The Skyride. An easier way of travelling through the park and it does help. Stations are situated near the entrance, in Forbidden Valley and in Cred Street. These run all through the day and take you to whichever station you wish. You always have a gondola going through the station, so the queue moves rather quickly; also, because it's 10 people per gondola, it helps the queues move swiftly too.

The ride itself can be interesting, as you have a few minutes to adore the surroundings.

Forbidden Valley to Cred Street - Cred Street to Forbidden Valley
So, when you're moving 200ft above the Gardens, you have the opportunity to look around the area and get some pictures. Then after the gardens you can watch Rita go round track or watch Corkscrew flip through it's inversions. Or even watch the UG Swinger swing around just avoiding Rita's track. It could be the other way around though .

Merrie England to Forbidden Valley - Forbidden Valley to Merrie England
So, Forbidden Valley station is the middle station and you can go to Cred Street or Merrie England. For the journey to or from Forbidden Valley, you have the opportunity to have a look at the Flume and the rest of Merrie England and take some pictures. Then, for the other part of the journey, you can look at the fantastic scenery that is Alton Towers.

The problem with the Skyride is that if it is broken down, you would have to walk through the valley which is rather tiring or walk down to Merrie England. It's also rather annoying if you are on it and it breaks down, but don't worry, it's usually running again shortly . Another bad point about it, is that the Gondolas look rather tatty and they could do with a lick of paint.
Nonetheless, the Skyride is something Alton Towers couldn't do without and it is one of, if not the most needed ride in the park! It does what it's required to do, get guests from 'A' to 'B'.

The Skyride is an excellent thing. The views from it are brilliant, and it saves alot of time when travelling between areas.

There is the occasional queue, but it goes down fast as there are a sizable number of Gondola's about.

It the Skyride stops, DON'T PANIC. It means that either someone who is disabled is boarding at another station, or there is a small fault, which is soon corrected. You will be on your way soon. Just hope it does not stop when you are in the middle of the valley

Lauzi: Edited spelling mistakes

Its a useful part of the park, very relaxing and takes you around the park. However, it does randomly stop alot and as towers tucan said hovering above the park has its downsides
A good idea if you've just been on a succession of thrillrides (Nemesis, Ripsaw, RITA) and you want to take a break without standing around wasting some time of the day.
Could do with a refurbishment though in my opinion.

The Sky ride really is a good mode of transport to get to Forbidden Valley from Cred Street, because it saves the long tiring walk there. The Sky Ride sometimes breaks down, but is up and running again shortly

You Get Great views of the gardens from the sky ride, and it is a brilliant place to relax after being challenged by nemesis or air. It's capacity is 12 people and there are many gondalas, so if the queue is long, you will actually be on really quick.

How could we survive without the skyride. It's got amazing views over the gardens and Mutiny Bay. Also, it's nice to see Rita from above. The ride is not very reliable though, with it stopping regularly. My rating: 9/10