New for 2022 is Festival of Thrills, where Alton Towers pays homage to their big 7 roller coasters by inviting acts to perform on stages around the resort.
Stages were setup in X-Sector, Dark Forest, Mutiny Bay and Forbidden Valley, and hosted a varied range of talent, from 80s rock, to acoustic folk music.
The big 7 all got an act dedicated to them, with Wickerman getting 2 different acts to itself. Oblivion, Smiler, Nemesis, Rita, Th13teen and even Galactica got their own act with a style that fit the ride theme. For example, Rita got 80s rock anthems played by GLOW, Wickerman got Folk music played by Mia and The Moon as well as The Rituals and Nemesis was represented by LUNAFALL who played punk rock tracks.
We didn’t manage to hear the acts in Forbidden Valley unfortunately as we were in the wrong place at the wrong time for that, but we did hear The Rituals, a bit of Mia and the Moon, GLOW, Gothic Strings (who represented Th13teen), Hyperhaus (The Smiler) and DJ Sidor (Oblivion).
Out of all the acts, GLOW were my favourite. They were really into it, they played some great tracks and kept referencing Rita between tracks too. Next would have to be Hyperhaus as they were putting on a stellar performance too, and my third would go to Gothic Strings. I love Symphonic tracks, especially when it’s modernised and given flair.
I didn’t really think much to either of Wickerman’s acts. They could play their instruments well, but The Rituals didn’t sound very folk at all, and Mia and the Moon didn’t fit the theme too well either, at least in my opinion!
Wickerman did have one of the better non musical performances with a lad doing tricks with fire though. He was entertaining and knew what he was doing and a pleasure to watch too!
I didn’t see any other stage get this kind of treatment, though each stage also had actors backing up the bands by getting the crowds involved. Rita gets a special mention here as their Roller Derby was fun to watch, as well as the Smilers insane party goers.
Outside the Festival we had a ride on most of the big 7, but missed out on The Smiler and Oblivion due to high winds on the day. To keep it brief, Wickerman was riding very well this time around. It’s starting to feel more and more like a proper wooden coaster should, untamed and savage.
Nemesis gave a great ride too and so did Galactica which was back up to both stations being used once again. The Galactica area still looks very forgotten but the ride does seem to be getting back to full operational level again though!
Both Rita and Th13teen gave pleasant rides, though Rita was suffering a lot of mechanical failures, and we ended up waiting about 30 minutes on the platform for our ride. No such issues with Th13teen, the trim brakes on the first drop seemed a bit more enthusiastic than previous rides though!
We also had our first ride on Spinjam, the parks newest addition to the Retro squad, and so far, the most intense. The ride is a Tivoli Extreme model, and it certainly lives up to its namesake!
Alton Towers do seem to keep these Retro Squad rides running a little slower than they would otherwise be running on the fair circuit, but it suits me down to a T! They give you enough of a taste of how intense they can be without going to far and making you feel ill, at least, thats my take!
Overall, Festival of Thrills was an excellent new addition to the parks calendar and I do hope it returns next year with more acts and maybe later opening hours?!
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