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Ride Availability/Operations 2022-24

Ethan said:
True but it was a ride that should've gone like 10 years ago because it is old fashioned. Same with blade. Towers need new and interesting flats
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Just because a ride is "old-fashioned" doesn't mean it is irrelevant. Dreamland went about bringing back plenty of vintage rides, including some painstaking detail. Kennywood off the top of my head have also just brought back the "old-fashioned" Kangaroo; a great choice considering the positivity on their social media post comments relating to it.

Blackpool's decision to remove the "old-fashioned" Whip and replace it with some gaudy dodgems was criminal.

To say that "old-fashioned" rides should be gone and replaced with newer, modern flat rides is complete nonsense. There is a time and a place.
 
Ethan said:
True but it was a ride that should've gone like 10 years ago because it is old fashioned. Same with blade. Towers need new and interesting flats
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Old doesn’t necessarily mean irrelevant (in my view, anyway), particularly within the sphere of flat rides.

Granted, I haven’t ridden it for a number of years, but I’d actually say that from memory, I find Blade more enjoyable than a considerable number of newer flats I’ve done. And some of my personal favourite flat rides include the 1930s flats at Folly Farm, which are about as “old fashioned” as it gets!

Admittedly, that is coming from someone who has a weak stomach and isn’t huge on flat rides as a genre apart from a few exceptions, but my point still stands.

The other thing is; I think flat rides have actually advanced surprisingly little in the nearly 40 years since Enterprise was built. Unlike roller coasters, there’s only so many ways you can spin people about or erratically move them about without getting track involved, and many of the flat rides that parks are building now have been theme park staples for decades, if not centuries. Heck, enterprises are still being built brand new, so Enterprise clearly can’t be that old fashioned!
 
The design of a Mondial Shake is at least 30 years old this year and it is excellent. The issue is the age of some of Towers flats Vs cost of restoring them to working order.
 
I really think they need to bolster up their flat ride collection as a matter of priority. The fact Enterprise is gone really drops the availability of what they actually own in terms of flat rides, drop's it by half actually.

Quickly to go back to Thorpe and Zodiac. (sorry if wrong thread, please feel free to move). When Thorpe brought Drayton Manors Enterprise in 2006, they did not even bother to repaint it from it's factory colours and the colours it was at Drayton Manor.

First photo is at DMP, with the infamous "I want you to stop screaming" sign partially visible. Excuse the bad photo quality.

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Then when relocated to Thorpe Park, it looked like this.
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Exactly the same colours and paint job, including the stripes on the arm as it was at Drayton.


Compare this to the the original fully 'themed' model it replaced that was at Thorpe pre 2006. With all it's cars and paint job themed to the area.
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The reason why this sort of ties in, is because with Enterprise, the ride is pretty much themed to what is left of the X-Sector theme, this is another big reason I would love to see it come back. RS rides completely break the immersion of any area they are in. Closing any ride (such as Enterprise) that is themed to the area will eat away a tiny bit more of what is left of the areas theme. Maybe I am clutching straws at this point, but I think they should get everything open that supports the theme of the area, Enterprise being one of them. For all we know, they could be struggling to get parts from the continent, not a situation totally out of this world. Given the current circumstances.
 
I am not sure how much Enterprise contributes to X-Sector's theme, given that it isn't themed at all. But then, neither is X-Sector, at least not in the traditional sense... It's always just been largely lots of black paint, and then later, the absurdity of The Smiler in extreme contrast. And even that has black track. This isn't a criticism, the area is oddly atmospheric and it would be a shame to lose the kinetic action Enterprise contributes, but it's hardly Frontierland, or even Mutiny Bay.
 
Ethan said:
True but it was a ride that should've gone like 10 years ago because it is old fashioned. Same with blade. Towers need new and interesting flats
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There’s nothing wrong with the Blade, it’s a good family ride that provides a nice step up for junior thrill seekers moving on from the kiddie rides. It only takes up a modest amount of space and adds something in Forbidden Valley that isn’t a 1.4m thrill coaster. Seems bizarre that people moan about Towers getting rid of their flats and then want an existing solid family flat like the Blade removing.
 
Across my recent 2 day visit, I was able to get at least one throughput reading for each coaster aside from Spinball and Octonauts.
  • Galactica: 1,221pph (average of 5, 3 trains/2 stations)
  • Nemesis: 1,032pph (average of 7, 2 trains)
  • Oblivion: 913pph (19th June 2022, average of 2, 6 shuttles/2 stations), 1,006pph (20th June 2022, average of 7, 5 shuttles/2 stations)
  • Rita: 742pph (average of 10, 2 trains)
  • Runaway Mine Train: 567pph (average of 2, 1 train)
  • The Smiler: 649pph (19th June 2022, average of 6, 3 trains, baggage hold open), 719pph (20th June 2022, average of 6, 3 trains, baggage hold open)
  • Thirteen: 1,044pph (average of 5, 3 trains, baggage hold closed)
  • Wicker Man: 931pph (19th June 2022, average of 10, 3 trains), 888pph (20th June 2022, average of 10, 3 trains)
Hope you find these interesting!
 
DistortAMG said:
The whole of Cyclone became Zodiac. Drayton Manor sold it to Thorpe Park as a complete ride. It was purchased brand new by Drayton Manor in 2004.

I believe it was shortly after Thorpe Parks enterprise lost a vehicle with passengers on. Drayton were looking to sell at the same time due to noise complaints. Despite being brand new from the factory in 2004. It only lasted a season or two at Drayton Manor..
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Drayton manor installed it in the summer of 2003 after major complaints of Excalibur been unavailable for most of the 2003 season and it was removed after the end of the 2005 season.
 
Ethan said:
True but it was a ride that should've gone like 10 years ago because it is old fashioned. Same with blade. Towers need new and interesting flats
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I know what's even more old fashioned = sod all. Which is currently what will be replacing Enterprise.

Enterprise was an inclusive ride with some intensity that had a low height restriction. I can't go on it more than once these days but my kids loved it when I traped them all the way down the hill into X Sector, an area that otherwise only has 1.4mtr height restriction coasters to ride. I rode it first back in the 80's and although it's definitely not what it used to be, Towers lack of other attractions of its type meant that it continued to carry the weight of the hole in the parks lineup well into old age.

It's passing is very sad.
 
Matt N said:
Across my recent 2 day visit, I was able to get at least one throughput reading for each coaster aside from Spinball and Octonauts.
  • Galactica: 1,221pph (average of 5, 3 trains/2 stations)
  • Nemesis: 1,032pph (average of 7, 2 trains)
  • Oblivion: 913pph (19th June 2022, average of 2, 6 shuttles/2 stations), 1,006pph (20th June 2022, average of 7, 5 shuttles/2 stations)
  • Rita: 742pph (average of 10, 2 trains)
  • Runaway Mine Train: 567pph (average of 2, 1 train)
  • The Smiler: 649pph (19th June 2022, average of 6, 3 trains, baggage hold open), 719pph (20th June 2022, average of 6, 3 trains, baggage hold open)
  • Thirteen: 1,044pph (average of 5, 3 trains, baggage hold closed)
  • Wicker Man: 931pph (19th June 2022, average of 10, 3 trains), 888pph (20th June 2022, average of 10, 3 trains)
Hope you find these interesting!
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Some pretty shambolic operations on smiler and nemesis there. Wicker man not ideal either
 
Once again, can we please remind you that discussion about queue times/how busy the park is on any given day, should be contained within the General Queue Times Discussion thread so that it does not disrupt discussion in other threads. I have just had to move a number of posts.

Thanks!
 
So Wicker Man didn't open at all today and Spinball was down for most of the day, nightmare for everyone as that puts more pressure on the remaining rides and more pressure on maintenance to get those rides running and sort out any problems with other rides. It feels weird to say this but I think the Smiler might actually be the most reliable coaster currently.
 
Will be interesting to hear some feedback from riders today to see if any improvements have been made to the ride show and sound!
 
NuttySquirrel said:
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!! Best. News. Ever

Course I won't actually be back at Towers until September probably and chances are it will have been sealed again by then!
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Yeah I won't be back til Scarefest, so there is the chance it'll be sealed by then just like last season. 🙃
Fingers crossed it'll have minimal downtime from now though. 🤞
 
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