TowersTimes- my story!

[Dobbo]

Well, never did i think i would see the day when TowersTimes would be this big! In fact it is hard for me to even comprehend that 5 years ago all of this was my dream!

After following the contruction of Oblivion on the internet back in 1998, then there were about 3 roller coaster sites on the internet, non of the hundreds of home made Alton Towers sites you see before you today! It was the year 2000, i was sitting on the grass lawns at the top of Towers Street. I had a computer, but no internet at home. I didn't have a digital camera, a scanner or any real idea of how i could upload anything onto a server (never mind what a server was!). I sat there - 6pm ride close, people walking past me and i just had this urge to show others this magic i was feeling - through the power of a web site!

Weeks later i connected to the internet (which funny enough i signed up to freeserve after i visited the freeserve trial centre which had been set up on the current goal striker site at Alton Towers)! I was still only a novice to the web, but decided to have a go at creating a website using a free template and free server ''homestead''. I set up ''WaynesAltonSite'' or ''W.A.S'' as we referred to it back then, a one page site basically with all the information i could possibly squeeze in, along with ride logos pinched from the official site! I had a long url for the site ( [url=http://www,waynesaltonsite.homestead.com/altont.html]http://www,waynesaltonsite.homestead.com/altont.html[/url] - note this url doesnt work anymore!). I was so amazed that i actually had something published on the internet that i immediately rang up my cousin and read out the web address to him, as he clicked onto the site i saw the hit counter move to 2 and i was amazed, he signed my guest book and we both thought that things could not get any better! How wrong were we!

I managed to get a few scans up from my Alton Towers collection of old maps and alike that were not currently on the internet. Some phtoographs of some old rides (which in those days were very rare!) and some blatent plugging and advertising on what is now rideas (back then uktpdb) saw a small fan base build up!

I was working on the site every spare hour of the day, constantly adding content and pages, launching new sections every night and plugging the new content. One particular page i remember relaunching was the hotel page, which was only one page, with a few photographs scanned out of a hotel brochure, looking back on it now and comparing it to the current resort guide - it was a joke, but back then it was like i was really providing some exclusive information. I managed to obtain a free domain name (dont see those now a days!) as Waynesaltonsite.com was born. There was of course a catch, after one year of holding the domain, if i wanted it again i would have to pay a large sum of money, which at the time i wasn't willing to invest. So i lost the domain name and i begun to plan a whole new site.

This was mid 2001, Air had already started to be built and i had already brought in some help from a friend James to help fund a whole new site following the construction of Air ''SW5live.com''. SW5live was getting thousands of hits a day and was easily the most popular site for Air coverage. We had exclusive photographs of everything first, including photographs of the secret crafts being unloaded in the car parks! We had visitors from all over the world and by this was attracting attention to the Waynesaltonsite which had become quite secondary to sw5live!

It was time to rename, rebrand and relaunch W.A.S! I debated and brainstormed new names for the site for days, I even did some deisngs using the projected names. It was nearly ''Alton Towers Live.com'' as was it nearly "Alton I". Other names included ''wherethemagicneverends.com" "magicfactory.com" "magichq" and many more i can't remember off the top of my head. Belive me, on my old computer which is now in my sisters room, there are hundreds of megabytes of material, designs that were never used, images, logos, names etc.!

It was finally decided to be called TowersTimes.com and my original plans were to set it out like the Times newspaper, however that didnt last too long! I spent hours and hours working on this new site, had a launch date of about 3 weeks into the future, which gave me very little time to inject quality into the site. I remember I relaunched at 8pm on a Friday night, and for some reason my computer crashed at 7.55pm and i was so worried about what i visioned to be hundreds of enthusiasts waiting to see the new look site! It looked something similar to this : http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/ ... /oldtt.jpg (except the images actually worked). The site launched aside park life discussion forums, which was set up by myself and James Dyson of virtual towers.

Air construction came and went, sw5live merged into TowersTimes and the site became one. I continued to develop the site, adding sections, updating pages nearly every night, i must have put in weeks and weeks of work into it, staying up until all hours just to upload images and pages on a 56k connection! I relaunched TowersTimes at least three times in the next year or two and the site had several make overs. I started on the next make over before i had even finished the last one! At this point the server costs were rising, the time needed to keep the site up to date was increasing, the competition was fierce and i had just gained a position at the park as an employee.

Because of the rising server costs and the need to keep my work and private life separate, i decided it was the end for TowersTimes, that is until two guys who i had met on Airs opening day (chris and Ade) offered to take the sites off my hands. They have been looking after my baby ever since and have done some truly amazing things with it (including this very discussion forums we post on today!). What was once my small home made site is now a proffessionally polished informative site, with a community all of its own. I have made some of the best friends i will ever make in my life through TowersTimes.

A special thanks to some of my early day team members who are now ntohing but a memory : Alex Flahive (my first assistant- back in the early days he resized images for me when i couldnt even use a paintshop program!), Chay Guarde (my first proof reader- i was a terrible English student!), JaiB (my first financial backer)! And the many more since!

Heres to another 5 years. i look forward to what you have in store for us guys!

[Wes]

Wow, what a cool little story Wayne! I know over the years lots of work has been put into this site and has grown and grown. I remeber vistiting Towers times back in 2001 and ever since I have been following the Alton news and updates but only recently have I joind the forums which in themselfs adds alor more to this site.

Thank you for giving birth to this baby and giving it to such great foster parents to help look after!

Cheers

[Locker]

A good read that was, I too remember the days where I used to logon to a site that looked like the image you posted. Every day I’d check for updates. It’s been a real achievement. Congratulations Wayne, and successors, on providing probably still the most in-depth guide on the web.

Regards,
Mark

[Rory]

[quote=""Locker""]A good read that was, I too remember the days where I used to logon to a site that looked like the image you posted. Every day I’d check for updates. It’s been a real achievement. Congratulations Wayne, and successors, on providing probably still the most in-depth guide on the web.

Regards,
Mark[/quote]

sounding very similar to me mark, i remember checking on sw5live after my first ever visit to AT and becoming hooked since, i guess its because of you wayne, that a lot of people like me are here, and are AT enthusiasts !

lookign forward to seeing you again 1st april, you great nice and an ideal idol in terms of AT. Great stuff

[Anonymous]

Wow!

What a story, bet you never dreamed of what it has become! Thankyou to everyone who makes this site possible. I love it and is a great website. Well done!

[Tom M]

Brilliant story, I remember following Air's construction then after AT opened in 2002 I didnt go on the site, that was until 2004 (I think) when I didnt use the forums, I just looked at the main site constantly until one day in 2005 I decided to read the forums, soon signed up and here we are today!

[Anonymous]

wow, thats what makes you so pretentious!

Only joking wayne you know i love you, and your kisses You done good boy and this old git is ever so proud of you.

[Jnewcombe]

Its nice to read about the history of Towers Times , maby they should be a bit on the main page about the old towers times pages eg old layouts ect .


Jon

[spinwhizzer]

Nice story! Looking at these, brings back momories!http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www ... imes.co.uk

[themeparkfreak]

awesome story, didnt the site used to be called Park Life? Thats what Kaycee said I think

[Phil]

Park life was a theme park forum that has since closed. It had no connection with TTF or indeed, TT.

[themeparkfreak]

Park life was a theme park forum that has since closed. It had no connection with TTF or indeed, TT.

oh right, sorry, my mistake

[Anonymous]

Seems weird sittin here 4 years on looking at whats become of mine and Waynes lil "fan site" lol.

Nice too see things have continued on even after me and wayne parted ways and stuff.

Finanical Backer hahaha. thats made me laugh. Mr Burton u well n truely owe me a few Blue WKDs lmao!

JaiB!

[Anonymous]

Wow, JaiB - blast from the past! Hello!

[Anonymous]

Haha! Sorry I went upstairs to play some tapes with Tracy Barlow 4 years later and Im back lmao!

JaiB!

[HighExtreme]

[quote=""JaiB""]Nice too see things have continued on even after me and wayne parted ways and stuff.[/quote]

It's smashing to see that after such a messy divorce you two have finally sorted things out for your kids, it's just like the olden days again, where's scott barr?

[Anonymous]

[quote=""urbanmonster""][quote=""JaiB""]Nice too see things have continued on even after me and wayne parted ways and stuff.[/quote]

It's smashing to see that after such a messy divorce you two have finally sorted things out for your kids, it's just like the olden days again, where's scott barr? [/quote]

Hahaha! "Wont somebody please think of the children"

Yea me an burton boy are back on talking terms lmao. The lawyers have been sent home and the police are dismantelling the security ring lmao!

Last time I heard Scott was jetting it around the americas, but I cant guarentee the validity of that haha. I will check my sources. Yea Heinz agrees with me.

Its nice / weird to be back, Big hello to recogniseable names such as Saz, Kaycee and co!

JaiB!

[Anonymous]

I'm saying nothing lol.

[MostMagicalCat]

i was just wondering where all this came from.
great, well done i have had and will have so much fun on this site, meeting friends and debating with strangers.
hope you get a bit of pride thinking on how much happiness you have brought to us all
i salute you
mmc

[barryzola]

When i spoke to you briefy the other week i didn't appreciate the extent of the work you had put in to the foundations of the site. Great job.