Behind the Scenes Tour - July 15th

[rctneil]

Did you walk around the whole duel track?

And also did you go into the Board room and look at the AT archives?

Regards,
Neil

[Shent]

Ah, so thats what you were doing, lol, i saw you lot walking up the bypass with wayne and co, hope you had a good day!

[karen1]

Hi, I was just wondering what priority passes you were given to use during the main part of the day.

[sammie04]

Wow the photos are really good. Looks like you had a good day haha can see Martin in some of them photos looking lost .

[Nick]

We were actually in the drum room for Rita when the ride was open to the public, but we werent allowed in the room with the actual equipment in, just looked through a window. Very impressive the amount of force generated from each launch. Each of the massive oil pipes are held in with ropes to stop them coming off again.

We did Hex before opening, got to see how the rotating room works and how they would evacuate the ride if the room stopped and didnt return to the right position automatically.

Oblivion we did when it was open, went into the workshops and under the shuttles.

We did a lot during the time the park was open, first leg of the tour went from 8am to around 11:30/12pm

Priority pass wise we got; Charlie, Spinball, Nemesis, Oblivion and Air. Wayne got us on Rita through the exit and also Oblivion once.

Only did a Duel walkthrough with the lights on, its too dangerous to have the lights off and the track is also very fragile. Will be uploading even more pics soon

[rctneil]

So you walked all the way around the duel track through each section?

Regards,
Neil

Can't wait until I go next weekend!

[Nick]

We walked the whole of the Duel track, didnt actually seem that long really, we got it done rather quickly. Interesting to find out how the cars speed up and slow down.

Few more pics;

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/ ... 0147AA.jpg
This is the Spinball template that was used on the pull through of the ride before it opened to check the envelope of safety around the cars (eg. enough room for the riders arms to be fully extended and not hit any themeing or track or any of the structure).

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/ ... 3202AA.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/ ... 3241AA.jpg
Quick peek inside Nickelodeon

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/ ... 5239AA.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/ ... 4802AA.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/ ... 5005AA.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/ ... 5412AA.jpg
Some images from the board room

[karen1]

Those photos look great Nick, I'll definately have to remember my camera when I do the tour in August.

[Nick]

One other thing we saw on the computer in the Drum house for Rita, it has done just over 92,000 launches from new, and I think i'm right in saying the ropes have been replaced twice, the most recent being just last week. They are allowed upto 24 splinters on the ropes of a single strand of steel. Intamin say the life of the ropes should be around 60,000 launches

[Martin1]

Nothing more for me to say :P

Except! 4 Quid a launch on rita it costs, bargain

Got some pictures too, but to be honest there probably just the same as nicks. Brilliant tour!
We saw so much considering it is a huge park, and what we were allowed to see too. And the information we learnt was brilliant, just forgotten all of it :P

[Nick]

Yeh Martin's one and only question when we visied each ride. . ."How much does it cost to send one train round"

[Nutty dreadz]

[quote=""NickAndrews""]Yeh Martin's one and only question when we visied each ride. . ."How much does it cost to send one train round" [/quote]

So come on then Martin, how much does it cost for every other ride?!

Nick, by the sounds of it you asked loads of stuff (which suprises me). it kinda reminds me of a school trip report! Glad to see you did your homework! :P

[Nick]

Yeh I thought why not, Terry Dunn knows a hell of a lot of stuff regarding every ride at the park! It was just fascinating with some of his knowledge. Also I was having a few conversations with James Paulding about the park, and again he was very informative and very interesting to talk to. And Wayne. . . . .well he tried his best Nah only joking, spoke to Wayne quite a bit too about the park and the future and he was very informative too. Thanks again guys when you read this, the tour was absolutely fantastic!

[Martin1]

[quote=""Nutty dreadz""][quote=""NickAndrews""]Yeh Martin's one and only question when we visied each ride. . ."How much does it cost to send one train round" [/quote]

So come on then Martin, how much does it cost for every other ride?!

Nick, by the sounds of it you asked loads of stuff (which suprises me). it kinda reminds me of a school trip report! Glad to see you did your homework! :P[/quote]

:P

Well Rita cost 4 pounds a launch, over 100 k a year. Didnt find out any other prices as such, just if they were high maintenence rides or low maintenence rides. Air is High obviously, oblivion is, Duel is, Rita is.

Rita is one of the most exspensive rides to operate, just think if 100 k is for that type of launch, the prices for lim and lsm, aren't cheap :P 30 pence a KW it is to launch rita.

And something random about duel, its serviced every 1-2 days Air has had the new infa red sensers in, but I think the majority of people knew that.

All the staff were brilliant, told us so much, about pretty much everything, wayne and andrew about the marketing side, James of eveyrthing,Terry of the tech side. Sll in all interesting!

[barryzola]

Good pics Nick, thanks for uploading. I've got a question. Were most of the people on the tour from sites such as this, or were there a load of people who just seemed to stumble across the phone number/information about the tours somewhere else?

How the hell am i going to get to the top of the flag tower? I'm s**t scared of heights.

[Martin1]

Its not too bad the height, its just the climbing up the tower, once youv climbed it, you forget where you are! :P Just me then.

Got some briliant views! Get me pics sorted soon and stick them in here. Just the same ones as nick, maybe a few different ones.

EDIT: One or two i think were from sites, (not including me and nick) think it was about it to be honest, not sure about the others.

[Nick]

You dont have to climb the Flag Tower if you dont want too, a few did stay behind. When your on the top you cant see over the edge as the stone walls are over a foot in width, so you can't lean over. You dont really get the sensation of being that high up really. Its still a fantastic experiance. Had a good chat about the Ropers up there too

[barryzola]

I'll have to go up there. I was just trying to guage just how worried i'm going to be.

[Wes]

Im most impressed with the pictures from the board room, its the really nitty gritty bits about the park that you don't normaly get to see

Was there much hinted to you in ways of the future of the park?

Also, what did the guys taking you around say about the Ropers? :P

Mugz x

:rock:

[Martin1]

Not much in the way of hinting, they just say theres loads of ideas, and there not really secret as such. Plans get discussed daily, and all that. Theres plans for different areas, didnt say what there was. Hotel plans, exstentions, new hotels, you name it :P They have probably thought about it.