Dobba

Nemmie in the dark back during Alton Towers' Scarefest

Park opens in Feb for the school half term week though the area in question will be shut off. If the Towers complex itself is open for visitors though, photos will be available by the truck load. There is also the Thirteen event weekend though I doubt we'll see any photos from that online until after the ride opens.

We're reliant on the park to upload photos I'm afraid. They did post a set of photos from a crane just after the track was completed though.

Slightly outdated picture now but gives you an idea of how the station will look:

As lovely a sound that is to us themepark goers it was ridiculously loud at the beginning of the season, you could hear it from the Duel queue when we went

Part of the Alton charm is how they have gotten past the height limits. Nemesis especially uses the forced landscaping beautifully making it almost as good a coaster to watch as it is to ride.

Good to see Nemesis still sitting high up the rankings.

I'd agree that there were some good additions under previous but there were also some terribly themed attractions too. Rita as you mentioned, I'd add Spinball to that list, the Dungheap play area and even Air (granted it went over budget but the theming was never added in later years). So far Merlin have got everything pretty much bang on theming wise. It definitely seems more a priority with Merlin than previous owners.

Merlin have definitely put the quality of theming up a notch during their ownership of the park. Big fan of Mutiny Bay's theming but from what we've seen of Thirteen, it outshines that completely.

New Update! Station Photos: Entrance Construction: Full size images as well as previous construction teasers can be found on the Resort's Flickr page:

Because there is no reference to Ug Land left in the area, the only possible excuse a few seasons ago was that Corkscrew looked sort of like bones. If they make Thirteen it's own area there will be 4 areas in the park each with 1 ride in them, one of which doesnt even match the theme.

I'm not a fan of licensed themes either myself but anything is an improvement on Spinball currently. If this is the start of a retheme then the last 2 mis-matched rides on park will be sorted out within 1 close season. Got to be considered progress surely,

Spinball Whizzer is currently having a new paint job added, speculation of a re-theme growing with Sonic seemingly the favourite.

Possibly. The lack of "Queen of Speed" in the weekend schedule could be a sign it's at least getting a name change of sorts.

Take it with a pinch of salt, this is trademark Alton Towers BS PR.

Alton would have struggled to get the theming for this station wrong to be honest, they've got a rather large piece of inspiration a few hundred yards away.

Judging by this image on the Th13teen Weekend page, the tree is in several bits and reaches the top of the station building

Video of the tree being put in place and a little glimse of the front of the station building all themed up can be found here: http://www.altontowers.com/2010/theming/ Must admit I thought the plans were good but the real thing is stunning.

Made by a very very creative guy on Towers Nerd but it's a fantastic concept.

Press release from the Resort expected sometime tomorrow. No guarantees, just whats been doing the rounds on the rumour mill today. Watch this space.

Images added to the park's Flickr page. Full sizes here:

The park, sorry "Resort" has updated their Flickr page with station photos:

Taken from TTF: An e-mail was sent to those on the SW6 mailing list from PR agency "Frank PR". Although not giving details away regarding the ride's world's first element, it does announce the arrival of the ride's unique selling point/element on site yesterday. The release also contained pictures of the load arriving, covered in a large branded tarpaulin on a flatbed truck. A video has also been released on Facebook featuring footage of the truck arriving on site. It then goes on to talk about the ongoing speculation on blogs and social networking sites such as Twitter regarding the theme for the ride along with rumours regarding the elements of the ride. According to the e-mail, the most popular theme was "that a crypt in a mysterious forest has been disturbed, awakening a ghost." whilst other rumours have included: * A track that gives the illusion it is invisible * SW6 will beat the record for the greatest vertical drop in the world * A track that moves vertically as you ride There is no mention whether any of the above rumours have any truth in them. Also discussed, is the steps the park have taken in ensuring the ride remains "top secret". This apparently includes increased security staff, a banning of any cameras and mobiles phones, requiring staff to sign non-disclosure agreements and also approaching Google Earth to black out aerial views of the building site. A quote from Sales and Marketing Director Morwenna Angrove also says: “In the build-up to previous rides, significant details were leaked and this time we are taking no chances. Our new attraction is totally unique and scarier than ever – it’s unlike anything the world has seen before. Fans do not have to wait too long to enjoy the ride, as they will be given the chance to ride SW6 early in 2010. I would suggest those who dare prepare themselves; they will be in for ride they will never forget…”

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