06-11 Alton Towers Twice as Good

Today is our 2nd day of visiting Alton Towers. But first, a breakfast review.

This was our breakfast for the past few days here. Eggs, sausage, croissant, and apple juice for me. Karen usually has Coco Crispies and yogurt with her waters.



Same trip to the park as yesterday. Drive those small, windy back roads of the English countryside, park, take the monorail, show our Merlin Pass, head for our first big ride.



In case you forgot what a gorgeous castle used to exist here I've taken another picture for you.



We are heading for Oblivion this morning. This is a rather odd name for a roller coaster that they want you to remember, since "oblivion" means something like being forgotten.

Maybe YOU'RE going into oblivion and you'll be forgotten when you don't come out.



Straight Down Into OBLIVION !



So this ride goes to the top of a hill and then goes straight down into "oblivion" (just deal with it) and pops up the other side and the ride ends.



Who goes on these rides!? Uh, Karen and I. About 4 times in a row. Front seat, uh huh. Fun stuff. Now you see us...



Now you don't...



Next up, Sonic Spinball.



This was a spinning wild mouse coaster like at Chessington Park a few days ago. We like these because the ride is never the same because the coaster car spins while it goes up and down on the track. I know, I'm sorry for being so descriptive because I'm sure it makes some of you sick to your stomache.

The line for this was WAY too long. Fortunately, they had a single rider line. This means Karen and I won't be riding together.

There are about 250 people in the regular line. We go in the single rider line and there were 6 people in front of us when we get to the front of the line.

Here's how it works. The car holds 4 people. If a group of 3 wants to ride then someone from the single rider line gets the 4th seat. We waited about 10 minutes and we both were done with the ride.

Karen finished first, she got off, and was looking all over for me. I was still in the line. She finally spotted me going up the lift hill and was able to take pictures of me as I was on the ride. That's the silly old man waving his hands in the air going around a particularly fun curve.



For lunch I had ribs and Karen had a grilled chicken wrap and a baked potato

We took a walk after lunch and wandered into the Children's Ride area and took some pictures so we'd remember it. We did ride that elevated ride in the background.



Yep, not every Kiddieland has a Dungheap.



We rode coasters named Rita and Thi3teen again and then headed out of the park via the monorail.

This resort has TWO hotels that people can stay at that are close to the park. We went and visited them after getting off the monorail.

Splash Landings Hotel was connected to their water park. Walking in the lobby was like changing continents. The temperature was about 80 degrees in here. It was wonderful.





There was a walkway connecting this hotel to their other hotel. The other hotel was themed to travel. Both had easy access to the Water Park and to the Theme Park via the monorail. Great place to stay.



If you'll recall when we were in France we were on a WWII Tour out of Bayeux and we got to go through Isigny sur Mer, the original name of the Disney family (d'Isigny changed into Disney).

On our way to our hotel for this evening we were going to Norton Disney. This is home of the Disney family in England. They had come from Normandy in France with William the Conqueror and they started the town and became prominent.



Many of his ancestors are mentioned in various inscriptions inside St Peter's church in town.



Walt visited the town in 1949 looking for his roots. He may have been adopted but everyone wants to know their roots so searched he did. We find it fun to visit locations that he had been to. Zermatt, Isigny-sur-mer, and Norton Disney to name just a few.

It was fun looking at 14th century statues of Disneys and a commemorative brass plaque from 1580 lauding their loyalty to the Prince.



One last note. At Disneyland it said that the Disney Family crest is above the Disneyland Castle and it can be seen as you walk across the bridge from the Hub but before you go in the tunnel under the Castle. Here then is the REAL Norton Disney Family crest on top and the family crest at Disneyland on the bottom. On the Castle, instead of 3 flur de lees horizontally, you have the lion (from on top) recreated 3 times vertically. Almost the same, but not quite.

Norton Disney Crest



DISNEYLAND



We took our customery bazillion pictures and moved on to our hotel, Beansheef Hotel, near Flamingo Land Amusement Park.

06-10 England's Biggest Amusement Park

Karen was really excited about getting to this park, Alton Towers, since we've heard about it since our childhood and we've always want to go here. It is kind of the Disneyland of England. So, she'll be our guest blogger for today.



We leave the motel at 8:35. We will be using our Merlin Annual Pass for Alton Towers today and that gets us, AND Alton Towers motel guests, AND anyone who bought their tickets online into the park one hour early at 9:00.

People still have British flags out on their houses and businesses as we make our winding way to the Park.



This park is Britain's best park and it is way out in the woods in the middle of nowhere.



We arrive in the parking lot and walk to the monorail (HEY, it's the old EXPO '86 monorail from Vancouver!) that takes us to the front gate. We're in the gate, park map in hand, let's figure out where to go. What path leads to Nemesis?



This park is really like a state park in the forest. We walk forever to get to the back. It's beautiful. Trees, streams, rhododendrons. Beautiful huge, purple rhododendrons all over this park. "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by."



We ride Nemesis three times, twice in the front seat once in the back.

It's good; fast, smooth, and it flies really close to the ground and swings really close to the sides. In the second to the back seat it's not as good, you can't see how close you are to objects or where you're going.





A coaster called Air is a flying coaster meaning you hang on your chest and stomach most of the ride. It was smooth but nothing much to it.



Duel: Haunted House Strikes Back is dark shooting ride. It's a pretty cool idea shooting in a haunted house. It's much faster then most shooting rides.



Runaway mine train choo choo. They sent us around three times. It was fun and kind of fast for a kids ride.





We had lunch at an all you can eat pizza and pasta place that was very good and we got a 20% discount with our annual pass.



Next we walked through Shark Reef, a pirate themed aquarium area.

Their live Pirate show was really good; a little drama with several songs; "I was born this way " was one of them.



Next we got to do a double sky ride. We got off but then noticed others didn't. So asked can we stay on ? Yes. Cool because it saved us a bit of walking.



Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a nice surprise. First there's a boat ride, kind of ok, but then you get out and go into the glass elevator. Video screens are projected on all the walls and the ceiling behind glass. Gives you the illusion that you are going different places in the factory. Even the floor shakes. Then, of course, you break through the ceiling.





Ice age 4D was a very good story. Instead of motion seats they had only benches. Still rumbled good and there were weed wacker straps that hit your legs during the show. It "snowed" and, of course, wet stuff falls on you.



Rita is a top 10 England coaster built in 2005. It was very fast but short.

Th13teen. Fun ride. What a surprise. Fast bunny hops then it stops. OK, I'm thinking "fun little coaster". Oh, wait a minute it's not over??? We go into a building, it's darkish, then the WHOLE COASTER TRAIN drops like Twilight Zone, but not very far, about one foot, then we drop again, this time a full story, in a fully loaded coaster car!

Next we go zooming backwards out of the building twisting back and forth in the dark before stopping and then starting forward back into the boarding station. Brilliant!! Bloody Brilliant!! as the British would say.

Hex was next. What is it? We don't have a clue. You walk into the Tower of Alton Towers (Alton Towers was an actual home looking like a castle built in the early 1800's. The Park is using part of the castle in this ride) and there's monitors talking about restoration and they found something.





Then you went into the movie room. In there they told you the story of Alton Towers and the curse. The guy who once owned the Tower wouldn't give anything to the beggar lady so she cursed him. Every time a branch fell off the old oak tree one of his family members would die. That night a branch fell and someone died. So he chained up all the rest of the branches and put the one that fell off in a secret place in the tower. Well that's what they found.

Next you go to another room. One of those rotating rooms. Two rows on one side and two on the other. You swing back and forth, the room rotates. Seems like all the parks over here in Europe have this ride. At least they are all themed differently.

Next we get to wander all though the Towers themselves. They are all in ruin but we get to go up to the roof, cool.







Well, that's our first day here. We will be back tomorrow to finish.

We walk to the car because the monorail line is too long. It's a 15 min walk back to the parking lot.



This evening I actually watched TV. Part of Antiques Road Show. Very interesting and timely. They had items AND the people that were involved in the Queen's Coronation 60 years ago. Only got to see the end.