Every Major Alton Towers Ride Ranked Worst To Best

Is there anything better than a theme park in the height of summer? The thrills of racing around a roller coaster at 60mph, trying to get lucky on a minigame that everyone knows is probably rigged, or racing to check out the ridiculous faces the camera caught on a ride, theme parks offer breathtaking, supernatural experiences that simply can't be found anywhere else in the world.

One of the best theme parks in the world is Alton Towers, the United Kingdom's biggest and most famous resort. Situated in the heart of Staffordshire, Alton Towers was originally a private estate owned by Earl of Shrewsbury but was gradually opened up more and more to the public from 1860 onwards.

The park is now owned by Merlin Entertainments Group, a company that own the likes of Thorpe Park, Chessington and most Legolands across the world, and has established itself as being home to the most innovative and ambitious rides of the time. From eerie experiences through lost legends, to vertical drops straight into the ground, here's every major ride at Alton Towers ranked from worst to best.

First built in 2002 by Bolliger & Mabillard, in what was their first work for Alton Towers, and known as 'Air' until 2016, Galatica is situated in the corner of the Forbidden Valley section of the park and is designed to replicate the sensation of flying. The seats of the ride tilt forward before things get going, placing riders in a Superman-like pose as the track leads off out of the depot.

It's certainly a unique feature, offering a different sort of perspective to tackling roller coasters and seeing the park than any other ride at the Towers, and the slightly slower pace of Galatica really makes this more of an experience than an adrenaline-pumping thrill.

Following Air's upgrading to Galactica in 2016, a virtual reality feature was added to the ride. Visitors would be given a headset to wear and two different simulations were developed and were themed around a couple of space adventures. This helped sell the experience gimmick a little bit more and was certainly one of the more creative things to be featured in the park, but sadly this was dropped again in 2018.