-
ℹ️ Heads up...
This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.
Enterprise suffers extended downtime
- Thread starter GAGrathea
- Start date
James
TS Founding Member
I wonder why Merlin up to this point have avoided building flat rides. Dark Forest could have done with one in 2010/2011 yet they never bothered with one and the area is just as bad as it was prior to Th13teen.
They could quite easily replace Enterprise (I'd like to see Submission go soon too tbh) but when it does leave I can just see it being an empty space.
I just find it weird flat rides have been avoided. It's not like they are expensive and you can get some great ones out there.
They could quite easily replace Enterprise (I'd like to see Submission go soon too tbh) but when it does leave I can just see it being an empty space.
I just find it weird flat rides have been avoided. It's not like they are expensive and you can get some great ones out there.
James said:
Empty Space??!!! Empty Space??!! You seem to forget who is running the park....thats space for a food stall, or a games stall, or fast track stall, or something else which would make them money...lol
Personally, I always wondered why Alton had an old fun fair ride in X Sector. Its got to the be the oldest ride in the park now?!
BigAl
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Forbidden Journey
A family should mean everyone though, so that should mean thrill rides (and not just a roller coaster every so often) for teens and adults. When I hear or read a park say "family", it's usually being used to describe the fact that they only build small rides, or rides for younger guests. Drayton and Paultons are two prime examples. That shouldn't be the case. You only have to look at Thorpe Park to see what happens when a company separates thrill rides from everything else.
It'd be fine if they'd spent time addressing their flats over the years and updating them along with every other kind of attraction, but they let them sit there and now we're at the point where two of the three thrilling flat rides at the park are falling to pieces. Ripsaw could potentially go the same way as its southern cousin too. :/
It'd be fine if they'd spent time addressing their flats over the years and updating them along with every other kind of attraction, but they let them sit there and now we're at the point where two of the three thrilling flat rides at the park are falling to pieces. Ripsaw could potentially go the same way as its southern cousin too. :/
James
TS Founding Member
Arguably Enterprise suits the family market though.
I can understand why 2014 may be a no flat year because the target market is families with young children (even then, why not add a flat ride and just have it not marketed as much? Ala Sub-Terra and Ice Age). However beyond that they have no excuse to add flat rides. Flat rides are hardly the most expensive things in the world. If marketed correctly too they can be good new rides for future 'filler' years.
I can understand why 2014 may be a no flat year because the target market is families with young children (even then, why not add a flat ride and just have it not marketed as much? Ala Sub-Terra and Ice Age). However beyond that they have no excuse to add flat rides. Flat rides are hardly the most expensive things in the world. If marketed correctly too they can be good new rides for future 'filler' years.
It's not just merlin though not adding flat rides- many of the big parks dont seem to be adding flat rides, other than kids based flats.
We could possibly see some in 2015, I think they should concentrate on replacing some of the older ones then as we know won't happen in 2014. A themed zamperla air race would be good idea as seem to get good reviews and no uk park surprisingly has purchased one yet and am sure they could get some kind of frisbee style ride to replace the blade. But then 2015 could be the year thy replace the logflume so who knows, could be a long wait!
We could possibly see some in 2015, I think they should concentrate on replacing some of the older ones then as we know won't happen in 2014. A themed zamperla air race would be good idea as seem to get good reviews and no uk park surprisingly has purchased one yet and am sure they could get some kind of frisbee style ride to replace the blade. But then 2015 could be the year thy replace the logflume so who knows, could be a long wait!
Dave
TS Founding Member
I agree they need to replace and increase the number of flat rides. But a lot of parks avoid them as they are mostly a maintenance nightmare.
The vast majority of flat rides are designed for the fair circuit where the maybe operate for 6 hours a day for a few days then get a complete strip down, move on and a week later do the same again. Theme parks need them to run at least 8 hours every day and manage 8 months with only minor easy access maintenance.
I agree they need flats and i think there is a market out there for a company to design some thrill flats for the theme park environment. I just wont be holding my breath that Towers will actually get any flats in the foreseeable future.
Even Thorpe with its thrill focus have avoided them since the big influx of Rush, Detonator, Vortex, Slammer, Zodiac and Quantum.
Personally i think one year Towers should do what Thorpe did and buy 5 flats and advertise it as a huge 5 new rides thing.... but again i'm not holding my breath.
The vast majority of flat rides are designed for the fair circuit where the maybe operate for 6 hours a day for a few days then get a complete strip down, move on and a week later do the same again. Theme parks need them to run at least 8 hours every day and manage 8 months with only minor easy access maintenance.
I agree they need flats and i think there is a market out there for a company to design some thrill flats for the theme park environment. I just wont be holding my breath that Towers will actually get any flats in the foreseeable future.
Even Thorpe with its thrill focus have avoided them since the big influx of Rush, Detonator, Vortex, Slammer, Zodiac and Quantum.
Personally i think one year Towers should do what Thorpe did and buy 5 flats and advertise it as a huge 5 new rides thing.... but again i'm not holding my breath.
TheMan
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- NemiLerVion
Dave said:
I personally don't like flats, but often they can be more visually exciting to watch than coasters! Slammer being a prime example of something that is awe inspiring quite honestly. Rush is the same, it looks incredible, and nothing like a fair ground attraction.
3 of something like that, with a couple of smaller more fair based ones, would draw the public in big time, Alton needs them desperately I just do not understand the reticence they have toward them. There are a myriad flats out there that do not look "fair ground" at all, I'd maybe add one or two that did as they bring a bit of traditional cheese, and again Alton can accommodate one or two of those, they bring atmosphere that is a bit lacking from Towers at times.
Ultimately it isn't a hard thing to integrate into the park, and like I say, I don't ride them generally but that doesn't mean they don't need them
BigAl
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Forbidden Journey
X-Sector and the Dark Forest are in dire need of flat rides. Dark Forest has two major coasters and nothing else to help soak up the queues and X-Sector has two major coasters and half an arm on arguably the most hated ride that Alton Towers have ever installed. 
Even just one flat per area would make a massive difference (for example the KMG Move It 32 can munch through 1100 riders per hour, the same capacity as The Smiler)!
Even just one flat per area would make a massive difference (for example the KMG Move It 32 can munch through 1100 riders per hour, the same capacity as The Smiler)!
John
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Steel Vengeance
There's no way a move it 32 will get 1100/hour, they'd have to start a cycle every 105 seconds - I'd say 750/hour is possible, but only with very short cycles and extremely efficient loading - I've seen a Super Star ride run a cycle every 2 1/2 minutes at a busy fair, which is about as quick as you're likely to get, but the ride cycle was pretty terrible as a result.
Theme park flat rides don't get anywhere near the throughput of the equivalent rides at fairs though - a TopScan can have one staff member per row, who leads the oncoming riders to their seats before the ride has even parked, allowing it to be sent again around a minute after the previous cycle ends. You don't get this sort of efficiency at a theme park as there's no financial need to maximise capacity.
Still, I'd like to see a couple of flats added to Dark Forest - one on the Ug Swinger site and another where Soakasaurus used to be, which now houses a single shipping container used (I think) by HB leisure. Over in X-Sector, Submission could be replaced but Enterprise is relatively inoffensive and should stay as long as it remains economical.
Theme park flat rides don't get anywhere near the throughput of the equivalent rides at fairs though - a TopScan can have one staff member per row, who leads the oncoming riders to their seats before the ride has even parked, allowing it to be sent again around a minute after the previous cycle ends. You don't get this sort of efficiency at a theme park as there's no financial need to maximise capacity.
Still, I'd like to see a couple of flats added to Dark Forest - one on the Ug Swinger site and another where Soakasaurus used to be, which now houses a single shipping container used (I think) by HB leisure. Over in X-Sector, Submission could be replaced but Enterprise is relatively inoffensive and should stay as long as it remains economical.
TheMan
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- NemiLerVion
BigAl said:1100 riders per hour is the figure stated on KMG's website. Even so, 750 riders per hour would still be fine. It's 750 more than what Enterprise is currently offering.
And probably more than half a submission!
Mind you we say that they haven't installed a "flat" but to be fair, Sub Terrible is very much a glorified flat ride.
And by glorified I mean piece of crap.
nemesis1954
TS Member
they'll keep it for as long as they can,it's been refurbished and not in the long term plans for removal. They need a flat ride that younger thrill seekers can ride. I have a feeling it will go 2016-2017
