Alton Towers Map (April 2009):
(map image courtesy Vibha Gupta)
Alton Towers is an amusement park near Stoke-on-Trent (Postcode: ST10 4DB Website: Family Fun at Theme Park - Alton Towers Resort)
It has a long list of rides divided into different zones or areas. Some of the main attractions include ‘Oblivion’ – the world’s first vertical drop roller-coaster and Air – the world’s first B&M ‘flying’ roller-coaster.
The place is perfect for both groups and singles, bachelors (like myself) and families. It has wide variety of rides for all age groups. It also has other attractions like a water park and sea-life exhibition. So if you get bored of really fast and furious rides (or your stomach can’t take the twists & turns and your legs can’t take waiting in line for 30mins and more) then you can cool off in some of the gentler rides (like Congo River Ride or The Flume) or go and check out the exhibitions and shows.
(Storybook Land image courtesy Vibha Gupta)The variety: from 'Storybook Land' above to 'Oblivion' below.
(Oblivion image copyright 2009 Azahar Machwe)Most of the rides have three different lines:
- Group line
- Singles line
- Fast-track line
Fast-track line costs extra and might be a good option for people who don’t want to wait at all. They get first boarding.
If you don’t want your group to be split when boarding a ride then you can go into the group line which usually means long wait (in the main rides about 30-40 minutes). I would recommend this line even if you are going in a group!
If you don’t mind your group being split then go into the singles ride. The wait is shorter (by about 50%) but you may not board the ride with other members of your group. This line gets the least priority.
The ticket price includes all group and single line admissions.
As soon as you enter the park you will see an information display telling you the wait time for most rides and if they are working or not. The day we went Rita – the super-fast roller-coaster, was closed. Don’t worry! Go in the singles line!
Very important thing to note is that there will be a lot of walking involved! So wear comfortable shoes!
At the end of each ride you can view your photograph (taken at a selected point during the ride) and you can buy it if you like the picture! The only problem is that the pictures are quite expensive!
Don’t wear any loose jewellery and remove your spectacles especially before any of the rollercoaster rides. You don’t want you glasses flying off in the middle of a ride!
All rides have storage lockers (use at your own risk!) which you can use to keep your bags etc. before the ride. These are generally safe.
Take food from home as everything is quite expensive there and there is not a lot of variety at the lower end of the spectrum especially for vegetarians.
The four must-do rides are:
1) Oblivion
2) Air
3) Nemesis
4) Rita
The only problem is if you do these rides in a span of one day by the end of it you will be fed up of all the rocking and rolling! Kind of like ‘roller-coaster saturation’. More information on these rides can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_Towers
Oblivion and Air are two unique rides. Oblivion basically drops you face down a dark hole and Air flies you around on your back! These two are SUPER MUST-DO rides.
Enjoy!
:)
