be based on the To Ho pagoda in Canton, Lysicrates' Choragic Monument from Athens (a feature in English gardens since the 1760s), domed glasshouses (originally gilded), even a fairly large Matterhorn as a backing to one of England's earliest Alpine gardens. Near the garden entrance is a cenotaph to the 15th Earl, a marble bust with an inscription reading "He made the desert smile". Landmarks include a Chinese Pagoda Fountain, The Swiss Cottage, Miniature 'Stonehenge', a Greek Choragic Monument, and orangeries. In 2015, Alton Towers is due to restore the Gothic Prospect Tower located near the Forbidden Valley SkyRide Station.

Alton Towers Waterpark

Main article: Alton Towers Waterpark

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Alton Towers Waterpark

The Alton Towers Waterpark, formerly known as Cariba Creek, opened alongside the Splash Landings Hotel in 2003. It is a large, part indoor and part outdoor waterpark themed as a tropical Caribbean lagoon. The waterpark features several fast slides, a lazy river, a giant tipping bucket and many other water features. Also located here is The Original Sandwich Co. & Ice Cream Parlor, which was previously themed as a shipwreck until 2007 when it was extended. Unlike Chessington Zoo at the also Merlin operated Chessington World of Adventures Resort, a separate ticket is needed for Waterpark access as it is not included with the theme park entrance price.

Attractions include Lagoona Bay, which is the main tropical pool, with water cannons, geysers and waterfalls. The Little Leak is a paddling pool for young children with two small slides and interactive pipes to play with, while Wacky Waterworks Treehouse is a wooden 'treehouse' with water cannons, and other interactive features to squirt passing people with.

The largest ride in the area is the water coaster The Master Blaster, with uphill sections similar to the Master Blaster at Sandcastle Water Park, Blackpool and Nucleus at Water World, Stoke-on-Trent. The Master Blaster is a high speed water flume that contains sharp turns, drops and dark sections, and has a view of the entire waterpark.

Other rides include Rush & Rampage, twin racing slides where riders experience wide turns. This attraction requires rubber rings. Lazy River (Calypso Creek) is a slow-moving water circuit, taking riders underneath spraying water jets and tipping buckets of water. Rubber rings are available. The Tipping Bucketis a very large container is filled with 1000 litres of water and then intermittingly tips its contents over people standing below. Flash Floods is tiered outdoor pools with two slides leading to the middle pool and three leading to the bottom. Other swimming pools include Volcanic Springs, and indoor heated hot pool, and Bubbly Wubbly Pool, an outdoor heated pool & whirlpool.

Resort accommodation

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The fountain at the entrance to Alton Towers Hotel

Alton Towers Hotel

The Alton Towers Hotel opened on 10 April 1996 and is themed to the eccentric fictional character Sir Algenon Alton and his travels. The rooms are decorated in a quirky English style with pictures of Sir Algenon's inventions. The hotel is four star and has 180 rooms. The hotel was the first phase in a plan to turn the theme park into a multi-day resort.

The Alton Towers Hotel is currently undergoing a phased refurbishment to theme each floor to a different setting. So far, the plan has produced the Moon Voyage Bedrooms.

Splash Landings Hotel

The Splash Landings Hotel is the newer of the two hotels, opening in 2003. The hotel has a relaxed Caribbean theme and is attached to the Alton Towers Waterpark. It is also four star and it has 216 rooms with a choice of six room types, Family of 4 'Beachcomber' room, Family of 6 'Beachcomber' room, The Ice Age Suites, The Pirate Suites, Interconnected Family of 4 'Beachcomber' room and, Interconnected Family of 3 'Beachcomber' Room. The interconnected rooms are all on the ground floor and the family of 3 rooms are also disabled accessible. The rooms are numbered in the ranges of 1101 to 1159, 1201 to 1259, 1301 to 1359 and, 1401 to 1459, there are a few room numbers that are not used due to the shape of the hotel, these are 27, 29, 31, 33 and 35 on each floor

Enchanted Village

The Enchanted Village is made up of 120 lodges and 5 secluded treehouses set in the fictional Enchanted Forest woodland. Situated next to the Alton Towers hotel, it features new recreational activities, such as various playgrounds for children and an archery range, which is available to use at no extra cost. The site is also home to "The Crooked Spoon" restaurant, and also an additional shop which sells alcohol and outdoor activity toys.

The Enchanted Village opened to the public on 18 April 2015.

Recreation

Alton Towers Spa

Alton Towers Spa is part of the Alton Towers Hotel and opened in 2004. It includes relaxation and treatment rooms and an adults only swimming pool.

Extraordinary Golf

Opened in 2007, the Extraordinary Golf mini-golf attraction is themed to different rides and attractions at the park, some of which, are from the park's history. Extraordinary Golf is located to the west of the Splash Landings Hotel.

Enchanted Forest Treetop Quest

Opened May 2015, the Enchanted Forest Treetop Quest is a high ropes course near the Enchanted Village. The attraction opened shortly after, and accompanies the Enchanted Village development.

Future developments

In July 2009, the Alton Towers Resort outlined a 10-year development plan for the park (2010–2019), the aim being to increase visitor numbers, in particular multi-day guests. The plan showed an option for a third hotel or new accommodation of some sort over the coming years. This was later revealed to be a log cabin development, The Enchanted Village. The plan also highlighted areas for development, as well as suggesting the possibility of a new park entrance nearer to the hotels, which could act as a second entrance or replacement to the existing one in Towers Street.

In April 2015, the Alton Towers Resort submitted an application for a new restaurant in the Forbidden Valley area of the park. The proposed catering location will be similar to the FoodLoop restaurant at Germany's Europa-Park The new restaurant will be located in an extension to the Air Shop building.

In July 2015, Alton Towers submitted plans for further improvements to Air. This included the construction of walls around the ride's station, pre-show areas, a new on-ride photo shop and 2 new themeing elements. in January 2016, Alton Towers confirmed Air would become 'Galactica', the world's first roller coaster dedicated to virtual reality.

In August 2015, Alton Towers submitted a planning application for the constriction of a third hotel next to the Alton Towers Spa. Although the plans were an altered version of the originally submitted extension to the Alton Towers Hotel, the plans indicated that the development was an entirely separate hotel. The plans showed four floors, including a new restaurant, bar, entertainment area, and sunken garden landscaping.

For the 2016 season, Alton Towers announced a reduced operating calendar. On some weeks during term time, the park closes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, the fireworks event now takes place over two days, instead of three.

Secret Weapon developments

Alton Towers has a line of 'Secret Weapon' rides, these rides are code named with "SW" (followed by a number) before their name is officially announced.

The convention was briefly dropped while the park (and its parent Tussaud's Group) was owned by Dubai International Capital, before being reinstated on its incorporation to the Merlin group. As the only major coaster built in this era, 2005's Rita is not included in the Secret Weapon series.

The Secret Weapon rides are:

Code Name	Ride
SW1 & SW2	SW1 was a pipeline roller coaster roller coaster intended to be located on the Nemesis site and was originally going to be themed around a secret military facility. John Wardley rode the prototype of SW1 but stated "it was very slow and rather boring". And that it was very energy inefficient which meant that for a given lift height it couldn't go very far and due to height restrictions for roller coasters in the park the project was scrapped. The project was then revived as SW2, and to fix the problem of the lift height they decided to dig into the ground to create a canyon for the roller coaster to be built in. But Arrow Dynamics were having problems with the prototype, and Wardley decided that it was still too slow and boring, so it was scrapped and development on SW3 (Nemesis) was started.
SW3	Nemesis
SW4	Oblivion
SW5	Air
SW6	TH13TEEN
SW7	The Smiler

Incidents

Main article: Incidents_at_European_amusement_parks § Alton_Towers

Conservation Area restrictions

Alton Towers is set in a Conservation Area, which puts a restriction on the height of any ride or building development in the park. It has been agreed with the local council that no buildings should be built above the tree line and if so should be disguised to fit the landscape; this can be seen on the ride Rita, where part of the track is camouflaged to fit in with the trees.

Noise pollution is also a problem for the park due to the close proximity to the villages of Alton and Farley and the town of Cheadle. There have been several cases where Alton Towers have been taken to court over the noise levels emitted from the park and have been served noise abatement orders in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Court cases

On 3 May 2012, a couple from the local village of Farley won the rights to a full High Court trial on the amount of noise generated by the park. The couple have been in a legal battle with the park for nearly a decade, and, during this period, succeeded in a noise abatement order on the theme park, which led to the audio from the top of the Oblivion drop being removed, and Alton Towers having to limit the amount of annual fireworks displays to only three a year.

Stephan and Suzanne Roper, who live only 100 yards from the park, said that their lives have been made a misery by the noise of the screams as well as fireworks displays and music. They launched their legal fight in 2002, but, after years of wrangling, their claim for an injunction and damages was thrown out in January 2011. Judge Mr Justice Hickinbottom later overturned that decision, bringing the claim back. This has paved the way for a full court hearing. The Ropers have sought an injunction forcing the park owners to close or relocate some rides and an order forcing them to pay damages for noise suffered from 1998 to the present.

Gallery

Main gallery: Alton Towers Resort at WikiCommons

See also

• List of theme parks in the United Kingdom
• Merlin Entertainments (Alton Towers parent company)
• Incidents at European amusement parks
• History of Alton Towers

External links

• Official website
• Lost Heritage: full architectural history of the house
• 1930 film of Alton Towers
• Heraldry at Alton Towers
• Alton Towers: Before it was Famous (on themagiceye at Joyland)