Alton Towers

[lynx2oo2]

Ok, Went to alton towers on sunday and had the time of my life.

Who else here has been?, what was your favorite rides?, how long did you Q for?, what did you think about value for money? ect ect.

Fav Adrenaline ride - Oblivion

Fav non adrenaline - HEX

Q time - No more than 15min for anything (inc Air and Nemesis)

Value for money - Cost me £33, not bad for 200 mile coach journey and entrance.

(btw, HEX freaked my sister out and she nearly threw-up on enterprise :D )

[homealone]

not been for ages, but is a top day out, whether you want to just wander round the grounds & go boating on the lake, or go for the rides. Air is new, since I last went, but Nemesis is awesome - went on it twice - & the Ghost Train is the best I've ever been on.

Queueing was a bit of a pain, but you can "pre-book" your place now, so it should be better.

[Chris]

Last went a couple of years ago. Q-ing was a far worse experience for me but I went in the middle of summer. I imagine a Sunday in September is a very good time to go to avoid the crowds.

That said, there was no Q for Oblivion because we ran straight over to it when the park opened. Brilliant ride.

Thoroughly disappointed with Hex, which turned out to be a naff old fashioned revolving room after all the hype and walking through those ruined rooms in the Towers.

All in all, a fun day out, but I don't think I'd go in mid-summer again.

[trebor]

I live not far from alton towers and I have got board with it.
I have been going since I was a child, I watched them build the corkscrew. Value for money very good, I have never paid to get in, between the public footpath that runs through the place and friends and relatives that work there it's always been free ;)
The queues do suck, the best way to avoid them is to go with somebody in a wheelchair, you can queue jump then with the disabled access and get straight on the rides. they will hire you a wheelchair if you ask.
as for a good time to go there isn't one it's pot luck, but avoid bank holidays weekends and school holidays. the only time I have never queued is on the friends and family evenings, but thats not much use unless you know somebody that works there.
I did once only manage 3 rides in a day because of the queues
and that would make it very expensive if you'd paid.

[timewarrior2001]

When I visited Alton towers in around 1990, I found it dirty, overpriced, the food was extortionate and the attitude of staff stunk.

Havent been back since and never will. I thought it was crap.

[Chris]

Originally posted by timewarrior2001
When I visited Alton towers in around 1990, I found it dirty, overpriced, the food was extortionate and the attitude of staff stunk.

Havent been back since and never will. I thought it was crap.

Yup, that sounds familiar ... sadly in this country we all too often take these things as being normal, probably why I didn't especially notice it at the time.

[Alan Waddington]

I've been a number of times. You get a good view on all the seats on Air, and one moment of terror on Oblivion but for sheer thrills it just has to be Nemesis.

I enjoyed Hex the first time, but once you understand the gimmick, it's OK, but not as impressive. They've also re-worked the Haunted House into a competitive laser game (on rails, since the carts are still used).

Regarding queues, it's better to go on a weekday. My last visit was on Monday & queues were either non-existent or about 15mins for the new rides.

Regarding the cost. Well if you go on a busy day & spend too much time queueing then it is expensive. However choose you day & you'll get good value.

[trentsteel]

Originally posted by Alan Waddington
I enjoyed Hex the first time, but once you understand the gimmick, it's OK, but not as impressive. They've also re-worked the Haunted House into a competitive laser game (on rails, since the carts are still used).

Hex was a load of poo poo:mad: magic log indeed

The Ghost Train thing is good now, i won out of me and my mates:D

bang bang, take that spiders:p

[SMHarman]

Nemisis in the dark after the fireworks is a good time to ride on it.
Especially as condensation is starting to form on the rails and speed it up.

Find all the food way to overthemed nowadays. The nescafe coffee, and all the pepsico food vending (KFC/Pizza Hut etc). Disney Paris does not have the same kind of co branding on food, just nicely themed restaurants / ye olde fashioned ice cream parlour / the diner etc.

For non locals the Tesco Clubcard season ticket offer is fantastic value for money. If you spend enough at Tescos you can get a season pass for £17.50 including all other Tussaurds attractions (chessington, thorpe, waxworks, warwick castle etc) and 4 european theme parks. £17.50 is less than any normal ticket price.

With a 11 month old and friends that are pregnant I have not managed to get there this year.

[tomw]

I went to alton Towers yesterday and had a realy good time but 75 Quid for a family ticket is taking the **** and to top it off you also now pay 3 Quid to park ( I belive Disney world tickets arnt that much)

[Richard M]

I went to Drayton Manor yesterday, some of the rides are very, very fast.

[Atomic22]

Originally posted by trebor
I live not far from alton towers and I have got board with it.
I have been going since I was a child

did you used to go in the "fun house" on the "devils disc" and "barrel of fun" ?
the giant slide was top fun as well.
way better than the so called "scary" rides they have there now