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Chocolate Towers
- Thread starter Burbs
- Start date
Plastic Person
TS Member
Not quite. The first year of it (2006?) was pretty good, with the huge, Miniature Heroes spewing Chococano at the bottom of Towers Street, and lots of other additional activities. The second year didn't see the Chococano return for some reason, and so the centrepiece of the event was lost and the whole thing felt a bit half-arsed in general. The hotel had a 'Rabbit Warren' maze that used the same infrastructure as Room 13. But it was only available to resort guests at the time. Shame, because it had the potential to be a cool little event.
James
TS Founding Member
Yeah, the first year, 2006, was probably one of the best events Alton Towers has ever pulled off! Topped off all of the Scarefest events we've had since 2007!
In 2006 theme park wise you had the volcano which would erupt twice a day with lots of chocolate, it was quite a visual effect, fire would come up on the sides of the volcano and smoke would come out at all parts before chocolate (Cadbury's Heros) shot up from the top at the audience around it - if you were standing further back actors would walk around with a big tub of chocolate that was given away.
If you stayed for the final 'eruption' of the day all of the actors would sing and dance too to a "It's Chocolate Time" song especially created for the event which was then followed by the volcano eruption.
In Cred Street Theatre (where Ice Age 4D is) you had the "Chocolate Follies" show which was on two or three times a day. They would basically sing and dance for 20 minutes and leave you in high spirits!
Fountain Square was renamed "Choco Square" for the event. You could meet "Father Choco" in his grotto and you would be given chocolate as a treat after seeing him (this was an attraction at no extra cost may I add!). There was also face painting and other bits.
In Choco Square too there was a stunt show that was on a handful of times during the day. To add to all of that as you left the park at the end of the day staff would be stood at the exit giving out even more chocolate!
Over in the Alton Towers Hotel you had the "Chocolate Casino" - as a hotel guest upon arrival you would be given free chocolate coins which you could use in the casino at night to gamble for more chocolate coins or 'spend' to have something from the chocolate fountain which had marshmallows, strawberries and other bits of fruit. Alternatively, if you ran out of chocolate coins you could go and buy some more (with real life money). I can't remember if you bought extra coins from the casino or at the reception desk.
The chocolate casino had mood lighting, chocolate coloured bean bags and sofas, the chocolate fountain and atmospheric music playing. It was quite a lovely room!
Sadly in 2007 the event went into a major decline. It was truly dreadful and a lot of enthusiasts seem to think of that as Chocolate Towers and forget the great event in 2006.
In the Alton Towers Hotel the chocolate casino was no more and was replaced by the 'Rabbit Warren' maze, as described above (by Plastic Person). It was a fun little maze. Although personally the chocolate casino I preferred far more! I remember at the end you had to 'hop' to exit the maze. I only remember that because I didn't hop out and the actress ridiculed me for that.
It was a well themed maze and very well done!
Theme Park wise they should have not bothered with anything tbh! The volcano no longer 'erupted' and just sat there on show.
There was no chocolate themed show in the Cred Street theatre and far less in Fountain Square.
However on the lawns a circus tent was erected and a "Chocolate Circus" show was shown a few times daily. It was a terrible show though and very poorly done. I was actually quite embarrassed for Towers at the time! It was like being in Butlins!
So the 2006 event was amazing. The 2007 event was awful and it's no wonder it didn't come back ion 2008 after the 2007 flop. A shame really, if it stayed at the same quality as it was in 2006 I firmly believe it would be an event that ents right now would have looked at developing further. Although the park seems to view Easter as a nothing holiday now.
In 2006 theme park wise you had the volcano which would erupt twice a day with lots of chocolate, it was quite a visual effect, fire would come up on the sides of the volcano and smoke would come out at all parts before chocolate (Cadbury's Heros) shot up from the top at the audience around it - if you were standing further back actors would walk around with a big tub of chocolate that was given away.
If you stayed for the final 'eruption' of the day all of the actors would sing and dance too to a "It's Chocolate Time" song especially created for the event which was then followed by the volcano eruption.
In Cred Street Theatre (where Ice Age 4D is) you had the "Chocolate Follies" show which was on two or three times a day. They would basically sing and dance for 20 minutes and leave you in high spirits!
Fountain Square was renamed "Choco Square" for the event. You could meet "Father Choco" in his grotto and you would be given chocolate as a treat after seeing him (this was an attraction at no extra cost may I add!). There was also face painting and other bits.
In Choco Square too there was a stunt show that was on a handful of times during the day. To add to all of that as you left the park at the end of the day staff would be stood at the exit giving out even more chocolate!
Over in the Alton Towers Hotel you had the "Chocolate Casino" - as a hotel guest upon arrival you would be given free chocolate coins which you could use in the casino at night to gamble for more chocolate coins or 'spend' to have something from the chocolate fountain which had marshmallows, strawberries and other bits of fruit. Alternatively, if you ran out of chocolate coins you could go and buy some more (with real life money). I can't remember if you bought extra coins from the casino or at the reception desk.
The chocolate casino had mood lighting, chocolate coloured bean bags and sofas, the chocolate fountain and atmospheric music playing. It was quite a lovely room!
Sadly in 2007 the event went into a major decline. It was truly dreadful and a lot of enthusiasts seem to think of that as Chocolate Towers and forget the great event in 2006.
In the Alton Towers Hotel the chocolate casino was no more and was replaced by the 'Rabbit Warren' maze, as described above (by Plastic Person). It was a fun little maze. Although personally the chocolate casino I preferred far more! I remember at the end you had to 'hop' to exit the maze. I only remember that because I didn't hop out and the actress ridiculed me for that.
It was a well themed maze and very well done! Theme Park wise they should have not bothered with anything tbh! The volcano no longer 'erupted' and just sat there on show.
There was no chocolate themed show in the Cred Street theatre and far less in Fountain Square.
However on the lawns a circus tent was erected and a "Chocolate Circus" show was shown a few times daily. It was a terrible show though and very poorly done. I was actually quite embarrassed for Towers at the time! It was like being in Butlins!
So the 2006 event was amazing. The 2007 event was awful and it's no wonder it didn't come back ion 2008 after the 2007 flop. A shame really, if it stayed at the same quality as it was in 2006 I firmly believe it would be an event that ents right now would have looked at developing further. Although the park seems to view Easter as a nothing holiday now.
James
TS Founding Member
There's some great pictures of the event on Alton Towers Almanac.
2006: http://gallery.towersalmanac.com/thumbnails.php?album=371
2007: http://gallery.towersalmanac.com/thumbnails.php?album=471
2006: http://gallery.towersalmanac.com/thumbnails.php?album=371
2007: http://gallery.towersalmanac.com/thumbnails.php?album=471
Rollercoasters4Life
TS Member
If I remember correctly, didn't the first 'eruption' of the chocolate volcano go ok but then people started to climb onto the chocolate volcano base structure to get the chocolates - not far from where the flame effects were (although I'm unsure if they were used on the first performance). Think they fixed it by the next eruption later and had metal guard fences blocking off the base structure.
maitland88
TS Member
ahhh this sounds awesome, wish id be around to see this..
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
The event sounds great fun from what you guys are saying! All I had ever heard about the event before is a thing about an upside down Easter egg hunt, where an actor in an egg costume called Eggbert hunted the children. Something tells me that wouldn't go down too well in 2017...
Bert2theSpark
TS Member
I like how there was a chracter called Eggbert...
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