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Controversial Alton Towers Opinions

I love Oblivion for what it's worth. I'm a B&M fanboy and I hold Blivvy in very high regard for being the protype for an amazing coaster model which has gone on to sell in lots of other parks and obviously the layouts and elements included have only got better with time.

My slightly controversial take is that they missed a trick with the layout and design of the station. I think it would be a far better attraction if once entering the hole/tunnel after the drop that you didn't reemerge above ground and the final turn, break run and station was built underground or at least indoors. That way it plays into the theme that you've travelled into the Oblivion far better. Would have been a really cool concept and great for non riders too.
 
Back in 1998, Oblivion worked beautifully. Clean concrete, futuristic feel (how we perceived 'the future' at the time), the drum and bass soundtrack. I can see why people wouldn't like it as much now. If you're younger, you probably won't appreciate it much, as times and tastes have changed. It is perhaps the most cursed ride for becoming dated so quickly, as it is truly a product of its time.

When the time comes, I wouldn't mind a modern reimagining of the theme. Merlin Studios did a great job with Nemesis, so I would have faith in them giving Oblivion a decent makeover.

Alternatively, I would love Towers to tackle a steampunk theme finally. It would help differentiate the comparisons people now make between Ministry of Joy/The Phalanx.

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Source: TS Facebook
 
When Rita goes, I hope it’s not replaced with another coaster.

Two of the park’s major lands have just two coasters each, so when goes down (which is a daily occurrence let’s be honest!), the entire themed area just feels lifeless and a bit crap.

Rita needs replacing with 2 family thrill flats, a family flat and a play area. The Soakasaurus site is sat rotting which could house a new play area, you’ve got the obvious site for a flat down the bottom end of DF, plus another couple could go on Rita’s footprint.

This way you’d still have an area with plenty of life even if a flat goes down.

Oh, and The Smiler is tacky and belongs down at Thorpe.
 
s_g_k said:
When Rita goes, I hope it’s not replaced with another coaster.

Two of the park’s major lands have just two coasters each, so when goes down (which is a daily occurrence let’s be honest!), the entire themed area just feels lifeless and a bit crap.

Rita needs replacing with 2 family thrill flats, a family flat and a play area. The Soakasaurus site is sat rotting which could house a new play area, you’ve got the obvious site for a flat down the bottom end of DF, plus another couple could go on Rita’s footprint.

This way you’d still have an area with plenty of life even if a flat goes down.

Oh, and The Smiler is tacky and belongs down at Thorpe.
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Similar, I’d quite happily see it replaced with a danse macabre style attraction.

Rip out all the old ug land building and build a new premium sit down restaurant.

Chuck in a flat ride and covered play area and I think they’d be on to a winner.
 
Benjsh said:
My slightly controversial take is that they missed a trick with the layout and design of the station. I think it would be a far better attraction if once entering the hole/tunnel after the drop that you didn't reemerge above ground and the final turn, break run and station was built underground or at least indoors. That way it plays into the theme that you've travelled into the Oblivion far better. Would have been a really cool concept and great for non riders too.
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I'm not sure if this is technically feasible, but I always felt that an empty car should emerge from the hole so that it would appear to onlookers that the passengers had disappeared underground!
 
Secret Weapon said:
I'm not sure if this is technically feasible, but I always felt that an empty car should emerge from the hole so that it would appear to onlookers that the passengers had disappeared underground!
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Technically you could get away of hiding the trains from onlookers if you enclose the rest of the ride from the exit of the hole and along the break run which all could create a mini dark ride section to try and make up for it's short length.

Also could see this happening if they were to do a Nemesis Reborn retrack or at least heavy theming overhaul when the ride needs refreshed say when X-Sector will see attention.
 
i'd prefer it if the secret weapons/new coasters were not always something new and never-seen before.

Oblivion, Rita, Air, 13 are all basically one-trick wonders because they were first-of-type and there is so much more that could be done with those designs if they held off a couple of years for someone else to be "first".
 
dave___ said:
i'd prefer it if the secret weapons/new coasters were not always something new and never-seen before.

Oblivion, Rita, Air, 13 are all basically one-trick wonders because they were first-of-type and there is so much more that could be done with those designs if they held off a couple of years for someone else to be "first".
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This is the problem with Towers. Unique rides that were special when they opened but I don’t think many of them have aged well. Galactica Oblivion and Th13teen are the main culprits for this. Worlds first rides that were good when they opened but have been surpassed to such an extent that they seem quite basic and boring in the modern day. Wicker Man is an example of a ride that no matter how much technology improves it will always be good fun and a laugh. That’s the type of rides towers need to build
 
Ethan said:
This is the problem with Towers. Unique rides that were special when they opened but I don’t think many of them have aged well. Galactica Oblivion and Th13teen are the main culprits for this. Worlds first rides that were good when they opened but have been surpassed to such an extent that they seem quite basic and boring in the modern day. Wicker Man is an example of a ride that no matter how much technology improves it will always be good fun and a laugh. That’s the type of rides towers need to build
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I think one of the (many) things that made Nemesis so special was the fact that it was a 'complete' ride when it opened (with 4 inversions).

As the main selling point was the fact that riders were beneath the track for the first time, they could have skimped out and only had a single inversion or element (such as the Thunder Looper and Oblivion), but they instead built a ride that would last!

Personally, I think that Galactica / Air would have been better received if it had been on the other side of the park (to help with capacity), instead of being overshadowed by its older brother beside it.

(I also think it's unfortunate that Galactica / Air didn't have a Pretzel Loop, as the Superman ride built at the same time did)
 
Secret Weapon said:
I think one of the (many) things that made Nemesis so special was the fact that it was a 'complete' ride when it opened (with 4 inversions).

As the main selling point was the fact that riders were beneath the track for the first time, they could have skimped out and only had a single inversion or element (such as the Thunder Looper and Oblivion), but they instead built a ride that would last!

Personally, I think that Galactica / Air would have been better received if it had been on the other side of the park (to help with capacity), instead of being overshadowed by its older brother beside it.

(I also think it's unfortunate that Galactica / Air didn't have a Pretzel Loop, as the Superman ride built at the same time did)
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It's unfortunate that Galactica is so comparatively tame for what is a 1.4m thrill ride. It doesn't have much if any thrill, I always think as a rider I'm just there almost like being on a VR ride or something. Thank my lucky stars I never got to try it with the VR headset I guess.
 
dave___ said:
i'd prefer it if the secret weapons/new coasters were not always something new and never-seen before.

Oblivion, Rita, Air, 13 are all basically one-trick wonders because they were first-of-type and there is so much more that could be done with those designs if they held off a couple of years for someone else to be "first".
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Point or pedantic order, Rita was not something new and never seen before. It was also not a Secret Weapon.

Intamin's first Hydraulic launch coaster opened in 2002, a few years before Rita. It had a couple of years for someone else to be first, and that's what they did the with the ride after waiting.
 
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Secret Weapon said:
Personally, I think that Galactica / Air would have been better received if it had been on the other side of the park (to help with capacity), instead of being overshadowed by its older brother beside it.
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Tell me you never went to Alton Towers in 2002 without telling me...air was a HUGE success.

The marketing for the ride was massive too, one of the biggest campaigns, the ride was all over TV, newspapers and even breakfast cereal.

For a good time after opening, air always had the biggest queues on park, due to how many people wanted to ride it, with it regularly never going below 2 hours of waiting time. The park was extremely busy that season too, mainly due to air. I remember the fast track tickets (which were free then) almost always selling out for the ride first thing in the morning, always.

By the very definition, air was a huge critical and commercial success for Alton Towers.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
At the time, everyone I knew was disappointed by Air. The advert implied it was a launched coaster. A friend called it "Nemesis for babies".
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You see everyone I knew thought the exact opposite. Maybe it was the age range, as we were young teenagers at the time?

In any case, it was a hit for the park in the first seasons as it hugely boosted park attendance. It did exactly what it was designed to do in that respect and bring people to the park.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Point or pedantic order, Rota was not something new and never seen before. It was also not a Secret Weapon.

Intamin's first Hydraulic launch coaster opened in 2002, a few years before Rita. It had a couple of years for someone else to be first, and that's what they did the with the ride after waiting.
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Oh I love doing these with quotes to save edits.
Point of pedantic order goosey!
What exactly is Rota?

But good point, saved me typing.

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And being there, many times, personally and with a number of trips with clients from other care homes, Air was a bit of a flop for a great many...not in the league of nemesis, and a very large number of stoppages and evacuations in the first couple of seasons, far more downtime than Nemesis and Oblivion in their opening years. Many not very happy clients, some repeatedly...we went back to try to ride again and failed, again.

I loved it, explaining that Air was meant to be the light compared to the dark of Nemesis, and, of course, the landscaping was half arsed, like the famous station exit tunnel.

Air may be considered a marketing and commercial triumph, but many of those increased crowds went home unhappy.
 
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On the subject of investment successes, I’ve always found it curious how the only one of Alton’s SWs that didn’t majorly raise attendance was Oblivion.

Granted, attendance was coming from a pretty high base in 1997, so was still high, but according to the graph Merlin wheels out, the addition of Oblivion hardly increased attendance at all compared to 1997, and attendance then plummeted the year after in 1999.

This would seemingly counteract the widespread reports of massive hype at the time of its addition, but I can’t see why Merlin would lie about attendance in 1998 for a graph released in 2021 in its earliest iteration.

The addition of Nemesis saw attendance notably increase compared to the previous year, as did the addition of Air and all 3 of the SWs installed during Merlin’s tenure, but Oblivion weirdly didn’t see this.

On the subject of Air/Galactica, I would always have said it was quite popular among non-enthusiasts. A lot of people I know who aren’t enthusiasts and have been to Alton really like Galactica!
 
Simple answer mate, to solve your mystery.
A very wet summer, particularly all the school holidays.
Wet, lack of sun, breezy.
Stunning new ride, lots of hype, fantastic early thoughput, constant shuffle queueline, but in the rain mainly.

I remember, very early on, thinking that the lift hill in hard rain would be considered torture if it wasn't voluntary.

...and you didn't have to wait half an hour to get off either.
 
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