| Alton Towers 06/10/01
I use the Griswold system to rate rides, from +5 for good to -3 for bad. 0 means I like a ride, but not much.
The Park
Pay-One-Price: +3
Alton Towers is set in 500 acres of Staffordshire countryside, near the town of Ashbourne. It is the most beautiful park I have ever had the pleasure of visiting; with large areas of landscaped gardens as the central feature, and the focal point of these is a ruined country mansion. The rides are scattered around the gardens in a circle, which makes the park relatively easy to navigate. It is also exceptionally clean - there is not a scrap of litter or graffiti anywhere, except for the stations, which are the victim of the teenage chewing gum fraternity.
However, there are a couple of bugbears. One is that for a park which markets itself as the number one theme park in the country, there aren't that many BIG rides. However, this will change in 2002 with the opening of the park's fifth roller coaster, the B&M flying coaster AIR. Also, due to its large size, it can admit enormous numbers of visitors, who then congregate around the main attractions, causing very long queues - over 2 hours on occasions. And although there is electronic virtual queuing on Oblivion, Nemesis, and a few others, the park doesn't operate this until a certain number of people are in the park. I queued for Oblivion for an hour, and virtual queueing was not operating. Avoid public holidays, and summer weekends if you can. A better time to go is a weekday early in the season, where you will have the park to yourself, especially if it is raining.
The Coasters
Nemesis
Type: Steel, Freeform, Inverted
Features: Terrain, Multi-Element, Theming, Partially Enclosed
Manufacturer: B&M
Opened: 1994
Inversions: 4 - 1 vertical loop, 2 corkscrews, 1 in-line twist
Ride Time: 1m 10s
Max Speed: 50 mph (80 kph)
Highest Drop: N/A
Rating: +4
This was Europe's first inverted coaster on opening, and it is a corker! The first noticeable aspect to the ride is that a large part of it is below ground level, in a simulated quarry excavation. This is due to the planning restrictions that Alton Towers has to abide by - namely no building over tree height. Your attention when entering the queue line is drawn to the rivers of blood cascading down the rock walls on the left; these then pool at the bottom of the quarry. The station building resembles a crashed alien spacecraft, coloured red-purple and complete with protruding tentacles and dummy track. The real track wraps around all of this, making everything into one interactive experience.
The inside of the station resembles the innards of a crashed spaceship, but it isn't long before the chain lift whisks you up the lift hill. Due to the station's location deep below ground level, the turnaround at the top of the lift hill is only just above ground. The first drop is only just long enough to enable the train - the standard B&M inverter of 8 cars with 4 passengers per car - to get over the first corkscrew. A 270-degree helix down & right takes the train below the level of the station - the first of 4 times it does this, and then into an in-line twist over the roof of the station. A turnaround at the head of the quarry, a vertical loop set right next to the queue line, a dive under the queue line and then a trip along the base of the quarry all follow. A second corkscrew, set impossibly close to the exit path right at ground level, leads to another 180-degree turnaround into the brakes.
Wow! Whilst not long enough for a top rating, Nemesis is very fast, pulls great lateral and vertical G's on all corners & inversions, and can be ridden time and again. Ride in the front if possible, or failing that any outside seat, especially on the left. Otherwise you just see the chair in front move, and you get less sensation of the speed of the ride.
Oblivion
Type: Steel, Freeform, Dive Machine
Features: Vertical Drop, Terrain, Partially Enclosed
Manufacturer: B&M
Opened: 1998
Inversions: 0
Ride Time: 40s
Max Speed: 68 mph (110 kph)
Highest Drop: 183 ft (55 m)
Rating: +2
A world-first on opening; the first vertical drop roller coaster, it certainly looks impressive. As you approach, it is hidden from view until the last moment, and then the trees reveal the drop, going straight down into the Earth. The station is set on top of a hill, and the queue line spirals up to it. The station building is themed as a spacecraft-loading bay, and the cars are single vehicles with 2 rows of 8 seats in each.
The steep lift hill starts immediately on leaving the station and once at the top there are a few seconds of gentle coasting, giving you the chance to admire the wonderful ruined mansion to the right. Then, the fun starts. A brake brings you to a halt right on the edge of the drop, and after hanging there, agonisingly, you plummet at almost 70 mph through a spray of mist, straight down into the earth and a pitch-dark tunnel. After emerging from beneath a small lake, there is a 180-degree steeply banked turn, then a short climb to the brake run, before you enter the station again.
And that's it! Whilst it is a good coaster, I refuse to believe that all the momentum gained from the drop cannot be invested in something more than one turn. A couple of helixes, a vertical loop, anything other than hitting the brakes at 40 mph! This would also, of course, make the ride longer than its present ridiculously short 40 seconds. Indeed, it is possibly the only coaster in the world whose queue line is longer than it's track. Having said that, a stupendous first drop still makes sure it gets a positive rating.
Corkscrew
Type: Steel, Double Out & Back
Features: Corkscrew
Manufacturer: Vekoma
Opened: 1980
Inversions: 2 - 2 corkscrews
Ride Time: 1m 30s (est.)
Max Speed: 40 mph (65 kph)
Highest Drop: 68 ft (20 m)
Rating: -3
This is the original coaster in the park, and its only notable feature now is for use as a comparison of how coaster technology has moved on in the last 20 years. The short lift hill leads to a short drop just after the summit, then the main drop. A turnaround leads into the two corkscrews, then a second and third turnaround, punctuated by a helix, return the train to the station.
The ride would be reasonably enjoyable, except for one thing - the ride is ROUGH! The sign at the entrance warns against people with heart problems, pregnant women, etc riding; it should really advise against ANYONE riding at all, unless you want to feel like a piece of washing in a tumble dryer. I don't ride Corkscrew anymore, even with a non-existent queue. Indeed, the only positive aspect to the ride is its placement in UG land, which celebrates dinosaurs and other creatures from millions of years ago.
Black Hole
Type: Steel, Twister
Features: Enclosed, Theming
Manufacturer: Schwarzkopf
Opened: 1982
Inversions: 0
Ride Time: 1m 20s (est.)
Max Speed: 45 mph (72 kph)
Highest Drop: 50 ft (15 m)
Rating: 0
This is Alton Tower's dark ride, though as you will see later, it doesn't quite work out like that! The ride is housed inside an enormous green dome next to Oblivion, and the station - again - is space themed. The park must have got a bulk discount. The first drop is reasonably fast, and following it are a few twists and turns, taken at a reasonable pace. The ride is then rounded off by a couple of nice helixes, but any sensation of pleasure is rudely interrupted by the most violent brake on any coaster, anywhere - 35mph to stationary in about 4 milliseconds.
And that is it. I much preferred this ride when it had the old track in it - I believe the change occurred around 1996, as it was longer and had a few more twists and turns, though it still had the horrendous brake at the end. Now, after the first drop it is only seconds until you are back at the station. Also, the ride falls down on one important aspect of any dark ride; namely that it must be dark. The Black Hole isn't black, instead it is a sort of twilight hole, with enough illumination, especially near the end of the ride, for you to clearly see where you are going. Having said that, it would be worse if there were any surprises spoilt by this, but - and this is another negative point - there aren't. The first drop and end helix just qualify this ride for a positive rating, though.
Other Rides
There are numerous other, smaller attractions at Alton Towers worthy of your time; these include the Log Flume (+2), Ripsaw top spin (+2), and a powered coaster, Runaway Mine Train (+2), which pulls some reasonable laterals. You also usually get two trips around the circuit. Hex (+2) is also a reasonably well done dark ride that is quite disorientating. However, the Congo River Rapids (+1) are slightly better than last year, as there are water fountains placed around the circuit. Sometimes you get sprayed, sometimes not.
There is also the Double Chance Inverter, Submission (+1). This was a so-so ride; not too disorienting, but not exactly a walk in the park either. It is also a pity that the Thunder Looper shuttle loop was removed - apparently due to it being too noisy for local residents, as was the Beast, a steel coaster from Schwarzkopf, that was taken out around the same time. I do not know the reason for the removal of the latter ride.
__________________
Andy Rathe |
Linear Mode
