With the Alton Towers Theme Park set to reopen in a matter of days, we take a look at some of the developments taking place this season.
The Blade
We begin with some interesting news regarding one of the park’s longest standing attractions; The Blade.
Some eagle-eyed TowersStreet members have noted the absence of the ride – which has stood in Forbidden Valley since 1997 – from the 2015 park map, which was recently published on the Alton Towers website.
Not only is The Blade missing from this year’s theme park map, but it has also been removed from the 2015 Early Ride Time lineup, which was updated recently. Whilst the ERT list changes frequently, The Blade has often been included, providing guests with a slightly more thrilling non-rollercoaster option during the first hour of the day.
In addition, rumours have been rife since the theme park closed last year that the next major installation at the theme park could be located in the Forbidden Valley area. As a result, some have placed a question mark over the future of both The Blade and Ripsaw.
It should be noted that Alton Towers have previously closed rides to ease construction of new attractions, with Enterprise and the late Submission both seeing temporary closures during construction of The Smiler.
The Blade first took up residence at Alton Towers in the early 1980s, located in the then Fantasy World area of the theme park (Roughly where The Smiler stands today), which makes it one of the oldest operating rides at the park.
In light of both its age, and these recent developments, could we perhaps be witnessing the end The Blade, or the first beginnings of the parks next major attraction?
The Sun Ticket Giveaway
2015 will see the return of the popular The Sun ticket giveaway at the Alton Towers Resort.
In line with previous years, readers of the newspaper will be able to collect tokens from the paper, which can be exchanged for a free ticket to the theme park.
However, in a change to previous years, this season will see the number of tokens increasing from 9 last year to 10.
The offer begins this weekend (14th March 2015).
Enchanted Village and Tree Tops Quest Construction Update
Construction of the Resort’s brand new Enchanted Village accommodation appears to be drawing to a close. All lodges now appear to be in place, and much of the landscaping work is completed, with some finishing touches currently underway.
As well as the lodges, construction of the Tree Tops Quest high ropes course is also well underway, with vertical pylons now in place, which guests will make their way between and overcome various obstacles.
Other Changes This Season
Throughout the Resort, various pieces of construction have been taking place, including a reconstructed roof over the Congo River Rapids turntable, and a facelift to the Mutiny Bay Shoppe.
However, within the last few days, another change has been made, this time in the Resort car parks. The old parking barriers have been replaced with new Skidata readers, similar to those used at the park entrance. This change has been rumoured for several years now, and brings Alton Towers in line with other UK based Merlin attractions, including Legoland and Thorpe Park.
The installation of these new barriers is expected to make exiting the car parks simpler for Annual Pass holders, as the new units are able to read the barcode printed on passes, rather than relying on a member of staff to manually check them and open the barriers.
Stick with TowersStreet
With the 2015 season now just around the corner, TowersStreet will be on-hand to keep you updated with all developments in and around Alton Towers. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up-to-date, and why not check out our TowersStreet Talk forums, for all the latest news and debates from Alton Towers and around the world!
