Alton Towers Discussion Thread

[NemesisRider]

I'm we finally have official confirmation now, I was sure it would reopen, but if anything this is as much for the "General Public" who haven't followed all the little changes made on the ride throughout the season and seen the testing as much as it is reassurance to the enthusiasts. I'm very excited about riding again in 2016.

 

I personally believe Merlin so far have handled the incident very well and have been very sensible. Whilst it's sad to see they've had to make job cuts, it could have been a much bigger effect on the park in my opinion, especially with the barrage of hate negative articles from the media. I hope the people unemployed find jobs again soon too.

 

I hope the 2016 season is better than the 2015 one, and I have high hopes (I'm staying positive for the meantime) about Air V2/Galatica!

[Ed Farmer]

I hope the 2016 season is better than the 2015 one, and I have high hopes (I'm staying positive for the meantime) about Air V2/Galatica!

 

I wonder what this could be. My completely wild, moonshot guess (same guess as for Hulk v2.0) is they're somehow incorporating VR onto the ride. I don't know that Alton would just wing it and go the Six Flags route (new coat of paint, slap speakers onto the trains, throw in some fire) and marketing it as something new. On the other hand, they're no stranger to questionable marketing, either.

 

 

Whatever it is, there aren't too many ways you could actually make a B&M Flyer more meh. Ideally, they'd rip it out and build a Nemesis clone in it's place, because two is better than one.

[rctneil]

When I first heard rumours about Alton adding VR to Air earlier this year, I was ready to rip Merlin to shreds about what a horrific idea it was. But having time to think about it, it could be fun if done well and operated efficiently.

 

So now I am reserving judgement until I have ridden it and tried it for myself (if it's true). Also, I have heard really good reports from Europa Park and also the trial on Freedom Flyer.

[Awesomefaceninja7]

If this VR stuff ends up happening, shouldn't it be optional to have VR or not?

 

So, the people who don't like the idea of VR on Air, can just experience the coaster normally without VR.

[RyanTPM]

^^^I'd expect it to be the second option you mentioned there, not even sure they'll re paint it. I am interested in it being a VR coaster though, anything to make Air a better coaster. Towers have also announced that over the next three years they'll be introducing a scheme named 'Towers Loving Care' that should mean improvements to the look of things as well as new attractions. It's needed if you look at pictures of Octonauts Coaster on Towers Streets Facebook, which was only added this year and is not looking too good already.

[Purplepills]

I'm interested in the VR thing, I mean assuming its an option, can it make a ride worse than not having it at all? With Merlin style OTT hype advertising it should bring extra visitors in which is what the place needs next season.

[KarlaKoaster]

I think VR is a pretty interesting concept, and I wouldn't be against it on Air because it's not like the view is that amazing with it being mainly gravel, sky and the corrugated roof on the train storage building. I think long term VR will be bit of a fad, but it's certainly something I'm looking forward to trying, whether on Air or elsewhere

[viking86]

What would be really interesting with VR would be randomized scenes, in a similar fashion to Star Tours where you don't know which scenes you're going to get on your ride. That could really add some fun to the ride!

[KarlaKoaster]

Yes, absolutely agree! It would give the ride a lot of reride value and also be a big talking point once you come off the coaster too

[Dar]

In the first step of the Towers Loving Care, Ripsaw has been scrapped with bits of queue and theming stacked in the car park

[RyanTPM]

^There's no pictures of the actual ride in pieces though, only the queue line and the Ripsaw bridge are seen in the car park

[mr.sugar]

I was actually thinking that they might plan to move it to Thorpe park, next to the SAW The ride and bring the samorai there instead? Maybe, they plan to make SAW themed area in Thorpe park, which would make sense imho?

[Garet]

^ Hasn't Samurai been seeing a fair bit of down-time this year? When it was relocated the 1st time it was a lot younger in terms of it's operational life span. I just can't see the two parks swapping rides when both must be soon hitting the point where maintenance isn't worth keeping them around.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Garet

[RyanTPM]

^Samurai has seen lots of downtime this year, you're right. With it's age, Ripsaw really isn't being relocated, it'll be scrapped.

[Rill'o'beily]

^Samurai has seen lots of downtime this year, you're right. With it's age, Ripsaw really isn't being relocated, it'll be scrapped.

 

I don't understand why merlin would scrap Ripsaw considering that unless they maintained it horribly, it should be in great condition.

They could just sell it to another park that isn't merlin.

But i don't get the point of scrapping it.

[A.J.]

I don't understand why merlin would scrap Ripsaw considering that unless they maintained it horribly, it should be in great condition.

But keeping it in "great condition" comes at what cost? Ripsaw could have been a money pit for the park, and they likely decided that the cost to maintain it was too much to justify keeping it going.

[coasterkid124]

Huss Top Spins don't have as long of a life span as other flat rides do. A lot of them actually have problems that you don't necessarily hear about, but plague the rides and cost parks a lot of money. These include but are not limited to; foundational/structural cracking, faulty air valves, and many parts that wear out (bearings, electrical circuits, etc).

 

Ripsaw, being nearly 20 years old, had a pretty long life for a Top Spin. I don't disagree with the parks decision to remove the ride as cool as it was, but I disagree with removing things without a replacement ready. How can the park remove so many rides so quickly without replacements and expect to do better with attendance? It's even worse that they are flat/family rides which they don't have a lot of to begin with.

 

If Blade is removed as well soon, the only two flats remaining at the park would be Toadstool and the Enterprise (which is another older flat that could end up being removed).

[Garet]

How can the park remove so many rides so quickly without replacements and expect to do better with attendance? It's even worse that they are flat/family rides which they don't have a lot of to begin with.

 

That reminds me what did they do with Submissions spot when they closed the ride? I always preferred Energizer over Submission (that ride was so uncomfy) although it always seemed tamer once it became Boneshaker.

[rctneil]

How can the park remove so many rides so quickly without replacements and expect to do better with attendance? It's even worse that they are flat/family rides which they don't have a lot of to begin with.

 

That reminds me what did they do with Submissions spot when they closed the ride? I always preferred Energizer over Submission (that ride was so uncomfy) although it always seemed tamer once it became Boneshaker.

 

 

All the smaller holes were filled in and the larger concrete foundation was just filled in and a patch of grass laid on top. So not much.

 

Yes, Energizer was a much better ride. Wish one of those would return.

[Rill'o'beily]

I don't understand why merlin would scrap Ripsaw considering that unless they maintained it horribly, it should be in great condition.

But keeping it in "great condition" comes at what cost? Ripsaw could have been a money pit for the park, and they likely decided that the cost to maintain it was too much to justify keeping it going.

 

I meant it in the sense of why scrap it when it's still young enough to sell?

[jedimaster1227]

^The same question could be posed for why Disney didn't sell the Maliboomer from Disney California Adventure when it was removed as a part of the re-imagining of that park. The ride was in prime condition as held to Disney standards, but it was never offered up for sale to other parks, it was simply scrapped. Some parks just don't care to bother.

 

I wouldn't put it past Alton Towers to do the same if they really didn't care to try and sell it or relocate it.

[oriolat]

What Merlin might do is use Ripsaw as a parts donor for Rameses Revenge at Chessington.

 

I am really intrigued by this massive attraction removal because three rides not only open up a huge space but they also mean a lot less capacity for a park that's already crowded (well at least it was before the Smiler accident).

[Awesomefaceninja7]

I'm not liking the sound of this "ripping up Ripsaw" thing. I'd love this ride to stay a lot longer.

 

If Ripsaw really was taken down, then this park would only have one flat ride (Enterprise). So, I'm not liking the sound of taking down any ride for 2016 if they're not going to replace it with something good. I'd rather see a new flat ride and/or the rumoured improvements to Air.

[coasterkid124]

I know that this rumor has been around for a while, but do we even have any conclusive proof that Ripsaw is officially closed? Weren't there also plans to move it to X-Sector on Submission's old pad? It's not like Alton has confirmed anything yet, but I guess that I'm just waiting for official word to confirm anything.

[A.J.]

Ripsaw is still hanging out on Alton Towers' website, but whoever edits their Wikipedia article has put it under "past rides" with a closing year of 2015.

 

If they're going to put a top spin in X-Sector, they might as well buy one of those new suspended ones.