Leaderboard

Yellow marks have appeared on the floor on the site of The Big Top. Photos from Scream Seekers Facebook page.

Image from Scare Tour...

They definitely aren't markings for a tent. So... R.I.P. Big Top? ? They look more like markings for shipping containers to me. Sanctum relocation maybe?

Yellow markings on the floor? New coaster confirmed.

Amazing - well done! edit - did you sit back row on Nemesis?

I'm finally home - I said I'd go more in depth when I get home so here we are - huge props to my friend who I went with, he was very reassuring and understanding, huge props to the member of staff on the Smiler (I'll get to that after) and huge props to the staff on Nemesis who looked about ready to leave but kept it open for the five of us still on it to have one more go. With the Smiler, I was this close to not getting on. I hadn't fully made up my mind in the queue, we got to the station and there was space for two on the first train, I passed over the RAP card and started to say "I'm not sure if I actually want to ride yet -" but before I could finish my sentence the card was signed and she pointed us to Row 4. I still hadn't made up my mind by the time I was on it, but there was no going back and inverting didn't feel like how I thought it would. I might do a blog post or trip report with my reviews of all the rides, right now I mainly want to get to bed, but what I will say now is, I don't know if I got a good train or whatever but unpopular opinion in 3... 2... 1... I found Nemesis rougher than the Smiler. I still prefer Nemesis as a coaster, but I found Smiler smooth as butter when I was on it. You'll notice I skipped over Rita. I honestly found everything after the launch quite boring. I thought I'd get way more airtime on the two airtime hills, but although I felt myself lift out of my seat I never felt anything in my stomach. Plus it's rough. I only just rate it above RMT. As I said, didn't get on Oblivion. I'd warned my friend it'd be the last coaster out of all of them I got on, and in the end I didn't have time. My mum and my friend went on together, I stayed off as I hadn't even done Rita yet (we couldn't use the RAP for a bit anyway). In the end, I sacrificed (pun intended) Oblivion in order for a third go on Wicker Man, as my little sister hadn't been on too many rides and WM is her favourite. I still feel like I'm spinning as I write this, on Monday I'm off to Thorpe, will be doing Inferno, Colossus and Swarm at the very least, maybe Stealth and at a big push Saw, mainly down to the theming more than anything else. Maybe, just maybe in the blog post I'll share my ORP from Smiler. Maybe. Definitely not the one from Rita though.

It was very clear the teaser was victorian style prison themed from the actors clothing. Looks like it was completely scrapped which is quite disappointing.

Honestly so pleased for you Sam! I understand that’s it’s been quite the obstacle to overcome but now that you’ve done it - the roller coaster world is your oyster. Happy days.

I sadly have to agree with this due to my horrific experience... Wish Merlin would try to amend these faults as it is getting quite ridiculous now

Don't queue for this attraction. Avoid it at all costs. It is complete garbage now. The staff don't care, the VR is broken and it still breaks down. The group I went with still complain to me how bad it was when I persuaded them to go on it. Last time I ever step foot on that ride!

Lolz ? Tulleys called and said Whatevs, we don't need no IPs for our Halloween event ladz.

Well, about to leave Alton Towers having been on The Smiler, Nemesis and Rita. Absolutely buzzing, only coaster I didnt get on was Oblivion down to time (although my friend and mum did, and I probably would have if it wasnt for my sister whod done about 2 rides and wanted to go on Wicker Man). Nemesis was probably the best, Smiler 2nd and Rita ranks pretty low in my top 10. Had three goes on Nemesis in the end, Ill post a bit more when I get home and have an actual keyboard.

Firstly- well done! Secondly, if you can do Rita, you can probably do Stealth, inferno and Swarm in terms of sheer scariness.

Sorry for the double post, but I just got off Rita. Honestly despite biting half my lip off in the air gates, apart from the launch it wasnt all that. Rate WM, 13, DF and Galactica over it tbh. How do the other rides compare? Is it a "done Rita now you can do _____" situation?

I had an awful experience in regards to the evacuation and mid-section scene... We were told to remove our headsets, however... the staff were not in character at all as they remained with a glazed smile other their faces as they told us to get off the train as they were clearly heard converting with each other about their social lives, without a care in the world. Due to this then there did not seem to have any urgency or adrenaline that invested us into the world derren brown and Merlin Entertainments tried to present to their guests. We were slowly huddled along and into the "Scare Maze" which had pre-maturely started the audio which completely destroyed any remaining immersion and due to this then we were quickly pushed through the maze "Which didn't have any scare actors at all" and were relocated into a secondary room with a red pipe and a train. This is when I witnessed the part which really killed my experience... We were then told by the same staff member who had been following us from the first train that we had to locate a set of numbers in order to open the doors that leads to the next train... without any scenes which would make it seem like we need to urgently escape from an incoming threat. All they did was stand there and ask the younger members of the group "Can you see the numbers anywhere?". Like this was an attraction for young children... A guy then shouted out a number which was obviously supposed to be a joke as he said "1234"... Well, you wouldn't believe what happened next... the staff member (who still had that unprofessionally glazed smile) spurted out "Oh My God! That was the correct number! Well done". She then opened the doors and we then proceeded to the second train (2nd VR scene)... Another problem that I encountered was with the first VR scene due to the fact that the audio was so broken that it was very difficult to understand what was being said. I queued for this "experience" for about an hour and a half and ended up being very disappointed with the staff and Merlin for their lack of commitment on keeping the customers satisfied with their attractions

I went to Thorpe Park yesterday for the first time in a few years, so it was my first time on Ghost Train. Right from the start, the queueing experience is terrible. There's nothing to keep you entertained and you're not aware of how many people are entering the ride at what kind of interval, and then you round the corner and see how the Fastrack queue is building up and wonder Will I ever get on this ride? At this point, if you didn't already know what the ride was, you would be wishing you had queued for something else instead, which is a negative point to start on. We entered into the building and shouted into rows, and then the people behind me shouted amongst themselves while Derren was doing his fear speech. It ended, the arrows lit up on the wall, and people hesitated to move. In the holding zone, a patient ride staff explained about the Victorian carriage and then popped through the door to check if it was ready. She came back a couple of minutes later and we hurried onto the train, with no real time to take in the warehouse, which might work in favour of the illusion although it's probably too dark in there to notice anything. I had a woman with a dog talking to me in the first VR segment. She seemed to flesh out the story quite well and the VR headsets did a good job of blocking out the surroundings. I don't believe any of the actors touched us at any point and it seemed generally understaffed (as did most of the park, to be honest). The evacuation sequence was confusing(?) We just walked into a room, being told to move down and gather around, and then there was some red light and drilling noises and we were told to get back on the train. In the gift shop, the woman behind the counter told us we had to stand around. I had been walking straight through gift shops all day at this point, and I imagine they'd seen a lot of people walk straight to the exit door. Surely there must be a way of getting people to engage with the gift shop without being so obvious about it? We just saw a message from Derren Brown, some things "broke", something happened to the floor, and then we left. My friend was pretty damning about it all. For the most part, I just thought the pacing was odd, somehow not something they've managed to perfect since it first opened. Oh, also, the theme of the ride confuses even itself.

Rameses is like trying to get your gran to play tennis. It keeps breaking down and makes questionable creeking noises but somehow it's still going. Makes you wonder if there's bits of Ripsaw in there. Talking about the undead, any news been released yet about freight fright nights?

Towers it is then