SW6 / Thirteen - Ride & Construction discussion Part 2

[Vik]

SW6 / Thirteen - Ride & Construction discussion Part 2

Welcome to the final topic for discussion surrounding Alton Towers latest major attraction "Thirteen," also known as SW6.
We felt a new topic was needed as the old topic was a massive 150 pages long!
With the very large number of hit’s the topic was taking we were getting frustratingly large delays in page load times.

To help continue the flow of the topic I have moved the last Three pages from the old topic into this one, they can be found below. If you wish to view the rest of the old topic you can find it Here.

Please be aware of sub-forum guidelines, this topic will be heavily moderated by the team, particularly over the coming weeks as construction draws to an exciting close.

[Dylan]

[quote=""Thomas Moore""]Is nobody else surprised at how much is still yet to be done in the remaining time?

I can't believe they appear to be doing rudimentary tests (adjusting speeds ect.) and still have to add theming to the ride itself and the area and finish the skyride. They're also not going to be able to start a convincing media campaign without being able to show at least some of the rides themed areas.

Anyone else think they're behind schedule (or had a poorly planned schedule in the first place)?[/quote]

I think it has been mentioned that they are behind schedule slightly due to adverse weather, but progress is coming along just fine. The coaster track was installed in October / Nov 2009 to leave all this time for theming and more technical work on the ride.
It has been testing a few weeks now which is probably their priority. The building facade will have been prefabricated and will just need to be added to the building areas.
I remember Saw construction last year, even down to the last week the area looked nowhere near ready. It's amazing how quickly all the fine details come together at the end.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I know it will probably all be finished but why leave it until the last week? If something does go wrong in testing then they'll be stretching resources to complete everything on their checklist by opening day. The Ug-land re-theme could have been started (and finished) by Christmas

[aru]

The UK experienced a pretty cold and snowy winter. Manual work, ride systems, electrics, paint etc don't mix well with cold and wet. The themeing of the 'shipping container' doesn't look like a timely task - it's pretty much faux scaffolding and some sheets! I hope that the secret element is going to plan - the experience of the ride pretty much rests on this.

[Thorpefandan]

Yeah, I can't see them making fake scaffolding, surely it's cheaper to use the real stuff?
In one of the wallpapers it looked like vines were wrapping around the riders, could there be vine like things which could wrap around the riders legs inside?

[D-Man]

^How could they do that?

They would have to make it computer controlled and this would be quite hard to achieve?

[Thorpefandan]

It probably would be hard to acheive, but I was thinking along the lines of the flappy ropes under the chairs in 4D cinemas

[D-Man]

Could do that as it would make you feel like you are being pulled down into the crypt

[Sazzle]

The first thing I thought when I saw the area (from afar, of course!) at the weekend was that the project was in danger of running behind schedule. There seems to be a lot of work still to do, and if they're still flapping about with the ride system then I hate to say it, but they could well be pushing their opening date to the limit. I guess its understandable to attribute the lack of themeing to the weather, but surely the technical bits should have been done by now, and the ride system should be in its final stages of testing...

Perhaps something didn't work out quite how it was planned?

I imagine a flat out test period to get through H&S requirements for opening.

[Javs]

I don't think any of us are really qualified to say whether or not the project is ahead or behind schedule. There is still over a month to go and we have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. You would be surprised just how quickly the cosmetic work can be finished.

[manni]

I would assume they are a little behind but nothing to fatal. I guess they are just fine tuning the ride and we dont know how long they have had those trains. They may have been there a while before we seen those picture's with Alex Reid. They could just be making final adjustment's for the on ride photo's, brake's, lift hill, e.t.c. Ground work would only take a matter of day's to finish. I really think they would have cancelled the competition if it's behind that much.

[Islander]

[quote=""Mr P""]People go on about Fake Scaffolding, surely it's real scaffolding but used as theming?[/quote]
I don't think anyone means 'not-real' scaffolding when referring to 'fake' scaffolding - it's just a way of describing the fact that it won't be used for it's normal purpose.

Who knows, to save cost it possibly won't be structurally sound (i.e. to hold a person, or support a wall - it will of course be structurally sound enough to hold itself up! :P)

[Mi-Nigle]

I've not seen this being discussed I don't think so I'll just throw it in the mix...

What will they cover the dirt with? At the moment it just screams 'building site' to me.

I think bark would look good, but I guess they'd need a hell of a lot to cover that ground. The colour would suit the vine/wood thing they have going on at the moment. Turf would look too lush and neat for an abandoned crypt.

Or will most of it be filled with paved cattle pens? [-X

[Javs]

Pebbles or dark stones maybe and rocks? Not forgetting, creepers and tendrils seem to be a big theme, so a lot of creeping plants and select bushes could look good.

[Mi-Nigle]

I just don't want to see how Air looked when it first opened. There was a lot of bare earth all over the place, but if they are planting things in order for it to look good in the long term then I suppose it's unavoidable in some areas.

I mean Air doesn't look amazing by any stretch, but over time as the plants have expanded over the area and it doesn't look half as bad as 2002.

[PyroMittens]

Sorry to sound all "friend of a friend of a friend"...but my mates dad works for a landscaping company, and they've been contracted to supply materials for the site...trees, bushes...etc. Not sure about bark, but there will definitely be some form of plantation.

[nemesisfan]

The Dark Forest is going to really look the part when its finished, i think it will look great on opening day but overtime become better and achieve the look Alton are after. Look back at Nemmy, it was nothing but a dirty construction site when it was finished but over the years its come along way and now looks fantastic with the plants and trees that have grown, it give the ride more of a compact feeling. I think the same for Th13een them woods bust be pretty bare where the track runs through, in time things will grow back and you will be flying through them woods with trees just missing you it will be fantastic it just needs time.

[SheikhSam]

yeah just like someone said about air, that wasn't really the landscape it is now, more of a construction site, if anyone lives near the new western bypass, you'll notice how quickly the shrubery has grown. It would be really hard to get any more trees on site, im not sure what the machines called but theres only two or so in the world

if they were to rake up enough money to hire one of these, well we already know how awkward it was to get the fire engines up to the skyride

[Nightfall]

Unfortunately I think all rides look very bare when completed. It's like the ride is in it raw form and it needs time for it to age in. The only way around it is expensive, creating fake foliage or taking the Disney approach and cover the attraction in man-made scenery.

Remember that in March the park is going to look bare anyway.
Air is also more exposed so the area won't look that bare.

[Chris W]

Thirteen is a ride which should age pretty well.
Its meant to be an old abandoned-type building so as it ages naturally it will look even more run-down.

The trees which are being planted probably won't be full size, but give it a year or two and it will look great.

The wooded section of the ride will be interesting, depending on the foliage and the speed of the ride.