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2020: General Discussion

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Matt N said:
I must admit I really like Thirteen too, and I’ll whisper it quite quietly, but... I think I like it more than Nemesis.
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I DEFINITELY like Thirteen more than Nemesis. To be honest, of the coasters in the "thrill" section, Nemesis ranks dead last for me. If it's you number one at Towers though, that's all good. As said, it would be boring if we all thought the same.

EDIT: Re night rides, a top three to eye up has to be Thirteen, The Smiler and Wicker Man, maybe Oblivion if you can. They are the standout night rides in my opinion.
 
Went on Nemesis twice yesterday once on back row and row 5 & had no rattle, smooth as can be, two weeks ago I had one of the worst rides on it & felt like I’d been punched in the head. Still a beast of a ride & if the smiler rides like Nemesis does at 26 years old (if it lasts that long) then I’ll eat my shoe.
 
I was there today and luckily tomorrow as I have two kids hoping to get on Wickerman with it being down all day today.

I think the worst happened in the Galactica queue when it was down for ages finally came up 5 mins waiting time..1 hour and 10 mins later after delays finally got on that horrendous ride for the first time since it was known as Air. I'm not a big fan of Manta and having gone back on a flying coaster I find them uncomfortable and not enjoyable.

Nemesis is still number one in this park for me. It was smooth and intense as the last time I rode it 10 years ago. Managed to finally get on Smiler and enjoyed it more than I thought would but a couple of times my head smashed into the harness.

After going on Sheikra..Oblivion is just meh. Even my 11 year old was like is that it? Rita was good but after the launch section again it all becomes a bit pointless.

However I did want to save my last thoughts for Thirteen. Really enjoyed this ride and so did all the family. Myself and my 7 year old pegged it from the Runaway train to there after 7pm to get a night ride and it was the standout of the day. We absolutely loved it.
 
Smiler isn’t worth it for a night ride, the area is too well lit to make much real difference. Thirteen is easily the coaster most improved by riding in the dark. Nemesis is good in the dark too and Runaway Train is fantastic at night, although the fairy lights in the tunnel do take some of the thrill away.
 
Hoping to do a Nemmy night ride this year. Missed out last year as we were in Dark Forest and didn't want to go through the Gardens in the dark. If the Gardens Lights Walk: Whispering Souls is a straight route from one end to the other and not a round trip, that should make it easier.
 
Quick report on my 2 days there (Friday and yesterday)

I was there Friday and Yesterday. Friday was great (other than the bitter cold wind). No queue lines were what they advertised (I think they keep them high to deter people joining to help with social distancing), many queues were 60-70 mins but never queued more than 45 mins for anything. That went for Saturday too. Give you an idea:

  • Spinball - was overflowing into the area outside the entrance of it, staff member organising this queue. Spinball's queue just goes round the perimeter of the ride (so no cattle-penning), queue time, 20 mins
  • Smiler - joined with queue at bottom of entry stairs, entire queue open, queued for no more than 45 mins. (SD announcements were awesome and sarcastic, singling out people on the trains to put masks on before they re-entered the station was a favourite of mine!)
  • Wickerman - queued all the way up the external side path, all queueline open, about 40 mins
  • Thirteen - out the entrance, all the queue open, about 45 mins
  • Rita - out the entrance and curving round in a queue, all queue open, about 40 mins.

So if you're going this season, do not be put off by seeing the physical length of the queues or the queue times.

Yesterday, queues were the same, ops were great but availability not so good! Almost all coasters down at some point during the day. Wicker Man down all day (the track just as you enter the structure or the first time (where the work was done before I beleive) was extremely bumpy (not rough) so whether that has anything to do with it's closure, I don't know.

Thirteen did open late afternoon and stayed open till the end even though it got cold!

The activated their rainy day come back for free thing for yesterday too.

Oktoberfest..entertainments, everything they've laid on, atmosphere absolutely fantastic. Bar staff (on the lawns) not so. There was not enough staff taking orders and one was rude. See my post in the Oktoberfest thread for more info.

The courtyard bar area is operated by Towers and therefore Towers staff, must more friendly and fun! Plus you get MAP discount there.

One thing to note though, you now cannot buy in the courtyard and take to the lawns. There are security staff in the courtyard telling you this.

If you go to Oktoberfest and have the app, you'll get a link to complete a questionnaire. I believe there is an area to give your thoughts, so that would be your chance to give them ideas (and complain about the bar set up on the lawns if you wanted to!)

All in all, a great 2 days, just spoilt by the cold wind, one rude (non-towers) member of staff, and availability on Saturday.
 
Ils said:
Wickerman currently closed again today for routine maintenance .Why over a weekend and not in the week?...not good enough.
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Routine maintenance. How much does it bloody need it was closed for 4 days only few weeks ago. If they need to do this much then there's something wrong
 
Ethan said:
Routine maintenance. How much does it bloody need it was closed for 4 days only few weeks ago. If they need to do this much then there's something wrong
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Add to that Smiler has only just got going..nearly 1 hour after opening. The operations this weekend have been dreadful.
 
Ethan said:
People seem to think that the smiler is the most thrilling ride at towers cus of how many inversions it's got. They're wrong though as Nemesis is by far the most forceful intense ride so if you can do that then you can do any of the others
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Partially agree.

Oblivion is very intimidating and also very forceful.


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All in all we had a great weekend away. Two nights in the Coca Cola room which my lads loved and enjoyed both a night meal and breakfast in secret garden.

Due to how much money I had spent and Wicker Man being down for the weekend and Smiler was operational for about 4 and half minutes on Sunday. I did turn into everything I hate which is have a whinge at Guest services. Bearing in mind we must have wasted at least 5 hours queueing for rides that went down over the weekend. They did give me £75 meal voucher which went down well with the wife who was the driving force of the whinge!

I have to say though after reading this forum and watching a few vlogs on different people's opinions about Nemesis, I was expecting it to be nothing like it was the last time I rode it. I will however take any comments with a pinch of salt going forward as I had four rides on it over the weekend and it was a joy. Love the thing but just not as much as Montu!

What I like about Alton Towers is they have enough quality rides that can keep a 11 year old happy and a 7 year old happy. I would really love to go to Thorpe Park but at the moment until my youngest hits the 1.40 mark there is not enough available under that height restriction for us to go as a family.
 
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