Went on Thirteen today and the shutter didn't close on the drop section which quite strongly detracted the first section of the ride. It's very disappointing that it didn't close as it sets the scene much greater when it does.

I agree with this, it's awful with the shutter open!

Probably still better than Polar X-Plorer even with the open shutter...

I went on yesterday and the shutter closed! Must vary from ride to ride; it ran beautifully.

I also rode yesterday (twice) but the shutter didn't close

Currently closed according to ride times, it really ruins the effect when the shutter doesn't close

It seems hit and miss this year, I would agree as you don't get the full darkness and you can see too much.

Closed again today, uh oh

Yeah, it's been dying for a while but kept open because of Smiler and RMT...

Intamin hydraulic systems </3

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/5123076/Terror-for-thrill-fans-stranded-60ft-high-on-ride-at-Alton-Towers.html

Th13teen gets stuck on the lift hill for 2 and a half hours! Typical intamin

That's Th13teen closed for a few days then...

EDIT: Actually, according to ridetimes it's open with a 25 minute queue.

I hope those people who have been stuck up there for that long get a refund (or something), as that has wasted a lot of their ride time.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/5123076/Terror-for-thrill-fans-stranded-60ft-high-on-ride-at-Alton-Towers.html

Th13teen gets stuck on the lift hill for 2 and a half hours! Typical intamin

I guess you wernt around when inferno was at the top of the lift for over a week.. Obviously guests were of by then though

No I wasnt haha, still I would wanna be stuck for 2 and a half hours though tbh

Well on the meet some of us just got a cheeky evac from the drop chamber. The evac was conducted brilliantly and quickly in a reassuring manner, and we even got a nerdy look at how the drop is done. I got a really good view of how the mechanism works and might draw some simple sketches to explain how I saw it works.

I had the funniest ride on Th13teen on Saturday - there was a group of people sat behind us and as we were approaching the indoor bit the girl behind me says "what, I came on this ride just for THAT" - I was sat there laughing as she clearly didn't know what was coming.....she literally screamed from the drop until we stopped.  She then starts laughing manically so I turned around and asked her if she was ok and her reply was "s**t the bed I wasn't expecting that"

I love Th13teen and thinks it is a great example of how coasters don't have to have inversions to be good.  I knew what to expect when I first went on it but kind of gutted I ruined he surprise by watching a clip on youtube - though having said that, I may have had a heart attack

That, my dear Han, is why 13 is one of my favorite rides. You get that regularly. The outside section lulls you into a false sense of meh-ness and you always hear - "was that it?" or "I queued 45 minutes for that??", and then those are the same people who are always laughing as you pull into the turnaround.

I would say that Th13teen is probably in my top three coasters at Towers (along with Nemesis and Oblivion). Such a fab ride and I can see why it often gets queues - luckily got to go on it twice when we went. Just love people's reactions!

Thirteen is probably my second favourite coaster in the park. It's also likely my second favourite ride too [until Hex reopens anyay]. 

 

It features so much fun and thrill at the same time. I don't think there's any other coasters in the UK that can compromise an attraction to families and thriller seekers like Thirteen does.

 there was a group of people sat behind us and as we were approaching the indoor bit the girl behind me says "what, I came on this ride just for THAT" - I was sat there laughing as she clearly didn't know what was coming.....she literally screamed from the drop until we stopped.  She then starts laughing manically so I turned around and asked her if she was ok and her reply was "s**t the bed I wasn't expecting that"

 

It's the Hex effect, I could sit on Hex all day watching the wonder on the faces of first time riders, It's just a joy. Or at least I could do that if Towers bothered opening it. Th13teen does have a similar surprise about it, but it's much harder to watch and enjoy others reactions being sat in a train.

 

Although I enjoy it, what bothers me about it is how much of a missed opportunity the whole experience is; the outside section is simply dire with the trims killing any hint of thrill the original had (lols at this being spun as a positive by making it a surprise that the second half is actually any good at all), and the crypt 'show room' lacking any sort of show, That backwards chase could be spectacular with some fairly simple lighting and effects, but instead it just sort of happens in a static lightly dressed room with no rhyme or reason.

 

The whole thing could have and should have been so much more. It's a technological marvel, they nailed the tricky bit, but the relatively simple and cheap theatrical bit they didn't even bother with in any meaningful sense, Such a shame.

I swear I noticed sound effects in the backwards tunnel section this year that weren't there before...

There's a faint sort of breathing/panting noise in the tunnel, like the girl trying to escape the crypt in the story.

 

I can see why enthusiasts have a slight bitter taste when it comes to th13teen. It was promised as something different primarily, and like said above it has countless missed opportunities.

 

But so does every single ride ever. It's nothing special for th13teen. Think about it for 1 second, I could roll off an example for every single ride in existence with missed opportunities in both theming and the ride design. What th13teen has, it executes (in my opinion, don't trigger urself) brilliantly. 

 

It's my favourite ride in the whole of the UK for the reasons listed above, as well as numerous others, which I'm not going to waste time explaining becuase I'll probably get gunned down.

 

Th13teen = Best ride 

It's my favourite ride in the whole of the UK for the reasons listed above, as well as numerous others, which I'm not going to waste time explaining becuase I'll probably get gunned down.

 

Th13teen = Best ride 

 

That's a bit of a cop out really, you've had several posts above yours saying how much people like Thirteen despite the initial beginning to the ride. Why would anyone gun you down when the ride is getting tonnes of praise?

No one should be gunned down for liking Thirteen.

If it was something like Storm Surge, Zufari, Grand Prix or Impissible though maybe not.

Just in general. At the moment in this thread I agree that we're seeing a wonderful flurry of nice comments, I guess I jumped the gun (ha) a little on that one.

On opening day of Thirteen I was really peeved with the experience, that was because I read too much into the marketing of it.

 

Now I have acceptance of what the ride is and what it's trying to achieve, I think it's a fairly decent family ride. The only gripe I would have is the outside section, they could've done a lot more and it still doesn't feel very forest like!

 

Still, taking it as a family ride, it's a solid ride. I'm not sure the £12-15 million (IIRC) price tag was worth it though! 

Watch this from 1.07 till the end. It perfectly shows the affect of Th13teen even with the lights on. It's pretty funny too...