We head on down to Alton Towers and bring you our honest opinions on each individual ride in this Alton Towers RetroSquad review.
41 years ago a message asking for help to bring more funktastic thrills for the nation to enjoy was sent out into the galaxy and the cry for help was answered by The Retro Squad, 3 wickedly awesome, fairground-inspired and totally 80′ rides: Mixtape – Roller Disco and Funk’n’Fly!
Together they set course for ATR but never arrived and the memory of them got lost in time…. Until now cause these totally rad rides have officially landed!
So, don’t miss your chance to spin back to the ’80s and join in the retrotastic thrill vibes and prepare to bounce, slide and fly and once you’re done…. just wig out! Cowabunga – You’re officially part of the Retro Squad!
So what did we make of the brand new additions?
Roller Disco
Ride Roller Disco and get ready to slide and swirl round and round, faster and faster in a head-spinning, totally rad experience!
Well, that was the marketing line for it anyways.
It’s safe to say that this Waltzer attraction is certainly more stationery in its execution with us not managing a single rotation when riding.
I can understand Alton Towers needing to tone the ride down to comply with health and safety so naturally, there is no one spinning you around but dear oh dear.
The ride looks absolutely stunning but its location was so out of place within Dark Forest that it stood out like a sore thumb blaring 80s rock classics.
With a horrific cycle each and every time it was experienced there weren’t too many positives to take away from Roller Disco and for me, it was the weakest ride out of the bunch.
Update – After complaints after the opening week of a lack of rotations it seems as though issues have been resolved as we had a wonderful ride on it only yesterday (April 23rd)
Mixtape
Ride Mixtape, the bouncy one in the Retro Squad and you’ll be in for some major retrotastic laughs as you bounce up and down and down and up!
Mixtape is certainly the most visually appealing of all the three rides but located in X-Sector surrounded by dark tones and the odd Smiler flash of yellow it really did look out of place.
The cycle was superb but I just regretted not having my harness down a bit more as that’s one ride where you want a snug fit as airtime is not welcome on a bouncing ride.
I came off feeling a little uneasy and a bit strange.
With a nice snug fit harness, I visited days later and had a wonderful experience.
It is absolutely a ride that needs a snug harness as it will quickly turn into one of the scariest rides you’ll ever experience if you’re not secure in your seat!
Funk’N’Fly
Ready for a thrillingly funktastic flight? Then ride Funk’n’Fly and reach new retrotastic heights!
This PWS Super Trooper ride was certainly my favourite of the bunch.
We had a great long cycle to a Guns and Roses soundtrack and whilst it didn’t fit the area whatsoever in terms of music blaring out it certainly didn’t look out of place.
Out of all the RetroSquad rides, I personally thought Funk’N’Fly fitted in the best in Forbidden Valley which is strange.
The dark, dull tones of Nemesis contrasted by the bright purple tones of Funk’N’Fly, I don’t know, it just worked.
A dizzying experience but it certainly wasn’t boring and was head and shoulders above the previous two.
Funk’N’Fly certainly takes the crown for the best RetroSquad ride in my opinion easily beating its competition in our Alton Towers RetroSquad review.
You must have been lucky with your cart as we had a total blast on the Roller Disco and didn’t stop spinning (and laughing) the whole way round. We sat the kids on one side and adults on the other – we thought the uneven weight distribution would keep us whirling and it did seem to work. It was one ride all our family went on and two of the party said it was their favourite ride of the day.
Mixtape was fun, but I agree the harness could be more snug. We didn’t have chance to ride Funk Fly on this trip.
I really hope Alton Towers decides to keep these rides. There are is such a focus, and wide range, of costers alreayd, these new rides give much needed variety and something that the whole family could enjoy.
Well during the opening week the park had a lot of complaints of people saying the waltzers weren’t spinning properly. I visited again yesterday and that problem has now absolutely been resolved we had some great rotations!
I don’t believe the rides are intended to stay longer than this year but it does prove that flat rides are still popular and well worth the investment to help with queue distribution