Fireworks Spectacular 2013 at Alton Towers Fireworks review, show info and photo gallery

Fireworks reflected in the lake in front of Alton Towers

Alton Towers' spectacular end of season fireworks took place on three nights between Friday 8th and Sunday 10th October 2013, and featured a storyline based around a celebration of memories of the theme park.

At the beginning of the show the audience was introduced to The Gatekeeper, the guardian of every memory ever created at the Alton Towers Resort. Memories have been carefully stored away and protected within the enchanted stately home, and the Gatekeeper wants to unleash them as part of a spectacular celebration.

Starting over 150 years ago with the building of the gothic estate, time is soon fast-forwarded to the 1980s and a section celebrating The Corkscrew with fireworks to the sounds of Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).

Moving into the 21st Century, the show had a long section celebrating Th13teen, Nemesis, Rita, Oblivion and Air - described by The Gatekeeper as "the titans of memory creation".

Smiley face fireworks for The Smiler

Slowing the pace slightly, next was an acknowledgement that while we can celebrate the amazing rollercoasters and rides of today's Alton Towers, sometimes the best memories are created through shared experiences: "The people you love. Your friends. Your family. Look around you ... these are the people who create the real magic."

After that heart-tugging interlude, The Gatekeeper was keen to introduce "the latest creation in memory extraction" - The Smiler. Unfortunately things quickly went out of control, I Love It (I Don't Care) by Icona Pop playing in the background as smiley face shaped fireworks filled the sky and The Smiler took control, replacing visitors' memories with its own.

Despite his best efforts, The Gatekeeper could do nothing: "A lifetime of memories. Gone. Erased. As a guardian I have failed you. I am sorry." But of course there always has to be a happy ending at Alton Towers Fireworks, and the Gatekeeper realised that since the memories were the audience's they were protected within them too. As the first bars of the In the Hall of the Mountain King finale were heard, the memories came back: "The magic is still alive!"