Seasonal Wonderland
Lightopia was a trail through Alton Towers, which shone a very different light on some very familiar parts of the park. A host of intricate illuminated statues formed a series of tableaus that took guests through an atmospheric attraction that was the centrepiece of the park's Christmas events in 2021 and 2022.
For its first year, Lightopia was subtitled Seasonal Wonderland, treating guests to four seasons of beautiful light displays.
Along the trail, the seasons roughly appeared as follows:
- Winter - Mutiny Bay to Katanga Canyon
- Spring - Katanga Canyon to Gloomy Wood
- Summer - Gloomy Wood to Forbidden Valley
- Autumn - The Haunted Hollow
The trail then took guests into the gardens before it ends at the main lake, with a water pageant finale.
As well as models themed to a menagerie of animals, both real and mythical, and a variety of festive scenes, the trail also featured models designed especially for Alton Towers (watch out for some familiar faces when you get to the Halloween scene).
A Christmas Wonder
For 2022 the route changed to cut out Forbidden Valley and instead the end of the trail ran through the parts of the Gardens that was previously used for the Garden Lights Walk.
The magical light trail now started in Mutiny Bay, near the Haunted Hollow and took guests along a route which included Katanga Canyon, Gloomy Wood and The Haunted Hollow before passing through the gardens, where several Garden features were beautifully illuminated, including the iconic Conservatories. The final section of the route took guests across the front of the Towers before ending at the main lake, for the water pageant finale.
Despite its seeming popularity, 2022 would be the final year for Lightopia. The light trail was provided by an external company that unfortunately went into administration in January 2023. Due to the timing of the administration, the large number of Lightopia models were left abandoned at the park for several weeks before disappearing, presumably disposed of by the park.
