Han30 Posted September 16, 2020 Report Share Posted September 16, 2020 10 hours ago, planenut said: Finally braved TP for the first time this year, and very wary of the virus and the almost impossible "Social distancing". Took a couple of different style face masks and found the one I use when riding my bike the most secure. Difficult for the staff as they cannot be any closer to the riders than they are. Originally doubted I would get many rides in but there was hardly a queue all afternoon so I managed a decent number. Several times after the braking hill we raced round the lower bend and engineering had to change a couple of drive wheels. This happened a couple of times yesterday - the train was getting round that final bend in record time which I didn’t notice at first - do you like the German audio on Stealth? I love it 🤣. We got on Stealth 4 times yesterday which was fab! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoshC. Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 Ahhh, this old chestnut. The story is quite simple, but a sort of Chinese-whispers effect has led to some confusion over the years. That image is from the MTDP from around 2003. The MTDPs only show loose ideas that the park have at the time. That drawing, for example, shows the top hat being the other side of the Stealth area. The layouts mean nothing; they're just there as a rough indication of size. When Thorpe were drawing up ideas for Stealth, they wanted a longer ride, more akin to Xcelerator (hence why the MTDP shows that). Ultimately, it never happened, for a variety of reasons: space, money, visual impact of the ride, etc. There is no online copy of any longer layout they may have considered. The "Stealth and Rita were meant to be one ride" thing is one of these 'fun facts' that the parks liked to say during behind the scene tours. However, that's very much an embellishment of the truth. Thorpe had long planned for a tall and fast icon ride and, as stated, did look at a longer ride too. Eventually they settled for the standard Intamin accelerator top hat-airtime hill combo we have. Alton Towers were in need of a new thrill ride to stay fresh and competitive, especially after encountering issues with planning for their wooden coaster. With the company in advanced discussions with Intamin over Stealth, they were able to work with them further to get another coaster, Rita. There was likely some sort of deal that they were able to haggle as well. The layout of Rita is kind of just plonked how it could fit really. It's certainly possible that Rita's layout featured inspiration from Stealth's extended layout, if the design process ever got that far. But it's more likely, in my opinion, just its own separate thing. So history would tell you "Thorpe wanted an Intamin accelerator, which eventually ended up being Stealth. They considered getting a longer one but didn't. Alton Towers also got an Intamin accelerator due to their other plans falling through, and it just so happens that the layout, with some tweaks, would have worked well after Stealth". But to say "Stealth and Rita were planned to be one ride" is a more fun story. We'll probably never know exactly how things went down (in part because we're never told these things, in part because most who were involved with it have probably moved on), and we'll never see exactly what Stealth's extended layout could have been. 35 minutes ago, Ivsetti said: (as it's an MTDP made by Thorpe certain parts of potential rides tend to be modified to hide the layout they actually build as was obviously the case in this example). As touched on earlier, Thorpe's MTDP is a very loose thing. It just shows locations and vague scales of what they're considering at the time. But these ideas can and do change (Ghost Train was never mentioned in the 2010 MTDP, for example). The reason Thorpe submitted them is because it made the planning process for the rides easier, and kept up good relations with the council. When Thorpe do submit plans though, they have to stick to them very precisely. They have little room to change anything, everything must be done pretty much exactly as agreed. So they'd never be able to hide anything. Towers is slightly different, in that a large part of the park is covered by a General Development Order (GDO), which means that, within that area, they can do lots of things without submitting planning applications. This is how they were able to build Octonauts without a planning application, 'hide' some inversions in Smiler's application, and change the profiling on Wickerman's drop. pluk and ThorpeAddict 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SteveJ Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 As far as I know Rita was a pre-existing Intamin design that Alton Towers just bought, that had been planned for another park and was pretty much able to go anywhere flat. No application went through for the Alton wooden coaster (or was it withdrawn by the park?) after an initial survey found it wasn't possible. Rita wasn't so much a replacement for that coaster but a badly rushed addition to boost numbers directed by Tussauds new owners DIC Presumably they then wanted the same for Thorpe Park. So I wouldnt be surprised if there just wasn't the time and money for anything other than the top hat and launch. Which is a shame really, even just that indicative plan suggests a much nicer area and ride Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoshC. Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 The valley wooden coaster did have plans submitted in early 2003, but were withdrawn. I think there were loads of potential problems which meant the plans probably would have been rejected. Presumably they would have at one point intended to to tweak and resubmit the plans, but that never happened. I'd say Rita was a replacement for that coaster in the sense of they wanted a new thrill ride for 2005, and it opened in lieu of the wooden roller coaster, which was the first plan. A launch 'icon' coaster had long been the plan for Thorpe. Presumably that simply fit in with the direction DIC wanted to take the park in too, but likely saw changes to keep it cost effective. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SteveJ Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 17 minutes ago, JoshC. said: A launch 'icon' coaster had long been the plan for Thorpe. Presumably that simply fit in with the direction DIC wanted to take the park in too, but likely saw changes to keep it cost effective. Was that the Hulk style steel coaster originally planned for Colossus that you mean? I think Rita was literally such a last minute project, I remember watching a Q&A with one of the project people saying it was unusually fast to go from being told to open a new ride to building it. I think gives an idea of the different expectations DIC had on Tussauds at that time which probably played a big part in Stealth too. Then again it's on the 2003 development plan so not the same rush, and Stealth suited Thorpe so much better than Rita suited Ug land/ Alton Towers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoshC. Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 42 minutes ago, SteveJ said: Was that the Hulk style steel coaster originally planned for Colossus that you mean? Yes and no I guess. The Stealth incarnation of 'a launch coaster at Thorpe' had been in the works since around late 2002, to my knowledge. Maybe earlier even, depending on the sort of relationship that was had with Intamin at the time and the confidence that was had in Xcelerator (which opened in summer 2002). The Hulk style coaster from Premier was the first time Thorpe had plans for a launch coaster. And that idea probably stretches all the way back to the late 90s shortly after Tussauds took over and planned to turn it into a thrill park. Plans were submitted and I think might even have been approved for that as well, but the park obviously changed their minds. No idea why. They also considered a Rock n Rollercoaster clone for the Inferno site at one point too. So a launch coaster had long been in the plans for Thorpe. A coaster matching Stealth's vague description had been toyed with for a good 3-4 years before it opened though. SteveJ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoshC. Posted January 27 Report Share Posted January 27 I can't remember if it's included in the CD or not, but the simulation includes the Amity-style 'Thorpe beat' that IMAscore have done. Don't think it ever really places at Stealth (I believe it's part of the bridge / entrance loop?), but still nice to hear! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoshC. Posted March 15 Report Share Posted March 15 Stealth turns 15 years old today! Almost hard to believe it is actually that old..! If you feel like reminiscing a bit, or simply haven't seen construction photos of Stealth, we have a nice selection of photos on the TPM Stealth page for your viewing pleasure... Matt Creek 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Creek Posted March 15 Report Share Posted March 15 Crazy yet amazing how long ago 2006 was. Stealth was the ride that got me back into Thorpe Park in the mid-noughties after a number of hiatus years. Happy 15th Anniversary Stealth! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Benin Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 I vaguely remember seeing it run from top of Loggers Leap (because it'd been broke all morning) and running over. I miss having an exciting new ride to look forward to. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Glitch Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 Are we still in the medium term will we get that flat ride by Stealth any time soon? MattyMoo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoshC. Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 13 minutes ago, Glitch said: Are we still in the medium term will we get that flat ride by Stealth any time soon? Short answer: No Long answer: Nope. Glitch, Matt Creek and JoshuaWAH 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mark9 Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 1 hour ago, Glitch said: Are we still in the medium term will we get that flat ride by Stealth any time soon? Depends what the local funfairs are willing to loan out I suppose. ThorpeAddict and JoshuaWAH 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Creek Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 2 hours ago, Glitch said: Are we still in the medium term will we get that flat ride by Stealth any time soon? Basically. JoshuaWAH 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattyMoo Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 Can anyone confirm if the 5th green light has been fixed on Stealth to celebrate it's 15th birthday please. Coaster, RobF and EpicSmatty 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pluk Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 On 3/15/2021 at 3:14 PM, JoshC. said: Stealth turns 15 years old today! Almost hard to believe it is actually that old..! If you feel like reminiscing a bit, or simply haven't seen construction photos of Stealth, we have a nice selection of photos on the TPM Stealth page for your viewing pleasure... I was there that opening day, IIRC it was hit heavily by powercuts and something of a nightmare. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattyMoo Posted Tuesday at 09:19 AM Report Share Posted Tuesday at 09:19 AM On 3/17/2021 at 8:03 AM, MattyMoo said: Can anyone confirm if the 5th green light has been fixed on Stealth to celebrate it's 15th birthday please. It still doesn't work. ThorpeAddict 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoshC. Posted Tuesday at 09:32 AM Report Share Posted Tuesday at 09:32 AM 13 minutes ago, MattyMoo said: It still doesn't work. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. ImLucifer 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattyMoo Posted Tuesday at 09:53 AM Report Share Posted Tuesday at 09:53 AM I've been in tears since I woke up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JoshC. Posted Tuesday at 06:35 PM Report Share Posted Tuesday at 06:35 PM Plot twist: After taking a short trip to the park today, I can confirm that the 5th green light on the station-side IS WORKING! Buuuuuutttttttttt, the corresponding light on the launch track is not lighting up. They surely haven't just moved the broken lights around, have they? Mattgwise 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattyMoo Posted Wednesday at 07:10 AM Report Share Posted Wednesday at 07:10 AM 12 hours ago, JoshC. said: Plot twist: After taking a short trip to the park today, I can confirm that the 5th green light on the station-side IS WORKING! Buuuuuutttttttttt, the corresponding light on the launch track is not lighting up. They surely haven't just moved the broken lights around, have they? 😱😱😱 The plot thickens, just like an unbranded nitrogen ice cream cookie sandwich. Olistjj 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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