To celebrate having recently turned 15 (I know - I'm really old now!) my cousin, his friend and I took a coach trip to Alton Towers from Penzance, Cornwall. After leaving Penzance at midnight, we eventually arrived at Alton Towers around 9am. We were all really excited about trying out the exciting new addition for 1987 - the Kodak Skyride - all £6m worth!
I know you're all dying to hear about the new ride, so I won't wait any longer. The Kodak Skyride is a great new addition. It's basically an extended version of the old Cable Car that now travels over the Gardens to Festival Park. All I can say is wow! It's like a million miles high and passes right over the Pagoda Fountain on it's way to Talbot Street. Great views and really scary!
Next is the UK's best coaster - Corkscrew. This ride has to be ridden to be understood. It's so fast that if you don't zip up your orange 80s ski jacket, it'll very gently flap about! I've heard that ir reaches speeds of nearly 35mph and if you don't like spoilers then look away for the next sentence. It turns you upside down TWICE! The airtime oon the first drop is amazing and the themeing is phenomenal - it's themed as a Vekoma Corkscrew and it's done really well.
Next was 1001 Nights. This is one of my favourite rides on the park although it's restraints are a tad too tight (hey - I hope to have a wife and family sometime!), it has great views and makes me really look forward to the day when Alton Towers build even taller rides.
Next was Doom and Sons the scary 2 minute walk through thingy with actual skeletons, followed by Around the World in 80 days. It was a bit like It's a Small World, but with actual character. I really hope they don't one day make it even better and theme it around a toy factory, then destroy it by spending £9m on the world's worst dark ride. Nah, that'll never happen.
Enterprise, Waveswinger and the Dragon Rollercoaster were great fun, but I didn't have the courage to ride the Spider. Next stop was 4 man Bob a very intense coaster in Talbot Street.
Now it was time to walk over to Fantasy Land to ride the park's main attraction, Black Hole. This huge ride never fails to deliver and everyone says it has a vertical drop. I don't believe that as it'll never be possible, but it was really scary and apart from breaking my skull on the front of the ride in the breaks, I loved it. Turbo Star is by far the most intense ride on the park and I had to sit down and have a can of Qantro afer. Next was Pirate Ship. This is my favourite ride at Alton Towers and unlike anything anywhere else (apart from that new one at Chessington Zoo). It's like a big ship that swings back and forth but goes like really high. Everyone says you can fall out of it and quite frankly I believe them. I didn't ride the Cine 2000 as that's just so far into the future as to not matter.
We then went over to ride Sonic Spinball, but instead were greeted by a member of staff telling us it wouldn't open until 2004.
We did the Cookie Mountain, Amazing Maze and Fireman's Pole instead. There was something about the Fireman's pole I loved, can't quite put my finger on it though. After doing some shopping in the diverse Towers Street and marvelling at the new Medical Centre and Car Park, we rode the Log Flume. Great ride and apparantly it's the world's longest. Something's missing though - it could really be improved by a retheme, something that suits it's woodland theme. I just hope no-one screws it up by making the boats red bath tubs or something awful like that!
Next was the Grand Canyon Rapids. So much better than that boring family-based Thorpe Park's version. It even has grass this year. Truly the best-themed ride in the UK.
Now it was time for the biggies, so we headed over to the path that leads through Katanga Canyon and Gloomy Wood to Thunder Valley. We couldn't find it so asked a staff member called Leon which way it was. He said he's never heard of it and had this strange look in his eye - like something had been set up that would stay with him forever. Eventually we found the path, only to discover that the park ended at the entrance to the rapids and that we'd need to come back five years later for Katanga and seven years later for some ride where instead of making it high, they're going to build it below ground. Apparantly it's going to be called SW1, or so some guy with a full head of hair told us, called John?
Anyway, we then went back via the new Monorail, (see - I hid that from you!) which was awesome!
There was also some event on in Towers Street called TTF-15. What's that all about?
Here are some photos, taken on my brand new KOdak Star 110 camera!
1001 Nights
Black Hole
More Black Hole
Onride Black Hole
The brilliant new Black Hole stage
Corkscrew
Two loops!
Lift Hill
Corkscrew
More Corkscrew
The new SKyride!
Turbo Star
My friend on the Log Flume
The Pagoda Fountain from the new Skyride!
Skyride over the gardens
By the lake
Log Flume
More Log Flume
Fantasy World
The scary Turbo Star
Self-portrait ( I look so old
)1001 Nights
Grand Canyon Rapids
Themeing!
Enterprise
4 Man Bob
More 4 man bob
The themeing on the rappids is amazing!
Log Flume
More Log Flume
Onride photo on the Log Flume
Mississippi Showboat
Pirate Ship
More Pirate Ship
Kodak Skyride
More Kodak Skyride
Even more skyride
The Swanboat ride
Talbot Street
More Ffantasy World
The scary Waveswinger!
Thanks for reading, hope to see some of you in 25 years.
Hah, TT minus 15! Thanks for putting it up! Gotta love the photos!
