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2025: General Discussion

Hid said:
Just go there its not a bad park. I suggest going to the park yourself and formulate your own opinion on the place.

I disagree with people that say it's in decline Alton gets far more criticism than any other park and way over blown by YouTubers.
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100% agree. I only visit once a year, and when I went in June I found the park to be clean, tidy and well run. Managed to get on everything I wanted and had a great day!

Highlights for me were Hex being back and Curse running flawlessly.
 
Hid said:
I disagree with people that say it's in decline Alton gets far more criticism than any other park and way over blown by YouTubers.
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The people who don't think the park is in decline are mostly people who never visited when the park was actually run quite well, all those years ago. They get the criticism because they're owned by a giant corporation who have the money to do better.

To add to that, Merlin have run it poorly for so long now that most younger visitors know only what we have and go in with low expectations.
 
Towers is what you make it. We went two weekends back when there was the thunderstorm and torrential rain warnings. Yeah it rained but we still made the most of it and had a great weekend.
 
There’s so much more that they could and should be doing, but if you haven’t been in ages you can still go and have a great day. At the moment I’m finding that going every couple of months or so is starting to feel a bit samey, but there’s enough to sustain a visit
 
MaxPower said:
The people who don't think the park is in decline are mostly people who never visited when the park was actually run quite well, all those years ago. They get the criticism because they're owned by a giant corporation who have the money to do better.

To add to that, Merlin have run it poorly for so long now that most younger visitors know only what we have and go in with low expectations.
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I visit the park frequently and have been going since I was young
 
I do feel they need a major new ride to add some real excitement. Merlin 'could' give them a budget to do that AND make sure everything else is running properly, but they don't take that decision. It's great that they've refurbed some of the old rides and added Toxicator, but it's not the same as a major new Secret Weapon kind of thing to really get peoples attention.
 
s_g_k said:
The Friday fireworks are never as busy as Saturday. Don’t worry about the Saturday being darker, the sun will only be setting a minute or two earlier and it’ll be dark a good hour or so before the display starts. If you’re there on Friday as well I’d prioritise ride count on this day, then take a more gentle approach on Saturday and just soak up the awesome atmosphere that is Towers on fireworks weekend.

Don’t worry too much about being on the lawns hours in advance either - we’ve always got there at around 6ish and have never had an issue with getting a prime spot, which is towards the back of the lawns in the centre.
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Thank you very much for this
 
Mattie boy said:
Thank you very much for this
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I second what everyone else says - do your rides on the Friday, and go in on Saturday with a view of any rides you get on is a bonus! Also worthwhile seeing the fireworks on both days because often on Friday there can be misfires etc with it being the first display which are corrected on the Saturday. Not to mention the weather can be totally different on each evening. For example, in 2023 with the water projections of the Curse section, one day it was quite windy and the water didn't create the correct shape all the time and when Emily "shot" fireworks in the air, a couple misfired and never launched; the other day it was perfect.

I'm going into this year's displays with low expectations - in my opinion, nothing will beat the grandeur of last year's Phalanx Expo plus with the cuts Merlin have made I can't help think there will be cuts to the fireworks too. Time will tell, but whatever the display is like, it should be better than any local firework display in your home town!! 🤣
 
rob666 said:
It badly needs everything else fixing first...lots of coasters...little else, in my humble opinion.
Not the balanced park it used to be.
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havaska said:
100% agree. I only visit once a year, and when I went in June I found the park to be clean, tidy and well run. Managed to get on everything I wanted and had a great day!

Highlights for me were Hex being back and Curse running flawlessly.
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Agree with both of these. The park is actually generally fine, we went for fireworks last year and even the food we had was all good.
But overall there is also a lack of family rides and attractions. They need to get it more balanced and keep adding things for the whole family, shows, dark rides, lower thrill stuff.
 
If you're me who cam only visit the park once every 2 years them I suppose I'm a bit more forgiven who hasn't the time to spot faults (barring missing Hex twice on both recent visits) so I'm a bit more fairer.

Honestly if I weren't stuck in a TS echo chamber or certain social media individuals who have a personal grudge with the park as if some living personification of it crapped on their grandparents grave, then I guess I would be more positive.

Yes, I'm too young to remember what the park was like during its golden years so I can't comment on any of that.
 
MaxPower said:
Were you visiting in the mid / late 90s though?

I'm not trying to discredit your opinion, but comparing early 2010s Alton Towers with 90s / early 00s Towers to present day is quite a different thing.
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Would of been 2004 or 2005. Don't remember it well as would of been 1/2 but been going ever since then after that ramped up mainly in 2015 till now
 
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