Alton Towers Resort 19/7/16
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Nickolai
- Member
- Posts: 503
- Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:36 pm
- Location: Lincolnshire
Tomorrow I am going to Alton towers with my school. As well as having a good time with my friends I will post up pics of the park and it's businesses throughout the day. We are getting 1/2 price bronze fastrack which means we can prioritise more of our day to waiting the hefty queue for the smiler (We will try and get on with the least amount of queue) and galactica If we are feeling up for it (with its reduced throughputs). We should be staying until park close (sadly 5 this year) which means we should get on most things. I might post my On Ride Photos too.
Formally Smiler313
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Nickolai
- Member
- Posts: 503
- Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:36 pm
- Location: Lincolnshire
Here it is...
So, the park was really busy today with it being the Hottest day of the year and the Smiler being on 2 trains for most of the day and reaching 3 hours, but that was only a nut shell of a great day at the resort (SERIOUSLY, I am not being sarcastic!). The Coaches went out to the main car park with us being in the coach section near to area A of the car park. We then took the standard walk past Nemesis, the Duel Warehouse and the standard coach park near the staff building (I think that is right but please correct me if I am wrong) where we were greeted by the turnstiles that allowed us to gain freedom for the rest of the day!
The queue for the Resort Box Office was around 20mins as it was very busy, but when we got served, they were very quick at getting us the Bronze Fastrack so we could go out and ride the coasters. The Big Six had all reached over an hour so in order to do everything our group felt it was necessary to get it.
First on the list was Nemesis and we were able to skip 66mins of the queue. We could see that the main queue lead to the first corkscrew but not as far as the lift hill as that area is rarely used. The front row queue was rammed, so we went into the 'free for all' batching area. The GP didn't really get to grips with that concept, as on most other rides, there is a ride host telling you which bay to enter, so the ride hosts had to (politely) shout so everyone knew what was happening. I like the free for all system as it meant that you could go in which bay you want, which is why I went on back row (It was my first time doing back row) and wow! The forces are consistent and realistic, and the pacing feels better towards the back too. This has ranked Nemesis much higher as a roller coaster!
We then headed over to Duel, manufactured by Mack Rides, well known for their reliability and throughputs. The queue was at a walking pace until we stopped. I am unsure of why we stopped - I am guessing just a temporary delay with the heat. It is still one of my favourite dark rides it is just some areas are blander than others - eg. the well themed garden scene compared to the bland flying banshee scene just before. Also the ride stopped briefly once and then another time they did an announcement to say the ride will start up again. Do you think this was because of the heat or has this happened to you as well recently?
We went back to Forbidden Valley to grab some lunch. It is good to see the Park this busy again as it is good for Merlin after what happened last year. We then hopped into a POMA gondala to ride in the sky over to Dark Forest.
As we were passing over we could see Rita working fine and as soon as we go to ride it it breaks down. From what I saw, the second train didn't make it in to the unload Station, but my other friend who went on at another time, said it didn't launch at all. That seems more reasonable as Intamin Launch Coasters and lots of heat just do not mix! We saw maintenance on site as we were walking, but it didn't open for another good 3 hours - it could have been more serious. There were still no vines growing on the wooden structure, protecting Rita's Launch for TLC. Hopefully, it should come, as little things like that really develop the area with the theming, and the basic plot to the area.
As we entered the Th13teen queue, people were saying that it had broke down but, as we reached the baggage hold, they let us merge in, so they didn't have any problems with that. The Tesla coil was working fine, but it went off twice while we were in that section, which led me to think, that it was only on two trains. As we walked down the stairs, we saw the station with no train. Usually, there is always one train in the station, and two on the circuit, so it was only on two trains. I didn't tell my friends about the secret element, so they were scared but really enjoyed it. Sadly, the trims were on, and I felt them on the first drop, so it could of only been a temporary deactivation.
Next, we hit X Sector to ride Oblivion, which was on a 2 station setup, which was very pleasing as an Enthusiast to see. 5 shuttles were running on the track, with the main queue starting at the first under station point. Everything was fine, we sat down and Ride Hosts checked our restraints and before you know it, we were waiting by the exit, because it had ceased operation, and they needed to test it. A friendly ride Host (I don't know his name but I recognised him from TPW's start of season vlog on RMT, he said he is usually on nemesis) reassured us that we would get back on, and after half an hour, we had been down the world's first dive machine.
I can Explain... The ride host said we could get something in return for Rita and Oblivion's technical difficulties at the box office so we went there told them about Oblivion, and that Rita was still down so, in return, they gave us that! We cannot thank Alton Towers enough and we highly respect them for doing so.
It was my first time on Enterprise and I really enjoyed it. There were good forces, but it was actually in a way quite relaxing. Apart from the 45min wait because of people not going in 2 per gondola, it was a fantastic ride coming from a person who is not a fan of flats. I thought you would get quite sick on it. Others in my group found it fun as well.
So finally it was time to do The Smiler. The main queue was advertised at 3 hours, but the queue was just after the in- queue Smiler shop. It was on a two train service, (apparently it opened with 3 but one of them had an issue so it was removed) so I was still surprised to see it that short but with so much of a wait, unless the extended queue line was open, as that adds a significant amount of cattle pen to the line. I have a feeling the music in the queue was slightly lower in pitch than usual. Usually, you hear Merlin's music sometimes in a higher pitch, but the music sounded a bit more creepy than usual - was this just that day, or has it been since March? All the effects in the correctional block were off, probably to do with the heat. The projectors wouldn't work and because the flaps were pushed all the way over the fence, there would be too much light coming in to get the full immersion.
When we reached the station again like Th13teen, there was no train in the station. Usually (after last year) there is 1 train in the station while 2 do the circuit. The Station music could be turned up a bit, just like the area audio (as loud as Galactica's is would be fantastic). We got on train 1, and I was on the front row, seat 1 and that was quite a jolty ride for me - I have definitely had smoother rides before. Is train 1 the roughest? Both lifts' audio were higher in pitch as well which is Ok I guess - has this been like this since March too? But, I still was Marmalised and had a really fun ride. It turned out to be all ten of my group's favourite coaster, so they were really happy they got to ride it - they found it pretty smooth too.
Afterwards, we checked the queue boards and Rita was back open, and Galactica was only 15mins, so we went to Rita and that was the smoothest ride I had on it. It was not smooth, but a bit jolty, although not enough to bang my head on the restraints like the other times I have been on. It seemed, after they fixed Rita, all of Dark Forest's music was cutting out (like buffering on YouTube) but that wasn't very noticeable. I had to point it out to my friends or they wouldn't have realised. Afterwards, we headed quickly in a POMA gondola to ride in the sky over to Forbidden Valley to ride Galactica.
It was still advertised at a 15min wait, but we knew that VR was off and it was on dual stations, with 3 trains, so it was a walk on.
I really enjoyed riding Air with Galactica's theme, because I really liked the portal as it is a good piece of theming. It was a nice smooth ride, as always. I think, eventually it will run how it did today, and 'Can I ride it as air instead of using VR?' will be visa versa, and they should add extra theming gradually like how they are doing it with Karnan at Hanza Park. But overall, I prefer Galactica's theme and music over Air's. Don't get me wrong, because I really like the VR, it's just I think it will eventually run without VR also because of throughputs - that is how we got on as a walk on after all.
Last ride of the day was Nemesis, with a walk on as well still running 2 trains. They shut off the front row queue, but Joe Beasly let us on which was very kind of him, but I found the front more rough than I did at the back. Maybe it was a different train but yes, we got last train of the day and that ended our day off on the 1994 classic here at Alton Towers!
I get wowed every time I get off that coaster!
On Towers Street, I met James Smiles as well, and we were talking about geeky things at the park and he was surprised that I knew him.
And that folks, is the end...
So, the park was really busy today with it being the Hottest day of the year and the Smiler being on 2 trains for most of the day and reaching 3 hours, but that was only a nut shell of a great day at the resort (SERIOUSLY, I am not being sarcastic!). The Coaches went out to the main car park with us being in the coach section near to area A of the car park. We then took the standard walk past Nemesis, the Duel Warehouse and the standard coach park near the staff building (I think that is right but please correct me if I am wrong) where we were greeted by the turnstiles that allowed us to gain freedom for the rest of the day!
The queue for the Resort Box Office was around 20mins as it was very busy, but when we got served, they were very quick at getting us the Bronze Fastrack so we could go out and ride the coasters. The Big Six had all reached over an hour so in order to do everything our group felt it was necessary to get it.
First on the list was Nemesis and we were able to skip 66mins of the queue. We could see that the main queue lead to the first corkscrew but not as far as the lift hill as that area is rarely used. The front row queue was rammed, so we went into the 'free for all' batching area. The GP didn't really get to grips with that concept, as on most other rides, there is a ride host telling you which bay to enter, so the ride hosts had to (politely) shout so everyone knew what was happening. I like the free for all system as it meant that you could go in which bay you want, which is why I went on back row (It was my first time doing back row) and wow! The forces are consistent and realistic, and the pacing feels better towards the back too. This has ranked Nemesis much higher as a roller coaster!
We then headed over to Duel, manufactured by Mack Rides, well known for their reliability and throughputs. The queue was at a walking pace until we stopped. I am unsure of why we stopped - I am guessing just a temporary delay with the heat. It is still one of my favourite dark rides it is just some areas are blander than others - eg. the well themed garden scene compared to the bland flying banshee scene just before. Also the ride stopped briefly once and then another time they did an announcement to say the ride will start up again. Do you think this was because of the heat or has this happened to you as well recently?
We went back to Forbidden Valley to grab some lunch. It is good to see the Park this busy again as it is good for Merlin after what happened last year. We then hopped into a POMA gondala to ride in the sky over to Dark Forest.
As we were passing over we could see Rita working fine and as soon as we go to ride it it breaks down. From what I saw, the second train didn't make it in to the unload Station, but my other friend who went on at another time, said it didn't launch at all. That seems more reasonable as Intamin Launch Coasters and lots of heat just do not mix! We saw maintenance on site as we were walking, but it didn't open for another good 3 hours - it could have been more serious. There were still no vines growing on the wooden structure, protecting Rita's Launch for TLC. Hopefully, it should come, as little things like that really develop the area with the theming, and the basic plot to the area.
As we entered the Th13teen queue, people were saying that it had broke down but, as we reached the baggage hold, they let us merge in, so they didn't have any problems with that. The Tesla coil was working fine, but it went off twice while we were in that section, which led me to think, that it was only on two trains. As we walked down the stairs, we saw the station with no train. Usually, there is always one train in the station, and two on the circuit, so it was only on two trains. I didn't tell my friends about the secret element, so they were scared but really enjoyed it. Sadly, the trims were on, and I felt them on the first drop, so it could of only been a temporary deactivation.
Next, we hit X Sector to ride Oblivion, which was on a 2 station setup, which was very pleasing as an Enthusiast to see. 5 shuttles were running on the track, with the main queue starting at the first under station point. Everything was fine, we sat down and Ride Hosts checked our restraints and before you know it, we were waiting by the exit, because it had ceased operation, and they needed to test it. A friendly ride Host (I don't know his name but I recognised him from TPW's start of season vlog on RMT, he said he is usually on nemesis) reassured us that we would get back on, and after half an hour, we had been down the world's first dive machine.
I can Explain... The ride host said we could get something in return for Rita and Oblivion's technical difficulties at the box office so we went there told them about Oblivion, and that Rita was still down so, in return, they gave us that! We cannot thank Alton Towers enough and we highly respect them for doing so.
It was my first time on Enterprise and I really enjoyed it. There were good forces, but it was actually in a way quite relaxing. Apart from the 45min wait because of people not going in 2 per gondola, it was a fantastic ride coming from a person who is not a fan of flats. I thought you would get quite sick on it. Others in my group found it fun as well.
So finally it was time to do The Smiler. The main queue was advertised at 3 hours, but the queue was just after the in- queue Smiler shop. It was on a two train service, (apparently it opened with 3 but one of them had an issue so it was removed) so I was still surprised to see it that short but with so much of a wait, unless the extended queue line was open, as that adds a significant amount of cattle pen to the line. I have a feeling the music in the queue was slightly lower in pitch than usual. Usually, you hear Merlin's music sometimes in a higher pitch, but the music sounded a bit more creepy than usual - was this just that day, or has it been since March? All the effects in the correctional block were off, probably to do with the heat. The projectors wouldn't work and because the flaps were pushed all the way over the fence, there would be too much light coming in to get the full immersion.
When we reached the station again like Th13teen, there was no train in the station. Usually (after last year) there is 1 train in the station while 2 do the circuit. The Station music could be turned up a bit, just like the area audio (as loud as Galactica's is would be fantastic). We got on train 1, and I was on the front row, seat 1 and that was quite a jolty ride for me - I have definitely had smoother rides before. Is train 1 the roughest? Both lifts' audio were higher in pitch as well which is Ok I guess - has this been like this since March too? But, I still was Marmalised and had a really fun ride. It turned out to be all ten of my group's favourite coaster, so they were really happy they got to ride it - they found it pretty smooth too.
Afterwards, we checked the queue boards and Rita was back open, and Galactica was only 15mins, so we went to Rita and that was the smoothest ride I had on it. It was not smooth, but a bit jolty, although not enough to bang my head on the restraints like the other times I have been on. It seemed, after they fixed Rita, all of Dark Forest's music was cutting out (like buffering on YouTube) but that wasn't very noticeable. I had to point it out to my friends or they wouldn't have realised. Afterwards, we headed quickly in a POMA gondola to ride in the sky over to Forbidden Valley to ride Galactica.
It was still advertised at a 15min wait, but we knew that VR was off and it was on dual stations, with 3 trains, so it was a walk on.
I really enjoyed riding Air with Galactica's theme, because I really liked the portal as it is a good piece of theming. It was a nice smooth ride, as always. I think, eventually it will run how it did today, and 'Can I ride it as air instead of using VR?' will be visa versa, and they should add extra theming gradually like how they are doing it with Karnan at Hanza Park. But overall, I prefer Galactica's theme and music over Air's. Don't get me wrong, because I really like the VR, it's just I think it will eventually run without VR also because of throughputs - that is how we got on as a walk on after all.
Last ride of the day was Nemesis, with a walk on as well still running 2 trains. They shut off the front row queue, but Joe Beasly let us on which was very kind of him, but I found the front more rough than I did at the back. Maybe it was a different train but yes, we got last train of the day and that ended our day off on the 1994 classic here at Alton Towers!
I get wowed every time I get off that coaster!
On Towers Street, I met James Smiles as well, and we were talking about geeky things at the park and he was surprised that I knew him.
And that folks, is the end...
Formally Smiler313
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Morgan
- Member
- Posts: 1594
- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2014 12:22 pm
- Location: Altonville Mines
Duel's screaming room was originally intended to be pitch black so that when the heads did appear with the strobes it was a lot more surprising. Unfortunately the lighting isn't as good nowadays as opposed to how it was when it opened as The Haunted House.