‘Nightmare day’ - New Alton Towers attraction ‘Toxicator’ forced to close on opening day after burst pipe

16 March 2025, 21:33 | Updated: 16 March 2025, 21:38

Alton Towers' latest attraction, Toxicator, was forced to close on its opening day after a burst pipe caused a leak of brown liquid.

Visitors at the Staffordshire theme park have expressed frustration at the ride's closure with one calling it a "nightmare day" which left his son "so disappointed".

Visitors claimed a "brown liquid" was leaking near the entrance of the ride on Saturday but Alton Towers denied reports it was sewage and insisted it was a nearby burst pipe.

A spokesperson for Alton Towers said the incident was "unrelated to the new ride" and confirmed that operations were suspended for about two hours.

"Due to an unexpected burst pipe near the ride, Toxicator briefly paused operation whilst our teams swiftly dealt with the issue.

"The ride and surrounding area are now fully re-open and welcoming guests," a statement said.

One of the visitors was left disappointed after the closure, posting on X that staff at the theme park were 'not willing to help out in any way.'

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"Just spoken to guest services who have told me they will not do ANYTHING - they won’t give a fast track for the same ride, they won’t offer any discount, not even willing to help out in any way," the visitor wrote.

"Fabulous policy Alton Towers, love to see your prioritising a good guest experience."

Ben Keable, from Cheslyn Hay, Staffordshire, was visiting the park with his son when the ride shut on Saturday.

He told the PA news agency: "We had been queuing for about 70 minutes and were about one or two cycles away from getting on.

"We were standing under the ride waiting when a steady trickle of water started flowing by our feet. We thought it was water from the ride above as water was dripping from the fountains on the ride.

"The steady flow became more of a puddle around our feet. There was an announcement that the ride was suffering a problem. We were then told to leave the ride with no offer to come back with a fast pass given we had waited 70 minutes.

"This was just a small part of a nightmare day at the park. My son was so disappointed."

Mr Keable said a number of rides were closed throughout the day meaning they only managed five rides in 10 hours due to long queues.

Matthew Lancaster, 27, from Southport, Merseyside, was also visiting the park when the pipe burst.

He said: "I'm an avid theme park goer and it was very unfortunate what happened. That definitely wasn't on the bucket list."

The new ride, initially dubbed Project Ocean, stands at 78ft tall and is the only top spin ride in the world to be elevated above ground level.

Asked about suggestions the ride was also closed for a period on Sunday, Alton Towers said it was open and fully operational, with a 50-minute queue time.