So in 2010 we had some celebration for the 30th and the 80s concert on the front lawns..
Fast forward to 2020 and we hit the 40th anniversary, so what would people like to see for the special occasion in a couple of years?

It's an interesting thing to think about... if I'm being honest, I'm not completely sure Alton Towers will do anything big for their 40th Anniversary. If the park are getting a new attraction (possibly an entire retheme of Cloud Cuckoo Land) next year, then I'd say a new attraction for 2020 is less likely. An event such as a concert (or maybe something else?) could be on the cards.. but who knows?! 

At this moment in time, I genuinely don't have a clue what Alton might have planned / will plan (if anything at all) for their 40th. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

If they are to celebrate it, i'd love to see a return of the parade, even if its for the summer holiday period only. I never got to see it in its hayday. They could maybe recreate some of the old floats as well as adding in some new ones. I think it would be a cheap(ish), but fabulous way to celebrate.

I like the idea of the parade coming back. And then (even though the chances are beyond slim) 40th-anniversary bunting and garland would look great on Towers Street. Also, to celebrate, something along the lines of 'late night Saturdays' which consists of dusk riding and maybe an evening show on the lake (featuring fire, lasers, fountains and a small number of fireworks/pyro) - where the park shuts at 9/10pm every Saturday during the summer holiday. I would also love to the return of Alton Towers Live, but organised in a better way - perhaps either double book the artists (and do it Saturday & Sunday - each day identical) or have two/three totally different line-ups split across 3 days (one day dance & mainstream, one day pop & mainstream, and another day indie & rock). 

Below is what I'm thinking, however, I'm not sure if it'd work - but, Towers could incorporate weekend tickets, hotel packages etc.  Just thought I'd throw my idea out there, even though I doubt they'd do this! 

Friday- HEADLINER (e.g. Martin Garrix) SUB-HEADLINER 1 (e.g. Dua Lipa) SUB-HEADLINER 2 (e.g. J.Hus) SUB-HEADLINER 3 (e.g. Sigala) (+5 other artists)
Saturday- HEADLINER (e.g. Little MIx) SUB-HEADLINER 1 (e.g. Post Malone) SUB-HEADLINER 2 (e.g. Anne-Marie) SUB-HEADLINER 3 (e.g. Lily Allen) (+5 other artists)
Sunday- HEADLINER (e.g. Bastille) SUB-HEADLINER 1 (e.g. Wolf Alice)  SUB-HEADLINER 2 (e.g. Blossoms) SUB-HEADLINER 3 (e.g. The Magic Gang) (+5 other artists)

I've got to agree – I really like the idea of there being a parade! To be honest, I was actually thinking recently how nice it'd be if they brought back some of the old park mascots, like Henry Hound – I'd love it if they were to de that as well! Also really like the suggestion of decorations on Towers Street!

The parade was never popular when I visited back in the late 80's.  They rarely got an audience watching it, that all two floats that was.   I do miss the circus show that they used to have, the would have two performances, one in the afternoon and the second one would start as the park closes, which was a nice way to end your day.   

Perhaps a different concept that combines something in the style of a parade and a show would work better? What if they had say two or three floats, specially themed for the 40th, which they could drive to the bottom of Towers Street to perform a special show (featuring some of the old park characters!) just before ride close time, so as people are leaving the park they see the entertainment, and are perhaps more inclined to stick around at watch? I don't know... just an idea..

I think it would be great if they started doing some special events, focusing on merging the past and present and future of the park, celebrating everything that made Alton Towers the park we see today.

It's a unique idea that only something like Alton Towers can pull off, their history is a large part of what makes the park so unlike anything else, and they never properly celebrate it. At the same time, we are seeing the Year of the Walking Dead at Thorpe, so why couldn't Alton Towers do something similar but dedicated to celebrating their 40th?  Alton Towers definitely has the returning demographic required to make something like this work, and the fans would be dedicated enough to take part (I think). They could do scavenger hunts, pub style quizzes and other fun events based on recognising and remembering the past of Alton during the spring, then have that fantastic parade idea Dom brings up in his post and the incredible concert idea proposed by Stan could both be happening during the summer, and then for autumn they could have an incredible line up of scaremazes that bring back some of the classic, well beloved mazes of the past and mixes them with new mazes of today.

Idk this is just me thinking aloud. 

Sorry might be a dumb question but if there were to be a parade, what route would it take?

If my memory serves me correct, back in the day, the parade used to come in from the gates in-between the Oblivion toilets and where the Carnival of Screams zone.  It would head up towards the towers and turn left down towards splash galleons and then head to Cbeebies land and through a gate there.  I don't know if it could still follow the same route today.

I would have guessed the most likely route would be for it to enter the park via the gates in Mutiny Bay (next to Sharkbait Reef) and the head up past Wicker Man before turning right to head towards Towers Street and CBeebies Land, then turn and head up to X-Sector, and when it reaches the Goal Striker area, turn and head up the diagonal path which leads to the Towers entrance archway, but then turn around and head in a straight line back to Mutiny Bay.

Problem I see, is Towers is such a big, sparse park, that getting any worthwhile audience would be very difficult, making a full parade maybe not worth Towers doing, which is why I think perhaps getting just three or so floats and driving them from the gates in Mutiny Bay down to the bottom of Towers Street to preform a show either at the end or beginning of the day, before driving them back to the gates in Mutiny Bay might be more worthwhile.

For any kind of parade to happen and a crowd/GP to care about it enough to look when it’s on and turn up in numbers build up is needed.

This firstly comes in the form of creating characters people care about seeing on the floats and can relate to. I know you’re thinking but Henry hound and gang...yes but how many years has it been since he was a thing and how many of the GP would even know or care about him now not many I’d guess, so to begin with Towers would need to begin to introduce him back into the experience of the day around 2019 to get people to build a relationship and knowledge of him.

Introduce new characters or give current unique Towers character more interaction time with guests, such as Finn in Sealife and around mutiny bay. New characters in around the park not just at Scarefest. Even if this came in the form of staggered appearances which would allow one or two groups of actors to rotate around the park in different costumes.

Include BBC CBeebies characters (obvious choice), to allow younger guests to have a reason to bug parents to wait to see it.

Find the ideal time slot to maximise guest interaction so it’s not awkward that there’s only a few groups of people or die hard geeks. For example 1/2pm would be no good but a moment when most guests are in one area. I’m specifically thinking end of the day perhaps ride close or just post ride close, as not 100% guests would watch so it would allow monorail and car traffic to exit at an easier flow rate.

Possibly make it a limited time event, with potential preview days on days, which are normally busy, to rise gate figures. Possibly limit it to the 6 week holidays or May half term & the weekends during the summer holidays.

Finally make it more than just a parade, give it life, music, a story perhaps or as mentioned some pyro. It has to have that wow factor otherwise guest won’t find the appeal.

Towers doesn't need a parade, The entrance isn't big enough to accomedate guests + a parade without affecting traffic. However I could see some sort of mini celebration going on. But I'd imagine they'd want the focus to be the 2020 addition.

After seeing Aquanura last week, I'd love for there to be a fountain show on the lake. It'd help bring some magic to the end of the day, and I could imagine it being a hit with all ages. Combine this with the return of mascots and an emphasis on live entertainment, and the 40th anniversary would be one to remember.

I've always think a fountain show on the lake will look fantastic, especially if used in conjunction with the end of the season fireworks

Are all the mechanisms or whatever you'd call them all submerged under the water for Aquanura at Efteling? If not, I can't see something like that at Towers as it'd completely ruin the view of the lake. If they can get all the fountains submerged under the water, then I actually think it could be something that's worth Towers looking into getting, as the actual fountain show at Efteling looks spectacular, and could possibly work extremely well at Towers! 

Zach, you also make some very good points about a parade. I've often found that entertainment at Towers in general, is something in which the general public just seem so uninterested in, so even though so many of us enthusiasts want to see more entertainment, it's actually not always worth Towers making the effort because the public just are not interested in watching it. Wasteland Bash is a good example of this. Put it simply – nobody really cared. 

Characters are an interesting one. I can see for example a character such as Henry being pretty popular if they brought him back, updated the costume, and like you say Zach, is given a proper amount of guest interaction time for people to get to know him as a character and as the mascot of the park. Also, adding new, or making existing characters more prominent is also a really good way of bringing more characters back into the park.

Your last point I really agree with. The parade would have to get guests attention as something worth spending time out of their day to watch. It must have that wow factor so it can capture peoples imagination! I do think it's really a case of doing it in the right way as opposed to just writing it off as something they can't do. If they do it properly, I can definitely see a parade working well at Towers! 

It could be argued that the poor reception of Wasteland Bash was due to how widespread it was- there was no mention on the map, or website, or queue boards across the park, so unless you knew about it beforehand then you simply wouldn't know about it.
Also Aquanura is pretty well hidden  

When I went, the area around the Coffee Lounge and Nemesis, and even around Galactica was pretty busy, but as usual Wasteland Bash were performing to literally no one! Poor communication probably played a part in people not being interested, but I know that many people in the area could see that something was going on, but were not that interested in it to go and actually stand and watch it.

To be honest, I don't think FV is really the best area of the park to be doing entertainment like this. Towers should focus their entertainment offerings to families and have them located in more family orientated areas. I.e. Mutiny Bay, Katanga Canyon, Gloomy Wood, and CCL.

Wasteland Bash is in an area of the park with predominantly thrill rides so most traffic in FV is teens/adults wanting to go on the roller coasters not watch shows couple this with the fact it has no mention of it what so ever outside of Ripsaw's site it's not surprising there's little people watching it. If they moved it to a more family friendly area of the park and made people aware of the show through signs and a mention on the park map, it would most likely attract more attention.

Also I thought the show was gone?