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Nemesis: Sub-Terra

It makes perfect sense in my eyes for Sub-Terra to re-open next year. Perhaps there can be a few tweaks to the story/videos to link in with Nemesis being down. But even if not, it will give Forbidden Valley what is going to be a much needed additional attraction.
 
IF it reopens next season then it will be a welcome addition to have an additional attraction in the area long term. Great for newer guests or those not old enough to remember how bad it was.

Sadly for me it held the title of worse ride at a theme park for a long time, up until DBGT so not something I would re-ride should they reopen it.
 
Once they had the initial issues sorted after it first opened I tended to quite braving Sub-Terra and being taken down to the central court, sorry I mean core!

The worst thing about it first time around was some of the staff who had big egos and enjoyed abusing the supposed power their role gave them, ordering guests around etc.
 
As a standalone supporting attraction, it was fine. I never not enjoyed it even if it wasn't going to set the work alight. It wasn't brand damaging like DBGT or Duel in its latter life. Having some ugly shipping containers with a sorely needed covered attraction operating inside is far better than just having ugly shipping containers stood doing nothing.
 
Rob said:
Once they had the initial issues sorted after it first opened I tended to quite braving Sub-Terra and being taken down to the central court, sorry I mean core!

The worst thing about it first time around was some of the staff who had big egos and enjoyed abusing the supposed power their role gave them, ordering guests around etc.
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Yeah I loved the ride but the shouting and ordering about was annoying and pointless.

From a narrative point of view it didn't make sense, were we visitors, army cadets, test subjects?
They wouldn't talk to visitors like that but cadets etc would not be believable as well I'm not whereas if we were test subjects why would they show us a video to explain everything then try to get us out?
A quick refresh of the story to stick to the old proven formula of guided tour that goes wrong would fix alot of issues and mean they could give a standard welcome to the ride.
 
I wouldn't rule out a year round Scare attraction coming there next year or even a walk through attraction similar to what Thorpe did with Black Mirror just as a filler.

I hope not and they can save the actually ride system but i think that's unlikely given all the issues they had with it beforehand and the fact it's been sat doing nothing for a few years now,
 
I always though sub-terra was an ok ride, once it wasn’t the headliner it was fine. The main issue it has is how staff heavy it is for a mid-level attraction (Excluding break cover Hex requires 4 staff, sub-terra required 8 from memory if only one actor in the finale).

I know there where issues with the ABC drop system restraints but they seem to have solved those in the dungeons so if they could get the staff number lower by installing lockers it could easily reopen and add much needed capacity.
 
Dave said:
I always though sub-terra was an ok ride, once it wasn’t the headliner it was fine. The main issue it has is how staff heavy it is for a mid-level attraction (Excluding break cover Hex requires 4 staff, sub-terra required 8 from memory if only one actor in the finale).

I know there where issues with the ABC drop system restraints but they seem to have solved those in the dungeons so if they could get the staff number lower by installing lockers it could easily reopen and add much needed capacity.
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And here lies the issue. 8 staff members for that ride is just not worth it. It's no wonder they closed it.


Easy enough solution though.....

- Pre-show room. Create a pre-show video to be played to the guests. 1 Staff member present would be sufficient.

- Main ride section: 2 people doing the offload / checks and 1 in the OP booth.

- Ride Exit: Scrap the scare actor/s as it added very very little anyway and have 1 Staff member on hand for the ride exit.


That's 8 staff members down to 5 straight away.
 
I had a soft spot for Sub-Terra (and I hate drop towers). As mentioned the staff did ruin it, the whole shouting and insulting guests never fitted in with the narrative. I only ever experienced it after the scare maze finale was added on to the end and for me it felt like a solid filler attraction. The theming in the chamber is superb too.

Staffing is an issue, I’m sure there’s a few ways around it but the attraction would have to work a little differently than it did in the past.
 
If they could add effects/animatronics to the end part they wouldn’t need any actors in it. I also agree, it would add vital capacity, as I can’t see why they’d want Funk’n’Fly back with the sheer amount of issues it’s had this year. I know temp rides will have downtime but it seems to be getting ridiculous, particularly when Spinjam as a temporary ride doesn’t seem to have issues. Absolutely vital to have something in that building, as The Blade is old and has encountered more frequent problems this year, and Galactica isn’t exactly amazing reliability wise either.
 
I was always a fan of the ride, albeit it falls into the bracket of missed opportunity (as the idea was excellent but delivery a bit lacking).

I’ve said it before but what they probably need to improve it is longer in the seats, preferably in the bit at the bottom of the drop, longer and better effects and more done to make you feel under threat.

It’s a trick Merlin have pulled off reasonably well with the Sweeny Todd attraction at the dungeons so they should be able to do it to a decent level.
 
They had quite a lot of compressed air in there when they did the scare attraction a few years back. If they haven't removed it, a couple of flashy lights and some cracked eggs and it would scrape through as a 'scary ending'.

I think it is likely it will come back with a slightly altered storyline to fit in why Nemesis is being 're-pinned' or it has 'tried to escape' but I don't think it will have much longevity past a couple of years. Popularity was strong in its first year with hour-long crowds, but towards the end, it didn't have past 5 - 10 mins.
 
The thing is, although I’ve always been a fan of NST I appreciate that many others weren’t. I’d be far more willing to accept the argument from Merlin that it’s better to cut their losses on move on if it was replaced in some way (not necessarily on the same plot of land) and we weren’t currently in the second year of temporary fair ground rides to fill the blatantly gaping holes in the ride lineup.
 
There a really big gap here to replace a replica or AT take of Alien Encounter. Which was actually very popular and a very missed ride. It was just too intense for it’s time and in the wrong location/area in Disney and it’s Disney. However would be a amazing fit for Alton towers!

The ride experience could be so much better with a centre animatronic or projection (rather than just a static egg) Leg tinglers, head rest speakers, compressed air, water sprays etc to mimic an alien escaping from the egg. This use of 3D senses really creates an intense atmosphere before the drop, but not just one drop several too add too the fun! With the use of projection mapping of the eggs down below to look like there hatching to intensify. It really could be a unique dark ride for Europe and it’s such a shame it’s not used to it’s potential, as the hardware is all there. They could market it as a whole new ride. Give the exterior a face life covering the dreaded tin sheds with fake rock-work, maybe some small blood waterfalls (a cheeky nod to nemesis)

Question can they only use one set of fake elevator lifts at a time? As this would help ride capacity if they had a second set elsewhere. That way they could drag the elevator experience further, with the use of small window screens to tell more of a Story and pretend the lift faulty/alien escape etc.

They really do not need any actors in the final of the story good enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
TroySmith1 said:
Question can they only use one set of fake elevator lifts at a time? As this would help ride capacity if they had a second set elsewhere. That way they could drag the elevator experience further, with the use of small window screens to tell more of a Story and pretend the lift faulty/alien escape etc.
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The first set of elevators was used to get guests into the egg room, and the second set was used to get them out.
 
Yes in theory if they were good in dispatches whilst the ride was open they could have the group entering and leaving the chamber in their respective lifts at the same time
 
TroySmith1 said:
There a really big gap here to replace a replica or AT take of Alien Encounter. Which was actually very popular and a very missed ride. It was just too intense for it’s time and in the wrong location/area in Disney and it’s Disney. However would be a amazing fit for Alton towers!

The ride experience could be so much better with a centre animatronic or projection (rather than just a static egg) Leg tinglers, head rest speakers, compressed air, water sprays etc to mimic an alien escaping from the egg. This use of 3D senses really creates an intense atmosphere before the drop, but not just one drop several too add too the fun! With the use of projection mapping of the eggs down below to look like there hatching to intensify. It really could be a unique dark ride for Europe and it’s such a shame it’s not used to it’s potential, as the hardware is all there. They could market it as a whole new ride. Give the exterior a face life covering the dreaded tin sheds with fake rock-work, maybe some small blood waterfalls (a cheeky nod to nemesis)

Question can they only use one set of fake elevator lifts at a time? As this would help ride capacity if they had a second set elsewhere. That way they could drag the elevator experience further, with the use of small window screens to tell more of a Story and pretend the lift faulty/alien escape etc.

They really do not need any actors in the final of the story good enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I'm lucky to be old enough to remember Alien Encounter very well. I was 11 when I first experienced it and it's still a top 10 attraction for me in my lifetime. I absolutely loved it. It was scary, atmospheric and also brilliant brilliant fun. We did it like 4 times across 2 separate days.

You can definitely see small resemblances in NST although obviously it wasn't anywhere near as good.
 
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