Alton Towers Theme Park in Alton, United Kingdom
Alton Towers Resort is a theme park in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton.
The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, spa, mini golf and hotel complex.
Originally a private estate, Alton Towers grounds opened to the public in 1860 to raise funds.
In the late 20th century, it was transformed into a theme park and opened a number of new rides from 1980 onwards.
In 2017, it was the second most visited theme park in the UK after Legoland Windsor.
The park has many attractions such as Congo River Rapids, Runaway Mine Train, Nemesis, Oblivion, Galactica, The Smiler, and Wicker Man.
It operates a total of ten roller coasters and offers a range of accommodation and lodging options alongside the theme park.
Facilities include Alton Towers Waterpark, conference facilities, a crazy golf course, and a high ropes course.
The theme park is usually open from mid-March to early November, whilst many of its hotels and amenities are open year-round.
The theme park is occasionally closed midweek in the quieter months.
Special events are hosted throughout the year, including Alton Towers Scarefest, and a season-ending fireworks display held on the last three days of the season.
Alton Towers Resort is a theme park in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton.
The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, spa, mini golf and hotel complex.
The Alton Towers Theme Park is divided into areas:
Towers Street
Opened in 1986, Towers Street is the first area that visitors to the park encounter.
Themed loosely as a town street, it leads to views of the gardens and the Towers across the lake in the distance.
Along the pathway are the park's jumping frog fountains and a lawn where seasonal events take place.
The first SkyRide station is located nearby, which is a 1048 m long cable car transport that opened in 1987, and was refurbished 2009.
Katanga Canyon
Themed as an African village; created in 1992 and incorporated existing rapids ride.
Rides include the roller coaster Runaway Mine Train and Congo River Rapids.
Both are well-established rides in the park whose ride tracks share a tunnel.
Congo River Rapids is a river rapids ride that opened 1986, as The Grand Canyon Rapids, and was refurbished in 1992.
Gloomy Wood
Gloomy Wood serves as the area for the dark ride Duel - The Haunted House Strikes Back!, originally The Haunted House.
Opening in 1992, this was originally Europe's largest haunted dark ride, but was significantly altered with interactive laser guns in 2003.
Each player's shooting score is recorded on a display in the ride car, as guests shoot targets around the ride.
Forbidden Valley
Forbidden Valley is set in a 'post-apocalyptic' landscape, with standing stones and rustic structures populating the 'valley'.
A SkyRide station also serves this area of the park.
The area's principal attraction is Nemesis, opened in 1994.
Nemesis is a steel inverted coaster that reaches a speed of 50 81 kmph with four inversions, set in a rocky quarry over waterfalls.
The ride is built down into excavated ground and was designed by Tussauds, primarily John Wardley.
The attraction is themed as an alien creature inhabiting the quarry where the coaster is situated.
Adventure Land
Adventure Land is a small family area featuring Spinball Whizzer; based on a pinball machine in which the car is the ball whizzing around the machine.
The ride originally had this name, until 2010 when it was known as Sonic Spinball until the name change back in 2016 when a contract ended with SEGA after six years.
The ride is a Maurer Söhne spinning roller coaster, in which riders sit in cars that can spin on their base whilst travelling at speed around the track.
For the park map, Spinball Whizzer is listed as being in The Towers area.
X-Sector
X-Sector is themed as a secretive industrial complex, suggested to be subjecting park guests to experimental testing.
The area currently contains three thrill rides.
The steel dive coaster Oblivion which opened in 1998 as "the world's first vertical drop rollercoaster", designed by Tussauds and manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard.
The cars are held over the edge of the drop for three seconds, before diving into a deep tunnel.
The Smiler is a Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster which opened in May 2013 and currently holds the world record for most inversions on a roller coaster at 14.
Mutiny Bay
Mutiny Bay is a pirate-themed family area, which opened in 2008. the area was a retheme for Merrie England.
Attractions in Mutiny Bay include: Battle Galleons, an interactive "Splash Battle" boat ride, where guests sit in tracked boats while soaking other riders with water cannons.
Also in the area is the rocking boat ride, Heave Ho.
The park's original teacups ride was re-themed to become Marauders Mayhem, with the tea cup cars being redesigned as gunpowder barrels.
In 2009, a Sea Life Centre named Sharkbait Reef opened in the location previously home to the 3-D Cinema.
This includes "touch pools" for interacting with underwater species and a 10-metre underwater tunnel.
The World of David Walliams
The World of David Walliams is aimed at younger children aged 7–11, featuring bright colours and fantasy decor.
Attractions include Raj's Bouncy Bottom Burp and Royal Carousel.
Cuckoo Cars Driving School allows children to drive miniature electric cars around a themed road layout, featuring visual jokes along the way.
A SkyRide station is located nearby Fountain Square, giving access to other areas of the park.
The area was previously known as "Cred Street" and "The Land of Make Believe", with a cartoon-inspired look, mainly featuring Toyland Tours.
Dark Forest
The Dark Forest is themed as a supernatural woodland area; to coincide with the opening of TH13TEEN, a steel family coaster themed as a haunted crypt, that opened on 20 March 2010.
The area was previously a cartoon prehistoric area named Ug Land, which opened in 1999, but was half-demolished to make way for Rita's construction in 2005.
Rita used to be themed around drag racing but was changed with the opening of Th13teen and the Dark Forest.
With the opening of Thirteen, the area was renamed as Dark Forest and further altered with a new colour scheme and entrance feature.
Rita was also given a repainted control cabin and trains, shortening its name from "Rita - Queen of Speed".
CBeebies Land
CBeebies Land is based on the BBC children's TV channel: CBeebies.
It is the newest area of the Theme Park and opened on 24 May 2014.
The area includes rides, shows and interactive experiences based on programmes from CBeebies, including In the Night Garden... and Postman Pat.
Attractions in the area are: In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride, Postman Pat's Parcel Post, Get Set Go Treetop Adventure, Something Special Sensory Garden, Numtums Number Go-Around, Charlie & Lola's Moonsquirters and Greendrops, Justin's House: Pie-O-Matic Factory, Mr Bloom's Allotment and Tree Fu Tom Training Camp.
The Towers
The Towers are the ruins of Alton Towers stately home and are the source of the park's name.
They belonged to the Talbot family as a stately home until 1924 and largely designed by Augustus Pugin, also noted for his work on the Palace of Westminster.
Hex – The Legend of the Towers, a walk-through dark ride based within the ruins themselves, opened in 2000.
The finale to the ride is a Vekoma Madhouse located away from the real Towers but themed as a secret vault.
The storyline is based on a local legend about the chained oak tree, located in a nearby forest, and makes use of the history of the Towers.
It draws its theme from the legend of the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury who was said to be cursed by a beggar woman to suffer death every time a branch falls from an old oak tree.
The Gardens
Near the garden entrance is a cenotaph to the 15th Earl, a marble bust with an inscription reading "He made the desert smile".
Landmarks include a Chinese Pagoda Fountain, The Swiss Cottage, Miniature 'Stonehenge', a Greek Choragic Monument, and orangeries.
Alton Towers Waterpark
The Alton Towers Waterpark, formerly known as Cariba Creek, opened alongside the Splash Landings Hotel in 2003.
It is a large, part-indoor and part outdoor waterpark themed as a tropical Caribbean lagoon.
The waterpark features several fast slides, a lazy river, a giant tipping bucket and many other water features.
Also located there are two food and drink venues: Adventures Cave and Ice Cream Shack.
Unlike Chessington Zoo at the also Merlin operated Chessington World of Adventures Resort, a separate ticket is needed for waterpark access as it is not included with the theme park entrance price.
Attractions include Lagoona Bay, which is the main tropical pool, with water cannons, geysers and waterfalls.
The Little Leak is a paddling pool for young children with two small slides and interactive pipes to play with, while Wacky Waterworks Treehouse is a wooden 'treehouse' with water cannons, and other interactive features to squirt passing people with.
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