A look at various plans and concepts from both the past and present for all the investments that Alton Towers have either built or considered.
It is rare for an attraction to be built without some amount of concept drawings or plans to have been produced, to give an idea of what the attraction will end up looking like. Here we have a look at the concepts for some of the theme park’s attractions, as well as various plans. It’s worth noting how much some of these attractions changed from the early stages!
Theme Park
The Alton Towers Dungeon
Concept images for the exterior and interior of the Dungeon, along with drawings of the costumes for the its inhabitants.
CBeebies Land Expansion
New friends arrived in 2017 with the addition of Go Jetters and The Furchester Hotel attractions.
Cred Street
Various concepts for the rides and attractions built in Cred Street between 1997 and 2006.
Facilities Buildings
Plans were submitted in 2024 for two ‘facilities buildings’, providing new Scarefest attraction venues.
Festival Park
The 1980 plans for new food kiosks in Festival Park, which today are Forest Feast.
Flag Tower
An interesting look at the plans for one of the historic monuments in the Towers’ grounds.
Galactica
Browse the plans and concepts as Air became a rollercoaster dedicated to virtual reality.
Land of Make Believe
A look at two concepts for Bertie Bassets’ Cornershop, which was built as part of this land.
Merrie England
Utilising pictures of Aqualand to envisage its transformation into Merrie England.
Nemesis Reborn
These plans detailed Nemesis’ track replacement project, intended to increase the coaster’s lifespan.
Nemesis Sub-Terra
Although these plans gave us an idea of what to expect in 2012, they didn’t show what lies beneath.
North East Areas
The plans for the 1992 creation of Katanga Canyon and Gloomy Wood.
Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop
Peter Rabbit returned in 2019, with a new attraction in CBeebies Land.
Rita
Plans showing the supports for the Towers’ launched coaster in what was then Ug Land.
Rita’s Chicken & Ribs
In 2007 the Dome in Fountain Square was replaced by a brand new restaurant.
Rollercoaster Restaurant
Here are the plans and concepts for this UK first of its kind restaurant.
Scare Mazes
Detailed plans for three of the Resort’s scare mazes provide a unique insight into these attractions.
Spinball Whizzer
Dropping a giant pinball table into Adventure Land took some planning, as can be seen here.
Talbot Street
Concepts for the park’s Victorian street from its conception through to its later development.
The Screw & The Blade
Take a look at the original concepts of these 1997 additions.
The Smiler
Plans and concepts for SW7, which also reveal a number of interesting differences to the final ride.
TH13TEEN
Following the closure of Corkscrew, Alton Towers submitted plans for its replacement – SW6.
X-Sector Concepts
Take a look at the various concept drawings featuring areas around X-Sector.
Accommodation
CBeebies Land Hotel
The first ever CBeebies Land Hotel opened in 2017, with the submission of plans in August 2015.
Enchanted Village
A year on from the withdrawn lodge proposal, new plans were submitted.
Splash Landings Hotel
Ideas for a second hotel first emerged in 1997, and included a water park and conference centre.
Stargazing Pods
In March 2018, plans were submitted for the addition of 102 accommodation pods.
Other Attractions
When the park are considering new areas and attractions they often provide several mood boards, showing lots of different options for the same area. These are sometimes used internally to help choose which route the park want to take or in public exercises to gage the opinion of park guests. Here we see some recent examples.
Over the years various ideas the park have thought of adding to the park for one reason or another have not gone ahead, whether due to the park choosing a different direction or the plans not being given planning permission. Below are various projects which didn’t make it beyond the conceptual stage.
A Balloon with a View
There were once plans to have a balloon ride to either replace Dynamo or to go in Cred Street.
Courtyard Restaurant
A restaurant in the Mutiny Bay Courtyard was planned to open alongside Wicker Man in 2018.
Enchanted Village Expansion
35 new Woodland Lodges were due to be added, until being replaced by the Stargazing Pods proposal.
Secret Weapon 1
These were Tussauds’ initial ideas for their first coaster at Alton Towers.
Towers Street
Some of the many ideas that have been proposed for Towers Street over the years.
Vertigo
In 2006, Alton Towers had hoped to install a zipwire from the roof of the Towers.
Wooden Coaster
The shelved plans for the Alton Towers’ infamous cross valley wooden coaster.
Everyone loves a good concept and over the years many people have had a go at coming up with ideas for the park, even their own marketing department. Here are some of our favourite concept designs.
Broomsticks
Plans for the addition of a launched terrain-interacting coaster to Gloomy Wood.
Jazz Land
This potential redevelopment of Cred Street included a cutting-edge 5D attraction.
Project Giant Gurgle
An entertaining concept for a rollercoaster specifically designed for babies!