JohnD

Rides in the UK are subject to the exact same requirements as all other European rides, though we probably enforce the standards more rigorously than some countries do. OTSRs are not an automatic requirement for inverting rides. As for UK looping coasters with lap bars, G Force sort of counts, but previously there were coasters with actual lap bars only, mainly (exclusively?) Schwarzkopfs. Thunderlooper and Tower of Terror/Twist and Shout were both lap bar only. Possibly the ones at 'Mingo and Dreamland's Looping Star too, but I never rode those so I'm not sure.

I can confirm it's a total misery, on my only visit so far this year I waited 50min in fastrack (which was no more than half full) because they were taking well over a minute between dispatches.

They could solve all the issues very easily with a SRQ, at least in theory, though finding somewhere to put it could be problematic. It would probably have to share the exit with the disabled queue or alternatively merge with the main queue at the entrance to the building, neither of which is ideal. It could hardly be worse than the current situation though, with the ride seemingly running at around 1/2 of it's intended capacity.

PortAventura is one of the worst parks I've ever been to in terms of fastrack overselling, with up to half capacity on major rides given over to fastrack. Sadly it's something a lot of people now expect parks to offer, credit to the likes of Efteling and Europa Park for refusing to go down that route.

Incredible that despite this being first reported way back in November it's taken until now for Towers to officially confirm it. The line-up of family rides is looking pretty weak now, not good for winning people back.

Weren't there rumours a while back about X and Slammer (or was it Samurai) being SBNO this year?

It's a reference to the adverts that ran in the run up to Rita opening, which proclaimed it "your best Alton Towers ride ever", before it had even opened.

That's probably not true any more - how many guests did Thorpe get last year?

I think the biggest issue capacity-wise in the entire park is now Valhalla. Nash is awful but at least the actual queue line is tiny so it's only about a 4 train wait from the stairs which isn't too bad really. Valhalla on the other hand could easily be an hour wait with a full queue, depending on the number of boats in service. It's not too bad on 12 but if they've only got 8 on the system a full queue could easily be a hour's wait. It's got even worse recently as they've reduced the capacity of some of the boats to just 6 seats rather than 8 and speedy pass has taken a chunk of capacity away from the main queue.

So Dragon Falls too then?

I would say better than nothing, but for me it isn't as I'm never going to actually go on it so it might as well be nothing. I wasn't expecting much, but I was hoping for something I'd at least consider riding once.

There's a second train coming soon. Due to the new block system the ride is now limited to 2 trains, though I guess there's nothing stopping them getting a 3rd as a spare.

It was a similar story last night, Vortex, Samurai, IAC and (obviously) Tidal closed all day, then at one point Swarm, Colossus, Saw and Slammer were all shut, plus Rumba, Rocky and Loggers as it was after 5pm giving a total of 11 rides/attractions simultaneously closed. Obviously Thorpe has had a reputation for poor reliability/ride availability for the best part of 10 years but even by their low standards the start of Fright Nights has been appalling for downtime.

I find B&M standups a mixed bunch. Vortex at Carowinds is pretty dreadful and Mantis was rather unpleasant too, but Georgia Scorcher is actually pretty good, and I was very impressed by Green Lantern (though I'm not sure how much that was due to me expecting it to be rubbish). Part of the problem with them it that getting your seat adjusted correctly is difficult even if you've ridden a few and know where you want it. I often find I've got it somewhere vaguely comfortable only for the op to unlock the row when I'm not paying attention and when it relocks I can only just reach the floor.

On the subject of Chessie's weight restrictions, is there any official policy on Rattlesnake? On some of my visits we've been allowed 4 adults and sometimes not. Earlier this year we were told our group could do 4 as we were all fairly light. If they haven't already, they should put a set of scales at the top of the stairs to ensure they fill as many seats as they can.