Well, what better way to start off the year than with a visit to one of Britain's finest theme parks:
As it was my sixteenth birthday, we decided to go a little further than the hour drive to Thorpe Park. So, my dad, my sister, one of my friends and I packed up and left sharpish after school to spend the night at a youth hostel in the area.
We were in a dormitory with some hikers. I had a cough. I was excited. Everyone was snoring. How much sleep do you reckon I managed to get?
Anyways, we had bought our tickets online, so we got to go in an hour early. Most of the rides were closed at that time, so we took a long walk to the back of the park, where Nemesis was quietly waiting for us.
The towers are spectacular from the park entrance!
Sonic Spinball is probably the only ride that you can see from far off in this place. There are just SO MANY TREES!
We passed Mutiny Bay, a recent addition. We weren't stopping though. We had better things to do!
Our walk took us past Runaway Mine Train, the park's powered coaster. Its impressively themed, and fits nicely with the area.
The track goes right by the old rapid river.
We didn't go on this in the end, but it was nice to see it running for once!
AHA! Now this is more like it! Time for a few rides on this beast before the other rides open!
This coaster makes me want to live in Alton Towers!
Nemesis never ceases to look amazing!
The track passes right over a unique river of Ribena!
Oh wait... its blood.
Next up was Air. It was still testing when we started queuing, but we only had to wait an extra few minutes.
One for the brake geeks. I wouldn't dream of understanding how this works...
The most intense part of the ride. I love how this ride interacts with the path area. It works so well!
Merlin Entertainments are desperate to ensure that the rides don't disturb the local population. Therefore, the higher parts are painted to blend in with the forest surroundings.
After we finished in Forbidden Valley, we headed off to the Dark Forest, via Cable Car!
You get great views of the gardens, and it is so much faster and more relaxing than walking!
Th13teen was a LOT higher than I expected it to be!
You get great views of Rita too!
This was our next stop. Rita was still showing off its Intamin goodness.
It has been rethemed to fit with the new area.
My sister came along because she really wanted to go on Air. However, it turned out that she enjoyed Rita even more!
Th13teen was still testing when we got there, so after two rides on Rita (one at the front), we headed over to X Sector.
You get a weird view of the short lift from the queue line. We got fastrack tickets, so we just waltzed right past the spiralling queue for this beast. It was a great feeling!
Another great view from the queue line.
This was my favourite ride of the day. Even though it was a bit short, it was my first dive coaster, and I loved it!
My friend and I took a ride on Enterprise, while the others watched. I think this one is better than Zodiac. I fits nicely into the area as well.
We decided to head back to the Dark Forest to see if Th13teen was up and running yet. OMG! The queue was open, and we were ready to use our fasttracks.
I was excited...
I couldn't wait...
The atmosphere was great...
Yes! It time to ride Th13te...
Aw dang! It got stuck on this mid section three times! After that, we gave up and left the queue line.
We later found out that Th13teen was experiencing a teething problem and had closed for the day. Aww... at least we got to use the fasttracks for an extra go on Oblivion!
We had lunch at Burger King, after an awful ride on Charlie And The Chocolate Factory: The Ride. It was SO cheesy and just plain boring.
We went back to Forbidden Valley, and I ot some nice shots of the two coasters:
So smooth...
I love this ride!
I almost missed this one!
The station is nicely lit too.
After we rode the two coasters again, we split into two groups. My friend and I stayed in Forbidden Valley, whilst the other two went for a coffee.
We went on my first Huss Top Spin, Ripsaw. It was AWESOME!
Alton Towers's other Huss ride, is Blade. We didn't get the back seat, so it wasn't great. We were sitting next to some girls who though this was the scariest ride EVER!
Towards the end of the day, we walked through the gardens to reach:
Sonic Spinball!
You get some good close-ups of the ride from the queue line. It was our longest queue of the day, but we enjoyed the ride!
The theming hadn't changed much since it was Spinball Whizzer. They had printed some of the characters on the sides of the cars, and there was a statue of Sonic by the entrance. That was it, really...
We had a few more rides on Oblivion, before we headed back to the exit.
Its a nicely themed entrance, but whats that in the background?
OMG! A new Vekoma ride! I just have to ride it!
It's sooooooooo beautiful!
So awesome, so wonderful, so incredible...
so... oh. That doesn't look too safe!
Overall, we had a great time, and I hope to go back soon! (Yeah, I know. I am physically incapable of smiling properly, and I don't look sixteen do I?)
I'm going to Walibi World in the Summer, so I'll post another trip report for that one soon! (Maybe I'll get a reporter tag in the future!)
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