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ERT Change

Kieron

Kieron

TS Member
So it looks like they've had a change in the ERT line up replacing Hex & Th13teen with Blade & Duel. I have mixed opinions on this change. Personally Th13teen was a bad choice due to the required number of riders it needs so it makes sense to remove that, however Blade is a really odd choice. It's one of 'those' attractions I never seem to do when i'm at the Resort and so I'm a little disappointed they chose that attraction, however I guess it's a good choice owing to its proximity to Nemesis.

Personally, i'm just a little unsure why they didn't chose to put Sub-Terra on the ERT list instead of Blade or even better Air. I understand the area managers have a busy period in the morning getting the rides signed off but the only reason I can think of choosing Blade is purely from a staffing point of view requiring 1 member of staff.

What are your opinions? What would you think would be an ideal ERT Line-up?
 
I think it is dreadful that they only have one Major coaster on ERT. The lineup is very weak.


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The line up alienates thrillseekers.

2012 we had Oblivion, Rita and Nemesis.

Now? Just Nemesis.

Nothing on the list gets much of a queue! They need to add Air immediately!!!!!

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Can't confirm anything but rumour is they are going back to having a cordon and only letting ERT guests into the park before 10am. Think they are moving the line up because Th13teen needs 17 riders to run and struggles to do do in ERT so it's easier to have ERT on the left of the park.

If they are having a cordon the benefit of this is ERT guests can get to The Smiler before the stampede at 10am.

They really need Air though
 
I just don't understand why Sub-Terra, Air or at a worst case scenario Sonic Spinball (use to love having this on ERT due to the awful queues this ride gets throughout the day) was not added to the line-up :/
 
From TowersStreet News:

Early Ride Time; where hotel guests, annual pass holders and pre-booked tickets get an extra hour on selected rides from 9am until 10am, has been a staple of the resorts line-up for many years, and has gone through many changes. Today Alton Towers have announced a new set of changes to the line-up, removing Th13teen and Hex and replacing them with Duel and Blade.

Th13teen has long suffered during ERT due to the fact it requires 18 riders before it can be dispatched, often resulting in long waits to ride using up guests time in the ERT window. The new line-up moves all of the ERT offering to the left side of the park, and it is at this time un-clear whether non-ERT guests will be allowed into this section of the park until 10am. If the area is restricted to ERT guests only, this would alleviate the problem of non-ERT guests being sometimes allowed on the operating rides before 10am, something that has been noted at times in the current system. We believe non-ERT guests will be held at the bottom of Towers Street, like they were in past seasons, but this has not yet been confirmed to us.

Whilst these changes make logistical sense as they keep the ERT rides grouped together, it does mean there is a surprising omission of thrill rides from the ERT line-up. As recently as last season ERT contained Rita, Oblivion and Nemesis and this season had at least two coasters when Oblivion was dropped and Rita was swapped with Th13teen. Now, the line-up will only feature Nemesis for thrillseekers and marks quite a big change in direction for Early Ride Time.

Along with these changes, the Woodland Walk from the hotels to the theme park will be opening from 8:30 every morning. This will encourage guests to use it for ERT as it enters the park in Forbidden Valley. Previously the walk did not open until 10am and thus could not be used for ERT.

The new ERT line-up is as follows and we understand it will begin running sometime in August:

Nemesis
Runaway Mine Train
Sharkbait Reef
Duel
Blade
Heave Ho
Marauders Mayhem
(Note: ERT does not operate during the Scarefest and Fireworks events)
Click to expand...
 
Kieron said:
I just don't understand why Sub-Terra, Air or at a worst case scenario Sonic Spinball (use to love having this on ERT due to the awful queues this ride gets throughout the day) was not added to the line-up :/
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Maybe tech services can't get both Air and Nemesis up for 9am?
 
Tech Services used to be able to get both Air and Nemesis open at 9.00am when ERT was specifically in Forbidden Valley.

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AstroDan said:
Tech Services used to be able to get both Air and Nemesis open at 9.00am when ERT was specifically in Forbidden Valley.

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Click to expand...

The key term is bolded...
 
Unfortunately Tech Services can only get Nemesis up and running by 9am. The other Tech Services staff are busy filling the parking machines with tokens ;)
 
They really could do with adding Air to the line-up, then it would be fine. I do think it is a good idea to have all the ERT rides on one side of the park though, it makes much more sense. Hopefully they can work on ensuring Air can be on ERT as well as Nemmy for 2014.

:)
 
Only 7 attractions open for ERT it's shocking, just get rides open its simple
 
Poor from towers, get air on it, or open up oblivion and rita.

Nice to see the walk opened up, although i have no idea how to find it, also good not to let the masses in the park till 10am
 
Benzin said:
AstroDan said:
Tech Services used to be able to get both Air and Nemesis open at 9.00am when ERT was specifically in Forbidden Valley.

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Click to expand...

The key term is bolded...
Click to expand...

If they could do it before that does mean they are capable of doing it in future. It's not impossible!

The current ERT line up is obviously like that to save on staff. Sub-Terra is very staff heavy (plus actors) and Air requires a handful of staff. Since The Blade requires only one member of staff it's quite obvious this is a way of saving money.
 
To be fair, it's not about staff - keeping ERT on that side helps guests.

But Air is needed!

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It will be better that ERT is now on one side of the park, as it was always a bit of a nightmare to do all rides during ERT, and then having to go back to the various areas to do other rides.

I just wish they would also add Air to the list, then you have pretty much covered the valley before 10am.

It will also be interesting if they decide to block people at towers street, as the reason they stopped doing this was because of the amount of people there and the safety issues. If they do stop people there, they need to have a clear root for ERT guests to get through the crowds. There were so many times in the past if you turned up at 9.30 for ERT, and you spent 20 minutes trying to fight your way through the guests on Towers Street.

However it's great news about the woodland walk, it always puzzled me that hotel guests could use it till after ERT had finished!
 
The Monorail will still have to open at 8.30, as pre booked guests and less ambulent hotel guests cannot use the woodland walk.

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Believe Air is being considered to open - it doesn't need many staff to run minimum. So, I imagine the main issue is that that tech services team suddenly having to get 7 rides open for 9am compared to the 4 beforehand.

Doesn't mean it's impossible to have open though.
 
Generally I think that these changes to the ERT setup are good. Opening a side of the park makes it easier to get around all the rides in the time available. It's also nice to see a major dark ride staying in the lineup, as well as only the ERT guests being allowed into the park. It makes it feel that bit more special.

However, I do agree that without Air being added the lineup seems rather lack-luster for thrill seeking guests. For families it's a good lineup. For others less so. Air would seem like a very logical addition to the lineup. I mean, it's one of the parks most popular major rides which can from time to time have difficulty with throughputs. Over the day it can attract a sizeable queue, so surely opening it an hour earlier allows for some of the days guests to enjoy the ride with a short queue, whilst also relieving some of the load later in the day. Then the other non-ERT guests would have a slightly reduced wait. Everybody wins surely?

In the future it would perhaps be nice to see Rita return to the lineup, given like Air it struggles with its queue, but I can sort of see the logic in it not being on there. Walking all the way through the gardens for just one ride, etc.

Generally speaking though I think these changes will have a positive effect on ERT in terms of how well it is ran and organised :)
 
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