Ever wondered what the park looked like 15 or 25 years ago? Here are the guidebooks from yesteryear, which contain many photographs and lots of information about the park, years before it evolved into what it is today.
This is a very early park guide that was used at Alton Towers during the pre-war years, when the only attractions were the Towers and the Gardens, meaning that days out weren’t quite as thrilling as they are today!
This was one of the first post-war guidebooks produced by Alton Towers, which included detailed information about the Gardens and Towers – the park’s only real attractions.
This guide was used after the addition of a fairground and motor boat to the park, as Alton Towers began its growth into what it has become today.
More rides continued to be installed in the park, and so Alton Towers produced yet another guide which offered details on attractions such as the Cable Cars and donkey rides.
As you may notice, this was in fact one of the first guides that Alton Towers produced in glorious technicolour, providing guests with a vibrant lasting memory of their day at the park.
1981 was the second year Alton Towers operated as an amusement park and was the season that the Log Flume opened. Several attractions were also added behind the Towers, including Doom and Sons, Around the World in 80 Days and Europe’s finest collection of Victorian Dolls.
This leaflet contains some information about the history of Alton Towers that can’t be found in any of the other guides, as well as including all the other rides and attractions that were part of the growing amusement park.
New for 1983 was the Dragon Rollercoaster, which eventually became known as the Beastie. It was also the opening year of the Vintage Cars, on their original site which was situated where The Smiler now stands. The other big new attraction was the International Circus, which performed in the big top in the Ingestre Centre. It was also the last year the park referred to its three main areas as the Springfield, Talbot and Ingestre Centres.
With the addition of the 4-man-bob to the park’s ride line-up, that by this point also included Corkscrew and Black Hole, this guide became more focused on Alton Towers’ rides although still touched upon its heritage.
This was a particularly significant year for Alton Towers as it was celebrating its Diamond Jubilee, with the ground being open for a total of 60 years whilst the park itself had been in development for 10 years.
2007 saw The Dung Heap added to Old MacDonald’s Farm, The Haunted Hollow in Merrie England and Extraordinary Golf in the hotel complex. It also heralded the return of the park’s Halloween event.
