March 8, 201015 yr comment_85169 If the ride wasn't planned to be moved/ removed within the next few years, I'd be a lot more bothered by this. Also had they not been building what looks like an unbelieveable coaster in the same year, I would also have been bothered. But yeah IMO this sponsorship deal will last just a few years...
August 19, 201015 yr comment_96809 I wonder where the ride will end up when the Sega contract ends, as in if it will stay at Alton or if it is moved to another park.One thing that always annoys me in the spinball queue is when you are in the part near the break run, there is a box underneath the track containing some sort of air tanks/pipes; it makes a loud noise and pushes the door open slightly for a split second then it bangs shut again. Dragon's fury at chessington has the same system, but is not as loud.
August 20, 201015 yr comment_96830 That's thE alignment gate which is fired with compressed air. Fury's is quieter just because the queue doesn't run directly pArallel with it. It's actually just as loud as Spinball.
August 20, 201015 yr comment_96834 Its due to sonic being at the entrance so people go there first thing and last thing and because its so slow loading by the time the queue is getting to a reasonable time its the end of the day rush! Plus chssington has 2 entrances/exits where as alton only has 1 for 22 thousand people on an average day!
September 4, 201311 yr comment_167678 Random question - There is a member of staff who works on this ride called Gareth. When I went in April this year, I got chatting to him about wrestling after he noticed the t-shirt I was wearing. Then, on my visit there yesterday, Gareth noticed and remembered who I was after seeing my t-shirt (a completely different wrestling one). So my question is - Does anyone know how I might get in contact with him?
March 6, 20169 yr comment_229046 Apparently the SEGA contract has expired and this will no longer have the Sonic branding. Towers keep referring to it as Spinball and list it as that on the ERT listing. So Spinball it is.
March 14, 20169 yr comment_229730 Snippet of the new soundtrack, which I kinda dig just FYI https://clyp.it/rduyfuwy
March 14, 20169 yr comment_229732 SUCH a Wreck-it-Ralph rip-off... However, that as an on-board soundtrack would be very good...
March 14, 20169 yr comment_229733 However, that as an on-board soundtrack would be very good... My thought's exactly! I couldn't help but to picture the usual ride experience in my head while listening to this. This does fit in nicely!
March 16, 20169 yr comment_229785 Snippet of the new soundtrack, which I kinda dig just FYI https://clyp.it/rduyfuwy Was just about to post it. I like it, its very Chessie/LegoSent from my SM-G361F using Tapatalk
April 29, 20187 yr comment_257711 So the ride has been running quite well recently and is a prime exmaple of how attractions can run more efficiently with a single line. As the only coaster without fastrak and no disabled queue at the time we visited, the normal queue line moved constantly and we only waited around 10mins or so to get on. Just highlights how fastrack only inflates queue times and costs all guests money for those who buy it and time for those who don't. It's an overall negative system for all guests whether you pay for it or not.
April 29, 20187 yr comment_257714 Not that I disagree, but I do think that having multiple queuing options can work provided those lines are designed and managed properly. This is where Merlin parks falter in particular - they've either retrofitted Fastrack and Disabled access queue lines into their attractions (major rides pre-2004 for Fastrack, and arguably all rides pre-2013 for Disabled access) or they're managed poorly, with staff doing terrible ratios. I must confess that Thorpe's new Fastrack system has worked well so far this year. Admittedly the system hasn't been put under the pressure of a hugely busy day yet, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes then. A good system is a good start to ironing out the flaws with it all.
April 29, 20187 yr comment_257718 22 minutes ago, BaronC. said: I must confess that Thorpe's new Fastrack system has worked well so far this year. Admittedly the system hasn't been put under the pressure of a hugely busy day yet, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes then. A good system is a good start to ironing out the flaws with it all. What’s Thorpe’s new fastrack system?
April 29, 20187 yr comment_257719 11 minutes ago, Ringo said: What’s Thorpe’s new fastrack system? The packages for the rides let you 'mix and match' what rides you go on, and have no time restriction on. For example, their roller coaster package gives you 5 Fastrack rides, and you can choose to do 1 ride on each coaster, have 1 person do 5 rides on 1 coaster, have 5 people do 1 ride on 1 coaster, etc. Must admit I was dubious about it at first, but they seem to have got the numbers right. And if it works like many other European parks who offer similar Fastpass style packages, where they've taken inspiration from, that's only going to be a good thing.
April 29, 20187 yr comment_257726 I haven’t really noticed the impact on fastrack this year at the park, although that’s probably because I’ve visited on mostly quiet days, but this new system sounds like a noticeable improvement so far. Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of paid queue systems, if they are managed properly they can work out well for both sides of the fence. Parks like Phantasialand and Liseberg seem to have a pretty good method for their fastrack equivalents and neither seem to over advertise these either. As far as I’m aware. I havent visited Towers yet this year but can only presume Spinball still has fastrack?
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