TR: Alton Towers, Corky closing day

[mash80]

Despite closing for the main season on 2nd Nov, Alton Towers opened their gates yesterday with a limited ride lineup so that people could say a final farewell to the iconic Corkscrew. The weather forecast was really bad for the day but still the enthusiasts turned out for one last head banging. Just as the gates opened at 10am, the heavens opened too, and it really chucked it down for a good hour. This didn't stop me going straight to Ug Land for a go on a very wet Corky and Rita. One thing to note, both of these coasters REALLY frickin hurt your face in torrential rain! Corky gave me a surprisingly smooth ride in the back seat, could be that the pain on my face detracted me from all the other pain as when i rode it later on in the dry in a middle seat it beat the crap out of me! Thankfully it cleared up again about 11am and stayed clear till just after I left at 1.30pm.

 

The park wasn't busy at all and literally everything was a walk on in the 3.5 hours I was there, so it was an awesome day really. Also the fact that most of those that were there were fellow enthusiasts, meant that the atmosphere, despite the weather, was one of the best I've seen in the park (yay for no chavs).

 

To commemorate corkscrew, the park were playing 80's music around the park. Whilst walking around I heard songs from Queen, Guns n Roses and Pink Floyd to name a few, it was really quite cool. On top of this they opened up an area behind the ride for special photo opportunities (damn me for having no camera!!) and there was a special 'Corkscrew Hall of Memories' located in in the Towers Suite. There was some good stuff in the Hall of Memories, mainly old brochures, park maps, photos and newspaper articles, as well as the chance to buy limited edition posters and T-shirts. You could also pick up a certificate after riding Corky, a scan of which you'll find below.

 

Pros and cons:

Pros

-No crowds and great atmosphere.

-Nemesis rocks in the back seat on a wet track!

-Staff, from ride ops to shop assistants, were great. All were enthusiastic, friendly and seemed to be having fun.

-Despite the lack of crowds all coasters were running at least 2 trains.

-All in all a great day!!

 

Cons

-Skyride wasn't operating so there were some long walks around the park, my legs still feel like they are going to fall off now!

-Air was having a few problems and closed down for a short while just after i rode it.

-The weather, especially whilst riding, although at least Alton don't close any rides just for rain, only if there is a storm imminent. Thankfully I also left just before the second, even worse, downpour.

 

Ride count:

Nemesis x 9 (mostly back row awesomeness)

Corkscrew x 2

Rita: QOS x 2

Oblivion x 3

Air x 1

Spinball Whizzer x 1

 

Not bad for only 3.5 hours on park and having to walk everywhere

The other side of the flyer.

A special flyer for the day in a retro style.

The certificate you could get after riding Corky

[kidcoaster 2]

Nice to see the park took it out with a Bang. It is sad when any coaster closes mostly the ones I have not ridden yet.

[Rob.Lloyd]

I Was also at Alton on Sunday and had a very wet but brilliant time.

All the ride ops and staff where fantastic and very helpful.

The best part was Repeat riding Corky for 2 Hours with no Q I must of got on about 15 time then it was straight to the bar to recover ...

I only have one good photo from the restricted area hope you like it ?

The famous Corkscrew

[kelly06]

I also attended, along with many others from the Alton Towers Forum, TowersTimes. We all had a fantastic day, thanks to the awesome atmosphere on park, despite the dreadful weather!

 

Hearing 80's music around the park was a really nice change, and we also took part in a enthuasist group photo which I will post, which was a really nice bonus to the day. I loved how much attention Corkscrew was given over the day, with certificates, photos, posters and tshirts. There was also a lot of media coverage which was great too!

My last ride on Corkscrew, with a giant Zippy toy! The photo's had a little sign on saying 'The last ride...', and you also got given a certificate at the end of the ride stating you were one of the last people to ride Corkscrew. Both me and Zippy got certificates!

Members of Towers Times and Coasterforce join together to bid farewell to Corkscrew!

 

Thanks to Spike for the Photo.

Towers Times Group Photo in Corkscrews restricted ride area which was open to guests.

 

Thanks to Spike for the photo.

[Fry]

Awwww, you can only see my hair in that big geek group photo, lol. Shame, cause I was there reppin' in my TPR shirt. Though it was far too cold for just a t-shirt on, so I was only reppin' for about 5 minutes over the whole day .

 

It was a great day though. My ride count was pathetic for it being that quiet - six, haha...

[mash80]

^^^Omg, you rode corky for 2 hours....sicko!! Love the photo thanks.

 

^^ Haha, TowersTimes is actually my second internet home although I haven't been a member long. I was considering joining the official meet you guys had and saw loads of you I recognized around the park but I'm far too shy I do intend to be more active on TTF though and get to know some of you during the off season, with a view to joining up on some of your meets next year! Great photos too thanks.

 

^Wow, only 6 rides? Were you sheltering from the weather all day?

[Fry]

^Wow, only 6 rides? Were you sheltering from the weather all day?

 

Haha, nah, we were being TV and radio interviewed, so we were faffing with that