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Controversial Alton Towers Opinions

I’ve got one that I can sense will be very uncommon; the helix is my least favourite part of Nemesis.

Now, me uttering that phrase alone probably gives some of you the urge to get me banned from the forum, which is understandable, but hear me out. It’s not because of the element itself; I think the whole pace and design of it is really inspired. It’s because I do find that particular moment a bit of an unpleasant grey out moment, whereas none of the rest of the ride does that for me.

It’s the main thing that makes me put Inferno above Nemesis; I really like them both, but Inferno doesn’t have a grey out moment like Nemesis’ helix, so that makes me rank it just that tiny bit higher.
 
Danscott22 said:
Nemesis has massively grown on me this year, the helix has become my favourite part of it.
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I do like the helix as it catapults you into the main part of the ride. Still trying to get a back row ride to fully experience it, operator keeps telling me to join another group in the middle :(. I wish they had a back row queue on Nemisis.
 
Jim said:
I do like the helix as it catapults you into the main part of the ride. Still trying to get a back row ride to fully experience it, operator keeps telling me to join another group in the middle :(. I wish they had a back row queue on Nemisis.
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The back row airgate is usually roped off as it's reserved for RAP guests unfortunately. Your best bet is to try and visit on a quiet day as there won't be as many RAP.
The front row is my personal favorite because of the view though. :)
 
Back row was chained off until the last hour of the day on Thursday. They opened it up when there was no RAP waiting for the last bit and I got 2 back row rides.
 
rob666 said:
Outline planning, not a full application...more speculative to see if they had a chance of a full (expensive) application.
They quickly realised that they would not have a chance of it being accepted and withdrew.
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That was not the reason for withdrawal. It was budget cuts following The Smiler’s incident. This ride would have cost masses in rock removal alone. This was brought up in a talk given by management that I attended in 2016.
 
First plans for a cross valley woodie go back ten years before the smiler crash.
They were given advice that there was little chance of the plans being accepted.
Sure I read that on the towers sites at the time.
 
s_g_k said:
Ug Land should never have been ripped out. Thirteen could have easily been themed into a rocky canyon explorer ride where the carts fall into a canyon (the free fall drop).

Maybe I’m viewing it with rose tinted glasses…
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No this sounds like a really good idea although Rita would still not fit in. I think a lot of people agree UG land shouldn't have been ripped out.
 
s_g_k said:
Ug Land should never have been ripped out. Thirteen could have easily been themed into a rocky canyon explorer ride where the carts fall into a canyon (the free fall drop).

Maybe I’m viewing it with rose tinted glasses…
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This is supposed to be controversial comments my friend. Everyone in their right minds knows that Dark Forest is an abomination
 
s_g_k said:
Ug Land should never have been ripped out. Thirteen could have easily been themed into a rocky canyon explorer ride where the carts fall into a canyon (the free fall drop).

Maybe I’m viewing it with rose tinted glasses…
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I think you might be a tad. Ug Land was decimated by Rita. Keeping it on life support until now doesn't feel like much of a win over Dark Forest.
 
Rick said:
I think you might be a tad. Ug Land was decimated by Rita. Keeping it on life support until now doesn't feel like much of a win over Dark Forest.
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This. Rita absolutely carved Ug Land up and made absolutely no concessions to theming while doing so.

Was such a cool area with loads of roaming space, photo ops and whatnot before that. Did an excellent job making a centrepiece out of the heritage coaster of the time too.
 
Am I imagining things, or is it true that Rita was originally meant to replace Corkscrew instead of going in the middle of the area?

I do wonder why they chose the theme they did for Rita, as ironically, I think the Desert Race theme employed for Rita’s clone at Heide Park would have worked quite well in Ug Land!

As for Thirteen; I’m unsure if there would have been enough space, but I think it would have been really cool for Thirteen to have been built in Gloomy Wood alongside Duel, as the theme would actually coexist quite nicely!
 
Benzin said:
I wouldn't call Desert Race "themed".

Helicopter Op box aside.
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Perhaps “name” or “style” would have been a better word; regardless, Desert Race certainly seems to lend itself quite well to Ug Land as a theme idea…
 
Matt N said:
Am I imagining things, or is it true that Rita was originally meant to replace Corkscrew instead of going in the middle of the area?

I do wonder why they chose the theme they did for Rita, as ironically, I think the Desert Race theme employed for Rita’s clone at Heide Park would have worked quite well in Ug Land!

As for Thirteen; I’m unsure if there would have been enough space, but I think it would have been really cool for Thirteen to have been built in Gloomy Wood alongside Duel, as the theme would actually coexist quite nicely!
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Never heard that but I'm pretty sure it's not true. At the start of 2004 the rumours were that redevelopment was going to start on Cred Street (hence that area and all the rides between Frog Hopper and Vintage Cars inclusive) being fenced off.

Then management changed at the very start of the year, and the plans changed over the course of a few months. Rita was possible because of a cancellation meaning Intamin had capacity to do such a thing with a very short lead up time.

The "theme" was chosen because it was an already-developed concept by Tussauds Studios for Stealth (which gives you an idea of how quick the turnaround on Rita was). To be honest, it would have made more sense to return the area to being Festival Park with a jolly carnival built around the race track.

Matt N said:
Perhaps “name” or “style” would have been a better word; regardless, Desert Race certainly seems to lend itself quite well to Ug Land as a theme idea…
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I'm not sure I'm seeing the commonality there, caveman/Neanderthal is not at all the same as a dessert theme, and that's before you start considering the tens of thousands of years between that era and the age of the combustion engine...
 
WillPS said:
I'm not sure I'm seeing the commonality there, caveman/Neanderthal is not at all the same as a dessert theme, and that's before you start considering the tens of thousands of years between that era and the age of the combustion engine...
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In fairness, I guess I am talking relatively here; a desert theme seems to fit a little more than a magenta 1950s dragster...

I've got a suggestion; how awesome could it have been had the trains been themed like rocks and the ride had been called Boulder Dash? Does that sound like a fit within Ug Land?

I wonder what development the park might have done with Cred Street had Rita not happened... would we not have gotten CCL or TWODW, and would the area be drastically different today? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the fences have gargoyles on them, if that's anything to go by? (I remember hearing something about 2004, Cred Street and gargoyles, anyway...)

I'll admit, I find discussing these hypothetical concepts fascinating! I feel like this might be more suited to a thread over in Talbot Street...
 
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