Festival Park was the Alton Towers'
original thrill area which opened in 1984. Up until this year the
area had been known as Talbot Centre and housed the iconic Corkscrew
coaster, as well as the Mini Dragon, Wildlife Museum and the Rupert
Bear Magic Show.
Talbot Centre was also home to the
Adventureland Playground, which was removed in 1984, to make way for
the area's new thrilling line-up including the Wave Swinger,
Enterprise and Magic Carpet. Over the following few seasons the ride
line up changed quite regularly, with the Magic Carpet leaving, the
1001 Nights and Spider arriving and the Ferris wheel both arriving
and departing all in the 1985 and 1986 season.
1987 was a turning
point for the area as this was the year it annexed the neighbouring
courtyard, which became home to an Open Air Theatre, providing
Festival Park with a prime entertainment venue, a move which
coincided with Rupert Bear leaving the park. This was also the year
the Skyride opened, with its gondolas cutting a striking line across
the centre of the area.
Once Tussauds took
over the park, it soon became clear that Festival Park's days were
numbered, as its ride line-up often looked very transitory, as
several rides passed through the area, either on the way out of the
park, or on their way to another more permanent home in the park.
The Spider left the
park in 1991 and was replaced by the Tristar, which itself was
removed the next year, as the Junior Flyer (most recently known as
the Bouncing Bugs) arrived in the area for the 1992 season. 1001
Nights was the next ride to depart the park, being replaced in 1995
by the Energizer, a ride which only stayed in Festival Park briefly
as it was moved, along with the Enterprise, to the X Sector for the
1998 season. The development of the X Sector also had another impact
on Festival Park as 1997 saw the arrival of the Astrodancer in the
area, relocated from its former home in Fantasy World.
The Festival Park
Dome (the open air theatre had received the iconic dome of Fountain
Square back in 1989 to give the stage some shelter from the
elements) had its last season as an entertainment venue in 1998.
This left the line up of Festival Park consisting of the Corkscrew, Junior Flyer, Wave Swinger and AstroDancer, and it was with this line up of rides that it was
transformed into the prehistoric playground that was Ug Land.
