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Major Ride Closures 2016

I think the public, and to a certain extent the park, misunderstood what sub-terra was about. It's a filler ride and nothing more, but it needed too many staff and they hyped it up as the next big thing.

If they'd just left off the elevator section, and had the end use animatronics and sound effects instead of actors, it could've been more successful.
 
I would like to see NST replaced with a real drop tower just like Apocalypses at DMTP

NST was just a frog hopper for grown ups :rolleyes: However I must admit the theming wasn't too bad either!
 
I'm not quite sure where the rumours "it's knackered and being sold to another park" came from. If it's knackered then why would another park buy it? Merlin have the cash the fix the ride if indeed it is broken, plus the ride would still be under warranty.

I understand why people dislike it, but there is still a large number of people who do like it (me included) It is a unique ride which nestles nicely as a filler ride into the space and compliments the area's theme. The ride was closed for a specific reason as some of you know and my guess is that The Smiler incident held up sorting this issue and this year it's closed due to cut backs in staffing as Terry does require a larger than normal staff to run it effectively.

I think it will return in 2017 with the modifications required in place. I very much doubt they are going to scrap a ride that ran for 2 seasons.

#preyforterry
 
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Having ridden Dynamo at Tilburg Kermis, I prefer it over Terry. But they are completely different, I'm not calling for it to be scrapped, just the end needs a rethink as they wont staff it
 
Wouldn't a 3D simulator type ride be a good idea instead for NST? Could've been themed to be a exploration down to the underground lair when you stumble across the Nemesis' nest when the eggs hatch and all hell breaks loose and you have a mad dash to return to the surface.

It would require less staff and an overall more satisfying ride experience, but then that's my own thoughts and I'm sure someone would have a better idea of how it should've been.
 
I liked NST , especially when they had the actors at the end. It was fun seeing the reactions of people who had never been on it, they were genuinely terrified, especially from the leg tickers and back prodders! Then the actor at the end with his face in the lift doors as they open always had people screaming.

Given they have dug a big hole there, I agree, a drop tower would be good.... trouble is, its on some of the highest land in the park and would be visible from outside the park. Unless they paint it brown and stick some fake branches and leaves on the top lol
 
QTXAdsy said:
all hell breaks loose and you have a mad dash to return to the surface.
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Not sure they'd do that purely on health and safety grounds. I thought that was one of the reasons they got rid of the actors because people were rushing to get out and causing injuries
 
They got rid of the actors to cut costs.

I've always had a soft spot for Sub-Terra. I like the concept, and I quite like the experience of it. For a Merlin attraction the interior is really well themed and has some high detail, I was very impressed with the theming the first time, a shame the exterior ended up as a ugly metal building. The only thing I've never liked is the staffs 'in character' attitude on there, even when they did tone it down.

The amount of staff needed to operate it (even without actors) is just crazy for a filler attraction. It was very poorly planned and I'd love to know what they were thinking when it was in the planning stages. There must have been other ways they could have operated it without requiring so many staff.
 
I liked the lifts in ST. I think the set piece was the problem on the drop. It was laughable. I am NO FAN of drop towers because this >>>>

AliceHL91 said:
Apocalypse scares the hell out of me. It's the only ride that's ever made me want to get off when I was halfway up :D
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So I had a decent amount of "oh crap how far does this drop" and was rather nervous of it hahaha!

But then when it did drop into the set piece room, from that point onward it just became loud, and confusing, and not in the good attraction sense - but in the, how could you get this ending so wrong, sense.

First half, the tension building, the main room, all these things I was assessing (as we do) and thought it was quite decent!

But no, that set piece was just AWFUL. AWFUL.

They could have created something incredible down there and you'd have ended up with actually a fantastic attraction. That's the "hook", the "melody" if you will they built up to - and they flunked it, big time.
 
I'm one of those who defends Sub Terra (or at least v2.0 once they added the scares at the end).

It was a good idea, themed well on the inside and fun to experience. It has unfortunately fallen foul of a classic Merlin lack of forward planning. It requires far too many staff to run and also isn't very re-rideable.

All being said though, it's a ride and it should be open! They all should be! I hope it returns :)
 
Spike said:
I'm not quite sure where the rumours "it's knackered and being sold to another park" came from. If it's knackered then why would another park buy it? Merlin have the cash the fix the ride if indeed it is broken, plus the ride would still be under warranty.

I understand why people dislike it, but there is still a large number of people who do like it (me included) It is a unique ride which nestles nicely as a filler ride into the space and compliments the area's theme. The ride was closed for a specific reason as some of you know and my guess is that The Smiler incident held up sorting this issue and this year it's closed due to cut backs in staffing as Terry does require a larger than normal staff to run it effectively.

I think it will return in 2017 with the modifications required in place. I very much doubt they are going to scrap a ride that ran for 2 seasons.

#preyforterry
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It ran for 3 and a bit seasons 12, 13, 14 and a bit of 15.
 
Part of the thrill for me is the drop, I love the sensation of freefall be it Apocalypse or Th13teen or anything like that. I also love the guest reactions from the drop and effects. Then there's the effects themselves which I love, the strobes, smoke and loud noises, the exit lifts, I adore it all. It's just such a fun unique experience and I like the sense of security you start with and then the pandemonium you finish on. :D
 
TheMan said:
But then when it did drop into the set piece room, from that point onward it just became loud, and confusing, and not in the good attraction sense - but in the, how could you get this ending so wrong, sense.
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See that's why I love Sub-Terra, you go from this controlled military base to utter madness in the space of 2 minutes. It does resemble how real disasters play out. You're going along a normal life then suddenly it hits you, the world around you becomes chaotic, collapses around you, it almost feels unreal. Sub-Terra perhaps does that too well and leaves guests confused when they exit. That's where it become an un re-rideable ride, there's not much of a narrative beyond the drop, which doesn't give you much of an incentive to re-ride, because you're not sure why you need to go on it again.

I kind of agree with the set piece when you drop (DISCO LIGHTS), although you can tell there were budget constraints, hence why sensory effects are relied upon to make you believe there is *something* with you.
 
I'm the same and i know I'm of a very small handful of people, but i really liked Sub Terra.

Anything that drops like that really makes my belly go, through in darkness and I'm a screaming big girls blouse!

If its not reopening... for me... its the saddest ride closure at Alton Towers.

Its nice to read that the small handful is turning out to be bigger than i thought.
 
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AliceHL91 said:
Apocalypse scares the hell out of me. It's the only ride that's ever made me want to get off when I was halfway up :D
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And it stills scares the hell out of me, every single time that I ride it and I've lost count on how many times I've ridden it. And if Alton build one, they would save money as they won't need any scare actors.
 
Main thing I love with sub terra's story line? Two things:
  1. It's a slightly feasible idea. It feels like it really could happen, more so than most rides
  2. You have a reason to be there. You can get some great storylines on some high budget rides, but not many have a sense of why you are in this situation. Even with nemesis, it's difficult to guess this.
I am sad it closed. I only did it twice, and it was about a week before it finally closed. Absolutely terrified the first time I did it (tried to do oblivion, ripsaw and NST for the first time all in one day, that was interesting), but liked it so much I ran round and did it again.
 
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