Skyscraper
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Nemesis
I can't remember the last time I visited Towers in the Summer hols, but I recently did just that. Back in April, my best friend won an overnight say in Towers' easter competition, and as they are passholders they kindly offered me the tickets after being told they could give them away. So we used this as an opportunity to see each other again and for my parents and sister to meet them as well.
Arriving in the car park after a journey across the Peaks which almost made me spew (I rarely get travel sick but felt awful towards the end of this journey for some reason), my sister and I walked ahead and toward the plaza. Once there, I thought about getting my RAP but spotted my friend so greeted them and collected the tickets. They decided to head in as their kids were getting restless (I had planned to arrive earlier but we were running late), and I joined the short queue to collect my RAP timecard.
Timecard in hand, we entered the park. My friend's family had gone to Smiler, but I was still feeling off from the journey so didn't want to do it just yet. I decided to head to Nemesis, via Curse. It would mainly be me and my sister riding though, and we started with the park's powered coaster...
Runaway Mine Train
Always fun to ride the RMT, and a good one to start our day with!
After RMT, we headed to the Manor...
The Curse At Alton Manor
I was so looking forward to doing Curse again! It is very creepy but so, so good. Was a shame to see the trommel off, though. Also, the audio is very loud throughout the ride, so keep that in mind if you're sensitive. Mum and Dad joined us for Curse as well, which was nice. I'm glad we rode when we did as it had quite a bit of down time afterwords.
After Curse, we headed to the Valley, starting with a visit to see the Nemesis egg. Dad joined us for this one too.
Nemesis: Sub Terra
I really enjoyed this last time so was looking forward to getting back on. They are still only loading three towers due to one being unavailable, so it's taking 8 fewer guests than usual. Now, I have to say that the staff member manning the preshow was fantastic, so funny, he was genuinely enjoying his job and it was clear to see! He jump-scared me as well, bursting out of the scanner before letting us in.
Was a shame that the exit lifts aren't working again (no vibration), though. Also, a little tip:
After Sub Terra, it was finally time for Nemmy!
Nemesis Reborn
I was so excited to get back on Nemmy, and my sister was too (the original was actually her first upside-down coaster)! The new theming is excellent and works so well, and she still has a great roar. As an ambulant RAP user who hates using ride exits, it's nice that we now use the air gates. Tis a shame that the front-row queue is no more though, but the theming inside the station is phenomenal so it's a small loss in my opinion.
Approaching the batching point, we saw that there was a two in the front row bay so thought that we might get it, but there was another two in front of us. We got row four, but as we went there my sister noticed that one of them was hesitating and coming out of the bay, so asked if they'd like to swap. They did, much to their friend's annoyance (I did feel sorry for them tbh), so we got the front! I can see how being able to see everything could be unnerving for some people, though.
The ride itself was awesome like it always was, and it felt even faster than the original! It was so good to ride Nemmy again and I'd missed her so much. Smooth as well, and I didn't notice any rattle.
After Nemmy my parents wanted a coffee before we moved on towards Dark Forest, so we went to Ground Command. Afterwards, we met back up with my friend's family as they had just done Nemmy themselves and, after introductions, we all walked to Dark Forest together, which was nice.
Once there, we entered the Crypt...
Thirteen
I know it's slated for being short (it is), but I love thirteen for the drop track alone. It always gets me even know I know it's coming! We got row four; as with Nemmy, ambulant RAP now merge with everyone else at baggage and go up the steps to the station. This works much better in my opinion, as fewer people clog the ramp at the exit (wheelchairs struggled to go past everyone after their ride), and we're not restricted to the back car anymore. It's no surprise that Thirteen got the highest throughput in the whole park only a few days after it changed! It used to be one of the worst for RAP waits, but not anymore (will be interesting to see what it's like in the evening at Scarefest though). I must say though, the Tesla effect went off whilst we were in there and wasn't as loud as I remembered. Smilers' strobes are much, much worse in my opinion.
After Thirteen, I was planning to do Rita on my own (I have yellow RAP) as my sister didn't want to ride but my friend's kids wanted to ride so I went with them.
Rita
I know it gets a lot of hate, but I loved Rita when I rode it for the first time last year so was keen to ride it again. The launch is quick and the ride is intense, it might be short but it packs a punch. Was a little rattlier than last time, but not still not too bad. By the way, whilst we were waiting in the gates the op announced that the Fastrack queue was longer than the main one!
After Rita, my friend and their family decided to do one last ride before heading off as they had a long drive home, so after saying goodbye and thanking them again for the tickets, we decided to head towards the Muitiny Bay courtyard for our packed lunch. This was around 1 pm-ish.
Lunch finished, we took a walk through the park's Sealife Centre.
Sharkbait Reef
It's always nice to go in here, especially when it's raining (spoiler, it started after I came out!). It's well-themed and fairly long. I walked ahead and Mum joined me as Dad and my sister was still in the first area forensically examining it.
We exited and waited outside for them, and moved back into the shop when it started raining. I started getting a bit restless as time was running on, so decided to go and ride Heave Ho as I'd not done it for a fair while and it was a 5-minute wait (my sister had my RAP as I didn't have secure pockets).
Heave Ho
It was nice to get back on this ride, it's quite fun and well-themed. The cycle is shorter than it used to be though.
After I got back to Mum I thought about doing the Rapids but then remembered that I didn't have my RAP on me. My dad and sister eventually came out, though. They'd spent an hour in there! It was properly raining now, and we decided to head to X sector to be Marmalised.
The Smiler
I missed Smiler last year after riding for the first time in 2022, so couldn't wait to ride it again. Unfortunately, it was going to be a rain ride as it was chucking it down by this point. It turned out to be our longest RAP wait of the day, the main queue was listed at 45 minutes and I'm pretty sure we waited similar. Our queue was shorter but slower moving, as obviously they let less RAP through at a time than main.
Once past merge we had a short wait on the steps, although there was a slight delay due to "essential cleaning". Everyone groaned when that was announced, as you'll guess what it means...
It's understandable though, Smiler is an extremely intense ride and not everyone will be able to handle it. When we got to the batching point, we were assigned row 2. I was in the inside seat and, like last time, it was really smooth! It was awesome and to my delight I felt nowhere near as bad as I did towards the end of the ride than last time (empty stomach could have been the reason on my first ride, I was very hungry). And just like Curse, I'm very glad we rode Smiler when we did as it closed not long after.
After Smiler I had planned to ride Blivvy but the rain was still coming down and my sister decided she'd had enough, so I decided to head to the Galactica gate via Nemmy (after all, who wants to be sat on Blivvy's brake run in the rain for 10 minutes?!). This was the first time I'd used my RAP on my own, and I was sent to row 4. They were calling for singles so I got to bypass a bit of the station queue. It was awesome as always, and a great end to the day for me.
After that, We had a quick nosey in the shop, which looks great, then headed to the exit. We had a good day, or at least I did. It was great to finally get on Nemmy Rebs, as well as Smiler, Curse, Sub Terra and Rita (all rides I'd only ridden once before this visit). Was a shame that Wicker Man was closed (and still is), although with the scaffolding all gone now it could well open very soon, which would be typical. And Hex as well, although hopefully it'll have reopened by Scarefest as it's one of my favourites and I love it to bits (I've missed it terribly). Fingers crossed!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!
Ride count:
RMT- 1
Curse- 1
Sub Terra- 1
Nemesis- 2
Thirteen- 1
Rita- 1
Heave Ho- 1
Smiler- 1
Total: 8 (9)
Arriving in the car park after a journey across the Peaks which almost made me spew (I rarely get travel sick but felt awful towards the end of this journey for some reason), my sister and I walked ahead and toward the plaza. Once there, I thought about getting my RAP but spotted my friend so greeted them and collected the tickets. They decided to head in as their kids were getting restless (I had planned to arrive earlier but we were running late), and I joined the short queue to collect my RAP timecard.
Timecard in hand, we entered the park. My friend's family had gone to Smiler, but I was still feeling off from the journey so didn't want to do it just yet. I decided to head to Nemesis, via Curse. It would mainly be me and my sister riding though, and we started with the park's powered coaster...
Runaway Mine Train
Always fun to ride the RMT, and a good one to start our day with!
After RMT, we headed to the Manor...
The Curse At Alton Manor
I was so looking forward to doing Curse again! It is very creepy but so, so good. Was a shame to see the trommel off, though. Also, the audio is very loud throughout the ride, so keep that in mind if you're sensitive. Mum and Dad joined us for Curse as well, which was nice. I'm glad we rode when we did as it had quite a bit of down time afterwords.
After Curse, we headed to the Valley, starting with a visit to see the Nemesis egg. Dad joined us for this one too.
Nemesis: Sub Terra
I really enjoyed this last time so was looking forward to getting back on. They are still only loading three towers due to one being unavailable, so it's taking 8 fewer guests than usual. Now, I have to say that the staff member manning the preshow was fantastic, so funny, he was genuinely enjoying his job and it was clear to see! He jump-scared me as well, bursting out of the scanner before letting us in.
Was a shame that the exit lifts aren't working again (no vibration), though. Also, a little tip:
If you don't like the back prodders, lean forward slightly and they won't get you.
After Sub Terra, it was finally time for Nemmy!
Nemesis Reborn
I was so excited to get back on Nemmy, and my sister was too (the original was actually her first upside-down coaster)! The new theming is excellent and works so well, and she still has a great roar. As an ambulant RAP user who hates using ride exits, it's nice that we now use the air gates. Tis a shame that the front-row queue is no more though, but the theming inside the station is phenomenal so it's a small loss in my opinion.
Approaching the batching point, we saw that there was a two in the front row bay so thought that we might get it, but there was another two in front of us. We got row four, but as we went there my sister noticed that one of them was hesitating and coming out of the bay, so asked if they'd like to swap. They did, much to their friend's annoyance (I did feel sorry for them tbh), so we got the front! I can see how being able to see everything could be unnerving for some people, though.
The ride itself was awesome like it always was, and it felt even faster than the original! It was so good to ride Nemmy again and I'd missed her so much. Smooth as well, and I didn't notice any rattle.
After Nemmy my parents wanted a coffee before we moved on towards Dark Forest, so we went to Ground Command. Afterwards, we met back up with my friend's family as they had just done Nemmy themselves and, after introductions, we all walked to Dark Forest together, which was nice.
Once there, we entered the Crypt...
Thirteen
I know it's slated for being short (it is), but I love thirteen for the drop track alone. It always gets me even know I know it's coming! We got row four; as with Nemmy, ambulant RAP now merge with everyone else at baggage and go up the steps to the station. This works much better in my opinion, as fewer people clog the ramp at the exit (wheelchairs struggled to go past everyone after their ride), and we're not restricted to the back car anymore. It's no surprise that Thirteen got the highest throughput in the whole park only a few days after it changed! It used to be one of the worst for RAP waits, but not anymore (will be interesting to see what it's like in the evening at Scarefest though). I must say though, the Tesla effect went off whilst we were in there and wasn't as loud as I remembered. Smilers' strobes are much, much worse in my opinion.
After Thirteen, I was planning to do Rita on my own (I have yellow RAP) as my sister didn't want to ride but my friend's kids wanted to ride so I went with them.
Rita
I know it gets a lot of hate, but I loved Rita when I rode it for the first time last year so was keen to ride it again. The launch is quick and the ride is intense, it might be short but it packs a punch. Was a little rattlier than last time, but not still not too bad. By the way, whilst we were waiting in the gates the op announced that the Fastrack queue was longer than the main one!
After Rita, my friend and their family decided to do one last ride before heading off as they had a long drive home, so after saying goodbye and thanking them again for the tickets, we decided to head towards the Muitiny Bay courtyard for our packed lunch. This was around 1 pm-ish.
Lunch finished, we took a walk through the park's Sealife Centre.
Sharkbait Reef
It's always nice to go in here, especially when it's raining (spoiler, it started after I came out!). It's well-themed and fairly long. I walked ahead and Mum joined me as Dad and my sister was still in the first area forensically examining it.
We exited and waited outside for them, and moved back into the shop when it started raining. I started getting a bit restless as time was running on, so decided to go and ride Heave Ho as I'd not done it for a fair while and it was a 5-minute wait (my sister had my RAP as I didn't have secure pockets).
Heave Ho
It was nice to get back on this ride, it's quite fun and well-themed. The cycle is shorter than it used to be though.
After I got back to Mum I thought about doing the Rapids but then remembered that I didn't have my RAP on me. My dad and sister eventually came out, though. They'd spent an hour in there! It was properly raining now, and we decided to head to X sector to be Marmalised.
The Smiler
I missed Smiler last year after riding for the first time in 2022, so couldn't wait to ride it again. Unfortunately, it was going to be a rain ride as it was chucking it down by this point. It turned out to be our longest RAP wait of the day, the main queue was listed at 45 minutes and I'm pretty sure we waited similar. Our queue was shorter but slower moving, as obviously they let less RAP through at a time than main.
Once past merge we had a short wait on the steps, although there was a slight delay due to "essential cleaning". Everyone groaned when that was announced, as you'll guess what it means...
It's understandable though, Smiler is an extremely intense ride and not everyone will be able to handle it. When we got to the batching point, we were assigned row 2. I was in the inside seat and, like last time, it was really smooth! It was awesome and to my delight I felt nowhere near as bad as I did towards the end of the ride than last time (empty stomach could have been the reason on my first ride, I was very hungry). And just like Curse, I'm very glad we rode Smiler when we did as it closed not long after.
After Smiler I had planned to ride Blivvy but the rain was still coming down and my sister decided she'd had enough, so I decided to head to the Galactica gate via Nemmy (after all, who wants to be sat on Blivvy's brake run in the rain for 10 minutes?!). This was the first time I'd used my RAP on my own, and I was sent to row 4. They were calling for singles so I got to bypass a bit of the station queue. It was awesome as always, and a great end to the day for me.
After that, We had a quick nosey in the shop, which looks great, then headed to the exit. We had a good day, or at least I did.
It was great to finally get on Nemmy Rebs, as well as Smiler, Curse, Sub Terra and Rita (all rides I'd only ridden once before this visit). Was a shame that Wicker Man was closed (and still is), although with the scaffolding all gone now it could well open very soon, which would be typical. And Hex as well, although hopefully it'll have reopened by Scarefest as it's one of my favourites and I love it to bits (I've missed it terribly). Fingers crossed!Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!
Ride count:
RMT- 1
Curse- 1
Sub Terra- 1
Nemesis- 2
Thirteen- 1
Rita- 1
Heave Ho- 1
Smiler- 1
Total: 8 (9)
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