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Nemesis: Sub-Terra

Squiggs said:
It wouldn't really work for Sub-Terra, if I'm understanding the situation correctly. It's not really an issue of whether you, as an individual, 'fit'. It's more related to the people sitting around you and the makeup of the 10 people on your tower.

If anything, in that situation, a test seat would cause more problems as you might be fine in the test seat, but not in the ride itself.
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That makes no sense. If you fit in the test seat then you'd fit on the ride because the seat is the same as the one on the ride. You then nhsf have a restraint attached which shows if it will lock or not.

The only reason it wouldn't work is if the people around you are too big, which comes back to the point of having the test seat to see if you're too big or not.
 
One issue with a test seat is I just don’t think you’d be able to genuinely replicate the amount of effort the ops put in to get those bars to lock. One trick they use is pushing down hard on the bar while also asking everyone in the row to lean in and push on the bar as well.

A test seat could result in people who actually would fit with a little elbow grease not bothering, maybe thats a worthwhile trade off for some people but I don’t know.
 
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Max said:
One issue with a test seat is I just don’t think you’d be able to genuinely replicate the amount of effort the ops put in to get those bars to lock. One trick they use is pushing down hard on the bar while also asking everyone in the row to lean in and push on the bar as well.

A test seat could result in people who actually would fit with a little elbow grease not bothering, maybe thats a worthwhile trade off for some people but I don’t know.
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In my opinion test seats are something a lot more rides at the park could benefit from, The Smiler and Octonauts are some of them.
 
I was in Billund a few weeks back riding Ghost, and noticed it has exactly the same modified restraint system as Sub-Terra*. But from what I could tell they didn't have major issues with loading and locking the ride vehicles. Maybe it's because the average age of guests is a lot younger at that park.

Admittedly I only rode once and didn't hang around long enough to see more than a few ride cycles. But it was a busy day and the queue moved well, so the capacity couldn't have been too bad.

I will say though that with this bring my first experience of these modified restraints (still havn't been on Sub-Terra since 2014) I can see why everyone hates them. The flappy panels are such a weird modification and make them very cumbersome. It feels like a temporary fix that worked well enough on the other rides using it that a full restraint replacement never happened.

* Ghost is from what I could tell the ride that the original fault in the restraint system was discovered on. The timing works out as it opened just before the modifications were added to Sub-Terra. And I don't think ABC rides have built another ride like it since, which explains why an improved version of the restraints was never developed.

Off topic but while I'm talking about Ghost, it is by far the best themed ride Merlin have delivered. It looks great from the outside and the queue is amazing! Fully themed, very atmospheric, interactive (with a shooting game and a mirror maze worked into the queue). This is the type of experience Merlin should be delivering.
 
Ethan said:
Honestly wouldn't be surprised if Sub-terra was just brought back for this year to hype up the Nemesis retrack. Who knows if they plan to have the ride open for the long term
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Would really hope this isn’t the case, it’s a great little filler ride and has the novelty of being a dark ride that targets the older audience. It’d be a real shame to see it go again.
 
Max said:
Would really hope this isn’t the case, it’s a great little filler ride and has the novelty of being a dark ride that targets the older audience. It’d be a real shame to see it go again.
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I agree I hope it doesn't happen. It's a solid dark ride and probably the scariest ride on park so I hope it doesn't go
 
It's on brand with the new Nemesis colours, I genuinely can't see it going anywhere now. Anyone can say that's a stupid reason to justify it staying but it probably is gonna stay. Just because the restraints are the same as they were in 2015 I don't think it implies it's only around for a year.
 
I rode it yesterday for the first time.
The quetime of 30 minutes was a bit of an over estimate, the actual queue was closer to 25, but all good. The staff were very on character, and the batching was smooth. However, for some reason we had to wait about a minute after the host did their spiel before the videos started in the preshow, presumably due to a timer, or the op releasing it. Could have done with them having their own trigger button to start the video. The lifts down were passably convincing, and the rockwork in the tunnel was really nice, but you weren't given much time to admire it, as we were through the doors pretty much straight away. the chamber was lit really well, and the egg certainly looked organic and natural, and the blue lighting package gave a cold feel. No more shouty staff made them feel more like an actual professional military unit, and gave the ride credibility, and there are new visuals on the preshow, with the same audio as before, that nicely tie in the retrack. They have finally figured out how they load the ride, with the hosts assigning you a seats as you come through the door. They then ask guests to cross their arms over their chest and both hosts lower and hold the bar down until it locks. It did take a little while, but it was not unduly long for 2 hosts dealing with effectively 4 rides. The drop was not the most intense, but very fun, and really helped deliver the panic of the situation. The egg appears cracked and you get a water spray combined with sound effects before you drop, which makes it seem like its the creatures escape that triggers it, and it's not just random. The lighting package on the lower level meant that your focus was drawn to the nest and not other chutes or the walls. The back prodders were a bit uncomfortable, and I am glad I had trousers on when the leg ticklers went. The restraints released themselves when you dock, and one of the hosts encourages you to push up the bar yourself, and it all feels authentiaclly urgent. The lift up is quite a good scare scene, with moving floors, light, smoke and sound creating a good dose of fear. The actor in the decontmination walks behind some chainlink fences, and kind of jumps at people but doesn't do much. The final exit corridor has a neat feature of a thermal camera hooked up to a video screen "scanning" you.
Overall it is a really good, solid attraction. The loading has been done so as to not disrupt the story, and the attraction remains immersive to the end. The queue moves well, and the whole experience feels credible, and the evacuation feels authentic. However, if you are in any way claustrophobic, photosensitive and/ or afraid of the dark, I really wouldn't ride. The second lifts are especially bad, and as someone who is neurodivergent, I found them especially stimulating to an uncomfortable level. It is however, a really solid dark ride, which brings some much needed capacity to the area, and will hopefully operate fro many years to come. It is worth noting that it was staffed with 8 on the day (Op, 2 Chamber hosts, Batcher, Preshow actor, Scare zone actor, 2 bag drop staff) which isn't too bad for the size of the attraction, and is comparable to the staffing that would be required on a busy day for four individual flat rides, so quite effective in my opinion. Definetly worth a ride if you are able.
 
I think they start the preshow when the previous ride cycle starts, so sometimes you'll be stuck in the preshow room for a while. When the ride first opened they'd start the preshow as soon as the room is full, which meant you'd sometimes wait in the "cave" for a minute or two
 
I believe it’s all automatic. If you are on the left hand side of the pre show and listen carefully, you’ll hear the drop tower drop/loud bangs from the ride building and a lot of screaming, as this happens the pre show video kicks in. Generally won’t won’t wait at all once you get out the lift, unless people are being slow leaving the observation chamber, or possibly there’s a disabled guest.

I remember back in the day before it closed they would often not fill the preshow room and you would hear the preshow start with no one in there, so they could wait for more guests.
 
Finally managed to do Sub-Terra for the first time yesterday and, gotta be honest, I actually quite liked it! Usually quite cynical about this sort of thing, but it's a pretty different style of attraction as a whole. Granted, it ain't perfect and there's a lot of quality of life things that could be done to improve it (such as the exit corridors), but it was a fun little thing. Drop was surprisingly punchy as well, and really catches you off guard - as do some of the effects when down below. The entire chamber sequence was great.
 
mo237 said:
Finally managed to do Sub-Terra for the first time yesterday and, gotta be honest, I actually quite liked it! Usually quite cynical about this sort of thing, but it's a pretty different style of attraction as a whole. Granted, it ain't perfect and there's a lot of quality of life things that could be done to improve it (such as the exit corridors), but it was a fun little thing. Drop was surprisingly punchy as well, and really catches you off guard - as do some of the effects when down below. The entire chamber sequence was great.
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I got to ride this yesterday for the first time in 10 years and completely agree. It’s not a headline attraction, but that’s fine. It’s a solid addition which is good fun and offers something different.

The chamber sequence seemed to get good reaction from other riders which all adds to the atmosphere. I am very pleased they decided to bring this attraction back.
 
AT86 said:
I got to ride this yesterday for the first time in 10 years and completely agree. It’s not a headline attraction, but that’s fine. It’s a solid addition which is good fun and offers something different.

The chamber sequence seemed to get good reaction from other riders which all adds to the atmosphere. I am very pleased they decided to bring this attraction back.
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Exactly that - on my second ride there were only about 9 of us (just enough to fill one tower) - the larger part of the group all seemed to be pretty creeped out by it all, and the other couple did have a cheeky little smile on their faces. So without the expectation of it being a headliner, it seems to be doing the trick.
 
There were only 3 towers being loaded last Saturday, but to be fair there weren't enough people to fill all 4 as it was the end of the day.
 
Brad97 said:
There were only 3 towers being loaded last Saturday, but to be fair there weren't enough people to fill all 4 as it was the end of the day.
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Heard even when there is enough people to fill that 3 are only being filled. Could’ve been fixed now though I’m not sure
 
Part of me does wonder if all four are working, but perhaps the elusive fourth is reserved for larger guests in case they have to shuffle people around?
 
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