Marhelorpe

Towers mentioned on Facebook they will be sharing new content on National rollercoaster day. And here we have the awesome video from the Rollercoaster Restaurant showcasing all the coasters past and present at Towers!
 
 
 

Ah yes, DBGT. The future of theme parks. Currently on it's arse and the experience upkeep abandoned after two seasons. Turns out VR is just another short term fad stuck on a now very expensive, purpose built attraction.

MIGHT open next week (10th).

Was at the park on Thursday too and decided to get on DBGT first thing when it opened just after 12pm (because I'm insane). Ride broke down twice on us before even the first set of people for the day went through I was in, so technically, it didn't open until 12:40pm. Not surprising though, but when inside, it was obvious why this was. Oh boy, this was a ride I won't be forgetting on it anytime soon... here's a quick rundown of my walkthrough:
 
Good Points:
• Pre-show worked nicely with the presentation, audio volume, working bulbs above and most of all, the staff members finally turn the fan off during the speech so you can hear Derren properly again.
• Being the first group on, there was no batching thankfully at any point before loading the carriage.
• Staff in the queue dealt with some queue-jumpers very well near the batching area. Well done to the team for being vigilant about this, greatly appreciate it.
 
Bad Points:
• As others have mentioned, when loading the carriage, the screens inside were all on a blank white screen with no audio or video playing "Welcome on-board" etc.
• When seeing the VR in the first half, the carriage lights remained on throughout the entire duration and light was leaking through my headset as a result.
• When offloading the carriage, the lights were still fully turned on, killing the whole evacuation atmosphere entirely.
• In the mid-section, this was diabolical. When doing through the doors into the little walkthrough section, there was NO AUDIO at all. Not one bit. No rumbling ambience, no sound effects, nothing. So we walked through a zig-zag with a random flashing strobe light and some smoke near the crashed train. It felt extremely weird being in there without that rumbling background noise constantly there like it usually is.
• The section where you wait and see a projection on the wall of the demon creature was turned off entirely and was about 2 minutes delayed before a voice appeared, so we stood there waiting for something to happen far longer than usual... with no background audio.
• When boarding again for the 2nd half, the carriage lights were all still on. No lights flickering or a voice saying the doors are closing.
• 2nd half was once again entirely with lights on during the VR sequence.
• No appearance from Derren on the screens once your ride has finished. Still blank.
• When waiting in the fake shop, we all stood there for about 3 minutes waiting for something to happen. Far, far longer than usual, no idea why but it killed the suspension.
• One of the screens in the fake TV shop kept on flickering on/off randomly, indicating it was broken. Plus, Derren's "keep it a secret" appearance didn't appear on it too.
• About 5 of the bulbs in the real shop above the enclosed hovering train carriages for sale are broken and need replacing. I mean, is it really that difficult now to replace a simple light bulb in this attraction?!

So yeah, this was one heck of a shoddy experience I had on Thursday and once more just to remind everyone, this is a ride branded as the 'future for theme parks that re-writes the rules of what they can do'.
 
Now, I understand stuff breaks, things go wrong and nothing is ever perfect on any ride, but come on now. For something technically just 2 years old now which is in a condition this bad? Inexcusable for a ride worth £30M and owned my a multi-billion quid company. Probably the worst run I've had on it since Fright Nights 2016.

Sort it out please Thorpe, it's a shambles currently.

Went to Blackpool with the TPM lot and here’s the key things I got from my visit:
 
Admissions staff friendly and efficient  Most ride operations either good or excellent  Ride staff seemed noticeably more friendly and efficient than last time (except Nash) Several vehicles on everything except Grand National, Streak and Flyer (the latters excusable) Grand National staff were awful, they only ran a train each side and then suddenly made everyone leave the queue without an explainable reason  Big Dipper felt noticeably rougher however Infusion wasn’t as bad Big One felt very painful and somewhat less enjoyable this time, to the point I was happy to get off the ride  Valhalla was still mightily impressive despite some effects being broken,  Alice and Caves were in an adequate state for classic dark rides, but not sure I’m keen on the green LEDS for the Cheshire Cat The revamped Coasters looks a lot more classy, modern and bigger than the original. My Quesadillas were delicious although the Mac N Cheese others got was less acceptable. Do miss the Disney music though.  Seeing the empty space of Mouse was saddening but the area didn’t look as lifeless as expected  Oh and they’ve also opened some new ride. They call it Icon.
Despite the mixed reviews coming across I actually strongly enjoyed this coaster a lot more than I expected and am proud to call it my second favourite U.K. coaster.
 
It doesn’t beat Helix but is higher than Blue Fire (as far as layout is concerned). Regardless though, I’m very happy the UK now has a ride like this and I hope it only brings greater things to the Macks and Thompson’s. 
 
 

Is it sinking?

That is vile.

It's finished already ?
 
I can only begin to imagine what's been going on inside after 3 years of Alton Towers Loving Care, going to be incredible.

I believe it has now been confirmed by Andreas that the testing of Valkyria is going to commence sometime this week finally now that the structure of the tunnel is complete.
 
I went on a trip to the park a few days ago and whilst it was disappointing not to be able to ride Valkyria, I can tell you now that in-person, this coaster looks absolutely incredible and is definately one worth keeping everyone's eyes on! It's much larger than I was expecting it to be, the twists and turns look tight and compact and the station looks stunning from the outside, especially with the contrast of Balder and Loke right next to it. Really honestly cannot wait to get back to this park and try it!
 
Below are some pictures of Valkyria I took whilst there from different angles for those interested. We were extremely lucky with the weather:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The three giants, all together. ?

Another actor-led attraction with a dark theme once again? *sigh* Do Merlin ever learn from their mistakes or stretch the imagination beyond home-brewed and commercial IP's? 
 
The park is currently in desperate need of 'filler' attractions, primarily flat rides and on-park entertainment, not another bleedin' walk-through horror attraction that will likely up-charge guests who need to be aged 12+.
 
Saddest thing about this? Doesn't surprise me one bit Merlin have decided to do this. The bar is that low with them for me now...

Another actor-led attraction with a dark theme once again? *sigh* Do Merlin ever learn from their mistakes or stretch the imagination beyond home-brewed and commercial IP's? 
 
The park is currently in desperate need of 'filler' attractions, primarily flat rides and on-park entertainment, not another bleedin' walk-through horror attraction that will likely up-charge guests who need to be aged 12+.
 
Saddest thing about this? Doesn't surprise me one bit Merlin have decided to do this. The bar is that low with them for me now...

I feel sick.

R.I.P Nemesis Inferno's 2003 Theme......
 
The ride is now playing the full 30-minute Jungle track made by IMAscore, which means less than 10% of the music now uses Inferno's melody, but plays the island theme at least 5 times in that same period.
 
It's being used at the entrance, all queue areas, ride areas (under lift hill, near loop etc) and the station.
 
*sigh* another ride's identity lost...
 

20180610_121029.mp4

R.I.P Nemesis Inferno's 2003 Theme......
 
The ride is now playing the full 30-minute Jungle track made by IMAscore, which means less than 10% of the music now uses Inferno's melody, but plays the island theme at least 5 times in that same period.
 
It's being used at the entrance, all queue areas, ride areas (under lift hill, near loop etc) and the station.
 
*sigh* another ride's identity lost...
 

20180610_121029.mp4

Something I've noticed on the last few visits with the ride is the station and bottom of the lift hill have presently got their white floodlights turned on, constantly illuminating the ceiling and mechanics, but this was not the case when it initially opened back in March and was a lot darker. As a result, the station area is now much brighter than it needs to be and the fancy lighting effects used upon dispatch are rendered pointless as a result.

Also, maybe this is just bad memory, but the orange smoke effect after leaving the final brake run with the TV screens just before the on-ride photo does not seem anywhere near as effective compared to when it opened back in Match. The smoke no longer covers riders similar to an archway as they pass through it anymore and instead just fires upwards missing riders entirely.

Lastly, the watch tower in the queue no longer plays any themed announcements through the tannoy speakers bizarrely. Can only guess it's not being used anymore because it was incredibly loud and needed to be tuned down a little bit. But it would be nice to hear them used again if possible.
 
As for the rest of the attraction, it's nice to see small updates and changes being made in places since it's inception and guiltily, I'm liking it gradually more and more every time I try it. Still have a slight preference over it being X previously, purely because it was accessible to more people with the lower height restriction, had an up-beat theme and didn't pretend to be an extreme thrill machine like it is now. But the gap has definitely gotten smaller since March.

R.I.P Nemesis Inferno's 2003 Theme......
 
The ride is now playing the full 30-minute Jungle track made by IMAscore, which means less than 10% of the music now uses Inferno's melody, but plays the island theme at least 5 times in that same period.
 
It's being used at the entrance, all queue areas, ride areas (under lift hill, near loop etc) and the station.
 
*sigh* another ride's identity lost...
 

20180610_121029.mp4

NOOOOOOOOOO!  You've got to be joking.
 
Idiots.
 
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how fabulous THE Nemesis Inferno theme is?
 
Those chords, the bass, the melody... sheer brilliance.

R.I.P Nemesis Inferno's 2003 Theme......
 
The ride is now playing the full 30-minute Jungle track made by IMAscore, which means less than 10% of the music now uses Inferno's melody, but plays the island theme at least 5 times in that same period.
 
It's being used at the entrance, all queue areas, ride areas (under lift hill, near loop etc) and the station.
 
*sigh* another ride's identity lost...
 

20180610_121029.mp4

Can now confirm the reason Rush has been getting large queues lately is because it's running on one swing at present:
 

 
On the plus side, at least this swing now reaches beyond 90 degrees (just about) once again finally! Yay! xD
 

R.I.P Nemesis Inferno's 2003 Theme......
 
The ride is now playing the full 30-minute Jungle track made by IMAscore, which means less than 10% of the music now uses Inferno's melody, but plays the island theme at least 5 times in that same period.
 
It's being used at the entrance, all queue areas, ride areas (under lift hill, near loop etc) and the station.
 
*sigh* another ride's identity lost...
 

20180610_121029.mp4

R.I.P Nemesis Inferno's 2003 Theme......
 
The ride is now playing the full 30-minute Jungle track made by IMAscore, which means less than 10% of the music now uses Inferno's melody, but plays the island theme at least 5 times in that same period.
 
It's being used at the entrance, all queue areas, ride areas (under lift hill, near loop etc) and the station.
 
*sigh* another ride's identity lost...
 

20180610_121029.mp4

Something I've noticed on the last few visits with the ride is the station and bottom of the lift hill have presently got their white floodlights turned on, constantly illuminating the ceiling and mechanics, but this was not the case when it initially opened back in March and was a lot darker. As a result, the station area is now much brighter than it needs to be and the fancy lighting effects used upon dispatch are rendered pointless as a result.

Also, maybe this is just bad memory, but the orange smoke effect after leaving the final brake run with the TV screens just before the on-ride photo does not seem anywhere near as effective compared to when it opened back in Match. The smoke no longer covers riders similar to an archway as they pass through it anymore and instead just fires upwards missing riders entirely.

Lastly, the watch tower in the queue no longer plays any themed announcements through the tannoy speakers bizarrely. Can only guess it's not being used anymore because it was incredibly loud and needed to be tuned down a little bit. But it would be nice to hear them used again if possible.
 
As for the rest of the attraction, it's nice to see small updates and changes being made in places since it's inception and guiltily, I'm liking it gradually more and more every time I try it. Still have a slight preference over it being X previously, purely because it was accessible to more people with the lower height restriction, had an up-beat theme and didn't pretend to be an extreme thrill machine like it is now. But the gap has definitely gotten smaller since March.

?

Well, it’s better than nothing. 
 
True Proffesionalism.

New TVs have been put in some of the queues, Ive seen Fury and Tiger Rock so far.
 
Also, Signage 101 with Chessington