Oblivion, Submission and a dose of Air - Alton Towers

[Guest]

Oblivion, Submission and a dose of Air
Our bank (Barclays Premier Account) very kindly sent us four complimentary admissions to Alton Towers in Staffordshire. There would be 6 of us – myself, partner Darrin, SIL (Claire) and BIL (Craig), and the nephews Eliot (12) and Ethan (10). The latter is a total speed freak (we haven’t found a ride yet that phazes him). So we had to buy one adult ticket (for the 12 year old) and a child for the younger. You can’t use 2 for 1 offer coupons online. If you book online you save half what you would pay at the gate and you get early entry. So 6 of us in for less than £40.
I reminisce. When I was a kid you went to Alton Towers for the gardens. At least my Mum & Dad did. There was a carousel , the cable car and a Swan Boat ride and that was it! Apart from a Walls’ ice cream there was nothing to make your pulse beat faster!
We drove up the day before and booked 2 nights at the Alton Brook House in Combridge – only 2.6 miles from the theme park. What a delightful setting. Surrounded by Staffordshire countryside this B&B farmstead is run by Lisa and Cor and there were dogs, ducks, geese, horses (Ethan adores animals) and across the road were two ostrich!

We arrived mid - afternoon and were welcomed with a giant pot of tea and a Victoria sponge. How civilised!

Time to crash and shower and rest. The rooms were delightful. We’d booked a double for myself and Darrin and a family room (sleeps 4). Our room was just a little tiny (nothing we couldn’t cope with) but the in laws and nephews had a lovely big room:

We’d booked a reservation for a meal at the Dapple Grey in Uttoxeter. It was a beautiful warm summer night and the place was busy with folk enjoying the end of the day with a cool drink. The food was pub fare but excellent never the less. And they were doing 2 for 1 so the cheaper meal was free!The pork steak I had was tender and juicy. Others chose filet steak, chicken, salmon, scallops…………. I must praise the local taxi company too. Prompt, efficient and good value – and nice friendly drivers. And so we retire to bed, tired and full.
Friday dawns and whilst the temperature has come down a notch or two we still have blue skies. As I mentioned the drive is minutes and it’s not long before we’ve parked and are on the little monorail towards the entrance. I should mention ordinary parking is £6 and VIP parking is an eye watering £16. They have a section of the “Corkscrew” coaster by the gates. That was the first double inversion coaster ever in the UK opening in the ‘80s. When it first opened lines were often a 5 to 6 hour wait. It was replaced in 2008 with the ride “Thirteen”. Nice that they kept a bit of bit of it!
We have early entry (9a.m.) so have an hour to hit the rides before the masses arrive. We head for Oblivion. Now maybe I need to be more impressed because this ride does not scare me one bit. You are taken to 100 feet in the air and then held for a few seconds whilst you gaze down into a smoking vertical hole. Then you drop straight down. Some riders go hysterical but I just see it as a fast ride.

The boys then want to ride “Thirteen” because Darrin and I have experienced it and know it will be their thing. It starts out with a warning: If you go down to the woods today, you’d better not go alone….). The coaster sets off into the woods and does what coasters do. It’s when you enter the building that you get the twist. I won’t spoil it for people but think Expedition Everest meets Tower of Terror ! Ethan was well impressed declaring it cool!

Needless to say, that shot is not taken at the fright moment.
Rita was down for maintenance. They said they were waiting for a part. Guess they must have ordered it on Ebay!
Time for Nemesis. To save feet I recommend we catch the Skyride. This cable car takes you right across the valley and past the pagoda and gardens below. Nemesis was installed back in 1994 and it is an old bone shaker but still a thrilling ride. The river no longer runs with blood red water like it used to though!


A ride on Blade follows (think Pirate boat swing). We head for Air. This is my favourite ride. You pull the restraint down over you but the chest area is padded. Padded restraints close around your ankles. What’s going on? As the ride starts the whole seating swings back 45 degrees and you are hanging facing the ground. When it takes off you can believe you are flying a la Superman. At one point it inverts and you are flying facing the sky.

I play a joke on the staff. As the ride ends and before you are turned back to a sitting position the ride sails into the loading area. I hang life less – head down and limbs dangling. One of the female attendants asks Darrin if I’m OK. Imagine her face when I perked up with a great big grin on my face! Naughty – yes! And I got told off by my partner.

Time for lunch. We head to the Mexican Cantina (sponsored by Old El Paso). A nice change from the ubiquitous burgers and hot dogs.
A little history of Alton Towers follows whilst I eat my chilli wrap and spiced potato wedges. If you don’t want to read skip all the red words:

An Iron Age fort was built on Bunbury Hill (c.1st-century BC) which is now occupied by the Alton Towers estate. In about 700 AD, the Saxon king Ceolred of Mercia built a fortress on the hill. But King Ine of Wessex besieged the site in 716 AD. The ensuing battle, which ended in stalemate, caused such a loss of life the place was called Slain Hollow (which later became the estate's oriental water garden).[6]
In the 11th century, the site was refortified when a castle was built soon after the Norman Conquest. By the 12th century, the estate had been given to knight Bertam de Verdun, as a reward for his work in the Crusades. In 1318, the estate passed by marriage to Thomas de Furnival when he married Joan de Verdun. Furnival later died crusading in the Holy Land in 1348. In 1406 Sir John Talbot acquired the estate when he married Maud, the eldest daughter of Thomas de Furnivall, 3rd Baron Furnivall. Talbot became the second created Earl of Shrewsbury in 1442 after the title was forfeited by the third earl of the first creation in 1102. The Norman castle was destroyed during the English Civil War.
In the 17th century the former castle was redeveloped as a hunting lodge known as Alveton Lodge (or Alverton), which is the ancient name for Alton. The three-storey structure reused one of the castle's former towers which remains part of the present-day building. The lodge was split into two properties, one of which was rented by a tenant. The other half was used by the Talbots as a summer residence, their main residence being at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire.
In 1811, Charles Talbot, the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury, began redeveloping the hunting lodge into a Gothic-style stately home. Over the next ten years, architects such as Thomas Allason, William Hollins and Thomas Hopper oversaw renovating the building. Work included the addition of a drawing room, dining room, chapel, library, long gallery, banqueting hall, conservatory and entrance hall. As a result the building was doubled in size. It also included the laying of the foundations for the Flag Tower. The house was renamed Alton Abbey, despite having no particular religious connection.
During the 1890s, the 20th Earl, Charles Talbot started the tradition of summer fetes at Alton. As well as the Gardens, people were attracted with fireworks displays, balloon festivals, clowns, and exhibitions of instruments of torture. In 1896, the earl and countess separated. The earl went to live at Ingestre, where he founded the Talbot Car Company in the 20th century, and the countess stayed at Alton. However, due to the marital situation, the house began to decay and the grounds became neglected because the earl did not pay much for their up keep. In November 1918, the Earl decided due his absence to sell off the majority of the estate by auction. The countess continued to live on the estate for another two years after the earl died in 1921.
During the 1960s and 1970s the grounds were reopened as a visitor attraction. There was a boating lake, chairlift and a small fair behind the ruins of the main house. Concrete floors were installed in Alton Towers house so that it could be opened to the public. The building was listed as Grade II.
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.
Alton Towers began its evolution into a major theme park in 1980 with the installation of The Corkscrew rollercoaster, Pirate Ship and the Alpine Bob sled ride. A year later the Log Flume opened and in 1984 the park's second roller-coaster, The Black Hole, arrived. Throughout the next decade, more attractions, areas and rides were added to Alton Towers. Some of the work was undertaken by award-winning British ride designer, John Wardley.
In 1990, the park was purchased by The Tussauds Group from John Broome. Fifteen years later Alton Towers was acquired by the investment group Dubai International Capital (DIC) when it purchased Tussauds for £800million in 2005.[8] The Tussauds Group was bought by Merlin Entertainments in March 2007 for over £1billion from DIC, placing Alton Towers under their control.[9] 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.


OK – so now I’ve bored you, time for more fun.
So no violent rides whilst lunch goes down. We head into Cloud Cuckoo Land. The Flying Chairs (made to look like a huge mushroom) then the 4D experience of Ice Age. Now, whilst it does use excerpts you have seen in the film such as Sid with the dinosaur eggs, it’s very cleverly done. Think snow on Main Street but with wind! There are also some very good special effects around you which I won’t ruin.
Me with Sid and a group photo with the Ice Age characters:






A trip around Willy Wonka’s (Charlie and the chocolate factory) follows and whilst the chocolate river boat ride is a bit tame, the Great Glass Elevator is really cleverly done.
OK – so time for Rita. If you want to experience this – go here:

When it takes off you experience 4.7 G force. An amazing experience.
Time to do final rides. The boys want to do Oblivion again but I sit this one out and hold the bags. Then Ethan and Darrin head for Submission. If ever there was a vomit inducing ride, it has to be this one:


And then Craig and Ethan head for Sonic’s Spinball (think Crush’s coaster without the building):

Me and Sonic:

We’ve had a whale of a day. The weather has been great and we’ve done all the major rides. We leave the park around 4p.m. and take the monorail back to the car park. We’re back at Alton Brook within 15 minutes. The village of Alton deserves a mention. Many miss the castle on top of the hill.
Showered and rested, we head out for dinner. This time it’s the Tavern in Denstone. A lovely little place in a neat village:

This appears on trip Advisor with 5 out of 5 and no wonder. The food is exceptional and brilliant value. Surf and turf was my choice (scallops and ribeye) , the boys went for wood fire oven pizzas and Darrin chose pancetta wrapped scallops. We were too full for desserts but opted for coffee. The boys wanted hot chocolate and whilst not on the menu, Chris, the landlord obliged with two. That’s Customer Service! And so we wend our way back to our accommodation to crash out on the bed and watch some of the Olympic opening ceremony. Don’t think it was long before we were all fast asleep.
One thing I must mention is the new system for ride photos. You purchase a USB bracelet which is £10 but includes your first photo. Other photos are £5 each or five for £20 if you prepay. Much easier than dragging prints around with you all day and also any purchases in shops can be sent to the big store by the entrance for you to pick up later. Makes for a much easier day.
We drove home on the Saturday via a shopping trip in Watford. I’m in the tiger store when I hear a shout of my name. I turn to find Gill H and Peter H who themselves are on a retail therapy trip.
We’ve had a brilliant time and today (Sunday) the lads with their parents have headed back to Cornwall. We’ve got some great souvenir photos to remember it all. Merlin Entertainments are certainly improving their parks around the UK – Customer Service has greatly improved. We were well impressed!

[Cutiepie]

Thanks for posting. I've never been to Alton Towers before but might go next year when we are staying close by.

[anniee]

Fab report. I first went with school on the way back from Stratford upon Avon in 1982 or 1983 and then again a couple of years ago. I really missed the gardens when I went back as I don't do big rides. I remember you could go round the world in the gardens.

I did the corkscrew on my first visit and hated it, lol, but really enjoyed Cine 2000, I think it was called.

[Guest]

It's certainly changed since the 1980s!

[Eeyore rocks]

Wow...£6 for parking...daylight robbery.

It looks like you had a brilliant time Geoff.

[Guest]

Enjoyed your report!

We love Alton Towers and are going there three times in the space of three months

Mainly because we got free Alton Towers tickets via the sun promotion.

We will try to go on all the big rides - can we handle it though?

[Gill H]

Thanks for the mention!

Glad you had a good day. I have never been to Alton Towers and as a certified ride wimp I'm not sure I want to - but you never know!

[JamelUK]

You did well to ride Rita Geoff - the winch cable snapped, big style last week...



Yes, people CAN walk underneath that part of the coaster track and yes this DID happen during normal park hours.

They were VERY lucky that there weren't any injuries and it doesnt appear to have done that much damage to the track - only the cable.

Intamin's hydraulic winch coasters have a bad reputation of cable failures - Top Thrill Dragster, Xcelerator, Kindga Ka have all suffered catastrophic cable failures, so its always puzzled me why AT get away with letting people just wander underneath this system, no more than few feet from it.

It's a great ride though, so hope they get it up and running again soon.

[Guest]

That's why that area was screened off and you had to walk all the way around to get to the entrance of the ride. Well spotted James.

[JoJo88]

So glad to have found this mini-trippy, as we are off to Alton Towers for a couple of days next week. Sounds like you had a great time, and lovely pictures. My DS9 is a complete adrenaline junkie, there is nothing in WDW/US that has fazed him yet, so I'm wondering if something at Alton Towers might get the better of him Mind you, he hasn't tried Manta, which I believe is just like Air - so that could be the one

I hope you don't mind me asking you a few questions?

How was the extra hour, were you able to get lots done during that time? We are staying at Splash Landings so will have that extra hour too, but are wondering if we will need to buy Fast Track tickets for the few rides that are not open at that time. Was the park heaving? We are going on Monday, but not going into the park until Tuesday & Wednesday. We were going to do the big rides during the extra hour, aiming to be at the back of the park for when it actually opens, and then work our way forward, is that a good plan?

Sorry for all the questions - I'm seizing the opportunity while it's all still fresh in your mind

Thanks in advance Geoffa!

Jo