Lindsay has been counting down the days to Alton Towers for months now!! From the time they were little, Lindsay has hated creepy stuff but loved speed (i.e. loved Disney's California Screamin' but cried on the dark, scary Winnie the Pooh ride); Lucy is the opposite (i.e. loved the Haunted Mansion but hated California Screamin.' These traits are adorably still present at ages 17 and 15: our first ride of the day was the new coaster "Wicker Man," where Lindsay made Lucy hold onto her during the spooky back-story part, but loved the fast, whiplashy ride; Lucy wanted more Celtic-ritual terror at the beginning but was not a fan of the rickety velocity. Sophie and Stone love it all.
We rode so many coasters: Wicker Man, which is fast and scary. Rita, which boasts that it blasts off from 0 to 100 kph in 2.5 seconds, putting the body through 4.5G of force. Thi3teen, which is the world's first free-fall drop coaster. Nemesis, which is aptly named because everyone hated it except Stone. Galactica, which is a Virtual Reality coaster where you ride wearing VR goggles. And Smiler, which includes a 90 degree, completely vertical climb, several completely-upside down flips, and a record-breaking 14 corkscrew loops. My family convinced me to go on that one, and it really was amazing, but I paid for it with nausea and a headache for a good hour afterward, opting out of all rides for the rest of the day. Another highlight was the futuristic lunch place, where we ordered our food from an ipad and it dropped onto a metal track through a port in the ceiling and rode a roller coaster down to our table when it was ready!
Erik was the world's most amazing Dad all day, riding all the rides and keeping everyone's spirits up until the very sweaty, very crowded, very long-line-waiting-for-the-tram-back-to-the-hotel end. We showered and left the kids home watching the Yorkshire Vet and reading books so we could go out to dinner together and rest. I wish I had taken a picture - we had salads and desserts in the garden of this tiny little restaurant in a tiny little town surrounded by old farmhouses and gardens. I keep reminding myself to drink it all in - there is nothing that looks like this in America.
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| The building in the back is the original manor that sat on this land. The site has been inhabited by humans since the Iron Age (100 BC), when a group built a fort there. It was also the site of a battle between two Saxon kings in the 700's. Then a huge gorgeous country estate. Now a theme park. |
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| Lunch at the cool roller coaster place |
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| Erik's curry arrives |
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| Sophie and Stone on the "Blade" |
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| Goofy girls |
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| Our adorable cabin where we crashed for two nights |
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