We went to Alton Towers for part of Kaz' birthday celebrations.
The special deal for charioteers is half-price for me and 2 "helpers"[1], plus wristbands for up to 4 companions. Wristbands mean that I plus 2 of the Companions find the back gate and jump the queue. This makes quite a difference, as those who have queued at Alton Towers will appreciate. Unfortunately I don't like being turned upside-down, or falling (even if strapped in... in fact maybe worse if strapped in), and I have to be with the Companions to get this perk. I felt guilty about not going on most of Kaz' favourite rides :-/
The rest of the band started with something that looked awful. J wasn't happy, but he did it (although according to the board at the front he shouldn't have been allowed on because of height restrictions - amusing to see heightism working the other way). I chickened out, and stayed on the ground with the Bit who told me her name and I promptly forgot it. The photo showed a Kaz in ecstacy and a J curled up in anguish. He really does love her ;)
Missed out corkscrew. Didn't like the look of it because it goes upside-down, but regretted when J described it - seems that the centriwossname means you don't feel upside-down. Must try it next time.
Rita. 0-100mph in 3 seconds and whizzy swoopy bends. Ohhhh yes. When I am rich I shall have one of these in the back garden :))
Hex. Very clever. It only gives the illusion of spinning upside-down. The bars don't quite fit me, though, and the feeling of sliding off the bench while the room spins... ok, I closed my eyes through a lot of it. The story was very silly, but I can still hear the music in my head.
Also closed eyes, under instructions from Ben, on part of the spooky shooty ride, which was great. My shooting score was consequently rather low, but I missed whatever it was that would have upset me :)
Nemesis was definitely not for me, and J needed a break too, so we sat it out.
As for Oblivion - couldn't even watch!
Skyride was interesting, swinging over the valley and the trees. Slight flashback to the terrifying cablecar at Caracas, but this seemed much more reliable, and it's good to expurgate childhood fears, of which I seem to have too many.
Kaz and I peeked into the restoration work; I would love to explore the Towers, and the garden. The whole site is quite hard work for Chariot, though.
Got to go on the monorail at the end of the day. And it really was the end: by running/zooming, we caught the last train back, which is not really for punters, and then the train stopped in treetops a few metres from the station. Motor turned off. Silence. How much food did we have with us? What could we use for blankets? oh-oh, scrub that... where are the loos?! Investigation showed a panel which we could climb through, but it was a looooong way down... anyway, the intercom suddenly squawked, a voice apologised, and we trundled the rest of the way to the platform and back to the lonely car in the empty carpark.
Oh, and the ride to get there was one of the scariest of the day. Ben hid his eyes ;)
[1] "Haven't you got someone with you, dear?" ... *BIFF!*
