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The Magic Never Ends - An Alternate History of Alton Towers
- Thread starter QTXAdsy
- Start date
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
Yeah, all little but big differences here. Keeping things plausible here makes it sound more realistic as possible.
Anyway, what chapter or change have you liked so far or what are you hoping to see in upcoming updates?
Matt N
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Shambhala (PortAventura Park)
I've got to say, even though it's simple, I quite liked the idea of the Alton Towers Museum in 2011 (I think? Correct me if I'm wrong on the exact year...). I do think something like that would be an excellent addition!Anyway, what chapter or change have you liked so far or what are you hoping to see in upcoming updates?
I also really liked Thirteen going in Gloomy Wood... I think that would have worked really well, and I also think that the Haunted House (sort of) returning earlier would have been nice too!
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
Yes, you're correct on the year for the museum. Only problem I think I might have made for it is that with it being restoration of a Grade 2 listed structure in the Talbort Gallery is that planning and construction would have taken another year or two but hey, guess its one of those things.
Having Thirteen on Gloomy Wood and not having Dark Forest is honestly a no banner. Save money on retheming an area, use it to overhaul and return HH and have Thirteen with its theme fit in far better which kills three birds with one stone...does make you wonder why they didn't do this ad it would have saved them a lot of trouble regarding Ug Land.
Plus, we don't need two spooky woods theme though it doesn't mean to say that we won't see another woods theme in this timeline soon...I'll let you speculate at what might happen!
BigShadowtinytree
TS Member
Smilers changes are probably my favourite. Oh how I wish merlin had opted for lap bars in real life. I also really liked the idea of the tunnel for the vertical lift hill.
The museum and Air remaster are up there too.
The museum and Air remaster are up there too.
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
Thank you for the comments, always good to hear them and what you liked so far. Anyway, now we go into 2014 in which we get a new family themed area though not quite what you think though a little clue here is that Squirrel Nutty isn't evicted...
While no one could deny that since taking over both Alton Towers and even Thorpe Park in 2007, Merlin had invested heavily in both parks with Alton Towers now with new coasters in the likes of Thirteen and The Smiler pretty much become part of the park's landscape and in some ones would seem unthinkable with them not there now. However, there was one problem that Merlin seemed to suffer from and that was a heavy interest in the more 'dark and gritty' themes and for those who had followed the building of new rides at Alton Towers over the last few years would know this all too well with other than the more family themed areas such as Mutiny Bay, Cloud Cuckoo Land and Forgotten Oasis (the latter being more of an early Tussauds theme instead of a Merlin job) and the Alton Towers Museum, the rest had been all dark with Thirteen, the revamped Haunted House, Nemesis Sub Terra and The Smiler being evident of this and while no one didn't hate either of their themes, it was clear that the park was long needed something family related which some felt was overdue.
Some say that the peak of the gritty and dark themes of Merlin would present to the park was with Nemesis Sub Terra in 2012 in which after letting the creative team off the hook was perhaps a little bit of a mistake as the sight of several kids walking off the ride in tears was not exactly fitting the 'family' image the park was wanting to go forward and while a year later The Smiler would have a dark theme that was no one near as intense as Nemesis Sub Terra, it still had quite a number of black comedy for its theme and by this point, even Merlin knew that they couldn't keep going down that path as it meant a possible loss of the lucrative family market and 2014 was to see a different theme and one that was to be family orientated for both Alton and Thrope.
As it would turn out for 2014, Thorpe Park was to see a whole new themed area called 'Cbeebies Land', based of the popular BBC children's channel, that was to have its own area behind the park's 2009 coaster 'Buzzsaw' [1] and would be a return for the park heading back to its family roots prior to when Tussauds bought the place and looked to be sure-fire winner with the family market and it was seriously considered for both Thorpe and Alton to get a Cbeebies Land each but instead it was decided on Thorpe getting, what was boasted in the press as the 'World's First' Cbeebies Land which did seem a little bit overkill to some but then again when it came to Merlin, getting something first was always a winner yet it did leave those up at Alton Towers feeling annoyed at not getting their own version in which the feeling of Merlin appealing to a more London Centric view was quite a common feeling so the question now for the park was what do for the 2014 season.
The planning had been all going on during the 2013 season and it was clear that something had to be done with 'Storybook Land' in which hadn't seen anything of note of late other than the failed Shrek plan for the area and since the area itself, which when first built was considered perhaps the most beautiful area of the park was now looking tired and run down and clearly was crying out for a much need overhaul. It was said that had Alton Towers gotten the nod to build Cbeebies Land then it is quite likely that Storybook Land would have been replaced by that but since that was no longer the case, the park's two creative teams would have to work together to put together a new idea of a theme that could be done quite cheaply yet would be more than just a mere paintjob. As it would turn out, the idea that helped kicked started the idea would actually lie with another concept that was being developed regarding new accommodation for the park...
The Bookworm animatronic who would greet guests entering Storybook (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
Back in 2012, the park was planning out what would be its third set of accommodation which instead of being yet another hotel like the 'Alton Towers Hotel' and 'Splash Landings' hotel and waterpark, this was to be a set of small lodges known as the 'Enchanted Village' [2] which was to be themed around a fantasy fairy-tale hideaway and the hope was that it would be ready for an opening in 2015. During the 2013 season, behind the scenes the plans would see a few changes, yet this did not go unnoticed by the two creative Alton Towers teams who were at the point still basking in the glory of the success of The Smiler and an idea began to take root in which the theme of this new set of accommodation did bare a resemblance in a way to what Storybook Land was though arguably a lot more immersive and the idea started to gain traction for a soft retheme of Storybook Land in what was mentioned in early plans for the area as, rather unimaginatively it must be said, Storybook Land 2.0 and it did mean that at long last this area of the park was to get much needed attention though the question was what would change?
In terms of theming, not much would change greatly in the grand scheme of things in which many online discussion forums at the time felt it was nothing more than a glorified repaint job, yet it was when the first leaked plans of the new area would take some aback in which the area was going to expand with the nearby area known as Adventure Land was to be annexed into the nearly expanded land and the famous ice show tent was to be removed in favour what would be a more open space in the middle of a themed plaza type area though what this would be was unclear. What was clear however was that at the end of the 2013 season was that the little Pinfari kids' coaster known as 'The Beastie' which had remained closed and had operated since 2010, would finally be removed from the park in favour of a new coaster [3] and even though it was never a ride that never was one of the best rides ever made, it is a ride that is fondly remembered by many enthusiasts as their first coaster they ever rode though thankfully it wouldn't be scrapped and instead was sold off to Barry Island in South Wales where it still operates to this day.
What was to be built in its place however was not only another kids coaster to help fill in a gap that had been missing in the park's coaster line up since Beastie closed but one that was far better in almost every way - a Mack YoungSTAR junior coaster was to be built at what would have been at that time only the fifth built. Either way as the construction fences went up around Storybook Land, many fans could hardly wait to see what was in store for 2014 while other fans of the park were just relieved that this area of the park which had suffered from poor maintenance and broken effects, most notable the Bookworm has had by this point seen parts of the rubber skin starting to come off and couldn't have moved as well as it had done before; an obvious victim to Tussauds and Merlin's lacklustre look on upkeep which had become all too documented.
Correcaminos Bip, Bip in Spain, the new ride at Alton Towers would actually be a clone of its Spanish sister (C) Mack Rides
As leaked photos started to appear from what was going on, it was quite more extensive than some had first thought. Adventure Land was pretty much annexed into Storybook Land which was actually something of a full circle moment in which those who had followed the park over the years would have known that before Storybook Land was created, that area and Adventure Land were once part of the same area known as 'Kiddies Kingdom' which had been in place from 1986 until 1995 in which the two areas were split though when Spinball Whizzer, now named Sonic Spinball due to its new sponsorship with SEGA, the plan had been to theme Adventure Land into something like a giant pinball machine to match with the ride Spinball Whizzer. However much like many Tussauds rides during the latter half of their ownership its planned theming was cancelled due to budget cuts and as of a result, Adventure Land would be the weakest themed area in the whole park as pretty much it never had a theme to begin with.
However, those budget cuts with hindsight proved to be something of a blessing in disguise in which as there was pretty much nothing other than some basic theming for Spinball, it would mean that the creative teams, once again a whole area that both the Alpha and Delta teams would work together on this expansion project, would have very little to do to bring Adventure Land into the Storybook Land and with that, the little area of Adventure Land would pass on into the long history of the park though it must be said that few care about the loss of that area though the main question was what was to happen to Spinball? As the work progressed in the newly enlarged area, a few eyebrows were raised that despite many thinking that Spinball was going to be rethemed into Storybook Land, nothing changed, literally nothing.
The only change that was done was moving the entrance of the ride from its original point at the start of Adventure Land and instead was then moved towards Storybook Land in which it became pretty clear that the current entrance to that area was only going to be from the actually Storybook Land entrance which that entrance into Adventure Land was filled in with trees with the hope that it would help enclose that area off from the rest of the park to create a more closer and personal feel for park guests. As construction work reached its peak between December and January, was beginning to take shape with perhaps the main headline attraction being the new Mak YoungSTAR coaster was built up in record time and who's construction was an easier affair compared to the likes of The Smiler with this new ride having a track colour of brown and the supports painted a light green - in truth, nothing more than the colours of Thirteen but flipped.
Nearby to this work was the often forgotten yet what many would say as perhaps the most underrated area of the park and that was 'Old MacDonald's Farm' which, as the name made it quite clear, was themed round a quirky farm with various children's rides such as a 'Tractor Ride', 'Canal Boat Ride' and a themed Merry-Go-Round attraction named 'Doodle Doo Derby'. It had been an area that had seen very little changed over the years since it first opened in 1995 and was nothing more than just a pleasant area for families to hang around in though at one point did boast its own actual animal barn with animals in which park guests could get up close with. However, it was during the foot and mouth crisis in 2001 which would sadly see the park make the difficult decision to cull the animals to prevent them from catching and spreading disease though it was a highly controversial one at the time and the area itself would finally gain the attention it had probably needed for a long time but sadly for all the wrong reasons.
Thankfully, when Merlin bought over the park in 2007, animals would return to the area such as the Giant Bunnies that year and eventually Miniature Donkeys (two named Little George and Granville), Ferrets and Chickens would all help make the farm themed feel like an actual farm once more. When the major expansion job of Storybook Land was taking place, many funs assumed that this would mean that the farm would end up being swallowed up much like with Adventure Land though curiously enough other than some much needed repainting and some repair jobs around the area, Old MacDonald's Farm would be spared from the expansion, and it would live on going forward [4]. Fans have speculated as to why it was spared from what looked like an easy annex job with the main feeling that the park was wanting to focus on finally putting Adventure Land out of misery and that it was an easy target for much development though there has been another alleged story in which the reason why the farm actually survived was that someone on the two creative teams was a major animal lover and had grown up remembering of the infamous cull in 2002 and didn't want the animals to leave the park for a second time and is said to have 'had a word' with someone at the top, though this story is likely just some silly internet rumour.
And the farm is spared and lives to fight another day...(C) TowersTimes.co.uk
When late January rolled around, more details were revealed for despite what looked as though the area was just a refresh of an area, Storybook Land would be no more - in the expanded and revamped area would now be named 'Fantasy Forrest' and would be themed around an enchanted wood in which would be home to various characters from the likes of a newly overhauled Bookworm, who not only as good as when it first appeared [5] but that it would have a new voice over recorded to act as a helpful narrative for park guests, and of course the character of Squirrel Nutty who had only become a walkabout character in 2010 and oddly had never been seen in the park since even when Storybook Land opened in 1996 though it would be in this newly themed area that he was to take a more starring role in being something of the main character of the area now given a cooky personality of an inventor who builds various machines and devices most notably the 'Squirrel Nutty Ride' which had not only survived the retheme but was now renamed to 'Treetop Adventure' [6] which was slightly rethemed to be one of his many mad inventions. It was all very much a major contrast the dark and sinister themes from the past few year years but there was more to the area.
The main standout attraction in the area would the Mack YoungSTAR junior coaster which would have a name as 'Woody Rockets' [7] which while the layout itself was nothing special, it had its own little amusing story in which the ride cars are themed to logs that have a crude yet humorous streamline design in which Squirrel Nutty has designed to try and create superfast rockets made from trees. Exactly why it was renamed to Fantasy Forest instead of keeping the Storybook Land name is more than likely down to a marketing choice, in which the area itself had seen very little difference to Storybook Land before it other than a few tweaks yet in the effort to try and promote a 'new' land for the 2014 season, it seemed to be understandable that a new name might help bring in guests though it has to this day hasn't stop fans of the park to still call it Storybook Land due to how the two themes of an enchanted wood are so alike.
That all being said, the 'new' land itself was actually a well-done overhaul in which guests could only enter the land two ways with one the one facing towards the Bookworm and the other being the way to Old MacDonald's Farm, though the former was considered as the 'true' entrance to the area in which like he had done so many years prior, the Bookworm would welcome guests to area and a press of a button would allow guests to interactive with the Bookworm and he would in turn give you hints about where to go and such though it would be a third new voice for the character due to the changes in the area. What also stood out was the quirky designs of the trees which weren't real but actually were fiberglass ones that bared a similar design to the trees with the faces at the entrance and about fifteen of these new trees would be built around the area which help gave it a more enclosed feel and this actually quite a funny in-joke for those working in the park as it is said that for every tree the park cuts down they plant twelve more and that they had it here, though perhaps fiberglass trees weren't exactly what conservationists had in mind.
However, it was on the sight of the former ice tent in which saw the biggest change of all in which in its place was a well themed plaza type area in which sitting in the middle of the large circular area was a large (fiberglass of course) tree which on top was a treehouse was made out to be the home of Squirrel Nutty himself though there was no public access to visit his home as it was just nothing more than scenery decoration, not to mention access was a nonstarter, as was the surrounding quirky looking buildings that were themed to shops though oddly they wouldn't be actual shops or eateries which some felt was a wasted opportunity though the fate of them would be another story for the following year. Also, that year on the lawn next to the Towers was a mock-up design of one of the little lodges to be part of the new 'Enchanted Village' complex that were to be open for the 2015 season and some guests couldn't help but notice that the design of the mock-up lodge and the buildings in the plaza of Fantasy Forest seemed to look the same and shockingly enough, they were correct.
The mock-up lodge that was on display for guests to view that was actually be used as the design of the new buildings in Fantasy Forest (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
Compared to previous years, the budget for the new themed was, while quite decent by most standards, it wasn't quite the same as what had come before it so it would mean that the creative teams would have to use their budget carefully yet somehow create a well themed area. During the planning process of the upcoming Enchanted Village, the designs of the lodges was being finalised and those who have been in the building would know that it can be quite a long process to get a building designed and approved of, never mind actually building it yet for the team planning out who Storybook Land's overhaul was going to look like, the design of the lodges planned for the Enchanted Village had not gone unnoticed. The two themes of an enchanted setting were not planned at the same time as many would suspect, other than both sides being told to go for something that was different from the dark and sinister themes from before; it just so happened that this have to be a strange familiar outcome for both.
The design of the buildings caught the attention of the creative teams on the park and asked if it was possible to use the quirky looking designs for theming in the new area which would actually help save costs in designing new structures to go into the area and was quickly accepted and would be a clever way of combining resources. The enchanted theme of the area was so alike to what was being planned for the Enchanted Village that the new area was named 'Enchanted Wood' but for whatever reason this idea was dropped, and Fantasy Forest became the new name though oddly enough, the plan of another forest themed area on the park had become a reality though very different from before. The original spooky looking forest plan that was set for Ug Land [7] for what was the building of SW6 at the time before the ride would be built in Gloomy Wood had been shelved though as it turned out, many plans don't really die out and this would be no exception though with a very different theme altogether.
With Storybook Land being renamed as Fantasy Forest, it was actually then some on both the Alpha and Delta teams just noticed that the happy and welcoming atmosphere of the newly themed Fantasy Forest was actually a great contrast to the spooky forest of Gloomy Wood which gave a mirror image idea though actually this idea was already in place in place of the two split lands in Forbidding Valley and Forgotten Oasis were a contrast image of each other. Neither of these were ever planned; they just happened as it were, but it would be a path that the park would go along a few years later down the line in which that would be another story. With all that said, Fantasy Forest would open in March 2014 as the new edition for the season and while many would praise it for its strong theming and friendly atmosphere that was a much-needed family setting the park was needing, there was one problem that almost everyone had - Sonic Spinball.
The sharp and blatant contrast between the themes of Spinball and Fantasy Forest are evident in this picture during the 2014 season (C) CoasterGalley.com
After all the good work that had been to really revamp the area, the fact that pretty much nothing had been done for Sonic Spinball in trying to retheme it into the area was something of a let-down and the sponsorship with SEGA was supposed to end at the end of the 2013 season, the same time in which the work on retheming the area into Fantasy Forest begun yet instead the park would renew the deal with SEGA to last until the end of the 2015 season [8] which seemed a bit strange considering what was going on with the surrounding area at large and it looked as though something of a retheme would be a shoe-in yet instead the slick and hip looking Sonic the Hedgehog would stand out like a sore thumb in the area much like what the Flume was for Mutiny Bay and what Rita was for Ug Land; somethings never do change for the park.
It wouldn't help too that at times, the roaming Sonic mascot would end up walking into the well themed Fantasy Forest area and would stick out like a sore thumb in the area, though some thought that it wasn't that bad in an area that already had a roaming animal mascot in the form of Squirrel Nutty himself. Some fans online suspected that if the ride had a long-term future on the park, then it would have been themed already, yet it wasn't, and this did raise some question about the future of the ride and if something drastic was about to happen sooner than later for the ride as it was no secret that the ride itself was a very marmite attraction for both its low throughput and how some hated it for how its location ruined the views of the Towers ruins themselves.
The fate of the attraction was unclear at this point though in the meantime, Fantasy Forest seemed to have been a hit with families though admittedly it wouldn't get quite the same attention as what Thorpe Park would get following the opening of Cbeebies Land which in terms of guest numbers increase the latter would win out though that wasn't to dismay Fantasy Forest as a failure, far from it; it had given life to a previously unloved area of the park and the fact that the character of Squirrel Nutty himself had become popular with many guests, mainly young children. Alton Towers' management would take this to heart and the plans for 2015 were looking up for something for more roaming mascots to help appeal to the family market and little did anyone knew then, but a legend would return...
[1] Ok, off the bat big changes to Thorpe Park here in which with them now going into the family market without Merlin having to trying to balance Thorpe and Chessington, 'Saw: the ride' is instead the planned 'Mystery Mine' type ride that was planned for the Canada Creek area and that the Saw theme was a last-minute addition to the ride, not so here in which despite being themed to a run-down saw mill is not the horror based theme as it was. Cbeebies Land here is in the area behind it and is pretty much built from scratch and not a retheme of an area that we got with OTL. But yes, the park does get an IP though not the same and this means that Angry Birds Land never happens here.
[2] Yes, Enchanted Village will still happen here but there will be a few wee changes going forward...
[3] Beastie's fate is pretty much the same as OTL.
[4] Old MacDonald's Farm survives though it is somewhat the other way round in OTL in which Adventure Land survives yet we lose the farm as it is now part of Cbeebies Land.
[5] The Bookworm lives! Sorry Mr Sanbrooke, you don't get it ITTL! but all the same, nice to have the bookworm still working here.
[6] This ride means that we never get the Octonauts ride here though likely ends up at Thorpe.
[7] This as we know is Dark Forest which never happens here.
[8] As the what the deal had in place in OTL.
So there we are, no Cbeebies Land at Alton Towers though at Thrope park here and even just that hint of telling you how things are going different for the latter park here. Not the biggest update of the lot but then again you get years like this for a park which makes it all the more real and not the big additions for each year for sure. 2015 is going to be fun, very different for what we got for good reason, as someone is back and so too will be the Remaster program here, but who and what? Find out next time!
P.S. as I put this up, it is just two days before I hit 30, God I feel old, haha, so any birthday treat from you lovely people would be just a good response and to hear what you think the predictions for the park and even Thorpe would be going forward of how you would have liked the park here and what would be the favourites of the different rides here? (Rita here oddly enough would be liked by me in this timeline as I feel for just having a lot more to it than what we got)
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A Kinder Set of Woods
A Kinder Set of Woods
While no one could deny that since taking over both Alton Towers and even Thorpe Park in 2007, Merlin had invested heavily in both parks with Alton Towers now with new coasters in the likes of Thirteen and The Smiler pretty much become part of the park's landscape and in some ones would seem unthinkable with them not there now. However, there was one problem that Merlin seemed to suffer from and that was a heavy interest in the more 'dark and gritty' themes and for those who had followed the building of new rides at Alton Towers over the last few years would know this all too well with other than the more family themed areas such as Mutiny Bay, Cloud Cuckoo Land and Forgotten Oasis (the latter being more of an early Tussauds theme instead of a Merlin job) and the Alton Towers Museum, the rest had been all dark with Thirteen, the revamped Haunted House, Nemesis Sub Terra and The Smiler being evident of this and while no one didn't hate either of their themes, it was clear that the park was long needed something family related which some felt was overdue.
Some say that the peak of the gritty and dark themes of Merlin would present to the park was with Nemesis Sub Terra in 2012 in which after letting the creative team off the hook was perhaps a little bit of a mistake as the sight of several kids walking off the ride in tears was not exactly fitting the 'family' image the park was wanting to go forward and while a year later The Smiler would have a dark theme that was no one near as intense as Nemesis Sub Terra, it still had quite a number of black comedy for its theme and by this point, even Merlin knew that they couldn't keep going down that path as it meant a possible loss of the lucrative family market and 2014 was to see a different theme and one that was to be family orientated for both Alton and Thrope.
As it would turn out for 2014, Thorpe Park was to see a whole new themed area called 'Cbeebies Land', based of the popular BBC children's channel, that was to have its own area behind the park's 2009 coaster 'Buzzsaw' [1] and would be a return for the park heading back to its family roots prior to when Tussauds bought the place and looked to be sure-fire winner with the family market and it was seriously considered for both Thorpe and Alton to get a Cbeebies Land each but instead it was decided on Thorpe getting, what was boasted in the press as the 'World's First' Cbeebies Land which did seem a little bit overkill to some but then again when it came to Merlin, getting something first was always a winner yet it did leave those up at Alton Towers feeling annoyed at not getting their own version in which the feeling of Merlin appealing to a more London Centric view was quite a common feeling so the question now for the park was what do for the 2014 season.
The planning had been all going on during the 2013 season and it was clear that something had to be done with 'Storybook Land' in which hadn't seen anything of note of late other than the failed Shrek plan for the area and since the area itself, which when first built was considered perhaps the most beautiful area of the park was now looking tired and run down and clearly was crying out for a much need overhaul. It was said that had Alton Towers gotten the nod to build Cbeebies Land then it is quite likely that Storybook Land would have been replaced by that but since that was no longer the case, the park's two creative teams would have to work together to put together a new idea of a theme that could be done quite cheaply yet would be more than just a mere paintjob. As it would turn out, the idea that helped kicked started the idea would actually lie with another concept that was being developed regarding new accommodation for the park...
The Bookworm animatronic who would greet guests entering Storybook (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
Back in 2012, the park was planning out what would be its third set of accommodation which instead of being yet another hotel like the 'Alton Towers Hotel' and 'Splash Landings' hotel and waterpark, this was to be a set of small lodges known as the 'Enchanted Village' [2] which was to be themed around a fantasy fairy-tale hideaway and the hope was that it would be ready for an opening in 2015. During the 2013 season, behind the scenes the plans would see a few changes, yet this did not go unnoticed by the two creative Alton Towers teams who were at the point still basking in the glory of the success of The Smiler and an idea began to take root in which the theme of this new set of accommodation did bare a resemblance in a way to what Storybook Land was though arguably a lot more immersive and the idea started to gain traction for a soft retheme of Storybook Land in what was mentioned in early plans for the area as, rather unimaginatively it must be said, Storybook Land 2.0 and it did mean that at long last this area of the park was to get much needed attention though the question was what would change?
In terms of theming, not much would change greatly in the grand scheme of things in which many online discussion forums at the time felt it was nothing more than a glorified repaint job, yet it was when the first leaked plans of the new area would take some aback in which the area was going to expand with the nearby area known as Adventure Land was to be annexed into the nearly expanded land and the famous ice show tent was to be removed in favour what would be a more open space in the middle of a themed plaza type area though what this would be was unclear. What was clear however was that at the end of the 2013 season was that the little Pinfari kids' coaster known as 'The Beastie' which had remained closed and had operated since 2010, would finally be removed from the park in favour of a new coaster [3] and even though it was never a ride that never was one of the best rides ever made, it is a ride that is fondly remembered by many enthusiasts as their first coaster they ever rode though thankfully it wouldn't be scrapped and instead was sold off to Barry Island in South Wales where it still operates to this day.
What was to be built in its place however was not only another kids coaster to help fill in a gap that had been missing in the park's coaster line up since Beastie closed but one that was far better in almost every way - a Mack YoungSTAR junior coaster was to be built at what would have been at that time only the fifth built. Either way as the construction fences went up around Storybook Land, many fans could hardly wait to see what was in store for 2014 while other fans of the park were just relieved that this area of the park which had suffered from poor maintenance and broken effects, most notable the Bookworm has had by this point seen parts of the rubber skin starting to come off and couldn't have moved as well as it had done before; an obvious victim to Tussauds and Merlin's lacklustre look on upkeep which had become all too documented.
Correcaminos Bip, Bip in Spain, the new ride at Alton Towers would actually be a clone of its Spanish sister (C) Mack Rides
As leaked photos started to appear from what was going on, it was quite more extensive than some had first thought. Adventure Land was pretty much annexed into Storybook Land which was actually something of a full circle moment in which those who had followed the park over the years would have known that before Storybook Land was created, that area and Adventure Land were once part of the same area known as 'Kiddies Kingdom' which had been in place from 1986 until 1995 in which the two areas were split though when Spinball Whizzer, now named Sonic Spinball due to its new sponsorship with SEGA, the plan had been to theme Adventure Land into something like a giant pinball machine to match with the ride Spinball Whizzer. However much like many Tussauds rides during the latter half of their ownership its planned theming was cancelled due to budget cuts and as of a result, Adventure Land would be the weakest themed area in the whole park as pretty much it never had a theme to begin with.
However, those budget cuts with hindsight proved to be something of a blessing in disguise in which as there was pretty much nothing other than some basic theming for Spinball, it would mean that the creative teams, once again a whole area that both the Alpha and Delta teams would work together on this expansion project, would have very little to do to bring Adventure Land into the Storybook Land and with that, the little area of Adventure Land would pass on into the long history of the park though it must be said that few care about the loss of that area though the main question was what was to happen to Spinball? As the work progressed in the newly enlarged area, a few eyebrows were raised that despite many thinking that Spinball was going to be rethemed into Storybook Land, nothing changed, literally nothing.
The only change that was done was moving the entrance of the ride from its original point at the start of Adventure Land and instead was then moved towards Storybook Land in which it became pretty clear that the current entrance to that area was only going to be from the actually Storybook Land entrance which that entrance into Adventure Land was filled in with trees with the hope that it would help enclose that area off from the rest of the park to create a more closer and personal feel for park guests. As construction work reached its peak between December and January, was beginning to take shape with perhaps the main headline attraction being the new Mak YoungSTAR coaster was built up in record time and who's construction was an easier affair compared to the likes of The Smiler with this new ride having a track colour of brown and the supports painted a light green - in truth, nothing more than the colours of Thirteen but flipped.
Nearby to this work was the often forgotten yet what many would say as perhaps the most underrated area of the park and that was 'Old MacDonald's Farm' which, as the name made it quite clear, was themed round a quirky farm with various children's rides such as a 'Tractor Ride', 'Canal Boat Ride' and a themed Merry-Go-Round attraction named 'Doodle Doo Derby'. It had been an area that had seen very little changed over the years since it first opened in 1995 and was nothing more than just a pleasant area for families to hang around in though at one point did boast its own actual animal barn with animals in which park guests could get up close with. However, it was during the foot and mouth crisis in 2001 which would sadly see the park make the difficult decision to cull the animals to prevent them from catching and spreading disease though it was a highly controversial one at the time and the area itself would finally gain the attention it had probably needed for a long time but sadly for all the wrong reasons.
Thankfully, when Merlin bought over the park in 2007, animals would return to the area such as the Giant Bunnies that year and eventually Miniature Donkeys (two named Little George and Granville), Ferrets and Chickens would all help make the farm themed feel like an actual farm once more. When the major expansion job of Storybook Land was taking place, many funs assumed that this would mean that the farm would end up being swallowed up much like with Adventure Land though curiously enough other than some much needed repainting and some repair jobs around the area, Old MacDonald's Farm would be spared from the expansion, and it would live on going forward [4]. Fans have speculated as to why it was spared from what looked like an easy annex job with the main feeling that the park was wanting to focus on finally putting Adventure Land out of misery and that it was an easy target for much development though there has been another alleged story in which the reason why the farm actually survived was that someone on the two creative teams was a major animal lover and had grown up remembering of the infamous cull in 2002 and didn't want the animals to leave the park for a second time and is said to have 'had a word' with someone at the top, though this story is likely just some silly internet rumour.
And the farm is spared and lives to fight another day...(C) TowersTimes.co.uk
When late January rolled around, more details were revealed for despite what looked as though the area was just a refresh of an area, Storybook Land would be no more - in the expanded and revamped area would now be named 'Fantasy Forrest' and would be themed around an enchanted wood in which would be home to various characters from the likes of a newly overhauled Bookworm, who not only as good as when it first appeared [5] but that it would have a new voice over recorded to act as a helpful narrative for park guests, and of course the character of Squirrel Nutty who had only become a walkabout character in 2010 and oddly had never been seen in the park since even when Storybook Land opened in 1996 though it would be in this newly themed area that he was to take a more starring role in being something of the main character of the area now given a cooky personality of an inventor who builds various machines and devices most notably the 'Squirrel Nutty Ride' which had not only survived the retheme but was now renamed to 'Treetop Adventure' [6] which was slightly rethemed to be one of his many mad inventions. It was all very much a major contrast the dark and sinister themes from the past few year years but there was more to the area.
The main standout attraction in the area would the Mack YoungSTAR junior coaster which would have a name as 'Woody Rockets' [7] which while the layout itself was nothing special, it had its own little amusing story in which the ride cars are themed to logs that have a crude yet humorous streamline design in which Squirrel Nutty has designed to try and create superfast rockets made from trees. Exactly why it was renamed to Fantasy Forest instead of keeping the Storybook Land name is more than likely down to a marketing choice, in which the area itself had seen very little difference to Storybook Land before it other than a few tweaks yet in the effort to try and promote a 'new' land for the 2014 season, it seemed to be understandable that a new name might help bring in guests though it has to this day hasn't stop fans of the park to still call it Storybook Land due to how the two themes of an enchanted wood are so alike.
That all being said, the 'new' land itself was actually a well-done overhaul in which guests could only enter the land two ways with one the one facing towards the Bookworm and the other being the way to Old MacDonald's Farm, though the former was considered as the 'true' entrance to the area in which like he had done so many years prior, the Bookworm would welcome guests to area and a press of a button would allow guests to interactive with the Bookworm and he would in turn give you hints about where to go and such though it would be a third new voice for the character due to the changes in the area. What also stood out was the quirky designs of the trees which weren't real but actually were fiberglass ones that bared a similar design to the trees with the faces at the entrance and about fifteen of these new trees would be built around the area which help gave it a more enclosed feel and this actually quite a funny in-joke for those working in the park as it is said that for every tree the park cuts down they plant twelve more and that they had it here, though perhaps fiberglass trees weren't exactly what conservationists had in mind.
However, it was on the sight of the former ice tent in which saw the biggest change of all in which in its place was a well themed plaza type area in which sitting in the middle of the large circular area was a large (fiberglass of course) tree which on top was a treehouse was made out to be the home of Squirrel Nutty himself though there was no public access to visit his home as it was just nothing more than scenery decoration, not to mention access was a nonstarter, as was the surrounding quirky looking buildings that were themed to shops though oddly they wouldn't be actual shops or eateries which some felt was a wasted opportunity though the fate of them would be another story for the following year. Also, that year on the lawn next to the Towers was a mock-up design of one of the little lodges to be part of the new 'Enchanted Village' complex that were to be open for the 2015 season and some guests couldn't help but notice that the design of the mock-up lodge and the buildings in the plaza of Fantasy Forest seemed to look the same and shockingly enough, they were correct.
The mock-up lodge that was on display for guests to view that was actually be used as the design of the new buildings in Fantasy Forest (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
Compared to previous years, the budget for the new themed was, while quite decent by most standards, it wasn't quite the same as what had come before it so it would mean that the creative teams would have to use their budget carefully yet somehow create a well themed area. During the planning process of the upcoming Enchanted Village, the designs of the lodges was being finalised and those who have been in the building would know that it can be quite a long process to get a building designed and approved of, never mind actually building it yet for the team planning out who Storybook Land's overhaul was going to look like, the design of the lodges planned for the Enchanted Village had not gone unnoticed. The two themes of an enchanted setting were not planned at the same time as many would suspect, other than both sides being told to go for something that was different from the dark and sinister themes from before; it just so happened that this have to be a strange familiar outcome for both.
The design of the buildings caught the attention of the creative teams on the park and asked if it was possible to use the quirky looking designs for theming in the new area which would actually help save costs in designing new structures to go into the area and was quickly accepted and would be a clever way of combining resources. The enchanted theme of the area was so alike to what was being planned for the Enchanted Village that the new area was named 'Enchanted Wood' but for whatever reason this idea was dropped, and Fantasy Forest became the new name though oddly enough, the plan of another forest themed area on the park had become a reality though very different from before. The original spooky looking forest plan that was set for Ug Land [7] for what was the building of SW6 at the time before the ride would be built in Gloomy Wood had been shelved though as it turned out, many plans don't really die out and this would be no exception though with a very different theme altogether.
With Storybook Land being renamed as Fantasy Forest, it was actually then some on both the Alpha and Delta teams just noticed that the happy and welcoming atmosphere of the newly themed Fantasy Forest was actually a great contrast to the spooky forest of Gloomy Wood which gave a mirror image idea though actually this idea was already in place in place of the two split lands in Forbidding Valley and Forgotten Oasis were a contrast image of each other. Neither of these were ever planned; they just happened as it were, but it would be a path that the park would go along a few years later down the line in which that would be another story. With all that said, Fantasy Forest would open in March 2014 as the new edition for the season and while many would praise it for its strong theming and friendly atmosphere that was a much-needed family setting the park was needing, there was one problem that almost everyone had - Sonic Spinball.
The sharp and blatant contrast between the themes of Spinball and Fantasy Forest are evident in this picture during the 2014 season (C) CoasterGalley.com
After all the good work that had been to really revamp the area, the fact that pretty much nothing had been done for Sonic Spinball in trying to retheme it into the area was something of a let-down and the sponsorship with SEGA was supposed to end at the end of the 2013 season, the same time in which the work on retheming the area into Fantasy Forest begun yet instead the park would renew the deal with SEGA to last until the end of the 2015 season [8] which seemed a bit strange considering what was going on with the surrounding area at large and it looked as though something of a retheme would be a shoe-in yet instead the slick and hip looking Sonic the Hedgehog would stand out like a sore thumb in the area much like what the Flume was for Mutiny Bay and what Rita was for Ug Land; somethings never do change for the park.
It wouldn't help too that at times, the roaming Sonic mascot would end up walking into the well themed Fantasy Forest area and would stick out like a sore thumb in the area, though some thought that it wasn't that bad in an area that already had a roaming animal mascot in the form of Squirrel Nutty himself. Some fans online suspected that if the ride had a long-term future on the park, then it would have been themed already, yet it wasn't, and this did raise some question about the future of the ride and if something drastic was about to happen sooner than later for the ride as it was no secret that the ride itself was a very marmite attraction for both its low throughput and how some hated it for how its location ruined the views of the Towers ruins themselves.
The fate of the attraction was unclear at this point though in the meantime, Fantasy Forest seemed to have been a hit with families though admittedly it wouldn't get quite the same attention as what Thorpe Park would get following the opening of Cbeebies Land which in terms of guest numbers increase the latter would win out though that wasn't to dismay Fantasy Forest as a failure, far from it; it had given life to a previously unloved area of the park and the fact that the character of Squirrel Nutty himself had become popular with many guests, mainly young children. Alton Towers' management would take this to heart and the plans for 2015 were looking up for something for more roaming mascots to help appeal to the family market and little did anyone knew then, but a legend would return...
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[1] Ok, off the bat big changes to Thorpe Park here in which with them now going into the family market without Merlin having to trying to balance Thorpe and Chessington, 'Saw: the ride' is instead the planned 'Mystery Mine' type ride that was planned for the Canada Creek area and that the Saw theme was a last-minute addition to the ride, not so here in which despite being themed to a run-down saw mill is not the horror based theme as it was. Cbeebies Land here is in the area behind it and is pretty much built from scratch and not a retheme of an area that we got with OTL. But yes, the park does get an IP though not the same and this means that Angry Birds Land never happens here.
[2] Yes, Enchanted Village will still happen here but there will be a few wee changes going forward...
[3] Beastie's fate is pretty much the same as OTL.
[4] Old MacDonald's Farm survives though it is somewhat the other way round in OTL in which Adventure Land survives yet we lose the farm as it is now part of Cbeebies Land.
[5] The Bookworm lives! Sorry Mr Sanbrooke, you don't get it ITTL!
but all the same, nice to have the bookworm still working here.[6] This ride means that we never get the Octonauts ride here though likely ends up at Thorpe.
[7] This as we know is Dark Forest which never happens here.
[8] As the what the deal had in place in OTL.
So there we are, no Cbeebies Land at Alton Towers though at Thrope park here and even just that hint of telling you how things are going different for the latter park here. Not the biggest update of the lot but then again you get years like this for a park which makes it all the more real and not the big additions for each year for sure. 2015 is going to be fun, very different for what we got for good reason, as someone is back and so too will be the Remaster program here, but who and what? Find out next time!
P.S. as I put this up, it is just two days before I hit 30, God I feel old, haha, so any birthday treat from you lovely people would be just a good response and to hear what you think the predictions for the park and even Thorpe would be going forward of how you would have liked the park here and what would be the favourites of the different rides here? (Rita here oddly enough would be liked by me in this timeline as I feel for just having a lot more to it than what we got)
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
Now then, bit of a problem here as the chapter here is so damn big that I've had to split it in two, plus I had to get all this all out of my head so without much to say, here is part one of 2015!
There is an old saying that once you have a success, you then go on and milk it dry and Alton Towers and Merlin are large are no exception to this. As it would turn out, 2015 would be quite a unique year for the park in which addition wise to the park there wouldn't be any new attraction per say but rather something different in which the year would be known as the year of the Remasters and for good reason. Despite some doubts expressed by the higher ups at Merlin about how such an idea would bring people into the park rather than a new ride, the 'Remaster' of Air into its new look had been a great success which not only gave a 'complete' look after so many years but also seemed to actually make the total package of the ride far better in which the theming really helped emersed the average park guest and even improved the ride's standing among many coaster enthusiasts alike. With a success like that and now with Merlin's marketing team seeing how it could work with the cliché 'the-ride-as-you've-never-seen-it-before!' phrasing, the idea of where to go next with the next Remaster was played about during the 2013 and 2014 seasons by the creative teams with some wanting a Remaster of Oblivion next while some wanted to give Rita the treatment as it was approaching its 10th birthday for 2015 which seemed like an obvious target however this would be pushed for the following year and as it turned out for good reason but more on that later.
As it would turn out, 2015 would actually be year not dedicated to a coaster, dark ride or themed area but actually a flat ride...three flat rides actually. As it is known to those who follow Merlin's track record at building attractions, it seems that flat rides are always seen in a dim view in which to them, they are nothing more than glorified funfair rides that anyone can ride at any fairground with the only difference being that on a theme park they are themed well to match in with their surroundings. To guests, they are something of a bonus for them to try instead of the coasters and can be very useful in helping to sponge up guests to help with capacity on the park and ease pressure on some of the bigger rides on the park such as over in Ug Land in which Ug Swinger had trying all it could to help ease the pressure of Rita's often infamously large queue lines even though that ride could have a positive throughput on a good day though help was needed in that area as those were the only two rides in the area [1]. It seemed the main problem from Merlin's marketing view wise was that it was hard to market a flat ride as they didn't seem to have anything to bring people through the gates unlike what a new coaster was always certain to bring, the only new ones they had brought in were those for Mutiny Bay and Cloud Cuckoo Land for at least they could be opened alongside a new area but on their own it was an uphill struggle.
As of a result, the majority of the park's flat rides were shockingly approaching their late twenties which in ride terms which pushing it knowing that sooner or later they would fall apart and the idea of Remaster came about trying to sort out this problem with the replacement of three of the park's Huss flat rides, 'Ripsaw', 'Enterprise' and 'The Blade', with the newer and updated models that would help with their long-term future on the park and in some ways, the only way they could be replaced was via the Remaster program. Despite this though, Merlin would pull off a deal with Huss that would see them bring in the three new models for them to open for the 2015 season with it being a deal with something like £6-8 Million for the replacement of all three of them which honestly wasn't a bad thing. However, it wasn't going to be a 'like-for-like' replacement as all three would look different when they return with perhaps the biggest change being that for Ripsaw...now it would be turned in the newer suspended top spin model.
An example of the newer suspended top spin model in action and for what Ripsaw was to turn into (C) Huss Rides
When it comes to the flat rides on the park, if any of them could be considered to be the flagship flat ride much like how either Nemesis or The Smiler are often debated as the flagship coaster for the park, there is no doubt that Ripsaw can be given that honour as the park's most beloved flat ride. With its intense flipping, some good theming, great to watch from those not wanting to ride it and of course getting a good soaking at the end had made it a firm favourite with many guests ever since it opened in 1997 and could be useful on a hot day for those wanting to get a soaking to cool off, something that whoever was operating the ride would often only be so happy to do! However, by 2014, the ride was slowly starting to become shadow of its former self; the ride circles that had often wowed guests seemed to get tamer and some theming was removed for access reasons, most notably the large blue coil-type screws on the ride's structure and the circular-saw theming from the tops of the gondola arms and above all maintenance on it seemed to get more costly to the point that replacing it might've been a cheaper option.
So, the timing of wanting to Remaster Ripsaw couldn't have come at a better time, and it was pretty much the first choice to get replaced with the newer model [2] though while much of theming from before would remain though some added pieces of theming would be added to give it a more imposing look and during the closed season in 2014, the newer model would arrive and would be quickly assembled though it wasn't the only one getting the work in that area. Next door to it was another Huss ride, a typical pirate ship model, called The Blade which actually was by that point the oldest working ride in the park having been there since when the park first opened in 1980 though it had been very different then. Back then, it had been called 'Pirate Ship' and had worked in the 'Springfield Centre' (now X-Sector) and was themed as a typical pirate gallon ship and would remain there until 1997 in which it would move to make way for Oblivion and move to its current home in Forbidding Valley.
Even though it was now themed to that a giant cutting blade through a valley, it did show signs of its previous role as a pirate ship with wooden themed skin on the side and that the two ends were actually just metal objects that looked the ends of a blade that had been stuck on there and in truth was not really the best themed the ride the more one looked at it. That would change with the new model coming in which while it was pretty the same ride with some updated tech to make maintenance easier much like with the new version of Ripsaw, theming wise was indeed a major improvement in which now all over the 'boat' section of the ride was now themed to an actual blade which showed no evidence to indicate it was a pirate ship ride and is actually a very unique version of the ride done by Huss and blends in with the area far better than before. This actually is based on an original concept art of the ride prior before moving to Forbidding Valley which didn't get fully built due to budget reasons [3]. Now it would finally look the part in all its glory.
The 'original' Blade concept art of what might've been for the ride when it was to be moved, this art piece would serve as the basis for the newer version (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
The two flat rides now looked better than ever and ready for the 2015 season though there was one more ride to talk about and that was another Huss ride in the form of the long-standing Enterprise ride over in X-Sector. The ride itself has had a long history on the park having first opened at the park in 1984 in the 'Festival Park' area (now Ug Land) and would be a firm favourite with guests with the fact that as the ride would take guests upside down yet all without restraints in which only the power of gravity held riders in place. It would have an uneventful history until it was moved to X-Sector in 1998, still called Enterprise, to get ready to act as a support ride for Oblivion and would turn out to be a worthy attraction to help out in the new area and its rather spacey look would oddly enough fit into the area like a glove. Unlike with Ripsaw, which was starting to struggle a bit, Enterprise was suffering no real problems and in 2013 actually would get an overhaul to get it ready for the opening of The Smiler [4].
In some ways, replacing the ride just shortly after it was given some TLC seemed a bit strange though it must be said that the whole ride itself was actually starting to show its age and sooner than later it would need to go so having a new model in its place would be a way of securing its long term future on the park though much like with Ripsaw, it wasn't going to be a complete like for like replacement. What would take that spot would actually be a Huss 'Fly Away' model in which while it looked the same as what it once was before, the ride cars were designed differently in which now passengers lie down on their stomachs and gain the feeling of flying. Not only that, but it was also going to have something of an upgraded theming job, as well as keeping its black and teal colours, in which for many years it didn't really have such a theme other than perhaps some strange looking machine that could have honestly been part of the scenery more than anything else.
With the concept of the Ministry of Joy being brought into X-Sector following the opening of The Smiler and how all the rides were now retconned as experiments, the idea came about to give the Remastered Enterprise a bit of a story to its theme in which as the ride would turn round in a circle, the centre circle on the ride, much larger than the original, would provide with an idea to give the ride a bit more of an impression on park guests in which now it would have a black and teal spiral painted in the middle which in operation would give the impression of it working as a giant hypnotising machine, even though The Smiler already had done this some would point out but nonetheless it actually worked and seemed to become something of a spectacle in its own right much like with Ripsaw for park guests. With that all said, all rides were erected in a short space of time and were ready for the 2015 season though some at Merlin still had doubts if they would gain attention despite promoting the Remastered label.
Example of one Fly Away model in action in which what the Remastered Enterprise would become (C) Amusement-Rides.org
Despite fears from Merlin that the lack of a new ride for the 2015 season might not work out despite the marketing doing all it could to try and promote the Remasters as best as they could, even though in truth it was actually three new rides, the reception for the Remastered flat rides was actually positive from guests. Ripsaw V.2 (as it would be known by Alton Towers fans online) would arguably gain the best reception to the Remastered rides in which the suspended nature of it would add to the feel of the ride with some saying it was better than ever as now it could once again work flipping guests round as good as what the original Ripsaw did on its early years. That wasn't say that both Enterprise and The Blade had their own fans in terms of how well they looked and even ride operators who could relax at how easier they were to work thanks to advantages in technology in contrast to how some of them were working the previous year and all in all, all three ride's futures were secured [5].
Perhaps to no one's surprise at Merlin, the Remasters didn't quite bring in the big guest numbers as they hoped for though in some ways that was to be expected and did seem to play into Merlin's mindset that flat rides don't bring in the guests However it was not all gloom as actually, the Remastered version of each ride gained quite a lot of positive feedback from guests who weren't enthusiasts saying how well the park took care of its rides which was rather ironic given the park's notorious record of keeping up appearances for rides by that point such as the state that Nemesis' station building had gotten itself into which oddly wasn't considered for a Remaster itself. However, it did give an indication to Merlin that having the park look more presentable would help with reception and maybe even lead onto making money which towards the end of the year a separate Remastered program known as 'Towers Loving Care', a play on the phrase 'Tender Loving Care' would come about to work on keeping up appearances around the park [6] but they are a story for another day.
The park itself for that season had very little to talk about as such except for one incident on The Smiler in June in which a ride car that was going round empty stalled on one of the inversions in which a member of the public alerted one of the staff members near the entrance about what had happened which was just as well as just behind the stalled train another train was starting its ride and quick action from staff by the entrance would alert the ride operators to shut down the ride immediately and prevent a major accident from happening [7]. The 'Smiler Stall' as it would be called would gain some minor embarrassment for the park but the fact that thanks to some quick thinking from the staff, things could have been much worse and following the moment, the ride was evacuated with no injuries but instead some rather bemused guests queuing who would find out the ride would be closed after that and would be for the rest of the week while the stalled train was recovered and an investigation would take place to see what had happened and of course a small media circus looking for a story to say that rides are dangerous.
[2] Yes, Ripsaw lives!
[3] As with OTL.
[4] As with OTL.
[5] Unlike OTL which are...
[6] Yes, Towers Loving Care still happens here though comes round in different circumstances.
[7] BIG change here, the Smiler crash never happens here due to small circumstances which almost happened with OTL though it does stall here. Nonetheless, this has a big effect on the park going forward as we shall soon see.
Right, a lot to say but more will be explained in part 2 so stay tuned...
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Remasters, Lodges and Hounds (Part 1)
Remasters, Lodges and Hounds (Part 1)
There is an old saying that once you have a success, you then go on and milk it dry and Alton Towers and Merlin are large are no exception to this. As it would turn out, 2015 would be quite a unique year for the park in which addition wise to the park there wouldn't be any new attraction per say but rather something different in which the year would be known as the year of the Remasters and for good reason. Despite some doubts expressed by the higher ups at Merlin about how such an idea would bring people into the park rather than a new ride, the 'Remaster' of Air into its new look had been a great success which not only gave a 'complete' look after so many years but also seemed to actually make the total package of the ride far better in which the theming really helped emersed the average park guest and even improved the ride's standing among many coaster enthusiasts alike. With a success like that and now with Merlin's marketing team seeing how it could work with the cliché 'the-ride-as-you've-never-seen-it-before!' phrasing, the idea of where to go next with the next Remaster was played about during the 2013 and 2014 seasons by the creative teams with some wanting a Remaster of Oblivion next while some wanted to give Rita the treatment as it was approaching its 10th birthday for 2015 which seemed like an obvious target however this would be pushed for the following year and as it turned out for good reason but more on that later.
As it would turn out, 2015 would actually be year not dedicated to a coaster, dark ride or themed area but actually a flat ride...three flat rides actually. As it is known to those who follow Merlin's track record at building attractions, it seems that flat rides are always seen in a dim view in which to them, they are nothing more than glorified funfair rides that anyone can ride at any fairground with the only difference being that on a theme park they are themed well to match in with their surroundings. To guests, they are something of a bonus for them to try instead of the coasters and can be very useful in helping to sponge up guests to help with capacity on the park and ease pressure on some of the bigger rides on the park such as over in Ug Land in which Ug Swinger had trying all it could to help ease the pressure of Rita's often infamously large queue lines even though that ride could have a positive throughput on a good day though help was needed in that area as those were the only two rides in the area [1]. It seemed the main problem from Merlin's marketing view wise was that it was hard to market a flat ride as they didn't seem to have anything to bring people through the gates unlike what a new coaster was always certain to bring, the only new ones they had brought in were those for Mutiny Bay and Cloud Cuckoo Land for at least they could be opened alongside a new area but on their own it was an uphill struggle.
As of a result, the majority of the park's flat rides were shockingly approaching their late twenties which in ride terms which pushing it knowing that sooner or later they would fall apart and the idea of Remaster came about trying to sort out this problem with the replacement of three of the park's Huss flat rides, 'Ripsaw', 'Enterprise' and 'The Blade', with the newer and updated models that would help with their long-term future on the park and in some ways, the only way they could be replaced was via the Remaster program. Despite this though, Merlin would pull off a deal with Huss that would see them bring in the three new models for them to open for the 2015 season with it being a deal with something like £6-8 Million for the replacement of all three of them which honestly wasn't a bad thing. However, it wasn't going to be a 'like-for-like' replacement as all three would look different when they return with perhaps the biggest change being that for Ripsaw...now it would be turned in the newer suspended top spin model.
An example of the newer suspended top spin model in action and for what Ripsaw was to turn into (C) Huss Rides
When it comes to the flat rides on the park, if any of them could be considered to be the flagship flat ride much like how either Nemesis or The Smiler are often debated as the flagship coaster for the park, there is no doubt that Ripsaw can be given that honour as the park's most beloved flat ride. With its intense flipping, some good theming, great to watch from those not wanting to ride it and of course getting a good soaking at the end had made it a firm favourite with many guests ever since it opened in 1997 and could be useful on a hot day for those wanting to get a soaking to cool off, something that whoever was operating the ride would often only be so happy to do! However, by 2014, the ride was slowly starting to become shadow of its former self; the ride circles that had often wowed guests seemed to get tamer and some theming was removed for access reasons, most notably the large blue coil-type screws on the ride's structure and the circular-saw theming from the tops of the gondola arms and above all maintenance on it seemed to get more costly to the point that replacing it might've been a cheaper option.
So, the timing of wanting to Remaster Ripsaw couldn't have come at a better time, and it was pretty much the first choice to get replaced with the newer model [2] though while much of theming from before would remain though some added pieces of theming would be added to give it a more imposing look and during the closed season in 2014, the newer model would arrive and would be quickly assembled though it wasn't the only one getting the work in that area. Next door to it was another Huss ride, a typical pirate ship model, called The Blade which actually was by that point the oldest working ride in the park having been there since when the park first opened in 1980 though it had been very different then. Back then, it had been called 'Pirate Ship' and had worked in the 'Springfield Centre' (now X-Sector) and was themed as a typical pirate gallon ship and would remain there until 1997 in which it would move to make way for Oblivion and move to its current home in Forbidding Valley.
Even though it was now themed to that a giant cutting blade through a valley, it did show signs of its previous role as a pirate ship with wooden themed skin on the side and that the two ends were actually just metal objects that looked the ends of a blade that had been stuck on there and in truth was not really the best themed the ride the more one looked at it. That would change with the new model coming in which while it was pretty the same ride with some updated tech to make maintenance easier much like with the new version of Ripsaw, theming wise was indeed a major improvement in which now all over the 'boat' section of the ride was now themed to an actual blade which showed no evidence to indicate it was a pirate ship ride and is actually a very unique version of the ride done by Huss and blends in with the area far better than before. This actually is based on an original concept art of the ride prior before moving to Forbidding Valley which didn't get fully built due to budget reasons [3]. Now it would finally look the part in all its glory.
The 'original' Blade concept art of what might've been for the ride when it was to be moved, this art piece would serve as the basis for the newer version (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
The two flat rides now looked better than ever and ready for the 2015 season though there was one more ride to talk about and that was another Huss ride in the form of the long-standing Enterprise ride over in X-Sector. The ride itself has had a long history on the park having first opened at the park in 1984 in the 'Festival Park' area (now Ug Land) and would be a firm favourite with guests with the fact that as the ride would take guests upside down yet all without restraints in which only the power of gravity held riders in place. It would have an uneventful history until it was moved to X-Sector in 1998, still called Enterprise, to get ready to act as a support ride for Oblivion and would turn out to be a worthy attraction to help out in the new area and its rather spacey look would oddly enough fit into the area like a glove. Unlike with Ripsaw, which was starting to struggle a bit, Enterprise was suffering no real problems and in 2013 actually would get an overhaul to get it ready for the opening of The Smiler [4].
In some ways, replacing the ride just shortly after it was given some TLC seemed a bit strange though it must be said that the whole ride itself was actually starting to show its age and sooner than later it would need to go so having a new model in its place would be a way of securing its long term future on the park though much like with Ripsaw, it wasn't going to be a complete like for like replacement. What would take that spot would actually be a Huss 'Fly Away' model in which while it looked the same as what it once was before, the ride cars were designed differently in which now passengers lie down on their stomachs and gain the feeling of flying. Not only that, but it was also going to have something of an upgraded theming job, as well as keeping its black and teal colours, in which for many years it didn't really have such a theme other than perhaps some strange looking machine that could have honestly been part of the scenery more than anything else.
With the concept of the Ministry of Joy being brought into X-Sector following the opening of The Smiler and how all the rides were now retconned as experiments, the idea came about to give the Remastered Enterprise a bit of a story to its theme in which as the ride would turn round in a circle, the centre circle on the ride, much larger than the original, would provide with an idea to give the ride a bit more of an impression on park guests in which now it would have a black and teal spiral painted in the middle which in operation would give the impression of it working as a giant hypnotising machine, even though The Smiler already had done this some would point out but nonetheless it actually worked and seemed to become something of a spectacle in its own right much like with Ripsaw for park guests. With that all said, all rides were erected in a short space of time and were ready for the 2015 season though some at Merlin still had doubts if they would gain attention despite promoting the Remastered label.
Example of one Fly Away model in action in which what the Remastered Enterprise would become (C) Amusement-Rides.org
Despite fears from Merlin that the lack of a new ride for the 2015 season might not work out despite the marketing doing all it could to try and promote the Remasters as best as they could, even though in truth it was actually three new rides, the reception for the Remastered flat rides was actually positive from guests. Ripsaw V.2 (as it would be known by Alton Towers fans online) would arguably gain the best reception to the Remastered rides in which the suspended nature of it would add to the feel of the ride with some saying it was better than ever as now it could once again work flipping guests round as good as what the original Ripsaw did on its early years. That wasn't say that both Enterprise and The Blade had their own fans in terms of how well they looked and even ride operators who could relax at how easier they were to work thanks to advantages in technology in contrast to how some of them were working the previous year and all in all, all three ride's futures were secured [5].
Perhaps to no one's surprise at Merlin, the Remasters didn't quite bring in the big guest numbers as they hoped for though in some ways that was to be expected and did seem to play into Merlin's mindset that flat rides don't bring in the guests However it was not all gloom as actually, the Remastered version of each ride gained quite a lot of positive feedback from guests who weren't enthusiasts saying how well the park took care of its rides which was rather ironic given the park's notorious record of keeping up appearances for rides by that point such as the state that Nemesis' station building had gotten itself into which oddly wasn't considered for a Remaster itself. However, it did give an indication to Merlin that having the park look more presentable would help with reception and maybe even lead onto making money which towards the end of the year a separate Remastered program known as 'Towers Loving Care', a play on the phrase 'Tender Loving Care' would come about to work on keeping up appearances around the park [6] but they are a story for another day.
The park itself for that season had very little to talk about as such except for one incident on The Smiler in June in which a ride car that was going round empty stalled on one of the inversions in which a member of the public alerted one of the staff members near the entrance about what had happened which was just as well as just behind the stalled train another train was starting its ride and quick action from staff by the entrance would alert the ride operators to shut down the ride immediately and prevent a major accident from happening [7]. The 'Smiler Stall' as it would be called would gain some minor embarrassment for the park but the fact that thanks to some quick thinking from the staff, things could have been much worse and following the moment, the ride was evacuated with no injuries but instead some rather bemused guests queuing who would find out the ride would be closed after that and would be for the rest of the week while the stalled train was recovered and an investigation would take place to see what had happened and of course a small media circus looking for a story to say that rides are dangerous.
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[1] Yes, Ug Land is still around by this point but is in a pretty worse state here than OTL, imagine Ug Land in 2009 and have that for the next few years...yeah, pretty bad.
[2] Yes, Ripsaw lives!
[3] As with OTL.
[4] As with OTL.
[5] Unlike OTL which are...
[6] Yes, Towers Loving Care still happens here though comes round in different circumstances.
[7] BIG change here, the Smiler crash never happens here due to small circumstances which almost happened with OTL though it does stall here. Nonetheless, this has a big effect on the park going forward as we shall soon see.
Right, a lot to say but more will be explained in part 2 so stay tuned...
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
Remasters, Lodges and Hounds (Part 2)
With nothing wrong with their findings, the ride would reopen a week after the incident with it quickly being forgotten about but the media and guests alike and the moment itself is now nothing more than just a mere footnote in the park's history. Away from the park, 2015 would mark the grand opening of the resort's third set of accommodation which wouldn't be a hotel but actually would be many small lodges just east from the other hotels and would be known as the Enchanted Village [1]. It would be a unique accommodation in which it would split into two halves in which one would the many small woodland lodges and other being the larger luxury treehouses which would have four bedrooms in them. At the centre of this complex would be a restaurant known as 'The Crooked Spoon' in which would be the main location for guests staying on the complex to dine at.
An example of the lodges on site, note the luxury treehouse in the background (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
Once the complex was opened, plans were already in motion to begin a phase two which would see further accommodation and the price would be lowered in which the lodges would be aiming towards members of the public on the lower end of the budget [3] and in time would be appreciated for it. While the resort side of the park was changing, so too was the park as towards the end of the year would see the end of two rides - 'The Flume Unplugged' and 'Sonic Spinball'. The closures were announced in September though as it would turn out that The Flume Unplugged would in November have a farewell event [4] to mark its closure to allow guests to have one last ride on what was at that point the longest log flume ride in the world and one of the oldest rides in the park by that point. For poor Spinball, it would have no such send off as to many, the Flume was perhaps more iconic to many.
Ever since the opening of Mutiny Bay in 2008, the fact that the Flume was never rethemed to match in with the area seemed like a strange thing to leave out however some felt that at the time that it was a sign that its fate was sealed and sure enough, that would be the case a few years later. Exactly why it was decided to close the ride can be explained down to either the age of the ride and how maintenance on it was quite poor down to the previous years of cost cutting and such and that by this point, the ride was needing a major overhaul which would have come round as the price of a new ride and in the end, it was decided to plan against it and instead use the site for a future attraction. The final day of the Flume would be much like the Corkscrew in the media would come around to broadcast the event with many enthusiasts coming from far and wide to have one last ride on it (and to scream at the infamous giant duck in the tunnel!)
While the Flume gained much attention about its closure, it overshadowed Spinball's closure in which was given on scant attention though it must be said that unlike the Flume, Spinball never had the same fame and instead it would seem, disdain. When Fantasy Forest was opened the previous year and yet Sonic Spinball was never gained a rethemed to blend in with the surrounding area much like the Flume ironically, some speculated that closure would be on the horizon - what no one expected however was how quick it would be with the ride just barely eleven years old by this point. It must be said that since built, the ride has always been something of a marmite attraction to some in which some like it for being an unrated ride among the other coasters on the park and that it delivers good old family fun while others disliked for its location and garish appearance which ruined the views of the Towers ruins and that its throughput level was not good enough for a park like Alton Towers.
Some say that if it wasn't for the licence with SEGA that would last to 2015 then the ride would have gone sooner but alas now was the time for the little ride, often disregarded rather unfairly as a badly themed joke by some, would have its final runs in November that year and to little fanfare and with that, the last reminder of Adventure Land was gone and, along with Sonic leaving for a second time [5] from the park if you include Toyland Tours, that land itself was pretty much certain to be used for the following season though many would have to wait to see what would come about for then and many wonder what could make up for Spinball's loss would have to look to Ug Land but that would be another story...For Spinball, the ride was put up for sale but sadly a buyer was never found the ride would be sent to the scrap yard though one of the ride cars would, much like with one of the Flume boats, end up in the museum that would tell the story of this strange little ride for years to come.
There would also be a third attraction closed during the Christmas event, in truth, no one cared about and that would be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in which the licence was not renewed to keep the ride going and it would be announced that it would not open for the 2016 season [6] though its future was unclear for the next few years, the building would remain out of use for the time being. Much like with 2005, 2015 would be a year in which would see several classic attractions closed, or rather just one for those who hated Spinball and Charlie, however the year would also mark a happier note for the return of one former Alton Towers character would be making a grand return...The return of Henry Hound! First appearing on the park back in 1986, Henry Hound would be a Talbot hound based on those of the Earls of Shrewbury's heraldic coat of arms with Herny said to be the last of the Talbot Hounds and would end up becoming the park's mascot.
It is unclear as to what happened as to why it was decided to get rid of him prior to the 1994 season, but it would turn out that someone high up at Tussauds didn't like the idea of a mascot and decided Henry Hound was no longer needed and he would miss out on what would actually be according to many as the parks' greatest ever year. However, there were many within the company who loved Henry Hound and started a petition to keep him however it was unsuccessful, and it was said that they were prepping Henry to get ready for the 1994 which showed how much of a last-minute decision it was. Nonetheless, the park would be without a mascot for many years afterwards, that was until 2005 when at a time of cost cutting and closures of many classic rides, the Hound himself would make a grand return to the park and although he may have been less prolific the second time round, he still found time to take a starring role in the new Towers Street Carnival, as well as meeting and greeting guests during both the main and winter seasons.
Sadly, the revival would be short lived as following Merlin taking over the park, the Hound would once again be forced into retirement for a second time [7] as it seemed that management at the time were not big fans of him and the entertainment team would then focus on the plethora of new offerings that came with Mutiny Bay in 2008 such as the pirates and perhaps its own mascot, Finn the Shark. The second return of Herny Hound was something of strange circumstances regarding the controversy surrounding Nemesis Sub-Terra about its adult content, the park was desperately trying to rebuild its family image in the years after and while that had done well with the likes of Fantasy Forest and Enchanted Village in trying to stamp down its family image, the thought of a mascot did cross the mind at many at the park who felt that it would help give a friendly image that it was needed and sure enough, someone would suggest Henry Hound to make another return and thus, the rest is history...
However, the idea of bringing him back was something of a minor demand thanks to the museum on the park which not only had ride cars but also other mascot costumes that had been at the park over the years that had long since retired and had during all this time had been lying in storage gathering dust were instead brought out and put on display with them getting some attention from guests, mostly Henry, in which older guests would get a wave of nostalgia remembering with Henry Hound at his height during the 80's while the younger generation getting their first look at the park's former mascot and wonder why was he no longer there. It seemed that the timing couldn't have been perfect. With perhaps by this point more comeback appearances than that of the Rolling Stones, Herny Hound would return for the 2015 season in which this time, he would be there at the entrance at Towers Street to welcome guests, now dressed in his red dungarees once again, though he would not be alone, alongside him would be another Hound...Henrietta Hound!
When Towers met Disney, Herny and Henrietta Hound alongside Mickey Mouse during sometime in the early 1990's (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
The return of Henrietta was an unexpected yet welcomed treat for long-time fans of the park for a character that had not been seen since 1992. Henrietta Hound first appeared alongside her 'close' friend Henry Hound (of course, it seemed like they were a thing in truth) in a series of Ladybird Books in 1988. She made her first public appearance at the Towers for the 1988 Winter Ice Show. She was once queen of the high wire in a travelling circus and met her longstanding friend Henry when the circus came to Alton Towers though much like most things during the buyout from Tussauds, she would retire after the 1992 season. The Disney connection did seem to be strong here in which if Henry could be Alton Towers' answer to Mickey Mouse, the Henrietta would obviously be the park's answer to Minnie Mouse and while this might have looked like something of knock-off to some, that didn't stop for the female Hound to get her own new following among a new generation.
It was quite a change from a few years ago when the park was wanting to get rid of Henry Hound as soon as, now he and Henritta Hound was being promoted across the park to try and rubber stamp the family image the park wanted to regain such as them making appearances at breakfast time at the hotels and even in a new show in the Cuckoo Land Theatre for that season [8] and thankfully, the second revival of the Hound would be permeant and over time, Henry and Henrietta Hound would not only become known to a new generation of park guests but also they would be joined by several long last mascots from the park's history but all that is another story. In the meantime, while there was a farewell event for the Flume, some noticed that something was happening on the former and long disused Corkscrew site, yet no one knew what was happening there other than something was finally happening to Ug Land.
Though it was not announced to the public, 2015 would be the final year of the dinosaur themed area of the park though by this point, the area was pretty much a major shadow of its former self that had been in place since Rita was built and made even worse when Corkscrew would finally leave the park and the area would be barren with only two rides working for the area. What was to happen for 2016 would be something very different but one that was to hit another market for the park and for one certain Vekoma LSM, finally a home it would belong to...
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[1] Enchanted Village is pretty much the same as OTL.
[2] As with OTL.
[3] Watch this space as the Stargazing Pods won't happen here...
[4] Unlike OTL in which Flume never got that as the Smiler crash prevented all that from happening. Here though, the Flume gets a more dignified send off.
[5] So yes, Spinball is gone here, our first major casualty ITTL!
[6] Much like with OTL.
[7] Much like OTL.
[8] Here, unlike IOTL in which the theatre was used for an Ice Age 3D show never happens here and the building remains disused from 2011 until 2015 when we get the show here in which is pretty much a 'The Adventures of Henry Hound' here.
Right then, a lot to unpack there. The big change is that the Smiler crash never happens though there is a minor incident here in which it stalls much like OTL though thankfully it is avoided which as you might not really affected the park here so things will be looking very different here. Also, Henry Hound is back here in which he has a purpose to be brought back here due to Nemesis Sub Terra here and all the hoo-ha around that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update and would love to hear your comments on what you think so far and what do you think will be happening to Ug Land here?
Find out next time!
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
And so, for the next update, some of you older fans who remember the 1980's days and the characters then will like this next update and for the Rita fans (haha) on here, the old girl will finally have a place to call home, so let's begin!
By the time Corkscrew had left the park in 2008 and leaving a quite literal large hole in its place in Ug Land, it was clear that the writing was on the wall for the dinosaur themed area and sure enough it turned out that Ug Land's final season would be in 2015 with the area to undergo a major transformation into a new themed land for the following season. When the area first opened back in 1999, it was praised for its quirky Flintstones type theming that certainly made quite an exceptional area that didn't seem to take itself too seriously unlike Forbidding Valley or X-Sector though it must be said that the theming was quite a harsh contrast to the sinister feel of Oblivion which had opened the previous in which it is highly likely that Ug Land came about as a way to appeal to the family market to show that the park wasn't always going to aim at the thrill seeker market. The area itself didn't see much change until 2004 when the area would be closed off towards the end of that season and in the following season, Rita happened, and the area wouldn't be quite the same way again.
The dragster racing theme of Rita was in direct conflict with the dinosaur themed area which was well documented by many with some claiming that Ug Land was ruined from then on, however with the removal of Corkscrew in 2008, the area seemed to get worse. It had been hoped that once Corkscrew had left that the area left over by the ride that it would be taken up quickly up by a new development which at the time would be SW6 (later Thirteen as it would be named) [1] yet following the sudden shift of plans of building the new attraction in Gloomy Wood, plans for that large patch of land were suspended and for the next few years, the area itself seemed to have become a shadow of its former self in which Rita and Ug Swinger would be the only attractions in an area which by 2015 was pretty much no longer had the life it had before and it really was a case of not 'if' but 'when' the area would finally be put out of its misery.
2016 though would finally be the season in which a new themed area and new attractions would happen to Ug Land and its closure was met with mostly indifference by many as the feeling of its demise had been lingering around for the last few years and that it going would be a good thing, as long as whatever would be of good quality and the question now was what was going to be built in its place? While questions about the theme would last throughout the rest of the closed season among fans, what was most certain that a new ride was finally going on to the Corkscrew site and while it had been far later than first planned, and much to the annoyance of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council who had insisted on something being built on that spot the moment Corkscrew left [2], it was nonetheless better late than never. Near the end of the 2015 season, the barren section of land that had remained unchanged following the departure of Corkscrew would see the first of the groundwork take place but there was more to the area than that...
Construction works on the Corkscrew site take place towards the end of the 2015 season as seen from the queue of Rita (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
When plans would be released online of what the ride was going to be, it became obvious that it was going to be a new family coaster that would use much of the land and that the triangular design of the track was that of a Mack coaster (the second in a few short years it must be said by this point) though when the first sections of track arrived on the park, some were shocked that the track was yellow...Corkscrew yellow! Exactly what was going on with the area was anyone's guess as the bright colour track - something of a welcomed novelty in the face of Merlin's infamous dull and dark colours for its coasters - would rule out the long-standing rumours of a 'dark forest' being the new themed area [3] but yet no one knew what though with two months to go before opening of the new area, everyone would soon know what it would be for some, it would be a rather underwhelming one. Gone was the prehistoric theme and in its place was this 1950's Americana racing themed area now named 'Thunder Rock Valley' which actually was the name of Rita's own small area of the area which had now taken over the surrounding area to become the main theme.
No longer did it had the quirkiness of the original themed area, but it had a bright and sunny feel to it in which much of the buildings were painted in yellow that gave the impression of some classic sunny California town as one would expect on a postcard and in some ways its mostly bright colours was actually no different to Ug Land in which it was just as bright with the only difference is that it wasn't themed around dinosaurs and was just a rather retro looking area. While it might have not won awards on creativity, it was a vibrant area once again with the area soundtrack playing some 1950's style songs which all help add to the theme but perhaps the most satisfying sight in that whole area was that the fact after so many years of sticking out like a sore thumb, Rita would, after getting its delayed 'Remastered' update from last year, finally fit into an area that matched its theme. While Rita may have not been the most liked coaster among enthusiasts or even perhaps some of the two creative teams on the park in which it was a reminder of the 'dark' era of the park, the latter were willing to try and make an effort with it and the idea of a racing theme of the ride to try and fit it into the area though oddly enough the idea of a theme around racing to replace Ug Land was not quite as simple as some predicated.
Even a few years back when Merlin were looking into an idea to retheme Ug Land following the closure of Corkscrew, there was the idea of retheming the area around Rita but rather than being some sunny Californian setting was actually akin to some forgotten Mid-West American town [4] however both Alpha and Delta teams working both flat out refused on the idea of having another dark theme and pointed out to the higher ups that not only had they already many dark themed areas on the park but that there was a real missing gap on the park between those dark themes and the very kiddy themed areas of Cloud Cuckoo Land and Fantasy Forest in which that the park needed a family thrill area that could fill in that gap and Ug Land for many years was that area though it had really become a busted flush that was in dire need of a major update and Thunder Rock Valley would be that solution.
Much of the Ug Land theming was gone and Rita would be the only survivor from the makeover with Ug Swinger sadly leaving the park after a long-standing career with the park since 1984 after the 2015 season [5] due to its age and that it would be worth the extra cost to overhaul it and in its place would be a new Huss Breakdance car themed ride known as 'Wheelies' though many fans of the park would know that it was not the first Breakdance ride to have appeared not only on the park but in that area that was called 'Dino Dancer' which had been on the park since 1993, then as 'Astrodancer' in the previous Festival Park area, which it had a spell in Ug Land before being moved to Forbidding Valley and renamed as 'Dynamo' before finally leaving the park in 2004. However, it was the new coaster that was the main talking point as there on the Corkscrew site with yellow track and dark purple supporters was a ride that became clear as to why Spinball left the park...a Mack Spinning Coaster called 'Drifter'.
An example of a Mack Spinning Coaster in which Drifter would be based on (C) Mack Rides
To say the ride was not only a spiritual sequel to Spinball but an improvement in almost every sense of the word would be an understatement. With a compact yet thrilling layout for families, better throughput levels, better theming and how its yellow colour was not only a little nod to the coaster that had once been formally there but how it also complimented with Rita's red colours quite well - it was a ride that seemed to fit the bill for a good family ride that was needed to help ease pressure of the likes of Thirteen and Runaway Mine Train. That said unlike the other recent coasters that had been installed under Merlin which had something of a storyline to them, Drifter didn't seem to have any plot other with the ride cars being themed to racing cars in which where drifting - as the name suggests - round a racecourse. The interesting fact about the ride is that compared to other rides on the park which had to have some creative ways to work with the difficult planning that is placed on the park, the planning and design for Drifter was actually quite easy in comparison in which as the site was a large patch of land that didn't require any trees to be cut down, there was very little to do other than keeping it built under the trees.
While the ride compared to others might have not been ground-breaking to say the least, it was a well welcomed addition to the park's line up and Thunder Rock Valley had breathed new life into what was previously an area dying a slow death. It was Rita however that saw its own changes as many lacklustre theming such as its baren station and that infamous Cattlepen queue line, all of which were side effects to the budget cut days of the later years of Tussauds, would all be reworked with the station having more theming and the queue line system was utterly reworked to the point that it utterly changed in which to give an example of how much had changed, only the tyre logo for the entrance of the queue would remain (Drifter in turn would have a similar themed entrance to Rita) and that the days of a having to zigzag round that badly done queue line were over and it all helped made the queuing experience a bit more pleasant though that said, waiting times for Rita would remain fairly busy.
Around the ride, several added sections of theming would be noticed with perhaps a lot of which being road signs bolted onto the many supports with various quirky phrases which some noted bared a suspicious resemblance to what was seen on its certain American cousin in Disney Hollywood Studios though not one seemed bother by it. The ride itself would get a new fresh lick of pain in which the ruby red track and dark brown supports colours would be replaced with a new bright red colour for the track and dark blue for the supports with all helped added to the vibrant nature of the area and one final tweak was the pre-launch audio and safety instructions which were re-recorded to have a female voice over which this time seemed to that of Rita herself who was 'talking' to you. That said it is unclear if it is of the racing girl herself or if the ride itself is talking; either way it does make for quite an amusing argument on any Alton Towers fan site.
Of course, 2016 was quite the busy year itself on the park as Thunder Rock Valley was not the only new addition for 2016 but was actually just one of three. The other attraction would be a UK first but not a ride of some kind but rather a restaurant of all things. The 'Rollercoaster Restuarant' would open on a section of car park site beside Air's final helix which would not see a new addition to the Forgotten Oasis section on the park [6] and more access but actually would see the park's boundaries slightly increase though it was just a drop in the ocean unlike other areas and much like with Drifter, with it already a carpark site and no trees needing to be cut down, planning permission to build it was actually quite easy and the building was quickly built over the winter season though would not open until later on in May 2016 [7]. While the outside of the restaurant was themed to resemble that of an ancient Greek style temple much like with the rest of the area, the inside was some different altogether as it was themed to the many coasters both past and present being represented here such as memorabilia on all of the walls and how each table was named after a coaster from the park's long history such as Black Hole, Thunder Looper and even Spinball would get one final mention.
The inside of the restaurant is seen here in full of the inside clashing quite heavily with the outside theming of the building (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
With a design that is heavily based on the 'Food Loop' restaurant at Europa Park, its way of serving guests makes for quite the novelty for UK restaurants in which rather than carry a meal to the guests from the kitchen, they instead are sent out from kitchen via mini roller coaster track which features two loop-the-loops as well as an eight-metre drop down a tornado spiral, with the tracks delivering a varied range of food to diners sat at one of the thirteen tables spread around the room. Its location being somewhat closer to the resort complex would actually mean that it could remain open after the park closed in which guests could enter via a small entrance standing between Forgotten Oasis and Forbidding Valley which means that the restaurant would remain open 10pm and with a front window looking out towards the final helix of Air, guests could enjoy the sight of the ride going round while having their meal.
While Rollercoaster Restaurant itself would gain quite a great deal of attention for how unique it was, sadly over the years it has gained a more mixed reception among many over the lacklustre food offerings and the high price which many say is not worth the price. Despite this though, it remains always busy in which prebooking is recommended and does add an extra attraction in terms of food and drink. Last but certainly not least was work that had been ongoing on the site of the location of the now departed Spinball Whizzer was the building of a new structure which at first was thought to be a small dark ride by some but what would come about would be something that no one expected but as it turned out would be a vital addition for the park's entertainment line-up...a new permeant ice arena.
While it is well known of the ice tent that had existed before in Storybook Land (now Fantasy Forest) which had host several ice-skating shows over the years, it had been removed to make way for the rebuilding of the area into its current theme, not to mention that Merlin seemed keen to remove all temporary looking structures on the park with the ice tent being a prime example of this. As it would be, the new ice area would be the 'Phase 2' of Fantasy Forest in which it would be still roughly the same size as the old ice tent though it did have some modern features such as keeping the temperature at an acceptable level and even the chance to melt the ice and use the actual ice stage itself for other events if need be which did give it a multipurposed setting.
The original ice tent in use during the 1993 season (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
While some fans might've been disappointed that there was no new ride for that area, it did though help increase the entertainment side of things for the park and add more for families wanting something else to do other than the many rides and attractions. For the first show to go into the new ice area would be Henry Hound entering the building with 'The Adventures of Henry Hound' which was to help build on from his grand return to the park the previous year following his own show in the Cloud Cuckoo Land theatre before - which would soon have a new show to take its place being the return of the show 'The Wonders of Algenon's Attic' [8] which had been there until Henry Hound would take over the show. The ice show's plot was fairly basic in truth in which Henry and Henreitta Hound would discover a large storybook that when entered would take the two on an adventure through different settings in which they encountered various characters and making new friends along the way.
It certainly wasn't quite the most original show the park ever did and would see a new storyline for the following season, which is another story, however what made the show worthwhile to some was that while the show featured some of Merlin's own mascots it had brought to the park such as Finn the Shark, Squirrel Nutty (Merlin version) and Snorlix, it would see the unexpected but greatly welcomed return of many classic Alton Towers mascots from the past such as The Owl (given a new name of Oliva Owl), the twin monkeys Joey and Theo, Jack the Scarecrow, Bunbury the Wizard, The Bugs and last but certainly not least, The Count...or rather, not called that name anymore.
Many of these mascots had not been seen on the park since the early Tussauds days and many of them received new and updated costumes to bring them up to date, The Count was the only one to have a new name in which would seem rather random at first but it would seem that there was good reason as the vampire like character also bared the same name of a another certain other vampire character of the same name in the show Sesame Street and probably not wanting to undergo a drawn out court case over copyright, Merlin's entertainment department would give The Count a new name in which he would be now known as 'Viktor Von Duel' in which was an obvious reference to the ride of the same name of a few years ago. While some of the older fans of the park might have been up in arms about The Count's new name, it stuck, and Viktor would still act as the mischievous vampire who would often pull off various pranks of Henry Hound as he had done many years ago.
It was quite impressive to see how far Merlin were willing to dig back into the park's past to bring back several characters that perhaps the average Alton Towers would have not known had existed in the first place never mind the younger generation who didn't know any better. However, it seemed this might have been still an overreaction following the Nemesis Sub Terra controversy with the park still going above and beyond to stamp their foot down on showing that they were still a family park above all else and in many ways, they had succeeded perhaps more so that they should have done. Regardless though, Henry Hound had started to get quite a following for a newer generation and add more to this, there were more plans for the Hound for 2017 but that's another story. What was more interesting was something that was going on the Flume site in which fences went up and major groundwork was taking place in which it was clear something big was coming for 2017, but what? The signs on the outside said it all...SW8 was coming and amazingly, it was something wooden...! [9]
[1] As what would happen with OTL rather than waiting for longer like ITTL.
[2] As what was stated in the original plans back IOTL, Merlin here though is a little later than they would have been though.
[3] Yes, Dark Forest is butterflied away here.
[4] This is actually one of the original plans for Ug Land before Dark Forest was decided upon.
[5] Ug Swinger sadly still goes like IOTL.
[6] So yes, RCR still happens though in a somewhat different area in which it no longer takes up the Air shop but rather is its own thing in this new area.
[7] The same time as it would open much like OTL.
[8] That shows remains on...for now that is.
[9] Yes, SW8 still happens on the spot though a year earlier as this was the plan had the Smiler incident never happened and pushed plans back by a whole year.
There we are then, a different yet familiar 2016 for the park in which we still have the RCR and sadly some of the negative press it does get (not going for a utopia TL for the park as I want to keep things real and plausible as possible) still happens here. On the other hand, we have a new ice arena and a Ug Land retheme that is far better than Dark Forrest ever was and finally Rita fits into an area. And yes, old favourite mascots return so you can see here after how well Henry Hound has been received and how well it does to have a strong family image here is that Merlin would want to try and add to the success by bringing back more unknown characters and we will see more of them in the next update.
However, it is SW8 that is main thing to talk about in which as you know, it opened in 2018 as Wicker Man and while we will see a wooden coaster on site, it isn't quite Wicker Man as we'll soon see so what might it be? Find out next time and please review!
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Valley of Racing
Valley of Racing
By the time Corkscrew had left the park in 2008 and leaving a quite literal large hole in its place in Ug Land, it was clear that the writing was on the wall for the dinosaur themed area and sure enough it turned out that Ug Land's final season would be in 2015 with the area to undergo a major transformation into a new themed land for the following season. When the area first opened back in 1999, it was praised for its quirky Flintstones type theming that certainly made quite an exceptional area that didn't seem to take itself too seriously unlike Forbidding Valley or X-Sector though it must be said that the theming was quite a harsh contrast to the sinister feel of Oblivion which had opened the previous in which it is highly likely that Ug Land came about as a way to appeal to the family market to show that the park wasn't always going to aim at the thrill seeker market. The area itself didn't see much change until 2004 when the area would be closed off towards the end of that season and in the following season, Rita happened, and the area wouldn't be quite the same way again.
The dragster racing theme of Rita was in direct conflict with the dinosaur themed area which was well documented by many with some claiming that Ug Land was ruined from then on, however with the removal of Corkscrew in 2008, the area seemed to get worse. It had been hoped that once Corkscrew had left that the area left over by the ride that it would be taken up quickly up by a new development which at the time would be SW6 (later Thirteen as it would be named) [1] yet following the sudden shift of plans of building the new attraction in Gloomy Wood, plans for that large patch of land were suspended and for the next few years, the area itself seemed to have become a shadow of its former self in which Rita and Ug Swinger would be the only attractions in an area which by 2015 was pretty much no longer had the life it had before and it really was a case of not 'if' but 'when' the area would finally be put out of its misery.
2016 though would finally be the season in which a new themed area and new attractions would happen to Ug Land and its closure was met with mostly indifference by many as the feeling of its demise had been lingering around for the last few years and that it going would be a good thing, as long as whatever would be of good quality and the question now was what was going to be built in its place? While questions about the theme would last throughout the rest of the closed season among fans, what was most certain that a new ride was finally going on to the Corkscrew site and while it had been far later than first planned, and much to the annoyance of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council who had insisted on something being built on that spot the moment Corkscrew left [2], it was nonetheless better late than never. Near the end of the 2015 season, the barren section of land that had remained unchanged following the departure of Corkscrew would see the first of the groundwork take place but there was more to the area than that...
Construction works on the Corkscrew site take place towards the end of the 2015 season as seen from the queue of Rita (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
When plans would be released online of what the ride was going to be, it became obvious that it was going to be a new family coaster that would use much of the land and that the triangular design of the track was that of a Mack coaster (the second in a few short years it must be said by this point) though when the first sections of track arrived on the park, some were shocked that the track was yellow...Corkscrew yellow! Exactly what was going on with the area was anyone's guess as the bright colour track - something of a welcomed novelty in the face of Merlin's infamous dull and dark colours for its coasters - would rule out the long-standing rumours of a 'dark forest' being the new themed area [3] but yet no one knew what though with two months to go before opening of the new area, everyone would soon know what it would be for some, it would be a rather underwhelming one. Gone was the prehistoric theme and in its place was this 1950's Americana racing themed area now named 'Thunder Rock Valley' which actually was the name of Rita's own small area of the area which had now taken over the surrounding area to become the main theme.
No longer did it had the quirkiness of the original themed area, but it had a bright and sunny feel to it in which much of the buildings were painted in yellow that gave the impression of some classic sunny California town as one would expect on a postcard and in some ways its mostly bright colours was actually no different to Ug Land in which it was just as bright with the only difference is that it wasn't themed around dinosaurs and was just a rather retro looking area. While it might have not won awards on creativity, it was a vibrant area once again with the area soundtrack playing some 1950's style songs which all help add to the theme but perhaps the most satisfying sight in that whole area was that the fact after so many years of sticking out like a sore thumb, Rita would, after getting its delayed 'Remastered' update from last year, finally fit into an area that matched its theme. While Rita may have not been the most liked coaster among enthusiasts or even perhaps some of the two creative teams on the park in which it was a reminder of the 'dark' era of the park, the latter were willing to try and make an effort with it and the idea of a racing theme of the ride to try and fit it into the area though oddly enough the idea of a theme around racing to replace Ug Land was not quite as simple as some predicated.
Even a few years back when Merlin were looking into an idea to retheme Ug Land following the closure of Corkscrew, there was the idea of retheming the area around Rita but rather than being some sunny Californian setting was actually akin to some forgotten Mid-West American town [4] however both Alpha and Delta teams working both flat out refused on the idea of having another dark theme and pointed out to the higher ups that not only had they already many dark themed areas on the park but that there was a real missing gap on the park between those dark themes and the very kiddy themed areas of Cloud Cuckoo Land and Fantasy Forest in which that the park needed a family thrill area that could fill in that gap and Ug Land for many years was that area though it had really become a busted flush that was in dire need of a major update and Thunder Rock Valley would be that solution.
Much of the Ug Land theming was gone and Rita would be the only survivor from the makeover with Ug Swinger sadly leaving the park after a long-standing career with the park since 1984 after the 2015 season [5] due to its age and that it would be worth the extra cost to overhaul it and in its place would be a new Huss Breakdance car themed ride known as 'Wheelies' though many fans of the park would know that it was not the first Breakdance ride to have appeared not only on the park but in that area that was called 'Dino Dancer' which had been on the park since 1993, then as 'Astrodancer' in the previous Festival Park area, which it had a spell in Ug Land before being moved to Forbidding Valley and renamed as 'Dynamo' before finally leaving the park in 2004. However, it was the new coaster that was the main talking point as there on the Corkscrew site with yellow track and dark purple supporters was a ride that became clear as to why Spinball left the park...a Mack Spinning Coaster called 'Drifter'.
An example of a Mack Spinning Coaster in which Drifter would be based on (C) Mack Rides
To say the ride was not only a spiritual sequel to Spinball but an improvement in almost every sense of the word would be an understatement. With a compact yet thrilling layout for families, better throughput levels, better theming and how its yellow colour was not only a little nod to the coaster that had once been formally there but how it also complimented with Rita's red colours quite well - it was a ride that seemed to fit the bill for a good family ride that was needed to help ease pressure of the likes of Thirteen and Runaway Mine Train. That said unlike the other recent coasters that had been installed under Merlin which had something of a storyline to them, Drifter didn't seem to have any plot other with the ride cars being themed to racing cars in which where drifting - as the name suggests - round a racecourse. The interesting fact about the ride is that compared to other rides on the park which had to have some creative ways to work with the difficult planning that is placed on the park, the planning and design for Drifter was actually quite easy in comparison in which as the site was a large patch of land that didn't require any trees to be cut down, there was very little to do other than keeping it built under the trees.
While the ride compared to others might have not been ground-breaking to say the least, it was a well welcomed addition to the park's line up and Thunder Rock Valley had breathed new life into what was previously an area dying a slow death. It was Rita however that saw its own changes as many lacklustre theming such as its baren station and that infamous Cattlepen queue line, all of which were side effects to the budget cut days of the later years of Tussauds, would all be reworked with the station having more theming and the queue line system was utterly reworked to the point that it utterly changed in which to give an example of how much had changed, only the tyre logo for the entrance of the queue would remain (Drifter in turn would have a similar themed entrance to Rita) and that the days of a having to zigzag round that badly done queue line were over and it all helped made the queuing experience a bit more pleasant though that said, waiting times for Rita would remain fairly busy.
Around the ride, several added sections of theming would be noticed with perhaps a lot of which being road signs bolted onto the many supports with various quirky phrases which some noted bared a suspicious resemblance to what was seen on its certain American cousin in Disney Hollywood Studios though not one seemed bother by it. The ride itself would get a new fresh lick of pain in which the ruby red track and dark brown supports colours would be replaced with a new bright red colour for the track and dark blue for the supports with all helped added to the vibrant nature of the area and one final tweak was the pre-launch audio and safety instructions which were re-recorded to have a female voice over which this time seemed to that of Rita herself who was 'talking' to you. That said it is unclear if it is of the racing girl herself or if the ride itself is talking; either way it does make for quite an amusing argument on any Alton Towers fan site.
Of course, 2016 was quite the busy year itself on the park as Thunder Rock Valley was not the only new addition for 2016 but was actually just one of three. The other attraction would be a UK first but not a ride of some kind but rather a restaurant of all things. The 'Rollercoaster Restuarant' would open on a section of car park site beside Air's final helix which would not see a new addition to the Forgotten Oasis section on the park [6] and more access but actually would see the park's boundaries slightly increase though it was just a drop in the ocean unlike other areas and much like with Drifter, with it already a carpark site and no trees needing to be cut down, planning permission to build it was actually quite easy and the building was quickly built over the winter season though would not open until later on in May 2016 [7]. While the outside of the restaurant was themed to resemble that of an ancient Greek style temple much like with the rest of the area, the inside was some different altogether as it was themed to the many coasters both past and present being represented here such as memorabilia on all of the walls and how each table was named after a coaster from the park's long history such as Black Hole, Thunder Looper and even Spinball would get one final mention.
With a design that is heavily based on the 'Food Loop' restaurant at Europa Park, its way of serving guests makes for quite the novelty for UK restaurants in which rather than carry a meal to the guests from the kitchen, they instead are sent out from kitchen via mini roller coaster track which features two loop-the-loops as well as an eight-metre drop down a tornado spiral, with the tracks delivering a varied range of food to diners sat at one of the thirteen tables spread around the room. Its location being somewhat closer to the resort complex would actually mean that it could remain open after the park closed in which guests could enter via a small entrance standing between Forgotten Oasis and Forbidding Valley which means that the restaurant would remain open 10pm and with a front window looking out towards the final helix of Air, guests could enjoy the sight of the ride going round while having their meal.
While Rollercoaster Restaurant itself would gain quite a great deal of attention for how unique it was, sadly over the years it has gained a more mixed reception among many over the lacklustre food offerings and the high price which many say is not worth the price. Despite this though, it remains always busy in which prebooking is recommended and does add an extra attraction in terms of food and drink. Last but certainly not least was work that had been ongoing on the site of the location of the now departed Spinball Whizzer was the building of a new structure which at first was thought to be a small dark ride by some but what would come about would be something that no one expected but as it turned out would be a vital addition for the park's entertainment line-up...a new permeant ice arena.
While it is well known of the ice tent that had existed before in Storybook Land (now Fantasy Forest) which had host several ice-skating shows over the years, it had been removed to make way for the rebuilding of the area into its current theme, not to mention that Merlin seemed keen to remove all temporary looking structures on the park with the ice tent being a prime example of this. As it would be, the new ice area would be the 'Phase 2' of Fantasy Forest in which it would be still roughly the same size as the old ice tent though it did have some modern features such as keeping the temperature at an acceptable level and even the chance to melt the ice and use the actual ice stage itself for other events if need be which did give it a multipurposed setting.
The original ice tent in use during the 1993 season (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
While some fans might've been disappointed that there was no new ride for that area, it did though help increase the entertainment side of things for the park and add more for families wanting something else to do other than the many rides and attractions. For the first show to go into the new ice area would be Henry Hound entering the building with 'The Adventures of Henry Hound' which was to help build on from his grand return to the park the previous year following his own show in the Cloud Cuckoo Land theatre before - which would soon have a new show to take its place being the return of the show 'The Wonders of Algenon's Attic' [8] which had been there until Henry Hound would take over the show. The ice show's plot was fairly basic in truth in which Henry and Henreitta Hound would discover a large storybook that when entered would take the two on an adventure through different settings in which they encountered various characters and making new friends along the way.
It certainly wasn't quite the most original show the park ever did and would see a new storyline for the following season, which is another story, however what made the show worthwhile to some was that while the show featured some of Merlin's own mascots it had brought to the park such as Finn the Shark, Squirrel Nutty (Merlin version) and Snorlix, it would see the unexpected but greatly welcomed return of many classic Alton Towers mascots from the past such as The Owl (given a new name of Oliva Owl), the twin monkeys Joey and Theo, Jack the Scarecrow, Bunbury the Wizard, The Bugs and last but certainly not least, The Count...or rather, not called that name anymore.
Many of these mascots had not been seen on the park since the early Tussauds days and many of them received new and updated costumes to bring them up to date, The Count was the only one to have a new name in which would seem rather random at first but it would seem that there was good reason as the vampire like character also bared the same name of a another certain other vampire character of the same name in the show Sesame Street and probably not wanting to undergo a drawn out court case over copyright, Merlin's entertainment department would give The Count a new name in which he would be now known as 'Viktor Von Duel' in which was an obvious reference to the ride of the same name of a few years ago. While some of the older fans of the park might have been up in arms about The Count's new name, it stuck, and Viktor would still act as the mischievous vampire who would often pull off various pranks of Henry Hound as he had done many years ago.
It was quite impressive to see how far Merlin were willing to dig back into the park's past to bring back several characters that perhaps the average Alton Towers would have not known had existed in the first place never mind the younger generation who didn't know any better. However, it seemed this might have been still an overreaction following the Nemesis Sub Terra controversy with the park still going above and beyond to stamp their foot down on showing that they were still a family park above all else and in many ways, they had succeeded perhaps more so that they should have done. Regardless though, Henry Hound had started to get quite a following for a newer generation and add more to this, there were more plans for the Hound for 2017 but that's another story. What was more interesting was something that was going on the Flume site in which fences went up and major groundwork was taking place in which it was clear something big was coming for 2017, but what? The signs on the outside said it all...SW8 was coming and amazingly, it was something wooden...! [9]
---------
[1] As what would happen with OTL rather than waiting for longer like ITTL.
[2] As what was stated in the original plans back IOTL, Merlin here though is a little later than they would have been though.
[3] Yes, Dark Forest is butterflied away here.
[4] This is actually one of the original plans for Ug Land before Dark Forest was decided upon.
[5] Ug Swinger sadly still goes like IOTL.
[6] So yes, RCR still happens though in a somewhat different area in which it no longer takes up the Air shop but rather is its own thing in this new area.
[7] The same time as it would open much like OTL.
[8] That shows remains on...for now that is.
[9] Yes, SW8 still happens on the spot though a year earlier as this was the plan had the Smiler incident never happened and pushed plans back by a whole year.
There we are then, a different yet familiar 2016 for the park in which we still have the RCR and sadly some of the negative press it does get (not going for a utopia TL for the park as I want to keep things real and plausible as possible) still happens here. On the other hand, we have a new ice arena and a Ug Land retheme that is far better than Dark Forrest ever was and finally Rita fits into an area. And yes, old favourite mascots return so you can see here after how well Henry Hound has been received and how well it does to have a strong family image here is that Merlin would want to try and add to the success by bringing back more unknown characters and we will see more of them in the next update.
However, it is SW8 that is main thing to talk about in which as you know, it opened in 2018 as Wicker Man and while we will see a wooden coaster on site, it isn't quite Wicker Man as we'll soon see so what might it be? Find out next time and please review!
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
And so here we go with 2017 and quite a different yet familiar SW8 from our own, what is different about it you might ask? Find out!
For as long as any fan of the park can remember, the dream of seeing a wooden roller coaster at Alton Towers had always been something that many had hoped would see yet it was fair to say that hopes of a wooden roller coaster on the park had not gone all well. The failure of the infamous Cross Valley Coaster and the Woodiegate debacle that followed that lingered on in the background for several years afterwards in which had made many in upper management very reluctant to ever install a wooden coaster of any type if Tussauds still had control of the park, yet when Merlin would take over the park and into a new direction, it turned out that hopes of building a wooden coaster at Alton Towers weren't much better though perhaps their reason for it was bizarre to say the least in which they claimed several times that the public at large thought wooden coasters were unsafe and boring and that they couldn't find a way to market them.
It was a frustrating outcome in which many have called out that such choices that going for nothing but 'World's First' coasters, probably going all the way back since 1998 have always the next big thing yet in some ways this has always been a double edge sword in which one could argue that the likes of Air, Oblivion and Thirteen are nothing but glorified prototypes as by 2017, there have been numerous newer models of those types of rides that in some ways are bigger and better than those three attractions and by this point, almost everything that could be done with a coaster had been done so what else was there to do? As a matter of fact, it was 1997 that was the last time the UK would see a major wooden ride built which was 'Megafobia' at Oakwood in Wales which had been designed by John Wardley who speaking of which had long since advocated for a wooden roller coaster to be built at Alton Towers but had constantly been told by the powers that be that a wooden coaster would never be marketable.
Not that there had been several attempts to try and build one with the Cross Valley Coaster being the closest to have been built though much of its downfall was well documented that for John Wardley seemed to be the end of any wooden coaster to be built in the surrounding Staffordshire countryside. It would however back in 2012 that the park would reveal it's 'Long Term Development Plan' would be revealed in which would show much of what was planned for the park going forward such as new additions for the park and resort and what rides were to go with the quite obvious ones being Spinball Whizzer and The Flume which incidentally both left at the end of the 2015 season [1] but it was in Forbidding Valley that caught many enthusiasts attention. It mentioned that a new attraction in that area would be of a timber Struss construction which meant surely only one thing - the long-awaited wooden coaster! Though not in the giant monster as what some wanted before...what was to be built was SW8!
The plans for the wooden coaster, now SW8, being built on the former Flume site (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
As things turned out, despite many thinking that this would be the plans of the giant cross valley coaster being finally built, that wouldn't be the case for instead the new attraction would instead be built on the now vacant Flume site. Exactly why it was decided at the last minute to build the attraction in Mutiny Bay instead of Forbidding Valley is somewhat unclear though the most popular theory is that the original plans meant for the removal of both Ripsaw and The Blade [2] but with of them both getting 'Remastered' a few years ago, that plan would then shift it to take over the Flume site and the idea to use that land sooner than later was important as in the hope they didn't have a vacant site left empty for several years much like after when Corkscrew left. However, another theory was that the memories of the failed planned of the cross-valley coaster still burned in the minds of many locals and management alike and felt that using that area was too soon though nothing has ever been confirmed.
When the plans were first revealed of what was coming for the 2017 season, some were left disappointed at the size of it being not the giant wooden they wanted though the plans did mention that the ride would have three themed elements located around the ride and a preshow before the ride. Perhaps the most notable addition for the ride was a giant themed element that would stand at 50ft in which the ride would go through it which all pointed out that this ride could be perhaps the most themed attraction on the park and although much of the Flume would be removed, many of its footers would be retained to minimize any affect to the nearby woodland [3] and soon enough it would be rumoured and later confirmed that Great Coasters International (GCI) would be building the ride.
At long last, the UK was about to get its newest wooden roller coaster which some would argue was long overdue by this point and John Wardly's dream of a wooden roller coaster at Alton Towers was about to become a reality, only downside was that for once, he would not have any part in designing it. Having retired after The Smiler was built, Wardley had slowly accepted with great reluctance that a woodie would never be built though he other than the giant cross valley coaster, he had also designed two other wooden coasters for the park which, to no one's surprise, never got off the drawing board, though as it turned out, he would find himself roped into SW8 in quite honestly bizarre circumstances. With Wardley having long been associated with the SW project, someone of the Alpha team would ask him how the new project was taking place though was stunned to find out that Wardley had been oblivious to what was going on having long since retired and was unaware of what was going on [4].
Hesitantly though thanks to some certain characters in both the Alpha and Delta teams who had friends in high places, he would get to look through the plans that, at the point in late 2015, were on the verge of being revealed to the planning authorities. What Wardley found was a great layout but one that was not very thrilling with him pointing out that the issue lay with the not very thrilling two first drops and a somewhat dull section of track towards the end of the ride which could easily be made more exciting though thankfully with the plans not being full set-in stone by this point, Wardley was able to quickly make the changes needed he felt were needed [5] to make the attraction better thanks to using the video game 'No Limits 2' to design and reprofile the layout. After that, the plans were submitted for approval and Wardley would sit on the side-lines helping out when needed. Though what the theme of this new attraction was anyone's guess.
SW8 takes shape during late 2016, note the giant themed element on the left surrounded in sheeting (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
Over the space of 58 weeks to build, construction on SW8 would go ahead with very few issues along the way and yet some elements of the Flume attraction would actually remain with perhaps the most notable addition being that the site of the Flume's circular station would remain to be turned into a smokehouse [6] and even the building in the woods where the Flume would go through, perhaps better known for housing the infamous giant duck in the tunnel, would remain untouched to this day as it was likely it would be more trouble that worth it to get rid of them so if some urban explorer was to explore that area of the park then they would see the long disused building in the woods. While the coaster was taking shape, it was the giant structure that was covered up that everyone wanted to know what it was - even those who were building it were all sworn to secrecy to say anything about it [7].
A clue would take place during Scarefest 2016 in which in Mutiny Bay there would be an event that would seem to give out a hint on what this new ride would be all about. This would be a new walkthrough maze attraction called 'The Welcoming: Be Chosen' which would be about a mysterious group of previously thought long-lost people who had been lost at sea had suddenly returned to Munity Bay but have gone made in wanting to worship their new God [8] yet no mention was made to what were their worshipping it though for some long-time fans, it did seem to be a pirate themed version of the original Nemesis backstory in which had worshippers there. It would though finally be revealed on what SW8 would be called in January 2017 - 'Kraken'. A name that, to some, felt underwhelming and that this not the first time Merlin had built a coaster around the famous sea monster with a dive coaster at Heide Park in Germany known as 'Krake' though as it would turn out, the two themes could not have been more different which would make Alton Towers' version very interesting for those first time riders when it would open on time for March 2017; branding as the world's first roller coaster experience that would fuse wood and fire...something that rather embarrassedly for the park has since been dropped given how several other coasters already have done this and seems more like the park was scraping at the bottom of the barrel to find a USP for the ride.
The giant structure that had been surrounded in mystery for so long would be revealed to be the giant Kraken monster itself though it wouldn't be the giant squid that most were familiar with but instead was a monstruous looking creature with a dragon's head on the front with glowing eyes that seemed to scan the area at any guest nearby and would have fire effects shooting out whenever a train past through and it seemed that the idea was that the Kraken itself was standing in a harbour section of Munity Bay and had emerged from the depths of the ocean wanting to unleash its wrath on mankind for polluting the oceans (a strangely topical story element for a pirate themed attraction). Funnily enough, the giant Kraken theming structure was nicknamed 'Big Bob' by construction crews to help keep the theme secret [8] though since then it has happily been adopted by most fans for the giant monster itself.
The ride's storyline itself would be simple in which guests would enter the ruined setting of a dock that had been ravage by the monster in which as guests entered the preshow, they soon discovered that they have been lured by the Kraken's worshippers to become a sacrifice for the monster itself. While the ride might have not been the biggest wooden coaster ever built nor was it the dreamed cross valley coaster that some would have wanted, it was a well themed family thrill coaster which filled a spot in the park's line-up and did breathe new life in Mutiny Bay which other than the installation of a Sea Life centre in 2009 had changed very little since opening and all in all, the ride was considered a huge success and it would vindicate John Wardley's belief that if a wooden coaster was built at the park then the guests would love it. As it would turn out, it would push guest attendance in the right direction for the 2017 season in which while it would end up finishing just short of 1994 guest attendance figures, it proved that the park was going in the right direction yet more would be needed to keep this up and 2017 wasn't a year focusing on just the park itself...
The Kraken themed station (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
The resort complex side of the park was also growing and with the steady hold of 3 million guests a year the park was experience the side effects of needing extra capacity for both and the park and accommodation and the latter itself would be also getting attention for 2017 too. Thanks to it being more of a budget friendly accommodation for families compared to the likes of the Splash Landings and Alton Towers Hotel accommodation [9], the Enchanted Village had been popular with guests, yet it had become a victim of its own success in which it would see itself fully booked in those first years of its existence and it was pretty obvious that an extension was needed and thankfully another, Merlin had predicted that this would need to be the case and half way during the 2016 season was when planning application would be sent in for the extension of the Enchanted Village.
The expansion would see the first phase would have seen the construction of 26 of the double lodges and the extension of The Crooked Spoon restaurant along with the first part of a ‘service core’ to provide facilities such as laundry, cleaning and other services required for the day-to-day operation of the accommodation. Two new service huts were to be constructed to facilitate the additional demand from the new lodges. Some changes would be made to the existing car parking arrangements, with ‘Car Park J’ re-lined to provide 254 spaces (6 of which will be accessible spaces). Another feature would be that they would have consisted of the addition of three large tipis to form an entertainment area for an estimated 200 guests with activities proposed from 4pm until 9:30pm. These were to form part of the Village Centre to the south of the expansion site and finally there would be another phase in which would have seen the construction of the remaining 9 double lodges and the addition of a new reception building to the north of the newly expanded site.
This reception building was designed to complement the existing fairy tale theme with a similar appearance to the original lodges. Once opened, the existing reception area, located next to the Crooked Spoon Restaurant, would have been converted to provide additional space within the main restaurant. Thankfully, all would be approved [10] and work would take place during the remainder of the 2016 season and closed season until it would all open in time for the 2017 season were while it was not as publicly well documented compared to Kraken, the expansion has helped with the capacity levels for the park yet even so, rumours are still going about on the idea of a third hotel complex on site yet that is another story...
The plans for the expanded Enchanted Village setting (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
Last but not least was regarding the activities of the park's mascot Henry Hound who by this point had not only become a familiar character to much of the guests on the park but new merchandise of the hound and his friends was starting to sell well and now that the park had a firmly established with a family market the question was what else were there to do with him? While Henry Hound would see himself in shows around the park such a newly tweaked ice show which fixed some the problems that show had from last year, as well as putting a Christmas and Scarefest show for certain times of the year, there would be an idea brought forward to bring back an old concept that had long since been discarded by the park and that would be the Alton Towers Fun Club.
First starting back during the early days of the park and ending in the late 1990's, the Fun Club was aimed at children aged between 4 and 14 which this originally allowed them unlimited free access to the park when accompanied by an adult, but in later years, the offer was reduced to four free visits per year. Fun Club members were also sent regular mailings and discounts for park merchandise. Every member was given a membership card and passbook however it was ‘Wonderful Times’ that was the Fun Club magazine which was sent to members 3 times a year. In it were interesting facts, competitions and even a Henry Hound cartoon which got some in management thinking in which maybe they could return to this idea to allow for more lore building of Henry Hound and friends?
Soon enough, the magazine - now just called 'The Adventures of Henry Hound and Friends' would be sold only on the park and the best way to describe it would be Alton Towers meets the Beano in which much of the adventures of Henry Hound and the others were all stories that might have come out from there which featured many misadventures, slapstick and more though it did help promote Kraken for the 2017 season which was somewhat out of place considering the family market the comic was aiming at but it did prove to be a fun park exclusive though some comics would vary in quality with some cynical members of the public calling out Alton Towers on saying Henry Hound was nothing but a Mickey Mouse knockoff which was funny considering that in years before, that was the idea.
One of the latter comics before it would be discounted in its Tussauds years (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
For the rest of the park, it was a fairly uneventful year though it would be soon announced that Submission, the park's rather infamous flat ride that had first opened in 2001 would be leaving at the end of the season [11] and would be replaced with a new ride though although much of the ride would be scraped, the one of the cars would end up in the museum where it remains to this day. Whatever it might be was anyone's guess; however, 2018 would be a special year in celebrating the 20th anniversary of one certain ride, along with the surrounding area, was the makeover it was to get for its birthday though was to leave some purists a little weary...
[1] As what happened with OTL though only with the Flume.
[2] As what was planned for OTL.
[3] As per OTL.
[4] As the case with OTL.
[5] Bit of a POD for the ride in which JW gets on the project much earlier and as such does several of his changes for the ride that he was not able to do IOTL.
[6] Something that was planned for OTL yet never got made.
[7] As per OTL.
[8] So yeah, no Wicker Man theme here but instead we get a pirate themed attraction that blends in much better with the area.
[9] ITTL, the Enchanted Village is cheaper ITTL and we never get the Stargazing Pods here.
[10] Unlike OTL if you will recall, circumstances are different here.
[11] So yes, Submission lasts a little longer here on the park but still kicks the bucket at the end of the 2017 season. Still has a marmite reputation even ITTL.
And that is 2017 done and we have a different SW8 here in which is not Wicker Man but is about 75% the same as the ride we got though there are a few wee tweaks here with JW getting involved more earlier than what happened before. The idea of having it built for 2017 instead of 2018 is that this would have happened had the Smiler incident never happened which caused so many plans to be either pushed back or cancelled so thus, that's what we go with here for SW8 as such being the expansion to the village which nearly did happen so much what I'm doing here is all plausible. Theming change is different here because ITTL, Merlin do allow more control for more for those on the park for whatever they come up with providing they keep to budget.
And Submission finally goes and what is happening for 2018? Well, if your history, you should know but still, it might cause a few eyebrows to raise in what we see for the area, after all, not quite an idealist TL and given all the rumours about Nemesis...yeah. So what will we see and as we are getting closer to the end of this TL, what would you like to see for the park either themes, shows, rides, accommodation or anything, I want to do a bit of fan service! Until then, catch you later!
-----------
Wood Be Very Nice Indeed
Wood Be Very Nice Indeed
For as long as any fan of the park can remember, the dream of seeing a wooden roller coaster at Alton Towers had always been something that many had hoped would see yet it was fair to say that hopes of a wooden roller coaster on the park had not gone all well. The failure of the infamous Cross Valley Coaster and the Woodiegate debacle that followed that lingered on in the background for several years afterwards in which had made many in upper management very reluctant to ever install a wooden coaster of any type if Tussauds still had control of the park, yet when Merlin would take over the park and into a new direction, it turned out that hopes of building a wooden coaster at Alton Towers weren't much better though perhaps their reason for it was bizarre to say the least in which they claimed several times that the public at large thought wooden coasters were unsafe and boring and that they couldn't find a way to market them.
It was a frustrating outcome in which many have called out that such choices that going for nothing but 'World's First' coasters, probably going all the way back since 1998 have always the next big thing yet in some ways this has always been a double edge sword in which one could argue that the likes of Air, Oblivion and Thirteen are nothing but glorified prototypes as by 2017, there have been numerous newer models of those types of rides that in some ways are bigger and better than those three attractions and by this point, almost everything that could be done with a coaster had been done so what else was there to do? As a matter of fact, it was 1997 that was the last time the UK would see a major wooden ride built which was 'Megafobia' at Oakwood in Wales which had been designed by John Wardley who speaking of which had long since advocated for a wooden roller coaster to be built at Alton Towers but had constantly been told by the powers that be that a wooden coaster would never be marketable.
Not that there had been several attempts to try and build one with the Cross Valley Coaster being the closest to have been built though much of its downfall was well documented that for John Wardley seemed to be the end of any wooden coaster to be built in the surrounding Staffordshire countryside. It would however back in 2012 that the park would reveal it's 'Long Term Development Plan' would be revealed in which would show much of what was planned for the park going forward such as new additions for the park and resort and what rides were to go with the quite obvious ones being Spinball Whizzer and The Flume which incidentally both left at the end of the 2015 season [1] but it was in Forbidding Valley that caught many enthusiasts attention. It mentioned that a new attraction in that area would be of a timber Struss construction which meant surely only one thing - the long-awaited wooden coaster! Though not in the giant monster as what some wanted before...what was to be built was SW8!
The plans for the wooden coaster, now SW8, being built on the former Flume site (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
As things turned out, despite many thinking that this would be the plans of the giant cross valley coaster being finally built, that wouldn't be the case for instead the new attraction would instead be built on the now vacant Flume site. Exactly why it was decided at the last minute to build the attraction in Mutiny Bay instead of Forbidding Valley is somewhat unclear though the most popular theory is that the original plans meant for the removal of both Ripsaw and The Blade [2] but with of them both getting 'Remastered' a few years ago, that plan would then shift it to take over the Flume site and the idea to use that land sooner than later was important as in the hope they didn't have a vacant site left empty for several years much like after when Corkscrew left. However, another theory was that the memories of the failed planned of the cross-valley coaster still burned in the minds of many locals and management alike and felt that using that area was too soon though nothing has ever been confirmed.
When the plans were first revealed of what was coming for the 2017 season, some were left disappointed at the size of it being not the giant wooden they wanted though the plans did mention that the ride would have three themed elements located around the ride and a preshow before the ride. Perhaps the most notable addition for the ride was a giant themed element that would stand at 50ft in which the ride would go through it which all pointed out that this ride could be perhaps the most themed attraction on the park and although much of the Flume would be removed, many of its footers would be retained to minimize any affect to the nearby woodland [3] and soon enough it would be rumoured and later confirmed that Great Coasters International (GCI) would be building the ride.
At long last, the UK was about to get its newest wooden roller coaster which some would argue was long overdue by this point and John Wardly's dream of a wooden roller coaster at Alton Towers was about to become a reality, only downside was that for once, he would not have any part in designing it. Having retired after The Smiler was built, Wardley had slowly accepted with great reluctance that a woodie would never be built though he other than the giant cross valley coaster, he had also designed two other wooden coasters for the park which, to no one's surprise, never got off the drawing board, though as it turned out, he would find himself roped into SW8 in quite honestly bizarre circumstances. With Wardley having long been associated with the SW project, someone of the Alpha team would ask him how the new project was taking place though was stunned to find out that Wardley had been oblivious to what was going on having long since retired and was unaware of what was going on [4].
Hesitantly though thanks to some certain characters in both the Alpha and Delta teams who had friends in high places, he would get to look through the plans that, at the point in late 2015, were on the verge of being revealed to the planning authorities. What Wardley found was a great layout but one that was not very thrilling with him pointing out that the issue lay with the not very thrilling two first drops and a somewhat dull section of track towards the end of the ride which could easily be made more exciting though thankfully with the plans not being full set-in stone by this point, Wardley was able to quickly make the changes needed he felt were needed [5] to make the attraction better thanks to using the video game 'No Limits 2' to design and reprofile the layout. After that, the plans were submitted for approval and Wardley would sit on the side-lines helping out when needed. Though what the theme of this new attraction was anyone's guess.
Over the space of 58 weeks to build, construction on SW8 would go ahead with very few issues along the way and yet some elements of the Flume attraction would actually remain with perhaps the most notable addition being that the site of the Flume's circular station would remain to be turned into a smokehouse [6] and even the building in the woods where the Flume would go through, perhaps better known for housing the infamous giant duck in the tunnel, would remain untouched to this day as it was likely it would be more trouble that worth it to get rid of them so if some urban explorer was to explore that area of the park then they would see the long disused building in the woods. While the coaster was taking shape, it was the giant structure that was covered up that everyone wanted to know what it was - even those who were building it were all sworn to secrecy to say anything about it [7].
A clue would take place during Scarefest 2016 in which in Mutiny Bay there would be an event that would seem to give out a hint on what this new ride would be all about. This would be a new walkthrough maze attraction called 'The Welcoming: Be Chosen' which would be about a mysterious group of previously thought long-lost people who had been lost at sea had suddenly returned to Munity Bay but have gone made in wanting to worship their new God [8] yet no mention was made to what were their worshipping it though for some long-time fans, it did seem to be a pirate themed version of the original Nemesis backstory in which had worshippers there. It would though finally be revealed on what SW8 would be called in January 2017 - 'Kraken'. A name that, to some, felt underwhelming and that this not the first time Merlin had built a coaster around the famous sea monster with a dive coaster at Heide Park in Germany known as 'Krake' though as it would turn out, the two themes could not have been more different which would make Alton Towers' version very interesting for those first time riders when it would open on time for March 2017; branding as the world's first roller coaster experience that would fuse wood and fire...something that rather embarrassedly for the park has since been dropped given how several other coasters already have done this and seems more like the park was scraping at the bottom of the barrel to find a USP for the ride.
The giant structure that had been surrounded in mystery for so long would be revealed to be the giant Kraken monster itself though it wouldn't be the giant squid that most were familiar with but instead was a monstruous looking creature with a dragon's head on the front with glowing eyes that seemed to scan the area at any guest nearby and would have fire effects shooting out whenever a train past through and it seemed that the idea was that the Kraken itself was standing in a harbour section of Munity Bay and had emerged from the depths of the ocean wanting to unleash its wrath on mankind for polluting the oceans (a strangely topical story element for a pirate themed attraction). Funnily enough, the giant Kraken theming structure was nicknamed 'Big Bob' by construction crews to help keep the theme secret [8] though since then it has happily been adopted by most fans for the giant monster itself.
The ride's storyline itself would be simple in which guests would enter the ruined setting of a dock that had been ravage by the monster in which as guests entered the preshow, they soon discovered that they have been lured by the Kraken's worshippers to become a sacrifice for the monster itself. While the ride might have not been the biggest wooden coaster ever built nor was it the dreamed cross valley coaster that some would have wanted, it was a well themed family thrill coaster which filled a spot in the park's line-up and did breathe new life in Mutiny Bay which other than the installation of a Sea Life centre in 2009 had changed very little since opening and all in all, the ride was considered a huge success and it would vindicate John Wardley's belief that if a wooden coaster was built at the park then the guests would love it. As it would turn out, it would push guest attendance in the right direction for the 2017 season in which while it would end up finishing just short of 1994 guest attendance figures, it proved that the park was going in the right direction yet more would be needed to keep this up and 2017 wasn't a year focusing on just the park itself...
The resort complex side of the park was also growing and with the steady hold of 3 million guests a year the park was experience the side effects of needing extra capacity for both and the park and accommodation and the latter itself would be also getting attention for 2017 too. Thanks to it being more of a budget friendly accommodation for families compared to the likes of the Splash Landings and Alton Towers Hotel accommodation [9], the Enchanted Village had been popular with guests, yet it had become a victim of its own success in which it would see itself fully booked in those first years of its existence and it was pretty obvious that an extension was needed and thankfully another, Merlin had predicted that this would need to be the case and half way during the 2016 season was when planning application would be sent in for the extension of the Enchanted Village.
The expansion would see the first phase would have seen the construction of 26 of the double lodges and the extension of The Crooked Spoon restaurant along with the first part of a ‘service core’ to provide facilities such as laundry, cleaning and other services required for the day-to-day operation of the accommodation. Two new service huts were to be constructed to facilitate the additional demand from the new lodges. Some changes would be made to the existing car parking arrangements, with ‘Car Park J’ re-lined to provide 254 spaces (6 of which will be accessible spaces). Another feature would be that they would have consisted of the addition of three large tipis to form an entertainment area for an estimated 200 guests with activities proposed from 4pm until 9:30pm. These were to form part of the Village Centre to the south of the expansion site and finally there would be another phase in which would have seen the construction of the remaining 9 double lodges and the addition of a new reception building to the north of the newly expanded site.
This reception building was designed to complement the existing fairy tale theme with a similar appearance to the original lodges. Once opened, the existing reception area, located next to the Crooked Spoon Restaurant, would have been converted to provide additional space within the main restaurant. Thankfully, all would be approved [10] and work would take place during the remainder of the 2016 season and closed season until it would all open in time for the 2017 season were while it was not as publicly well documented compared to Kraken, the expansion has helped with the capacity levels for the park yet even so, rumours are still going about on the idea of a third hotel complex on site yet that is another story...
Last but not least was regarding the activities of the park's mascot Henry Hound who by this point had not only become a familiar character to much of the guests on the park but new merchandise of the hound and his friends was starting to sell well and now that the park had a firmly established with a family market the question was what else were there to do with him? While Henry Hound would see himself in shows around the park such a newly tweaked ice show which fixed some the problems that show had from last year, as well as putting a Christmas and Scarefest show for certain times of the year, there would be an idea brought forward to bring back an old concept that had long since been discarded by the park and that would be the Alton Towers Fun Club.
First starting back during the early days of the park and ending in the late 1990's, the Fun Club was aimed at children aged between 4 and 14 which this originally allowed them unlimited free access to the park when accompanied by an adult, but in later years, the offer was reduced to four free visits per year. Fun Club members were also sent regular mailings and discounts for park merchandise. Every member was given a membership card and passbook however it was ‘Wonderful Times’ that was the Fun Club magazine which was sent to members 3 times a year. In it were interesting facts, competitions and even a Henry Hound cartoon which got some in management thinking in which maybe they could return to this idea to allow for more lore building of Henry Hound and friends?
Soon enough, the magazine - now just called 'The Adventures of Henry Hound and Friends' would be sold only on the park and the best way to describe it would be Alton Towers meets the Beano in which much of the adventures of Henry Hound and the others were all stories that might have come out from there which featured many misadventures, slapstick and more though it did help promote Kraken for the 2017 season which was somewhat out of place considering the family market the comic was aiming at but it did prove to be a fun park exclusive though some comics would vary in quality with some cynical members of the public calling out Alton Towers on saying Henry Hound was nothing but a Mickey Mouse knockoff which was funny considering that in years before, that was the idea.
One of the latter comics before it would be discounted in its Tussauds years (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
For the rest of the park, it was a fairly uneventful year though it would be soon announced that Submission, the park's rather infamous flat ride that had first opened in 2001 would be leaving at the end of the season [11] and would be replaced with a new ride though although much of the ride would be scraped, the one of the cars would end up in the museum where it remains to this day. Whatever it might be was anyone's guess; however, 2018 would be a special year in celebrating the 20th anniversary of one certain ride, along with the surrounding area, was the makeover it was to get for its birthday though was to leave some purists a little weary...
---------
[1] As what happened with OTL though only with the Flume.
[2] As what was planned for OTL.
[3] As per OTL.
[4] As the case with OTL.
[5] Bit of a POD for the ride in which JW gets on the project much earlier and as such does several of his changes for the ride that he was not able to do IOTL.
[6] Something that was planned for OTL yet never got made.
[7] As per OTL.
[8] So yeah, no Wicker Man theme here but instead we get a pirate themed attraction that blends in much better with the area.
[9] ITTL, the Enchanted Village is cheaper ITTL and we never get the Stargazing Pods here.
[10] Unlike OTL if you will recall, circumstances are different here.
[11] So yes, Submission lasts a little longer here on the park but still kicks the bucket at the end of the 2017 season. Still has a marmite reputation even ITTL.
And that is 2017 done and we have a different SW8 here in which is not Wicker Man but is about 75% the same as the ride we got though there are a few wee tweaks here with JW getting involved more earlier than what happened before. The idea of having it built for 2017 instead of 2018 is that this would have happened had the Smiler incident never happened which caused so many plans to be either pushed back or cancelled so thus, that's what we go with here for SW8 as such being the expansion to the village which nearly did happen so much what I'm doing here is all plausible. Theming change is different here because ITTL, Merlin do allow more control for more for those on the park for whatever they come up with providing they keep to budget.
And Submission finally goes and what is happening for 2018? Well, if your history, you should know but still, it might cause a few eyebrows to raise in what we see for the area, after all, not quite an idealist TL and given all the rumours about Nemesis...yeah. So what will we see and as we are getting closer to the end of this TL, what would you like to see for the park either themes, shows, rides, accommodation or anything, I want to do a bit of fan service!
Until then, catch you later!
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
And so we start off with a different 2018 here that brings a certain attraction a year forward and a refresh of Oblivion which might cause some anger for some...hopefully not though. So without anything else to say, here we go!
Even before the 2017 season had ended, the word on the street was that a new themed area was on the cards and that it would be of an existing area on the park and many suspected that Katanga Canyon was being set up for a major change as it had been pretty much the only area in the entire park that had not seen any change since Merlin took over the park; or in actually fact the area had even seen any changes to the area since it first opened in 1992 with the only thing of note being of of an incident involving the Runaway Mine Train in 2006 [1]. Either way, the area was long overdue for something to happen either with a new ride or a major retheme altogether though some weren't so sure in which some were even pointing out that work had been started on the outside of the long closed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride in which that was earmarked for a fourth makeover in which included seeing the end of Cloud Cuckoo Land which seemed bizarre given that this was a retheme that Merlin had only created in 2009 so getting rid of it so soon seemed like a waste.
On the other hand much like Katanga Canyon, Cloud Cuckoo Land had not seen anything new if you weren't to include the addition of shows in the theatre over the years, nothing really had change by this point, the area itself was starting to look rather tired. While there was clearly work taking place inside the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory building, it was clear that whatever was happening would be ready until 2019 so the question was what was happening was something that many wanted to know. However as it turned out, 2018 would be pretty much nothing more than a Remaster for SW4's 20th birthday, a ride better known to many as Oblivion. In mid 2017, planning application was submitted and approved for work to take place on the site of Submission, clearly a new ride going in that area, but most of all was the queue area around Oblivion was to see a major change with most of the outdoor queue area being now enclosed.
With the ride having been crying out for some major TLC for sometime now, even when it received a lick of paint to coincide with the opening of The Smiler in 2013, nothing else had happened to it though it wasn't say that the park had done somethings with it though perhaps for all the wrong reasons as those will remember 2011 for the ride with great disdain. In that year, the ride would gain a new sponsorship with Fanta which didn't seem like much at first though what happened would cause an uproar in which in many places around the ride, rather cheap and cheerful posters were placed all round the attraction with what looked like no thought was put into them and was made even worse with eyerolling slogans on said posters such as 'Looking Down Is The Fun Part' and 'More Fanta, Less Serious' which only contrasted badly with the dark a foreboding theme of the ride [2].
Thankfully, much of these posters and links to sponsorship were removed in a matter of months though it remains a sore subject for the ride's fans and a source of embarrassment for those manging the park. As of a result, there were many fans who were cautiously optimistic about a long awaited update though many didn't know what was to come though as it turned out as just a week before the park closed for the 2017 season, Oblivion would get an early closure for work to begin and over the coming months several photos from the air would see the area of X-Sector receive a total makeover with most seeing a lick of paint but the main body of work was taking place around Oblivion though as time went on, several fans began to suspect that Remaster wasn't anything special but rather nothing more than a copy-and-paste job from another certain Merlin owned park in Italy that also happened to be called 'Oblivion: The Black Hole' [3] which oddly shared the same name with a now long gone ride.
The theming of (Italian) Oblivion in Gardaland in which (British) Oblivion's Remaster would be heavily based off. (C) Themeparks-eu.com
Back in 2015, Gardaland would open Italy's first B&M vertical drop coaster called Oblivion: The Black Hole which many noted that its theme was actually heavily based around the original ride at Alton Towers though given a modern look minus any 'Lord of Darkness' character to plant seeds of fear into the minds of those waiting in line. With hindsight it would seem that the theming job for the Italian version of the ride was done as a test to see if it would look good and after going well with guests in that park, it seemed like a no brainer that now was the time to give the original version a revamp although this was not without some criticism from fans. While they would agree that the ride needed some TLC, some felt that losing it's now dated yet charmingly (dark) Y2K late 1990's theme would make the ride lose its character though some argue that although the same theme would have looked good in the day, now it was looking out of place and perhaps now was right to see the ride get the attention it needed.
When it would reopen on time for the start of the 2018 season, many guests would see a Oblivion that looked fresh, different yet oddly similar to what had been before. The Remastered Oblivion had seen many cues taken from its Italian counterpart with its entrance structure being pretty much a clone though (thankfully to some fans) the original logo of the ride would be retained. The queue line itself (still following the same path as it had done always) would be mostly covered which would make it good for all weathers with many effects such as glowing orange lights taken from its Italian sister ride but thankfully for fans, the Lord of Darkness character - played by actor Renny Krupinski, would be retained and the original queue line videos of him often taunting the guests were simply remastered and broadcasted on larger TV sets throughout the queue line and amazingly enough, the theme managed to somehow balance out the original and modern day themes very well which actually was something that should've have been given more credit for how they managed to pull it off.
The station itself was given a bit more life in which with more glowing orange lighting, it did bare a striking resemblance to its Italian counterpart in theme and feel but thankfully still held its sinister edge. For the ride itself, nothing really changed from before though there had been rumours of new ride cars arriving but instead it was the same as before though all given a major overhaul such as brand new restraints, wheelsets and seats which all did their part in given the ride a new lease of life and despite hopes of the audio at the top of the drop being restored which would say 'Don't Look Down' this was not down due to the original restrictions still placed on the park because of it [4]. The main building itself didn't see too much change though the main change was on the exit in which an extension to that building was created which would now house both the photo booth and mini shop in which both previously had been located in the nearby building that housed the X-Sell and X-Pose arcade attractions and this seemed like a strange thing to do as it would pretty much make half of that building empty and only then would rumours would start that something was to happen for that building though time would tell...
Not the original Oblivion rethemed entrance but it might as well be as this would be the Italian version in which the original would take much of its basis off except it would be black and orange instead of white and orange for its colours (C) ThemeParkBlogger.com
Reaction to the Remaster was mostly positive by fans and guests alike, some felt that even though much of the mysterious and sinister storyline was kept for the ride, the ride wasn't quite the same as it was before. Nonetheless, the ride was looking fit for another 20 years to follow but oddly enough it was the fresh coat of paint that Oblivion had gotten that caused an uproar among certain fans. The track was repainted into a fresh jet black coat as it had always had done yet it was the support structures of all things that caused the biggest uproar in which they were no longer black...they were now orange. For some, this was too close to the whole Fanta debacle a few years ago and that to some this ruined the feel of the ride though some actually liked the look as it was subtle enough to some that it didn't really bother them though it wasn't the only ride who got the same treatment.
Next door to the dive coaster was The Smiler which hadn't really seen much since opening though with Oblivion and the surrounding X-Sector getting a facelift, the 14 looping coaster would get a fresh lick of paint in which its track would get repainted in a fresh coat of black yet its supports would be painted in yellow. It was clearly to match in with Oblivion's new look yet bizarrely compared to the uproar that had followed the birthday coaster, The Smiler's new look didn't generate the same outcry in which actually many actually thought the new look was better to make things better, the loud theme song for the ride which would greet guests entering X-Sector over the last few years was - much to relief of many - toned down to just the ride itself [5] and instead a newer theme for X-Sector would be created. The new theme for the area would be done by IMAscore in which while it might have been underwhelming for some, it was at least much relaxing to the ears compared to the theme for The Smiler.
The Remastered Oblivion would in the fan community have some mixed views on which version was better but nonetheless gradually over time many would appreciate the new look for the ride in which it gave the ride and surrounding area a new lease of life. As it was, it wasn't the only Remaster taking place as in the middle of the anniversary celebrations, a new ride would take the place of Submission...the Remastered version that is though given what was to take its place, it might have been a different beast altogether. The original version of the ride which had opened in 2001 had been a rare double swinging inverter flat ride built by Chance Rides which would see both gondola arms flip guests upside and when fully in action was a pretty impressive looking machine just to look at.
The original Submission in action, note the poor restraints for riders which made the ride comfortable (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
After a slick marketing campaign to promote the ride, the park hoped that it would gain rave reviews much like what Ripsaw had done...instead what would happen was guests complaining at how rough it was when the ride held guests upside down the highly restrictive restraints closed to make the ride uncomfortable for most and particularly for those with larger statures, such as taller guests. When the gondola began to move it also became clear that despite its looks, the ride was not really that thrilling either. Throughout the ride cycle it never felt like the gondola was swinging freely, but rather in a very controlled manner. This not only removed the thrill offered by free movement and momentum, but also further reinforced the discomfort felt by guests due to the restraints and that wasn't including a strange crunching sound whenever the ride was in operation which sounded like pennies rolling around.
Despite high hopes of it being a hit, Submission's fame was short lived and in its later years it was commonplace for only one side of the ride to run, due to both waning popularity and maintenance reasons though it would have one final hurrah in 2013 to have both arms in full operation when The Smiler opened [6] but even then this was false dawn as it would limp on for a few more years before finally closing in 2017 [6] alongside Oblivion was about to start its overhaul and the question now was what to replace it with? While it might have not been the best liked ride on the park, the Delta team who were given the task to find a suitable ride for the spot (the Alpha team would be working on Oblivion) felt that the ride probably deserved better by using its name for a more suitable product, not to mention the original model by Chance Rides had long since been discontinued, and sure enough they found what they felt was a suitable replacement...a Zamperla Hawk model which itself was a similar looking let less complicated version of the original Submission.
To some, it was a somewhat a disappointed that the park still wanted to hold onto the namesake of a rather poor flat ride from before yet nonetheless when it reopened in its striking looking match black colour and secondary coat of dark blue (nearby Enterprise had black and teal matching in with it) Submission MK2 would look the part and thankfully it would be received a lot better than the original and with that, X-Sector looked fresh and ready for the years ahead and it was pretty much certain that very little would be happening in that area after the transformation the area had gotten to bring it all up to date and some fans now looked forward as to what 2019 would bring though as many would know, 2018 was not about the park but rather for the Resort as a whole.
A Zamperla Hawk model in action in which the new version of Submission would be based off (C) Zamperla Rides
The amount of investment that was being poured into both Alton Towers and Thorpe Park was quite something compared to a few years ago however it was clear that without having Chessington being owned by Merlin and itself needing the investment it would have needed helped as it meant that more money could be poured into the two remaining Merlin parks [7] and many would look back on with hindsight that if Tussauds really should have taken over Thorpe Park when they did as it had been no coincidence that the investments levels across three parks were all over the place and were somewhat nowhere near the levels as they were a decade prior. Regardless though, it was clear that dumping Chessington when Merlin came in had actually been for the best and now the likes of Alton Towers was now making the most of it for what some would consider its return to form and and with more investment to go around, the resort complex would see more improvements for 2018.
A model of investment was put in place in which for some years, the investment would be split between the park or accommodation related and over the years and 2018 would be no exception in which the year was more of a Remaster year with next to no new rides but refurbishment which helped cut costs down for investment to go elsewhere and it would be needed for 2018 for what would be the opening of Alton Towers' third hotel. The plans of the new hotel had been put in place as far back as 2015 in which then it was then known as just an extension to the existing Alton Towers Hotel [8] though while it was approved, it was never really acted upon as during that time much was being focused on making the then recently opened Enchanted Village and the expansion to follow and it would only be in mid 2017 that groundwork would start on the then new extension though what was to be built was something rather different.
For anyone who had followed the pricing structure of the accommodation on site would have noticed that there was large gap between the budget friendly Enchanted Village and the more pricey two hotels nearby and there was no really middle ground between them and it was here that the management at the time decided then that the new extension wouldn't be an extension but rather a new hotel altogether that would go on and fill that gap that was ripe for the taking though it would still have a physical connection that guests could walk through much like that was already in place with the likes of the Alton Towers Hotel and Splash Landings. When new plans emerged, it would be a case of a two face structure in which while the North and West elevations would still have their English Colonial Style to blend in with the Alton Towers Hotel next door, the East and South facing sides would be given a dark fantasy castle theme which gave a clue as to what this new hotel would be all all about.
The original plans for the then extension, the newer plans would have a newly themed castle look for the East and South elevations while the rest would remain unchanged as a way to blend in with the nearby Alton Towers Hotel (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
As it would turn out, the new hotel would be called 'Myths and Legends' which would be a dark fantasy themed hotel which would be based around many British myths and legends such as the Loch Ness Monster, Beast of Bodmin, Headless Horseman, the Barghest and even the story of the infamous chained oak itself nearby the park would all be represented in this new hotel in which some rooms would have a theme around a certain legend much like how in the Alton Towers Hotel would see some rooms themed around certain rides on the park with a summery in each room telling the history about said legend. It was in some ways something a throwback to the dark and sinister themes that become quite common for Merlin during the early days on their ownership of the park though this time round it manage to strike just the right balance to keep family friendly enough though it turned out it wasn't just a hotel but rather what lay beneath.
A common joke for fans of the park is that there is always something sinister lying underground that gets discovered such as Nemesis be awakened or with Thirteen and as it would turn out with the Myths and Legends hotel, it would be no exception though perhaps of a different type that caught many people off as from the tweaked plans would be that that there would be a basement level below the ground floor which seemed a little strange at first until it became clear that it was hinted that a resort exclusive attraction was to be built under the hotel. That new attraction would something that would make the theme of the hotel make more sense as to why it was done in the first place...that new attraction itself would be none other than a new Dungeons walkthrough attraction - 'The Alton Towers Dungeon' [9].
For anyone who knew anything about Merlin would know that they are the second largest leisure operator outside of Disney in which other than theme parks, they also run the Legoland parks, Sea Life centres, the Blackpool Tower and many Dungeons style attractions which the latter was seen many around the around the world with the likes of London, York, Edinburgh and Blackpool in just the UK alone. The idea of bringing several Merlin owned brands to the park was something wasn't uncommon in which it had already been done when they opened a Sea Life attraction in Munity Bay in 2009 yet it seemed that the idea of having another attraction for the resort side of the park was something that was actually long overdue as other than the Waterpark, Extraordinary Golf course and the Tree Top Quest (the latter now only operating during the peak season), there hadn't really been any expansion to this side of complex and the question of what could be done to make the experience fuller for guests.
The idea of having a Dungeons attraction had been floated around by some in upper management with one solution was to turn the disused Charlie building into a Dungeons attraction [10] but this idea was dropped when it was suggested that if they were to build an underground level under the new hotel then it was possible to build in there a new Dungeons walkthrough attraction in by doing so, they would be killing two birds with one stone in which not only would they be getting a new hotel but also a resort exclusive attraction for those staying on the park. With many seeing sense from the idea, it was quickly accepted and it was said that the theme for the hotel itself would be based around the Dungeons so that it would blend in with ease with its entrance being round the south side of the hotel.
Despite hopes for an opening for Easter 2018, various issues with construction and other factors which see the new hotel and Dungeons attraction open for Summer that year and while it did find its 'middle-of-the-road' appeal of families who wanted something a bit more from the Enchanted Village, it was something that no one knew what to think about it. While it was marketed as 'family friendly', its dark tone was somewhat out of place from that of the others though that said, it did appeal to a certain audience who did like the dark fantasy element that to some wasn't as dark as some would make it out to be - certainly not another Nemesis Sub Terra that was for sure - and the Dungeons attraction was actually a welcomed addition to the line up in which many of the scenes would be pretty much a copy and paste job of other Dungeons attractions such as The Judge, Black River Boat Ride (which was just a short several meter long straight of track copied from its Edinburgh counterpart) and The Plague Doctor just to name a few with it being something of a disappointment to some that there were no Alton Towers themed scenes.
Even more so was that bookings weren't as high as the park hoped they would be during that opening year with the blame being stated that its late opening meant it missed out on a lucrative Easter market. Nonetheless since then, it has become more liked as a unique dark experience compared to the more 'happier' theme of the other accommodation on the park and both Myths and Legends and Alton Towers Dungeon would especially come into their own for the Scarefest events in which they would be part of the main location for events taking place on the resort side compared to what was going on for the park such as Scare Room settings and such. With all that said as guest are resting in their rooms on the ground floor, just below there is scenes of terror in the Dungeons below which all makes for a vary strange experience if one thinks about it more.
It was though with the opening of the new hotel that just as it was opening, another area on the park would make a sudden closure which would turn out to be Cloud Cuckoo Land which with the exception of the Twirling Toadstool ride and Cloud Cuckoo Land theatre which would remain open, the area would be shut off in which it became clear that the area was about to see a total overhaul into something different in which along with something going on with the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory building meant that something big was to happen yet one one knew what it might be though given how much of the old Cred Street theming in its pre-Merlin days was being removed, it was not to be just a simple lick of paint...the theme as it would turn out be an old Tussauds concept that would be brought back from the dead.
[1] Which I forgot to mention earlier in the TL which still happens like with OTL.
[2] Like as above, I forgot to mention that this infamous event still happens in TTL much like it did with out own.
[3] To which that rides opens the same like with OTL.
[4] Still the same like with OTL.
[5] We no longer get the blaring sound of Smiler's music all around X-Sector here!
[6] Submission MK1 last a little longer compared to OTL.
[7] Without Chessington on the books, Merlin are - without The Smiler accident here as well - actually are willing to splash out the cash a little more.
[8] The original plans much like OTL before it became the Cbeebies Hotel.
[9] Yes, the Dungeons still happens for the park though the difference here is that they are now for the resort and no longer on the park.
[10] Which would happen in OTL ofc.
So there we are, a fresh looking Oblivion, updated Submission and a new hotel and better located Dungeons...not a bad year 2018 is for the park, eh? Anyway, we are getting near the end of this TL until we get to 2023 and I will likely do intermission chapters on both Thorpe and Chessington once we get up to date with Alton Towers here. Anyway, next update will be something for Cloud Cuckoo Land but won't be what we all know what became of the area but something different if you can guess what it might be...
Hope you enjoyed this update and until then, hope to hear from you soon! Please tell what are you thinking about the changes here to certain rides.
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Celebrating 20 Years Down The Hole
Celebrating 20 Years Down The Hole
Even before the 2017 season had ended, the word on the street was that a new themed area was on the cards and that it would be of an existing area on the park and many suspected that Katanga Canyon was being set up for a major change as it had been pretty much the only area in the entire park that had not seen any change since Merlin took over the park; or in actually fact the area had even seen any changes to the area since it first opened in 1992 with the only thing of note being of of an incident involving the Runaway Mine Train in 2006 [1]. Either way, the area was long overdue for something to happen either with a new ride or a major retheme altogether though some weren't so sure in which some were even pointing out that work had been started on the outside of the long closed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride in which that was earmarked for a fourth makeover in which included seeing the end of Cloud Cuckoo Land which seemed bizarre given that this was a retheme that Merlin had only created in 2009 so getting rid of it so soon seemed like a waste.
On the other hand much like Katanga Canyon, Cloud Cuckoo Land had not seen anything new if you weren't to include the addition of shows in the theatre over the years, nothing really had change by this point, the area itself was starting to look rather tired. While there was clearly work taking place inside the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory building, it was clear that whatever was happening would be ready until 2019 so the question was what was happening was something that many wanted to know. However as it turned out, 2018 would be pretty much nothing more than a Remaster for SW4's 20th birthday, a ride better known to many as Oblivion. In mid 2017, planning application was submitted and approved for work to take place on the site of Submission, clearly a new ride going in that area, but most of all was the queue area around Oblivion was to see a major change with most of the outdoor queue area being now enclosed.
With the ride having been crying out for some major TLC for sometime now, even when it received a lick of paint to coincide with the opening of The Smiler in 2013, nothing else had happened to it though it wasn't say that the park had done somethings with it though perhaps for all the wrong reasons as those will remember 2011 for the ride with great disdain. In that year, the ride would gain a new sponsorship with Fanta which didn't seem like much at first though what happened would cause an uproar in which in many places around the ride, rather cheap and cheerful posters were placed all round the attraction with what looked like no thought was put into them and was made even worse with eyerolling slogans on said posters such as 'Looking Down Is The Fun Part' and 'More Fanta, Less Serious' which only contrasted badly with the dark a foreboding theme of the ride [2].
Thankfully, much of these posters and links to sponsorship were removed in a matter of months though it remains a sore subject for the ride's fans and a source of embarrassment for those manging the park. As of a result, there were many fans who were cautiously optimistic about a long awaited update though many didn't know what was to come though as it turned out as just a week before the park closed for the 2017 season, Oblivion would get an early closure for work to begin and over the coming months several photos from the air would see the area of X-Sector receive a total makeover with most seeing a lick of paint but the main body of work was taking place around Oblivion though as time went on, several fans began to suspect that Remaster wasn't anything special but rather nothing more than a copy-and-paste job from another certain Merlin owned park in Italy that also happened to be called 'Oblivion: The Black Hole' [3] which oddly shared the same name with a now long gone ride.
Back in 2015, Gardaland would open Italy's first B&M vertical drop coaster called Oblivion: The Black Hole which many noted that its theme was actually heavily based around the original ride at Alton Towers though given a modern look minus any 'Lord of Darkness' character to plant seeds of fear into the minds of those waiting in line. With hindsight it would seem that the theming job for the Italian version of the ride was done as a test to see if it would look good and after going well with guests in that park, it seemed like a no brainer that now was the time to give the original version a revamp although this was not without some criticism from fans. While they would agree that the ride needed some TLC, some felt that losing it's now dated yet charmingly (dark) Y2K late 1990's theme would make the ride lose its character though some argue that although the same theme would have looked good in the day, now it was looking out of place and perhaps now was right to see the ride get the attention it needed.
When it would reopen on time for the start of the 2018 season, many guests would see a Oblivion that looked fresh, different yet oddly similar to what had been before. The Remastered Oblivion had seen many cues taken from its Italian counterpart with its entrance structure being pretty much a clone though (thankfully to some fans) the original logo of the ride would be retained. The queue line itself (still following the same path as it had done always) would be mostly covered which would make it good for all weathers with many effects such as glowing orange lights taken from its Italian sister ride but thankfully for fans, the Lord of Darkness character - played by actor Renny Krupinski, would be retained and the original queue line videos of him often taunting the guests were simply remastered and broadcasted on larger TV sets throughout the queue line and amazingly enough, the theme managed to somehow balance out the original and modern day themes very well which actually was something that should've have been given more credit for how they managed to pull it off.
The station itself was given a bit more life in which with more glowing orange lighting, it did bare a striking resemblance to its Italian counterpart in theme and feel but thankfully still held its sinister edge. For the ride itself, nothing really changed from before though there had been rumours of new ride cars arriving but instead it was the same as before though all given a major overhaul such as brand new restraints, wheelsets and seats which all did their part in given the ride a new lease of life and despite hopes of the audio at the top of the drop being restored which would say 'Don't Look Down' this was not down due to the original restrictions still placed on the park because of it [4]. The main building itself didn't see too much change though the main change was on the exit in which an extension to that building was created which would now house both the photo booth and mini shop in which both previously had been located in the nearby building that housed the X-Sell and X-Pose arcade attractions and this seemed like a strange thing to do as it would pretty much make half of that building empty and only then would rumours would start that something was to happen for that building though time would tell...
Reaction to the Remaster was mostly positive by fans and guests alike, some felt that even though much of the mysterious and sinister storyline was kept for the ride, the ride wasn't quite the same as it was before. Nonetheless, the ride was looking fit for another 20 years to follow but oddly enough it was the fresh coat of paint that Oblivion had gotten that caused an uproar among certain fans. The track was repainted into a fresh jet black coat as it had always had done yet it was the support structures of all things that caused the biggest uproar in which they were no longer black...they were now orange. For some, this was too close to the whole Fanta debacle a few years ago and that to some this ruined the feel of the ride though some actually liked the look as it was subtle enough to some that it didn't really bother them though it wasn't the only ride who got the same treatment.
Next door to the dive coaster was The Smiler which hadn't really seen much since opening though with Oblivion and the surrounding X-Sector getting a facelift, the 14 looping coaster would get a fresh lick of paint in which its track would get repainted in a fresh coat of black yet its supports would be painted in yellow. It was clearly to match in with Oblivion's new look yet bizarrely compared to the uproar that had followed the birthday coaster, The Smiler's new look didn't generate the same outcry in which actually many actually thought the new look was better to make things better, the loud theme song for the ride which would greet guests entering X-Sector over the last few years was - much to relief of many - toned down to just the ride itself [5] and instead a newer theme for X-Sector would be created. The new theme for the area would be done by IMAscore in which while it might have been underwhelming for some, it was at least much relaxing to the ears compared to the theme for The Smiler.
The Remastered Oblivion would in the fan community have some mixed views on which version was better but nonetheless gradually over time many would appreciate the new look for the ride in which it gave the ride and surrounding area a new lease of life. As it was, it wasn't the only Remaster taking place as in the middle of the anniversary celebrations, a new ride would take the place of Submission...the Remastered version that is though given what was to take its place, it might have been a different beast altogether. The original version of the ride which had opened in 2001 had been a rare double swinging inverter flat ride built by Chance Rides which would see both gondola arms flip guests upside and when fully in action was a pretty impressive looking machine just to look at.
The original Submission in action, note the poor restraints for riders which made the ride comfortable (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
After a slick marketing campaign to promote the ride, the park hoped that it would gain rave reviews much like what Ripsaw had done...instead what would happen was guests complaining at how rough it was when the ride held guests upside down the highly restrictive restraints closed to make the ride uncomfortable for most and particularly for those with larger statures, such as taller guests. When the gondola began to move it also became clear that despite its looks, the ride was not really that thrilling either. Throughout the ride cycle it never felt like the gondola was swinging freely, but rather in a very controlled manner. This not only removed the thrill offered by free movement and momentum, but also further reinforced the discomfort felt by guests due to the restraints and that wasn't including a strange crunching sound whenever the ride was in operation which sounded like pennies rolling around.
Despite high hopes of it being a hit, Submission's fame was short lived and in its later years it was commonplace for only one side of the ride to run, due to both waning popularity and maintenance reasons though it would have one final hurrah in 2013 to have both arms in full operation when The Smiler opened [6] but even then this was false dawn as it would limp on for a few more years before finally closing in 2017 [6] alongside Oblivion was about to start its overhaul and the question now was what to replace it with? While it might have not been the best liked ride on the park, the Delta team who were given the task to find a suitable ride for the spot (the Alpha team would be working on Oblivion) felt that the ride probably deserved better by using its name for a more suitable product, not to mention the original model by Chance Rides had long since been discontinued, and sure enough they found what they felt was a suitable replacement...a Zamperla Hawk model which itself was a similar looking let less complicated version of the original Submission.
To some, it was a somewhat a disappointed that the park still wanted to hold onto the namesake of a rather poor flat ride from before yet nonetheless when it reopened in its striking looking match black colour and secondary coat of dark blue (nearby Enterprise had black and teal matching in with it) Submission MK2 would look the part and thankfully it would be received a lot better than the original and with that, X-Sector looked fresh and ready for the years ahead and it was pretty much certain that very little would be happening in that area after the transformation the area had gotten to bring it all up to date and some fans now looked forward as to what 2019 would bring though as many would know, 2018 was not about the park but rather for the Resort as a whole.
A Zamperla Hawk model in action in which the new version of Submission would be based off (C) Zamperla Rides
The amount of investment that was being poured into both Alton Towers and Thorpe Park was quite something compared to a few years ago however it was clear that without having Chessington being owned by Merlin and itself needing the investment it would have needed helped as it meant that more money could be poured into the two remaining Merlin parks [7] and many would look back on with hindsight that if Tussauds really should have taken over Thorpe Park when they did as it had been no coincidence that the investments levels across three parks were all over the place and were somewhat nowhere near the levels as they were a decade prior. Regardless though, it was clear that dumping Chessington when Merlin came in had actually been for the best and now the likes of Alton Towers was now making the most of it for what some would consider its return to form and and with more investment to go around, the resort complex would see more improvements for 2018.
A model of investment was put in place in which for some years, the investment would be split between the park or accommodation related and over the years and 2018 would be no exception in which the year was more of a Remaster year with next to no new rides but refurbishment which helped cut costs down for investment to go elsewhere and it would be needed for 2018 for what would be the opening of Alton Towers' third hotel. The plans of the new hotel had been put in place as far back as 2015 in which then it was then known as just an extension to the existing Alton Towers Hotel [8] though while it was approved, it was never really acted upon as during that time much was being focused on making the then recently opened Enchanted Village and the expansion to follow and it would only be in mid 2017 that groundwork would start on the then new extension though what was to be built was something rather different.
For anyone who had followed the pricing structure of the accommodation on site would have noticed that there was large gap between the budget friendly Enchanted Village and the more pricey two hotels nearby and there was no really middle ground between them and it was here that the management at the time decided then that the new extension wouldn't be an extension but rather a new hotel altogether that would go on and fill that gap that was ripe for the taking though it would still have a physical connection that guests could walk through much like that was already in place with the likes of the Alton Towers Hotel and Splash Landings. When new plans emerged, it would be a case of a two face structure in which while the North and West elevations would still have their English Colonial Style to blend in with the Alton Towers Hotel next door, the East and South facing sides would be given a dark fantasy castle theme which gave a clue as to what this new hotel would be all all about.
As it would turn out, the new hotel would be called 'Myths and Legends' which would be a dark fantasy themed hotel which would be based around many British myths and legends such as the Loch Ness Monster, Beast of Bodmin, Headless Horseman, the Barghest and even the story of the infamous chained oak itself nearby the park would all be represented in this new hotel in which some rooms would have a theme around a certain legend much like how in the Alton Towers Hotel would see some rooms themed around certain rides on the park with a summery in each room telling the history about said legend. It was in some ways something a throwback to the dark and sinister themes that become quite common for Merlin during the early days on their ownership of the park though this time round it manage to strike just the right balance to keep family friendly enough though it turned out it wasn't just a hotel but rather what lay beneath.
A common joke for fans of the park is that there is always something sinister lying underground that gets discovered such as Nemesis be awakened or with Thirteen and as it would turn out with the Myths and Legends hotel, it would be no exception though perhaps of a different type that caught many people off as from the tweaked plans would be that that there would be a basement level below the ground floor which seemed a little strange at first until it became clear that it was hinted that a resort exclusive attraction was to be built under the hotel. That new attraction would something that would make the theme of the hotel make more sense as to why it was done in the first place...that new attraction itself would be none other than a new Dungeons walkthrough attraction - 'The Alton Towers Dungeon' [9].
For anyone who knew anything about Merlin would know that they are the second largest leisure operator outside of Disney in which other than theme parks, they also run the Legoland parks, Sea Life centres, the Blackpool Tower and many Dungeons style attractions which the latter was seen many around the around the world with the likes of London, York, Edinburgh and Blackpool in just the UK alone. The idea of bringing several Merlin owned brands to the park was something wasn't uncommon in which it had already been done when they opened a Sea Life attraction in Munity Bay in 2009 yet it seemed that the idea of having another attraction for the resort side of the park was something that was actually long overdue as other than the Waterpark, Extraordinary Golf course and the Tree Top Quest (the latter now only operating during the peak season), there hadn't really been any expansion to this side of complex and the question of what could be done to make the experience fuller for guests.
The idea of having a Dungeons attraction had been floated around by some in upper management with one solution was to turn the disused Charlie building into a Dungeons attraction [10] but this idea was dropped when it was suggested that if they were to build an underground level under the new hotel then it was possible to build in there a new Dungeons walkthrough attraction in by doing so, they would be killing two birds with one stone in which not only would they be getting a new hotel but also a resort exclusive attraction for those staying on the park. With many seeing sense from the idea, it was quickly accepted and it was said that the theme for the hotel itself would be based around the Dungeons so that it would blend in with ease with its entrance being round the south side of the hotel.
The logo for the new Dungeons attraction, note the brick work for the theming which would be used for the hotel (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
Despite hopes for an opening for Easter 2018, various issues with construction and other factors which see the new hotel and Dungeons attraction open for Summer that year and while it did find its 'middle-of-the-road' appeal of families who wanted something a bit more from the Enchanted Village, it was something that no one knew what to think about it. While it was marketed as 'family friendly', its dark tone was somewhat out of place from that of the others though that said, it did appeal to a certain audience who did like the dark fantasy element that to some wasn't as dark as some would make it out to be - certainly not another Nemesis Sub Terra that was for sure - and the Dungeons attraction was actually a welcomed addition to the line up in which many of the scenes would be pretty much a copy and paste job of other Dungeons attractions such as The Judge, Black River Boat Ride (which was just a short several meter long straight of track copied from its Edinburgh counterpart) and The Plague Doctor just to name a few with it being something of a disappointment to some that there were no Alton Towers themed scenes.
Even more so was that bookings weren't as high as the park hoped they would be during that opening year with the blame being stated that its late opening meant it missed out on a lucrative Easter market. Nonetheless since then, it has become more liked as a unique dark experience compared to the more 'happier' theme of the other accommodation on the park and both Myths and Legends and Alton Towers Dungeon would especially come into their own for the Scarefest events in which they would be part of the main location for events taking place on the resort side compared to what was going on for the park such as Scare Room settings and such. With all that said as guest are resting in their rooms on the ground floor, just below there is scenes of terror in the Dungeons below which all makes for a vary strange experience if one thinks about it more.
It was though with the opening of the new hotel that just as it was opening, another area on the park would make a sudden closure which would turn out to be Cloud Cuckoo Land which with the exception of the Twirling Toadstool ride and Cloud Cuckoo Land theatre which would remain open, the area would be shut off in which it became clear that the area was about to see a total overhaul into something different in which along with something going on with the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory building meant that something big was to happen yet one one knew what it might be though given how much of the old Cred Street theming in its pre-Merlin days was being removed, it was not to be just a simple lick of paint...the theme as it would turn out be an old Tussauds concept that would be brought back from the dead.
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[1] Which I forgot to mention earlier in the TL which still happens like with OTL.
[2] Like as above, I forgot to mention that this infamous event still happens in TTL much like it did with out own.
[3] To which that rides opens the same like with OTL.
[4] Still the same like with OTL.
[5] We no longer get the blaring sound of Smiler's music all around X-Sector here!
[6] Submission MK1 last a little longer compared to OTL.
[7] Without Chessington on the books, Merlin are - without The Smiler accident here as well - actually are willing to splash out the cash a little more.
[8] The original plans much like OTL before it became the Cbeebies Hotel.
[9] Yes, the Dungeons still happens for the park though the difference here is that they are now for the resort and no longer on the park.
[10] Which would happen in OTL ofc.
So there we are, a fresh looking Oblivion, updated Submission and a new hotel and better located Dungeons...not a bad year 2018 is for the park, eh?
Anyway, we are getting near the end of this TL until we get to 2023 and I will likely do intermission chapters on both Thorpe and Chessington once we get up to date with Alton Towers here. Anyway, next update will be something for Cloud Cuckoo Land but won't be what we all know what became of the area but something different if you can guess what it might be...Hope you enjoyed this update and until then, hope to hear from you soon! Please tell what are you thinking about the changes here to certain rides.
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
And so we are getting near to the end of the updates and as you all know, the TS awards are coming up soon so I would be very appreciated if you could nominate this topic for the awards as it would make my efforts feel worthwhile. Anyway, here we go into 2019 and an update I've been wanting to do for a while for good reason if you've read my stuff over time. So without much work, here we go!
For anyone who has followed the Disney parks over the decades will know that any planned concept for a park that is dropped is never truly killed off but rather just rested until for another few years later in either its original form or elements of it are used for some other attraction and the same can be said for many other theme parks across the world with Alton Towers being no exception with what was to follow for 2019 with a long lost concept from over two decades ago. Though Cloud Cuckoo Land would be closed off for half of the latter part of the 2018 season, some curious guests who could get a better view of what was going could see that the area wasn't just going to see just a mere repaint as what had been the case for its last transformation but rather a total facelift that would see perhaps the biggest change from its original Talbot Street days from the park's early years and that wasn't including the fact that the fact that the long disused Charlie and the Chocolate Factory building was seeing attention and was looking certain to be part of the new area's line up. Whatever happening was big and the name of 'Project Resurrection' would make more sense as what was to follow.
When it came down to what the new area would be themed or named, many ideas were suggested such as one being the infamous fake Jazz Land plans which had been proposed from several years ago which looked like a crazy possibility that the park were going to undertake which was more likely than what most might have thought given how the park had adapted the equally fake Broomstick ride concept for Gloomy Wood into what would become Thirteen. In the end, the theory of a previously lost concept being used for the new theme of the area would become true in a sense but something totally different and the sight of many bronze themed objects and such would soon give a hint for some of the more older Alton Towers fans would soon realise of what was actually coming to the park in which its project name would make sense...a certain steampunk themed land known as 'Port Discovery'.
The story of this theme would have to go back as far as the mid 1990's when the park was at the height of its golden age and that planning on SW4 (soon to be Oblivion) was underway that of theming Fantasy World to coincide with the opening of the new ride. The theme that had gotten close to be built was of course Port Discovery who's steampunk theme would have worked for the new vertical drop coaster in the area that would have likely been themed to a 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' with the ride bring themed to a giant drill. The theme was actually very closed to happening, so much so that in 1996 when construction work on the new land began, Black Hole would see its station gain a new steampunk theme that was to eventually blend in with the new area. However despite looking to be the final theme for the area, the plan was dropped in 1997 for the area to instead be themed to a more sinister and future looking ('90's style of course) X-Sector [1].
It is not clear as to why this was the case but two are that the theme of the area would have bared too much a striking resemblance to Discovery Land at Disneyland Paris which itself had an already existing steampunk theme and if replicated could have led to some court cases though enough idea is that during this time as Tussauds was about to be sold by its parent company and money had to be saved in which the quirky looks would have be dropped in favour of a more brutalist theme that would keep costs down. While X-Sector, and a now more sinister themed vertical drop coaster, would both go on to be liked by many though theme would, until last year when it would get a much needed revamp, look rather dated over time and many would lament at what might have been for a theme that would have suited the park very well...
In the years that followed, many other theme parks around Europe would all soon adopt a steampunk look for an area instead of a usual sci-fi look that could get dated pretty quickly and neither of them would find any trouble from Disney over how they seemed to quick clearly have taken inspiration from Discovery Land and was only clear that perhaps a steampunk themed area for the park was not only a good idea that would fit the park very well but perhaps something different that up until that point a steampunk themed area had not been seen on any UK theme park. To add to this, it was said that both the Alpha and Delta teams, some of whom on both sides had been associated with the park from the early Tussauds days, had long wanted to bring the theme to life yet this was always pushed back over the years in favour of other projects and it would only be in 2017 in which the plans to bring Port Discovery to life and that Cloud Cuckoo Land would be seen as the location to bring it to life instead.
Some would ask why didn't they give X-Sector a retheme into Port Discovery instead of tackling Cloud Cuckoo Land which the latter was much never needing much done and was much newer than X-Sector in which that area itself was perhaps needing to see change and it was something of an eyebrow raiser when that area was given a revamp the previous year. However, it would all become to make sense in which despite the themes of Port Discovery and X-Sector looked different, they were actually mirror reflections of each other's view of the future in which X-Sector would become a more cold and sinister view of the future while Port Discovery had a more warm and hopeful view of the future so both areas would match with each other much like how Gloomy Wood and Fantasy Forrest along with Forbidding Valley and Forgotten Oasis seemed to do the same there.
While much of the buildings in Port Discovery would all see a major facelift to remove the cartoony look of the place previously left over from Cred Street and Cloud Cuckoo Land, it would see briefly a return to its former Talbot Street theme which was one of the very first theme areas of the park when first built in 1981 which was then themed to that of a Victorian era street. Ironically enough despite how much money Merlin were willing to throw into the area for their standards [2] the originally uncovered Victorian theming of the area would actually fit well alongside the newer steampunk theme of Port Discovery though much of the buildings would see several featuring to bring them up to date such as bronze or copper piping or some electrical spirals with neon lighting on them which would looked good at night.
Pretty much the area would look very different and one casualty of the retheme was that the Disk-O ride 'Twirling Toadstool' which had become a familiar attraction in the area but would be removed but rather than being gone for good, it instead would become part of Fantasy Forest. Indeed, the shifting about of many flat rides on the park had been common for many years of the park such as Enterprise being moved to X-Sector so this was no different. When the area would open in time for March 2019, guests were left amazed at what they saw in which would be arguably perhaps the best themed area the park had ever done and something that would have been seen at parks over on the continent in which had clearly had taken inspiration from many similar themed areas such as Rookburgh at Phantasialand with all the piping and of course Discovery Land at Disneyland Paris with regards of the volcanic rock emerging from the ground in areas.
It had cost the park a pretty penny compared to what they had done before but this an area in which it could be seen quite clearly with so many details such as the themed lampposts and raised pavements (something that area had before) and one or two restaurants as well as a new themed show inside the theatre building - now named the Discovery Theatre - called 'Sir Algenon's Grand Voyages' (another character that had been around since the early Merlin days), it was clear that the park had really pushed the boat to make the area the best it could be and even on looks alone, it had topped much of what had come before under Merlin's ownership already and all of this wasn't including the attractions for the area and there wouldn't a main attraction...there would be two.
The newest attraction in that area would be a new dark ride would be a Garmendale Spin Master ride called 'The Time Machine' which would allow riders to spin round and would be built inside the former Wobble World building and would be based on the H.G Well novel of the same name [3] which would be designed by the Delta team while the Alpha team worked on the other attraction for the area. The ride itself loosely follows the plot of the novel in which riders are taken through a journey through time in which while the layout is quite small compared to the likes of either The Haunted House or Nemesis: Sub Terra, it makes up for it by having the ride stop at several sections on the ride to view certain scenes.
While the ride was themed quite well, reception for it was somewhat mixed as it was nowhere near the level as what some of the other dark rides on the park had been due to it being quite smaller and that it was more screen based with several filmed scenes reacting scenes from the book that did look rather like had been shot by a University film group rather than something big budget and clearly seemed to work more as a filler ride to the area than a main attraction. Though the ride would gain fans over the next few years, the Delta team would admit that the attraction wasn't one of their finest as they were limited by the budget that was being splashed out for the rest of the area. However, it was the other attraction in the area that would more than make up for it which would be a full circle moment for the area at large...
The ride system of 'The Time Machine' being built during the closed 2018 season (C) DarkRideDatabase.com
It was over in the disused Charlie and the Chocolate Factory building that work had been underway that had gotten fans excited at what was coming though after the disappointment of what Charlie had been before in which some had still been lift angered over what had happened to Toyland Tours before so there was some suspicion as to what might be coming into that building though whatever it might be had to be surely an improvement for sure on before though some would argue that it didn't matter what would be built in there as the area itself was cursed given the amount of rethemes that had taken affect in that area alone, far more than all the other areas of the park though what would end up being built would be an old favourite but not Toyland Tours as some would thought or even wanted...it would be 'Around the World in 80 Days', or 80 Days as it would be better known to many.
Long before Toyland Tours had been built, in that building had been the park's first ever dark ride which was Around the World in 80 Days - based on the book by Jules Verne though took more basis from the 1956 film - which had opened in 1981 and was a rather loose adaption of the original book and was perfect encapsulation of everything that the park aspired to be in the 1980s. As with many of the attractions of this era it was designed to compete with Disney as the UK's answer to 'It's a Small World', and was an impressive undertaking for the fledgling park in those early years. While it was good for its day, there was a problem however in which while it was basically a children's ride, it had a subject that was more appealing to an older generation who would appreciate the detailed rendering of the scenes from around the world. This conflict was resolved in 1993 when Around the World in 80 Days took its final journey before Tussauds re-aimed the ride at a younger audience by transforming the boat ride into Toyland Tours the following year.
Toyland Tours would end up appealing to a new audience who grew up during the park's golden years yet sadly became dated before that closed and turned into the polarization Charlie and the Chocolate Factory attraction, a ride that would never really gained the affection from park guests unlike the previous two attractions before it. The idea of bringing back that version of the ride had been proposed by several creative members who noted that since the new Port Discovery area was based on stories on the like of Jules Verne and H.G Wells, the story of 80 Days was a story written by the former so it seemed like a no brainer to bring it back to the park though in a all new form that would give it is own identity compared to the original ride [4].
Around the World in 80 Days during the original days of the park (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
The new version of 80 Days itself would, while still keeping the original water boat system by Mack Rides and track layout that had been before (something that had been affected when Charlie had been built) it would bare very little resemblance to the original ride before it in which it would follow the original plot more closely with taking in much scenes from the book as possible. To add more to the ride, the preshow room that had been built for Charlie would be reused to help expand more of the story and overall would help make the new version of the classic attraction a worthwhile improvement on the original version. While The Time Machine might have been nothing more than just a filler attraction, 80 Days would in contrast gain rave reviews for not only following its source material, but that it marked the return of a classic attraction and how it blended in well into the area.
Finally there was another existing attraction towards the back end of Port Discovery that was to get a major retheme in what was one the park's more smaller attractions...the 'Cuckoo Car Driving School' now renamed to 'Discovery Speedway'. The little attraction had first opened in July 2006 as 'Peugeot 207 Driving School' as sponsored by the car manufacture [5] and the attraction was themed to that a quirky driving school in which young guests would gain their own (fake of course) driver's licence after completing the course. In 2010, the attraction lost its link with the Peugeot 207, becoming known simply as the Peugeot Driving School and eventually all links with Peugeot were soon dropped in which it would become part Cuckoo Car Driving School briefly before its new transformation as Discovery Speedway.
The new retheme despite all the new steampunk theming around the attraction and with new ride shells for the cars all giving their quirky Jules Verne look, would pretty much be the same as always in which young guests would get their own driver's licence so nothing really changed though nonetheless would still all act as a useful filler attraction for the area which only help with the capacity for that area of the park. All in all, Port Discovery was considered to a be a great success that would finally breath life into an area that was always considered to struggle with finding an audience, not to mention to that the opening of two dark rides in that area would only help increase the park's indoor ride list though as it would turn out those two dark rides weren't supposed to be the only rides to be part of the area...it was only just phase one. As it would turn out, it was clear from several guests who were keeping an eye on the former Nickelodeon building that something was happening to it given how much of the front of the building had been ripped out and replaced with something that looked more steampunk related.
Some of the original Nickelodeon theming that had survived after all those years on the inside would instead be moved to the museum in which they would help tell the story of the rather ill fated attraction that had been there before. On the inside, something was happening though as it turned out it was supposed to be part of the original area when opening but alas due to technical issues that would be found out soon enough the following year all much to frustration of many who had wanted to see what was happening but instead were presented with a sign on the outside announcing an opening for 2020. It would be pushed back for the following year as part of the area's Phase two that was to follow and for a grand celebration to mark the park's 40th anniversary...or at least, that was the plan...
[1] As what almost happened in OTL.
[2] Without Chessington on Merlin's book or even The Smiler crash, they are actually willing to spend more money here.
[3] So yeah, this is pretty much the same ride and even queue system as OTL's 'Gangsta Granny: The Ride' though this time it is all with a theme for The Time Machine and opens a year earlier (had Covid not happened though).
[4] 80 Days returns to the park though is quite different to the original version which uses the preshow room from Charlie for the new ride and has many scenes around the ride that tell a complete story based on the original book, albeit somewhat more brief.
[5] Pretty much the same ride as OTL until its retheme.
So there we are...Port Discovery lives! A satisfying read as I have wanted to write up this chapter and that its a theme that I have wanted in real life to happen in real life in which the park brings back this concept to life as actually they still own the trademark for the Port Discovery name and could in theory attempt it if they want to. Before I end this update, I'd like to leave a question for you as what do you think is going into the Nickelodeon building that is based on the work of Jules Verne do you think? I'll let you guess and if you get it right, a free online cookie! One thing is for certain, things won't go well for the next update for as we get to 2020, I think you know where this is going...until then, catch you later!
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Back From The Dead
Back From The Dead
For anyone who has followed the Disney parks over the decades will know that any planned concept for a park that is dropped is never truly killed off but rather just rested until for another few years later in either its original form or elements of it are used for some other attraction and the same can be said for many other theme parks across the world with Alton Towers being no exception with what was to follow for 2019 with a long lost concept from over two decades ago. Though Cloud Cuckoo Land would be closed off for half of the latter part of the 2018 season, some curious guests who could get a better view of what was going could see that the area wasn't just going to see just a mere repaint as what had been the case for its last transformation but rather a total facelift that would see perhaps the biggest change from its original Talbot Street days from the park's early years and that wasn't including the fact that the fact that the long disused Charlie and the Chocolate Factory building was seeing attention and was looking certain to be part of the new area's line up. Whatever happening was big and the name of 'Project Resurrection' would make more sense as what was to follow.
When it came down to what the new area would be themed or named, many ideas were suggested such as one being the infamous fake Jazz Land plans which had been proposed from several years ago which looked like a crazy possibility that the park were going to undertake which was more likely than what most might have thought given how the park had adapted the equally fake Broomstick ride concept for Gloomy Wood into what would become Thirteen. In the end, the theory of a previously lost concept being used for the new theme of the area would become true in a sense but something totally different and the sight of many bronze themed objects and such would soon give a hint for some of the more older Alton Towers fans would soon realise of what was actually coming to the park in which its project name would make sense...a certain steampunk themed land known as 'Port Discovery'.
The story of this theme would have to go back as far as the mid 1990's when the park was at the height of its golden age and that planning on SW4 (soon to be Oblivion) was underway that of theming Fantasy World to coincide with the opening of the new ride. The theme that had gotten close to be built was of course Port Discovery who's steampunk theme would have worked for the new vertical drop coaster in the area that would have likely been themed to a 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' with the ride bring themed to a giant drill. The theme was actually very closed to happening, so much so that in 1996 when construction work on the new land began, Black Hole would see its station gain a new steampunk theme that was to eventually blend in with the new area. However despite looking to be the final theme for the area, the plan was dropped in 1997 for the area to instead be themed to a more sinister and future looking ('90's style of course) X-Sector [1].
It is not clear as to why this was the case but two are that the theme of the area would have bared too much a striking resemblance to Discovery Land at Disneyland Paris which itself had an already existing steampunk theme and if replicated could have led to some court cases though enough idea is that during this time as Tussauds was about to be sold by its parent company and money had to be saved in which the quirky looks would have be dropped in favour of a more brutalist theme that would keep costs down. While X-Sector, and a now more sinister themed vertical drop coaster, would both go on to be liked by many though theme would, until last year when it would get a much needed revamp, look rather dated over time and many would lament at what might have been for a theme that would have suited the park very well...
View attachment 796196
Rare concept art of what might have been for X-Sector as Port Discovery, this look would be reused for the new Port Discovery (C) TowersStreet.com
Rare concept art of what might have been for X-Sector as Port Discovery, this look would be reused for the new Port Discovery (C) TowersStreet.com
In the years that followed, many other theme parks around Europe would all soon adopt a steampunk look for an area instead of a usual sci-fi look that could get dated pretty quickly and neither of them would find any trouble from Disney over how they seemed to quick clearly have taken inspiration from Discovery Land and was only clear that perhaps a steampunk themed area for the park was not only a good idea that would fit the park very well but perhaps something different that up until that point a steampunk themed area had not been seen on any UK theme park. To add to this, it was said that both the Alpha and Delta teams, some of whom on both sides had been associated with the park from the early Tussauds days, had long wanted to bring the theme to life yet this was always pushed back over the years in favour of other projects and it would only be in 2017 in which the plans to bring Port Discovery to life and that Cloud Cuckoo Land would be seen as the location to bring it to life instead.
Some would ask why didn't they give X-Sector a retheme into Port Discovery instead of tackling Cloud Cuckoo Land which the latter was much never needing much done and was much newer than X-Sector in which that area itself was perhaps needing to see change and it was something of an eyebrow raiser when that area was given a revamp the previous year. However, it would all become to make sense in which despite the themes of Port Discovery and X-Sector looked different, they were actually mirror reflections of each other's view of the future in which X-Sector would become a more cold and sinister view of the future while Port Discovery had a more warm and hopeful view of the future so both areas would match with each other much like how Gloomy Wood and Fantasy Forrest along with Forbidding Valley and Forgotten Oasis seemed to do the same there.
While much of the buildings in Port Discovery would all see a major facelift to remove the cartoony look of the place previously left over from Cred Street and Cloud Cuckoo Land, it would see briefly a return to its former Talbot Street theme which was one of the very first theme areas of the park when first built in 1981 which was then themed to that of a Victorian era street. Ironically enough despite how much money Merlin were willing to throw into the area for their standards [2] the originally uncovered Victorian theming of the area would actually fit well alongside the newer steampunk theme of Port Discovery though much of the buildings would see several featuring to bring them up to date such as bronze or copper piping or some electrical spirals with neon lighting on them which would looked good at night.
Talbot Street during its early days - Port Discovery would bring back much of the look including raised pavements, themed lampposts all with a Steampunk look (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
Pretty much the area would look very different and one casualty of the retheme was that the Disk-O ride 'Twirling Toadstool' which had become a familiar attraction in the area but would be removed but rather than being gone for good, it instead would become part of Fantasy Forest. Indeed, the shifting about of many flat rides on the park had been common for many years of the park such as Enterprise being moved to X-Sector so this was no different. When the area would open in time for March 2019, guests were left amazed at what they saw in which would be arguably perhaps the best themed area the park had ever done and something that would have been seen at parks over on the continent in which had clearly had taken inspiration from many similar themed areas such as Rookburgh at Phantasialand with all the piping and of course Discovery Land at Disneyland Paris with regards of the volcanic rock emerging from the ground in areas.
It had cost the park a pretty penny compared to what they had done before but this an area in which it could be seen quite clearly with so many details such as the themed lampposts and raised pavements (something that area had before) and one or two restaurants as well as a new themed show inside the theatre building - now named the Discovery Theatre - called 'Sir Algenon's Grand Voyages' (another character that had been around since the early Merlin days), it was clear that the park had really pushed the boat to make the area the best it could be and even on looks alone, it had topped much of what had come before under Merlin's ownership already and all of this wasn't including the attractions for the area and there wouldn't a main attraction...there would be two.
The newest attraction in that area would be a new dark ride would be a Garmendale Spin Master ride called 'The Time Machine' which would allow riders to spin round and would be built inside the former Wobble World building and would be based on the H.G Well novel of the same name [3] which would be designed by the Delta team while the Alpha team worked on the other attraction for the area. The ride itself loosely follows the plot of the novel in which riders are taken through a journey through time in which while the layout is quite small compared to the likes of either The Haunted House or Nemesis: Sub Terra, it makes up for it by having the ride stop at several sections on the ride to view certain scenes.
While the ride was themed quite well, reception for it was somewhat mixed as it was nowhere near the level as what some of the other dark rides on the park had been due to it being quite smaller and that it was more screen based with several filmed scenes reacting scenes from the book that did look rather like had been shot by a University film group rather than something big budget and clearly seemed to work more as a filler ride to the area than a main attraction. Though the ride would gain fans over the next few years, the Delta team would admit that the attraction wasn't one of their finest as they were limited by the budget that was being splashed out for the rest of the area. However, it was the other attraction in the area that would more than make up for it which would be a full circle moment for the area at large...
The ride system of 'The Time Machine' being built during the closed 2018 season (C) DarkRideDatabase.com
It was over in the disused Charlie and the Chocolate Factory building that work had been underway that had gotten fans excited at what was coming though after the disappointment of what Charlie had been before in which some had still been lift angered over what had happened to Toyland Tours before so there was some suspicion as to what might be coming into that building though whatever it might be had to be surely an improvement for sure on before though some would argue that it didn't matter what would be built in there as the area itself was cursed given the amount of rethemes that had taken affect in that area alone, far more than all the other areas of the park though what would end up being built would be an old favourite but not Toyland Tours as some would thought or even wanted...it would be 'Around the World in 80 Days', or 80 Days as it would be better known to many.
Long before Toyland Tours had been built, in that building had been the park's first ever dark ride which was Around the World in 80 Days - based on the book by Jules Verne though took more basis from the 1956 film - which had opened in 1981 and was a rather loose adaption of the original book and was perfect encapsulation of everything that the park aspired to be in the 1980s. As with many of the attractions of this era it was designed to compete with Disney as the UK's answer to 'It's a Small World', and was an impressive undertaking for the fledgling park in those early years. While it was good for its day, there was a problem however in which while it was basically a children's ride, it had a subject that was more appealing to an older generation who would appreciate the detailed rendering of the scenes from around the world. This conflict was resolved in 1993 when Around the World in 80 Days took its final journey before Tussauds re-aimed the ride at a younger audience by transforming the boat ride into Toyland Tours the following year.
Toyland Tours would end up appealing to a new audience who grew up during the park's golden years yet sadly became dated before that closed and turned into the polarization Charlie and the Chocolate Factory attraction, a ride that would never really gained the affection from park guests unlike the previous two attractions before it. The idea of bringing back that version of the ride had been proposed by several creative members who noted that since the new Port Discovery area was based on stories on the like of Jules Verne and H.G Wells, the story of 80 Days was a story written by the former so it seemed like a no brainer to bring it back to the park though in a all new form that would give it is own identity compared to the original ride [4].
Around the World in 80 Days during the original days of the park (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
The new version of 80 Days itself would, while still keeping the original water boat system by Mack Rides and track layout that had been before (something that had been affected when Charlie had been built) it would bare very little resemblance to the original ride before it in which it would follow the original plot more closely with taking in much scenes from the book as possible. To add more to the ride, the preshow room that had been built for Charlie would be reused to help expand more of the story and overall would help make the new version of the classic attraction a worthwhile improvement on the original version. While The Time Machine might have been nothing more than just a filler attraction, 80 Days would in contrast gain rave reviews for not only following its source material, but that it marked the return of a classic attraction and how it blended in well into the area.
Finally there was another existing attraction towards the back end of Port Discovery that was to get a major retheme in what was one the park's more smaller attractions...the 'Cuckoo Car Driving School' now renamed to 'Discovery Speedway'. The little attraction had first opened in July 2006 as 'Peugeot 207 Driving School' as sponsored by the car manufacture [5] and the attraction was themed to that a quirky driving school in which young guests would gain their own (fake of course) driver's licence after completing the course. In 2010, the attraction lost its link with the Peugeot 207, becoming known simply as the Peugeot Driving School and eventually all links with Peugeot were soon dropped in which it would become part Cuckoo Car Driving School briefly before its new transformation as Discovery Speedway.
The new retheme despite all the new steampunk theming around the attraction and with new ride shells for the cars all giving their quirky Jules Verne look, would pretty much be the same as always in which young guests would get their own driver's licence so nothing really changed though nonetheless would still all act as a useful filler attraction for the area which only help with the capacity for that area of the park. All in all, Port Discovery was considered to a be a great success that would finally breath life into an area that was always considered to struggle with finding an audience, not to mention to that the opening of two dark rides in that area would only help increase the park's indoor ride list though as it would turn out those two dark rides weren't supposed to be the only rides to be part of the area...it was only just phase one. As it would turn out, it was clear from several guests who were keeping an eye on the former Nickelodeon building that something was happening to it given how much of the front of the building had been ripped out and replaced with something that looked more steampunk related.
Some of the original Nickelodeon theming that had survived after all those years on the inside would instead be moved to the museum in which they would help tell the story of the rather ill fated attraction that had been there before. On the inside, something was happening though as it turned out it was supposed to be part of the original area when opening but alas due to technical issues that would be found out soon enough the following year all much to frustration of many who had wanted to see what was happening but instead were presented with a sign on the outside announcing an opening for 2020. It would be pushed back for the following year as part of the area's Phase two that was to follow and for a grand celebration to mark the park's 40th anniversary...or at least, that was the plan...
----------
[1] As what almost happened in OTL.
[2] Without Chessington on Merlin's book or even The Smiler crash, they are actually willing to spend more money here.
[3] So yeah, this is pretty much the same ride and even queue system as OTL's 'Gangsta Granny: The Ride' though this time it is all with a theme for The Time Machine and opens a year earlier (had Covid not happened though).
[4] 80 Days returns to the park though is quite different to the original version which uses the preshow room from Charlie for the new ride and has many scenes around the ride that tell a complete story based on the original book, albeit somewhat more brief.
[5] Pretty much the same ride as OTL until its retheme.
So there we are...Port Discovery lives! A satisfying read as I have wanted to write up this chapter and that its a theme that I have wanted in real life to happen in real life in which the park brings back this concept to life as actually they still own the trademark for the Port Discovery name and could in theory attempt it if they want to. Before I end this update, I'd like to leave a question for you as what do you think is going into the Nickelodeon building that is based on the work of Jules Verne do you think? I'll let you guess and if you get it right, a free online cookie!
One thing is for certain, things won't go well for the next update for as we get to 2020, I think you know where this is going...until then, catch you later!
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
Thank you
what are some of your favourite changes to the park in this alternate history?
Zeock
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Journey to the Center of the Earth
Definitely the addition of Port Discovery and the return of Around the World in 80 Days.Thank you
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
We're getting near the end now as here will be the combination of two seasons on the park which will make sense when you read it. So now here comes the season that we won't forget and the one after...
The Anniversary That Never Was
2020 was looking to be a extra special year for the park in which Alton Towers would be celebrating its 40th anniversary from opening as a modern theme park and in all those years the park had change from being just a glorified fairground in the woods into what had become the UK's number one theme park and surely one of the best in Europe and even the short time Merlin had run the park by this point it had change a lot since then. 2010 had been its own big year to celebrate the park's then 30th anniversary such as the opening of Thirteen and the return of The Haunted House but there hadn't really been any grand celebration to really mark the park's milestone then other than perhaps some limited special anniversary themed merchandise which really wasn't saying much - the 40th anniversary however was planning to be a totally different story altogether.
As it turned out, there was to be much entertainment to be seen on the park, more than had been seen since perhaps the 1980's which many would say was the decade in which the park did a lot better in terms in that department in contrast to the many famous rides that would follow in the decade afterwards and there was good reason for that. There were many shows then from a water fountain show in the now renamed Port Discovery Theatre, the original circus and eventual ice show, several musical shows and many character meet and greets that all seemed like the park was trying to copy the Disney formula. All of these were good, if not a little bit dated for modern tastes, in their own way but perhaps the most notable and surprisingly a mostly forgotten memory of the park and that was in 1988 to celebrate the park's diamond jubilee (based on the opening of the actual Towers themselves in 1928 and not as park) was of a Disneyland style parade known as 'Henry's Birthday Parade'.
The parade would tar Henry Hound himself along with various other Alton Towers characters and consisted of eight floats, mostly based on attractions around the park at that time with the final float being Henry the Hound’s Birthday Surprise and saw the park’s mascot riding high on a giant three tier cake. The route itself would mostly stick from starting from Talbot Street and would make its way around the boating lakes and over the years the parade would see some changes such as rethemed floats to reflect for a new ride that would open such as in 1992 which saw two of the floats rethemed to that of both the Runaway Mine Train and Haunted House and would be a familiar sight up until 1993 when it along with the retirement of many of the park's mascots would take place. Nonetheless, the parade itself is fondly remembered by those who were there.
One photo from the last year of the parade in action, note the Runaway Mine Train float at the front (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
When it came round for ideas for celebrating the park's 40th birthday, several of the usual suspects crept up such as a grand end of season fireworks spectacular and themed merchandise, however it was the suggesting of bringing back the parade, even as a one off, to mark the celebration did seem to gain a lot more possible and what would have been not likely to ever happen even a few years back under Merlin's ownership who very much controlled the park had seen a change in their theme park operations. By this point, the two Alpha and Delta teams that Merlin had employed at both Alton Towers and Thorpe Park [1] had proven their worth in making those parks work though some argue that the lack of Chessington being part of Merlin had helped to allow more funds to be released yet nonetheless the two parks had benefited greatly and that was when in late 2017 a change in direction for the parks was put in place in which Merlin - while still handing out each park's respective budget as they had always done - would allow those parks more creative control to take those parks in new directions that might have never happened under Merlin's tight reign [2].
In many ways for the teams who had to work under Merlin's many demands, it was really worth it and the success of the Port Discovery retheme the previous year for Alton Towers had pretty much gave Merlin management the confidence that they could go for a more hands off approach and allow the parks to develop in their own way. One of the first things to come to mind for the teams at Alton Towers was the return of the parade to mark the park's birthday and it returning was one that made much of the public curious of how this was going to look with perhaps the majority thinking it would be like the famous Disney parades while older fans of the park who could remember it thought that this was a miracle that something so unlikely never to happen again was now suddenly a reality and the question now was what it was going to look like in comparison to the original parade.
Other than the fact that Henry Hound himself, along with several other Alton Towers characters that had been brought back or in from Merlin's ownership, and that once again eight floats would be used, they were all to be very different from before. Each float would be based round the more 'family' areas of the park instead of the more darker themed areas such as Forbidding Valley and X-Sector and the first float would actually be a Katanga Canyon one which did seem to resemble of the Runaway Mine Train float from before but no train on that one, the others would be ones based of Port Discovery, Thunder Rock Valley, Munity Bay, Fantasy Forest, Gloomy Wood, Old MacDonald's Farm and finally, somewhat heavily basing itself on the original parade, a giant cake float to celebrate the park's 40th birthday with Henry Hound on top.
Images of the new floats under construction being leaked online got much attention and even some hype as what this new parade was going to be like but it wasn't just the parade that was to be the main deal of 2020; much more was taking place. As it turned out, that year would see a number of newly themed shows take place from a new show in the Port Discovery Theatre being that of Sir Algenon and his sidekick Darwin the Dodo (another Merlin made character) [3], a newly themed ice show which would see Henry Hound and the gang explore the many decades of the park and a much needed new pirate show in Munity Bay which by this point was long overdue having not really changed much since opening. It was quite ambitious to say the least, not even the golden age of Tussauds' ownership could have done something like this.
And then last but not least was the new rides that would open to really be the cherry on top to mark the park's birthday, or rather one that was delayed over in Port Discovery that should've been opened the previous year would end up being a better late than never situation and it would take place within the building that had once held the much infamous 'Nickelodeon: Outta Control' funhouse attraction. Indeed, that one building had a long history with the park having first been home to a Doll's Museum during the early years of the park which closed in 1995 to make way for Nickelodeon to take up its place yet technical issues delayed the attraction into the following season which was to be hint of how cursed that site would be. The attraction eventually received its grand opening in June 1997 yet unfortunately it wouldn't go all down well.
The outside of the Nickelodeon: Outta Control building during its brief lifetime at the park (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
The attraction opened to mixed reviews; generally seeming more to baffle and confuse guests rather than entertain as it sat awkwardly between being a fun house, a show, a walk-through attraction and an extended advert for a TV channel - neither mastering any of these elements. It would not last long at the park and closed at the end of the 1998 season. It is generally considered that its fairly low throughput combined with low guest satisfaction, high running costs and the fact the attraction did not seem to gel together very well combined to put an end to the fun house and to make matters worse, the area itself had been rethemed into Cred Street to blend in with the attraction and show off a more 'hip and cool' look for kids for the 1990's but instead, the attraction's early closure would see the decline of the area fairly quickly and Outta Control itself would be looked back on as a rather unfortunate footnote in the park's history.
The space itself, along with the 'Off The Shelf' shop next door were seen as a prime space that if knocked through could just about squeeze in a new dark ride of some kind and this was planned back for Port Discovery's opening the previous year in which the park had a somewhat unorthodox yet clever way to reuse existing ride technology lying out of use on the park put it to good use. The plan would have been to reuse one or both of the glass elevator simulator rides from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which bad been out of use since the ride first closed however like many plans, things didn't go all to plan. It would turn out that not only were they in badly needing of an overhaul that would have cost the price of a new ride altogether but that they would prove to be too difficult to remove and too big to try and use the space inside the Nickelodeon building which pretty much killed that idea stone dead and the two elevators would be scrapped with no trace of them to be seen on 80 Days [4].
Its unknown what the theme of the ride would've been yet whatever it might've been would never happened and all they could do was simply rebuild the outside to blend in with the area, becoming a gloried backdrop, until funds could be released for a 'phase 2' of the area; the curse of that site seemed alive and well. In the end, what would go in its place would be a new simulator ride from Simworx - the first time the park would work with them - in which it would be a Immersive Tunnel attraction, a ride type that guests take their seats on a ‘tram’ styled simulator and are taken on a journey that assaults the senses from physical platform drops, dynamic motion, blasts of air, water spray, vibrations, dramatic light, surround sound and 3D film projected to the front and both sides of the tram combine to give the most realistic experience possible.
It was a unique experience for the park that was different from the other dark rides on the park and it would only just about fit into the tight space needed and this version of the ride type would see two tram vehicles that would take up to 60 guests for one ride instead of just one ride car like the others due to help with capacity. The new attraction itself would be named to another Jules Verne Story...'Journey to the Centre of the Earth', or rather COTE (Centre of the Earth) as it would be nicknamed by most people to shorten its long name. The plot of the ride itself was based loosely round the book though guests would find themselves being invited to go on a tour to explore the underground world below and along the way encounter many dangerous perils along the way.
The two car ride system that Alton Towers would used for COTE (C) Simworx.co.uk
As small yet impressive at it was, it was not the only attraction coming to the park for 2020 as also in Port Discovery to take the place formally occupied by Twirling Toadstools would be a new Garmendale Quadstar Aerial Roundabout flat ride called 'Steel Hawks' [5] which has all the steampunk theming of flying machines in action and would help add more life to the area. Also over in Fantasy Forrest, there would be two more smaller rides to add to the line up and that would be two S&S Frog Hopper rides called 'Wood Hoppers' [6] that would pretty much give that area of the park a more 'completed' look and having all these attractions would be pretty much be the most new rides ever added to the park in a year though other that COTE, the rest were of cheap 'off the shelf' models that wouldn't cost the park much at all.
With those new attractions, shows and parade in place, the park was ready to show off for its grand birthday for 2020 though as the old saying goes, it did all seemed to be a little too good to be true and sadly this would be true though in a shocking way that no one could have been predicated. What happened? A certain pandemic known as Covid-19 would cause chaos across the world and the UK would be no exception [7] and any and all plans that any person or company had for 2020 all went off the rails as thanks to isolation taking place throughout that year, it would mean the park for the first time in its history would not be able to open for the first time in many years, the sound of rides and screaming riders could not be heard across the Staffordshire countryside. For the site of where COTE was and the history of troubled history there, it would looked like the curse of that area would continue.
Any plans to open the new rides for the year was cancelled and pushed back to the following year when it was hoped restrictions would be gone or at least loosened up by then and even when the park did reopen towards the the summer time, very few did visit the park as the park would see a drop in attendance below a million, something that would have seemed unthinkable for a park of its size but these exceptional times had done just that. However what was more heart-breaking was the planned entertainment for the season was cancelled and much of the rehearsals and music scores for those shows was ready to go but the restrictions for close contact and how the public couldn't use much theatre space all made them a non-starter but what was more tragic was the parade that was ready to go and now wouldn't be able to go at all.
Staff being tested as this one image shows (C) Metro.co.uk
The hard work put into the floats had seemingly been all for nothing and even something of a waste of money which those teams who had proposed the idea now feared that they wouldn't be able to have more control on what they felt was needed for the park and that all control would go back to Merlin. Thankfully this never happened as Merlin knew themselves that what happened was just a tragic set of circumstances that no one could have avoided though the financial situation left over by Covid would see many of the park's planned allowed budgets being reviewed on how much they would be able to get going forward as well as many plans for the park as well as Thorpe being looked at where they were to go from here. The parade floats themselves would remain in the former 'Coaster Corner' area of the park while covered in sheets to protect them from the elements with the hope that they would be put into use soon.
Despite the doom and gloom of the situation, there was some light entertainment that the park would put together for an online audience in which other than their YouTube channel giving people the chance to ride via POV films [8] but also there would be some joy for younger audiences involving Henry Hound and friends in which through a series of short films hastily thrown together but what was left of the park's now reduced entertainment's team to put on the park's YouTube channel itself which would a set of silent adventures involving the gang in and around the park which while clearly looking rather cheaply done that looked like something from Cbeebies, it was actually well liked at showing something more cheerful and dare it be said to be magical even and it did show how having a mascot could help the park connect with an audience.
To add to this in the following year when restrictions started to be lifted as Covid cases started to placed under control, the long awaited opening of the 2020 added rides would finally take place with COTE gaining positive reviews for its interactive features such as 3D effects, tilting ride cars, smoke and other various effects though much of the positive reviews were from the public while enthusiasts felt a little bit underwhelmed that it was yet another screen based attraction which some would call out as being cheap though despite this were at least grateful that a previously empty space on the park finally had a purpose again. To make up for this, much of the planned entertainment that had been planned for 2020 would happen now though some shows would still have social distancing in place for the theatre based shows.
However, it was the return of the parade that would gain the most praise and it would gain much good press to celebrate the park's (much delayed) 40th birthday and would prove to be such a hit with the public that the previously planned one off event it was supposed to be would instead be renewed for the 2022 season and it was clear that the parade was here to stay. To top it all off, the planned fireworks for 2020 would take place and were considered by many as a really great set this time round [9] and after all the drama that had hit the park and the uncertainty of what the future would hold, Alton Towers had turned a dismal event into something of a triumph and now everyone would wait and see what 2022 would hold...
[1] Thorpe Park ITTL has its own duel teams like Aton Towers does ITTL.
[2] A small yet major change in Merlin's running of the parks which IOTL has yet to happen.
[3] Yes, he still appears here much like OTL.
[4] The elevators are removed much like OTL though honestly some say they are still there, either way they aren't used again.
[5] Which is pretty much TTL's version of Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride which we got in 2017.
[6] Which IOTL is actually Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop and is built in the same location as the OTL two though themed differently.
[7] Yes, sadly there is no way to avoid this so it all still happens here.
[8] As what they did for OTL.
[9] Pretty much the same as OTL's 2021 display.
So that's that. Two years done in one so one more update on the park itself for 2022 plus should I do epilogue chapters on both Thorpe and Chessington, even if they are off topic for the Talbot Street forum being about on Alton Towers' past and not the others? Please comment as we are getting near the end here!
The Anniversary That Never Was
2020 was looking to be a extra special year for the park in which Alton Towers would be celebrating its 40th anniversary from opening as a modern theme park and in all those years the park had change from being just a glorified fairground in the woods into what had become the UK's number one theme park and surely one of the best in Europe and even the short time Merlin had run the park by this point it had change a lot since then. 2010 had been its own big year to celebrate the park's then 30th anniversary such as the opening of Thirteen and the return of The Haunted House but there hadn't really been any grand celebration to really mark the park's milestone then other than perhaps some limited special anniversary themed merchandise which really wasn't saying much - the 40th anniversary however was planning to be a totally different story altogether.
As it turned out, there was to be much entertainment to be seen on the park, more than had been seen since perhaps the 1980's which many would say was the decade in which the park did a lot better in terms in that department in contrast to the many famous rides that would follow in the decade afterwards and there was good reason for that. There were many shows then from a water fountain show in the now renamed Port Discovery Theatre, the original circus and eventual ice show, several musical shows and many character meet and greets that all seemed like the park was trying to copy the Disney formula. All of these were good, if not a little bit dated for modern tastes, in their own way but perhaps the most notable and surprisingly a mostly forgotten memory of the park and that was in 1988 to celebrate the park's diamond jubilee (based on the opening of the actual Towers themselves in 1928 and not as park) was of a Disneyland style parade known as 'Henry's Birthday Parade'.
The parade would tar Henry Hound himself along with various other Alton Towers characters and consisted of eight floats, mostly based on attractions around the park at that time with the final float being Henry the Hound’s Birthday Surprise and saw the park’s mascot riding high on a giant three tier cake. The route itself would mostly stick from starting from Talbot Street and would make its way around the boating lakes and over the years the parade would see some changes such as rethemed floats to reflect for a new ride that would open such as in 1992 which saw two of the floats rethemed to that of both the Runaway Mine Train and Haunted House and would be a familiar sight up until 1993 when it along with the retirement of many of the park's mascots would take place. Nonetheless, the parade itself is fondly remembered by those who were there.
One photo from the last year of the parade in action, note the Runaway Mine Train float at the front (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
When it came round for ideas for celebrating the park's 40th birthday, several of the usual suspects crept up such as a grand end of season fireworks spectacular and themed merchandise, however it was the suggesting of bringing back the parade, even as a one off, to mark the celebration did seem to gain a lot more possible and what would have been not likely to ever happen even a few years back under Merlin's ownership who very much controlled the park had seen a change in their theme park operations. By this point, the two Alpha and Delta teams that Merlin had employed at both Alton Towers and Thorpe Park [1] had proven their worth in making those parks work though some argue that the lack of Chessington being part of Merlin had helped to allow more funds to be released yet nonetheless the two parks had benefited greatly and that was when in late 2017 a change in direction for the parks was put in place in which Merlin - while still handing out each park's respective budget as they had always done - would allow those parks more creative control to take those parks in new directions that might have never happened under Merlin's tight reign [2].
In many ways for the teams who had to work under Merlin's many demands, it was really worth it and the success of the Port Discovery retheme the previous year for Alton Towers had pretty much gave Merlin management the confidence that they could go for a more hands off approach and allow the parks to develop in their own way. One of the first things to come to mind for the teams at Alton Towers was the return of the parade to mark the park's birthday and it returning was one that made much of the public curious of how this was going to look with perhaps the majority thinking it would be like the famous Disney parades while older fans of the park who could remember it thought that this was a miracle that something so unlikely never to happen again was now suddenly a reality and the question now was what it was going to look like in comparison to the original parade.
Other than the fact that Henry Hound himself, along with several other Alton Towers characters that had been brought back or in from Merlin's ownership, and that once again eight floats would be used, they were all to be very different from before. Each float would be based round the more 'family' areas of the park instead of the more darker themed areas such as Forbidding Valley and X-Sector and the first float would actually be a Katanga Canyon one which did seem to resemble of the Runaway Mine Train float from before but no train on that one, the others would be ones based of Port Discovery, Thunder Rock Valley, Munity Bay, Fantasy Forest, Gloomy Wood, Old MacDonald's Farm and finally, somewhat heavily basing itself on the original parade, a giant cake float to celebrate the park's 40th birthday with Henry Hound on top.
Images of the new floats under construction being leaked online got much attention and even some hype as what this new parade was going to be like but it wasn't just the parade that was to be the main deal of 2020; much more was taking place. As it turned out, that year would see a number of newly themed shows take place from a new show in the Port Discovery Theatre being that of Sir Algenon and his sidekick Darwin the Dodo (another Merlin made character) [3], a newly themed ice show which would see Henry Hound and the gang explore the many decades of the park and a much needed new pirate show in Munity Bay which by this point was long overdue having not really changed much since opening. It was quite ambitious to say the least, not even the golden age of Tussauds' ownership could have done something like this.
And then last but not least was the new rides that would open to really be the cherry on top to mark the park's birthday, or rather one that was delayed over in Port Discovery that should've been opened the previous year would end up being a better late than never situation and it would take place within the building that had once held the much infamous 'Nickelodeon: Outta Control' funhouse attraction. Indeed, that one building had a long history with the park having first been home to a Doll's Museum during the early years of the park which closed in 1995 to make way for Nickelodeon to take up its place yet technical issues delayed the attraction into the following season which was to be hint of how cursed that site would be. The attraction eventually received its grand opening in June 1997 yet unfortunately it wouldn't go all down well.
The outside of the Nickelodeon: Outta Control building during its brief lifetime at the park (C) TowersTimes.co.uk
The attraction opened to mixed reviews; generally seeming more to baffle and confuse guests rather than entertain as it sat awkwardly between being a fun house, a show, a walk-through attraction and an extended advert for a TV channel - neither mastering any of these elements. It would not last long at the park and closed at the end of the 1998 season. It is generally considered that its fairly low throughput combined with low guest satisfaction, high running costs and the fact the attraction did not seem to gel together very well combined to put an end to the fun house and to make matters worse, the area itself had been rethemed into Cred Street to blend in with the attraction and show off a more 'hip and cool' look for kids for the 1990's but instead, the attraction's early closure would see the decline of the area fairly quickly and Outta Control itself would be looked back on as a rather unfortunate footnote in the park's history.
The space itself, along with the 'Off The Shelf' shop next door were seen as a prime space that if knocked through could just about squeeze in a new dark ride of some kind and this was planned back for Port Discovery's opening the previous year in which the park had a somewhat unorthodox yet clever way to reuse existing ride technology lying out of use on the park put it to good use. The plan would have been to reuse one or both of the glass elevator simulator rides from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which bad been out of use since the ride first closed however like many plans, things didn't go all to plan. It would turn out that not only were they in badly needing of an overhaul that would have cost the price of a new ride altogether but that they would prove to be too difficult to remove and too big to try and use the space inside the Nickelodeon building which pretty much killed that idea stone dead and the two elevators would be scrapped with no trace of them to be seen on 80 Days [4].
Its unknown what the theme of the ride would've been yet whatever it might've been would never happened and all they could do was simply rebuild the outside to blend in with the area, becoming a gloried backdrop, until funds could be released for a 'phase 2' of the area; the curse of that site seemed alive and well. In the end, what would go in its place would be a new simulator ride from Simworx - the first time the park would work with them - in which it would be a Immersive Tunnel attraction, a ride type that guests take their seats on a ‘tram’ styled simulator and are taken on a journey that assaults the senses from physical platform drops, dynamic motion, blasts of air, water spray, vibrations, dramatic light, surround sound and 3D film projected to the front and both sides of the tram combine to give the most realistic experience possible.
It was a unique experience for the park that was different from the other dark rides on the park and it would only just about fit into the tight space needed and this version of the ride type would see two tram vehicles that would take up to 60 guests for one ride instead of just one ride car like the others due to help with capacity. The new attraction itself would be named to another Jules Verne Story...'Journey to the Centre of the Earth', or rather COTE (Centre of the Earth) as it would be nicknamed by most people to shorten its long name. The plot of the ride itself was based loosely round the book though guests would find themselves being invited to go on a tour to explore the underground world below and along the way encounter many dangerous perils along the way.
As small yet impressive at it was, it was not the only attraction coming to the park for 2020 as also in Port Discovery to take the place formally occupied by Twirling Toadstools would be a new Garmendale Quadstar Aerial Roundabout flat ride called 'Steel Hawks' [5] which has all the steampunk theming of flying machines in action and would help add more life to the area. Also over in Fantasy Forrest, there would be two more smaller rides to add to the line up and that would be two S&S Frog Hopper rides called 'Wood Hoppers' [6] that would pretty much give that area of the park a more 'completed' look and having all these attractions would be pretty much be the most new rides ever added to the park in a year though other that COTE, the rest were of cheap 'off the shelf' models that wouldn't cost the park much at all.
With those new attractions, shows and parade in place, the park was ready to show off for its grand birthday for 2020 though as the old saying goes, it did all seemed to be a little too good to be true and sadly this would be true though in a shocking way that no one could have been predicated. What happened? A certain pandemic known as Covid-19 would cause chaos across the world and the UK would be no exception [7] and any and all plans that any person or company had for 2020 all went off the rails as thanks to isolation taking place throughout that year, it would mean the park for the first time in its history would not be able to open for the first time in many years, the sound of rides and screaming riders could not be heard across the Staffordshire countryside. For the site of where COTE was and the history of troubled history there, it would looked like the curse of that area would continue.
Any plans to open the new rides for the year was cancelled and pushed back to the following year when it was hoped restrictions would be gone or at least loosened up by then and even when the park did reopen towards the the summer time, very few did visit the park as the park would see a drop in attendance below a million, something that would have seemed unthinkable for a park of its size but these exceptional times had done just that. However what was more heart-breaking was the planned entertainment for the season was cancelled and much of the rehearsals and music scores for those shows was ready to go but the restrictions for close contact and how the public couldn't use much theatre space all made them a non-starter but what was more tragic was the parade that was ready to go and now wouldn't be able to go at all.
Staff being tested as this one image shows (C) Metro.co.uk
The hard work put into the floats had seemingly been all for nothing and even something of a waste of money which those teams who had proposed the idea now feared that they wouldn't be able to have more control on what they felt was needed for the park and that all control would go back to Merlin. Thankfully this never happened as Merlin knew themselves that what happened was just a tragic set of circumstances that no one could have avoided though the financial situation left over by Covid would see many of the park's planned allowed budgets being reviewed on how much they would be able to get going forward as well as many plans for the park as well as Thorpe being looked at where they were to go from here. The parade floats themselves would remain in the former 'Coaster Corner' area of the park while covered in sheets to protect them from the elements with the hope that they would be put into use soon.
Despite the doom and gloom of the situation, there was some light entertainment that the park would put together for an online audience in which other than their YouTube channel giving people the chance to ride via POV films [8] but also there would be some joy for younger audiences involving Henry Hound and friends in which through a series of short films hastily thrown together but what was left of the park's now reduced entertainment's team to put on the park's YouTube channel itself which would a set of silent adventures involving the gang in and around the park which while clearly looking rather cheaply done that looked like something from Cbeebies, it was actually well liked at showing something more cheerful and dare it be said to be magical even and it did show how having a mascot could help the park connect with an audience.
To add to this in the following year when restrictions started to be lifted as Covid cases started to placed under control, the long awaited opening of the 2020 added rides would finally take place with COTE gaining positive reviews for its interactive features such as 3D effects, tilting ride cars, smoke and other various effects though much of the positive reviews were from the public while enthusiasts felt a little bit underwhelmed that it was yet another screen based attraction which some would call out as being cheap though despite this were at least grateful that a previously empty space on the park finally had a purpose again. To make up for this, much of the planned entertainment that had been planned for 2020 would happen now though some shows would still have social distancing in place for the theatre based shows.
However, it was the return of the parade that would gain the most praise and it would gain much good press to celebrate the park's (much delayed) 40th birthday and would prove to be such a hit with the public that the previously planned one off event it was supposed to be would instead be renewed for the 2022 season and it was clear that the parade was here to stay. To top it all off, the planned fireworks for 2020 would take place and were considered by many as a really great set this time round [9] and after all the drama that had hit the park and the uncertainty of what the future would hold, Alton Towers had turned a dismal event into something of a triumph and now everyone would wait and see what 2022 would hold...
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[1] Thorpe Park ITTL has its own duel teams like Aton Towers does ITTL.
[2] A small yet major change in Merlin's running of the parks which IOTL has yet to happen.
[3] Yes, he still appears here much like OTL.
[4] The elevators are removed much like OTL though honestly some say they are still there, either way they aren't used again.
[5] Which is pretty much TTL's version of Go Jetters Vroomster Zoom Ride which we got in 2017.
[6] Which IOTL is actually Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop and is built in the same location as the OTL two though themed differently.
[7] Yes, sadly there is no way to avoid this so it all still happens here.
[8] As what they did for OTL.
[9] Pretty much the same as OTL's 2021 display.
So that's that. Two years done in one so one more update on the park itself for 2022 plus should I do epilogue chapters on both Thorpe and Chessington, even if they are off topic for the Talbot Street forum being about on Alton Towers' past and not the others? Please comment as we are getting near the end here!
QTXAdsy
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Black Hole
And so here we are, the final update of this little pet project of mine (for at least) so strap in as we end the year with where we are right now!
On the face of it, 2022 was looking to quite a quiet year for the park though for Merlin Entertainment, not so much. The company was about to enter new ownership as a private company after several years as a public company [1] which had some mixed results over the years such as the pricing on entrance and how some products weren't worth it such as the quality of the food being on offered at the park and especially in the Rollercoaster Restaurant in which many felt the high prices wasn't worth it with some saying that it had gotten worse over the past few years since it opened [2]. Nonetheless despite having to go through a pandemic which greatly affected Alton Towers' operations, the park as a whole seemed to have returned to its golden days of the 1990's with every area of the park with the exception of Katanga Canyon and Towers Street, every area of the park seen those areas changed which all made the park look very different from when Merlin took over the park in 2007.
That said though, there was still room for improvement and even away from theme park operations, the park was actually doing much to look after its heritage. The most notable being that of the restoration of the Swiss Cottage [3] located nearby the famous Gardens which while it might've not looked like much, it had its own little slice of history. It had been been built by the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury to house a blind harpist, who he hired to play and who's music could often be heard drifting across the entire garden. In more recent times when the park would turn into a full on theme park, the Swiss Cottage would be used for a fine dining restaurant, with the patio area having been added during the 1980's for this purpose; more recently however the building has been used for offices and other behind the scenes activity.
During the years when the Swiss Cottage operated as a restaurant, a flat-roofed kitchen extension was built onto the back of the structure. It has been many years since the building was in regular use and by 2019 the roof of this extension had collapsed, which lead to the subsequent demolition of the entire modern section of the kitchen. The plan would now be a case of restoring the cottage back to its former look though what plans might be is unknown though consider how well the park had done in not only restoring the Talbot Gallery wing of the Towers but also turn into a museum, there were high hopes that the park would pull off a good job though that year was to mark the end of an era both for on and off the park.
2022 was to be year in which Nick Varney, the chief executive for Merlin Entertainments who had a long associating with Alton Towers since the Tussauds days, would announce he would be stepping down in which he stated that he wished to retire and would hoped to find a replacement for his role within the next 12 months though he was going to leave a parting gift for two classic rides that he had played in a part in bringing to the park...the overhauls of Nemesis and the Haunted House [4]. For those who knew their history is that while John Wardley might've seen both Nemesis and the Haunted House as his babies, Varney himself had also played a part in bringing those rides to the park which both had helped in making the park into what it is today and he would know that any new CEO coming in to take his place not understand the history of those two attractions so the idea of having them given major overhauls to last another 30 years was the right thing to do and honestly the right time.
While Nemesis by 2022 had pretty much had a spotless record with very little downtown thanks to the quality of work that had been built by B&M that had allowed it to keep going since 1994 though like many things, nothing lasts forever and Nemesis was no exception. Some years ago in private, the question of what to do with Nemesis had been raised in which the general maintenance on the ride had started to become more expensive such as wear and tear on the track and supports as well as the original electrics being by this point out of date and were starting to suffer from faults due to their age. Despite its status of what it means for the park, there was actually the shocking possibility of the ride being removed once and for all and replacing it with some other new attraction, however Wardley would step in to warn Merlin about why closing it down for good would not go down well with much of the public and that a major refurb would be a better alternative [5].
Thankfully this idea would take affect in which the park would send in planning application for a replacement of the majority of the track would replaced for a like for like replacement (with the exception of the lift hill and break run) which were suffering from stress after nearly 30 years of service along with some theming enhancements. It was quite a novelty to do this for a Alton Towers attraction though it must be said its more common than people would imagine with perhaps the best known example in the UK being over at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in which over the past few years 'The Big One' coaster had seen several sections of its track replaced to keep the lifespan of the ride going for many more years to come and over at Island of Adventures in Florida, the famous 'Hulk' B&M coaster had a few years ago also saw a retrack of its to its lifespan going as well as some new theming in place to keep it up to date.
While Nemesis' announcement of its closure would understandably gain much media attention with some mistaking it for closing for good and not for a major overhaul, it was not the only ride to close at the end of the 2022 season to get major work done on it in which nearby, the Haunted House was also about to get major work done on it though it was fair to say that year, the ride was starting to look to be in a sorry state. While its revamp in 2010 to coincide with Thirteen's opening next door had been well received by fans and the public alike with some saying it was back to its former glory, 12 years later now saw a ride that was sadly looking to be a shadow its former self and when guests would take a ride, it really was a sorry site.
Perhaps much to Wardley's frustration who had wanted the park to keep the ride updated much like how he had wanted the original Haunted House to receive the same back during the Tussauds days, Merlin had gone down the same path ensuring that lightning would strike twice for the attraction though that wasn't meant to have any better luck. Granted there had been one minor overhaul in 2017 [6] to fix some of the broken effects, probs, sets and lighting that had become apparent but while many had high hopes when it returned the following year, it would turn out to be a rather lacklustre overhaul in which the main criticism was how the lighting was handled with it revealing some of the mechanics of the animatronics which more often than not ruined the effects of the ride as a whole.
A Merlin Magic Making (MMM for short) van outside of the Haunted House show building. (C) TowersStreet.co.uk
Prior before Thirteen's arrival in Gloomy Wood which pretty much transformed the area for better or worse, the original Haunted House had often slipped under the radar of most guests for being quite isolated from the rest of the park which meant that other than hardcore fans, most weren't aware of the many broken effects that had started to seen prior to its revamp into Duel; not so much this time round. The opening of Thirteen in the area had given the ride a new lease of popularity in which its high throughput levels had been a great help to soak up often big queues for Thirteen whenever it was out of action or other various issues though ironically, this renewed popularity for the ride had in some ways led to its downfall.
By now members of the public were often leaving the ride unimpressed as the amount of broken effects and some damaged theming on the ride or in the queue line was starting to get noticed far too often and for a ride that was consider the park's flagship dark ride, it was far from satisfactory. It was clear that another major overhaul of the ride was needed and it was planned and in fact from a few years ago, a major revamp was planned to start in 2021 to get the ride ready for its 30th anniversary in 2022 however like all projects around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic had pushed this back for work to start the following year for a hopefully return to form for 2023. The ride itself would announce its closure for September [7] that year for work to begun though is happening with the ride remains to be seen...
It would be lying to say that the major overhauls of The Haunted House and Nemesis gained much of the attention for that year, the park had opened two new attractions for the year though its fair to say both were rather underwhelming for the park. The first would over in Forgotten Oasis in which would actually be the first new ride to open in that area of the park since it opened in 2012 (not including the Rollercoaster Restaurant) and despite some rumours that a flying theatre was to be built to fit in with Air's theme, that would not happen though there would be some half truth to it which Legoland Windsor, always owned by Merlin, would get a Flying Theatre of its own [8] and what would arrive at Alton Towers would be rather poor in the eyes of some fans...a Zamperla Giant Sky Chaser flat ride named 'Wind Flight'.
A Giant Sky Chaser flat ride in action in which Wind Flight would be based on (C) Zamperla
To say some guests were rather lukewarm to it would be something of an understatement in which the ride didn't really have much of a backstory other than it was themed a little version of Air which not only could act as support ride in which Air had been crying out for years now but that it would seen as a more friendly version of Air for those young guest who wanted to experience flight yet perhaps were a little too nervous to experience Air for themselves. At best though, it did its job fairly well as a support ride for Air and give a new attraction to an area that had seen nothing since it opened though others felt the ride was more of a 'stop gap' for something better. Some rumours state that it seems that a Flying Theatre attraction was planned for the site though it would have been the Mack Rides AIRFIC Flying Theatre design in which had a smaller footprint compared to others of its type.
However like many things that had happened, things hadn't gone all to plan in which the combination of a new change in ownership, the pandemic having made Merlin might tight with money and that the park couldn't spend as much for 2022 due much of the park's budget needed for the overhauls of Nemesis and the Haunted House so there wasn't much the park could do and instead it seemed that although the park needed something that area the park, they were left with no choice but to go with Zamperla for their new ride. Compared to the amount of work put into Port Discovery which admittedly had cost a pretty penny for the park, Wind Flight was looked on as something of a downgrade though as it would turn out, it was not the only somewhat lukewarm received attraction for 2022.
Located over in X-Sector, the 'X-Sell' building had closed at the end of the 2021 season with much speculation over what was happening for the inside with some speculating that a new dark ride was coming though given how many the park had by this point it seemed unlikely that the park was going to add more not to mention that the space inside that building likely couldn't have fitted in any attraction so what was going in there or its theme for that matter remained to be seen though for some, something happening to that building were a long-time coming. Ever since the Oblivion Remaster in 2018, the on ride photo desk which had been based in the X-Sell building ever since the ride opened in 1998, the on ride photo booth had been moved to the new extension to the Oblivion exit which left the X-Sell building look to be somewhat out on limp as other than holding some rather out of place arcade games on the inside, it could be considered wasted space.
The X-Sell building
Along with the closure of the small Oblivion shop which had also been moved to the new extension on Oblivion, the building was ripe for something to happen with it though with a small budget that was alleged for it, it was clear as information kept getting leaked that this wasn't going to be some new dark ride but something more low-tech which would be none other than a Maze Attraction built and designed exclusively by Merlin with some assistance from FusionLX and Figment Productions and at one point was looking very likely that the attraction was going to see an IP attached to it with the popular series 'Dark Mirror' being based on it [9] yet this was dropped at the last minute for a more original theme with two reasons for this being that the creative teams at Alton Towers flat out didn't want an IP attraction on the park and the other being from a more financial reason that the small budget given to the new attraction would have been dwarfed by the cost of simply getting the the rights for the IP.
With that in mind, the creative teams would have to scramble for a new story for the attraction as it turned out that as late as December Merlin looked set to approve a Dark Mirror themed attraction for X-Sector yet this dropped and to make things worse for the creative teams, they would have to find something new with only a few months until the opening season. The new attraction though would open in time for the 2022 season and would be named 'X-Scape' (once again fitting into the area's Y2K feel) and would be very much a filler ride in every sense of the word. The plot of the attraction would be that guests are inviting into a new experience set up by the Ministry of Joy for guests to enjoy which they are greeted than none other than both the Lord of Darkness and Dr Kelman, played by both Renny Krupinski and Gerry Cannell reprising their roles respectably, although this wouldn't new filmed footage but rather existing footage.
Instead both actors would lend their voices to the footage which would be lip-synced to the existing footage of both men using the Deepfake technology to create a new story though the Lord of Darkness would technically used rare footage of the character that had only been seen once during the 1998 fireworks show so it would be something to see that rare footage once again. Renny Krupinski would later state that he pretty much recorded all his lines from the comfort of his own home and all in a day which he did admit was quite comfortable and given the costs of having to film new scenes might have cost a fair bit, this idea while rather cheap at first glance would actually make some sense as an aging Lord of Darkness would have not fitted in with the existing footage of the character on Oblivion as the same with Dr Kelman.
To return back to the plot of the attraction, guests are invited to what looks to be a sensory adventure to play on their senses as part of an experiment though admittedly the sinister black comedy tones in the queue line played up by both characters does make it seem blatantly obvious that this isn't the case. It is when guests are inside the building about to start that just as both the Lord of Darkness and Dr Kelman welcomed guest to experience it for themselves which is a new digital grid pattern which they claim leads to the 5th dimension (a nice Easter egg to the former ride at Chessington), they are interrupted by a unknown set of hackers who alert to the guests that it and all of what the Ministry of Joy has is all a trap and they must, as the name of the attraction suggests, X-Scape.
With that, the guests are then lead on through many rooms as they try to get out from a digital prison otherwise they would be trapped inside this world forever with both the Lord of Darkness and Dr Kelman trying to calm you that nothing is wrong with the unknown hackers telling you otherwise though as guests keep going through the maze, it seems the latter seems to become more true. The most notable part during the maze is the reveal of the missing ride cars of Oblivion (as mentioned in the queue line for that ride) being finally seen for the first time as they are all hanging in eternal darkness (screen based of course) with no real escape likely having been down there for many years which seems to reveal the Lord of Darkness' dark side all along.
Eventually though after some rooms later, guests finally X-Scape from their digital prison though not before both the Lord of Darkness and Dr Kelman have one final parting gift in which they reveal that even though they have managed to get out, they reveal that those behind them also taking part in the experiment have been captured and are now permanently trapped in a digital prison with no way out, or they even tempt the lucky guests who have managed to get away if they want to return to rescue those unlucky ones not to have gotten out which leaves it more open over who really 'won...'
The Lord of Darkness character (C) TowersStreet.co.uk
X-Scape would open in time for the park's opening season and unlike Wind Flight which had a more lukewarm reception, X-Scape is an attraction which is always likely to cause much polarized opinions in the Alton Towers fanbase over the storyline of the attraction and not of it being some glorified mirror maze. Some like it for its lore building on the surrounding X-Sector theme in which one fan would best describe it as if the X-Sector attractions were all part of a video game then X-Scape would be considered to be the final boss battle in which all is revealed. On the other hand, other fans utterly hate the attraction - perhaps the most hated of any Merlin attraction built on the park, in which the reasons being that the storyline itself ruins the mystery of X-Sector and of the Lord of Darkness character himself that even though he was already hinted at being evil, seeing such things revealed such as the lost Oblivion ride cars has made some angry that the mystery aspect is gone.
In a bizarre way with much fans debate much about the plot of the attraction itself if it was good or not, many had nearly forgotten about the actually maze itself in which both sides could admit that on its own it was fine with some the effects being actually quite good and honestly there was nothing else that could be said about it. Despite all this though, the attraction itself would act as filler attraction for the area and quite different from the rest of the park's offering though a somewhat troublesome throughput has led it to be rather troublesome. With that though, the 2022 season would be a year of great change that was to follow in which in November, the park would open Nemesis for the last few lucky riders with John Wardley himself getting the final ride on Nemesis before the original ride would close forever [10] in what was quite a emotionally charged night for all.
While both Nemesis and the Haunted House's futures both seem secure, that doesn't mean to say that everything else on the park will have the same lucky fate as even though the park itself seems pretty much back to its best, there is still work to be done from the likes of new water ride needed that has not been addressed since the closure of the Flume, the Rapids themselves having much of their effects switched off, both Towers Street and Katanga Canyon both not having any major work done on them since Merlin took over and the Monorail itself which by this point has been limping along and looking more and more tired these days unless it has a major overhaul to renew its lifespan and that's just still a handful of issues the park has to deal with.
However, there is some good news in which Nemesis will return as good as new for 2024 in time for its 30th anniversary as such the revamped Haunted House for the year prior and even better on the site of the former Coaster Corner area of the park, the phase 3 of Port Discovery is underway as a giant building is to be built with a codename as Project Horizon [11]. What is it? No one knows, but the park itself will always be changing for better and for worse because as the saying goes, the magic never ends...
[1] As what is happening right now IOTL.
[2] Pretty much many issues still happen here much like OTL.
[3] Like with OTL.
[4] As per OTL.
[5] Much like what he said to Merlin IOTL.
[6] The same poor overhaul still happens much like OTL.
[7] Same as OTL.
[8] Same as what happened with OTL.
[9] Yes, the layout is pretty much the same as OTL Dark Mirror Maze attraction at Thorpe Park though here it is avoided and we get a more original theme here.
[10] As what happened in OTL.
[11] Yes, Project Horizon is still happening much like OTL though likely will have a very different theme ITTL unless they read my mind.
And there we are, the great Alton Towers alternate history topic I have wanted to do for a while now is finally done until we return in the new year so keep an eye out on that. Anyway if there is demand, I might consider doing epilogue chapters for both Chessington and Thorpe Park here to see how different both are here though that might be going off topic for the Talbot Street section on here or I might do a final tally of the park's rides up to 2022 ITTL if you want a summery of things. I hope you enjoyed this and please tell me now that we have come to end of this of what has been your favourite change to the park compared to OTL version such as a ride or theme.
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End Of An Era
End Of An Era
On the face of it, 2022 was looking to quite a quiet year for the park though for Merlin Entertainment, not so much. The company was about to enter new ownership as a private company after several years as a public company [1] which had some mixed results over the years such as the pricing on entrance and how some products weren't worth it such as the quality of the food being on offered at the park and especially in the Rollercoaster Restaurant in which many felt the high prices wasn't worth it with some saying that it had gotten worse over the past few years since it opened [2]. Nonetheless despite having to go through a pandemic which greatly affected Alton Towers' operations, the park as a whole seemed to have returned to its golden days of the 1990's with every area of the park with the exception of Katanga Canyon and Towers Street, every area of the park seen those areas changed which all made the park look very different from when Merlin took over the park in 2007.
That said though, there was still room for improvement and even away from theme park operations, the park was actually doing much to look after its heritage. The most notable being that of the restoration of the Swiss Cottage [3] located nearby the famous Gardens which while it might've not looked like much, it had its own little slice of history. It had been been built by the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury to house a blind harpist, who he hired to play and who's music could often be heard drifting across the entire garden. In more recent times when the park would turn into a full on theme park, the Swiss Cottage would be used for a fine dining restaurant, with the patio area having been added during the 1980's for this purpose; more recently however the building has been used for offices and other behind the scenes activity.
During the years when the Swiss Cottage operated as a restaurant, a flat-roofed kitchen extension was built onto the back of the structure. It has been many years since the building was in regular use and by 2019 the roof of this extension had collapsed, which lead to the subsequent demolition of the entire modern section of the kitchen. The plan would now be a case of restoring the cottage back to its former look though what plans might be is unknown though consider how well the park had done in not only restoring the Talbot Gallery wing of the Towers but also turn into a museum, there were high hopes that the park would pull off a good job though that year was to mark the end of an era both for on and off the park.
2022 was to be year in which Nick Varney, the chief executive for Merlin Entertainments who had a long associating with Alton Towers since the Tussauds days, would announce he would be stepping down in which he stated that he wished to retire and would hoped to find a replacement for his role within the next 12 months though he was going to leave a parting gift for two classic rides that he had played in a part in bringing to the park...the overhauls of Nemesis and the Haunted House [4]. For those who knew their history is that while John Wardley might've seen both Nemesis and the Haunted House as his babies, Varney himself had also played a part in bringing those rides to the park which both had helped in making the park into what it is today and he would know that any new CEO coming in to take his place not understand the history of those two attractions so the idea of having them given major overhauls to last another 30 years was the right thing to do and honestly the right time.
Nemesis signs revealing its closure at the end of the season (C) SkyNews.com
While Nemesis by 2022 had pretty much had a spotless record with very little downtown thanks to the quality of work that had been built by B&M that had allowed it to keep going since 1994 though like many things, nothing lasts forever and Nemesis was no exception. Some years ago in private, the question of what to do with Nemesis had been raised in which the general maintenance on the ride had started to become more expensive such as wear and tear on the track and supports as well as the original electrics being by this point out of date and were starting to suffer from faults due to their age. Despite its status of what it means for the park, there was actually the shocking possibility of the ride being removed once and for all and replacing it with some other new attraction, however Wardley would step in to warn Merlin about why closing it down for good would not go down well with much of the public and that a major refurb would be a better alternative [5].
Thankfully this idea would take affect in which the park would send in planning application for a replacement of the majority of the track would replaced for a like for like replacement (with the exception of the lift hill and break run) which were suffering from stress after nearly 30 years of service along with some theming enhancements. It was quite a novelty to do this for a Alton Towers attraction though it must be said its more common than people would imagine with perhaps the best known example in the UK being over at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in which over the past few years 'The Big One' coaster had seen several sections of its track replaced to keep the lifespan of the ride going for many more years to come and over at Island of Adventures in Florida, the famous 'Hulk' B&M coaster had a few years ago also saw a retrack of its to its lifespan going as well as some new theming in place to keep it up to date.
While Nemesis' announcement of its closure would understandably gain much media attention with some mistaking it for closing for good and not for a major overhaul, it was not the only ride to close at the end of the 2022 season to get major work done on it in which nearby, the Haunted House was also about to get major work done on it though it was fair to say that year, the ride was starting to look to be in a sorry state. While its revamp in 2010 to coincide with Thirteen's opening next door had been well received by fans and the public alike with some saying it was back to its former glory, 12 years later now saw a ride that was sadly looking to be a shadow its former self and when guests would take a ride, it really was a sorry site.
Perhaps much to Wardley's frustration who had wanted the park to keep the ride updated much like how he had wanted the original Haunted House to receive the same back during the Tussauds days, Merlin had gone down the same path ensuring that lightning would strike twice for the attraction though that wasn't meant to have any better luck. Granted there had been one minor overhaul in 2017 [6] to fix some of the broken effects, probs, sets and lighting that had become apparent but while many had high hopes when it returned the following year, it would turn out to be a rather lacklustre overhaul in which the main criticism was how the lighting was handled with it revealing some of the mechanics of the animatronics which more often than not ruined the effects of the ride as a whole.
A Merlin Magic Making (MMM for short) van outside of the Haunted House show building. (C) TowersStreet.co.uk
Prior before Thirteen's arrival in Gloomy Wood which pretty much transformed the area for better or worse, the original Haunted House had often slipped under the radar of most guests for being quite isolated from the rest of the park which meant that other than hardcore fans, most weren't aware of the many broken effects that had started to seen prior to its revamp into Duel; not so much this time round. The opening of Thirteen in the area had given the ride a new lease of popularity in which its high throughput levels had been a great help to soak up often big queues for Thirteen whenever it was out of action or other various issues though ironically, this renewed popularity for the ride had in some ways led to its downfall.
By now members of the public were often leaving the ride unimpressed as the amount of broken effects and some damaged theming on the ride or in the queue line was starting to get noticed far too often and for a ride that was consider the park's flagship dark ride, it was far from satisfactory. It was clear that another major overhaul of the ride was needed and it was planned and in fact from a few years ago, a major revamp was planned to start in 2021 to get the ride ready for its 30th anniversary in 2022 however like all projects around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic had pushed this back for work to start the following year for a hopefully return to form for 2023. The ride itself would announce its closure for September [7] that year for work to begun though is happening with the ride remains to be seen...
It would be lying to say that the major overhauls of The Haunted House and Nemesis gained much of the attention for that year, the park had opened two new attractions for the year though its fair to say both were rather underwhelming for the park. The first would over in Forgotten Oasis in which would actually be the first new ride to open in that area of the park since it opened in 2012 (not including the Rollercoaster Restaurant) and despite some rumours that a flying theatre was to be built to fit in with Air's theme, that would not happen though there would be some half truth to it which Legoland Windsor, always owned by Merlin, would get a Flying Theatre of its own [8] and what would arrive at Alton Towers would be rather poor in the eyes of some fans...a Zamperla Giant Sky Chaser flat ride named 'Wind Flight'.
A Giant Sky Chaser flat ride in action in which Wind Flight would be based on (C) Zamperla
To say some guests were rather lukewarm to it would be something of an understatement in which the ride didn't really have much of a backstory other than it was themed a little version of Air which not only could act as support ride in which Air had been crying out for years now but that it would seen as a more friendly version of Air for those young guest who wanted to experience flight yet perhaps were a little too nervous to experience Air for themselves. At best though, it did its job fairly well as a support ride for Air and give a new attraction to an area that had seen nothing since it opened though others felt the ride was more of a 'stop gap' for something better. Some rumours state that it seems that a Flying Theatre attraction was planned for the site though it would have been the Mack Rides AIRFIC Flying Theatre design in which had a smaller footprint compared to others of its type.
However like many things that had happened, things hadn't gone all to plan in which the combination of a new change in ownership, the pandemic having made Merlin might tight with money and that the park couldn't spend as much for 2022 due much of the park's budget needed for the overhauls of Nemesis and the Haunted House so there wasn't much the park could do and instead it seemed that although the park needed something that area the park, they were left with no choice but to go with Zamperla for their new ride. Compared to the amount of work put into Port Discovery which admittedly had cost a pretty penny for the park, Wind Flight was looked on as something of a downgrade though as it would turn out, it was not the only somewhat lukewarm received attraction for 2022.
Located over in X-Sector, the 'X-Sell' building had closed at the end of the 2021 season with much speculation over what was happening for the inside with some speculating that a new dark ride was coming though given how many the park had by this point it seemed unlikely that the park was going to add more not to mention that the space inside that building likely couldn't have fitted in any attraction so what was going in there or its theme for that matter remained to be seen though for some, something happening to that building were a long-time coming. Ever since the Oblivion Remaster in 2018, the on ride photo desk which had been based in the X-Sell building ever since the ride opened in 1998, the on ride photo booth had been moved to the new extension to the Oblivion exit which left the X-Sell building look to be somewhat out on limp as other than holding some rather out of place arcade games on the inside, it could be considered wasted space.
The X-Sell building
Along with the closure of the small Oblivion shop which had also been moved to the new extension on Oblivion, the building was ripe for something to happen with it though with a small budget that was alleged for it, it was clear as information kept getting leaked that this wasn't going to be some new dark ride but something more low-tech which would be none other than a Maze Attraction built and designed exclusively by Merlin with some assistance from FusionLX and Figment Productions and at one point was looking very likely that the attraction was going to see an IP attached to it with the popular series 'Dark Mirror' being based on it [9] yet this was dropped at the last minute for a more original theme with two reasons for this being that the creative teams at Alton Towers flat out didn't want an IP attraction on the park and the other being from a more financial reason that the small budget given to the new attraction would have been dwarfed by the cost of simply getting the the rights for the IP.
With that in mind, the creative teams would have to scramble for a new story for the attraction as it turned out that as late as December Merlin looked set to approve a Dark Mirror themed attraction for X-Sector yet this dropped and to make things worse for the creative teams, they would have to find something new with only a few months until the opening season. The new attraction though would open in time for the 2022 season and would be named 'X-Scape' (once again fitting into the area's Y2K feel) and would be very much a filler ride in every sense of the word. The plot of the attraction would be that guests are inviting into a new experience set up by the Ministry of Joy for guests to enjoy which they are greeted than none other than both the Lord of Darkness and Dr Kelman, played by both Renny Krupinski and Gerry Cannell reprising their roles respectably, although this wouldn't new filmed footage but rather existing footage.
Instead both actors would lend their voices to the footage which would be lip-synced to the existing footage of both men using the Deepfake technology to create a new story though the Lord of Darkness would technically used rare footage of the character that had only been seen once during the 1998 fireworks show so it would be something to see that rare footage once again. Renny Krupinski would later state that he pretty much recorded all his lines from the comfort of his own home and all in a day which he did admit was quite comfortable and given the costs of having to film new scenes might have cost a fair bit, this idea while rather cheap at first glance would actually make some sense as an aging Lord of Darkness would have not fitted in with the existing footage of the character on Oblivion as the same with Dr Kelman.
The inside of the X-Scape building with one section of the maze seen here. (C) DigitalSpy.com
To return back to the plot of the attraction, guests are invited to what looks to be a sensory adventure to play on their senses as part of an experiment though admittedly the sinister black comedy tones in the queue line played up by both characters does make it seem blatantly obvious that this isn't the case. It is when guests are inside the building about to start that just as both the Lord of Darkness and Dr Kelman welcomed guest to experience it for themselves which is a new digital grid pattern which they claim leads to the 5th dimension (a nice Easter egg to the former ride at Chessington), they are interrupted by a unknown set of hackers who alert to the guests that it and all of what the Ministry of Joy has is all a trap and they must, as the name of the attraction suggests, X-Scape.
With that, the guests are then lead on through many rooms as they try to get out from a digital prison otherwise they would be trapped inside this world forever with both the Lord of Darkness and Dr Kelman trying to calm you that nothing is wrong with the unknown hackers telling you otherwise though as guests keep going through the maze, it seems the latter seems to become more true. The most notable part during the maze is the reveal of the missing ride cars of Oblivion (as mentioned in the queue line for that ride) being finally seen for the first time as they are all hanging in eternal darkness (screen based of course) with no real escape likely having been down there for many years which seems to reveal the Lord of Darkness' dark side all along.
Eventually though after some rooms later, guests finally X-Scape from their digital prison though not before both the Lord of Darkness and Dr Kelman have one final parting gift in which they reveal that even though they have managed to get out, they reveal that those behind them also taking part in the experiment have been captured and are now permanently trapped in a digital prison with no way out, or they even tempt the lucky guests who have managed to get away if they want to return to rescue those unlucky ones not to have gotten out which leaves it more open over who really 'won...'
The Lord of Darkness character (C) TowersStreet.co.uk
X-Scape would open in time for the park's opening season and unlike Wind Flight which had a more lukewarm reception, X-Scape is an attraction which is always likely to cause much polarized opinions in the Alton Towers fanbase over the storyline of the attraction and not of it being some glorified mirror maze. Some like it for its lore building on the surrounding X-Sector theme in which one fan would best describe it as if the X-Sector attractions were all part of a video game then X-Scape would be considered to be the final boss battle in which all is revealed. On the other hand, other fans utterly hate the attraction - perhaps the most hated of any Merlin attraction built on the park, in which the reasons being that the storyline itself ruins the mystery of X-Sector and of the Lord of Darkness character himself that even though he was already hinted at being evil, seeing such things revealed such as the lost Oblivion ride cars has made some angry that the mystery aspect is gone.
In a bizarre way with much fans debate much about the plot of the attraction itself if it was good or not, many had nearly forgotten about the actually maze itself in which both sides could admit that on its own it was fine with some the effects being actually quite good and honestly there was nothing else that could be said about it. Despite all this though, the attraction itself would act as filler attraction for the area and quite different from the rest of the park's offering though a somewhat troublesome throughput has led it to be rather troublesome. With that though, the 2022 season would be a year of great change that was to follow in which in November, the park would open Nemesis for the last few lucky riders with John Wardley himself getting the final ride on Nemesis before the original ride would close forever [10] in what was quite a emotionally charged night for all.
While both Nemesis and the Haunted House's futures both seem secure, that doesn't mean to say that everything else on the park will have the same lucky fate as even though the park itself seems pretty much back to its best, there is still work to be done from the likes of new water ride needed that has not been addressed since the closure of the Flume, the Rapids themselves having much of their effects switched off, both Towers Street and Katanga Canyon both not having any major work done on them since Merlin took over and the Monorail itself which by this point has been limping along and looking more and more tired these days unless it has a major overhaul to renew its lifespan and that's just still a handful of issues the park has to deal with.
However, there is some good news in which Nemesis will return as good as new for 2024 in time for its 30th anniversary as such the revamped Haunted House for the year prior and even better on the site of the former Coaster Corner area of the park, the phase 3 of Port Discovery is underway as a giant building is to be built with a codename as Project Horizon [11]. What is it? No one knows, but the park itself will always be changing for better and for worse because as the saying goes, the magic never ends...
The End...For Now
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[1] As what is happening right now IOTL.
[2] Pretty much many issues still happen here much like OTL.
[3] Like with OTL.
[4] As per OTL.
[5] Much like what he said to Merlin IOTL.
[6] The same poor overhaul still happens much like OTL.
[7] Same as OTL.
[8] Same as what happened with OTL.
[9] Yes, the layout is pretty much the same as OTL Dark Mirror Maze attraction at Thorpe Park though here it is avoided and we get a more original theme here.
[10] As what happened in OTL.
[11] Yes, Project Horizon is still happening much like OTL though likely will have a very different theme ITTL unless they read my mind.
And there we are, the great Alton Towers alternate history topic I have wanted to do for a while now is finally done until we return in the new year so keep an eye out on that. Anyway if there is demand, I might consider doing epilogue chapters for both Chessington and Thorpe Park here to see how different both are here though that might be going off topic for the Talbot Street section on here or I might do a final tally of the park's rides up to 2022 ITTL if you want a summery of things. I hope you enjoyed this and please tell me now that we have come to end of this of what has been your favourite change to the park compared to OTL version such as a ride or theme.