For 2019, Alton Towers Resort have invested in building the Alton Towers Dungeon. This new attraction is located within the former Charlie And The Chocolate Factory: The Ride show building. Unfortunately, this attraction is an upcharge attraction, costing guests £5 per person when booked in advance and £7.50 per person when booked on the day of your visit. Merlin Passholders DO NOT receive free entry like the other Dungeon attractions and are not offered a discount. However, Alton Towers Premium Season Passholders receive ONE free entry per visit to the resort. These tickets have to be booked on the day of your visit.
As soon as you step into the area around the Alton Towers Dungeon, you are completely immersed into the experience. From the music, to the pieces of theming to put you into the experience. Firstly, an actor greets you at the entrance of the dungeon and takes you in to have a photo taken in stocks (This photo is free of charge). Once you have had your photo taken, you are held in a room for the other members of the group to join. The entrance host then gives a spiel about what you will find in the Dungeon, along with humour to make you laugh & scream!
Next, the doors open and the Judge comes out to collect the group and leads the group into the first scene. Members of the group are picked out of the audience and are told crimes that they have committed, as well as their punishment for the crimes. In addition, the whole group join in with the actor in saying a line to make the experience even more interactive. Once the Judge scene has finished, you are collected by an actor and led to the next scene which is the boat ride.
Image © Alton Towers Resort
The boat ride features amazing effects, alongside some great pieces of theming. As you step into the boat, fog is cascading over the water with a light shining through, creating an amazing effect. Whilst you are on your journey down the Black River, there are a few animatronic figures which have projected faces to create a sense a realism to the figure. Projections are also used to create the effect of shadows of people. String has been hung around the boat ride, leading guests to be scared whilst in dark scenes.
After this scene, you are led into Torturer scene. Within this scene, two members of the group are picked out to be involved within the action. One guest is put into a cage, where as the other is put into a torture chair. As the guest is in the torture chair, the torturer shows the other members of the groups devices that were used to torture people, with a few jokes to leave the audience screaming with laughter!
Image © Alton Towers Resort
After the Torturer, you then move into The Highwayman scene which is set in a pub. Within this scene, guests are sat in chairs in rows set around the bar at the front of the room with an actor behind. The actor explains that Dick Turpin may pass by. Screens are utilised as windows behind the bar, to create the effect of Dick Turpin's outline coming into the Pub. At this point, the room goes black and there are foot step sound effects moving around the room, creating tension to the guests. Then the lights come back on and you are moved into the next scene.
The Plague Doctor is the next scene that visitors of the Dungeon experience. Again, a member of the group is picked out to be cured from the plague. A curtain is pulled around the chosen guest and a light is shone onto the curtain, creating the outline of the guest and the actor. The plague doctor uses tools to cure them and guests within the audience are sprayed with water, creating the effect that blood is being spraying onto you.
Finally, your visit to the Alton Towers Dungeon is completed with the final scene which is The Haunting. This scene is one of our favourite, due to the atmosphere that is created within the scene. The daughter/son of Molly the witch explains the local history of Molly Lee and the lights turn out a couple of times and the actor changes position. Then, the ghost of Molly Lee comes to the cottage. The curtains start to blow, the lights begin to flicker, pans begin to crash and objects begin to move. The lights go out and then the ghost of Molly Lee is stood straight infront of the guests. Then, the lights go out and come back on. The daughter/son of Molly Lee appears again and leads you out of the Dungeon.
Overall, we think that the Alton Towers Dungeon is a great addition to the park. With some great theming throughout and great actors within the attraction. However, we would like to see Alton Towers add more theming to the attraction, due to there is a lot of black walls used throughout the attraction that doesn't immerse you into the experience. If you are visiting the resort, we highly recommend that you enter into the Dungeon as it is a great attraction.