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TH13TEEN - Was It Worth It?

Didn't rave it first time I went on but at the front in the dark when its raining it all made perfect sense. Riding this ride at the height of summer just not do it any justice at all. You need it to dark and miserable.
 
Th13teen is definitely much better at night. Especially when there's no light other than from the moon. I can rate Th13teen just below the Runaway Mine Train when I ride it at night, though that's obviously not to often. :/
 
Went on Th13teen for the first time on Friday and honestly, I really enjoyed it! I knew about the drop section but not that it went backwards and I thought it is a good solid family coaster. In terms of layout, the outdoor section could have been so much better, the trims on the first drop are ridiculous and it's too short.

I wouldn't queue 90 mins for it, as the queue hit the other day, but it's a decent ride.

Unfortunately the Dark Forest area is a mess and just doesn't make sense. Rita, 'you must escape' and the other sound effects are quite cringey.
 
When my friends and I went on they seemed to really enjoy it. They also seemed to really like how the wraith at the bottom of the free fall drop suddenly appears. When you're at the front, it can actually make you jump! But anyway, I still like Thirteen. It's good fun, has a fantastic first drop and the crypt is brilliant in my opinion. It's always fun to see the faces of those who don't know what's coming. Even better when you say 'Yay, it's over' when you enter the crypt :)
 
It's probably just me... But last week I felt as though Th13teen felt a bit quicker than it had done in the past? Might just be me forgetting what the front row was like though.


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I usually visit on a weekday and many times have found the ride to be walk on. Sometimes it's so quiet that riders are required to wait until there are enough people to fill a train.

As for the ride itself, it was definitely worth it IMO. Th13teen may have been marketed to the wrong audience, but it passes as a perfectly acceptable family coaster. It's fun and reasonably thrilling. People are lying when they say they'd rather have that generic Vekoma relic back ;)
 
I think it was definitely worth it. I really like TH13TEEN and so do most people that I know. Plus it always has big queues so it's obviously popular with the GP as it has a high throughput, and at the end of the day GP popularity is what really matters to the park.

Also, I find the front to be rather tame, whereas at the back the ride is completely different, on the back row the first drop is lethal! Really awesome sensation.
 
It's become a bit of a ritual, every time I go to Towers, we always go on TH13TEEN twice in a row. We don't know why. To me, it's one of those 'timewaster' coasters, where if the queue is short you can hop on a couple of times and then see what the other queues are like.

The outdoor section could have been longer, but remember it is right on the edge of the park, and there were some restrictions due to some ancient fort nearby, if I remember rightly. The drop, as a world first prototype (many people forget it's only a prototype), exceeded my expectations, and is one of the more reliable elements on any Towers coaster. I've only had one instance where the ride broke down whilst I was queuing, and even that wasn't the drop element.

It may not be the fastest, or the longest, but as a prototype stepping stone, I imagine we can expect to see more and better free fall coasters in the future.
 
I'm beginning to really like Thirteen, riding on Polar X-Plorer at Legoland Billund has helped me see the positives of our own version. Even the odd outside section is becoming enjoyable although I couldn't explain why or what it is I am enjoying.
 
It was a mistake to market it the way they did - that's all really.

Because, frankly, to expect a terrifying ride and then see drive-tires on the lift is going to be a letdown. You don't even have to be an enthusiast to tell the difference between that and the meaty chain on a ride like Oblivion. But I've been on it a few times and I find it a lot of fun. It's that ker-klunking noise that people associate with the suspense of the start of a rollercoaster. I actually find them quite zippy and enjoyable too but the only real issue has ever been expectations vs reality.

What could have made it better would be one very light inversion. Even a single inline twist so that a younger budding enthusiast can feel like they've accomplished something more substantial by riding it. Also, if there was a little more to the 'event building' (a crypt, right?) rather than only having a single room where it all takes place. The post-drop section is fantastic though, that really was what won me over on my first ride. But to be lulled into a false sense of security rather that focus all your attention on going into this room with no exit would, I think, be more psychologically damaging in the way that was desired by the Merluminati.

I do like the track switchamajig as well and how well they hide how you emerge from the indoor section.
 
For me, there is a really simple improvement that could've been made to Th13teen - an 'X' style exit before the switch track moves. It would mean that riders don't have to see the tracks switch which obviously gives some of the mystery away, and riders queuing in the station would see an empty train arrive back which always adds eeriness.

I find the ride to be a very different experience depending on where you sit; the back row is rougher but pretty good fun, the middle is kind of bland but front row delivers a smooth and fairly intense experience, dramatically better than elsewhere on the train.

It's a solid coaster, for sure. If only the theming was 'exemplary' instead of 'good' I would see this as a much improved experience and probably prefer it to other rides on park.
 
TH13RTEEN will always hold a place for me as it was one of the first rides I got my other half on (and he does NOT do rides) - and for him that was quite the achievement. I enjoy it myself if the queue isn't stupidly long. I do agree though that it was marketed in the wrong way, much how Sub-Terra was to a degree, claiming it as the worlds scariest ride. It is a great family ride however and I will always give it a look-see when I visit the park.
 
Harvey. said:
It would mean that riders don't have to see the tracks switch which obviously gives some of the mystery away, and riders queuing in the station would see an empty train arrive back which always adds eeriness.


Does Duel still do that?

I remember seeing carts bottlenecked halfway between the stations which ruined it a little.
That is one good thing about X: it is a bit more of a 'thing' that it arrives empty.
It's a more dramatic entrance to the station from what I remember (only been to Thorpe once).
 
Bob said:
I'm beginning to really like Thirteen, riding on Polar X-Plorer at Legoland Billund has helped me see the positives of our own version. Even the odd outside section is becoming enjoyable although I couldn't explain why or what it is I am enjoying.

If someone put the first half of Polar Xplorer up to the drop and then put the end of Thirteen on it we would end up with a brilliant family coaster...

Alas, it's not to be...
 
I love Th13teen. It offers something different to any other ride in the park and is great for older kids who aren't ready for Nemesis etc but have out grown RMT.

True, the original advertising was awful and clearly marketed at the wrong audience, but now it's bedded in it is one of the best attractions in the park.

The ride would look so much better if they got rid of Rita and did something with the awful layout of DF but we know that won't happen aytime soon.

I would rate it in my top 3 in the park.
 
This is a interesting topic, and one that will be debated long in to the future.

Are there problems with Th13teen, Yes. Does this make it a bad coaster, No.

Lets discuss the problems with Th13teen first. The biggest issue was the marketing. The marketing suggested a ride similar to what has been delivered with the Smiler. So that got a lot of older guests of the park's expectations up, that it was going to be a thrill ride. We now know this is not the case, and what was actually delivered was a family coaster, with a special effect half way through.

The second issue, is the track layout before the 2nd lifthill. Due to errors being made somewhere along the lines, the ride vehicle approaches the the 2nd lifthill to quickly, and trims were added to the drop after the first lift hill to ensure it did not approach to fast. This does make for a strange experience on the first drop as you start to pick up speed, only to slow down, before picking up speed again.

My third issue, and this is relative, is the amount of scaffolding on the side of the building facing Rita. I understand why there is scaffolding, but I think there is a little to much, and it cheapens the ride a little.

The final issue is the lack of communication about the story, or the background of the ride. I did not want to say Themeing of the queue here, because there is a lot of themeing if you know where to look, but I think some information boards, half covered with roots and plant life, with bits of the back ground story on, would help add to the experience.

So some minor issues, and some major ones. As for the positives, the drop is the highlight of the ride for me. The first time you ride it, and are with people who are not expecting it, it is a great experience. Even after a few rides, it is still a lot of fun. My only complaint is that its not random, or different, but who knows, maybe somewhere in the future, this can be implemented.

The section of track, in the dark, after the drop is also a lot of fun. I am not a big fan of backwards rides, but the darkness helps reduce any feeling of sickness, and you get thrown left and right which makes it enjoyable.

I also like some of the Themeing in the queue line, I mentioned this as an issue earlier, but I like the idea of walking under a ladder, or walking under scaffolding as unlucky, but just feels there needs to be some sort of background story to help get across this is a unlucky ride. The Tesla Coil, while not the most impressive, is still a nice addition, and with the spooky voice in the background, can provide a nice shock to people who have not ridden before.

Overall, I think this ride is a great replacement for Corkscrew, was worth the initial investment, and with a few tweaks here and there has the potential to become an even better ride. It is a great addition for families, and is a great next coaster once younger visitors have got used to the Runaway Mine Train.

As for the Dark Forest, the concept works, in that Rita and the Ugland shops have been consumed by the forest, but this is starting to look dated, and could do with some touching up in places. The new scaffolding for the Rita queue line does not fit in (Going back to my earlier point about there being to much of it), and makes it look messy. Again, this boils down to the decision to build Rita where it is, and I think after Sonic Spinball, this is the next coaster that needs to be looked at being replaced. Given what they had to work with, when the Dark Forest opened, they had done a good job, but it needed that investment for a couple of years afterwards to help keep it up, and finish the job off.

Ian
 
.... the ride vehicle approaches the the 2nd lifthill to quickly, and trims were added to the drop after the first lift hill to ensure it did not approach to fast. This does make for a strange experience on the first drop as you start to pick up speed, only to slow down, before picking up speed again.

I like this hold back on the drop, it feels like the Wraiths are using some mystical power to try and drag you back but fail.

My third issue, and this is relative, is the amount of scaffolding on the side of the building facing Rita. I understand why there is scaffolding, but I think there is a little to much, and it cheapens the ride a little.

So I am not the only one that thinks that

The final issue is the lack of communication about the story, or the background of the ride. I did not want to say Themeing of the queue here, because there is a lot of themeing if you know where to look, but I think some information boards, half covered with roots and plant life, with bits of the back ground story on, would help add to the experience.

I find this too. I usually end up telling my GP friends the back story to the ride when we are waiting in the queue. Its a good way to waste some waiting time though.
 
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