2020 marks Alton Towers 40th birthday! Therefore I decided to bring together the community in order to share why we all love Alton Towers alongside many fond memories. I will be sharing a full blog post from us personally but today’s is all about a collective post from so many familiar names and faces. We hope you enjoy this blog and a massive thank you to everyone who’s been apart.
Mission Theme Park (Ella):
Alton Towers has always played a huge part in my life. It’s somewhere that has, for me, never lost that magic. From summer picnics on the Towers Lawn to riding Oblivion in the snow, I’ve got so many memories of that place. My family used to go all the time when I was growing up, my mum and dad even spent their honeymoon there! Every birthday weekend was spent riding Beastie over and over and over until I was big enough then it was replaced by Air and Oblivion and Nemesis. Every time there was a special event, you best believe we were front and centre. There’s something so special about being a kid at a theme park and for Alton Towers, that feeling has never gone away. I’ve experienced so many firsts there, it was even where I rode my first proper roller coaster and did my first inversion. It sparked a love in me for all things theme park and I owe that passion to Alton Towers. I’ve got too many memories to list here, memories of my childhood with my brothers and sisters as well as new memories with my nieces and nephews. I know there will be many more memories to come. I’ve always loved theme parks and there’s a special place in my heart for that park in particular. So here’s to the next 40 years…may they be just as magical.
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Springy Tales:
Alton Towers has been a constant presence through my whole life. From the very first time I walked into Forbidden Valley as an 8 year old and heard the roar of Nemesis I was obsessed with the place. I remember the sheer fear of that first ever ride on Oblivion shortly after it opened and following the construction of SW5 as I discovered the world of early coaster fan forums. Every time I walk through those park gates I still get a magical feeling that takes me right back to my childhood. Happy 40th anniversary to Alton Towers, here’s to many more years to come!
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Towers Times & South Parks:
At TowersTimes, we’ve been following developments at Alton Towers Resort since the days of SW5live back in 2002. However, it’s incredible to think that’s not even half of the 40 year history of the site since it transitioned into an amusement park, and subsequently a fully-fledged theme park. There’s obviously nothing quite like the buzz that comes with following the emergence of a new major attraction, and we’ve seen Air, Rita, TH13TEEN, The Smiler and Wicker Man in the time which TowersTimes has been around. Although that’s not to say we don’t have members with fond memories of the construction of Oblivion, Nemesis and even attractions which came before! In more recent years we’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to bring those members and others in the community together at Alton Towers on TTSP Events. For us, that captures what Alton Towers and theme parks more widely are about – creating memories with good friends, and having a lot of fun and thrills along the way! Here’s to another 40 years (we’ll be out of a job if not)!
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The Joy Sequence:
It was Scarefest 2019, the sun had set, darkness, fog and ambient lighting had flooded the park, after queuing an hour and a half for Galactica and I was in the mood for a good thrill in the dark, but some reason my friends wanted to go and re-ride Galactica! They were stubborn about not wanting to do anything else, but I had different ideas. I took myself over to X Sector and joined the single rider queue for The Smiler. I’d never seen The Smiler at night before. It was stunning. The atmosphere was electric. The marmaliser screen strobed over the track, trains of guests screaming their way through the pit of fog that had filled the ride. I got on in no time, was put on the front row and had one of the singular best coaster rides I’ve had in my life. It FLEW around the track, the airtime hills were insane at that speed, and I even had pops of upside down airtime that I didn’t know could exist!
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Bonny Coaster (Carly):
The magical land of Alton Towers was the first major theme park I ever stepped into! I remember vividly the first time I got the monorail into the theme park from the car park over the top of rides such as Congo River Rapids, Nemesis, Air (now Galactica) and more, seeing for the first time these rides that I knew so much about but had never seen with my eyes before, it was a trans-formative experience for me, and one that I don’t take lightly to this day! All this said; however, it was not perfect! I was a petrified little nerd, knew everything there was to know about the rides, but 2 back to back goes on Nemesis threw me off balance and I was in a blur of anxiety and apprehension, and despite visiting again the year later and getting on more rides than the first time, I still found Alton Towers to hold an alluring but petrifying position in my mind. The drop on oblivion stands out to me as one of my biggest personal let downs, so desperately I wanted to try it, but my anxiety stood in the way of me finding out what it felt like. That is, until I returned aged 24 and full of joy for having gotten over my fears, having visited many other parks across the UK and Europe over the year, returning to Alton Towers after over 10 years would be my final theme park experience for 2019, and I remember feeling the building excitement and pure joy as I saw Oblivion from the road; as we walked past the back of Nemesis hearing screams of joy, no longer did I feel anxiety and apprehension around getting on rides, just absolute enthusiastic happiness. Oblivion and myself finally became acquainted form the middle seat of the front row, staring straight into the black hole in the floor I squealed with absolute joy knowing I’d finally gotten past my fear and could simple enjoy the experiences I so longed for without the bundles of fear and apprehension building up to them. For years I felt spited by Alton Towers, the magical lands of twisted metal and dark haunted spinning rooms were tainted by my own anxiety and unwillingness to experience all it had to offer, but returning as an adult who’s moved beyond those fears, I finally found the magical experience I’d always wished for. Skipping down Towers Street with a smile on my face, stuffing Candy Floss into my gob after shooting monsters on Duel, and spinning head over heels on the Smiler whilst giggling to myself in enjoyment (apart from those damned painful last 3 inversions!) Left me finally able to fully embrace and enjoy the place I’ve most felt drawn to in my childhood; and finally, Alton Towers has been able to be magical to Me.
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Coaster Contagion (Karen):
Let’s just get it out there from the start…Alton Towers is my favourite park in the UK. I suppose you could say that as I have yet to visit any overseas parks…Alton Towers is my favourite park full stop. In the future that may change but for now, that’s how things stand and I’m sure that I’m not alone in that.
As Alton Towers turns 40 this year I thought I would write about the impact it has had on me personally. Now some people have been visiting Towers since it opened and have followed everything they have done. I am not one of those people. If you have read my blog (CoasterContagion) you will know that theme parks and coasters only became a large part of my life in 2019. I am a baby to all this even though I am in my forties. But 2019 wasn’t my first visit to Alton Towers, I had been as a child and a teenager and though my memories are quite hazy, the ones I have are good ones. My brother-in-law was a bit of an enthusiastic and he and my sister are the ones who took me in my younger years. I was quite a scared child, of many things, but I was fascinated by rides and the way they made me feel scared. I remember standing under the Corkscrew watching it go round, I was around 8 years old and feeling terrified yet really excited. At this point I was too short to ride even if I had summoned up the courage (for reference I am only just tall enough to get on the back row of Icon now!) As I say, the memories are hazy but I know I went on the Log Flume as I came home with a badge I still have to this day! My return 10 years later was slightly more successful though regrets remain. It was 1994, I know this because it was the year Nemesis opened and I battled with the fear of riding it all day. I stood at the fence and watched people’s feet whizz past my face as they shot round the helix. And here comes the cringe inducing regret…I bottled it! I could have ridden Nemesis in its opening season and I didn’t…I didn’t ride it until 2019. All those wasted years! I also bottled ThunderLooper even though I really wanted to get on it. Sad times. I did however ride Corkscrew and Black Hole so I at least bagged a couple of creds that I wouldn’t be able to get now. My return in 2019…25 years after the last visit was, if I do say so myself, spectacular! I was spending the day there with my then 15 year old son, and although there had been a few rides here and there in the interim at Blackpool and Camelot, this was to be a full day on park just me and him. Bottling it wasn’t an option. So, we went in big and hit The Smiler first. And this is where it all changed, at Alton Towers on The Smiler in 2019, the fear went. I mean not completely, you want a little bit of fear, that’s the thrill after all. But now the fear doesn’t stop me. There hasn’t been a ride I have refused to ride yet. I love feeling my heart pounding waiting to get on, I love losing my stomach on a drop, I love that moment you tip off a lift hill, I love waiting on a launch for that sudden burst of speed, I love the people I have met and the new world it has opened up to me. It has brought out a side to me that I knew was there but that fear held back. And now, I can see the whole journey from start to finish at Alton Towers. A scared but thrilled 8 year old looking up at that yellow Vekoma manufactured track to the forty-odd year old thrill seeker who was so excited she ran from ride to ride and is still running now!
There are so many things I could write about why I love Towers, things I would improve, what I would like to see happen in the future but for Coasters on the Coast I thought I would talk about my life long relationship with Towers and what it has done for me. It sparked a flame, that flickered away for a long time, kept dampened down by fear but never ever went out and has roared back into life with a vengeance.It has given me quality time with my family doing something together that we all enjoy. It has given me new friends and new experiences. It has given me a focus of new places to travel to. It has given me the confidence to start my own blog and to collaborate with other like minded people. So , thank you Alton Towers…I will be seeing lots more of you in the future!
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A huge thank you to everyone who I’ve managed to feature within this post. It has truly been touching reading all of your pieces and please be sure to check these guys out via the link attached to their names. We will be sharing our full post alongside this in the coming few weeks. We do have another VERY special blog post upcoming for Drayton Manor’s 70th if you’d like to feature drop me a message or email.
