Attraction Profile
www.parkworld-online.com
The World of David Walliams
Alton Towers Resort has long been home to many well-known characters, from Peter Rabbit to the Octonauts, and in the past, Sonic the Hedgehog to Phileas Fogg. Now a new cast of wonderful characters are being brought to life at the Staffordshire theme park. Marcus Gaines, owner of Ride and Park Media paid a visit to ‘The World of David Walliams’ to find out more.
Alton Towers
has created an area, and a flagship attraction, that can be enjoyed as much by those who’ve never read any of the books, as those who bury themselves in every one of his stories.
D
avid Walliams is a much-loved children’s author, and TV personality, who’s often cited as being a modern-day Roald Dahl. His comical, at times
cheeky, but always fantastical books are published worldwide in 53 different languages, amongst them are Mr Stink, The Boy in the Dress and Gangsta Granny. So, it should come as no surprise that his colourful stories now find themselves as the basis of theme park attractions - and where better than at Alton Towers? The World of David Walliams is a transformation of the once Cloud Cuckoo Land area of the park and features four rides for families to enjoy.
Flagship attraction
The flagship attraction is the brand-new dark ride, Gangsta Granny: The Ride. The story goes, that guests are visiting Royal Alton Hall for the Crown Jewels Tour, with guests boarding regal looking carriages for their tour. The tour begins with David Walliams narrating
38
through the on-board speakers as the carriages venture though Royal Alton Hall, until that is, Granny and Ben arrive on the scene bringing guests along for an ambitious jewel heist.
The ride system comes from Garmendale Engineering, which is based just a few short miles from Alton Towers, whilst Merlin Magic Making were responsible for overseeing the theming and storytelling. The traditional style tracked dark ride utilises video projections, integrated into physical scenery, alongside special effects to fully immerse riders into the story. The projections and scenery are in the same cartoon style that everyone will recognise from Walliams’s books. The ride captures the humour of the books too, who wouldn’t laugh when Granny farts whilst diving under water creating a trail of bubbles?
The ride is around five minutes long and is packed full of different scenes, quite remarkable how so many sets have been squeezed in to such a tight footprint.
SUMMER PART 4 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
