Kebab
Giga Poster
I went to Scarefest last year but only managed to stay until 4pm, this year we decided to get there for 3pm and spend the night at Alton. This was a completely new experience for me, and the atmosphere really comes to life after dark, lots of visitors dressed up in halloween costumes and everything was beautifully lit-up. We didn't bother with the mazes, so we could focus on night riding all of the major rides. Anyway, onto the ride-by-ride review.
Sonic Spinball
Usual rating: 6/10
New rating: 6/10
Queue time: 10 mins
We began the day with Spinball; an enjoyable spinning coaster with a surprisingly short queue. Not much to say about this really, it wasn't quite dark enough to notice the difference in the usual experience. It's quite jolty, and that helix towards the end is fab!
Th13teen
Usual rating: 6/10
New rating: 6/10
Queue time: 15 mins
It was getting slightly darker so we tried out the notorious Th13teen. It's a good family ride, with a nice first drop that hosts a fair deal of floater air-time, it's no-where near intense. Overall it's a generally under-whelming ride, it leaves me feeling far from satisfied, but as it stands as a family ride, it's pretty good.
Hex
Usual rating: 7/10
New rating: 5/10
Queue time: 0 mins
Decided to give Hex a go before we headed to KFC. From what I remember, Hex was a great dark ride with some outstanding theming and a well-done finale. This time I began to notice it's flaws. The theming is undeniably brilliant, however, the storyline is pretty average and far from intimidating, and standing through that video is a draining experience. The end segment used to be a highlight, but it's suffering from identity crisis with every other Madhouse in the country, and is awfully nauseating. It's pretty disappointing.
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
Usual rating: 3/10
New Rating: 3/10
Queue time: 0 mins
Went on Charlie after eating to let the food go down. It's one of those rides that are so bad they're actually good! You can't mistake Alton for putting the effort they did into it, it's lovely for kids!
The Runaway Mine Train
Usual rating: 5/10
New rating: 7/10
Queue time: 5 mins
Wow, this is an outstanding ride at night! Almost reminds me of the one at PortAventura, it looks absolutely stunning. Really surprised me actually, was only using the ride as a filler attraction, but boy did it deliver. Highlight is the drop into the cave, great kids ride!
Duel
Usual rating: 7/10
New rating: 7/10
Queue time: 0 mins
This is a great shooter attraction! And is a lot better than Hex in my opinion! My only problems with the ride is that the whole shooting element takes away it's scare-factor, and it is far too long to the extent your hand starts to ache. But the theming is fantastic and the whole ride is enjoyable. I won with 46,500 points.
Nemesis
Usual rating: 10/10
New rating: 10/10+
Queue time: 5 mins
I was looking forward to night-riding this all day! And I have to admit, it was one of the single-most greatest rollercoaster experiences I've ever had. It was relentlessly forceful, the scenery at night just added an entirely new element to it, the zero-G is taken at ridiculous speeds especially on the back-left. It was a fantastic experience, and definately the highlight ride of the day!
Air
Usual rating: 8/10
New rating: 8/10
Queue time: 10 mins
I'm a huge fan of Air, so I just had to queue for the front. Such an exhilirating experience, almost spiritual how comfortable and smooth it flows through the layout. A bit different to Nemesis, a lot more tame, and the layout is much more spread out. The only flaw of this ride is it's meandering finale.
Rita
Usual rating: 6/10
New rating: 7/10
Queue time: 20 mins
I'm not the biggest fan of Rita, it feels more out of place than anything. But riding it at night adds that little bit more to it. The launch is great, and the rest of the layout feels a lot faster in darkness, however it really lacks anything decent after the launch. The ejector air-time is noticeable, but painful on the thighs, and there are a few moments of neck bashing which detract from the experience. I came off pretty satisfied though.
Oblivion
Usual rating: 9/10
New rating: 9/10
Queue time: 0 mins
We left Oblivion for the finale, because we knew it wouldn't disappoint. It looks far more intimidating in the dark, and the effects in the hole actually looked visible! The ride doesn't feel any different from in the daytime though, but just seeing the view at night is a treat. Great end to the day!
Overall, a really fantastic night! Probably by far the best trip I've had to Alton in a very long time, the queue's were to die for! I definately recommend this to any enthusiast to make a night trip to Alton Towers, worth every moment!
Recommended Rides (at night):
Runaway Mine Train, Nemesis, Rita, Oblivion.
Sonic Spinball
Usual rating: 6/10
New rating: 6/10
Queue time: 10 mins
We began the day with Spinball; an enjoyable spinning coaster with a surprisingly short queue. Not much to say about this really, it wasn't quite dark enough to notice the difference in the usual experience. It's quite jolty, and that helix towards the end is fab!
Th13teen
Usual rating: 6/10
New rating: 6/10
Queue time: 15 mins
It was getting slightly darker so we tried out the notorious Th13teen. It's a good family ride, with a nice first drop that hosts a fair deal of floater air-time, it's no-where near intense. Overall it's a generally under-whelming ride, it leaves me feeling far from satisfied, but as it stands as a family ride, it's pretty good.
Hex
Usual rating: 7/10
New rating: 5/10
Queue time: 0 mins
Decided to give Hex a go before we headed to KFC. From what I remember, Hex was a great dark ride with some outstanding theming and a well-done finale. This time I began to notice it's flaws. The theming is undeniably brilliant, however, the storyline is pretty average and far from intimidating, and standing through that video is a draining experience. The end segment used to be a highlight, but it's suffering from identity crisis with every other Madhouse in the country, and is awfully nauseating. It's pretty disappointing.
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
Usual rating: 3/10
New Rating: 3/10
Queue time: 0 mins
Went on Charlie after eating to let the food go down. It's one of those rides that are so bad they're actually good! You can't mistake Alton for putting the effort they did into it, it's lovely for kids!
The Runaway Mine Train
Usual rating: 5/10
New rating: 7/10
Queue time: 5 mins
Wow, this is an outstanding ride at night! Almost reminds me of the one at PortAventura, it looks absolutely stunning. Really surprised me actually, was only using the ride as a filler attraction, but boy did it deliver. Highlight is the drop into the cave, great kids ride!
Duel
Usual rating: 7/10
New rating: 7/10
Queue time: 0 mins
This is a great shooter attraction! And is a lot better than Hex in my opinion! My only problems with the ride is that the whole shooting element takes away it's scare-factor, and it is far too long to the extent your hand starts to ache. But the theming is fantastic and the whole ride is enjoyable. I won with 46,500 points.
Nemesis
Usual rating: 10/10
New rating: 10/10+
Queue time: 5 mins
I was looking forward to night-riding this all day! And I have to admit, it was one of the single-most greatest rollercoaster experiences I've ever had. It was relentlessly forceful, the scenery at night just added an entirely new element to it, the zero-G is taken at ridiculous speeds especially on the back-left. It was a fantastic experience, and definately the highlight ride of the day!
Air
Usual rating: 8/10
New rating: 8/10
Queue time: 10 mins
I'm a huge fan of Air, so I just had to queue for the front. Such an exhilirating experience, almost spiritual how comfortable and smooth it flows through the layout. A bit different to Nemesis, a lot more tame, and the layout is much more spread out. The only flaw of this ride is it's meandering finale.
Rita
Usual rating: 6/10
New rating: 7/10
Queue time: 20 mins
I'm not the biggest fan of Rita, it feels more out of place than anything. But riding it at night adds that little bit more to it. The launch is great, and the rest of the layout feels a lot faster in darkness, however it really lacks anything decent after the launch. The ejector air-time is noticeable, but painful on the thighs, and there are a few moments of neck bashing which detract from the experience. I came off pretty satisfied though.
Oblivion
Usual rating: 9/10
New rating: 9/10
Queue time: 0 mins
We left Oblivion for the finale, because we knew it wouldn't disappoint. It looks far more intimidating in the dark, and the effects in the hole actually looked visible! The ride doesn't feel any different from in the daytime though, but just seeing the view at night is a treat. Great end to the day!
Overall, a really fantastic night! Probably by far the best trip I've had to Alton in a very long time, the queue's were to die for! I definately recommend this to any enthusiast to make a night trip to Alton Towers, worth every moment!
Recommended Rides (at night):
Runaway Mine Train, Nemesis, Rita, Oblivion.