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Alton Towers

Coordinates: 52°59′26″N 1°53′33″W / 52.99056°N 1.89250°W / 52.99056; -1.89250
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Alton Towers Theme Park
File:Atlogopng.png
Logo for the 2008 season.
LocationStaffordshire, England
Coordinates52°59′26″N 1°53′33″W / 52.99056°N 1.89250°W / 52.99056; -1.89250
Opened1980
OwnerNick Leslau, leased to Merlin Entertainments
General managerRussel Barnes
Slogan"Find your extraordinary something"
Operating seasonMarch to November
Area500 acres (2 km²)
Attractions
Total33 attractions
Roller coasters8
Water rides4
Websitewww.altontowers.com

Alton Towers is a theme park located in England, attracting 2.5 million visitors in 2005.[1] and 2.4 million in 2007. It is based north of the village of Alton in Staffordshire (approximately 16 miles (26 km) east of Stoke-on-Trent), on the site of a semi-ruined gothic country house of the same name. Also on site are two hotels; The Alton Towers Hotel and Splash Landings Hotel, the latter contains Cariba Creek, an indoor/outdoor waterpark.

Some of the major rides at Alton Towers include:

The park's promotional music is In the Hall of the Mountain King, written by Edvard Greig.

History

File:Alton towers logo 2007.jpg
Logo in 2007.

The estate that was to become Alton Towers was owned by the Earls of Shrewsbury from the 15th century. The house on the estate once known as Alveton Lodge was originally the home of the estate bailiff. In about 1812-1814 the 15th Earl began the creation of extensive gardens and in 1831 the estate became the principal residence of the 16th Earl who completed the gardens and extended and improved the mansion which he renamed Alton Towers.

The estate was sold after the death of the 20th Earl in 1921 to a private company who opened the park to the public as leisure grounds. The house was requisitioned during World War II and the gardens were closed until 1951, by which time the neglected house had begun to deteriorate.

As a theme park

Alton Towers was opened as a theme park in 1980. It was purchased by The Tussauds Group in 1990. In 2005, Alton Towers was bought by the investment group Dubai International Capital (DIC) when it purchased Tussauds for £800million.[2] The Tussauds Group was bought by Merlin Entertainments in March 2007 for over £1billion from DIC, placing Alton Towers under their control.[3] 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 renewable 35-year lease.[citation needed]

The Von Roll monorail transports visitors from the car park to the main entrance.The monorail is from Expo 86 which was held in Vancouver, British Columbia

The Sky Ride was designed by Adam Wells in 1987 and still stands to this day, although the central station in Forbidden Valley was burned on the evening of 28 October, 2007, due to a faulty halogen lamp.[4] The incident caused a power cut, which led to some guests being stranded on the park's monorail. Luckily, this incident was reported quickly by a Towers employee as to not cause as much massive damage, and the park say that the damage caused to the station was mainly cosmetic. The skyride is due to reopen later in the current 2008 season.

Areas

The park is split into many themed areas. The Skyride is a cable car system which visitors can use to travel between Towers Street, Forbidden Valley, and Ug Land.

Towers Street

Towers Street is the first area that visitors to the park encounter. Themed as a town street, it leads to views of the gardens and the Towers ruins and borrows heavily from Main Street, USA in the Walt Disney Theme Parks. The street contains several shops, including the Towers Trading Co., which sells official park merchandise. The first Skyride station is located nearby.

Mutiny Bay

New for 2008, Mutiny Bay, a pirate-themed land, replaced the old Merrie England area on March 15. New attractions to Mutiny Bay include Battle Galleons, a large "Splash Battle" water ride where guests sit in boats which travel along a track, and a rocking boat ride Heave Ho. The old teacups ride was re-themed to become Marauders Mayhem, complete with rotating barrels instead of tea cups. The area also has a new Burger King restaurant and a new live show. Since the opening of the area, many live actors roam around the area dressed as pirates.

Katanga Canyon

Themed as an African village. Rides include the Runaway Mine Train and the Congo River Rapids. Both are well-established rides in the park whose ride tracks share a tunnel. The area has KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants with a shared indoor seating area. There is a shop located at the exits of the two rides called Katanga Cargo, hosting "ancient" tribal themed merchandise.

Gloomy Wood

The Gloomy Wood is a small, ghosts-and-monsters themed area containing the ride Duel: The Haunted House Strikes Back!. The ride was originally a non-interactive ride named The Haunted House, but was upgraded in 2003 with laser-based plastic guns to shoot LED lights scattered around the rooms and monsters, with each player's score displayed on a digital display in the ride car to encourage competitive play. New in 2007 was Haunted Hollow an outdoor walk-through following part of the route taken by the old railway, linking from Mutiny Bay to Gloomy Wood, along the route tombstones and other scary items make noises and special effects are used to great effect.[5]

Forbidden Valley

Nemesis

Themed around a post-apocalyptic landscape, with large rocks and rusty pieces of metal and machinery scattering the area and also waterfalls coloured red to look like blood. One of the major rides is Nemesis, an inverted roller coaster, based around the fictional tale of an ancient malevolent alien creature. Also in the area, and continuing the apocalytic theme, are the Ripsaw and The Blade thrill rides. Ripsaw is the Huss Topspin ride, which opened in 1997. At the end of the valley is an "oasis", with calmer colours and plants, where the ride Air, a Bolliger & Mabillard flying coaster, is located. A Skyride station also services this area of the park.

Ug Land

Ug Land is a prehistoric/neanderthal themed area containing two of the park's major roller coasters. These are Rita - Queen of Speed (notable for its drag racing theme, which clashes with the area's prehistoric theme)[6] and Corkscrew, which opened in 1980, making it the park's first and therefore oldest roller coaster. It also features a Chair-O-Planes ride called Ug Swinger and a Skyride station. There is also a range of food outlets and shops.

Cred Street

Cred Street is aimed at the younger audience of Alton Towers, and is themed with bright colours. There is a selection of bouncy castles and play areas in the Cred Street playground. There are four rides in Cred Street especially suitable for younger children; Frog Hopper, Bouncing Bugs, Cred Street Carousel and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory : The Ride. Added in 2006; (which is suitable for all ages)The Peugeot 207 Driving School, for under 10s, opened to guests on 17 July 2006.[7]. The area is also home to the Cred Street Theatre, which in 2008 plays host to "The Wonders of Algenon's Attic" - an interactive play for children. The play's eponymous hero, Sir Algenon Alton, is also an important figure in the themeing of the resort's Alton Towers Hotel.

X-Sector

Oblivion in X-Sector

Previously called Fantasy World. A futuristic themed area, X-Sector contains the innovative Oblivion ride, a roller coaster in which riders experience an 87 degree drop (the world's first roller coaster to do this). The extra-wide roller coaster cars are held hanging over the edge for 3 seconds before dropping downwards under gravity into a large hole amid mist, and then re-emerging into a heavily banked turn leading back into the station. The area features a KFC and Pizza Hut outlet, and many side stalls. Its many amenities continue the theme, including by name, for example, Xpose Photos (run by Pixsolve), Xcite Arcade (run by HBL) and X-sell Shop. Also in the area are the Enterprise and Submission thrill rides. The Black Hole's currently empty tent is also situated in the area, awaiting future development.

Adventure Land

Adventure Land is aimed at visitors between the ages of 5 and 11, and consists mainly of climbing frames, slides, swings and similar equipment. There are two rides: Beastie, a small roller coaster, and Spinball Whizzer, a Maurer Söhne pinball-themed spinning roller coaster. The area also contains a food outlet.

Old MacDonald's Farmyard

Themed around a traditional farm, this area contains a small petting zoo as well as a few rides for younger visitors, which include Doodle Doo Derby, a farm-themed carousel, and Riverbank Eye Spy, a recently re-themed boat ride. In 2003, the old barn that used to hold the farm animals before the Foot and Mouth crisis of 2001, was converted to a play barn called Berry Bish Bash, that contains thousands of small foam balls that are propelled, raised, thrown, dropped and shot. 2007 introduced a new themed area called There's Something in the Dungheap, an area specially for youngsters, with zip lines, climbing frames and a picnic area.

Other

The gardens

Alton Towers in 1880

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'.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

The Towers

The Towers ruins are from what the park derives its name, and has sometimes featured a spooky maze during the Halloween period. Added for the 2000 season was the ride Hex - The Legend of the Towers within the ruins itself, an indoor haunted swing ride which made use of the history of the Towers. The story for the ride is based on one of Staffordshire’s great legends about a chained oak.

There is currently a £1.1million project in place to restore the oldest parts of the castle. It is currently unknown how the completed renovations will be used.

The Hotels

The resort features two hotels, The Splash Landings Hotel and The Alton Towers Hotel. The Splash Landings Hotel is a combination hotel and waterpark.

Alton Towers Hotel

The Alton Towers Hotel opened in 1996 and is themed to the eccentric fictional character Sir Algernon Alton. The rooms are decorated in a classically English style with pictures of Sir Algernon's inventions including the coasting roller adorning the walls.

The hotel features the Secret Garden restaurant serving a buffet breakfast and an a la carte dinner, there is also the Captain and Dragon bars, the latter having a Chinese theme along with the small event/conference rooms in the hotel. The bars and restaurant surround the "ship" the centrepiece of the hotel featuring a hot air balloon shape and rotating propellers.

The ship is also used as a stage for the evening entertainment. For several years, until March 2008, this featured popular entertainment host, 'Dickie Hart'. However, as part of the drive to promote the resort firmly as a family destination, a show based around the adventures of Sir Algernon along with Pirate Bill's magic show are the current offerings.

Splash Landings Hotel

The Splash Landings Hotel is the newer of the two hotels, opening in 2003, it has a Caribbean theme and the main feature is the Cariba Creek Waterpark. The hotel features Flambo's Exotic Feast a buffet restaurant with a wide selection of food including roast dinner and a chocolate fountain, a buffet breakfast is also served. Above Flambo's Feast is the Ma Garrita's Bar which features evening entertainment including karaoke. Both the bar and restaurant have windows looking out over the indoor waterpark. The hotel rooms are in a wing to the side of the hotel and some rooms have views over the outdoor sections of the waterpark. The hotel also contains two shops, one selling general snacks, sweets and souviners and the other offering swimming costumes and other waterpark related sundries. There is also an arcade near Flambo's restaurant.

Between the hotels sits the Alton Towers Conference Centre, Winner of meeting & Incentive Travel Magazine's Best UK Unusual Venue Award 2007[8]. The Conference Centre opened shortly after the Splash Landings Hotel and is linked to both hotels via a walkway running from the side of the Alton Towers Hotel to the Conference Centre and through the Cariba Creek waterpark to the Splash Landings Hotel.

The Waterpark

Main article: Cariba Creek

An indoor and outdoor waterpark themed as a tropical lagoon is located within The Splash Landings Hotel and is accessible by both members of the hotel and members of the public.[9]

Towel hire is available for £1 and swimming costumes and other items are available from the nearby shop. The waterpark also contains Quencher's snack bar.

Extraordinary Golf

In 2007 Alton Towers opened Extraordinary Golf, 2 nine hole themed crazy golf courses, located near The Splash Landings Hotel. As with Cariba Creek, this facility is aimed at the general public as well as park and hotel guests.[10]

Rides

As well as the rides listed below, the park also contains; numerous arcades, a crazy golf course, a miniature climbing wall, a speedboat race, a hole in one golf challenge, miniature bungee jumps, a picnic area, a petting zoo and the Skyride, as well as a water park and spa located in the hotels.

Magic & fun

Laughs & frights

Thrills

Past rides

Many roller coasters have been replaced since the original opening.

The attraction whose removal caused the biggest controversy was a single-loop roller coaster called Thunder looper, manufactured by Schwarzkopf, which was constructed in 1990 but lasted for only 6 years. It was removed mainly due to the fact that Alton Towers only obtained a temporary planning agreement and later height restrictions placed on the park and problems with the high level of sound the ride produced made it certain permanent planning permission would not be granted.[11] Thunder looper stood in the area Thunder Valley, which is now Forbidden Valley.

The Black Hole featured a spiral lift and was contained entirely within a permanent tent structure that made some sections of the ride completely dark. This ride was closed in March 2005[6] and has been sold to an undisclosed theme park in Brazil. The sale was attributed to rising maintenance costs and new health and safety requirements requiring evacuation stairs on the spiral lift that could not be accommodated within the tent structure. As of April 2008 the tent structure which used to hold The Black Hole is still in place in its original location in the X-Sector area.

In common with most major parks, there was also a miniature railway line. It ran through the forest, and was one of the first attractions built after World War Two. It was a 2-foot (610 mm) gauge line equipped with Baguley locomotives, which although steam-outline in appearance were in fact powered by diesel engines. It closed in 1996, by which time this once-popular ride had been displaced by the Skyride cable-cars. It was gradually removed afterwards, and is now covered in part by the Haunted Hollow walk-through, some remnants of the railway can still be seen at various points in the forest.

List of past rides

Events

Scarefest

The park's most major event ever is the Halloween 'Scarefest'. It runs for several weeks during the Halloween season and features a number of extra attractions across the resort. The park used to hold a fireworks display around the same time, however due to complaints from locals, the event was replaced with a laser light show.

Adrenalin week

The final week before closing for the winter season is usually, Adrenalin Week. The tickets are reduced in price, but only the major rides are opened.

"YourDay"

In 2007 the park introduced the "YourDay" DVD system. This enables visitors who wear optional, RFID wristbands during their stay at the park to be filmed on eight of the main rides and at various locations around the park. At the end of their stay all of the personalized footage is collected and insert edited into pre-recorded stock footage of the rides to produce a DVD souvenir of the visitor's day.

The YourDay system has had a troubled launch, with the opening being delayed until well into the 2007 season, and not all rides originally advertised to be included have come online.[citation needed] When it opened rides included were, Corkscrew, Nemesis, Rita - Queen of Speed & Spinball Whizzer. Oblivion was also added at a later date as was Air towards the end of the season, leaving the Flume & Congo River Rapids yet to be added at the close of the season, they are also absent from the line up at the begining of the 2008 season.

Competition

YourDay may soon be facing competition within Alton Towers, from the current on-ride photo suppliers Picsolve. Towards the end of the 2007 season, Picsolve started to test on-ride video cameras on one of the Oblivion cars. Their aim is to be able to offer a DVD with on-ride footage of the riders as an alternative to both their own on-ride photos and also YourDay's DVD. [12]

Future

2008 will see the opening of the new new pirate themed area, 'Mutiny Bay' and a new re-themed logo. A wooden rollercoaster was planned to be built for the 2008 season[13], however, recently the park released the following statement:

...The planned ride is much smaller than that debated in 2002/2003, and it will sit on the area formerly occupied by The Beast and The Mouse. If it goes ahead, it will provide a valuable additional experience that will further enhance Alton Towers’ reputation as the home of original and unique attractions.

Controversy

  • The theme park received some press for its proposal to tag guests with RFID wristbands in order that they be tracked and filmed by cameras as they move around the park. Although it is intended to be optional and used for providing personalised video of a visitors day, the media reacted to the privacy implications and Big Brother scenario.[14]
  • A marketing strategy encouraging workers to call in absent in order to visit the theme park was heavily criticised by business groups.[15]
  • Relations with the local community were harmed when Alton Towers significantly reduced the amount of free tickets it provides to local residents as compensation for the heavy traffic the theme park attracts to the small local village roads.[16]
  • Due to a court battle with two local residents, Suzanne and Stephen Roper, Alton Towers is having problems with its end-of-season fireworks display, which is a very popular event with customers and an important date on the season calendar. However, the towers is attempting to keep them running. The court battle ended in October 2005 leaving Alton Towers with permission to stage three of the five firework and laser displays. The park now has a noise abatement order in place meaning that it cannot exceed 40 decibels to their nearby neighbours.[17]
  • On July 20, 2006 an accident involving the Runaway Mine Train occurred near the tunnel area of the ride. The train separated into two, with the two sections colliding after the first section rolled back (or "valleyed"). Three people were taken to hospital while another 26 were treated for minor injuries.[18] The ride remained closed until 2007.
  • The park was subject to media coverage over its decision to slaughter its livestock from the Old McDonald's Farmyard area due to the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak in 2001[19]. The slaughter was deemed necessary as the park would have been unable to open to the public if the animals remained, and livestock movement restrictions prevented them from being removed from the theme park itself. The RSPCA criticised the action, saying other options should have been examined.[20]
  • Alton Towers announced a special "Islam Day", in which a group of Muslims had reportedly booked the complex for an entire day in which they would perform prayers and other Muslim related activities.[21] This was attacked by critics as an example of political correctness.[22] The same day was booked for holding a wedding celebration prior to the "Islam Day" for a non-Muslim couple, along with their 60 invited guests. The couple learned nine weeks before the day that an "Islam Day" was taking place at the same time. The couple and their guests were allowed to attend the same day, provided they respected the Muslim rules: alcohol, smoking and music were banned and only halal food was served.[23] The day, however, was subsequently cancelled due to a lack of interest.
  • In October 2006, 15 out of 19 fast food outlets, and an independently run Kentucky Fried Chicken failed local council health inspections.[24]

References

  1. ^ Visitor numbers to Local Attractions (around Stoke), thedms.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Dubai firm buys Tussauds". BBC News Online. 2005-03-23. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Tussauds firm bought in £1bn deal". BBC News Online. 2005-03-23. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Fire in Sky Ride station". Towers Almanac. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  5. ^ Alton Towers: New for 2007 http://www.alton-towers.co.uk/resort/newfor2007.asp
  6. ^ a b "End of era for Alton Towers ride". BBC News Online. 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Coming soon … the first 'drive of your life'". easier.com. 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ M&IT Industry awards 2007 winners http://www.meetpie.com//Modules/EventModule/MIT/default.aspx?url=event_mit_winners
  9. ^ "Alton Towers Waterpark - Cariba Creek opening times & pricing". Alton Towers. Retrieved 2006-07-13.
  10. ^ Extraordinary Golf Alton Towers website. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  11. ^ "Alton Towers Past Rides: Thunder Looper". Alton Towers Almanac. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
  12. ^ "Picsolve Test On-Ride Video". Towers Nerd. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  13. ^ Alton Towers - Future, themeparks-uk.com. Retrieved May 23, 2007
  14. ^ "Theme park visitors can be tagged". BBC News Online.
  15. ^ "Theme park 'pushing absenteeism'". BBC News Online.
  16. ^ "Villagers lose free ride ticket". BBC News Online.
  17. ^ "Fireworks go-ahead for theme park". BBC News Online. 2005-10-14. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "Dozens hurt on Alton Towers ride". BBC News Online. 2006-07-20. Retrieved 2006-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Animals killed at Alton Towers". The Independent. Retrieved 2007-22-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ "Alton Towers cull 'breached trust'". BBC News Online.
  21. ^ "Alton Towers booked for Muslims only day". Middle East Online. 2006-07-03. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Liddle, Rod (2006-07-08). "Britain's Muslims at Alton Towers". The Spectator. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Brooke, Chris (2006-07-11). "Couple's Alton Towers wedding in the balance after clash with Muslim fun day". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2006-07-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Theme park food units criticised". BBC News Online. 2007-01-04. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alton Towers.
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