@@JoePotter-wd5zhWickerman is a family coaster. It does not have any steep drops like many of the best wooden coasters do. It's not their fault. They're not allowed to build above the treeline. Grand National in Blackpool is better than Wickerman.
Well, 13 closed all day along with Rita but managed to get last ride on Rita just before fireworks. Went on nemesis twice early so we were lucky. Queued in galactic for hour.they said changing to another train(or whatever they called) but 10 mins later closed! Hit n miss with all rides including curse. Absolutely loved Hex and fireworks the best, very disappointed with monorail closed after fireworks though
its so sad to see how much of a terrible year for operations it has been for the park. i really hope its better next year. also, congrats on 400,000 subscribers! you really deserve it.
@@johnnydeppaddict12 call me mad but I'd actually be happy for the park to close for a FULL year just to get things fixed. then open in 2026 with a bang... don't know if that's a bit of a mad idea though. I'm sure Merlin have enough money in their pockets!
personally, i would like to see a medieval themed area come to alton towers, it would incorporate hex, world of david walliams retheme + the dungeons, with the dungeons they could reuse the existing theming and turn it into a really good dark ride. gangsta granny the ride could also be rethemed into a castle tour and with the area being so close to the towers ruins it would be perfect
Genuinely, if they remove Blade, despite all the issues that have happened this season, this decision will really test my love for AT. It's a much needed flat ride, everyone loves the Blade. I've been on that ride with a whole bunch of age groups and demographics, everyone is smiling and happy on Blade. Isn't people's enjoyment a priority anymore?What else fits that footprint? It's perfectly snug in its little area, what harm is it doing? It's always working away, when the big boys are down, Blade keeps on running. Absolutely mental decision if it's true. And totally disrespectful to all of us who love it. So now when Nemesis and Galatica are down, there will be no point going to that area either. Words fail me.
Totally agree, genuinely cannot see any point of removing this ride it’s like it grew there. Will be absolutely gutted if they remove it and like you said it will definitely test my love for the park.
I loved all the interactions with fans of the channel there were in this video! You bring so much joy with your videos, as well as keeping us all informed with the tips and updates from the parks. Thank you both for your amazing content this year. ☺️ Alton Towers has always been my favourite UK park and the last few years have been very up and down as you have said (though my visits have always been fantastic). Let’s hope it gets the tlc it needs and back to the ‘magical days’ of the 90s/early 2000s. I always love your idea of David Walliams Land (or the old Cred Street/land of make believe) area becoming Sir Algenon themed - come on Alton Towers, it could be brilliant!
The park looks like it needs significant investment. Looking tired and the ride availability is becoming a constant issue. If and hopefully when universal gets announced, AT could be in serious trouble unless Merlin pull their finger out
Never been to this park. I live in the US. But I’ve watched this channel for years. Alton Towers is the one vlog I don’t watch, often. It wasn’t always that way. But I started to lose interest. I don’t mind repeat visits to other parks. But there was something about this park. I think you’ve summed it up for me.
@ compared to you guys in the US, we just don’t have anything that competes. Probably a combination of tighter planning, poorer weather and higher prices. With AT meant to be the flag bearer for English parks, it’s almost becoming embarrassing. There’s been a huge decline in the standards of the smaller provincial parks as well, lack of investment alongside sliding visitor numbers. Dosent look good
As frustrating as it has been at times with ride availability over the past year or two, Towers is still the best park in the country for any age group and what they've done with Nemmy(and the curse last year) has been amazing.Hopefully the blade stays, it doesn't cost much to run and only needs one staff member so fingers crossed.Thanks for another season of fantastic content Shawn and can't wait for march!!
Single riders made a huge difference, I can't go on rides for medical reasons, but my son loves them all, so he's not waiting ages by himself and like you say fills in the gaps! He went on the smiler several times in a row this year 😂
0:08 Absolute state of that monorail, talk about an awful first impression of the park, would take someone half an hour with a brush and a bucket of soapy water but it sums up the shocking state of the park overall at the moment
I’ve been blessed this year after reading all the comments. Came for the opening, again in June and final time last Thursday. No queues or ride closures. Gutted for those who travelled and unable to ride. Thanks for your vlogs and updates this year 🫶🏽 Congrats on 400k 🎉
Really hope Blade doesn't get removed, but if it does it should get replaced like the one at Chessington. Otherwise Toxicator isn't really solving any problems. At the very least they need a one new flat in X Sector and Dark Forest imo.
They only just painted all the seats on Blade to black/grey from yellow so it seems an odd decision to remove it. They’ve also put up new Blade signage this year too.
I went in July to ride Nemesis. It was admittedly drizzly since getting in with early entry that day, but the ride still hadn’t opened by 2pm when I gave up and left to start the 4 hour drive home. Several of the other big rides were also mostly closed that day. Really hope next year is better. For parks that are open seasonally, with short daily operating hours at that, it’s really not up to scratch.
I’m hoping that the 2025 season has more additions than removals. Toxicator is coming along, and there’s the possibility of Galactica getting a re-theme. I don’t think they should remove The Blade since it’s one of the few flat rides. Most importantly, it’s ride availability and maintenance which should be the park’s biggest priority.
Great vid. Blade removal is poor with no replacement. More flats are needed. 2 in dark forest, 2 at x sector. A deal with zamperla could get all of them, and zamperla would love the exposure of a big uk park.
The tail of two half’s for Alton towers season, started of great with nemesis reborn opening but then it seemed to go down hill from there, scarefest was a slight improvement but still not good enough for major theme park Saddest part seems to be staff lay offs and don’t get me started of staggering openings I think Bianca promised to much at the start of the season and a lot feel let down, they have there work cut out over winter
The removal of the Blade would be a sad thing for me as I have a memory of it being one of the last rides I got on with my late mother. She didn't get on the white knuckle rides but loved the family ones like this, Waveswinger etc. 😢. I had a great time at Scarefest '24, all of the rides were open and the queues so short, single rider was walk-on for the Smiler and Spinball, the weather warm and sunny, it was perfect! It would be great if the green of the new flat ride alludes to the green of the Thunder Looper, a Thundie simulator!
I remember when the area around what is now World of Walliams used to be the busiest area in the park! The Mouse, The Bobsleigh, Around the World In 80 Days, Nickelodeon Land, Doom and Sons . . . and the best restaurant on park! So odd to see it collapse.
Went on the 6th nov 2024... Very dissapointed in the early closing time of 4pm and opening at 10am Luckily all the rides were open and queue times of about 5-10 minutes, weather was great! Really need to see the skyride open again asap! really wish they would open the towers as a walk through bit of history and do some renovations on it... Need to see the monorail train cleaned! those windows are very dirty They should open longer in summer, this would bring in more people! When the kiddies go home at 4pm the day to day goers can make the most of the rides and stay longer into the night till maybe 9/10pm
Will watch fully after work. I was the lady who said hello whilst you sat on bench outside runaway train. It was funny how a lot of us on there saw and interacted with you whilst we were on the train n you filming ty and brilliant 😂👍
Alton towers hasn’t been great with its ride maintenance this year but I think it’s safe to say with nemesis reborn opening it has in my opinion overshadowed everything not doing so well. Which makes this park so good no matter the issues they face! Congratulations on 400k Sean great vlog as usual!
Really good honest review Shawn, It seems that every year though for the past few years we are hopeful for a better year ‘next year’ but it doesn’t materialise. It’s really disappointing on ride availability, it’s not a cheap day out, my daughter came pre summer holidays with her school and only managed 3 rides all day, very poor. Merlin really do need to invest in this wonderful park. Thanks Shawn for this, love you two and all that you do ❤️
I have not been to Towers this season because of the Skyride being closed i hope they manage to get it open for next year. Are you going to do a vlog on Remembering Flambards over the closed season, i would love to know your thoughts on Flambards over the years and if you know where any of the rides are going to or are being scraped. Lets hope some of the rides are relocated to other parks, Lightwater might benefit from having some.You could also do one on remembering Pleasure Island and rembering that defunct park in Scotland was it called Lothian Castle or something. I enjoyed your remembering series.
I really don't appreciate it when Alton Towers remove old rides without any notice or information to the public. I find that really disrespectful to people that have been coming for years and may want one last ride for nostalgic reasons. Really bang out of order that is
The monorail looks tired and needs a clean up, I remember when the moment one train left the station the next one arrived and now it seems they only have 2 trains running! Ride availability has been appalling this year, we were on the park Thursday, Friday and Saturday and HEX broke down with us on it on Thursday. The sound system on HEX is nasty now, the volume is too low, the bass has been cut. The changes are very good but the finale is awful! We were given a free fast pass to use on the park BUT all fast pass tickets for the weekend were allocated! Thirteen was flawless on Thursday and out of action Friday, Saturday and Sunday - absolute joke ! Fireworks were INCREDIBLE, the pre-fireworks band was awful! Don’t think I’ll return next year, not paying entry price, fuel from Kent and hotel to find half the rides down !
Great video as always, Shawn. It was lovely saying hi to you at the Smlier exit. Looking forward to some over-winter detailed reviews and speculation for next season 😃 😃
Hi Shawn, thank you for your final video of 2024 from Alton Towers. Maybe an idea for next season is more late night opening times, new events and obviously better ride availability as you said. Ok I haven't been to the park in 30 plus years but I think 7pm, 8pm and 9pm close would go a long way.
I’m excited for next season but also hope things improve. The way i would get the park back on its feet would be with the new flat, reopen skyride, change the hex lighting, RIDE AVALIABILITY!! and a galactica retheme (2026 probably) and also i wish they would tell us and not leave us in the dark about updates on rides e.g. project horizon. This season has overall been decent anyway. Thanks for all the vlogs! are you going to BPB for one last visit - they are already progressing with winter maintenance eg. big dipper, ice blast (new rotating seats - workers said it’s getting returbed) and grand prix is already being demolished
They should bring back a quieter Thunder Looper, (so not to upset the locals) surely someone can manufacture such a thing, but the sound is what made it so great too.
After such a promising start, I think we can say that this was another disappointing season. It was probably around about the Wickerman fire (that wasn’t the park’s fault of course) where I really started noticing the season going downhill. I really hope these things like ride availability, reliability and just overall park presentation improves with the 2025 season. I hate to be negative but for places like Towers and Pleasure Beach that I really do want to love, I have to give my criticism.
Nemesis Reborn was a great investment, and looking forward to toxicator but I hope they revamp other areas like dark forest and x-sector in the next few years
Me and mates, 17 pf us one year used to go early Sept just after our A levels, 1994, was 18, Nemises the day it opened, the original I was there LOVE IT, now it looks very damn sexy... shame no red waterfalls but that helix, brutal
My idea for the future of flats at Alton towers is a retheme and relocation of the blade into a ride like the bounty at Drayton Moanor, a Mondial top scan in dark forest with a massive tree as the ride system, a Intamin gyro swing in place of the blade space and finally in x-sector they could get a nebulous and a enterprise ride 😊
Thanks for your Towers coverage this year. I had never been on Hex before so I don't know what the lighting was like before, but the minute I saw the branch inside, I said "gamer lights!" Maybe it doesn't need full RGB...
Fireworks look INCREDIBLE. Just simply MAJOR improvements are needed at towers, I hate to say it but the park feels like it’s missing a bit of charm it once had, the operations alone are terrible when really nemesis reborn has been incredible along with fireworks and parts of events, it’s just certain things that have let towers down. Great vlog Shawn bring on 2025!
Good to see you being honest about the state of the park. I think biggest winter period for AT in a long,long time. How can Merlin have any further cutbacks, there is nothing further to cut back on
We just need a load. We need a flat in dark Forrest and xsector at minimum as well as the announced one, clean and plant of quite literally everywhere. Serious work on the rides for availability, get the skyride sorted. Honestly make or break
I didn't visit last year due to what to the way it ran and nemesis being closed. I planned to visit this year too but as I've been watching your videos throughout the year, I've put it off numerous times and now it's end of season and I haven't visited. I'm sure I won't be the only one 😬😬
Wasn't my original thought but looking at the spinning lights above the construction and the video clip, Mondial Blender looks to match the hints. Could just be a coincidence but...
With the Smiler, first time I went on it was on the front row and both me and my husband saw the weird optical illusion and our two friends didn’t…was so bizarre! I don’t know if it’s a known thing 😂
Sad to see Blade go. I understand its age but it could be replaced with a new version. It's always fun to ride the ship rides as its fun to see each side of it have fun. The coasters are wonderful but we need more flat rides as well. I hope 2025 is much better and I hope the rest of the park gets attention just like the amazing transformation and retrack of Nemesis they did.
Well that's going to be another appalling decision. It's one of my favourite rides at the park. I absolutely love going on that ride, and it helps fill the day if there are rides down etc. Honestly, AT are ending 2024 in the worst way possible.
Wow, all this time I thought Hex was actually built within the Towers, not in a separate add on structure. Wish we had more of these mad houses in the States. I've only been on Houdini at Great Adventure.
Seeing the Pirate Ship is one of my earliest memories. I first saw it in 1986 as a young child, and it remains the only link to that time period in the park for me (I think, maybe the tea cups and Swans were also there, but to me, it’s The Pirate Ship). I was there the last day and heard no mention of removal, but didn’t ride the Blade. I would have had I known it was going. I’m going to be extra gutted if they remove it off season. Couple that with more cuts and a lack of a retheme for Galactica, and Towers is still in a bad spot. My confidence in this park is zero. (Long time visitor and former employee).
Fantastic season of coverage across all the uk parks. Cannot wait to see what will be coming over the winter. You guys should check out the festive gift fair at the NEC this weekend. If you like xmas its the place to be.
That really sad about the blade rode it for the first time ever because it was really quiet last thursday and got a 2 cycle and it was great and a much needed flat ride
Toyland Tours was a good ride, in my opinion - I'd definitely like to see that turned back into a family boat ride. As for Project Horizon, I'm probably in a minority, but rather than a coaster, I'd love for that to be a Vekoma Suspended Dark Ride about flying around the world in a hot air balloon.
Have you ever considered taking up running Shawn? 😆 Next weekend is the Alton Towers 10k and half marathon, with rides open to participants and spectators after 😄
Charlotte has done the 5k before. It used to be the quietest day of the year, but I've heard it was busy last year with not many trains running on the coasters.
I gave Alton Towers a miss this year. Waiting until the Sky Ride and Hex is fixed, and the new flat ride in Forbidden Valley and indoor coaster in Dark Forest are open.
Shame about The Blade, It's never looked better than it does right now with it's recent makeover. On the plus side, that spot is pretty huge, be interesting to see what they replace it with.
we were very sad that we couldnt ride Thirteen (and a few others) on the last day of the season!! but the firework display was absolutely incredible and made up for it. not so sure it would be acceptable if it was to happen again though, lets keep fingers crossed for a great 2025 season
This year for Alton Towers was both great and steugglebus. I've been twice this year, once with my best friend, a week after the 2024 season kicked off, then again with my best friend, my cousin and her girlfriend who visited from Germany in August. What I remember in March, the operations were great, but in August, they were not 😭. In march I rode The Smiler 8 times, 7 in a row (I'm 10,000 marmalised) and it went down to once for 10-20 minutes but we were at dark forest by then. August though, Rita closed for 10 minutes while we were right before the gates to go on, Th13teen went down three times, oblivion went down twice and the smiler twice. Dark forest wasn't affected to my memory, but correct me if I'm wrong (I was there on August 5) Overall, every time I go to the towers I leave so happy because I ride my top two coasters every time (Th13teen and The Smiler) I hope that 2025 is the best year they've had for a while, hex staying open, no rides going down and getting to go on every ride at least once. over and out, love winding down after a long day watching your channel! ❤
I had a very similar experience. Went in April with my friend, and was very impressed seeing the re-theme of Forbidden Valley, the roaming actors in the park added to the atmosphere, and ride availabilty was really good. Then in October, the ride availabilty was really bad and created a really negative atmosphere. We made the most of rides where we could, with Hex reopening and the Scarefest Attractions being a highlight. But the negativity and ride availability made our annual trip less enjoyable than normal...
I wonder if nemisis would be even better if they had a pre show for it like the wicker man? I absolutely love the pre show as it builds up the anticipation and excitement..
When I went to Florida Universal - I wouldnt have got most the rides I did if it wasn't for single rider. Wish they had more in the UK especially Alton towers. 😊😊
I was just wondering, I'm a new merlin annual pass holder and I understand you now need to pre book but I was wondering, is it the actual pass you scan on the turnstiles and then a member of staff will check your pre book date or do I scan something else??? Many thanks and a great video as usual 😀😀
Hi Shawn, thanks for sharing your thoughts, hopefully the 2025 season will be much better. Cheers Peter 🙂 p.s. looking forward to hearing about Project Horizon.
The quality of Alton Towers used to be a lot better years ago i think it changed once The Smiler was added. The whole park and rides need a refurb and a good lick of paint for the monorail.
As an American I always wanted to go to this park, wanting to go inside the towers has always been a dream. But right now the park seems really unappealing
We would love to know your thoughts on the 2024 season at Alton Towers along with the potential closure of The Blade in the video comments!
Alton Towers is always legendary. You got the smiler wicker man you can’t beat rollercoasters like them.
Keep blade
Why would they get rid of The Blade? Sure it’s old, but it’s one of the park’s few flat rides so they do need it around.
@@JoePotter-wd5zhWickerman is a family coaster. It does not have any steep drops like many of the best wooden coasters do. It's not their fault. They're not allowed to build above the treeline. Grand National in Blackpool is better than Wickerman.
Well, 13 closed all day along with Rita but managed to get last ride on Rita just before fireworks. Went on nemesis twice early so we were lucky. Queued in galactic for hour.they said changing to another train(or whatever they called) but 10 mins later closed! Hit n miss with all rides including curse. Absolutely loved Hex and fireworks the best, very disappointed with monorail closed after fireworks though
its so sad to see how much of a terrible year for operations it has been for the park. i really hope its better next year. also, congrats on 400,000 subscribers! you really deserve it.
I hope it improves next year
@@johnnydeppaddict12 call me mad but I'd actually be happy for the park to close for a FULL year just to get things fixed. then open in 2026 with a bang... don't know if that's a bit of a mad idea though. I'm sure Merlin have enough money in their pockets!
Thank you. Let’s hope we see the park improve next year!
personally, i would like to see a medieval themed area come to alton towers, it would incorporate hex, world of david walliams retheme + the dungeons, with the dungeons they could reuse the existing theming and turn it into a really good dark ride. gangsta granny the ride could also be rethemed into a castle tour and with the area being so close to the towers ruins it would be perfect
I like this idea. Did you know that ‘mutiny bay’ used to be called ‘Merrie England’ and had a medieval theme. It had some lovely details.
That would be amazing!
Genuinely, if they remove Blade, despite all the issues that have happened this season, this decision will really test my love for AT. It's a much needed flat ride, everyone loves the Blade. I've been on that ride with a whole bunch of age groups and demographics, everyone is smiling and happy on Blade. Isn't people's enjoyment a priority anymore?What else fits that footprint? It's perfectly snug in its little area, what harm is it doing? It's always working away, when the big boys are down, Blade keeps on running. Absolutely mental decision if it's true. And totally disrespectful to all of us who love it. So now when Nemesis and Galatica are down, there will be no point going to that area either. Words fail me.
The best bits I have had in the park are on the blade so I completely agree.
If they take out the blade the cats out of the bag- Merlin just don’t care about anyone’s opinion.
One staff member to run, low running costs, had a repaint this year- I don't see why they would close it?
Totally agree, genuinely cannot see any point of removing this ride it’s like it grew there. Will be absolutely gutted if they remove it and like you said it will definitely test my love for the park.
Unfortunately it’s looking very likely that’ll it’ll be removed from the park, such a shame if so!
I loved all the interactions with fans of the channel there were in this video! You bring so much joy with your videos, as well as keeping us all informed with the tips and updates from the parks. Thank you both for your amazing content this year. ☺️ Alton Towers has always been my favourite UK park and the last few years have been very up and down as you have said (though my visits have always been fantastic). Let’s hope it gets the tlc it needs and back to the ‘magical days’ of the 90s/early 2000s. I always love your idea of David Walliams Land (or the old Cred Street/land of make believe) area becoming Sir Algenon themed - come on Alton Towers, it could be brilliant!
Thank you so much!
The park looks like it needs significant investment. Looking tired and the ride availability is becoming a constant issue. If and hopefully when universal gets announced, AT could be in serious trouble unless Merlin pull their finger out
It will help AT
Recently went for Halloween and couldn't agree more. Alton also needs 2 more additional big rides and possibly another area/zone.
@@CalvinMOfficialas much as a new area would be a welcomed addition they need to sort out the other areas first
Never been to this park. I live in the US. But I’ve watched this channel for years. Alton Towers is the one vlog I don’t watch, often. It wasn’t always that way. But I started to lose interest. I don’t mind repeat visits to other parks. But there was something about this park. I think you’ve summed it up for me.
@ compared to you guys in the US, we just don’t have anything that competes. Probably a combination of tighter planning, poorer weather and higher prices. With AT meant to be the flag bearer for English parks, it’s almost becoming embarrassing. There’s been a huge decline in the standards of the smaller provincial parks as well, lack of investment alongside sliding visitor numbers. Dosent look good
Blade better not get removed.
SAVE THE BLADE!!!
It’s not looking good for the blade sadly!
27:00 - that is us shouting Theme Park Worldwide! 😂
“Whey theme park worldwide on youtube”
As frustrating as it has been at times with ride availability over the past year or two, Towers is still the best park in the country for any age group and what they've done with Nemmy(and the curse last year) has been amazing.Hopefully the blade stays, it doesn't cost much to run and only needs one staff member so fingers crossed.Thanks for another season of fantastic content Shawn and can't wait for march!!
Let’s hope we see the park improve in 2025!
Single riders made a huge difference, I can't go on rides for medical reasons, but my son loves them all, so he's not waiting ages by himself and like you say fills in the gaps! He went on the smiler several times in a row this year 😂
Love the single rider queues!
👍 400k subscribers...wow...A tribute to your energy...personality and hard work Shawn...here's to 500k...🥳
0:08 Absolute state of that monorail, talk about an awful first impression of the park, would take someone half an hour with a brush and a bucket of soapy water but it sums up the shocking state of the park overall at the moment
It desperately needs new trains
And they need to get rid of the grated ads on the windows , can’t even see the rides on the way in , what a crap view!
I think 'shocking state' is a bit of an exaggeration.A few things still need fixing and others a good clean.
@Grim19931803 they are bad! I couldn't see anything out of it
@@micky1878 for anyone who remembers the Tussauds era its totally accurate tbf!
I’ve been blessed this year after reading all the comments.
Came for the opening, again in June and final time last Thursday. No queues or ride closures.
Gutted for those who travelled and unable to ride. Thanks for your vlogs and updates this year 🫶🏽 Congrats on 400k 🎉
Thank you. Here’s hoping for a better 2025!
Season always goes by so fast!
Really hope Blade doesn't get removed, but if it does it should get replaced like the one at Chessington. Otherwise Toxicator isn't really solving any problems. At the very least they need a one new flat in X Sector and Dark Forest imo.
Blade would suit x sector well
@@pugheadxsiit's an old ride so it most likely be scraped
It is coming to the end of it's life but hopefully they will replace it with a new version
bring back enterprise!
theyre probably adding flats to x sector once theyre done with forbidden valley. i think theyre doing it one area at a time
They only just painted all the seats on Blade to black/grey from yellow so it seems an odd decision to remove it. They’ve also put up new Blade signage this year too.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens!
@@ThemeParkWorldwideI hope they get some old flambard flat rides 😊
I went in July to ride Nemesis. It was admittedly drizzly since getting in with early entry that day, but the ride still hadn’t opened by 2pm when I gave up and left to start the 4 hour drive home. Several of the other big rides were also mostly closed that day. Really hope next year is better. For parks that are open seasonally, with short daily operating hours at that, it’s really not up to scratch.
I’m hoping that the 2025 season has more additions than removals. Toxicator is coming along, and there’s the possibility of Galactica getting a re-theme. I don’t think they should remove The Blade since it’s one of the few flat rides. Most importantly, it’s ride availability and maintenance which should be the park’s biggest priority.
The blade is an old ride now so I can understand why they may be taking the ride out but let's hope they replace it immediately
Great vid. Blade removal is poor with no replacement. More flats are needed. 2 in dark forest, 2 at x sector. A deal with zamperla could get all of them, and zamperla would love the exposure of a big uk park.
Not just poor, tragic and sad
It’ll be a shame to see another flat ride go
Well done on the 400k 🎉🎉🎉Shawn from a big fan when you were on 50k . I am 60 years old on the 16 of November
Thank you!
It’s a day early but happy birthday mate!
The tail of two half’s for Alton towers season, started of great with nemesis reborn opening but then it seemed to go down hill from there, scarefest was a slight improvement but still not good enough for major theme park
Saddest part seems to be staff lay offs and don’t get me started of staggering openings
I think Bianca promised to much at the start of the season and a lot feel let down, they have there work cut out over winter
Let’s hope 2025 is better
I was on the first train on nemesis on this day!
The removal of the Blade would be a sad thing for me as I have a memory of it being one of the last rides I got on with my late mother. She didn't get on the white knuckle rides but loved the family ones like this, Waveswinger etc. 😢. I had a great time at Scarefest '24, all of the rides were open and the queues so short, single rider was walk-on for the Smiler and Spinball, the weather warm and sunny, it was perfect!
It would be great if the green of the new flat ride alludes to the green of the Thunder Looper, a Thundie simulator!
It’ll be interesting to see what happens!
Congrats on 400K Shawn and Charlotte! Well deserved! 🎉🥳
Thank you!
This season may be over, but I can't wait for next season... and to experience the new flat ride.
I remember when the area around what is now World of Walliams used to be the busiest area in the park! The Mouse, The Bobsleigh, Around the World In 80 Days, Nickelodeon Land, Doom and Sons . . . and the best restaurant on park! So odd to see it collapse.
Went on the 6th nov 2024... Very dissapointed in the early closing time of 4pm and opening at 10am
Luckily all the rides were open and queue times of about 5-10 minutes, weather was great!
Really need to see the skyride open again asap! really wish they would open the towers as a walk through bit of history and do some renovations on it...
Need to see the monorail train cleaned! those windows are very dirty
They should open longer in summer, this would bring in more people! When the kiddies go home at 4pm the day to day goers can make the most of the rides and stay longer into the night till maybe 9/10pm
53:13 Ted singing if your happy and you know it is a classic haha 😂
Will watch fully after work. I was the lady who said hello whilst you sat on bench outside runaway train. It was funny how a lot of us on there saw and interacted with you whilst we were on the train n you filming ty and brilliant 😂👍
Fell out of love for the place yesterday. A shadow of its former self in the mid to late 90’s for me.
Alton towers hasn’t been great with its ride maintenance this year but I think it’s safe to say with nemesis reborn opening it has in my opinion overshadowed everything not doing so well. Which makes this park so good no matter the issues they face! Congratulations on 400k Sean great vlog as usual!
Let’s hope for better things next year
Really good honest review Shawn, It seems that every year though for the past few years we are hopeful for a better year ‘next year’ but it doesn’t materialise. It’s really disappointing on ride availability, it’s not a cheap day out, my daughter came pre summer holidays with her school and only managed 3 rides all day, very poor. Merlin really do need to invest in this wonderful park. Thanks Shawn for this, love you two and all that you do ❤️
Thank you
I was there last week!! was really hoping to see you guys. I can’t wait for Alton towers 2025 content from you!!🥰
Thank you!
I have not been to Towers this season because of the Skyride being closed i hope they manage to get it open for next year. Are you going to do a vlog on Remembering Flambards over the closed season, i would love to know your thoughts on Flambards over the years and if you know where any of the rides are going to or are being scraped. Lets hope some of the rides are relocated to other parks, Lightwater might benefit from having some.You could also do one on remembering Pleasure Island and rembering that defunct park in Scotland was it called Lothian Castle or something. I enjoyed your remembering series.
I really don't appreciate it when Alton Towers remove old rides without any notice or information to the public. I find that really disrespectful to people that have been coming for years and may want one last ride for nostalgic reasons. Really bang out of order that is
Sadly so. I guess we’ll see what happens!
The monorail looks tired and needs a clean up, I remember when the moment one train left the station the next one arrived and now it seems they only have 2 trains running!
Ride availability has been appalling this year, we were on the park Thursday, Friday and Saturday and HEX broke down with us on it on Thursday.
The sound system on HEX is nasty now, the volume is too low, the bass has been cut. The changes are very good but the finale is awful!
We were given a free fast pass to use on the park BUT all fast pass tickets for the weekend were allocated!
Thirteen was flawless on Thursday and out of action Friday, Saturday and Sunday - absolute joke !
Fireworks were INCREDIBLE, the pre-fireworks band was awful!
Don’t think I’ll return next year, not paying entry price, fuel from Kent and hotel to find half the rides down !
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Great video as always, Shawn. It was lovely saying hi to you at the Smlier exit. Looking forward to some over-winter detailed reviews and speculation for next season 😃 😃
Great to see you!
Hi Shawn, thank you for your final video of 2024 from Alton Towers. Maybe an idea for next season is more late night opening times, new events and obviously better ride availability as you said. Ok I haven't been to the park in 30 plus years but I think 7pm, 8pm and 9pm close would go a long way.
I’m excited for next season but also hope things improve. The way i would get the park back on its feet would be with the new flat, reopen skyride, change the hex lighting, RIDE AVALIABILITY!! and a galactica retheme (2026 probably) and also i wish they would tell us and not leave us in the dark about updates on rides e.g. project horizon. This season has overall been decent anyway. Thanks for all the vlogs! are you going to BPB for one last visit - they are already progressing with winter maintenance eg. big dipper, ice blast (new rotating seats - workers said it’s getting returbed) and grand prix is already being demolished
Let’s hope so!
Congratulations on 400k 👏 Fully deserved!
43:31 it's so obviously gonna be a huss top spin. but yeah, a welcome return for sure
Great rides in mid 90's were Necromancer and Thunderlooper!
They should bring back a quieter Thunder Looper, (so not to upset the locals) surely someone can manufacture such a thing, but the sound is what made it so great too.
You're always a great vibe shawn.
Thank you!
Charlotte might know better 😂@@ThemeParkWorldwide
Omg I’ll be 70 next time they retrack Nemmy! 😮
Great final Alton Towers Vlog of the 2024 season Shawn, I just truly hope that Ride Availability improves for the 2025 season at the park
Let’s hope so!
@ Yh fingers crossed 🤞🏻
45:20 , was in the shop on Saturday and saw a new nemesis teddy , it’s the size of the wickermans the smilers (the larger ones)
After such a promising start, I think we can say that this was another disappointing season. It was probably around about the Wickerman fire (that wasn’t the park’s fault of course) where I really started noticing the season going downhill. I really hope these things like ride availability, reliability and just overall park presentation improves with the 2025 season. I hate to be negative but for places like Towers and Pleasure Beach that I really do want to love, I have to give my criticism.
Nemesis Reborn was a great investment, and looking forward to toxicator but I hope they revamp other areas like dark forest and x-sector in the next few years
Congratulations on 400K🎉🎉🎉
Me and mates, 17 pf us one year used to go early Sept just after our A levels, 1994, was 18, Nemises the day it opened, the original I was there LOVE IT, now it looks very damn sexy... shame no red waterfalls but that helix, brutal
Omg...I almost saw you at drayton manor once at firework night shawn😂😂😂😂 3:04
My idea for the future of flats at Alton towers is a retheme and relocation of the blade into a ride like the bounty at Drayton Moanor, a Mondial top scan in dark forest with a massive tree as the ride system, a Intamin gyro swing in place of the blade space and finally in x-sector they could get a nebulous and a enterprise ride 😊
Thanks for your Towers coverage this year. I had never been on Hex before so I don't know what the lighting was like before, but the minute I saw the branch inside, I said "gamer lights!" Maybe it doesn't need full RGB...
awww for a short moment you had a duck right behind you, it was so sweet
Love it!
Great video Shaun!
Fireworks look INCREDIBLE. Just simply MAJOR improvements are needed at towers, I hate to say it but the park feels like it’s missing a bit of charm it once had, the operations alone are terrible when really nemesis reborn has been incredible along with fireworks and parts of events, it’s just certain things that have let towers down. Great vlog Shawn bring on 2025!
The show was amazing!
Good to see you being honest about the state of the park. I think biggest winter period for AT in a long,long time. How can Merlin have any further cutbacks, there is nothing further to cut back on
wow at last a new ride is coming 🎉🎉🎉🎉
And this is why I’m running the AT half marathon next week! One last visit this year!
cant wait for 2025 season this season went so fast!
I screamed on hex😂😂
We just need a load. We need a flat in dark Forrest and xsector at minimum as well as the announced one, clean and plant of quite literally everywhere. Serious work on the rides for availability, get the skyride sorted. Honestly make or break
RIP blade! I know it's only a pirate ship, but it's another flat that will be missed. 2025 can only get better....surley!! 😰
I’m in the back ground in the roller coaster restaurant seen with the blue bag😂😂😂😂😱😱😱😱
I didn't visit last year due to what to the way it ran and nemesis being closed. I planned to visit this year too but as I've been watching your videos throughout the year, I've put it off numerous times and now it's end of season and I haven't visited. I'm sure I won't be the only one 😬😬
It’s such a shame the state of the park at the moment! It’s an amazing place, full of amazing memories. I hope it returns to all its glory soon!
OMG MY LITTLE BROTHER CAME UP TO YOU I SAW YOU WHEN I WAS IN ROOLEE COASTER RESTAURANT 🤣 *you might remember the kid in the blue T-shirt* 46:12
Wasn't my original thought but looking at the spinning lights above the construction and the video clip, Mondial Blender looks to match the hints. Could just be a coincidence but...
With the Smiler, first time I went on it was on the front row and both me and my husband saw the weird optical illusion and our two friends didn’t…was so bizarre! I don’t know if it’s a known thing 😂
Something definitely not right with Charlotte. Hope she’s ok or has something exciting coming up.
Charlotte wasn’t feeling well sadly
Sad to see Blade go. I understand its age but it could be replaced with a new version. It's always fun to ride the ship rides as its fun to see each side of it have fun. The coasters are wonderful but we need more flat rides as well. I hope 2025 is much better and I hope the rest of the park gets attention just like the amazing transformation and retrack of Nemesis they did.
my mum and dad are in this video 😂😂
a member of staff who knew us he told us that flavios fabulous fandango won't be at the park next year!
Well that's going to be another appalling decision. It's one of my favourite rides at the park. I absolutely love going on that ride, and it helps fill the day if there are rides down etc. Honestly, AT are ending 2024 in the worst way possible.
Generic staff members wont know this information lmao
That’s also leaving I believe sadly
3:19 I didn’t know they had a ride name inspired by The Who lol.
I went there last Friday with the college!
Wow, all this time I thought Hex was actually built within the Towers, not in a separate add on structure. Wish we had more of these mad houses in the States. I've only been on Houdini at Great Adventure.
Seeing the Pirate Ship is one of my earliest memories. I first saw it in 1986 as a young child, and it remains the only link to that time period in the park for me (I think, maybe the tea cups and Swans were also there, but to me, it’s The Pirate Ship). I was there the last day and heard no mention of removal, but didn’t ride the Blade. I would have had I known it was going. I’m going to be extra gutted if they remove it off season. Couple that with more cuts and a lack of a retheme for Galactica, and Towers is still in a bad spot. My confidence in this park is zero. (Long time visitor and former employee).
Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic season of coverage across all the uk parks. Cannot wait to see what will be coming over the winter.
You guys should check out the festive gift fair at the NEC this weekend. If you like xmas its the place to be.
Thank you!
That really sad about the blade rode it for the first time ever because it was really quiet last thursday and got a 2 cycle and it was great and a much needed flat ride
This season seems to have gone fast ❤ next soon will be just round the corner hopefully 😅
Toyland Tours was a good ride, in my opinion - I'd definitely like to see that turned back into a family boat ride. As for Project Horizon, I'm probably in a minority, but rather than a coaster, I'd love for that to be a Vekoma Suspended Dark Ride about flying around the world in a hot air balloon.
Oblivion and spinball are my favourites this year
Which soon became hex when it reopened ❤
Have you ever considered taking up running Shawn? 😆
Next weekend is the Alton Towers 10k and half marathon, with rides open to participants and spectators after 😄
He has a treadmill in house . Maybe diet after Xmas Shawn lol
Charlotte has done the 5k before. It used to be the quietest day of the year, but I've heard it was busy last year with not many trains running on the coasters.
Charlotte did it a couple of years ago. But we won’t be this year!
I gave Alton Towers a miss this year. Waiting until the Sky Ride and Hex is fixed, and the new flat ride in Forbidden Valley and indoor coaster in Dark Forest are open.
The indoor coaster, Project Horizon, is probably not in Dark Forest, and in a removed area called Coaster Corner
Shame about The Blade, It's never looked better than it does right now with it's recent makeover. On the plus side, that spot is pretty huge, be interesting to see what they replace it with.
great video both 😁
Mainly been at Thorpe and having singles on walking dead, samurai, Hyperia and saw is awesome
If they don’t fix the sky ride they really need to invest in some temporary way to get around the park, land trains or something
I was there the whole weekend I wish I seen you! Thirteen was closed the whole weekend which was disappointing
we were very sad that we couldnt ride Thirteen (and a few others) on the last day of the season!! but the firework display was absolutely incredible and made up for it. not so sure it would be acceptable if it was to happen again though, lets keep fingers crossed for a great 2025 season
It was an amazing show!
This year for Alton Towers was both great and steugglebus.
I've been twice this year, once with my best friend, a week after the 2024 season kicked off, then again with my best friend, my cousin and her girlfriend who visited from Germany in August. What I remember in March, the operations were great, but in August, they were not 😭.
In march I rode The Smiler 8 times, 7 in a row (I'm 10,000 marmalised) and it went down to once for 10-20 minutes but we were at dark forest by then.
August though, Rita closed for 10 minutes while we were right before the gates to go on, Th13teen went down three times, oblivion went down twice and the smiler twice. Dark forest wasn't affected to my memory, but correct me if I'm wrong (I was there on August 5)
Overall, every time I go to the towers I leave so happy because I ride my top two coasters every time (Th13teen and The Smiler)
I hope that 2025 is the best year they've had for a while, hex staying open, no rides going down and getting to go on every ride at least once.
over and out, love winding down after a long day watching your channel! ❤
Thanks for sharing!
I had a very similar experience.
Went in April with my friend, and was very impressed seeing the re-theme of Forbidden Valley, the roaming actors in the park added to the atmosphere, and ride availabilty was really good.
Then in October, the ride availabilty was really bad and created a really negative atmosphere. We made the most of rides where we could, with Hex reopening and the Scarefest Attractions being a highlight. But the negativity and ride availability made our annual trip less enjoyable than normal...
I wonder if nemisis would be even better if they had a pre show for it like the wicker man? I absolutely love the pre show as it builds up the anticipation and excitement..
Also, is it me or has this season gone so quickly?!
When I went to Florida Universal - I wouldnt have got most the rides I did if it wasn't for single rider. Wish they had more in the UK especially Alton towers. 😊😊
I was just wondering, I'm a new merlin annual pass holder and I understand you now need to pre book but I was wondering, is it the actual pass you scan on the turnstiles and then a member of staff will check your pre book date or do I scan something else??? Many thanks and a great video as usual 😀😀
They don’t usually check, but it’s best booking incase!
Hi Shawn, thanks for sharing your thoughts, hopefully the 2025 season will be much better. Cheers Peter 🙂 p.s. looking forward to hearing about Project Horizon.
The quality of Alton Towers used to be a lot better years ago i think it changed once The Smiler was added. The whole park and rides need a refurb and a good lick of paint for the monorail.
Can't wait to be there on Sunday 😁
16:40 😂fs Shawn lol
Great Video Shawn 😊.
As an American I always wanted to go to this park, wanting to go inside the towers has always been a dream. But right now the park seems really unappealing