Attraction Source Forum

As long as Rita gets a launched replacement, I wouldn't mind it going

Rita isn't a SW :sus:

Oh of course, and I call myself an enthusiast :lol . In that case I'd go for 13. Obviously I'm talking many years away but it just doesn't pull guests in like the other SW's

JaykeAT wrote:

TH14TEEN wrote:Air, with any luck, will go first

No chance, it regularly has queues, it is about to have renovation around it with the new restaurant and new stuff. It's one of the most popular rides on park. I'd say Rita will go first, granted it has queues but that's mainly down to throughput, not popularity.

Rita isn't a SW

Tom170499 wrote:

JaykeAT wrote:

TH14TEEN wrote:Air, with any luck, will go first

No chance, it regularly has queues, it is about to have renovation around it with the new restaurant and new stuff. It's one of the most popular rides on park. I'd say Rita will go first, granted it has queues but that's mainly down to throughput, not popularity.

Rita isn't a SW

See above

JaykeAT wrote:See above

Oh yeah! Sorry

Wow, you lot get so anal over a ride's specific title. Rita can be whatever the damn hell I want it to be

TH14TEEN wrote:Wow, you lot get so anal over a ride's specific title. Rita can be whatever the damn hell I want it to be

No-one is being anal. Rita wasn't built under a SW codename so people are correct when they highlight this as fact

To be honest, I think all of the SW coasters will be here for a long time to come, and when they do start to go, there would be big other things instead, as technology would have advanced. If one had to go, it would be th13teen or Air, simply because Air could have it's space put to a better use, or a more thrilling flyer perhaps. If DF were to be redone with the removal of Rita, we might see a dark ride or something, and a slightly spiced up th13teen, supposing that it doesn't have a fatal breakdown/accident before then. But anyway, it's probably going to be air

If they are investing in Air over this closed season, I can't see why it would be the first to go, especially not for many years to come

Thinking about it, and I hate to say this, but I think Nemesis might be the first to go. I know age shouldn't play a part in it, but I feel that It will be part of the decision. It's been going 20 odd years, and although it's a legend of a coaster, I think AT might decide that it's had a long enough run and it is time to bring something new to the area. That being said, I do think it and all the other SW's will be here for quite a while yet.

Although I often think that, it has to be remembered that the GP still highly rate Nemesis and Nick Varney also said he cannot see Nemesis being removed in the near future. I see less highly rated rides from the GP leaving first (13 and the Smiler being exempt from this) with the Whirled Cup last year and the thing that was done a few years ago where people would vote for the best ride, Nemesis again winning this above newly opened 13 and rides that get much longer queues.

Normally age would be a factor, but Nemesis is so reliable and so highly rated by GP and enthusiasts alike as well as it being the most reliable ride at Alton Towers showing an almost spotless maintenance history. I just don't think it would be viable for Alton Towers to remove it. But again, this is just my opinion of Nemesis being removed and now we know of the money being put into Air I really don't know what SW will be removed first

These points about Nemesis are good ones, however as many have said, I dont see any of the SWs going any time soon (unless of course something tragic happens).

Although Nemesis is reliable now, still popular now and still highly rated now, in maybe 10-15 years, this might change, especially is SW8, 9 or 10 is a coaster that people think tops Nemesis, I know for a fact that some people already rate The Smiler better than Nemesis so if AT tops that...

I could also see Oblivion becoming redundant. People are getting used to it now and there is coasters in this country that are going past vertical, where as Air (the one I would prefer to go first) is still fairly unique to this country (if you don't count Hero).

I choose Oblivion because like stealthsmiler said there are coasters that are going past vertical. I can remember visiting when it first opened (I was too young at the time to go on it) and think how amazing it was. However having been on it about 10 times now it has really lost it's appeal and having rides like SAW which offer more than just a drop probably doesn't help.

If they did get rid of Nemesis I would hope they would replace it with the same ride but perhaps with a few modern changes (I know they wouldn't but I could only hope). No matter how many times I go on that ride I never get bored of it!

Th13teen and the smiler, although most recent, have had the most problems,both are fairly unreliable, both are easier to remove than the rest (on fairly flat land) and B&M tend to last a long time (am I correct in thinking no B&Ms have been scrapped?) Thirteen is a prototype and the smiler is 2 and while a great coaster, has had loads of problems, is rough, won't be as popular when it re opens probably and has a chance (although a tiny, tiny chance) of being removed. Gerstlauers tend to have shorter lifespans though. If another coaster in England breaks the inversion record (unlikely but in China golden horse designed a ride with 15 inversions) it will lose more popularity ( I see its record being beaten in 15 years, Nemesis I don't think will go until it's past 40, and Oblivion is not worth removing with the majority being underground, quite hard to remove. Rita will be the first thrill coaster to go, but then again it's not a Secret Weapon. The smiler and thirteen, relatively easier to remove than other SWs. If Nemesis and The Smiler opened in the same year, and both ran for 5 years, the smiler would be more popular due to it breaking records, 10 years, Nemesis would be more popular, due to it being better quality, and less gimmicky, more reliable and generally an all round better ride.

If the smiler re opens, and it has one more incident where people get injured, it will be gone, although I doubt it will injure anyone again, so many safety precautions will be put on it. The popularity of it was starting to decline at the start of the season, it was getting less queues, and then a fair bunch of people will have been put off. While I would hate for any of them to go, I think the worst impact would be nemesis, the smiler people would see why, but Nemesis, without an incident, would have a terrible impact. Just think at the impact corkscrew had when it left, and that's a standard, rough Vekoma corkscrew, only exception being it brought the theme park properly into the UK. I'm thinking the smiler or thirteen will go first, then Oblivion, then air, then Nemesis. I can't see any going until we have SW10, and 12 coasters, with SW8, 9 and 10 possibly being coasters, 9 will be enough. I reckon all coasters have a life span of 2025 at minimum. Plus if Nemesis went, I would cry :lol

You would actually be surprised about The Smilers reliability more recently, according to the staff they rate it as one of the most reliable behind Oblivion and Nemesis

It didn't seem to have many full days closed, but it's always had lots of short stoppages, that could be down to someone being sick though or anything. Still think either the smiler or thirteen will go sooner than the rest, even if they are the newest

In terms of reliability, let's put it this way:

Nemesis: a basic (yet thrilling) coaster with no special elements that can break down so the ride is bound to have good reliability plus the fact it is a B&M

Oblivion: rarely sees any downtime but usually when it goes down its something to do with the gears. The gears had to be replaced a few years ago leading to a month of down time so is that it's weak point?

Air: quite technologically advanced with the dispatch system. Usually when it goes down its something to do with the seats not getting in to prone position. Besides that, very reliable most of the time.

*Rita was left out as it is not a SW Coaster*

Thirteen: of all the SW coaster, this is the one I expect to break down the most. First of all, it is an Intamin and from previous experiences Intamins have bad reliability. Also, thirteen has the most complex element of any ride I know which makes it prone to downtime. However it is usually something which can be sorted within half an hour max. If it's not then it's usually a day or so.

The Smiler: had a few teething problems in it's first years but what ride hasn't (look at what happened to Air when part of the wheel guide snapped in station 1) and obviously the incident this year. That said, the incident could have happened on any ride, even our beloved Nemesis. Gerstlauer are generally quite reliable; look at Saw - the only times that has had downtime when I've been to TP is for vomit clear up.

Overall, I think I when the first SW gets removed it will be based on a number of factors including age, popularity, location but I doubt reliability will be considered as really all the SWs are quite reliable when you think about it.

Tom170499 wrote:That said, the incident could have happened on any ride, even our beloved Nemesis.

If I remember correctly, Mr Bolliger said that B&M coasters never have stalled, and never will do, so effectively it couldn't happen on Nemesis, even if 2 trains were put into 1 block, they wouldn't catch up with each other too easily. Plus the lift hill wouldn't be able to carry 2 trains, so by the time the second one has reached the top, the first train would have nearly completed the circuit.

sum1mad wrote:

Tom170499 wrote:That said, the incident could have happened on any ride, even our beloved Nemesis.

If I remember correctly, Mr Bolliger said that B&M coasters never have stalled, and never will do, so effectively it couldn't happen on Nemesis, even if 2 trains were put into 1 block, they wouldn't catch up with each other too easily. Plus the lift hill wouldn't be able to carry 2 trains, so by the time the second one has reached the top, the first train would have nearly completed the circuit.

That's just like Bill Boeing saying one of his planes would never crash...