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Fireworks 2013

Just. Wonderful.

A great display, lovely lighting, fun music choices and a cheesy but fuzzy storyline. I really, really enjoyed it and it just shows how much damn potential Alton Towers oozes during an event like this.

Plus the Ents team need a massive high five for using 'Falling to Pieces' during The Smiler's section ;)

Oh and I really want a copy of the Icona Pop HAHAHA remix... It's been in my head all day :/
 
Scott said:
Oh and I really want a copy of the Icona Pop HAHAHA remix... It's been in my head all day :/
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Ditto. They should release it on iTunes.

By the way, I just realised that I never said how much I loved this years display. What is also cool is if you go back and watch the Dr Poprocket display (2004 I believe) you see that there were loads of references in this display back to it.

Ents team deserve to be proud. On Friday I was stood next to 2 (i think they were Italian) people that were at Disney the previous week and they said that this show blew the Disney one out of the water.
 
7ume4e9a.jpg

This was the most amazing monument. This was overall an amazing experience
 
Well, it must be because i wasn't there... but from watching the videos ... i don't feel like i missed out so much. I'm also a bit spoilt when it comes to fireworks, as i attend shows and competitions nearly every weekend in the summer.

my main concerns were:

Where are the fireworks? At however much it is a ticket, you would think alton would be able to put on a very impressive display. What i saw was a display i've seen for much smaller crowds for £1/2 each. Maybe it was because i was watching it back on video, but the majority of the show seemed 1 arial shot with some acompanying lasers.

Now, about the lasers. I LOVE lasers. However, how many lights do you need? It looked as though there were hundeds... and they use them to light up the sky and make the fireworks look less impressive. (brighter the firework, better they look). I'm just a bit confused about why you need SO many ... i'd rather see the focus on the fireworks.

It was very smokey! I looked very smokey on the video, and it seems like they were actually using big smoke machines in addition to the fireworks? Firstly, i'd have thought the fireworks were smokey enough by themselves (no?). Secondly, i would have thought the lasers would have been powerful enough that a beam is visible just by rayleigh scattering. Which leaves the fact that they want to produce a "liquid sky" effect (scanning laser over moving smoke clouds) ... fair enough, but is it really worth detracting from the fireworks? You don't need that much smoke anyway.

The fire was nice, and i liked the finale (shame there were no big fireworks though) Just little dragon eggs.

Finally, the story! Well, i don't want to complain ... i enjoyed the effort that went in. But it was a bit half arsed ... it was just pop music with a guy speaking. Pop music that often left me wondering what the connection was to the ride.

But overall, an average display for me. Dissapointed i missed it, but not gutted. Shame Jubilee didn't put a display on like they did at catton hall this year ... THAT was impressive.
 
Videos do not do the show justice at all. It was a fantastic show. I watched all three nights in both 2012 and 2013. In 2012 I got rather bored part way through watching them for a third time. This year I seemed to enjoy them more every night and would love to watch them again right now.

Also it was not all pop music. Sure there was some, but there was also some pop in 2010 which most agree was a very good display. The last couple of years have been pretty much constant pop, especially last year. This certainly was not the case this year and it is very unfair and inaccurate to say that it was. I thought on the whole the music selection was very good, there had clearly been thought to it. I think we'd all have liked some ride music to have been used but considering it wasn't I think the music that they chose for each ride fitted well.

Oh and regarding the lights and lasers. For me the more lights the better. It adds an extra dimension to the show and it only improves the visuals in my opinion.

:)
 
I agree about the lack of big aerial fireworks to be honest.

But other than that I thought it was great.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
I can't believe I'm about to defend something at Towers, but here goes...

They weren't using smoke machines, which I found surprising at first, since in past years they have had them chugging away for a while before the show starts. But within minutes of the first pyros going off it was clear why they weren't using haze. The air was so still that there was litterally zero wind to disperse the smoke. In fairness, they can't control that. ;)

I believe the lack of big shells is due to the noise restrictions. I agree that this is a shame. :/
 
Yup, no smoke machines and I was standing at the front. All the smoke was down to the large explosions and may I add, that none of the smoke affected the fireworks as shown in those videos. What you are seeing in most of those videos is the camera not being able to pick up the detail of the fireworks through the smoke. Whereas in reality, the fireworks shone through the smoke fairly clearly. The larger shells they use to have are now no longer used simply due to noise problems. This is nothing the park can control and something you will just have to get use to. The firework show was epic. Using just the right amount of fireworks as and when needed to portray a story. Which is something we have been asking for since around 2005. Im sorry that you feel this show wasn't all that good, but the vast majority of us who were there will disagree.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
I believe the lack of big shells is due to the noise restrictions. I agree that this is a shame. :/
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Alton Towers does not have noise restrictions as far as I'm aware? Just guidelines?
 
James said:
DiogoJ42 said:
I believe the lack of big shells is due to the noise restrictions. I agree that this is a shame. :/
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Alton Towers does not have noise restrictions as far as I'm aware? Just guidelines?
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I was under the impression that they had a dB limit they were meant to stick to. That and the fact that they are limited to 3 nights of fireworks per year.

I think the threat of the Ropers taking action probably dissuades them from using anything too loud. Having said that, it felt bloody loud at the weekend!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.
 
Alton Towers does not have a noise abatement order against them as it was taken against The Tussauds Group, which doesn't exist any more. The Ropers found that out when they tried taking out a criminal prosecution in 2011 but had to leave it as they discovered Alton Towers' ownership has been transferred to a different company. So yeah, the noise abatement order no longer applies to Alton Towers. Hasn't applied to the resort since 2008 technically.

They can do what they want with fireworks. :p It sounded flippin' loud this year from the videos I listened to!


Edit:

Just to add, for some reason even though Towers no longer have the noise abatement bound to them, they choose to follow the noise abatement (roughly) to control park and new development sound levels. If you look at the noise report for CBeebies Land's application for example, you'll see that it states that the report adopts the noise restrictions set by the noise abatement order.

I find it strange but understandable as Alton Towers probably want to continue a good working relationship with the community (and probably don't want The Ropers getting overly upset).

I'm surprised people still think Alton Towers has the restrictions. When The Ropers returned in 2011 Alton Towers released several statements confirming that the noise abatement no longer applies to the resort.
 
Yeah but having loud bangs on the ground won't be as bad as having huge bangs a few hundred feet up. Thats my logic anyway :p

Anyways, changing topic a bit I thought I'd look at the audio and The Smiler section still makes me lol. Sees like it was in order as well :p

I love it (Could be the ride plans)
Sweet nothing (What we got in March)
She Wolf/falling to pieces (What happened when it opened)
I think I like it (What most enthusiast said)
Bonkers (Pretty much everyones impression after riding it in the dark)
 
Yeah I'm also fairly sure that Towers could do what they want with fireworks. Firework displays are rarely subject to noise restrictions, especially those on giant areas of private land. As a matter of fact, Drayton Manor was the site of the largest shell launched in the UK (quite a few years back now though).
 
DiogoJ42 said:
I can't believe I'm about to defend something at Towers, but here goes...

They weren't using smoke machines, which I found surprising at first, since in past years they have had them chugging away for a while before the show starts. But within minutes of the first pyros going off it was clear why they weren't using haze. The air was so still that there was litterally zero wind to disperse the smoke. In fairness, they can't control that. ;)

I believe the lack of big shells is due to the noise restrictions. I agree that this is a shame. :/
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It's good to know they weren't adding more smoke than neccesary (looked like it was coming from the right of the fireworks in the video, which is why i said... clearly not the case). I know hanging smoke can be a problem, but of course out of their control, and actually i usually find that natural smoke adds to the effect.

Maybe i'm in the minority of loving the lasers and hating the lights. I do strongly believe fireworks are supposed to be in the dark, and the vivid contrast makes them even better. Sure have a few lights... but i think they have too many and use them too much.

By missing large ariel shells, i was only really talking 4-6", nothing exceptionally large (although huge ones are always apreciated).

I think i may have sounded overly negative without indenting to. I do love the fact they've added some story elements to it, and was trying to say i only hope this increases, getting rid of the pop music. I love the cheese and theatrics of it all. Not to say i don't like pyromusicals (pop or otherwise), i do... just alton towers have the chance to produce something truely unique.

i do agree it looked a lot better than last years (which i was sorely dissapointed with).
 
Anybody noticed the secondary fireworks display across the way from Towers on Saturday night? Not long after the show finished :p
 
Some info which may be of interest to some of you....

Lurker said:
Where are the fireworks? At however much it is a ticket, you would think alton would be able to put on a very impressive display. What i saw was a display i've seen for much smaller crowds for £1/2 each. Maybe it was because i was watching it back on video, but the majority of the show seemed 1 arial shot with some acompanying lasers.

Now, about the lasers. I LOVE lasers. However, how many lights do you need? It looked as though there were hundeds... and they use them to light up the sky and make the fireworks look less impressive. (brighter the firework, better they look). I'm just a bit confused about why you need SO many ... i'd rather see the focus on the fireworks.
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There has been massive reduction in pyrotechnic product on this years show due to budget cuts, but it was very cleverly disguised with the use of story, gaps between songs (due to narration) music choice and also a reshuffle of the lighting equipment. The fact that most people were overwhelmed by the show is testimony to the fact that story and theme work so much better.

Lighting wasn't particularly different. On the video it looks like the Falcon's (big beams everyone got excited over) are overpowering but they weren't in person. Moving them from the towers rooftops down to the lawns this year made the lighting set up look bigger, and as far as lasers go there were only 4 heads as opposed to the 7 used for the previous 2 years.

Scott said:
I was under the impression that they had a dB limit they were meant to stick to. That and the fact that they are limited to 3 nights of fireworks per year.

I think the threat of the Ropers taking action probably dissuades them from using anything too loud. Having said that, it felt bloody loud at the weekend!
Click to expand...

Correct! I don't know the exact technical legalities of Merlin over Tussauds or park name being different, but they do indeed have a noise ceiling which they stick to. Jubilee constantly monitor the levels and will pull single effects or whole groups of them from the show if it starts getting too high. I believe this came about after Kimbolton completely smashed the noise limit on the 2006 display!

DiogoJ42 said:
They weren't using smoke machines.
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But they did have Jem ZR33 fog machines on standby at most lighting locations.

The smoke problem is caused by humidity. If there's too much moisture in the air the smoke cannot disperse and then it's made worse by the lack of wind. There isn't a single firework company in the world that can control this, it's literally luck of the draw on the day you fire a show.

The opposite can happen however, which poses a problem when you're using lighting. If the air is too crisp and there's a slight breeze, you won't see any of the beams. This happened at one of the Alton displays from 2011, think it was the Sunday night. Light show was almost impossible to see, so that's why they have foggers on standby.

Alastair said:
Yeah I'm also fairly sure that Towers could do what they want with fireworks. Firework displays are rarely subject to noise restrictions, especially those on giant areas of private land. As a matter of fact, Drayton Manor was the site of the largest shell launched in the UK (quite a few years back now though).
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You'd be surprised about noise restrictions. One of the companies I've worked for specialises in low noise/silent displays and they have managed to pick up work from places which have previously banned fireworks.

The largest shell's in the UK are 16" which can still be used but very rarely as you need 800m of space to launch them and they are a pain in the arse to transport. 12" is still often used but again you'd unlikely see anything like this at Alton. They have been used in the past but they are far too big and loud for the current circumstances. There were plenty of 4's, 5's and 6's going up.


Anyhoo. Fantastic display this year, it was a nice reminder of the huge story based spectaculars I used to watch as a kid in the late 90's. Those displays were what made me want to get involved with fireworks. So well done to Mr Cliff and his Ents team. More of this please.
 
I could pick holes in it if I really tried, but it was fantastic in all fairness. Go looking for faults you'll find them but go to enjoy and it was brilliant.

(Retreats to his bunker)
 
PeteB said:
Alastair said:
Yeah I'm also fairly sure that Towers could do what they want with fireworks. Firework displays are rarely subject to noise restrictions, especially those on giant areas of private land. As a matter of fact, Drayton Manor was the site of the largest shell launched in the UK (quite a few years back now though).
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised about noise restrictions. One of the companies I've worked for specialises in low noise/silent displays and they have managed to pick up work from places which have previously banned fireworks.

The largest shell's in the UK are 16" which can still be used but very rarely as you need 800m of space to launch them and they are a pain in the arse to transport. 12" is still often used but again you'd unlikely see anything like this at Alton. They have been used in the past but they are far too big and loud for the current circumstances. There were plenty of 4's, 5's and 6's going up.
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Hmm, fairly sure there were a few 8 inchers in the middle, I noticed a few in one sequence that looked bigger than 6". I could be wrong though, it's hard to judge depending on effects. Loved the section where they filled the sky with gold willow shells that hung for so long, the same with the parachute shells which were used a few times also.

And yes, I think it was a 16" shell they fired at Drayton - apparently the tube buried itself into the ground it was so powerful. :p
 
Didn't go this year. But I've watched the display on YouTube and the story is very cool. I especially enjoyed the show being hijacked by The Smiler. Very cool! The story element made it much more interesting than previous years.
 
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