Attraction Source Forum

After riding Th13teen last week - the ride is ageing well, the forest is filling out for the outside section and queue, along with the now iconic 'aged ride' theme taking shape, with mould and rotting on the actual themeing. Probably one of the first rides that it actually improves.

It's obvious from its second year in action that the ability to ride year after year will undoubtably become dull and that queues will die off.

So what could be a potential resolution to this? One of the main elements I like about this ride, bar the drop, is the backwards section. It works so well in the dark.

Why not, in X number of years, reverse the direction? Ride the woods section backwards and shoot forwards in the tomb. Realistically, if there was any ride to be reversed, it would be Th13teen.

Ideas people?

I'm a bit confused!
You aren't talking about riding the whole thing backwards because that would mean you ride the drop section backwards which would result in a low speed lifting out of the crypt and that would just be silly?

Lol, I get what he means.

Simply turn the trains around and have them pointing in the opposite direction. they leave the station traveling the same way and up the lift hill, but all the trains and passengers are facing backwards... you still get the drop section and then speed out of it facing forwards again until you get to the trick track.

Ahhhh gotcha.
lol
shooting forward OUT off the tomb, rather than in(to) the tomb, like my brain would have me read

It'd completely spoil the theatrical nature of the ride:

How would you know that you've reached a dead end when you enter the crypt?

Wouldn't watching that blackout blind lower while looking at the corrugated roof completely spoil the illusion of being in a crypt?

When you fall into the pit all you'll see is the tunnel entrance which is meant to be a surprised when you roll into it. Plus I don't know if you've been in there when the ride isn’t operating but the back of the crypt has several support columns for the track above that you don't normally see because you're facing forward. Again it kind of breaks the illusion.

Then the bit though the tunnel would seem like a really lame finale as it is designed to be ridden backwards with no clue of where you're going.

---

Anyway it’s only a small percentage of the guests that ride year on year anyway. Every day there are plenty of people that visit Alton for the first time so rides that have long lost their novelty to us are still novel to most of the riders.

I think the better way to improve th13teen's re-ride ability would be to different drop sequences.
Or having the wraith's control "tree branches" that connect to the train which "pulls" it in to the station.
Or leg tickles in the train as if its the branches putting the train down.

I just hope in 5-10 years time when the reride-ability is at a minimum Merlin take a leaf out of Disney's book and give the ride what it deserves, a refurb.

I just don't think we get these enough in this country, yes I know some can cost a lot of money and Merlin may look at it as a money waster, but I just think adding more to the ride, sprucing it up and re-marketing it to the general public again can only boost its popularity.

Look at what Epcot are doing with Test Track. Ok, its on a much larger scale, but they haven't touched the ride layout, they've just given it what it desperately needed, a new lease of life! It will give Test Track another solid 15 years of popularity.

Thirteen wouldn't need a total retheme, just more added to the experience, to bring it up to date. Who knows where theme park technology will be in 10 years?

I certainly like the idea of having a random drop and launch sequence like the one on Tower Of Terror at Disney. I don't think this would be possible with the current ride system though.
The drop element would most probably need redesigning to allow this though, plus throughput would go down. If you saw how quickly it's the next train enters the trick track you would see what I mean.

I'm sorry but I don't see the point. It's a fairly new ride.

ImURNemesis wrote: I'm sorry but I don't see the point. It's a fairly new ride.

Just a hint.. this topic lies within a category discussing the future of alton towers