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Fireworks 2023 šŸŽ†

So, Ignition (pre show live band) are a little hard on the ear. Bring back the relentless DJ!
 
Quick review whilst I queue for Rita!
So it involves telling the story of your day at Alton Towers. They go through Mutuny Bay, Katanga Canyon, Smiler,Alty Mans and new take that land.
Thereā€™s a water screen thatā€™s used quite well in the Alty Mans bit.
No nemesis bit.
Also I thought it managed expectations really well as it didnā€™t cover all the rides- basically hereā€™s the story of your day were you wonā€™t get on everything because of break downs. Was quite surprised there was no fastrack section!
Overall 10/10 fireworks, lacking on story and nemesis
 
Manchester1894 said:
Any drones this year?.
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No, but much more variety in terms of effects. We had lighting, fireballs, lasers and waterscreens in the Curse At Alton Manor section and a bit at the end as well.

I think they also had ground shakers as well because there was one segment where the ground literally shook accompanied by huge bass thuds!

Iā€™d take the above over drones to be honest.

Now Iā€™ve processed it more, I take back my previous comment about the display being the weakest since Covid.

It was much better than last year in terms of pure pyro power. And Iā€™m so glad they didnā€™t focus on the coasters yet again. It was much more about the themed areas.
 
s_g_k said:
No, but much more variety in terms of effects. We had lighting, fireballs, lasers and waterscreens in the Curse At Alton Manor section and a bit at the end as well.

I think they also had ground shakers as well because there was one segment where the ground literally shook accompanied by huge bass thuds!

Iā€™d take the above over drones to be honest.

Now Iā€™ve processed it more, I take back my previous comment about the display being the weakest since Covid.

It was much better than last year in terms of pure pyro power. And Iā€™m so glad they didnā€™t focus on the coasters yet again. It was much more about the themed areas.
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Thank you.. going tomorrow and looking forward to it.. I've seen drones at DLP and even though they are good, once you've seen them I don't think it has the same impact again. I've never been to a display of this magnitude so will just go with the flow. šŸ™‚

Going with the mindset that the weather will be torrid. The rides might be unreliable. But if I can just get on Smiler and Wickerman in the dark I'm happy. Do we know how queue times were for them after the display today?
 
Manchester1894 said:
Thank you.. going tomorrow and looking forward to it.. I've seen drones at DLP and even though they are good, once you've seen them I don't think it has the same impact again. I've never been to a display of this magnitude so will just go with the flow. šŸ™‚

Going with the mindset that the weather will be torrid. The rides might be unreliable. But if I can just get on Smiler and Wickerman in the dark I'm happy. Do we know how queue times were for them after the display today?
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We left straight after the display finished Iā€™m afraid.

Iā€™ll write a full trip report tomorrow, but even though it was very busy today and coaster availability didnā€™t seem great for those purely looking at the app, it really wasnā€™t that bad. We managed 9 rides in total by 5:30pm having arrived at 0930, 5 of which were major coasters and we didnā€™t fastrack anything.

But going back to fireworks, Iā€™d happily take tonightā€™s variety of effects over some drones any day.

The sound could have been louder though, although we werenā€™t stood on the lawns this time, we were stood next to the closest circle of grass at the bottom of towers street.
 
Manchester1894 said:
Thank you.. going tomorrow and looking forward to it.. I've seen drones at DLP and even though they are good, once you've seen them I don't think it has the same impact again. I've never been to a display of this magnitude so will just go with the flow. šŸ™‚

Going with the mindset that the weather will be torrid. The rides might be unreliable. But if I can just get on Smiler and Wickerman in the dark I'm happy. Do we know how queue times were for them after the display today?
Click to expand...
Going tomorrow too, weather is looking dreadful isn't itšŸ˜‚ 13 will be shut all day lol.
I'm hoping to do 13 and Wicker Man at night, done smiler already, brilliant night ride.
Hopefully get the rainy day guarantee
 
Sorry could I also ask if there are any tips
s_g_k said:
We left straight after the display finished Iā€™m afraid.

Iā€™ll write a full trip report tomorrow, but even though it was very busy today and coaster availability didnā€™t seem great for those purely looking at the app, it really wasnā€™t that bad. We managed 9 rides in total by 5:30pm having arrived at 0930.

But going back to fireworks, Iā€™d happily take tonightā€™s variety of effects over some drones any day.

The sound could have been louder though, although we werenā€™t stood on the lawns this time, we were stood next to the closest circle of grass at the bottom of towers street.
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Thanks - coaster availability is at the back of my mind - it's down to luck.. my youngest boy hasn't done Galactica, Rita, Blivvy or Smiler as he was too short last time out. If he can get on one of them If be happy for him šŸ˜‚
 
Manchester1894 said:
Sorry could I also ask if there are any tips

Thanks - coaster availability is at the back of my mind - it's down to luck.. my youngest boy hasn't done Galactica, Rita, Blivvy or Smiler as he was too short last time out. If he can get on one of them If be happy for him šŸ˜‚
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In terms of ride count, the usual always stands. Start at the back of the park and you can have 3 coasters done by 11 provided youā€™re in a queue for one of them for 0930 and it opens on time.

Fireworks wise, Iā€™ve heard people say you need to be on the lawns for 4pm to get a good place but you really donā€™t need to be there that early. Get there around 5:30, grab some food and a couple drinks from the bus bar (bottom left of towers street) and before you know it youā€™ve only got 1/2 hour to wait for the fireworks to start. Best view is at the top of the lawns. Donā€™t get too close otherwise youā€™ll not get the full experience of the lasers and lighting rigs placed around the lawns.
 
WickerWonder18 said:
Going tomorrow too, weather is looking dreadful isn't itšŸ˜‚ 13 will be shut all day lol.
I'm hoping to do 13 and Wicker Man at night, done smiler already, brilliant night ride.
Hopefully get the rainy day guarantee
Click to expand...
Don't be too hasty with writing 13 off. I went during peak Storm Babet expecting it to be up and down all day and it ran up until 10-15 minutes before ride close.

Wicker Man at night is worth the entrance fee alone.
 
Wasn't blown away by the fireworks tonight. The displays on the smoke were great with the sails during the Mutiny Bay section and the vortex section on The Smiler, and the ITHOTMK was one of the better finales, but that's about it. Everything else was mildly average, sadly.
 
Thought the fireworks were brilliant bit confused as to what the new element to the show was, maybe the loud explosions in the middle when the ground shook, or the water feature where it had Emily Alton, some dancing lady and some text with a fairly tale type font, I'm not sure.

The show was truly spectacular anyway, the only thing last year did better was the fact it had drones the show itself was better imo, 2021 is still probably the strongest year post covid however.

Ride wise I did the curse twice, wicker man, subterra and galactica, someone in our group has a phobia of rides so we're gonna focus more on rides tomorrow and will ride wicker man whilst the fireworks are going off too.

10/10 though it's still the best show in the country for fireworks so I wouldn't be too worried about that.
 
Fireworks were good, last seasonā€™s were better with the addition of drones.

The new effects included a water screen which was projected onto, worked quite well but obviously not so detailed. I think I missed the screens.

The story for the fireworks wasnā€™t really fairytale or fantasy which was what was eluded to. It was more blowing of smoke up their own bottoms again about their rides etc but no section for Nemesis which was quite strange really as they are actively promoting it at every opportunity.

Singers on the pre-show were not so great but I donā€™t expect decent entertainment. They donā€™t pay Elton John wages so we shouldnā€™t be surprised when we get what we get.
 
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