The 2006/2007 Closed Season was a very active one at the
Towers. Two new restaurants were built, one in Fountain Square and
one in Forbidden Valley. It also saw the Dung Heap and Haunted
Hollow arrive at the park, and the Extraordinary Golf built at the
hotels.
Not only that but both Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and the
Riverbank Eye-Spy received revamps, as did many of the game units
when HB Leisure arrived at the park.
This was also the year the park adopted the new YourDay souvenir
option, where guests could buy a DVD of their day.
We start of today's
update at the Hotels, where we're answer the pressing question - if
real snow and artificial snow were to have a fight, who would win...
Artificial snow
of course, the hotel gardens are still looking rather white,
thanks to the fake snow from the Winter Wonderland.
Heading around
the front, we can see the theming from Room 13 still sitting
outside the Emperor Suite.
But the real
reason we're at the hotels is to see the Adventure Golf
construction.
To the right of
this picture you can see the foundations for the entrance building
have now been laid.
Now heading
over to the park, on the way lets have a look in Forbidden Valley.
In the middle
you can just see the new restaurant building, ready for the new
season
Onto the ride
graveyard behind Duel. Here the Flume tubs are laid out for the
closed season, but what's that behind the trees...
Its the Vintage
Cars, stored here since their departure from Cred Street, no sign
of the Cred Street Carousel through.
Inside the
park, the Frogs have now returned to their pond in Towers Street
for the Towers, Treats and Trails event.
And since our
last update a construction fence has gone up round Mad Hatters,
the future site of the Your Day Shop.
While here,
lets take a tour of some of the other shops on Towers Street...
here's the chemists...
next door to
the Travel Agents, advertising Alton Towers Hotel...
Finally we come
to Grabbit and Scarpa, Alton Tower's friend bank!
Over in the Farm we can see a dried
out Riverbank Eye Spy
The new theming
has now started arriving, here we can see a family of pigs.
Originally the
site of a flock of sheep, how we have a happy dog.
Not all the
theming has arrived, here we can see the chicken scene, the 2D
chicken is lying in the foreground.
What's that in
the distance.... some flap happy ducks!
A closer look
reveals that an old piece of Adventure Land play equipment is also
taking part in the scene.
Indeed, it also
reveals the construction site for the Dung Heap, where work
continues at a pace.
Not much change
at this end, where it is more of a mud heap.
The Site
stretches all the way to the other end of the farm, near the
windmill.
Alongside the
Bish Bash, we can see the shell of a Squirrel Nutty Car in
storage.
While in the
hay barn is the home of one of the Tractors, which is not being
used for Towers Treats and Trails.
The Singing
Barn is still closed, and is not due to open till the start of the
new season.
The Education
Centre is also all closed up, as it has been for quite some time.
Meanwhile on
the other side of the farm all is also quiet around the original
Education Centre.
All is quiet
next door in Adventure Land...
A
closer look reveal the Spinball cars under covers and a rare
glimpse of the Beastie off it's track.
A little
further on we come to 'not so Forbidden' Tattoos, which is taking
a winter holiday at the hospitality suite.
Down by the lake we find a chicken, looking a little like a piece
of Riverbank theming gone astray.
And so to X
Sector, where all is quiet in the Black Hole queuing, which is
looking rather overgrown...
...while the ride entry looks abandoned...
...and the Fast
Track machines hark back to better times.
Further down, the track still lies around the yard outside of the
tent.
As with many of
the park's game units, the Detonator has been stripped back to
it's bones.
The
Enterprise and Submission receive their winter maintenance...
...and as we
look on the enterprise cars are gradually brought back into the X
Sector.
Oblivion's storage shed is brimming, as only four cars are on
track for Towers, Treats and Trails.
Over at the
Towers we get a look down a long disused driveway.
Down below we can see the service tunnel which connects the ruins
to the X Sector
Within the
ruins we get a close up view of the East Wing, the wall with
square windows is actually the remains of Alveton Lodge...
...
as is this circular tower, the only round tower in the entire
complex.
Looking down
from the roof we can see the original South entrance, which was
later walled up to become the service area.
And a view of one
of the Tower's kitchens from above, in the centre you can make out
the original tiles.
Still up on the
roof we can see across from the West Wing into the now abandoned
Dovecote garden.
Down at ground level we can have a look at the Star Garden, which
sits by the exit path of Hex.
And from the
same point there is a lovely view of the partially restores
conservatory.
While we're inside, let's get a catch up on the restoration
work... oh wait... their isn't any...
...the most
photographed wheelbarrow ever sits abandoned in the west wing...
still.
Perhaps the roof
might prove more fruitful in the search or progress... and indeed in
the distance you can see the new Hogs Head
And a slightly
closer... blurred... view. The frame of the building is now up,
but no walls as of yet.
In
the gardens we find one of the water features, which was running
very slowly today....
...the reason
being a fallen tree has ripped up the water supply to the
Corkscrew Fountain, a near miss for this historic water feature.
Just above the the screw fountain we can see one end of the
Haunted Hollow: all is quiet here, but what's that noise is the
distance???
The main event
of this update is the first construction picture for the Haunted
Hollow, Just alongside Merrie England work has begun with the
demolition of the old train tunnel.
Which brings us
neatly to Merrie England, could this Fool the Guesser stand soon
become the entrance to the Haunted Hollow?
Just behind The
Flume we also find the old park railway station, which could
potentially be used in the haunted walkthrough.
