Alton Towers Opening Day 2021 and Retro Squad Review

Alton Towers opening day is always a highlight of our year and 2021 was no different.

This week, the U.K. has entered its next stage of easing lockdown rules. The opening of shops, hairdressers, gyms and of course theme parks, is part of this. As huge theme park fans, we obviously decided that a haircut can wait a few days and we headed straight to our favourite park in the U.K., Alton Towers, for its first day of the 2021 season.

The rules at the park regarding face masks, social distancing, capacity and increased cleanliness remain the same as last year. If you want more information on this then click here to check out our review of the parks measures when they were first implemented last year. Indoor attractions, such as Hex and Duel, are currently not able to open due to government restrictions. It is important that guests are aware and of this to avoid disappointment. Indoor attractions and indoor dining areas should be able to reopen on the 17th May. If things go to plan this should also include the opening of Alton Towers new attraction, Gangsta Granny The Ride.  We’ve definitely got our calendars marked for a visit on this exciting day! 

The only major rollercoaster not operating today was Nemesis. Nemesis had some technical difficulties at the end of last season and did not operate during the last few days of the parks 2020 season. The ride was being tested this morning but it did not open at any point during the day. We do expect that Nemesis, our favourite coaster at Alton Towers, will open within the next few days. It was a shame we couldn’t ride Nemesis today, but at least this gives us something to look forward to on our second trip of the year.

The Monorail which takes guests from the car park to the park entrance was back in operation today for the first time since the 2019 season. It was therefore great to get back on the Monorail after it not operating last year.

The biggest change to the park today compared to last year was the addition of three new temporary flat rides located in the Dark Forrest, X-Sector and Forbidden Valley. These rides are of the type usually found at travelling fairs and carnivals. 

When Alton Towers announced these additions, they were criticised by some fans for being too low of a standard to be placed in a true theme park like Alton Towers. It is certainly true that these attractions don’t fit in with the high standard of theming in their respective areas. However, Alton Towers have made a great effort to create a brand and backstory that explains their presence. These rides, Mixtape, Roller Disco and Funk’n’Fly, are being referred to as the retro squad, a trio of transformer like flat rides who supposedly got lost in time when travelling to earth in the 80s and have only just arrived. They are all brightly decorated in 80s neons and play this decades music. It is still true that these rides appear out of place, but the backstory about their delayed arrival excuses this. Amongst all the current restrictions and the economic impacts of the pandemic on the theme park industry, it is great to be able to enjoy any new and unique experience this season. Our opinions these attractions may be different if they were set to stay for good, but as temporary capacity increasers we think they’re fun. If anything, we hope these additions are a sign that more permanent and better quality flat rides may be in Alton Towers future. 

Overall, we had a great day at the park and cannot wait to go back in the next few weeks. Personally, we believe that Alton Towers offers a great place to escape the current doom and gloom. After months of lockdown we loved being able to again do what we most enjoy, riding rollercoasters.