This past weekend saw the start of the main 2023 season at Alton Towers Resort, which included the opening of new dark ride, The Curse at Alton Manor! With TowersTimes of course in attendance, we round-up all the details.
The first destination for many guests on Saturday morning was of course Gloomy Wood, in order to be amongst the first guests to experience The Curse at Alton Manor, the Resort’s new for 2023 dark ride that takes the place of Duel – The Haunted House Strikes Back. We’ve separately published a more detailed look at this new attraction (so beware spoilers), however we believe it to be a fantastic addition to the Resort, reinvigorating an existing attraction for a new generation through the use of modern-day technology and special effects. The entire experience is also packed full of Easter eggs to spot, providing another reason for re-rides, on top of the attraction itself being thoroughly enjoyable. While there are a handful of dead spots, from speaking to various members of the project team, it is evident that there are still a few effects to be added, as well as other tweaks and enhancements due to be made to perfect the ride experience over the coming weeks and months. Nonetheless, given that the attraction has been turned around in a little over six months, the quality of the product delivered is to be praised. It certainly has us excited for what is to come with the retracked Nemesis and Project Horizon!
Indeed, in Forbidden Valley, the Phalanx’s investigation into Nemesis’ abnormal behaviour is ongoing. The original version of the ride operated for the final time at the end of the 2022 season, with all of the track and supports which are set to be replaced removed over the closed season. It is certainly strange to neither see nor hear Nemesis whilst in Forbidden Valley, and indeed not be able to ride this rollercoaster on a visit to Alton Towers. Black hoarding has been installed around the ride perimeter, with this extended even further out around the area of Galactica’s lift hill than seen a few weeks ago during the Kids Pass event. Signage has been added to this to inform guests of Nemesis’ closure and the ongoing investigation by the Phalanx, with a QR code that directs guests to the sign-up page on the website. As the usual entrance to The Blade’s queue line is no longer accessible behind the fence line, a new entrance has been created along the path on the opposite side, more or less opposite Funk’N’Fly.
During opening weekend, a member of the Phalanx could be found on duty outside the entrance to the apparent temporary viewing platform that overlooks the Nemesis site. This now appears to be structurally complete, with a truss in place above the entrance, presumably where signage will be installed. The entrance to this is directly adjacent to that of the former entrance to Nemesis Sub-Terra. It is looking highly likely that this attraction, which last operated in 2015, is set to return at some point this season. The attraction’s queue line flooring has been entirely replaced, new speakers have been added, and the height restriction board could be seen lying outside the building. It is unclear whether the viewing platform will form part of the queue line for Nemesis Sub-Terra or if it will be separately accessible – while it does appear to have been installed above sections of Sub-Terra’s queue line, it looks possible that guests will enter up one side of the newly erected slope and then exit down the other side. We expect we’ll hear more from the Resort regarding this once the hype around The Curse at Alton Manor’s opening has subsided.
Returning for a third season is the Retro Squad, with 2023 seeing the arrival of Twistatron on the former site of Enterprise following the removal of this long-standing attraction over the closed season. The Scottish-built Trabant ride, usually known as Star Fighter, has replaced Roller Disco in the Retro Squad line-up, with the latter’s location in Dark Forest now occupied by picnic benches. The ride experience involves guests taking a seat facing outwards on a ring that rotates during the ride cycle. This ring is attached off-centre to the platform underneath, which itself also rotates, and then lifts up progressively higher over the course of the cycle. With multiple members of the TowersTimes team having had first-hand experience of the Twistatron, the general consensus is that the ride experience leaves much to be desired, offering little in the way of forces for most of the cycle and then repeatedly forcing riders forwards and backwards onto the restraint. Given the uncomfortable experience provided, the tagline ‘the terror of Twistatron’ seems apt. Other members of the 2023 Retro Squad are Spinjam, located on the same location as in 2022 being the former Submission site, and Funk’N’Fly once again located on the former site of Ripsaw. Having been first introduced for the 2021 season, in order to provide additional ride capacity whilst the Resort’s indoor attractions remained closed due to COVID restrictions, this year marks their third season at the Resort. With the original reason for their addition having now passed, there is an ever-growing need for the Resort to address the theme park’s lack of flat rides through the installation of permanent models. With Twistatron and Spinjam located next to each other in X-Sector, this only serves to illustrate that the travelling rides appear out of place in a theme park.
There have also been a range of other updates around the theme park. New signage has been installed along to the pathway to Katanga Canyon and then beyond to Gloomy Wood, in order to provide directions to The Curse of Alton Manor. In Katanga Canyon, the wooden structure at the entrance to Runaway Mine Train has been jet washed over the closed season, followed by new rope being added, additional coloured paintwork and a refreshed sign. Congo River Rapids has also received some updates, most notably the addition of speakers around the entire layout (now covered in camouflage material) which play new audio as well as periodic safety announcements. Strangely the voiceover sounds as though it is Australian, but nonetheless it does rather excitingly make reference to waterfalls shortly before guests reach the feature which has been out of operation for the last few seasons. This suggests that the waterfalls will be imminently making a return, supported by the fact that they have also been seen testing. The jeep on the bank of the central reservoir pond has also been replaced, and is now looking much fresher. Several of the F&B kiosks around the theme park have received refreshes over the closed season, including the one which can be found along the path in between Gloomy Wood and Forbidden Valley, with its signage providing a nod to Ripsaw. Across all areas of the theme park, it appears new Wi-Fi routers have been installed, helping to improve internet connectivity and coverage for guests.
2023 is the first season following Aramark’s takeover of food and beverage at the Resort. Alongside the increase in prices, the most notable change is the installation of self-service screens across of all the theme park’s major fast food outlets. The counters where staff would previously serve guests have actually been entirely closed-off, apart from some small openings where food and drink is collected from. We visited The Burger Kitchen in Cloud Cuckoo Land on Sunday for lunch where the operational chaos that this change has caused was evident for all to see. Whilst the screens themselves functioned perfectly well, with it straightforward to apply Annual Pass discount, the collection process is something that will require improvement, and perhaps a more significant rethink. Relative to the number of guests looking to eat in the restaurant during the lunch time rush, the size of the area for collections was inadequate resulting in a bottleneck of guests. This was exacerbated by the fact that soft drinks are no longer self-service and so needed to be collected alongside your food. However, the preparation of food and drink was not coordinated, resulting in guests collecting their food first and then having to wait again for their drink. Given this further wait was around 10 minutes, the result of this was that guests’ food became cold in the interim.
It was evident that this was an issue and source of frustration shared by many of the guests we waited alongside. This issue seems like it would be easily rectified by returning drinks to being self-service. In the absence of such a change, the counter area would at least benefit from the addition of signs indicating which side guests should queue on for food and drink, rather than relying on staff shouting at guests in an effort to organise this. It would perhaps even be worth considering creating two openings, spaced further apart, to reduce the bottleneck. Having had a good experience in Rollercoaster Restaurant on Saturday, with the new mobile ordering system working well, the experience of Sunday was unfortunately disappointing in comparison.
As always, the start of a new season brings an array of new merchandise. One of the notable new additions for 2023 is a range of coaster-themed bears monkeys, although these don’t include Nemesis whilst the ride remains closed for its refurbishment. There are also new T-shirts and hoodies, embroidered with the Resort’s logo, as well as a magnet and keyring which share the same silhouette design. New ride pin badges are also available, but at the increased price of £8. In addition, a “deluxe” pin badge for The Smiler is on offer for £10. For those who wish to combine Alton Towers with a hot beverage, a selection new mugs, both ride-specific and Resort generic, can also be purchased. With respect to other new ride-specific merchandise, there are T-shirts, socks, caps and bucket hats, allowing guests to bring some representation of their favourite Alton Towers attraction to any outfit! Furthermore, as Wicker Man is celebrating its 5th anniversary in 2023, commemorative ‘ride wood’ is available to purchase from its shop.
Overall ride availability seemed reasonable over opening weekend, although early on Saturday the Resort’s app was updated to state that Spinball Whizzer will not open until April. The ride did feature in the Resort’s Christmas line-up, so this is likely to be the reason why it has not been possible to complete its winter maintenance before the start of the main season. However, even though some rides were open this was with reduced capacity, with both Galactica and Wicker Man operating with two trains, rather than their usual three. This resulted in longer wait times for these attractions than would normally be expected based on the length of their queues. It’s on these occasions that Nemesis will certainly be missed this season!
There are also updates over at the Resort’s hotels. The reception areas of both Alton Towers Hotel and Splash Landings Hotel have been reconfigured so that they now feature self-service check-in screens and a much smaller desk area. Nonetheless, a member of staff was still on-hand to talk us through the check-in process on arrival. The nearby Monorail station has also received a repaint over the closed season such that it is now entirely ‘Alton Towers purple’ in colour.
Did you visit over opening weekend or have a trip planned soon? Let us know what you’re most excited for this season via our social media channels.
