Alton Towers to Introduce Gangsta Granny: The Ride for the Park's 2020 Season

© Alton Towers

Alton Towers has announced a new dark ride experience for the park's 2020 season, named Gangsta Granny: The Ride.  An odd sounding name for sure, but it makes a lot more sense when you understand that it will be based on the popular Gangsta Granny children's book authored by David Walliams.  The theme park previously announced a new land based around Mr. Walliams' characters and stories, and the Gangsta Granny dark ride will be the main attraction.

In the book, the main character, Ben, discovers that his Granny is actually an international jewel thief, quite the opposite from the unassuming cabbage loving grandmother he knew.

© Alton Towers

The new attraction at Alton Towers will take riders on a journey with Ben and his Granny to attempt to pull off "the greatest jewel heist in history," with many amusing antics along the way.  Riders will sit in a vehicle that is able to rotate 360 degrees, which will combine with special effects, projection mapping and more.  The park promises a "special effects laden wild ride" that finishes with an "explosive escape" after riders try to nab the crown jewels.

The park has worked closely with David Walliams on the development of the new dark ride attraction, and has released a video giving more information on that partnership and the attraction.  If you look close you can even see the layout of the ride and more.

Alton Towers Releases Beautiful New Photos of Wicker Man Coaster

© Alton Towers

Alton Towers has released some new promotional photos of Wicker Man, the park's new wooden roller coaster, that are pretty stunning.  The park used the moodiness of the evening sky along with thematic lighting and smoke to really set the feeling of the coaster.

The custom design was built by Great Coasters International and has a total track length of just over 2,000 feet.

© Alton Towers

One of the main features of the ride is the actual Wicker Man statue that the track passes through several times.  The theme park is advertising that the coaster combines both wood and fire - it is still open for debate how much of the fire will be real and how much will be lighting and special effects.

Either way, the ride looks great so far!

© Alton Towers

Wicker Man isn't the tallest or fastest wooden coaster but appears to have been designed as a thrilling family ride, something that will appeal to a wide variety of rider ages.  It was built on hilly land that once was home to Alton Towers' log flume, and it takes advantage of the elevation changes throughout the course.

Testing video should hopefully be right around the corner, it will be great fun to see the Wicker Man explode into flames as the trains roar through him!

Alton Towers Announces Wicker Man - New for 2018 Wooden Coaster

© Alton Towers

While it is no surprise that Alton Towers is building a new wooden roller coaster, the theme park has finally released details on the ride and its official name - Wicker Man.

Built by Great Coasters International, Wicker Man will feature 2,028 feet of traditional wooden track and be the UK's first new wooden roller coaster is 21 years.  Featuring an elaborate theme, the park is marketing the coaster as the first to combine "wood and fire" throughout the experience.

© Alton Towers

As the trains roar around the course they will pass through a giant 57 and a half foot tall Wicker Man statue three separate times.  This statue is the main feature of the ride's theming, and can be seen prominently in this concept art.  The park's materials for the ride state that the statue will "appear to burst into flames" as the trains pass through it.  No other statistics for the coaster were released at this point.

The theming of the ride centers around "The Beornen, a shadowy group living in the woods surrounding the theme park."  This video, featuring the park's Creative Lead on the project, explains more:

  While these images are a couple months old, this update from Towers Times shows Wicker Man in a nearly complete construction status.  The coaster has a twisted layout that is built into the side of a hill, and has a unique covered section after the lift and before the ride's largest drop.

Alton Towers Shares New Aerial Look at 2018 Wood Coaster Project

© Alton Towers

With many older wooden roller coasters quickly transforming into new steel hybrid rides, it's always neat to see a 'traditional' wood coaster being built.  Alton Towers is continuing to keep their new for 2018 wood coaster a secret, but isn't shy about showing off what they've built so far.

The Great Coasters International ride features a unique and twisted layout that sits on the side of a hill.  The video, seen below, that Alton Towers released gives great perspectives from the sky of the progress so far.

Excited for next year? We gave @ITVCentral an exclusive glimpse behind the curtain! Sign up for the latest updates: https://t.co/pwUhYR4R9X pic.twitter.com/IfsH9jc8Iq

— Alton Towers Resort (@altontowers) November 7, 2017

For more recent photos of the new ride, check out this update from TowersTimes.  Previously I thought that the ride might not use a traditional chain lift, but from these new photos it sure does look like it will.

Also of note is the progress made on the giant theming structure that the trains will pass through.  No word yet on just what it is... but it looks like it has horns!

Alton Towers' Secret Weapon 8 - New Wooden Coaster - Progress Update

Summer has turned to fall, and while the leaves on the trees of Alton Towers are changing colors the park is also quickly finishing up work on a new wooden roller coaster for 2018.

The ride has not been formally announced yet, but is known to be a thrilling family coaster built by Great Coasters International, replacing the park's already-removed log flume.  It will have some interesting elements, which aren't immediately noticeable in this layout the park submitted during the planning process:

© Alton Towers

However, if you check out this new update from TowersTimes, you can see that the vast majority of the wooden coaster is already standing. 

The lift hill is quite interesting, as it starts at a steep angle, heads up a couple stories, then moves on to a less steep incline for the rest of the way.  This may have to do with a quieter lift system that is needed to keep the neighbors happy, but that is not confirmed yet.  Right after that is a turn followed by a small dip along the hillside, then back up and into what looks like the coaster's largest drop - all of that section will be in a tunnel, too. 

The unique layout then starts to twist around itself in a number of fast paced turns, including some that swirl around and through a giant theming structure, which is going up on site but not totally revealed yet.

The coaster appears to use its theme throughout the ride, when you consider some other details that TowersTimes has picked up on as well.  I'm looking forward to seeing the name and details of the ride... hopefully soon!

Catching Up on Alton Towers' New Wood Coaster Progress

It was more than a year ago (believe it or not) when the plans for Alton Towers' new for 2018 wood roller coaster were released, so I think it is a good time to check in on the project.  The coaster has replaced the park's log flume, and will use a hillside to its advantage to meet the strict height requirements that the park has.  If you're not familiar with the coaster's layout, check out the link above to see the plans.

© Towers Times

Since the project was officially signed off on last summer, Alton Towers has been hard at work on building the ride since then.  They cleared out the log flume right away, and got to work on setting footers for the coaster.

Within the past couple months the wood coaster has gone vertical, with a couple decent sized sections of the ride now up.  Above is a photo that Towers Times shared on Facebook, showing the ride's lift hill and a mid-ride turn already standing.  Tower Times also has a great site up for the project, dubbed SW8, available at this link.  Another update from the same site, from a couple weeks ago, shows wonderful aerial photos of the ride's progress.

The coaster appears to be pretty family oriented, based on size and layout.  There is a large steel structure for some sort of big thematic element that's also up, and from the layout it appears the ride will head directly through it.  The ride's station and transfer house are also well underway from the photos.

© Alton Towers

Since there is obvious construction of the new wood roller coaster at the park (and still no news on whether this is a GCI or GG design) the theme park has acknowledged that they have a "ground breaking development" coming next season, but they're not saying much else.  You can sign up for e-mail updates on the project, though.

One other interesting rumor about the ride is that the majority of the lift hill is said to be powered by a LSM launch, though no great speeds will be attained.  In addition to strict height limits, Alton Towers also has noise limits that have made the park seek a quieter lift mechanism than a traditional chain.

No word on when the official announcement of the ride's details, such as statistics and theme, has been released, but hopefully soon!

Taking a Look at Alton Towers' 2018 Wooden Coaster Plans

England's Alton Towers has filed plans for a new wooden roller coaster that will replace the park's existing log flume.  The plan calls for the new ride to open in 2018, so if the attraction is approved it will still be some time before it opens to visitors.

The plan above shows both the layout of the new wooden coaster and also the current log flume (in yellow) to show how the new ride will be situated.  It won't use a bunch of the log flume's path, meaning that area will return to woodlands.

Here is a closer look at the ride's layout, including the station building.  There appears to be a small bit of track that will interact with the building before heading to the lift hill.  There are also two thematic elements shown on the plans, one built on top of what is currently the station for the log flume with the coaster's track wrapping around it.  The rest of the ride's layout is quite twisted and compact.  However, I believe this is much more of a family than a thrill ride, due to size and some other factors.

This elevation shows how the ride will use the landscape to its advantage.  It's worth noting that the ground under the lowest track area (at the base of the lift hill) is about 22 meters from the top of the lift - so the ride's maximum elevation change is 72 feet.  But the ride also meanders a bit after the top of the lift, completing a small dip and rise before turning and then finally completing what would be considered the "big" drop.  I would estimate that the largest drop will be in the neighborhood of 50 feet.

Here are some additional views from the planning documents (you can download them all at this link) that show the ride's layout and location.

The top portion of the ride also appears to contain a sound tunnel to keep noise from traveling.  This seems like a pretty interesting addition for the park, especially if they use that tunnel for theming or other features.  I saw no mention of manufacturer in the planning documents, though it would seem that either Great Coasters or the Gravity Group may be a safe bet.

Alton Towers Transforming Air into Galactica for 2016 Season

Next season at Alton Towers visitors will be able to go on the "universe's first spaceflight voyager" when their B&M flying roller coaster, Air, is renamed to Galactica and virtual reality goggles are added.  The addition of virtual reality to one of the park's existing roller coasters will be a first for Alton Towers, and one of the largest rides yet to have the experience added.

© Alton Towers

Not surprisingly, Alton Towers has created a detailed backstory for Galactica, including an elaborate website for the ride.  According to the site the theme park has "partnered with Air Space Technologies to develop a multi-dimensional portal using the Resort’s iconic flying coaster as the propulsion device."  While on the journey, "Galactica will send passengers soaring through interstellar space for the first time in history, providing unrivalled access to the limitless wonders of space as never experienced before."  The addition of the virtual ride experience will be free to riders, and also optional - you can still experience the coaster as it was previously.

© Alton Towers

Some new thematic elements will come along with the transformation, including a new Launch Portal that can be seen in the above concept art.  Located throughout the new website are a handful of other concept images, including one that shows changes to the ride's station area.  Current plans have Galactica opening in April, 2016.

Air originally opened at Alton Towers in 2002.  The Bolliger and Mabillard designed flying coaster features 2,756 feet of track, a top speed of 47 miles per hour and elements including ground hugging turns and dives and a heartline roll.

Alton Towers Opens The Smiler - Get Marmalised!

© Alton Towers

Alton Towers recently opened The Smiler to guests, giving them a fun way to turn upside down 14 times while on the coaster.  The park worked on the new attraction under strict secrecy for a long time, closely guarding the number of inversions until just before opening.

The ride was created Gerstlauer and features trains that seat sixteen people at a time.  The ride uses both a traditional and vertical lift hill to keep the momentum going to make it through all fourteen inversions.

© Alton Towers

And that is - of course - a new world record, beating out the previous inversion record of ten.  There's a variety of elements included in The Smiler, from dive loops, heartline rolls, a cobra roll and a healthy dose of corkscrews.  The ride also works on riders brains throughout the experience, using optical illusions and bright lights to distract - or marmalise as the park puts it - passengers as well.

This story has a nice interview with famed Alton Towers ride designer John Wardley about the development of The Smiler, it seems that the intention to break the inversion record was in place from the start.  If you're interested in a point of view video of the new coaster, check out this movie on YouTube.

Alton Towers Confirms The Smiler's World Breaking Record

© Alton Towers

Lots of Smiler news recently!  Alton Towers has confirmed that the new coaster will take the world record for having the most inversions - 14 in total!  That's the number that most speculation had landed on, but it's great to have the park confirm.  They've actually already made it official with Guinness Records and the Smiler now holds the inversion record title.

As part of the announcement of the inversion count the park has also revealed an opening date - May 23rd!

And this cool video was released.  Alton Towers had a bit of an in-the-dark photo session for the ride, showing off it's crazy twisted track and enormous Marmaliser machine - sure to make riders happy at any cost!  One of those photos can be seen at the top of this story, but be sure to click over to this news story to check out even more.

The Smiler has been testing frequently in order to get ready for the public, but a special few have already been on the coaster.  This video has appeared which shows a local weather correspondent taking what is billed as the first ride - though my gut tells me that distinction might have actually gone to park officials and the designers of the coaster.  You'll notice the video does not show the post-station, pre-lift section which takes place in the dark and features an inversion.

Views of the Completed Smiler

With the last piece of track securely in place, Alton Towers now has a full circuit roller coaster with The Smiler. 

Towers Times took to the skies once again to get some aerial views of the finished ride, and from them the layout and inversion count is finally a bit more clear.

From my count it appears as though the ride will send riders upside down 14 times during the ride, which is well above the previous world record of ten - a title two coasters currently share.  There is an eleven inversion ride under construction in China, but that hasn't opened yet as far as I know.

The Smiler will perform one inversion just after leaving the station inside the ride building, so really the only question left is if there's something else that will take place in there as well.  It seems like 14 inversions is a pretty solid final figure.

Alton Towers Places Last Smiler Piece

© Alton Towers

To celebrate the final piece of the Smiler being put into place, Alton Towers released this photo - a play on the world famous photo of workers taking lunch on a steel beam high above the construction site of New York's GE Building at Rockefeller Center.  Nicely done!

And also congratulations to the park for finishing the major construction of the new mega-inversion coaster.  Some of the last pieces to be installed were for the first traditional lift hill, and before that was the vertical one and both inverted drops.

For some recent photos of the ride (less that one final piece of track), check out this batch from the forms at Towers Times.  I love the look of those inverted first drops - it is amazing just how much twisted track was fit into a small area, with elaborate theming elements included as well.

Now the park can race to getting the ride open, and then they can reveal all the Smiler's secrets!

The Smiler's Latest Tricks

© Alton Towers

I'd say that construction on Alton Tower's Smiler has moved from a slow-but-steady pace to a rapid fire, seemingly 24 hour a day race to get the ride done.  More and more of the track keeps going up, and that means the ride keeps getting more and more twisted.

The construction of the central "marmaliser" thematic element is also moving forward, and as that is completed more pieces of the ride that interact with it are able to be added.  The ride's two lift hills, and the majority of the two inverted drops are still missing, though.  Still anxious to see those go in.

There's a new gallery of photos from late last week up on the official website, and you can also try to test out your follow-the-twisted-track skills by looking at these aerial views from Towers Times.  Good luck!

The Smiler's Trains Arrive + Construction Update

© Alton Towers

The big reveal has been made - seen above are the trains for The Smiler, Alton Towers' new many (many) inversion sure-to-make-you-happy roller coaster.

There was much speculation about whether the coaster's trains would feature over the shoulder restraints, and now the park has confirmed for us that indeed it will.  Gerstlauer, the manufacturer, has used both styles of restraints on their rides in the past - but with the intense inversion count on the Smiler I'm not too surprised the overhead restraints were used.

The coaster's construction is still progressing, seemingly a bit slow, though.  The park just recently started to assemble the "marmaliser" which is the crazy multi-legged contraption in the center of the ride that is going to make passengers happy in a multitude of ways.

For a full update of that progress - and more - check out this batch of photos from Towers Times.

The Twisted Mess That Is The Smiler

© Alton Towers

Not since the "spaghetti bowl" that is the main portion of the Flight of Fear (and other clones) coasters have I seen that much track located so closely together... so twisted.

But that's a great thing!  Some more inversions have started to go in, visible in the latest update of the ride directly from Alton Towers.  None of them were unexpected from the initial drawings and the game, so I'm still not sure just how many inversions the Smiler will have.  It will be disorienting without all the special effects and theming that will be applied, so I can only imagine how that will be when both inversions and effects are combined!

The Smiler Inversion Count Keeps Going Up

© Towers Times

A new batch of Smiler aerial photos from Towers Times, and another previously unannounced inversion has been uncovered.

Seen above, a new in-line roll (or something like that, this ride's elements are so twisted) has been put into place immediately after the cobra roll.  The inversion comes immediately before another corkscrew-ish inversion that leads into the final brakes.

I've been playing the Smiler game to unlock everything - which I've achieved - and the game shows eleven inversions, but with this new one that we can see in place that makes twelve.  By my shaky calculations, that means that we can be confident that the Smiler will take the record for most inversions when it opens.  That is currently set to be held by Journey To The Stars, a Chinese coaster said to open this year.

At this rate though I wouldn't be surprised if there's even more that we still do not know about.  The layout in the game still differs from the original plans, so I'm honestly lost on how many the final inversion tally will be.  But I can't wait to find out!

The Smiler Mobile Game Now Available

Alton Tower's Smiler now has its own mobile game, appropriately titled The Smiler: The Game.  Many folks were really looking forward to the game to see if it reveals new details of the secretive coaster, but I'm not sure that too much new is included.

Well, I'm not sure because you have to keep playing the game in order to get credits that let you 'buy' essential pieces of the layout.  As the game starts the ride's layout is generally correct, just with bland turns in place of some of the crazy inversions.  I sorta stink at the ride so I haven't gotten too far yet...

The game does have seven "Top Secret" elements that you cannot unlock until May, which keeps the ride's mysteries intact.  There's also a built in scanner that lets you scan images both online and at the park for bonus stuff.  Above is a screen shot of me holding the game up to the concept art on the website, which makes this more accurate layout of the Smiler pop up.  Pretty neat.

The Smiler app is available currently for both Apple and Android products.

Alton Towers' The Smiler to Feature Inverted Drops?

© Alton Towers

Construction slowed for a bit, but now Alton Towers is back at building The Smiler, and they've released some new photos that are quite intriguing.  From the initial layouts released ages ago it appeared as though the ride would have two lifts, one normal and one vertical, each followed by a swooping 180 degree turn and then a steep drop.

Well, now that this part of the ride is going up there seems to have been some additional secrets the park was keeping, secrets of the inverted nature.

© Alton Towers

The new photos show the swooping turns described above, only at the end of them both appear to turn riders upside down!  I can't wait to see how the rest of the actual drops look once they go up, but this development ads another pair of inversions to an already twisted ride.

Speaking of that, it could now appears as though the Smiler might really make a go for the world record of most inversions.  The initial plans for the ride showed eight inversions, and these additional on the drops make that ten.  With more ride taking place inside a secret building, who knows how many the final count may be?

The Smiler Coming to Alton Towers

Alton Towers, located in the United Kingdom, has announced the name of their new Gerstlauer roller coaster: The Smiler.  Suddenly that super creepy logo makes a lot of sense.  The ride's theme is not totally clear yet, though it seems like riders will enter some sort of facility where they "get corrected," and I think the park is building just the machinery to get the job done.

The park also released this concept art for the ride, showing the great many inversions that riders will face.  There's also a large armed mechanical monster looking thing in there, too, which many expect will be a part of the ride's theming.  I'm still looking forward to the new train design that Gerstlauer is using to have four rows of four riders per train.

And this is the greatest image released of the ride's construction so far, the twisted cobra roll / batwing elements combined on top of each other.  This looks to border up against the midway on the far end of the ride, so you can imagine what a great photo spot that will be!

The park's official site for the ride promises a game coming next month that might give a closer look at the ride's layout and theming.  Then there's also that "world's first" element that the park is holding onto as a secret... what could it be?

Alton Towers Continues to Get Corrected

© Tower Times

The U.K.'s Alton Towers has begun vertical construction on their very twisted new roller coaster, though the park has still avoided sharing too much official information on the ride.  The Gerstlauer ride is said to contain many inversions, some of which can been seen taking shape in the above photo from Tower Times.

There is still no official name or full theme for the coaster, and Alton Tower's is still using that rather creepy smiling face and the slogan "Get Corrected" in their marketing, a lot of which is viral.  There's still supposed to be some first-of-its-kind element yet to be revealed, but some of the statistics for the ride are official:  the coaster will stand 98 feet tall, stretch 3,800 feet long, and hit a maximum speed of 53 miles per hour.  For a Gerstlauer coaster that's actually really long - longer than Takabisha in Japan, which if you are unfamiliar is a rather big ride.