Altitude Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I rode Slammer for the first time in years on Tuesday! The ride staff were lovely (actually all the staff were nice this week), but the ride made me feel awful! Going head first was quite fun, but going backwards was so painful and I haven't felt more ill at a theme park before. I think Slammer is a good ride because it's so unique, but I think I'll just stand next to it rather than ride it from now on! TPJames 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 One thing I found out today which I found amusing is that slammer can only have a difference of people if the heavy side is the right side otherwise the motor struggles and will often end up spinning the wrong way. I'm sorry but whoever told you this clearly fell out of Slammer and got hit by it as they fell... However they're running it, is more than likely either precautious to avoid any cracking; or simply in-experienced. When I worked on Slammer it was a difference of two riders, so you could run two on one paddle, and none on the other. Maybe this has changed, but I have never heard of having to have it balanced more to one end than the other. Might I also add that batchers on Slammer is more than likely to be down to budgets. Adding an additional member of staff or two to the ride; on a team who has SAW: The Ride, Loggers Leap, Detonator and a lot of one-man-ops probably isn't in their interest to do, not when they could be using fore-mentioned member of staff as a second host on Detonator, or a batcher on Loggers Leap (a different additional position that is often overlooked on a busier ride). From experience, a batcher on Slammer isn't overly needed. If it's quiet, it's a balancing game, if it's busy it's usually fifteen or sixteen people a paddle anyway and can be done quickly when staff know what their doing. The issue alines that for the team batching clearly isn't a strong point when out of everything they run, Slammer is probably the most complex for them to batch. SAW free-flows nowadays, with no real concentration on batching rows; Loggers is rarely batched (but hey we can all count to five) and Detonator is starting and stopping a queue at around twelve people. So trying to get them to batch sixteen people into gates (which they have to actually properly batch) clearly isn't something they're grasping as easily as others may. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
th13teen Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Am I the only person who has always felt Slammer should have had the spray of water at the base of each side of the arm, spurting up as the ride went up, and subsequently getting people wet...like Ripsaw, etc? I always felt it would have enhanced the overall experience and would have visually made it look even more stunning! OldFarmerDean 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Not sure if this has been noticed but the announcement has been changed from 'please exit to the right hand side' to 'please exit to the far side'. This is much more clear as the right hand side depended on which side of the ride you were sitting on! InfernoMartin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Not sure if this has been noticed but the announcement has been changed from 'please exit to the right hand side' to 'please exit to the far side'. This is much more clear as the right hand side depended on which side of the ride you were sitting on! Still makes no sense as the far side could be the console side if you're sitting closest to the exit path Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Slammer was running great today. Whilst operations were dreadfully slow as always the performance from the ride was brilliant. I mean at least it's open right?! I sincerely reccomend waiting for the right side even if you have to wait a ride extra. The right hand side is so much better than the left, I'm not sure why but the feeling is so much better and you get a better view of free falling aswell. If you are visiting soon, please be aware that slammer only opens around 11am and will close at 3pm for checks. However a queue still forms for the ride at 3pm which we were at the front of! There was a 60minute length queue behind us to get into the rides queueline! The ride staff said it was typical British people forming a queue for a queue I really hope slammer stays for 2015 as I would hate to see it go but seeing as it's not on the park map or queue time board I'm not sure that's likely. But if thorpe are reading this PLEASE keep it as long as possible as it is my favourite ride on park including all the coasters so I will cry if it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 It is on the park map. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 To be perfectly honest not many people seem to know its there though, and it's definately not on the queue time board. Sorry for being incorrect about the map, I never get one as I know my way round off by heart. Mattgwise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 No problem. I am the same not needing the map after having been to the park many a time since the early 90s. I always have a look at the start of the year to see the changes and admittedly Slammer pokes out quite small on this years map. TPJames and pognoi 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I just had a look an I could barely see it. But to be fair the only rides I could properly see were the coasters as they had been made so large. That was the first time I've looked at a thorpe park map since 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 There are rides missing though. Both Rocky Express and Quantum aren't on there in their picture form. Just says the names above paths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 If you are visiting soon, please be aware that slammer only opens around 11am and will close at 3pm for checks. However a queue still forms for the ride at 3pm which we were at the front of! There was a 60minute length queue behind us to get into the rides queueline! The ride staff said it was typical British people forming a queue for a queue I think it's still meant to open for normal time, when I went it was open for normal time anyway? How long did the checks last by the way? I have only heard that it closes for checks around 2:30 then opens again after around 10 minutes InfernoMartin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I think it's still meant to open for normal time, when I went it was open for normal time anyway? How long did the checks last by the way? I have only heard that it closes for checks around 2:30 then opens again after around 10 minutes Generally speaking from now on Slammer will have a set open time of 11am, however, this is massively dependant on a variety of things. If the engineering team are happy and it's ready it will open at any time from 9:30 to park close. The checks usually last around 10-15 minutes, again depending on a variety of things! Hope this helps Cal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pognoi Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 They seem to be doing a mid day check every day, and it can start a bit late like ricky staid. Last 3 times I'v visited it did open at 10, but the queues grew huge after midday or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerfuffle Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 What worries me is that if it closes again for maintenance reasons...then it may be the end of the line this time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pognoi Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Well it'll happen at some point... The longevity of these things is completely unknown, just that they clearly need a bit of help to keep going. The fact is we know that thorpe have invested a substantial amount into it, and probably lack the patience and money set aside for it any more. Cherish it now, as it might not be here tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 When I was speaking to the ride attendant about the major breakdown last year, he said that it was NOT because it was a major problem. It was just the fact a part was broken and had to be made from scratch. After the part was made it only took a couple of weeks for engineers to fix. The checks have no set time, they can be really quick or take ages, depending on what the engineers decide. The queueline will close about 2:30 but the checks are meant to be at 3. Be aware that during this peak summer people will wait outside for the checks to end. We waited for 40mins for the cycles to finish and then the checks to be done. By this time there was an hours queue of people waiting behind us to get into the queueline. My best advice is to get there at just before 11 if you want a short queue, as there is a massive queue right after the checks as people have been waiting for it to reopen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 he said that it was NOT because it was a major problem. It was just the fact a part was broken and had to be made from scratch. Well, that in itself is quite a major problem! As much as I love it, Slammer makes me a little uneasy nowadays. I get a vibe from the way it is run that Thorpe themselves are not at all confident in the contraption. It seems they are deliberately delaying between dispatches, they check everything before dispatch to a degree you don't normally see, and no operating ride should be having to close half way through every day for a scheduled check up. I'm not for a second suggesting they would operate an unsafe ride, but that they feel the need to treat it with such caution is ... odd. I can't think of another ride treated in a similar way. Altitude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altitude Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 ^ I agree. Must have taken 5 minutes or more to load when I went a month ago. To be honest I wish it never loaded. I had a headache the entire time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 At first they weren't batching while the ride was in operation which I thought was odd, as they could of saved so much time. But later on in the day they were batching while it was in operation, and then when everyone had exited they waited around 2-3 minutes before they actually opened the air gates. Olistjj 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Well, that in itself is quite a major problem! As much as I love it, Slammer makes me a little uneasy nowadays. I get a vibe from the way it is run that Thorpe themselves are not at all confident in the contraption. It seems they are deliberately delaying between dispatches, they check everything before dispatch to a degree you don't normally see, and no operating ride should be having to close half way through every day for a scheduled check up. I'm not for a second suggesting they would operate an unsafe ride, but that they feel the need to treat it with such caution is ... odd. I can't think of another ride treated in a similar way. The way they're operating sounds more like a park that has suffered a serious accident on the ride, rather than one that's turned into s bodge job of parts and repairs... pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 At first they weren't batching while the ride was in operation which I thought was odd, as they could of saved so much time. But later on in the day they were batching while it was in operation, and then when everyone had exited they waited around 2-3 minutes before they actually opened the air gates. On Wednesday they loaded everyone on and batched people to the air gates before checking the restraints of the people who had just got on the ride. A slightly quicker approach to it I think but it was still dreadfully slow, probably taking around 10mins per cycle. As long as it stays open I'm happy as it is my favourite ride at thorpe despite the massive head rush! Cal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mccy Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 The way they're operating sounds more like a park that has suffered a serious accident on the ride, rather than one that's turned into s bodge job of parts and repairs... The downtime was due to the ride getting stuck at the top during a power failure. With no system in place to get the ride down without power, the park didn't want to open the ride until a system was created. The engineers created the system towards the end of last season but due to it having to be approved by the manufacturers, external safety auditing companies and various legal departments, it wasn't fully implemented until a few months into this season. Essentially the ride wasn't broken at all last year, it just wasn't open to avoid any legal repercussions that would happen if people got stuck upside down with no way to get them back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 The downtime was due to the ride getting stuck at the top during a power failure. With no system in place to get the ride down without power, the park didn't want to open the ride until a system was created. The engineers created the system towards the end of last season but due to it having to be approved by the manufacturers, external safety auditing companies and various legal departments, it wasn't fully implemented until a few months into this season. Essentially the ride wasn't broken at all last year, it just wasn't open to avoid any legal repercussions that would happen if people got stuck upside down with no way to get them back... If that is why it was closed last year, I don't understand why they seem to have a much longer gap between cycles and it opening later etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 It opening later is just because it's not top priority probably. It's always had to close half way through the day for checks and so on. The long gaps between cycles is just exceedingly slow staff! Engineering tested it three cycles in a row a few weeks ago with less than a minute between each cycle and then they opened the ride so it obviously can be done. InfernoMartin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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