Dark Forest
Enter the heart of the historic woodland that surround Alton Towers and you'll find yourself deep within the Dark Forest. Surround by trees and roots on all sides, you might just feel like the forest is closing in on you at times.
The area is dominated by the high-rise scaffolding of Th13teen, set amidst a restoration site gone wrong, with an ominous wraith overlooking the queue line. Next door, vines weave their way around an ancient raceway, where Rita launches out into the Dark Forest before racing over the top of the entire area.
Area History
The Dark Forest is rich in history, as one of the theme park's original areas. The area was originally home to the iconic Corkscrew rollercoaster, the first headline attraction of Alton Towers, and little else. At this time, the area was known as the Talbot Centre in a nod to the rich history of the Towers themselves.
Since then, the area has been through numerous re-themes over the years, starting in 1984, when the area became known as Festival Park and under this name the area saw many attractions come and go, including Enterprise at one point.
1999 bought yet another re-theme, this time taking guests back to the days of cavemen and dinosaurs as Ug Land. 2008 saw Corkscrew operate for the final time, before it was removed to make way for Secret Weapon 6 and a whole new themed area.
In 2010 the area reopened as the Dark Forest, with a rethemed Rita and the new coaster Th13teen making it their home. Between 2021 and 2022 the for Ug Swinger site played host to Roller Disco, one of the temporary Retro Squad rides.
