Dark Forest path changes for Th13teen
Dark Forest has undergone some changes this week with a new covered pathway now in place under Rita shifting the route through Dark Forest which had seen guests having to pass through a games unit previously.
The new walkway is constructed of scaffold and temporary fencing right under the launch partly utilising the old Rita Fastrack Queue, and is thought to provide a new ‘safe’ route for guests under Ritas launch section after its recent unfortunate cable snap incident.
The resort has attempted to ‘theme’ the walkway with ivy to match the Dark Forest/Th13teen theme but there has been no comment to indicate if the structure is thought to be a permenant addition or just for the forseeable future.
You can see the new walkway here on our discussion forums with the image from Alton Towers Guide.
Early Ride Time Changes
Seemingly again in a reaction to the recent cable snap incident Rita has now been removed from the ERT offering of the park, with Th13teen now taking its place for guests in the early ride time lineup, along with Obilvion, Hex, Heave Ho, Marauders Mayhem, Nemesis, Runaway Mine Train and Sharkbait Reef.
Carrier bag charge rumoured for Merlin attractions in 2013
Staff have reported that Merlin is rumoured to be introducing a charge for carrier bags to boost its green credentials in the 2013 season.
The charge is already in place and being trialed in the Merlin Blackpool attractions (SEALIFE, Blackpool Tower Eye and Madam Tussauds Blackpool) with a charge of 10p being levied upon guests for each carrier bag required.
Staff at multiple attractions in Blackpool also commented that the trial is expected to launch nationally across Merlin attractions next year, although no official sources from Merlin have confirmed the rumour yet.
If a charge for bags was introdued it would see Merlins green credentials boosted by discouraging bag usage following suit with other large retailers in the UK and Europe, although some more skeptical guests may see the charge as yet another revenue stream for the company.
Multiple ride, attraction and area closure incident affected guests
A large scale incident saw the closure of Sub-Terra, Duel, the park Monorail and access from Katanga Canyon through to Forbidden Valley on Thursday morning. The incident also saw a brief closure of The Flume although its operation as quickly resumed.
Guests and members at the Resort reported that a ‘radio black out’ was in place across the park with staff unable to communicate on the park wide two radios for a period of time.
Many staff reported different reasons for the incident to guests, including a power cut and fallen trees (the latter of which had recently affected park operations on a large scale also), although there has been no official communication from the park on the incident at all.
Many rumours were circulated amongst members, including a large gas leak and even a unexploded World War II bomb uncovered, both a potential as the Gloomy Wood/Duel ride area is thought to be built on a methane pocket, and Alton Towers previously being home to a war barracks.
The resort have remained extremely tight lipped on the matter however, and it is still not known what the cause of the disrupted operations actually was, leaving much speculation instead.
All of the rides and areas have now re-opened and there appears to be no further clue in the area as to the incidents real nature.
First signs and details of Scarefest released
Its rapidly reaching the time of year where the parks’ annual Scarefest event preparations begin, and earlier this week we reported on the Scarefest line-up and details released so far for this years event.
The regular Scarefest hearse prop has also now been placed at the bottom of Towers Street to promote the event to guests visiting the park.
The preparations usually see the great ruins closed to guests whilst they are prepared for the parks regular scare attraction, Terror of the Towers.
Catch up on the details so far in our news article published earlier this week.
