Alton Towers Resort

Alton Towers Resort
Statistics
Location	Alton, Staffordshire, England
Opened	1860 (estate) 1980 (theme park)
Owner	Merlin Entertainments
Size	800 acres (324 hectares)
Official Website	altontowers.com

Alton Towers Resort is a theme park located in Staffordshire, England. They installed their first roller coaster in 1980 and have been installing new attractions since. Alton Towers has five hotels and a water park as well as its theme park with world-class coasters.

History

Alton Towers was billed as "England's first theme park" in 1980 (although other amusement parks have existed for far longer) and has since grown into a notable destination for thrill-seekers and park lovers from around the world. Its unique history started back in the seventeenth century. It was then that Charles Talbot, First Earl of Shrewsbury, settled into the countryside of Alton, Staffordshire and created his residence on a 500-acre plot of land. The estate was fully landscaped and a Gothic mansion was built.

Two generations later, Earl Shrewsbury's grandson passed on without an heir to receive the estate, in 1857, and so began nearly a century of proceedings to find a new owner. That came to an end at long last in the 1940s when Alton Towers Limited was formed and purchased the former residence. Alton Towers eventually landed in the hands of a man by the name of John Broome in 1980. Broome wanted to introduce the theme park to England, and at the same time, retain the lush beauty of the landscape.

And so the theme park concept hit Britain. All park-goers would pay a single admission fee to enjoy the rides, attractions, and scenery. Alton's first coaster, Corkscrew, opened with the park in 1980 from Arrow Dynamics, flipping riders upside-down twice during the 2,400-foot-long ride. Three years later, a second coaster was added and Black Hole began taking adventurers on a twisting course enclosed in darkness.

Throughout the '80s, Alton Towers expanded its ride collection yearly and also added more themed sections to the park, introducing the Zierer-designed 4-Man Bob for the 1985 season and the steel Dragon Coaster (later renamed Beastie) the following year. Two years later in 1988, the park brought two more steel coasters to Alton with the addition of the fourth and fifth coaster tracks: Schwarzkopf's Beast, a twister with 2,862 track feet and a wild mouse from Vekoma named the Alton Mouse. The major growth wouldn't end there. In 1990, Alton brought the third-hand Schwarzkopf shuttle-looper named Thunderlooper.

A shift in the park's ownership occurred in 1991 when the Tussaud's Group acquired Alton Towers with a new master plan for the growing park's future, as well as a few surprises up their sleeves. Tussaud's began that season with the removal of three of the smaller coasters - the 4-Man Bob, Alton Mouse, and Beast.

The Tussaud's Group wanted to update the coaster collection with a revolutionary lineup of new coasters to put Alton on the worldwide map which would be dubbed 'Secret Weapon' rides. For the first Secret Weapon project, Arrow Dynamics was contacted to build a prototype ride coaster known as a 'pipeline', but after two failed attempts, the pipeline ride was scrapped. Two new steel coasters, however, did find their way into the collection in 1992: the New Beast and Runaway Mine Train.

In 1994, the first Secret Weapon would finally become reality. Project 'Secret Weapon 3' took shape in the form of Nemesis and opened as a very unique inverted coaster from Bolliger and Mabillard. Designed by John Wardley, the coaster was threaded through tunnels and trenches, the majority of the layout being situated below ground level in part due to height restrictions. Nemesis (later renamed Nemesis Reborn drew rave reviews from coaster lovers around the world for its one-of-a-kind course, four inversions, and heavy theming.

Four years later, the next Secret Weapon was unveiled with Oblivion, the first of a new breed of coaster from Bolliger and Mabillard featuring a centerpeice near-vertical 18-story drop plummeting into the earth. And, keeping with the four-year pattern, March 16, 2002, marked the debut of Alton Towers' fifth Secret Weapon when AIR: Aerial Inversion Ride (later renamed Galactica) took off as a laydown themed terrain coaster and the park's third B&M-manufactured ride.

Areas

Forbidden Valley

An area in the east of the theme park designed to be a frightening, post apocalyptic world. The area's main roller coaster, Nemesis, is themed around an alien creature, trapped underneath steel poles, when it was disturbed by Alton Towers. Towards Galactica, there are more calm colours and scenery, designed to be a futuristic oasis from the tyranny of the Nemesis creature. The rides in the Forbidden Valley are:

• Nemesis Reborn, a B&M inverted coaster
• Galactica, a B&M flying coaster
• The Blade, a pirate-ship ride
• Funk n’ Fly, a Super Trooper ride

Dark Forest

An area towards the south of the theme park, themed to be an 'alive' forest that is engulfing the land. There are only 2 rides in this area:

• Thirteen/TH13TEEN, an Intamin Psychoaster
• Rita, an Intamin Accelerator Coaster
• Roller Disco, a fairground waltzer

The World Of David Walliams

An area themed to the children’s books written by David Walliams.

• Flávio’s Fabulous Fandango
• Gangster Granny: The Ride, an indoor kids ride themed to the book Gangster Granny.
• Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp, a mini drop tower
• The Royal Carousel, a standard merry-go-round ride
• Driving School, a driving attraction aimed at kids.

The Towers

The Towers themselves and the surrounding area. Its one ride is Hex, a Vekoma madhouse ride. Also including the towers walkthrough and sanctuary.

Mutiny Bay

An area themed around pirates. All of its rides, except for Wicker Man, are family rides:

• Wicker Man, a wooden roller coaster.
• Battle Galleons, a Mack Rides splash battle ride.
• Sharkbait Reef, a Sealife Centre aquarium.
• Marauder's Mayhem, a themed teacups ride.
• Heave Ho, a rock n' tug ride

Katanga Canyon

An area themed around an African Village. It has only 2 rides:

• Runaway Mine Train, a Mack Rides powered steel mine train ride
• Congo River Rapids, an Intamin rapids ride.

Gloomy Woods

An area simlilar to the Dark Forest. There is only one ride here:

• Duel, a Mack Rides laser gun dark ride.

X Sector

An area themed around a sinister government organization, controlled by the Ministry of Joy. 2 of the rides here hold a world’s first title:

• Oblivion, a B&M dive coaster. The world's first vertical-drop coaster.
• The Smiler, a Gerstlauer Infinity coaster. The world's first 14-inversion coaster.
• Enterprise, a classic Huss Enterprise.
• Mixtape, a Smashing Jump ride

Adventure Land

A generic area with only one ride:

• Spinball Whizzer, a Maurer Söhne spinning steel coaster.

Cbeebies Land

An area themed around the UK kids' TV channel, Cbeebies. All the rides here are kids' rides:

• In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride, a Mack Rides boat ride
• Get Set Go Treetop Adventure, a Premier Rides pedal rail ride
• Postman Pat's Parcel Post, an MSI Interactive convoy ride.
• Numtums Number-Go-Round, a themed carousel ride.
• JoJo & Gran Gran At Home, a walkthrough ride.
• Justin's House: Pie-O-Matic Factory, a playhouse.
• Mr Bloom's Allotment, a gardening area
• Something Special Sensory Garden, a sensory trail.
• Tree Fu Tom Training Camp, a play area.

The Smiler

Alton Towers submitted planning applications for a brand new rollercoaster in late 2011, being granted planning permission in early 2012. With the decosntruction of the Black Hole tent, work begun on the new ride, code named SW7, following a long tradition of ride code names (starting with Nemesis SW3). The Smiler is a Gerstlauer Infinity coaster and features 14 inversions, making it the current record holder for the most inversions. It is positioned in the X-Sector area of the park opposite Oblivion.

The ride opened on 31 May 2013 after various set backs, including technical issues and harsh winter conditions delaying the construction. The ride missed two planned opening dates, March 16 and 23 of May.

Ever since the ride opened, it has been plagued with a vast number of issues. Multiple ongoing technical issues, several stalls as well as components such as bolts coming loose from the ride's structure and falling to the ground below were all covered by various media platforms throughout the year.

On the 2nd June 2015, all 16 riders on a car were injured (five badly) when it crashed into the back of an empty car at 50mph. The accident happened at 14:09 BST (UTC+1). One of the park's directors described the accident as "the most serious incident in the park's history." The park was closed from Wednesday 3 June to Sunday 7 June inclusive as investigations continued; the park reopened from Monday 8 June but X-Sector, where the Smiler is located, remained closed until the 14th. The Smiler remained closed for the rest of the season; following a Health and Safety Executive investigation, which concluded that the incident was due to operator error and not to any failure of the ride itself, the Smiler reopened for the 2016 season, when Alton Towers put in place a new safety procedure such that no ride can be restarted without a senior member of staff being present.

Present roller coasters (10)

Name	Manufacturer	Type	Opened	Status
Runaway Mine Train	Mack Rides	Powered	1992	Operating
Nemesis Reborn	Bolliger & Mabillard	Inverted	1994	Operating
Oblivion	Bolliger & Mabillard	Dive Coaster	1998	Operating
Galactica	Bolliger & Mabillard	Flying	2002	Operating
Rita	Intamin AG	Launched	2005	Operating
Spinball Whizzer	Maurer Söhne	Spinning	2004	Operating
Thirteen	Intamin AG	Sit-Down	2010	Operating
The Smiler	Gerstlauer	Infinity	2013	Operating
Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure	Zamperla	Family	2015	Operating
Wicker Man	Great Coasters International	Wooden	2019	Operating

Past roller coasters (8)

Name	Manufacturer	Type	Opened	Closed	Status
Corkscrew	Vekoma	Sit Down	1980	2008	Demolished, Double corkscrew on display at park entrance
Mini Apple	Pinfari	Sit Down	1982	1997	Relocated to Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
Black Hole	Schwarzkopf	Sit Down	1983	2005	Relocated to Furuvik
Beastie	Pinfari	Sit Down	1983	2010	Sold to Walt Murphy and relocated to Barry Island Pleasure Park
4 Man Bob	Zamperla	Sit Down	1985	1990	Relocated to Pleasure Island Theme Park
Alton Mouse	Vekoma	Sit Down	1988	1991	Relocated to Idlewild & Soakzone
Thunder Looper	Schwarzkopf	Shuttle Loop	1990	1996	Relocated to Hopi Hari
New Beast	Schwarzkopf	Sit Down	1992	1997	Relocated to Divertido

Gallery

The towers in 1880

The winter logo

The Corkscrew, at the entrance to the park

External links

• Alton Towers Resort official website
• Alton Towers Resort at Wikipedia