[2025] Toxicator: New Forbidden Valley Suspended Top Spin

[idleross]

I think it was a shoe anyway... looks like it came off someone's foot


From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbdhlS4JjEM

That’s my video! I can confirm it was somebody’s ear defenders that flew off

 

[Ethan]

I’m not joking guys when I say it’s my favourite ride now at Towers. I love hangtime and that thing had it to another level. What a powerhouse of a ride an absolute winner for the park

 

[Secret Weapon]

Does anybody know whether the water fountains on Toxicator were responsible for today's leak?

My gut feeling was that perhaps the drains can't handle the additional load, but then I remember that Ripsaw was previously there, and had roughly the same amount of water (if not more) ?

Unless the drains have fallen into disrepair since Ripsaw closed?

 

[Steve74]

I'm not sure if this has been pointed out but this has a "boot up" sequence in the morning when it opens and a "shut down" one when it closes at ride close. I've not seen the morning one but the closing one displays "goodnight Nemesis" in the silos

This is the shutdown one...

From: https://x.com/RickCooper02/status/1901055892969120054?t=-5SakUTQUGHG9qvyVFxE_w&s=19


Sent from my SM-S908B using Tapatalk

 

[JT01]

I miss the older styles of top spins, i think they look more impressive and intimidating with the large floored gondola and two levels.

 

[AT86]

Does anybody know whether the water fountains on Toxicator were responsible for today's leak?

My gut feeling was that perhaps the drains can't handle the additional load, but then I remember that Ripsaw was previously there, and had roughly the same amount of water (if not more) ?

Unless the drains have fallen into disrepair since Ripsaw closed?

Surely the fountains are just recycling the water already in the trough? Their operation wouldn’t be having any impact on the drains?

 

[Islander]

Does anybody know whether the water fountains on Toxicator were responsible for today's leak?

My gut feeling was that perhaps the drains can't handle the additional load, but then I remember that Ripsaw was previously there, and had roughly the same amount of water (if not more) ?

Unless the drains have fallen into disrepair since Ripsaw closed?

Of course not. They’ve been testing these fountains for weeks, this wouldn’t have suddenly started now, and as pointed out above the water is recirculated

 

[venny]

That’s almost certainly a foul water drain that’s overflowing; nothing to do with the fountains which are a self-contained, recycled system.

There’s likely one of two things that has happened. Either the drain run was rebuilt as part of the works and it has a defect causing a blockage or the weight of construction activities has caused the drain to collapse. This is the first time since completion that the foul water drain run in that area will have had any serious use. Said use has clearly highlighted the issue, causing the overflow.

I’m guessing they’ll be putting come cctv down there to establish the issue and then it might be the case that they need to excavate locally to remediate.

 

[Skyscraper]

I was (and still remain) a little confused about the queuing set up perhaps someone can help me wrap my head around it...

So you've got the main queue line of course, going underneath the sign and around the back into the cattlepen

Today we went on a temporary extended queue line journey towards the skyride and then back again, before going up a set of stairs into the cattlepen

What are the stairs going to be when the temporary queue line is removed?

I'd assume those stairs are an emergency exit in case of a queue evac.

 

[Lewis232]

Despite still showing as closed on the app Toxicator has been operating with riders on since 09:40

 

[LoomJ]

I must say fair play to the team for sorting the drainage issue out so quickly yesterday.

It’s certainly a night time ride as it looks fantastic in the dark.
It seems to have a slightly tamer cycle than Talocan, which I was thankful for as I found that a bit too much.

 

[Quantum]

The ride is getting great feedback hopefully this convinces Merlin they need more flat rides at towers sooner rather than later, it would certainly take the edge off the coaster closures.

 

[Alphe86]

Indeed. Towers aren’t desperate for a new headline thrill coaster (as much as enthusiasts argue it does. And truthfully it probably needs an immersive family* coaster far more.

I would much prefer another headline flat ride in x-sector and DF - themed to this level - with a few lower level flats to accompany, before anymore mad coaster investment.
The park needs capacity and reliability more than ever. Hopefully Toxicator stays popular and towers can have their arms twisted


*or something to partner up with RMT as there’s not much for kids to look forward to in this height category. Especially if they find hex and curse too creepy.

 

[Bert2theSpark]

I love all the little flourishes that they’ve put into Toxicator, they didn’t have to make all of those little details with the videos but I think it really adds so much to the ride!

John Burton and his team really has come a long way from The Walking Dead The Ride!

 

[Mykeprime]

Was watching the night footage thinking the gondola lights had some sort of sequence to them... It was just the riders wiggling their legs in the way

 

[Skyscraper]

It must be said, though, that the unfortunate incident yesterday was the only period of downtime for Toxy all day. Pretty good if you ask me!

 

[The_bup]

Hopefully everything goes a bit smoother today, yesterday I can overlook as a freakishly bad day.

Anyone to report what the smell is like on park today?

 

[Zeock]

Hopefully everything goes a bit smoother today, yesterday I can overlook as a freakishly bad day.

Anyone to report what the smell is like on park today?

There isn't any smell on park from yesterday's incident.

 

[Secret Weapon]

Surely the fountains are just recycling the water already in the trough? Their operation wouldn’t be having any impact on the drains?

Of course not. They’ve been testing these fountains for weeks, this wouldn’t have suddenly started now, and as pointed out above the water is recirculated

I'm surprised to hear that the same water is recycled each time; I'm aware that this is common with decorative displays, but given that the water could come into contact with the riders, I would have thought that there could be a potential risk of cross-contamination? I may be wrong, but I remember reading that Tidal Wave at Thorpe Park has to have its own dedicated fresh water supply (instead of using water from the lakes) for this reason. I also wasn't sure whether the testing cycles were just for the ride itself, or whether the other features (e.g. screens, lights, and fountains) were tested as extensively as well.

(EDIT: Now that I think about it, I remember hearing that the safety standards for water used for washing hands - e.g. final effluent - is not as strict as the safety standards for drinking water - e.g. potable water - so maybe the water with Toxicator is held to the lesser standard, given that it is only used for splashing and not drinking... hopefully!)

(EDIT - Regarding the sewage leak: I'm no expert, but my hunch is that the immediate cause may have been something as simple as a loose push-fit connection and/or a basic blockage, simply because Alton Towers were able to repair it so quickly)

(EDIT: I've heard that Merlin tend to look down upon flat rides because they are perceived to be less prestigious and exclusive than rollercoasters (and probably have a lower throughput as well), but the fact that Toxicator appears to have been received so well thus far (possibly more so than some of their coasters, such as Thirteen) makes me wonder whether AT have entirely misjudged the situation over the past decade (and/or have done a poor job with some of their coasters). My guess is that they were probably correct to prioritise rollercoasters during the B&M era in the 1990s (when they could offer exclusive experiences not found elsewhere), but perhaps less so since then. Some people criticised the Retro Squad, but my guess is that some of this was due to the theming and relatively low specification of the rides themselves, rather than flat rides in general)

Regarding the video screens on Toxicator: I think the 'boot up' and 'shut down' sequences are a great idea, but I am in two-minds about the 'ride broken' video screen; part of me thinks that it's a good idea, but another (grumpy!) part of me thinks that it could potentially be making light of a frustrating situation for some in the queue (on balance, it is probably still worth doing, though).

Regarding the markings on the tunnel (below): I assume that JB is a reference to John Burton, JW is a reference to John Wardley, TXC is a reference to Toxicator itself, Ocean is a reference to Project Ocean, and HTSS is a reference to Huss Top Spin Suspended, but does anybody know what CM, DT, and 8R (or BR/OR) is a reference to?

 

[Islander]

I'm surprised to hear that the same water is recycled each time; I'm aware that this is common with decorative displays, but given that the water could come into contact with the riders, I would have thought that there could be a potential risk of cross-contamination? I may be wrong, but I remember reading that Tidal Wave at Thorpe Park has to have its own dedicated fresh water supply (instead of using water from the lakes) for this reason. I also wasn't sure whether the testing cycles were just for the ride itself, or whether the other features (e.g. screens, lights, and fountains) were tested as extensively as well.

It’ll absolutely still be recycled. You’re right that contamination is a risk, but for example do you think water features etc in a swimming pool are fresh water? Nope.

The water will be treated, both chemically and likely through a UV (and of course filtered), but 100% it’ll be recirculated.