With the 2015 season on the horizon, it’s time to take a look back at 2014 and this year so far at the Alton Towers Resort. With everything from CBeebies to the announcements of The Enchanted Village and Tree Top Quest for 2015, join us for a whistle stop tour of the journey so far. Welcome to the TowersStreet review of 2014.
- January 2014
- February 2014
- March 2014
- April 2014
- May 2014
- June 2014
- July 2014
- August 2014
- September 2014
- October 2014
- November 2014
- December 2014
- January 2015
- February 2015
- March 2015
- First signs of SW8?
January
Following the beginning of CBeebies land construction, Alton Towers Resort revealed via their Facebook page the characters and shows that would be coming to the new area. With Postman Pat replacing the Tractors, In The Night Garden replacing Riverbank Eye Spy and Justin’s House Pie-o-Matic Factory replacing Berry Bish-Bash, other new attractions were also announced such as Nina’s Science Lab and Mr Bloom’s Allotment.
February
With the resort’s annual February half term event fast approaching, the sudden removal of Submission was announced on 3rd February 2014, when the park confirmed the loss of the Chance Double Inverter from the attraction line-up.
The thrill-flat was introduced to the Resort in 2001, but was believed to have been plagued by numerous technical problems throughout its operational years, with the ride rarely seen running both sides.
The Resort cited that the removal was part of its long-term development plan, and no replacement was announced or has yet been mentioned. The ride’s removal left a large space within X Sector, and the ride area was grassed over for the start of season.
On 19th February 2014, there came the announcement that the farm animals would be leaving the Resort permanently, as their former home was part of the forthcoming CBeebies Land development. The animals, including donkeys Little George and Granville on the left, were moved to their new home at Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey.
With the focus shifting to the start of the season, the 2014 ERT lineup was announced on 26th February to include Nemesis, Oblivion, Runaway Mine Train, Blade, Duel, Heave Ho, Marauders Mayhem and Sharkbait Reef by SEALIFE.
March
The start of the month saw Alton Towers Resort officially confirm via Twitter there would be no Alton Towers Live concert for 2014, a stark change to the announcement that was made on stage at the 2013 event. The 2013 was headed up by Olly Murs, with acts such as Rizzle Kicks and Little Mix in on the action with almost capacity crowds.
On March 6th 2014 plans were submitted for a new Lodge Development following the withdrawal of a similar application in May 2013. The new plans request permission for new accommodation to be built to the side of Alton Towers Hotel (previously the site of A Field of 1000 Screams) in a whimsical Fairytale Theme, including a handful of ‘treehouses’
On 20th March it was announced that a number of rides would be opening at 11am in the 2014 season. Nemesis Sub-Terra, Hex, The Skyride and Ripsaw were all noted to have a well-earned lie-in until 11am each day. The park provided a statement in response to this, citing all rides are subject to variable opening hours as confirmed on the day.
As well as the delayed openings, March 20th saw a planning application submitted for a Spa extension. A new entrance area, outdoor fire pit, new indoor sauna building and an outdoor hydro pool were all included in the plans.
Alton Towers Resort opened its doors for the 2014 season on Saturday 22nd March 2014.
April
The month of April brought about a quietness for the Resort, the only notable news being the work continuing on CBeebies Land in preparation for its opening the following month.
May
M
ay started with a bang for the Resort, as the Lodge Development’s planning application seemed to hit a 99% chance of approval pending the submission of minor detail information, and the official website added a ‘subscribe for more news’ option to gather guest interest.
In another planning positive, the submitted plans for the Spa extension were approved on 8th May, with no objections raised. The plans would see a condition attached to the plans to state landscaping and planting must be completed no later than the first closed season following construction of the new buildings.
The highly anticipated CBeebies Land opened it’s gates at the Resort on Saturday 24th May, welcoming guests young and old to it’s brightly coloured new area. Despite poor weather, the feedback from guests was positive and queue times reached an hour for the popular Postman Pat’s Parcel Post and In The Night Garden Magical Boat Ride.
June
Details emerged on the 11th June of the Merlin Entertainments VIP pass, including information about the unlimited fast track and unlimited access to worldwide Merlin attractions. Scheduled to launch on 18th June, the VIP pass price was set at £500 per individual or £400 per person within a family of up to 5 (max 3 adults). Only 1000 passes were available and additional family members were not allowed to be added at a later date.
July
July saw a fresh approach to queuetimes at the Alton Towers Resort, with new display boards unveiled across the park. The colourful, clearer signs made their way in place of the old LED screens, along with two new boards in X-Sector and CBeebies Lane respectively. More rides on show and more accurate time displays give the optimistic view that guests would spread more evenly across the park.
A show lodge began to take shape on the lawns in front of the iconic Towers within the park, giving guests the opportunity to experience first-hand the new Enchanted Village accommodation due to open in 2015.
Later on in July, changes to the park’s ERT lineup became apparent. Where Nemesis and Runaway Mine Train had featured previously in the season, July 25th – August 31st saw ERT confined to X-Sector (including The Smiler) and CBeebies Land.
August
Following the show lodge’s construction inside the park, the 1st August saw groundwork begin on the Enchanted Village at the former Field of 1000 Screams site. Following this on 18th August saw the opening date for the Enchanted Village announced as 18th April 2015, with bookings available to be made through the official website.
September
As the season closed in on the most exciting time of the calendar, the Scarefest lineup was announced on 3rd September. The lineup for 2014 was one maze down, notably the free-to-experience 
Carnival of Screams option, leaving the remaining two chargeable mazes Terror of the Towers and The Sanctuary.
A new for 2014 scare zone “Scary Tales” was to somewhat compensate for the loss of the maze, to feature alongside the existing Zombies! Scare Zone. Franklyn’s Freaky Fun Zone which debuted in 2013 was to return unchanged for the 2014 season.
October
As Scarefest moved into the spotlight, two new experiences were announced for the event. The Altonville Motel Dining Experience was advertised as a Halloween dinner within the Gardens and Swiss Cottage, with guests being treated to a two course buffet with arrival drink, plus two hours of terrifying, actor-led thrills.
Also announced was The Ultimate Sleepover; an immersive experience within the Ruins with guests sleeping on camp-beds in make-shift dorms with scares provided between 8pm – 3am.
November
It only seemed like five minutes since the theme park opened earlier in the year, but 
November was the end of the 2014 season, ending with a bang once again with the return of the highly anticipated fireworks. The 2014 display saw the return of a water screen which had been absent for the past few years, and took on a similar theme to the 2013 fireworks display with a story, rather than the pop music filled displays of 2011 and 2012.
The 10th November saw the first delivery of the Enchanted Village Lodges to the resort, marking a milestone in the construction of the new village which is set to open in April 2015. Each lodge comes on two lorries, one with the lodge, the other with the roof, as shown in the photo on the right.
The Enchanted Village isn’t the only new resort attraction to open in 2015, as at the end of November, Alton Towers submitted planning permission for a high rope course which would later be confirmed as being called the Tree Top Quest. The new attraction is set to open in May near to the enchanted village on a piece of land currently occupied by an old metal shed, which will be removed as part of the development.
December
The start of December saw Alton Towers launch a brand new website on the 8th of December. The whole site had a complete makeover, however the new design did not prove popular with members of TowersStreet as many found it clunky and the opposite of user friendly.
Finally, the end of December saw Merlin asking for us all to “Vote for Fun” with the return of the Merlin Annual pass sale. However this years sale left a bitter taste in current pass holders mouths. Unlike previous years, this year’s sale had no renewal rate discount, meaning new or current pass holders all paid the same price. Making matters worse, a few days before the sale started many current pass holders were emailed with details of the renewal rates, only for them to go up in price during the sale!
The final days of 2014 brought news that the Prospect Tower was to be restored, with a planning application submitted on 24th December to renew (amongst other items) windows, doors, leadwork and railings on the structure. The near-200-year-old tower is located by the Forbidden Valley Skyride Station on the edge of the garden valley, and has previously been open for guests to ascend and take in the breathtaking views of the surrounding area.
January 2015
During the Festive Breaks event, TowersStreet happened across groundwork on the former Beastie site within Adventure Land, with the Space Adventure play equipment having been removed. No official announcement had been made regarding a new attraction, but it had been heavily rumoured that a new rollercoaster would take the place of The Beastie. Pictures taken on 2nd January appeared to show new concrete foundations having being laid in the area.
Shortly after this on 17th January, TowersStreet spotted an unusual delivery of coaster supports and stairs. Just two days later on 19th January, track arrived on site and it was deduced that the new installation would be a family installation by Zamperla.
February 2015
The new children’s coaster was announced to be Octonouts Rollercoaster Adventure, and guests got their first glimpse of the completed layout during the park’s February Half Term event. A colourful train sat proudly on top of the track, and construction seemed well on course to be ready for a March 21st opening.
A limited line up of rides were open for February Half Term, with thrill seekers being able to ride Nemesis and Air. Meanwhile, kids could enjoy CBeebies Land with special appearances by Justin Fletcher and Mr Bloom in the Big Fun Showtime arena.
March 2015
With the main season just weeks away, new entry prices were revealed, with increases of around 2.5% seen across all tickets. Whilst increases were not entirely unexpected, the price rise marked the first time adult ‘on the day’ ticket prices have breached the £50 barrier.
An updated park map was also unveiled in March, and enthusiasts were quick to spot a glaring omission in Forbidden Valley. One of the park’s oldest attractions, Huss swinging ship The Blade was missing. Alton Towers later confirmed the ride was not going to open for the 2015 season in order to prepare for future attractions, widely believed to be SW8. A Twitter campaign later followed, with many humourously tweeting #PrayForBlade. A few days later, the resort advised that the ride would now be open for the foreseeable future, much to the delight of the ride’s fans.
A surprise was in store for fans in the final week before main season, as it was revealed the Ice Age 4D cinema was receiving a new film for 2015. ‘Ice Age The 4D Experience – No Time For Nuts’ replaces the current film which was based on the third movie in the franchise – ‘Dawn of the Dinosaurs’, which was released back in 2009. There has since been a fourth film released in 2012, and a fifth movie is in the pipeline due in 2016.
First signs of SW8?
Just before we went live with this article, eagle eyed member ‘cactuselves’ over on our forums found that a screening opinion application has been submitted by Alton Towers in the past few weeks. A screening opinion can be submitted by developers to ask the planning authority whether a full environmental impact assessment needs to be undertaken. This is often requested for major applications where developers feel they may have environmental effects, such as increased noise, tree/land clearance or where the application is near a sensitive area.
With the location of SW8 rumoured to be in Forbidden Valley, and recent tree clearance and the likely closure of The Blade at some point in the future, it’s thought the screening opinion application could be related to the resort’s next big project. A screening opinion should be provided by the planning authority within 3 weeks of the application being received, so expect more new on this as we get it.
Bring on 2015!
Whilst 2014 was a busy one, 2015 is set to be even more exciting. With the next major development likely in ‘Secret Weapon 8’ for next season, we’ll be bringing you all the news as we get it along with our usual regular updates from the resort.
Stick with TowersStreet on our website and also over on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Don’t forget our forums offer plenty of opportunity to discuss and find out information not just about Alton Towers, but for parks across the world too.
