thedazza

IAAPA is just around the corner, i'm sure we'll probably learn more about it then.

They didn't blur out anything in the Smiler CCTV video that was released with the report. I guess it will depend on where the camera is and how clearly you can see everything. In the smiler video you can't really see the people on the ride very well, so can't see any of the injuries. I think if you could see the metal bars in their legs with blood dripping everywhere it would probably have been blurred in the released video. Given that they describe the victims here as having suffered Injuries incompatible with life (usually meaning decapitations, or massive damage to vital organs such as brain or heart) I would assume it would definitely be censored in some way.

People saying that it can't be a drop track because the track that follows is the same height should bare this in mind. Yes the existing coasters that have drop tracks continue onto a lower piece of track, but the drop track itself always returns back to it's original position. So why can't this one do it with the train still on the track? Could also mean that the track could drop, and then be launched back up to it's original position. Definitely looks to me like it will be a drop track in there. The track is at a good height for one when it enters the building. Yeh the renderings don't show room for a drop track but they are wanting to keep it secret, so the renderings may not be totally accurate.

If planning permission is granted then construction of the new ride is due to start September 2016 and should be complete December 2017. They will start removing the flume in September this year. Ground works will likely be done during closed season or early next season, with the coaster going vertical middle of next season.

SW8 planning application is in, looks like it is going to be a GCI woodie with a launched lift like Lightning Rod's. http://publicaccess.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/portal/servlets/ApplicationSearchServlet?PKID=104356

I may think it's dumb, but at least I can recognize a running joke when I see one... Hopefully Dollywood will play along and announce it's opening with something like #itllopentomorrow Although that probably won't happen because as we are all aware... #itllneveropen

The Disco Dancer ride at Kishkinta amusement park in Chennai in India has derailed and crashed to the ground, killing at least 1 rider and injuring 20 others. There is a video of it happening in the following link, quite disturbing to watch though. http://rtlec.co.uk/index.php/at-least-one-dead-twenty-injured-as-giant-wheel-ride-crashes-to-ground-at-park-video/

It says on the website.

Get the train to Uttoxeter, there is a bus stop just outside the train station. There you can get a bus to Alton Towers, It doesn't take too long on the bus from there (20-30 minutes) and I think they are quite regular. Have only been once on public transport but that is how I did it. If there are no buses then there is also a taxi rank outside the station. I think it is most likely the same case from Stoke-On_Trent train station. Hope that helps.

Lol, of course that isn't going to happen. Check the date, it's April Fools Day.

Here is a video with people riding it, why people still film with the phone vertical though is beyond me.

There is most likely also a red train, if so the red and black logo will be on that one.

This makes me really want a new flat package for next year. I'd actually like to see new flats before SW8. I'm really not sure what kind of flats they would add, though. If they didn't have the height limits and S&S still made them, a Sky Swat could've gone really well in Ripsaw's old spot. They could always relocate Slammer from Thorpe Park That is only phase one of the repaint. The helix does have some of the blood paint theming on it. Only one side of the station building has been painted also, should be finished next year.

Actually they were, SW7 was supposed to be a B&M coaster but apparantly B&M weren't ready with their new concept so Alton went with The Smiler instead. The Long Term Development Plan (2010-2019) earmarked The Flume for removal, so yes they would have been thinking about it's replacement at the time that poster was put up. It has happened a few times that Alton Towers have switched their plans around for one reason or another. I believe AIR was supposed to be for 1998, but B&M weren't ready with the flyer concept so Oblivion was built instead. So yes the poster was obviously aimed at enthusiasts, mentioning a Secret Weapon from Switzerland (home of B&M and Intamin), but was also quite likely to have been a clue about one of their plans for the area. Although I would like to see a Mack Water Coaster at Alton Towers I don't think that would be very "Ground Breaking". I think this is more likely to be a launched woodie with inversions (meaning Alton Towers could market it as a World First). Or maybe B&M are finally ready with a 4D version of their Wing coaster.

Here is the rest of the music, taken from the Galactica mobile game app. Produced by IMAScore. Whether it is actually the full soundtrack remains to be seen. Could be that they have done 75 minutes of music to use on various sections of the ride like they did with The Smiler.

Yes you do board the suspended train, this was confirmed at Merlin's prelims and strategies presentation. They also added a little information about what you see when you get in there, which I won't post here as is quite spoilery. The presentation also had some images from inside the building, which you can see hanging train and where you board it (and/or exit), also images of some of the VR content. Again I won't post those here as they have been taken down when posted on fan sites at the request of Merlin. However, if anyone would like to see the images and webcast of the presentation it is available on Merlin Entertainment's website.

Sorry for the double post, please delete this post.

Yes I would assume it will not include Hex, or the other rides I mentioned. They are still yet to reveal the full 2016 ride lineup. Yes it has been confirmed by Alton Towers on Twitter that The Smiler will reopen with the park on 19th March.

/ Is this true? How accurate are the sources that have said this? There were articles quite some time ago about rumours that 6 rides would not be open this season. These rides were Ripsaw, The Flume, Nemesis: Sub Terra, Hex, Driving School and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. As we have seen already Ripsaw has been removed, The Flume has been confirmed to be not open this season as is being removed. So it is very likely that the other rides on that list will indeed not be opening this season. Hex isn't going to be removed but looks like it is going to be refurbished, and will be closed for at least part of the season if not all of it. This briefly appeared on the Hex page of Alton Towers website before being removed shortly after.

Hopefully they will replace it with one like Chiapas, although there was a poster that appeared on a window in Alton Towers some time ago about a Secret Weapon from Switzerland that would be in that area. So something from Intamin or B&M could well be put in The Flume's spot. Here is a photo of the article, this is from quite some time ago so plans may have changed or this could have just been put there to screw with enthusiasts.

It's already fairly clear what happened in the incident... 1. There was a regular breakdown, which prompted empty cars to be cycled through once it was rectified. 2. Riders were loaded into the car and dispatched. 3. The last empty car (Car A) stalled in the batwing. 4. The system stopped the following car filled with riders (Car B), on the first lift hill as the stalled Car A hadn't cleared the next block. 5. The staff overrode the safety system and restarted the system, Car B on the first lift was dispatched into the next block. 6. Car B collided with Car A in the batwing. Obviously step 5 is where we don't know exactly what happened and what the safety system warning actually said to prompt the ride staff/maintenance staff to misunderstand it and override the system, but I imagine we probably won't find out the actual details of what actually happened here. Regardless of what did happen Merlin is ultimately responsible as the systems were not in place to prevent this 'human error' from happening, hence why they have added visual verification points around the ride now, that need to be activated by staff members before the ride can be restarted. (I presume this might be added to all multi-car coasters in the future, at least in Merlin parks I guess). My best guess would be that as they had been having problems with the ride beforehand they may have been having problems with the block sensors. It was a windy day so maybe the trains had been slower than normal getting through the blocks due to the wind and it was making the system think something was wrong, but it wasn't. In a "Boy who cried wolf" scenario when there actually was something wrong the ops assumed it was just the same thing it had been doing previously and over rode it.They will have more than likely been informed of a train being stuck on the track but just assumed people were talking about the one on the lift hill. Complacency mixed with the likely mounting pressure to get through the ever increasing queue line quicker probably resulted in the necessary checks not being done. In other news, Alton Towers have confirmed in their blog that The Flume is being removed, you can read it here https://www.altontowers.com/useful-info/blog/exciting-developments-for-our-2016-season/

They don't look a thing alike. Not even a little bit. Raptor and the woodie are the same layout, yes, because they're being marketed for the same clients, but the T-Rex isn't even close to being similar in design. I didn't say it was the same as that layout, I agree that it is nothing like the layout you are thinking about. I said the Raptor Double Out layout was similar to the T-Rex concept layout, i.e the first drop into the dive loop, the outside banked turnaround (although at opposite ends, and probably won't have a launch after it on the Raptor version). I know it might be hard to tell as it is in profile in the picture, but look again at the picture I posted of the double out layout and hopefully you will see what I mean.

That's what I was wondering, if they are using that layout for Raptor AND Topper track coasters. I mentioned the T-Rex because this Raptor Double Out layout, looks very similar to the original concept layout for the T-Rex (video below), so was wondering if they had swapped the layouts around that they were using for the Raptor track. They did say that it would be a cookie cutter, i.e off the shelf layout, like a megalite.

I know that, I was talking about the layouts. That topper track layout is exactly the same as the Raptor layout in the video.

So they are using the original Raptor layout they showed at IAAPA for a compact wooden topper track coaster, and using a new layout similar to the IAAPA T-Rex layout for the Raptor track?