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Talbot Street Lock In

The resort became a little more enchanting in 2015 when the Fabled Folk welcomed guests into their Enchanted Village and to ascend to new heights in the neighbouring Tree Top Quest. And from the depths the Octonauts beached in CBeebies Land, inviting young explorers to join their Rollercoaster Adventure.

Scarefest also received a big shake up with a terrifying number of new mazes, scare zones, and 'after hours' offerings, including the multiple endings of Sub Species along with its various off shoots and add-ons.
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Who remembers back when the mayor first opened the Enchanted Village, with a little help from the Fabled Folk and a beautiful projection show? Let's take a trip back to that magical evening with this official video of the opening ceremony.

 
2016 brought a new experience that was virtually out of this world when the resort introduced Galactica. The VR headsets may now be a thing of the past, but maybe that's not such a bad thing in the new world of social distancing.

Diners also got a revolutionary new dining option as the Rollercoaster Restaurant began serving meals with a twist.
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Blink and you might have missed this promo for Galactica, where the park physically transformed Tim Peak's street into Gravity Avenue.

Check out the behind the scenes video, which reveals some of the tricks and illusions that were used to create the image.
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Two favourites returned in 2017, when Hex and the Driving School reopened after standing but not operating for a year. But just as the new look Cuckoo Cars returned at one end of Cloud Cuckoo Land, Ice Age 4D closed its doors at the other end and the neighbouring Twirling Toadstool also took its final spin.

CBeebies Land gained some new residents, however, with the Furchester Hotel opening alongside the Go Jetters Vroomster Ride. And over in Mutiny Bay construction walls went up around The Flume sight as the park started work on SW8.
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OilyWater said:
What a flop promo, nothing interesting about it to try go virual and doesn't show any connection to Alton Towers / coasters / space. I never even saw it
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Ironically, if they had actually done something similar in the park this could have been quite a neat addition. I'm thinking a couple of optical illusions, perhaps a floating bench photo op, that sort of thing.
 
2017 is notable for the arrival of the Beornan to the resort. During Scarfest their village manifested within the Mutiny Bay Courtyard where they invited guests to celebrate with them in The Welcoming: Be Chosen

Not only did it mark the return of an outdoor scaremaze to the resort as well as introducing the theme for SW8, but for our money Mutiny Bay has never been quite so atmospheric as when The Welcoming's theme music drifted urgently through the inky night.
 
We're staying in the Gardens this Wednesday, but skipping to an entirely different millennium and landing in 2006, when Alton Towers were considering what to add for the following season.

During that summer they produced concepts for 'Vistas', which would have introduced a series of photo opportunities in the Grade I listed gardens. Elsewhere, 'Alton Woods' would have allowed younger guests to explore a woodland playground located in the woods behind Spinball Whizzer.

These concepts were eventually dropped in favour of the Haunted Hollow and the Dung Heap.
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Squiggs said:
We're staying in the Gardens this Wednesday, but skipping to an entirely different millennium and landing in 2006, when Alton Towers were considering what to add for the following season.

During that summer they produced concepts for 'Vistas', which would have introduced a series of photo opportunities in the Grade I listed gardens. Elsewhere, 'Alton Woods' would have allowed younger guests to explore a woodland playground located in the woods behind Spinball Whizzer.

These concepts were eventually dropped in favour of the Haunted Hollow and the Dung Heap.
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would have been nice if we got all of the above. The dung heap more formal play and a more rustic woodland play area. Haunted house Hollow and the garden photo ops could have all existed as well.
 
Wicker Man burst onto the scene in 2018 as the park fed the flames with their long-awaited wooden coaster.

After several previous attempts to bring a wooden coaster to the park, the old site of The Flume proved just the ticket and provided the park with the opportunity to create one of their more compelling coasters of the past 20 years.
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Wicker Man brought a new icon to the park, as a six-storey high flaming effigy emerged over Mutiny Bay.

But at one point we very nearly got a pair effigies as seen in these plans from April 2016, which features a 3D Overview of the ride, showing not one but two wicker men. Otherwise the mock-up of the sculpture is remarkably similar to what we eventually say on opening day two years later.

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That almost seems like a clever plan to have a cancel-able part of the project, so that when the usual cost savings happen they can protect the important part. Rather than let the budget cuts hack away at everything until there's just some thinly spread theming left. And they can still say "We've reduced the costs by X amount"
 
I wonder how two wicker men would have played into the storyline; maybe it could have been a rivalry between two tribes or something?
 
Squiggs said:
I've just been given some extra info. It turns out that the 3D Model was used to compare two different potential sites for the Wicker Man, which makes sense given how close they both are.
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That makes a lot more sense; I thought two Wicker Man structures sounded strange given the ride's storyline!

You can say what you want about Wicker Man compared to previous wooden coaster proposals, but I absolutely adore it! For me, it strikes that perfect balance between thrill and fun; it's surpisingly fast-paced and thrilling for its size, in my opinion, but it's also incredibly rerideable! By far my favourite investment into the park under Merlin, and controversially, also my favourite ride at Alton Towers!
 
Traitors were out of luck in 2019, when the Alton Towers Dungeon began to dole out its own special brand of punishment to any guest foolhardy enough to enter.

The dungeon may not be to everyone's taste but one thing's for sure, we're all now an awful lot more familiar with Molly Leigh, the Witch of Burslem, since we were first invited into her cottage last year.
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Matt N said:
That makes a lot more sense; I thought two Wicker Man structures sounded strange given the ride's storyline!

You can say what you want about Wicker Man compared to previous wooden coaster proposals, but I absolutely adore it! For me, it strikes that perfect balance between thrill and fun; it's surpisingly fast-paced and thrilling for its size, in my opinion, but it's also incredibly rerideable! By far my favourite investment into the park under Merlin, and controversially, also my favourite ride at Alton Towers!
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I agree. It's a great, fun ride with great theming. Easily the best Merlin investment at Towers (as an overall package).

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Peter Rabbit bounced back into the park in 2019, with the arrival of Peter Rabbit's Hippity Hop.

He may feature in the park's latest attraction but Peter Rabbit is actually the longest serving character to appear in the resort having first appeared over 26 years ago, originally as the star of the park's ice show.

In 1998 he was also the first character to receive a themed room in the Alton Towers Hotel and ever since Peter Rabbit's Burrow has delighted generations of guests.
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