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Alton Towers
Alton Towers is one of the most popular theme parks in Britain and is certainly worth a visit if you are in Staffordshire or the surrounding regions. The park attracted a record number of visitors in 2008 with 3.1 million people visiting, a testament to how popular Alton Towers is with the British public! Aside from the large amount of rides for all ages Alton Towers also features a semi-ruined gothic house (formerly the seat of the Earl of Shrewsbury) and some stunning world class gardens that are an excellent way to spend a lazy afternoon after enjoying some hi-octane white knuckle rides in the morning.
Alton Towers is probably most famous for their innovative roller coasters, in many instances they introduced new concepts and ideas that quickly became commonplace in theme parks and fairgrounds. Nemesis, for instance, was the first inverted roller coaster in Europe. Alton Towers launched another first with Oblivion, the worlds first roller coaster that drops vertically. Air also paved the way for all other types of "flying" roller coaster, and the more recent Rita - Queen of Speed ride continues to innovate in roller coaster technology.
The modern Alton Towers theme park is split up into a number of different locations all set around different concepts and ideas. "Towers Street" is the main Alton Towers thoroughfare and contains a variety of shops and restaurants to visit. "Mutiny Bay" is a pirate themed land aimed at young families and children. A number of water based rides are located in this area. Alton Towers also features "Katanga Canyon", themed as a safari and African village. Some of the most popular rides are located here, including the Runaway Mine Train and the Congo River Rapids.
Gloomy Wood is another popular place within Alton Towers, it features a gloomy wood to explore and also contains a modern re-invention of the traditional theme park haunted house, the only different being at Alton Towers you can shoot at the ghosts with laser guns to accumulate a score. Forbidden Valley is one of the most famous Alton Towers areas as it contains a huge variety of large roller coasters and white knucle rides, and it is designed to be themed around a post-apocalyptic future. Ug Land is popular with families due to the mix of white knucle and family-friendly rides, and it is a prehistoric landscape.
Cred Street is the dedicated childrens area in Alton Towers, and is decorated appropriately with bright colours. There are bouncy castles and play areas along with a number of rides aimed at children and families. X-Sector is another area that focuses on white knuckle entertainment, being the almost military themed home of Enterprise, Oblivion and Submission. There are a number of areas such as Adventure Land and Old MacDonald's Farmyard (the latter of which contains a petting zoo) for children and younger teenagers to explore.
The historic gardens of Alton Towers were created in 1814 and have been maintained ever since. There are a number of landmarks including a pagoda fountain, a minature stone-henge, orange grovess and a Swiss cottage. "The Towers" refers to the building itself which is now partly ruined. It contains a ride (Hex) that tells the story of one of the local Alton legends, the great chained oak.
Future innovations at Alton Towers include a Sea Life aquarium, a major makeover for the Skyride cable-cars, and various new eateries for 2009. Plans for 2010 include a new world first in roller coaster design that Alton Towers are remaining tight-lipped about.
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