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2021: General Discussion

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Don't think Wicker Man has had a heat problem before, I know Thirteen and Rita do when it's like 30 degrees or something.
 
spinba11 said:
It all depends on what temperature it’s designed to operate in.
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I don't know what its operating temperature are, but given that it was - presumably - running fine for most of last summer, a warm-ish spring day would be unlikely to pose any kind of problem.
 
I don't know what the issue is with WM at the moment, but you've got to remember there's a huge difference between wooden coasters and steel coasters. Steel is one material bolted together, wooden coasters you've got the timber frame, the laminate and then the steel running plates on top.

The wood is far more susceptible to atmospheric changes and parts are changed much more frequently and at differing intervals across the year. Although 23 degrees isn't all that much compared to actual heatwaves (which newspapers seem to have forgotten this week!), it is a marked change to the non stop wet and damp we've had for the last month. When those repairs and routine maintenance have been carried out in that wet and cool weather, it's entirely possible the sharp shock into dry conditions has caused a few problems as the newly fitted/repaired materials expand and contract.

Hopefully whatever it is will be sorted soon though, the park really needs that ride this week with the crowds they're pulling in!
 
Craig said:
Hopefully whatever it is will be sorted soon though, the park really needs that ride this week with the crowds they're pulling in!
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Wicker man will certainly help massively with soaking in crowds this week. So hopefully it opens soon, otherwise its going to be a horrid time for the likes of the smiler and th13teen as they'll get ridiculous queues again
 
Craig said:
I don't know what the issue is with WM at the moment, but you've got to remember there's a huge difference between wooden coasters and steel coasters. Steel is one material bolted together, wooden coasters you've got the timber frame, the laminate and then the steel running plates on top.

The wood is far more susceptible to atmospheric changes and parts are changed much more frequently and at differing intervals across the year. Although 23 degrees isn't all that much compared to actual heatwaves (which newspapers seem to have forgotten this week!), it is a marked change to the non stop wet and damp we've had for the last month. When those repairs and routine maintenance have been carried out in that wet and cool weather, it's entirely possible the sharp shock into dry conditions has caused a few problems as the newly fitted/repaired materials expand and contract.

Hopefully whatever it is will be sorted soon though, the park really needs that ride this week with the crowds they're pulling in!
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You said it in much better way and in more detail than me! I was thinking along the lines of that it's not the temperature itself, but the sudden change in temperature (and dampness) from what we've had these last few weeks till now.
 
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Anyone else find it slightly odd that Towers (and Merlin) never do anything for Pride month ? Even my bank has updated their logo and made a commitment / statement to LGBTQ+ causes , but not a whiff from Towers
 
tayspru said:
Even my bank has updated their logo and made a commitment / statement to LGBTQ+ causes , but not a whiff from Towers
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I suspect that your bank didn't really mean it, and neither would Merlin. Given the legions of LGBTQI+ enthusiasts on social media in the theme park community, then perhaps it would be worth a punt on an individual park level, even if it was just some entry-level Drag Race adjacent PR. Nonetheless, in the age of tedious culture wars, Pride is for better or worse seen as increasingly 'political', and theme parks are traditionally keen to be perceived as the opposite.
 
Visibility is massively important - especially from brands that are family focussed. To be fair too Santander I know are very good with inclusion initiatives, from friends who work there.
 
Not great overall today.

None of the coasters operated through the entire day with no breakdowns.

Not sure Galactica should ever have opened. On two trains / one station when it was open and significant problems with one of the trains that was running. We queued an hour for it before it broke and we were turned away in the station. I doubt they would have attempted to open it had there not been such significant downtime elsewhere.

Mardi Gras festivities much improved on the first weekend. The flashmobs were very entertaining. Shows on the front lawns are better advertised now and were attracting more people too.

Battle Galleons is great on a day like today - a real highlight - really fun, interactive and a great laugh. Just what Alton Towers is all about. Waited an hour, but playing with the guns in the queue was as fun as the ride itself!

12 rides total, including four on Duel. Only coasters ridden were Nemesis, Spinball, Rita and Smiler (queue was cleared by 8:45pm despite a lengthy breakdown at 8)
 
1 station op on Galactica during peak would suggest a technical problem with the other station, otherwise they'd run 2 trains/2 stations to maximise the throughput. That being the case, there'd be a train "spare", so it seems strange that they'd be using one that was causing trouble.

Smiler running the queue off so quickly just further highlights how much of that ride's capacity is being taken away from the main queue during normal operating hours. FT/RAP destroying the guest experience for everyone else - if it always moved as quickly as it does after queues close it wouldn't be an issue, even if the queue time wasn't any shorter.
 
Galactica has been struggling for a while, I'm not sure one of the trains works at all and frequent downtime. Got to wonder if piggybacking the electronics might be coming back to bite or something equally as fun.
 
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