This adrenalin-inducing event celebrating the Resort’s major rollercoasters returned to the Resort with a twist, as The Smiler took over Festival of Thrills 2023 in order to make sure everything was corrected for its 10th anniversary year!
Key Information
Dates: 17th April – 7th May 2023
From 11am each day of the event, there was a running programme of entertainment in X-Sector, in the vicinity of The Smiler, presented by the Ministry of Joy and their various associates:
Meet the Ministry
Located: At the top of X-Sector, in front of Just Chicken
Show Times: 11:15, 12:15, 13:15, 14:15, 15:15
Meet the personnel behind each of the Marmaliser’s mind manipulations in this show that features contortion, balloon-modelling and magic!
The Fear Test
Located: At the bottom of X-Sector, in front of the Donut Factory
Show Times: 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00
Take a seat as the Ministry of Joy test the ‘formulation of fear’ to identify the truly joyful, marmalised thrillseekers amongst guests! Get set to find out if you belong to The Smiler…
A Celebration of Happiness
Located: At the bottom of X-Sector, opposite Spinjam
Show Times: 11:45, 12:45, 13:45, 14:45, 15:45
It’s the annual office gathering at the Ministry of Joy, the secret organisation behind The Smiler. Take your tie off and put your grin on as you meet your Ministry of Joy colleague – happy host, Felix E. Lated – in their flamboyant attire for a series of joyful singalongs.
Found around the theme park during Festival of Thrills, were a selection of theming pieces in the classic colours of The Smiler – yellow and black. From a Ministry of Joy testing station in Dark Forest to a floating astronaut near Galactica, along with an ominous looking machine near Wicker Man, there could be no doubt that The Smiler and the Ministry of Joy had taken over with their bizarre apparatus! Other additions include signage and stickers, along with event-specific audio announcements from the Ministry of Joy.
Outside the entrances to each of the Resort’s major roller coasters, as well as just after the turnstiles at the top of Towers Street, sat ‘Stamp and Win’ boxes. These offered visitors the opportunity to win an overnight stay at Alton Towers. To enter the competition you would first take a card from one of the boxes and visit the stamper at each coaster to collect all six stamps. Once you completed the stamp card, you were required to post an image of your card on social media using #FestivalOfThrills in order to enter the competition.
