Alton's Maps designs, which is the best?

[Ted]

With the new map being released, everyone is currently discussing what they like and don't like about and they're comparing it to other. Now this has got me thinking, which of Alton's map designs is your personal favourite? You can judge on their design, detailing, and how easy they are to navigate. =)

To give you a quick reminder, there have been several map designs since the theme park opened in the early 80's, here's the eras of each map:

1981:

1982 to 1985:

1986 to 1987

1988:

1989:

1990:

1991 to 1993

1994 to 1997:

1998 to 2001

2002 to 2004

2005 to 2007

2008 to 2010

2011 to present

Creds to TowersTimes for the maps, if there's any mistakes I've made, then please tell me =)

 

[Alastair]

1998-2001 - functional, colourful, looks pleasant and is easy to navigate. Also accurate.

 

[Sam]

I'm actually in the (extreme) minority of preferring the 'Habbo Hotel' style maps, maybe they appeal to my taste for minimalism. 2005-07 ftw, very underrated map!

 

[BarryZola]

91-93 gives you everything you need on one page

 

[delta79]

I like the 1994 to 1997 as it works both as a map and a poster. but the 1991 to 1993 map holds a special place in my heart as it was the first Alton Towers map I saw.

 

[Ian]

2002 - 2004 for me. It's aesthetically pleasing, and manages to include all the attractions without being over crowded. It could easily be updated to include all the rides in the park today and still work as a map too.

However, 1990 is undoubtedly the best one for perspective and keeping everything in proportion. It's not the prettiest thing ever, but as a usable map it's probably the best one they've had. All the paths and walking routes are made very clear, and like with the 02 -04 one all the current lineup would comfortably fit in there, with room for expansion.

If you ask me, regardless of the design, the hotels do not need to be squashed into the main theme park map. It's not as if once in the hotel areas it's hard to find your way around. All it really needs is an arrow on the Monorail track pointing in the direction and saying "Monorail to the Hotels, Spa, Waterpark, and Golf". If the park feel it's necessary to have a resort map for the hotels then print it smaller on the overleaf, rather than taking space out of the theme park. Alton is a huge park. It needs all the map space it can get, as the current map proves!

 

[QTXAdsy]

1998 to 2001 without shadow of a doubt.

Clean, easy to read, nice to look at and yet just a really friendly looking map system.

 

[BigAl]

1998-2001 for me. Same reasons as why the others have chosen it. Just look at Nemesis, Oblivion, Haunted House and Corkscrew!

I also like the 1994-1997 map too though I'd obviously be against a new map looking like that as it's old fashioned and looks like someone used pencils to make it!

 

[Poisson]

2008-10 map holds a special place in my heart (Being the map for my first visit) but 1998-01 is the best at being an accurate map. If they could combine both I would be rather happy

 

[Fredward]

Re: Alton's Maps designs, which is the best?

98-01 or 02-04, design makes the park look busy yet navigational.

 

[Natalie]

I'm a 94-97 girl as this is the map I can remember most vividly from when I was a child it's magical, memorable, to scale and still navigate with it. This also shows how long I've been visiting for as this will be my 18th season.

 

[Lottie.]

1998 - 2001
Colourful and easy to navigate.

However I think the 1990 is a good map too. It's clear, concise and shows you all the routes to the areas of the park, which for Towers you need.

 

[Ted]

Thanks for the votes guys! At the moment it seems that the maps from 1998 to 2001 and 2008 to 2010 are the most popular so far =)

Anyway, I myself voted for the 2008 to 2010 maps. I think they look nicely detailed and suits Alton's image very well. They were the maps on my first visit to Alton in 2008 and they hold a place in my heart. They actually very useful as well when it comes to navigation as they easy to navigate.

=)

 

[DiogoJ42]

... the 1994-1997 ... looks like someone used pencils to make it!

They probably did draw it in pencil. This was long before the days of CG, you know

 

[Martin]

The Habbo maps are by far the worst.

They were all good up until then, but I especially like the early 90s stuff.

2008-2010 probably is my favourite period though. Get's everything right.

 

[DaveW]

I'm torn between the 94-97 maps and the 08-10 ones

The 94-97 maps always bring back memories of going there as a child as that was the map I grew up with. So it was MY map.

While the 08-10 maps are probably the most usable, as they show a fairly accurate representation of the park, routes around the park are clear and the valley between UG land/ Dark Forest and FV is pretty damned obvious.

At the end of the day though a map where the magic never ends is always going to win out for me, so 94-98 gets my vote!

 

[Daniel_F]

2002 to 2004 because its functional yet is a nice map to look at :twirly:

 

[StealthSide]

2002-2004 It's easy to navigate not too cluttered It has ug land in its prime a classic vekoma corkscrew and the blackhole and most importantly McDonalds! FTW!

 

[TurboJ]

I'm torn between the 94-97 map and the 08-10 map. On the one hand, 94-97 is very bright, easy to read and overall pleasing to the eye (it also makes me think of the Paulton's Park maps of the time). 08-10 is more special to me, as that was the period where my visits to the park really picked up. I love how bright it is and how it's still quite easy to navigate, unlike the current map.

2005-07 is easily the worst. I get the feeling they remade the park in RCT2 and then traced over it.