2013 has been a very busy year for Alton Towers, and TowersStreet have been bringing you all the latest news from the Resort. Take a step back in time for our third 2013 roundup, where we remind ourselves of what happened in the second half of the year between July and September…
July
The start of July saw the popular concert Alton Towers Live return after a years absence. The event took place on Saturday 6th July, and hosted the latest pop talent with Olly Murs, Rizzle Kicks, Labrinth, Little Mix, James Arthur, Conor Maynard, Stooshe, Union J and The Vamps all performing to the wonderful backdrop of the tower ruinss. Just before Olly Murs took to the stage it was also announced that Alton Towers Live was to return in 2014. The concert was also to be shown on digital channel 4Music.
The Smiler was but a two month old new arrival when, on Sunday the 21st July 2013, a new problem arose to contend with. It became apparent following a variety of eyewitness accounts on Twitter that The Smiler had suffered problems in the form of a bolt reporting to have fallen from a piece of track. At the time Alton Towers released a statement “At no time was any visitor at any risk, and 48 guests on the ride at the time were safely disembarked. As the health and safety of our guests is our primary concern, the ride will remain closed whilst the Resort’s technical team investigate.” The ride remained closed while inspections took place.
The ride’s problems continued, with The Smiler closing for two days at the end of July. It was unknown why the ride was closed.
The end of July also saw changes to Early Ride Time (ERT), with the removal of Th13teen and Hex and replacing them with Duel and Blade. This now meant all ERT rides were at one side of the park. The changes also meant only guests with ERT tickets could get to the rides, and all other guests were held back near Sonic Spinball and Battle Galleons.
July may have started on a high, but it ended on a low, with an announcement that the first week of Scarefest would see its hours cut from a 9pm close to a 7pm close!
August
The first news story we brought you in August was changes to the Scarefest pricing and line up. Terror of the Towers, Carnival of Screams and The Sanctuary would all be returning for the 2013 event along with Zombies Scare-zone. Of note for the family visitors was a change of name for the main children’s attraction area, which previously was known as “Franklyns Freaky Farm”, but is was now to be known as “Franklyns Freaky Fun Zone”.
For the first time since Scarefest launched, Terror of the Towers was also to be a paid maze for 2013, with the Carnival of Screams changing to be the free maze. Some good news also came in August, when Alton Towers reverted its decision to close Scarefest at 7pm during the first week of the event, meaning a 9pm close throughout the event.
Nemesis beer also launched in the hotels during August and the Bravo Band entertained guests throughout the day in the themepark.
September
Full details and prices for Scarefest were released at the start of September, which saw the return of the popular Freedom pass, now also available to none annual pass holders. A Scarefest ‘freedom ticket’ was also released, for one day’s unlimited access to the paid mazes and fastrack to The Carnival of Screams. Scarerooms would also be returning in the form of the Altonville Motel, located within the Alton Towers Hotel.
The final news of September came in the form of a planning application by Alton Towers for the retheme of the Old MacDonald’s farmyard area of the park – as has been hinted by the park in the past as the ‘major’ addition for the 2014 season. The main changes on the plans included the demolition of the ice tent, which will be replaced by a new toilet block, new ‘green space’, including an activity area, and performance area and back of house area made of portacabins. New pieces of theming for Riverbank Eye Spy and the Tractor Ride were shown, along with the removal of The Dung Heap and minor alterations to the Berry Bish Bash building.
Stick with us here at TowersStreet as we revisit October, November and December of 2013, summarising the final few events of the season including Scarefest, fireworks and the parks winter offering. We hope to bring you more exciting news during 2014! Why not reminisce about our past news stories on our popular TowersStreet Talk forum.
