Welcome to the August edition of the TowersStreet news round-up, where we bring together some of the more notable changes and developments from the Alton Towers Resort in the past months, that you may have missed.
The Smiler – Smile, it’s open!
Following the recent downtime of The Smiler and the national press coverage, The Smiler has enjoyed a few weeks without any noticeable closures. TowersStreet is not aware of any major closures relating to the new £18m ride, and things seem to be running fairly smoothly. Here’s hoping this is a permanent way forward!
Generally speaking the ride seems to have been well received by park guests, with plenty of comments and praise being made for it on both official, and unofficial media channels.
Scarefest Opening Hours
The popular Scarefest Hallowe’en event at the Alton Towers Resort saw it’s closing time for 2013 reduced to 7pm for the first week, but this was recently changed back to 9pm as per the official website. The 7pm closure brought about a lot of discussion on the TowersStreet Talk forums from members who felt guests would lose out on their experience. In contrast the last week of the season has returned to being a 4pm close (as it was during the old adrenaline week event) but ride availability will not be affected.
Early Ride Time Changes
Readers may recall some time ago when the Early Ride Time system, which allows exclusive access to certain ride’s and attractions an hour before other guests, was restructured. During these changes one of the most notable alterations was to allow all guests into the theme park at 9am, and perform ticket checks at ride entrances. Whilst this change solved the issue of overcrowding at the base of Towers Street in the mornings, concerns were raised over the fact that the set up lost that exclusive feel it once had, and that the system was also more open to abuse, with guests not eligible for ERT accessing the rides.
However, once again we have recently seen a shake up to the system, which has not only reverted to park access being exclusive to those entitled to Early Ride Time, but alterations to the rides on offer.
Previously, a mixture of attractions from around the park were on offer, including Th13teen, and Hex. These two attractions have both been removed, but have been replaced with The Blade and Duel, offering attractions which still cater to similar audiences. By changing the lineup the park is now able to control guests better, with one side of the park open for ERT guests, while the other half continues to prepare for the day ahead.
Early Ride Time users now also have the option to join the queue for The Smiler from 9am onwards, and await the ride opening at 10am with the rest of the park.
Whilst some guests have raised concerns over the lack of another major coaster in the lineup (The logical choice appearing to be Air, in Forbidden Valley), the general consensus seems to be that the return to exclusive access, along with the new area beside Sonic Spinball for other visitors to wait for the park to open are positive changes.
TowersStreet will be with you to keep you up to date with any Early Ride Time changes as they arise, on our news, social media, and ERT information pages.
Nemesis Tickles the Tastebuds
Alton Towers Hotels have begun stocking an ale from local brewery “Peakstone Rock” named after the beast herself. The Nemesis brew is available from hotel bars and is proving a popular choice for enthusiasts with a taste for a nice beer.
It is understood the brewery itself offers a range of beers named after Alton Towers rides (including Oblivion and past ride – Blackhole), check out their website at www.peakstonesrock.co.uk/products.htm
Entertainments Improvements
As reported Alton Towers have seen a number of changes to the entertainments line-up over the last few months. In early summer the Park-Keepers gained a new vehicle to tour the park in, along side the existing musical pirate ship. For summer weekends however guests have been entertained with a live band – with a slightly quirky conductor. The Bravo band mixes live music with street comedy and has proved to be popular with guests of all aged.
As always stay with TowersStreet for all the latest Alton Towers news!
