Gangsta Granny: The Ride at Alton Towers Review

The World of David Walliams opened today, on the 17th May 2021, at Alton Towers. This new family area is themed to David Walliams’ children’s books and the main attraction is Gangsta Granny: The Ride.

Gangsta Granny: The Ride is a brand new dark ride, in which you board a royal carriage to help Granny and Ben steal the Crown Jewels. The attraction seats 8 guests per vehicle, although the park is only loading one group per vehicle due to social distancing requirements. This does make the line move rather slowly, however such things are to be expected due to current circumstances.

The ride utilises both screens and practical sets and special effects such as gusts of wind and bubbles. The screens are used rather effectively, with their movement and the carriage’s movement creating a simulator like effect. The practical sets are not particularly detailed, however the novel’s illustrations work well for the 2D style featured within these scenes. Projection mapping is used at times, which works well to help bring these moments to life. The attractions’ storyline is exciting and full of humour that both children and adults will enjoy.

Along with Gangsta Granny: The Ride, the land also features two more attractions- The Royal Carousel and Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp, a frog hopper. Both of these attractions have been rethemed from when this area was known as Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Raj’s Shop has also opened at the exit to Gangsta Granny: The Ride. This shop is themed to look like a newsagent and sells snacks and souvenirs. There is also an ice cream truck located opposite.

In addition to the permanent offerings of this new area, Flavio’s Fabulous Fandango, a new temporary attraction has opened. Like the ‘Retro Squad’, this attraction is a classic fairground ride. This new addition is a PWS Twist and should help increase capacity at Alton Towers this year. 

Overall, we think this area is really nicely themed. Gangsta Granny: The Ride is a great addition to Alton Towers and we’d love to see the park take on more dark ride projects in the future!

Click here to check out our review of Paultons Park’s new area Tornado Springs.