Danza91
TS Member
So my girlfriend and I stayed at the resort on Thursday night enjoying 2 days on park. This was my first visit in almost 4 years so thought I'd share my thoughts about the current state of the park.
For the first time in a while, I was excited about visiting and upon arriving and checking in at 9am on Thursday the hotel staff were very helpful and I got that giddy feeling when on the monorail as we travelled through the park to entrance.
The Smiler
We decided to queue for The Smiler as we wanted to make sure that if and when it did open, we actually got on it and wouldn't be too distraught if it closed after. Testing started at around half 10 and it was nice to actually see some movement having been in the queue since 9.20. It FINALLY opened at around 11.45ish which was a long long wait considering we were stood still and received no information from the staff. Once we got in the queue though, we were waiting for about 20/25 mins and got our ride on it. I posted a few thoughts in the review thread but god, what a ride, an absolutely fantastic addition from Alton Towers.
Following this is became quite obvious that the park was very busy as queues for a lot of the big rides were at least 60mins. We managed to do Hex, RMT, Rapids, Nemesis twice, Sub Terra and Duel on the Thursday before heading back to the hotel. 5.30pm ride close and had not managed quite a few rides so we thought it was quite poor that ride close wasn't extended. Although, waiting for The Smiler did take a huge chunk of the day away from us.
Now my biggest issue with the 'Resort' is that after 5.30pm, there's nothing to do on it except get food or a drink! The park has a waterpark and extraordinary golf and both are closed? Why are they both not open till 8/9/10pm? For a place which markets themselves as a resort it's quite poor that the only things you can do in the evening are visit the spa (I believe this is open later?), get food and drink, or listen to cabaret-style singing. We would have liked to eat at the Emporer's Grill also, but it was closed. A shame.
The second day we went about our day better and got on Th13teen x3, Sub Terra, Rita, Air, Nemesis, The Smiler, Spinball, RMT, Flume, Ripsaw, Oblivion and Duel, and the park felt slightly quieter. As mentioned in another topic though, it was quite poor how empty and quiet Towers Street was after we got off The Smiler close to 7pm. I wanted to buy bounceback tickets but the box office was closed and also had to enjoy a walk back to the hotel car park as the monorail was closed. Not the best way for the day to end.
Aside from this, we had a really great couple of days on park despite a few complaints. I do think though, if Alton Towers do want this 'resort' status they've got to do so much more to get there. Whilst the number of rides on offer is fine, the lack of other things to do and attention to detail around the park is a big hinderance. In particular there are places where the theming looks very jaded and needs some TLC.
In addition, my thoughts on new rides (to me) Th13teen and Sub Terra.
Th13teen I'd heard is ok but a big disappointment etc. I personally really enjoyed it and think it's a really good addition to the park. Queues at times hit 90mins for it which I wouldn't say is worth it, but it's still a solid coaster and the drop is great. I'd also no idea about the backwards section which was equally good.
Sub-Terra. I'd heard even more negative comments about this but I actually loved it. I had absolutely no idea what the ride was so was very excited about getting on it but wasn't expecting much. I actually think it's one of the park's most engaging attractions thanks to the story behind it. Whilst the final part could do with something more, the whole experience is executed well and the staff are fantastic. This really took me by surprise and my girlfriend was screaming throughout the whole thing.
All in all, Alton Towers is still miles ahead of Thorpe Park and other UK parks, but to really be worthy of its 'Resort' status, they've still go so much work to do. A terrific couple of days however not enough for me to purchase a MAP again, though I will be visiting again in August.
For the first time in a while, I was excited about visiting and upon arriving and checking in at 9am on Thursday the hotel staff were very helpful and I got that giddy feeling when on the monorail as we travelled through the park to entrance.
The Smiler
We decided to queue for The Smiler as we wanted to make sure that if and when it did open, we actually got on it and wouldn't be too distraught if it closed after. Testing started at around half 10 and it was nice to actually see some movement having been in the queue since 9.20. It FINALLY opened at around 11.45ish which was a long long wait considering we were stood still and received no information from the staff. Once we got in the queue though, we were waiting for about 20/25 mins and got our ride on it. I posted a few thoughts in the review thread but god, what a ride, an absolutely fantastic addition from Alton Towers.
Following this is became quite obvious that the park was very busy as queues for a lot of the big rides were at least 60mins. We managed to do Hex, RMT, Rapids, Nemesis twice, Sub Terra and Duel on the Thursday before heading back to the hotel. 5.30pm ride close and had not managed quite a few rides so we thought it was quite poor that ride close wasn't extended. Although, waiting for The Smiler did take a huge chunk of the day away from us.
Now my biggest issue with the 'Resort' is that after 5.30pm, there's nothing to do on it except get food or a drink! The park has a waterpark and extraordinary golf and both are closed? Why are they both not open till 8/9/10pm? For a place which markets themselves as a resort it's quite poor that the only things you can do in the evening are visit the spa (I believe this is open later?), get food and drink, or listen to cabaret-style singing. We would have liked to eat at the Emporer's Grill also, but it was closed. A shame.
The second day we went about our day better and got on Th13teen x3, Sub Terra, Rita, Air, Nemesis, The Smiler, Spinball, RMT, Flume, Ripsaw, Oblivion and Duel, and the park felt slightly quieter. As mentioned in another topic though, it was quite poor how empty and quiet Towers Street was after we got off The Smiler close to 7pm. I wanted to buy bounceback tickets but the box office was closed and also had to enjoy a walk back to the hotel car park as the monorail was closed. Not the best way for the day to end.
Aside from this, we had a really great couple of days on park despite a few complaints. I do think though, if Alton Towers do want this 'resort' status they've got to do so much more to get there. Whilst the number of rides on offer is fine, the lack of other things to do and attention to detail around the park is a big hinderance. In particular there are places where the theming looks very jaded and needs some TLC.
In addition, my thoughts on new rides (to me) Th13teen and Sub Terra.
Th13teen I'd heard is ok but a big disappointment etc. I personally really enjoyed it and think it's a really good addition to the park. Queues at times hit 90mins for it which I wouldn't say is worth it, but it's still a solid coaster and the drop is great. I'd also no idea about the backwards section which was equally good.
Sub-Terra. I'd heard even more negative comments about this but I actually loved it. I had absolutely no idea what the ride was so was very excited about getting on it but wasn't expecting much. I actually think it's one of the park's most engaging attractions thanks to the story behind it. Whilst the final part could do with something more, the whole experience is executed well and the staff are fantastic. This really took me by surprise and my girlfriend was screaming throughout the whole thing.
All in all, Alton Towers is still miles ahead of Thorpe Park and other UK parks, but to really be worthy of its 'Resort' status, they've still go so much work to do. A terrific couple of days however not enough for me to purchase a MAP again, though I will be visiting again in August.