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2024: General Discussion
Ripsaw97
TS Member
I love being able to sit out on the lawns with a Pimms or a Beer but seriously am I the only one who gets chased by wasps, I sware it only happens at Towers, nowhere else, it's like I arrive and they come out and chase me, does anyone else have this problem, mainly by benches, this aside its great to see so much more seating available where sometimes it can be a challenge to park down for 10 minutes.
evilcod
TS Member
Agreed with the above posts, it's a great event! My kids are a little too old to watch Cbeebies now but still absolutely loved the shows. Special shout out to the Mister Maker show featuring Barry from EastEnders and Rectangle on the Runaway Mine Train 

NuttySquirrel
TS Member
Might be your drink choice! Isn't Pimm's like 80% sugar?I love being able to sit out on the lawns with a Pimms or a Beer but seriously am I the only one who gets chased by wasps, I sware it only happens at Towers, nowhere else, it's like I arrive and they come out and chase me, does anyone else have this problem, mainly by benches, this aside its great to see so much more seating available where sometimes it can be a challenge to park down for 10 minutes.
Joking aside, the wasps at Alton Towers can be terrible, particularly on the lawns. Remember having particular issues at Corner Coffee/Ground Command in forbidden valley last year as well.
Want a job as a gardener mate!I love being able to sit out on the lawns with a Pimms or a Beer but seriously am I the only one who gets chased by wasps, I sware it only happens at Towers, nowhere else, it's like I arrive and they come out and chase me, does anyone else have this problem, mainly by benches, this aside its great to see so much more seating available where sometimes it can be a challenge to park down for 10 minutes.
The secrets...
Avon skin so soft lotion, on top of sunscreen.
Keep all drinks covered, at all times, even straws...the drinks smell, all of them, even tapwater.
I often go inside the garage to drink while gardening...it works.
Ignore them completely when they come near, they don't sting if you don't swing.
But horseflies...oh don't get me started.
They hurt like hell, can make you ill for days, and have top level stealth skills, blood suckers that like to puke directly into your bloodstream for fun.
They need jungle formula, whenever you are near inland water (as in all theme parks), and drive me nuts most years (nutser even).
The best thing, an onion on your belt.
Probably.
Rob
TS Team
Sounds like the CBeebies event was really good for the target market. I wonder if it pulled many extra people to the park or whether most guests simply saw it was on when they were there?
I do think it is a shame that this event has essentially replaced Mardi Gras. Maybe having 2 events so close would have caused logistical issues, but it would have been nice if Mardi Gras could have followed on from this.
I do think it is a shame that this event has essentially replaced Mardi Gras. Maybe having 2 events so close would have caused logistical issues, but it would have been nice if Mardi Gras could have followed on from this.
NuttySquirrel
TS Member
I was at the park on Monday last week and although it was clearly very busy arriving at the park it didn't seem that crowded in the thrill areas, so I reckon a lot of people had gone specifically for the CBeebies event. RAP was also sold out though I saw very few people using it, so even with the cap in place it seems likely a lot of those were being used in CBeebies land.Sounds like the CBeebies event was really good for the target market. I wonder if it pulled many extra people to the park or whether most guests simply saw it was on when they were there?
I do think it is a shame that this event has essentially replaced Mardi Gras. Maybe having 2 events so close would have caused logistical issues, but it would have been nice if Mardi Gras could have followed on from this.
It did appear to be a special 10th anniversary event so wouldn't be surprised if they do something different this time next year, maybe a return to Mardi Gras? Hope they bring something like that back soon - the "summer party" vibe with the food stalls and carnival parade were a hit for me.
Jb85
TS Member
@NuttySquirrel we would need a summer to get the summer vibe.
From what I have seen on here and elsewhere the event was a success and well thought out. Hopefully a sign of things to come. Scarefest certainly need a revamp
From what I have seen on here and elsewhere the event was a success and well thought out. Hopefully a sign of things to come. Scarefest certainly need a revamp
Thameslink Rail
TS Member
In a surprise announcement, ERT is back!
From: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?id=100064790227894&story_fbid=952075940295405
From: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?id=100064790227894&story_fbid=952075940295405
In a surprise announcement, ERT is back!
From: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?id=100064790227894&story_fbid=952075940295405
Ye but is it only for hotel guests or passholders too?
AT86
TS Member
Looking at the details here this will be for hotel guests only during the summer holidays. One hour ERT on Nemesis and Curse. Good to see extra perks coming back for hotel guests.
www.altontowers.com
Summer Short Breaks For Families | Alton Towers Resort
Join us for the ultimate Summer Short Break. Book now for unbeatable hotel deals on Summer breaks for families and fun-packed Summer holiday activities.

Tbh that hotel entrance should be accessible to everyone I don’t see the point of just 1 main entrance when you can enter right next to some rides. You have to walk over to the entrance just to walk back to valley which you were next to anyway. I wouldn’t complain if they made it the main entrance and turned towers street into a new landLooking at the details here this will be for hotel guests only during the summer holidays. One hour ERT on Nemesis and Curse. Good to see extra perks coming back for hotel guests.
Summer Short Breaks For Families | Alton Towers Resort
Join us for the ultimate Summer Short Break. Book now for unbeatable hotel deals on Summer breaks for families and fun-packed Summer holiday activities.www.altontowers.com
tayspru
TS Member
The major rides at Towers were initially placed at the extremities of the park (FV and X Sector) to ensure they didn’t get swamped on opening, the distance means that guests filter to other attractions and it avoids bottlenecks.
Opening the hotel entrance to everyone would negate that park planning aspect and would also throttle demand for FV at the start of the day
Opening the hotel entrance to everyone would negate that park planning aspect and would also throttle demand for FV at the start of the day
Matt N
TS Member
The other problem with making Forbidden Valley the main entrance is that it would introduce a horrid bottleneck in the park’s layout.
At present, the location of Towers Street works pretty well from a bottleneck standpoint, as it gives guests two obvious “paths” to follow at the bottom and people can disperse. Guests can either go left towards Mutiny Bay/Katanga Canyon/Gloomy Wood/Forbidden Valley or right towards CBeebies Land/Adventure Land/X-Sector/Dark Forest/The World of David Walliams. People will naturally disperse between the two, so guest flow goes two ways and the park’s capacity is spread out more nicely.
If you moved the entrance to Forbidden Valley, this goes out of the window. Everyone in the park is shunted through Forbidden Valley/Gloomy Wood/Katanga Canyon/Mutiny Bay, and there’s no obvious way to diverge from that path until you exit Mutiny Bay. This makes the queues in these areas huge, and it makes the areas horribly overcrowded.
Think of this way; at some point, Alton Towers’ capacity was revealed to be 28,000. Under the current park layout, with Towers Street as the main entrance, each principal “path” would only have 14,000 people following it at the start of a full-capacity day, assuming equal dispersion between the paths. If you moved the entrance to Forbidden Valley, you’d suddenly have 28,000 people all following the same principal “path”, which makes things very overcrowded in those areas and very inequitably distributed in terms of crowds. I know there’s more nuance to it than that, but I feel that the basic principle still stands.
At present, the location of Towers Street works pretty well from a bottleneck standpoint, as it gives guests two obvious “paths” to follow at the bottom and people can disperse. Guests can either go left towards Mutiny Bay/Katanga Canyon/Gloomy Wood/Forbidden Valley or right towards CBeebies Land/Adventure Land/X-Sector/Dark Forest/The World of David Walliams. People will naturally disperse between the two, so guest flow goes two ways and the park’s capacity is spread out more nicely.
If you moved the entrance to Forbidden Valley, this goes out of the window. Everyone in the park is shunted through Forbidden Valley/Gloomy Wood/Katanga Canyon/Mutiny Bay, and there’s no obvious way to diverge from that path until you exit Mutiny Bay. This makes the queues in these areas huge, and it makes the areas horribly overcrowded.
Think of this way; at some point, Alton Towers’ capacity was revealed to be 28,000. Under the current park layout, with Towers Street as the main entrance, each principal “path” would only have 14,000 people following it at the start of a full-capacity day, assuming equal dispersion between the paths. If you moved the entrance to Forbidden Valley, you’d suddenly have 28,000 people all following the same principal “path”, which makes things very overcrowded in those areas and very inequitably distributed in terms of crowds. I know there’s more nuance to it than that, but I feel that the basic principle still stands.