Parm’s Place

Alton Towers

I totally forgot to post about this! I went to Alton Towers the Monday before last (April 24th), with Dal (my sister) and Rum (my brother in law).

I try to go to Alton Towers at least once a year, it’s one of my favourite places in the UK! The last time I went with Dal and Rum, it didn’t turn out so well for Rummy. Poor guy had been having a few drinks the night prior, and after going on Ripsaw, he was pretty much done for the day lol!

Alas, this time all three of us made it through the whole day. We got to the park about 10am, after getting slightly lost - well done Dal, great navigating as always!

Anyhow, enough of our trio’s adventures, let’s get onto the rides…

1) Runaway Mine Train - Pretty close to the entrance of the park, and a nice way to get into the right mood for the rest of the day. 7/10

2) Duel - The Haunted House - I’d heard they’d revamped the Haunted House, so we thought we’d give it a go. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s been revamped. They’ve stuck a lot of lights on the walls, and you’re meant to shoot them with your gun…? 2/10

3) Nemesis - This has been hands down my favourite Alton Towers ride for as long as I can remember, it’s ace! Doesn’t take that much longer to queue for the front row, but it’s well worth doing. With the ‘dangling seats’, you get such a great view on the front row. It doesn’t matter how many times you ride Nemesis, each time every turn somehow still manages to be a suprise. Everything about Nemesis is great, looks great, sounds great, feels great. 10/10

4) Air - I like the idea behind Air, the seating position is great. I only wish this ride could be a little bit faster. After riding Nemesis, this one seems to be a bit of a crawl. It takes a while to get on the front row of this one, so be warned if you plan on queueing for it! Don’t expect the kind of thrill you’ll get from Nemesis, this is more of a chill out rollercoaster. 7/10

5) Rita - Queen of Speed. Rita launches you from 0 to 100 kph in 2.5 seconds, need I say more? As the ride only has 2×2 seating, it takes an awfully long time to queue for the front, but it’s worth doing just once. This ride is breathtaking! Went back later in the day to ride it again. 10/10

6) Oblivion - Don’t, look, down! This is probably the only ride that I both love, and hate. I love it cause it’s brilliant. I hate it cause it scares the bejesus outta me. I’ve been on Oblivion many times now, but every single time, I am scared sh*tless. That horribly loud noise as you make your way up, how it slowly crawls to the top. How you seem to be above everything else in the park. How it stops, and hangs you over the edge for a moment. Aaaah! I hate it. But, then it drops, and you can’t help but love it! 10/10

7) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - New for 2006, unfortunately. Rather large queues, for a rather poor ride. There’s simply not much to it. There’s a nice little glass elevator ride at the end, but even that’s not enough to salvage this one. 2/10

It wasn’t the warmest of days, so Dal didn’t fancy taking our chances on the wet rides this time around. However the queues for all the rides were generally pretty short and we were able to get through most of them in good time.

As is always the case when we leave the park, we’re absolutely knackered. I don’t know what it is about Alton Towers, perhaps the body can only take so many thrils. Rum and I were pretty much out cold on the drive home.

If you haven’t been to Alton Towers, be sure to check it out. It’s brilliant!