Somewhat later in the year than previously as Alton Towers decided for some reason to only open Friday-Sunday during March (the busiest three days!) 2nd of April marked my first Alton Towers trip.
Just Thomas and me for this one. Everyone else was notified but nobody else came forward. To be honest I like quieter trips from time to time (compare my birthday next month which will probably have at least 6 there). Thomas showing off his new haircut too!
We decided to chance it as due to the lateness of Easter the school holidays are all the way through April with different areas breaking up at different times and indeed my own area is actually on school holidays now.
It was fairly busy – 25-45 minute queue times for the most part, although single rider queues can mitigate this somewhat and we often use those
A New Ride.
It is another big year for the towers as project Aquarius bears fruit. Remember all those building site photos from last year’s trip? Well this is the result. A Huss Top Spin (the new two sided floorless model) pretty much in the same place as the previous Ripsaw top spin.
I’m not a huge fan of flat rides, but it’s nice to see some better quality ones with good theming returning to the park. Most areas don’t have any flat rides anymore and the towers is seriously lagging behind on this as flat rides give people extra stuff to do and can thin out the crowds and queues somewhat on busier days.
The ride itself has a fairly simple cycle. Over each way whilst inverted with a dangle over the water on each side, before the hydraulics on the carriage are released and it’s then a few times over each way with 3 or 4 full inversions per direction.
All in all it’s well themed, a nice addition and has definitely been positioned well in forbidden valley.
My biggest disappointment though? The food and drink! It’s never been great and my go to has usually been Woodcutters or the Nemesis coffee shop for a pre packaged sandwich, but all the fridges have now gone and the coffee shop does just that. Coffee. From a machine.
Same for corner coffee at Towers Street. No fridges. No croissants. Just coffee. Disappointed much? You bet!
My next trip is May 8th for which I have a Nemesis VIP experience booked. To be honest I’m using this year to do more VIP experiences everywhere. When you’re about to turn 52 you see people around you and the age related problems they’re having it makes you appreciate life more. After all, it’s under £100 for most of them, and with my discount vouchers I managed to sort most of them for £60-70 which includes premium parking!
Anyway, for my subscribers here’s the full set of photos.
Ah, I see where you got the Valheim inspiration.