• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

2026: General Discussion

I’m not going to praise Towers for doing routine maintenance but it certainly seems that the narrative no maintenance is occurring is untrue.

But on the flip side the hotels don’t seem to have had their usual clean, very confusing mix of signals.
 
Poisson said:
The path was spreading in that location. No major issue but nice it is being sorted.
Click to expand...
And it's good to see they are replacing it with block paving. Considering the rest of the paths in front of the Towers are tarmac, it would've been easier and cheaper to have ripped them all up and tarmac'd down to the X Sector toilets.
 
It looks like the app has started to be updated for the weekend. I was doing some site admin earlier ahead of Feb Half Term and spotted that along with the Feb Half Term shows and Spinball Whizzer, Haunted Hollow is also showing as available.

Not sure if it's an oversight and will disappear over the next few days, but Haunted Hollow seems like an odd attraction to add to the line-up, on its own. 🤔
 
Squiggs said:
It looks like the app has started to be updated for the weekend. I was doing some site admin earlier ahead of Feb Half Term and spotted that along with the Feb Half Term shows and Spinball Whizzer, Haunted Hollow is also showing as available.

Not sure if it's an oversight and will disappear over the next few days, but Haunted Hollow seems like an odd attraction to add to the line-up, on its own. 🤔
Click to expand...
Is Curse open? Could they be providing a shortcut to it?
 
Haunted Hollow was open at Christmas, I wonder if they have just forgotten to take it off the app.

In other news Alton Towers archive have posted that they believe the house and garden tours have been scrapped for 2026, so presumably that’s no access to the Towers now - paid or otherwise.
 
AT86 said:
Haunted Hollow was open at Christmas, I wonder if they have just forgotten to take it off the app.

In other news Alton Towers archive have posted that they believe the house and garden tours have been scrapped for 2026, so presumably that’s no access to the Towers now - paid or otherwise.
Click to expand...
That’s not a surprise given the restructure, but it’s a shame that the park spent so much time trying to introduce a product, but Merlin seem to cut things before it’s able to gain any momentum.

The Gardens and Heritage can add so much value to the existing offering at Towers (namely the capacity problem), but the groundwork needs to be laid and the heritage tour would have been an excellent starting point. There’s definitely an increased appetite for heritage assets in recent years looking at the wider staycation/day trip market.
 
Alfredo said:
Alton towers hotel now has automatic doors
Click to expand...
It does indeed;

HAy8U9vWYAAQzkm
 
It seems like the routine winter maintenance has extended to the netting around Rita too. This may have been posted but I couldn't see it.

For those who don't use Facebook, Coastal Nets Ltd posted the following.

"Another big job completed in tough conditions. Not easy fitting this in freezing wet conditions but we got there. Rita roller coaster at Alton Towers all ready for the new season."




Interesting that they use a company primarily invested in the manufacturing of marine grade fishing nets to do their ride netting. Admittedly, the company do also specialise in industrial and sporting netting. I suppose a net manufactured to the notoriously tough conditions of a marine environment will withstand other applications such as in sporting and industrial very, very well.

On a side note, Rita really needs a repaint don't ya think? I suppose it does fit the dark forest aesthetic as is. But that's besides the point.

I suppose the nets are more of a compliance issue so they have to be done, rather than the park doing it because they felt like it as would be the case with a repaint.
 
Last edited:
DistortAMG said:
It seems like the routine winter maintenance has extended to the netting around Rita too. This may have been posted but I couldn't see it.

Bei Facebook anmelden

Melde dich bei Facebook an, um dich mit deinen Freunden, deiner Familie und Personen, die du kennst, zu verbinden und Inhalte zu teilen.
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com

For those who don't use Facebook, Coastal Nets Ltd posted the following.

"Another big job completed in tough conditions. Not easy fitting this in freezing wet conditions but we got there. Rita roller coaster at Alton Towers all ready for the new season."




Interesting that they use a company primarily invested in the manufacturing of marine grade fishing nets to do their ride netting. Admittedly, the company do also specialise in industrial and sporting netting. I suppose a net manufactured to the notoriously tough conditions of a marine environment will withstand other applications such as in sporting and industrial very, very well.

On a side note, Rita really needs a repaint don't ya think? I suppose it does fit the dark forest aesthetic as is. But that's besides the point.

I suppose the nets are more of a compliance issue so they have to be done, rather than the park doing it because they felt like it as would be the case with a repaint.
Click to expand...
4 of Towers coasters are desperate for a repaint Oblivion, Rita, Galactica abd The Smiler though in all honesty its hard to tell whether repaint or simple jet washing is the best way.

I don't like that new Rita net looks ugly and ruins getting photos and videos of rides. Especially ad Rita used to be fully open on all sides with no wooden beams
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top