It's Winter Time once again, and that can only mean one thing, the
Closed Season is upon us once again.
Plenty is going on in the park ready for the new season, with the
refurbishment of the Skyride, the Corkscrew's deconstruction and
general maintenance around the park
The most notable developments for the 2009 seasons however include the
demolition of the 3D Cinema tent ready for the park's new Sea
Life Centre, Sharkbait Reef in Mutiny Bay. And of course there's the
refurbishment of Cred Street , which will become Cloud Cuckoo Land ready
for the new season.
Meanwhile the Winter Season is underway over at the hotels. For more
information and photos of this, head over to the
Winter
Season page. The park also opened for the February Half
Term, for pictures check out the
event's gallery.
We start today in Towers Street, eerily
quiet during the Closed Season.
Meanwhile, next door, Mutiny Bay enjoys
its first closed season...
... but all is not quiet here, as the 3D
Cinema has gone, dramatically changing the view. (compare to
last year)
In fact the new building, which will
contain the Sea Life Centre is already well under construction, as
seen by the green roof.
On the other side of the construction
site, in the staff car park, they have handily labelled the
containers in case you weren't sure what they were building.
The park is of course partially open for
the closed season, which is how this gallery is possible.
As with the past few closed seasons,
restoration work is once again going on over at the Towers.
On the path in front of the Towers, work
is being carried out on the retaining wall, with the top being
re-laid.
One of the restoration projects that has
taken place over the previous season is replacing the windows in the
House Conservatory, as can be seen here.
Looking the other way we see the
temporary wall that divides the Conservatory from the Drawing
Room...
... and on the other side, in the
Drawing Rooms, we can see the remains of 2008's Terror of the
Towers.
From the top of the Towers we get a look
over what was Cred Street. The area is being rethemed for the new
season and work has already begun on the Cred Street Playground,
with the front currently clad in scaffolding.
Looking over to Ug Land, we can see
the lift hill still standing on the recently closed Corkscrew.
Looking in the other direction, all is
quiet in the lakeside area...
... and looking through the trees all is
calm in X Sector too, with Oblivion now closed until February Half
Term.
The X Sector sign has been
removed, probably to allow maintenance vehicles access to the area.
Meanwhile over at the other side
of the park, the Skyride awaits its new carriages for the new
season...
... and if you look carefully you can
see the remains of the Ug Swinger sitting by Rita. The Swinger is
due to move to the new children's area for 2009.
As we make our way back to the Woodland
Walk to the park entrance for the Closed Season, let's take a quick
look into Forbidden Valley.
From the Woodland Walk the rides of
Forbidden Valley are visible through the trees. Here we see Nemesis,
The Blade and Ripsaw...
...and The first and
last ride visible to guests who visit the park during the closed
Season: Air
January 4th
2009
Maintenance work continues on the Towers
with the railings along Hex's
exit path getting a fresh coat of paint.
Sharkbait Reef, the new sealife centre
is coming along nicely...
... and the first evidence of what we
now know will become Cloud Cuckoo Land as the theatre gets a lick of
paint.
And finally, something is now missing
from the skyline of Ug Land, as the Corkscrew is finally no more.
