February Half Term & Pre-season 2011

General discussion regarding the UK's No.1 Theme Park. Talk about anything and everything Alton Towers here.
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venny911
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Thought I'd post a few observations from yesterday's visit. I know at least some of this has already been mentioned, but thought some people might like it all in one place;


-Pizza Pasta Buffet price seems to have increased again to £8.95 (having previously been £7.95 and £6.95 upon opening).

-Spider Crabs in Sharkbait Reef do absolutely nothing, much preferred the stingrays.

-The Spider Crab area (Skeleton Bay) has been improved with addition of a pirate ship facade to the walkway over the tank and skeletons within it.

-The awkward tank around the middle of Sharkbait Reef has received a cool, improved Thirteen Theme with fibre optics, Thirteen station replica and track. Although it seems a little irrelevant/not in keeping with the rest of the theme.

-A new video has been added to the end of Sharkbait Reef next to the touching (cleaning shrimp) pool.

-Annual Pass office now has a counter to the right as you enter, in place of the rather unprofessional-looking (but comfy) desk and sofa.

-The new roof to the conservatory in Her Ladyship's Gardens looks fantastic from what I could see over the fence.

-The Oratory (think this is the name) facing WoodCutter's has nearly been rebuilt after being destroyed by a falling tree last year.

-Wobble Cafe are selling some excellent sweet treats, such as chocolate apples and (amazing tasting) caramel shortbreads. These all seem to be fresh and are a big improvement on the pre-packaged food. Please keep this up Alton, as this is a great location and service for parents etc. to sit and have a coffee and nice cake, whilst their children explore Cloud Cuckoo Land. By the way, this area is really growing on me and it seemed that a lot of people were enjoying the area on Saturday. Would love to see a couple more additions to make the area feel complete and self-contained (Nickelodeon Building anyone?).

-Runaway Mine Train is still not up to full speed, please fix this, as it makes some section of the ride quite tedious at a slow pace. On the positive side there was smoke bellowing out of the engine to the right of the entrance - this area has great themeing and potential for even more, just get rid of the obtrusive (and badly themed) HBL games unit!

-Hex's projector is well and truely fixed, but the speakers in the Vault are still whisper quiet (in fact all the areas could use a little more volume). This really is underwhelming and such a shame, because the score to the ride is superb.

-The Tractors on the Tractor Ride in Old McDonald's Farm have been repainted.

-There is what appears to be a new (small) bird garden just to the right of the Singing Barn.

-Ferret enclosure is now installed to the rear of the pond, to the right of the donkeys. Please keep adding to this area, as not only is it one of the best themed in the park, it has great potential for more small distractions and additions like this.

-The roof structure which Squirrel Nutty passes through above the entrance to the Ice Tent needs re-thatching.

-There has been a large area of shrubs cleared between the entrance to the gardens adjacent to the snack/beverage location just before you enter the Towers and the Swiss Cottage.

-Feathers McClaw is still not working.

-Duel has seen changes to both queue and ride. I won't go through these, as it's discussed elsewhere. Most are good, but some not so.

-The Haunted Hollow has seen improvements to the section of path which leads up the hill into Gloomy Wood. The path itself has received proper edging stones, as opposed to the rather unfinished look of before. There has also been a couple a large boulders added to the very top of the path and a fence erected across the back of the statue which many people used as a shortcut just before the corner where the 4 tombstones are.

-The front seat of the carriage/hearse has been broken.

-Dangling banners have been added to the walkway within the Towers heading to Hex, advertising Annual Passes et cetera (these were installed the back-end of last year I believe). Not too sure about these and whether they detract from the grandeur of the Towers or add to the atmosphere of the walkway, the jury is out.

-Yet more new turnstiles installed at the entrance (seems to almost be an annual tradition now).

-The Towers Street Frogs look to have received some TLC, which was badly required.

-A few new items in the shops is great to see. These include pins and lanyards (following in the steps of Disney Pin Trading?), torches, new magnets and keyrings, Top Trumps etc. I hope they keep expanding the range, maybe to include some merchandise for the second-tier rides (Runaway Mine Train mug or Hex magnet?). I'm not too keen on the wall of generic cuddly toys on wall of the first ramp in Towers Trading and the Oblivion train on the bear display still isn't working.

-The fountains on Extraordinary Golf remain broken or turned off. Surely when people are paying £7 a round, this should be fixed. There's no discount for playing in the winter.


The park itself was rather quiet for a Saturday, with Nemesis 5-10 mins, Hex walk-on, RMT 5 mins, Air 25 mins, Duel walk-on.

Overall it was a very positive visit and whilst there remain things which need to be addressed (Oblivion repaint!), again the park seems to be heading in the right direction. I hope they now build on these improvements. Surprisingly one of the best things of the day was the discovery of the fresh caramel shortbreads in Wobble Cafe. It's these little improvements which add that bit of magic to the day.
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siralgenon
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[quote="venny911"]-A few new items in the shops is great to see. These include pins and lanyards (following in the steps of Disney Pin Trading?)quote]

There has always been lanyards and pins in the shops, I always keep my annual pass on a lanyard with the resorts pins/badges on.
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thefatone
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Well.. there's different pinbadges, and much better imo.

The air one looks amazing. Gotta get myself an air and nemmy one in march!
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NickT04
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The pin badges are well smart! Picked up 3 last Saturday, gonna pick the rest up in March, get a free lanyard too if you buy three. I didn't want one, but it was free...
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Coke
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[quote=""venny911""]
-Feathers McClaw is still not working.

[/quote]

He was working on Saturday, has he been broken since then?
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Are you thirsty?
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