jon81uk
TS Member
Went to AT for the fireworks on Saturday 9 November, for the first time in five years so thought I'd write a bit of a report and review.
We did spend a lot as did VIP for the fireworks and staying in Alton Towers Hotel but it was my partner who made the booking so I'm not sure how overpriced the hotel was.
Arrived in the hotel car park about 09.55, entered via the Galactica gate and got a ride on Nemesis with a 25 minute wait, Then did Curse with no wait.
Nemesis was exactly as I remembered, didn't notice anything particularly different to the ride experiance with it being Reborn, but the new queue line layou was nice with the view over the loop.
Curse at Alton Manor seemed to have a lot of black dead space and we had pauses a few times that caused some issues. A lot of the jump scares just seemed to be dolls replacing the old ghouls of the Haunted House. I should have tried to get another ride on it during the day to see a bit more of the ride, but overall it was a bit better than Duel, but maybe not as good as it could be?
We then went to the corporate hospitality tent to check in for the VIP experience and got our lanyards.
We were given the VIP goody bag (a blue rucksack, containing a dark blue Alton Towers Resort cap, a VIP pin badge and VIP keyring) the bag also had the Gold fastrack ticket, 2x drinks tokens for the bar in the hospitality tent, a voucher for the photopass and a freestyle drinks cup.
We had a designated table for two in their, which had a tub of sweets, two small Pringles tubs and two Cadbury bars on it. There was coffee, tea, water and sqaush/cordial available as well as mini croissants and pain au chocolat.
After checking having a coffee and some pastries we headed out to go on Thirteen, but found it shut and Rita temporily closed. So did a ride new to me, Gangsta Granny, this was pretty good, I've got no prior knowledge of the book but it was entertaining enough and the mix of screens and sets worked OK. No need for the Fastrack as there was zero queue.
Then did Flavio's Fandango as don't think we've been on a sizzler in 24 years!
Not certain if we did Rita or Hex next but got them done, using Fasttrack on both. New Hex was good, although I didn't like that the twinkly lights in the branch were on the whole time, they previously only came on towards the end. Otherwise it barely seemed different.
We got lunch at Burger Kitchen Mutiny Bay, it annoyed me that despite having a freestyle cup with refills, we had to order a meal including a drink! The BBQ chicken sandwich was OK, chicken strips very crispy and almost as good as McDonalds selects. Cheeseburger patty was a bit overcooked and dry, but not terrible. I set expectations fairly low and they exceeded them. Fries too salty for me though.
Had a look round Sharkbait Reef and chilled out for a bit, then joined a 60 minute queue for Wickerman, which was exactly how long we waited. Wickerman was much better and faster than I remembered.
Walked over to Forbiddon Valley, to find Galactica was down, but it came back and I got in the Fastrack queue, but it was on one station so took 30-40 minutes. They did get the second side working again and back to three train ops though. Did mean I got a dark ride though.
By this point it was approaching 5pm and we didn't think we had time to get on Nemesis so headed back to the hospitality tent.
VIP included a two course buffet from 4.30pm to 6pm. We used our drink vouchers on Magners dark fruit (they didn't have any regular apple cider for some reason), the bar was all cans and bottles (beer, cider and some Jack Daniels and coke cans plus gin and tonic cans)red, white and rose wine was available too.
The food buffet was significantly better than I expected. There was carved gammon, yorkshire puddings, Staffordshire Lobb beef stew, sausages in gravy, butternut mac & cheese, corn on the cob, leeks, roast whole potatoes, chicken in white cream sauce, mashed potato, gravy and some kind of vegetarian filo pie plus sourdough bread. Everything was good quality but I think the yorkshires were from frozen. Sausages were decent quality. Dessert was sticky toffee pudding and custard, brownies and cream scones plus maybe other cake.
At 6pm they handed out flashing sticks to everyone and offered to take those who wanted to over to the viewing area to see the band. Then at 6.30 they walked everyone else to the viewing area. It was maybe a bit too close overall, especially with the fire effects, but as this years fireworks focussed on a stage and a fairly narrow field of view it probably was a good thing being close to the front, whereas previous fireworks used a wider area along the lake.
Although this was more of a plot driven show, I don't think it was my favourite fireworks display overall. The lasers were overused and distracted from the fireworks. Too many sections were random alien battle noises so the fireworks didn't feel as timed and planned as I know they are capable of being. I enjoyed the overall show, but prefer more pyromusical displays.
After the fireworks we headed to Wickerman, a short wait with fastrack although the staff member was struggling at the merge point and had to ask people to step back so he could close some gates and get it more organised. Wickerman was fanstasic once again, felt even faster. Then we finished using Fastrack on Nemesis (Gold doesn't normally include it but as Thirteen was down we were allowed to use Nemesis instead) and a great ride on Nemesis finished the day well before we exited via the Galactica gate.
Hotel check in was OK with a member of staff using the touchscreen for us. But lots of confusion about booking a breakfast time, I scanned the QR code and it offer three slots, but when clicking them it said not available. Front desk advised speaking to the host at Secret Garden, who claimed to make a booking but then next morning there was no record of it. Loads of tables free at 0900 anyway so it didn't matter.
Breakfast was OK, cooked was better than I remember although sausages are still cheap but the overall selection is a bit poor, only croissants and pain au chocolat plus some muffins. Plain yogurt with defrosted berries on the side, then watermelon and pineapple slices. It just doesn't feel like a large premium selection.
The coffee was fine, but two of the flasks were empty, personally I prefer filter in general so don't miss the old machines too much, but they need to monitor and fill up more. There was flyers for Expedition Espresso on tables, so I wonder if removing the bean to cup is to encourage more premium coffee sales?
There was also still chips on the floor from the previous nights service, so the cleaning isn't great.
Extraordinary Golf was very very busy with everyone using the free voucher from the hotel stay. Its in OK condition but some holes need resurfacing again due to potholes appearing and parts sinking and the stream is just mud without the pumps on.
Didn't get stopped when leaving the car park.
We did spend a lot as did VIP for the fireworks and staying in Alton Towers Hotel but it was my partner who made the booking so I'm not sure how overpriced the hotel was.
Arrived in the hotel car park about 09.55, entered via the Galactica gate and got a ride on Nemesis with a 25 minute wait, Then did Curse with no wait.
Nemesis was exactly as I remembered, didn't notice anything particularly different to the ride experiance with it being Reborn, but the new queue line layou was nice with the view over the loop.
Curse at Alton Manor seemed to have a lot of black dead space and we had pauses a few times that caused some issues. A lot of the jump scares just seemed to be dolls replacing the old ghouls of the Haunted House. I should have tried to get another ride on it during the day to see a bit more of the ride, but overall it was a bit better than Duel, but maybe not as good as it could be?
We then went to the corporate hospitality tent to check in for the VIP experience and got our lanyards.
We were given the VIP goody bag (a blue rucksack, containing a dark blue Alton Towers Resort cap, a VIP pin badge and VIP keyring) the bag also had the Gold fastrack ticket, 2x drinks tokens for the bar in the hospitality tent, a voucher for the photopass and a freestyle drinks cup.
We had a designated table for two in their, which had a tub of sweets, two small Pringles tubs and two Cadbury bars on it. There was coffee, tea, water and sqaush/cordial available as well as mini croissants and pain au chocolat.
After checking having a coffee and some pastries we headed out to go on Thirteen, but found it shut and Rita temporily closed. So did a ride new to me, Gangsta Granny, this was pretty good, I've got no prior knowledge of the book but it was entertaining enough and the mix of screens and sets worked OK. No need for the Fastrack as there was zero queue.
Then did Flavio's Fandango as don't think we've been on a sizzler in 24 years!
Not certain if we did Rita or Hex next but got them done, using Fasttrack on both. New Hex was good, although I didn't like that the twinkly lights in the branch were on the whole time, they previously only came on towards the end. Otherwise it barely seemed different.
We got lunch at Burger Kitchen Mutiny Bay, it annoyed me that despite having a freestyle cup with refills, we had to order a meal including a drink! The BBQ chicken sandwich was OK, chicken strips very crispy and almost as good as McDonalds selects. Cheeseburger patty was a bit overcooked and dry, but not terrible. I set expectations fairly low and they exceeded them. Fries too salty for me though.
Had a look round Sharkbait Reef and chilled out for a bit, then joined a 60 minute queue for Wickerman, which was exactly how long we waited. Wickerman was much better and faster than I remembered.
Walked over to Forbiddon Valley, to find Galactica was down, but it came back and I got in the Fastrack queue, but it was on one station so took 30-40 minutes. They did get the second side working again and back to three train ops though. Did mean I got a dark ride though.
By this point it was approaching 5pm and we didn't think we had time to get on Nemesis so headed back to the hospitality tent.
VIP included a two course buffet from 4.30pm to 6pm. We used our drink vouchers on Magners dark fruit (they didn't have any regular apple cider for some reason), the bar was all cans and bottles (beer, cider and some Jack Daniels and coke cans plus gin and tonic cans)red, white and rose wine was available too.
The food buffet was significantly better than I expected. There was carved gammon, yorkshire puddings, Staffordshire Lobb beef stew, sausages in gravy, butternut mac & cheese, corn on the cob, leeks, roast whole potatoes, chicken in white cream sauce, mashed potato, gravy and some kind of vegetarian filo pie plus sourdough bread. Everything was good quality but I think the yorkshires were from frozen. Sausages were decent quality. Dessert was sticky toffee pudding and custard, brownies and cream scones plus maybe other cake.
At 6pm they handed out flashing sticks to everyone and offered to take those who wanted to over to the viewing area to see the band. Then at 6.30 they walked everyone else to the viewing area. It was maybe a bit too close overall, especially with the fire effects, but as this years fireworks focussed on a stage and a fairly narrow field of view it probably was a good thing being close to the front, whereas previous fireworks used a wider area along the lake.
Although this was more of a plot driven show, I don't think it was my favourite fireworks display overall. The lasers were overused and distracted from the fireworks. Too many sections were random alien battle noises so the fireworks didn't feel as timed and planned as I know they are capable of being. I enjoyed the overall show, but prefer more pyromusical displays.
After the fireworks we headed to Wickerman, a short wait with fastrack although the staff member was struggling at the merge point and had to ask people to step back so he could close some gates and get it more organised. Wickerman was fanstasic once again, felt even faster. Then we finished using Fastrack on Nemesis (Gold doesn't normally include it but as Thirteen was down we were allowed to use Nemesis instead) and a great ride on Nemesis finished the day well before we exited via the Galactica gate.
Hotel check in was OK with a member of staff using the touchscreen for us. But lots of confusion about booking a breakfast time, I scanned the QR code and it offer three slots, but when clicking them it said not available. Front desk advised speaking to the host at Secret Garden, who claimed to make a booking but then next morning there was no record of it. Loads of tables free at 0900 anyway so it didn't matter.
Breakfast was OK, cooked was better than I remember although sausages are still cheap but the overall selection is a bit poor, only croissants and pain au chocolat plus some muffins. Plain yogurt with defrosted berries on the side, then watermelon and pineapple slices. It just doesn't feel like a large premium selection.
The coffee was fine, but two of the flasks were empty, personally I prefer filter in general so don't miss the old machines too much, but they need to monitor and fill up more. There was flyers for Expedition Espresso on tables, so I wonder if removing the bean to cup is to encourage more premium coffee sales?
There was also still chips on the floor from the previous nights service, so the cleaning isn't great.
Extraordinary Golf was very very busy with everyone using the free voucher from the hotel stay. Its in OK condition but some holes need resurfacing again due to potholes appearing and parts sinking and the stream is just mud without the pumps on.
Didn't get stopped when leaving the car park.
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