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Rank Alton's coasters in terms of ride experience

Few thoughts on my goes on the coasters yesterday.
Wicker man- Can tell its had work done to it. Very smooth but still enough rattle to make it feel like a woodie
Nemesis- Think I rode it way too much last season as it didn't really do anything for me on the goes I had
Galactica- Getting more boring every time I ride it
Rita- Launch felt really intense. Rest of the ride is alright but it's quite uninspiring
Th13teen- Love the first drop ans indoor drop. Outdoor section is meh but was a fun ride
Oblivion- Surprise of the day has to be said. Wow the drop is so good on the back. Best feeling you can get on any coaster at towers imo.
Smiler- No surprise with this one really. Absolutely top class. Outstanding ride I don't think anything at towers comes near it and it does feel like the gap is getting bigger
 
Ethan said:
Few thoughts on my goes on the coasters yesterday.
Wicker man- Can tell its had work done to it. Very smooth but still enough rattle to make it feel like a woodie
Nemesis- Think I rode it way too much last season as it didn't really do anything for me on the goes I had
Galactica- Getting more boring every time I ride it
Rita- Launch felt really intense. Rest of the ride is alright but it's quite uninspiring
Th13teen- Love the first drop ans indoor drop. Outdoor section is meh but was a fun ride
Oblivion- Surprise of the day has to be said. Wow the drop is so good on the back. Best feeling you can get on any coaster at towers imo.
Smiler- No surprise with this one really. Absolutely top class. Outstanding ride I don't think anything at towers comes near it and it does feel like the gap is getting bigger
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I can't wait to get back on The Smiler in April/May. When it was closed at Scarefest, it felt like a massive part of the park was missing as I hold the same opinion of it that it's by far and away the best ride there.
 
My list (excluding Octonauts as I don’t have kids) would be:
9: Rita - Launch is ‘ok’, rest of it is just awful. And it was rough as hell on the purple train yesterday too.
8. Runaway Mine Train - Good for a laugh tbf. Ride staff interaction makes this so much better than what it is.
7. Galactica - It’s alright. I find the flying position uncomfortable and it hurts my neck. Do enjoy the near miss elements tho.
6. Spinball - Fun family ride. Tiny bit rough but it span like crazy yesterday so I enjoyed it more than usual.
5. Thirteen - I never rated this coaster when it came out, but I enjoy it more and more with each ride? The drop inside is really good fun.
4. Oblivion - The most pure thrill ride in the park for me. Yes it’s a ‘one trick pony’ but what a trick! I always get off shaking with adreneline.

(Day Time)
3. Wickerman - Best theming of any ride at towers. Brilliant for all age ranges and always feels so much faster than it is!
2. Nemesis - Absolute classic and on the front the view into the pit from the first drop is breathtaking. Most intense ride in the park for me.
1. Smiler - Im a massive Smiler fan. Just unrelenting thrills. Outside seats on the front are an incredible ride. I actually love the music and colour scheme too. The queue line is just, well excuse the pun, ‘the pits’ tho. Only thing i’d change about it.

(Night time)
3. Nemesis
2. Smiler
1. Wickerman
 
For those of you who are interested, I last night did a retrospective ranking of how I initially ranked Alton Towers’ coasters based on what my memories of them were on the first ride. I hit 1.4m back in 2013, when I was 10, so no Wicker Man or Octonauts on here.
  1. Rita: As surprising as this might be now, Rita was actually my first ever number 1 coaster, and was my favourite coaster at Towers initially! I was just absolutely blown away by that hydraulic launch!
  2. Nemesis: One thing that has remained constant over the years is that I’ve always at very least really liked Nemesis. Even when I was 10 and oblivious to its sheer level of hype, I remember being blown away by the sheer speed and intensity of the ride! I think Rita’s launch just edged it for the first time ride on both, though.
  3. The Smiler: I rode this for the first time after a 2 hour queue at the end of our 2nd Alton Towers day in 2013, and I absolutely loved it! I loved the intensity, I loved the relentlessness of it, and I loved the overall feel of the ride! It didn’t quite leave the same impression on me as the above 2, though, which is why it’s #3.
  4. Air: I always loved this ride when I was younger, for some reason! I remember finding the flying position a cool novelty, and I always remember liking its smoothness and fun factor, but I don’t think the intensity was high enough for it to go any higher than #4 for me at the time, really.
  5. Oblivion: I was terrified to ride this for the first time (that drop into the hole looks so scary!), but I remember stepping off underwhelmed. “Is that it?” was the main thought passing through my 10 year old mind…
  6. Thirteen: Despite being rather underwhelmed by Oblivion above, I would still have said that it ranked slightly higher for me than Thirteen. Thirteen never made a particularly strong impression on me when I was younger, and rightly or wrongly, 10 year old me had the view that “higher height restriction automatically equals better ride”. I mainly remember the crypt scaring me a bit when I was younger…
  7. Sonic Spinball: I liked this somewhat more as a younger child than I do now, and I did always appreciate it for what it was, but I definitely saw it as a lower-tier ride compared to the big 6 at the time.
  8. Runaway Mine Train: I always had a soft spot for this, but I think I appreciated it a lot less at the time; as with Spinball above, 10 year old me simply saw it as a lower-tier ride compared to the big 6.
Interesting to see how my tastes have changed over the years… for reference, my current ranking is:
(newer additions since 2013 in bold)
  1. Wicker Man (10/10, #5/91)
  2. Oblivion (9/10, #9/91)
  3. Nemesis (9/10, #11/91)
  4. Rita (8/10, #15/91)
  5. Thirteen (8/10, #22/91)
  6. Runaway Mine Train (6/10, #36/91)
  7. The Smiler (5/10, #51/91)
  8. Galactica (5/10, #52/91)
  9. Spinball Whizzer (3/10, #73/91)
  10. Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure (3/10, #77/91)
 
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1. Nemesis - The only truly world class ride at the park, glad they're giving it a new lease of life with the re-track and foundations work.
2. Spinball - It's the best fun in the park
3. Blivvy - Yeh it's a one trick pony, but what a glorious pony
4. Smiler - This should have been the best in the park but it has issues, some of the transitions suck (2nd half of the Cobra roll especially, but the corkscrews after are horrible too imo), I think having 2 proper drops instead of the rolling drops would have improved the ride. Also they need to give us the new trains with lap bars, just new trains would have it jump up to 2nd.
5. Wicker Dude - It's fun enough and re-ridable enough but gci have done much better rides and it lacks strong air time that you want from a woody.
6. Mine train - This is only this high up when you get 3 laps, great fun.
7. Rita - Launch is fun that's about it.
8. Air - it's nice if you want to be rocked to sleep I suppose
9. 13 - It's crap, the outside bit is way too short coupled with the cardinal sin of trimming the first drop means I just can't rate it.
 
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After my April visit
1. The Smiler (as always)
2. Wicker Man - got on back row, smoothest ride I've ever had but still that rattle that wooden coasters should have
3. Oblivion - never gets old
4. TH13TEEN - underrated, gets too much hate
5. Rita - riding better all the time tbh
6. Galactica - used to love it, had my first ever ride on the front row, it's still a great ride just not there with my favourites anymore
7. Spinball Whizzer - bruised my shoulders last September, so was a little wary but it was riding great!
8. RMT - also underrated, this is a great ride
9. Nemesis - from working its way into my top 5 last year, the two rides I had on here were diabolically rough. I know people have said previously "how can one bad ride move it down so much?" I'm ranking after each visit - and it was the least enjoyable ride for me of the day, so it has to take last. Maybe it's just not for me after all - I'll be interested to see where I rate it after the re-track.

A rough ride on Rita could move it lower than Galactica, and a rough ride on Spinball could place it dead last. A ride further forwards on Wicker Man also could be 3rd instead of second, whilst a good ride on Nemesis has the potential to be 4th, that's how interchangeable they become for me, but we'll see if anything changes after my Mardi Gras visit.
 
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After 15 years away, I've been back to Alton Towers twice last year and again on Monday and I am hooked. I enjoyed *all* the rollercoasters but have been thinking carefully about how I would rank them and after some difficulty, have drawn my conclusions:

8. Th13teen. My first ride was a nice surprise I guess, but I really don't find it has that much to offer on consecutive rides. The theming is so vague and confusing. I actually have no idea what the story is meant to be. Why is it called th13teen? Why is there a bolt of electricity in the queue? I have no clue. I wish they would incorporate the backstory (I presume it does have one) more. Wicker Man does this so much better. The ride itself feels really short and uninspired. It seems like it was only done for the novelty of the "surprise". The first drop in the woods is fun though. Actually the whole woods section is decent enough.

7. Galactica. I remember me and my whole family really loving Air when it first opened, but now I struggle to remember why. It feels like a bit of a novelty now and doesn't provide much adrenaline/ excitement. I would describe it mainly as "nice", and seeing as it often seems to have long queue times, I'll probably give it a miss next time.

6. Runaway Mine Train. I always make sure I go on this at least once as it's so much fun. The staff are probably the biggest contributer to that but also I actually find the drop into the tunnel quite a rush and it's fun waving at the people on the rapids.

5. The Smiler. Maybe this would be higher, except on my first ride I was really knocked about and it hurt quite a bit. About 3/4 of the way through seemed the worst. This was on an outside seat and for my 2nd ride I was on an inner one and it was much better and more enjoyable. I then found the whole ride quite a lot of fun, and a nice length. However for me I didn't find it anywhere near as intense and adrenaline-filled as some of the other coasters and so was a bit disappointed. Especially as Monday was my first chance to ride it ever after the closure last year. I had been hyping it up in my head too long.

4. Rita. I've read others say it is rough but I've never found that. The initial acceleration always feels amazing and the corners at speed are great fun. I miss the old theming, now it is really confused.

3. Nemesis. The ride for me that has the longest sustained intense feel and feels really great still after all these years. I have always loved the theming (the music!!!), but am sad to see it looking a little tired now and I miss the blood/ red water.

2. Wicker Man. I was really surprised by how intense this was and love the theming. It does always seem to break down just as I get to the front of the queue though!

1. Oblivion. Somehow, after many many rides, still the ride that scares/ excites me the most. The slow shuffle forward after the hill climb when you know what is coming always gets my heart racing and I love/ hate the drop feeling every time.

(I haven't ridden Octonauts and I can't remember riding Spinball, but probably did do once.)
 
Jarnsaxa said:
After 15 years away, I've been back to Alton Towers twice last year and again on Monday and I am hooked. I enjoyed *all* the rollercoasters but have been thinking carefully about how I would rank them and after some difficulty, have drawn my conclusions:

8. Th13teen. My first ride was a nice surprise I guess, but I really don't find it has that much to offer on consecutive rides. The theming is so vague and confusing. I actually have no idea what the story is meant to be. Why is it called th13teen? Why is there a bolt of electricity in the queue? I have no clue. I wish they would incorporate the backstory (I presume it does have one) more. Wicker Man does this so much better. The ride itself feels really short and uninspired. It seems like it was only done for the novelty of the "surprise". The first drop in the woods is fun though. Actually the whole woods section is decent enough.

7. Galactica. I remember me and my whole family really loving Air when it first opened, but now I struggle to remember why. It feels like a bit of a novelty now and doesn't provide much adrenaline/ excitement. I would describe it mainly as "nice", and seeing as it often seems to have long queue times, I'll probably give it a miss next time.

6. Runaway Mine Train. I always make sure I go on this at least once as it's so much fun. The staff are probably the biggest contributer to that but also I actually find the drop into the tunnel quite a rush and it's fun waving at the people on the rapids.

5. The Smiler. Maybe this would be higher, except on my first ride I was really knocked about and it hurt quite a bit. About 3/4 of the way through seemed the worst. This was on an outside seat and for my 2nd ride I was on an inner one and it was much better and more enjoyable. I then found the whole ride quite a lot of fun, and a nice length. However for me I didn't find it anywhere near as intense and adrenaline-filled as some of the other coasters and so was a bit disappointed. Especially as Monday was my first chance to ride it ever after the closure last year. I had been hyping it up in my head too long.

4. Rita. I've read others say it is rough but I've never found that. The initial acceleration always feels amazing and the corners at speed are great fun. I miss the old theming, now it is really confused.

3. Nemesis. The ride for me that has the longest sustained intense feel and feels really great still after all these years. I have always loved the theming (the music!!!), but am sad to see it looking a little tired now and I miss the blood/ red water.

2. Wicker Man. I was really surprised by how intense this was and love the theming. It does always seem to break down just as I get to the front of the queue though!

1. Oblivion. Somehow, after many many rides, still the ride that scares/ excites me the most. The slow shuffle forward after the hill climb when you know what is coming always gets my heart racing and I love/ hate the drop feeling every time.

(I haven't ridden Octonauts and I can't remember riding Spinball, but probably did do once.)
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That’s a great write up and near enough the same as my rankings. Oblivion is the only ride on park that really gets me going and you can’t beat the anticipation. It only does one thing, but my god does it do that thing well. It’s my favourite thrill on park.

I don’t get Thirteen either and wouldn’t care if it collapsed tomorrow. The whole Dark Forest theme is crap and lazy, and where do the wraiths and the giant plasma ball fit within the theme? I recall John Wardley saying that they wanted the ride to blend in with Hex, which is fine, but the ride just doesn’t work from a theming perspective. Ug Land should have never gone in my opinion.

I still think it’s mad how the decision was made to bulldoze Ug Land in 2004 for Rita, just 5 years after Ug Land was created. Rita killed that area of the park and Thirteen was the gimmick to try and reinvigorate the area.
 
s_g_k said:
That’s a great write up and near enough the same as my rankings. Oblivion is the only ride on park that really gets me going and you can’t beat the anticipation. It only does one thing, but my god does it do that thing well. It’s my favourite thrill on park.

I don’t get Thirteen either and wouldn’t care if it collapsed tomorrow. The whole Dark Forest theme is crap and lazy, and where do the wraiths and the giant plasma ball fit within the theme? I recall John Wardley saying that they wanted the ride to blend in with Hex, which is fine, but the ride just doesn’t work from a theming perspective. Ug Land should have never gone in my opinion.

I still think it’s mad how the decision was made to bulldoze Ug Land in 2004 for Rita, just 5 years after Ug Land was created. Rita killed that area of the park and Thirteen was the gimmick to try and reinvigorate the area.
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Dark Forest is just a disaster imo and it all needs ripping out and doing again. Sadly capex return reasons means we're at least another decade away from them being able to do anything with it. They're better off letting the area rot for a bit and getting all the other areas up to scratch, the only area you can argue that doesn't need any serious work is X-Sector imo.

I miss pre - rita ugg land :(
 
Groundking said:
Dark Forest is just a disaster imo and it all needs ripping out and doing again. Sadly capex return reasons means we're at least another decade away from them being able to do anything with it. They're better off letting the area rot for a bit and getting all the other areas up to scratch, the only area you can argue that doesn't need any serious work is X-Sector imo.

I miss pre - rita ugg land :(
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I think x sector and forbidden valley are fine, they don't really need much work. Have to say I'm not really bothered about the theme and look of dark forest as I'm there to get on rides but I do understand why enthusiasts care about the general tired look of the area
 
Ethan said:
I think x sector and forbidden valley are fine, they don't really need much work. Have to say I'm not really bothered about the theme and look of dark forest as I'm there to get on rides but I do understand why enthusiasts care about the general tired look of the area
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FV is a mess imo, the air vs nemesis clash doesn't work and they need to do something proper with the ripsaw and the Sub Terra sites.
 
Poisson said:
Katanga Canyon and Muting Bay are the most complete areas. FV, X Sector and Gloomy Wood would all be easy to sort. Cbeebies I imagine is fine if they have tidied it up. Dark Forest and Walliams need a shedload spending before they are even acceptable
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To me Forbidden Valley just needs air brought back with more theming, and a permanent Flat Ride there.

X-Sector, like Forbidden Valley, needs another permanent Flat Ride there, with cohesive theming.

Gloomy Wood doesn't need another attraction, it just needs an above average Attraction there, which is sitting there untouched.
 
Towers Street needs a refurbishment that doesn't include slopping purple paint over everything or painting bright colours over rotting wood and render.

Mutiny Bay needs a bit more theming and the Magic HQ building behind covering up.

Katanga, as well designed as it is, actually needs some theming and could do with a small flat instead of the boring access road you can see from RMT. The tunnel needs sorting.

FV needs a themed flat and refurbishment. As does X Sector.

Dark Forest needs tonnes of work as well as a themed flat.

Walliams World needs Napalm.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
No we don't need another horror/apocalyptic theme thank you very much! 😂
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Merlin Magic making right now:

Kermit The Frog Reaction GIF
 
Based on my visit yesterday I’d rank them as follows in terms of ride experience:

9) The Smiler - It’s sad to put this down so low but my rides on it were absolutely horrid, the train felt as if it had octagonal wheels and the juddering was painful. If I could have gotten off at the halfway point (with my ringing head being blasted by the jingle whilst sat there waiting to engage the lift hill) I would have done, a very unpleasant experience sadly with the second half of the ride being particularly brutal. The horrid cattle pen queue line and disorientating exit don’t help either.

8) Runaway Mine Train - It is what it is, a fun family powered coaster. A nice little guilty pleasure to enjoy for a few minutes before you hit something else.

7) Thirteen - It’s fine, a comfortable ride, the first drop in the woods always surprises me at how fun it is but it’s the kind of ride that after doing it you don’t have any desire to ride it again for a long while.

6) Spinball Whizzer - One of those rides that can be really good if you don’t take it too seriously, not the wildest spinner but it’s a fun family ride. Yes, the jingle is extremely annoying and it can be a very loud ride to be stood there for but the ride itself is a blast. The bottom of the restraints can be a bit of a shin basher though.

5) Rita - A great launch followed by something a little bland but it’s a ride that I always enjoy. Late in the day rides are the best when it flys along but the lengthy queues it gets are off putting.

4) Wicker Man - It’s a good solid ride, feels good to ride, and can provide some nice moments of airtime, absolutely screams around the track on a warm afternoon. Loses a mark for the experience from the bag drop and pre-show with everyone jostling and scrambling to enter the station when the door opens, gains a mark for spectacle of the ride at night, looks spectacular with the flames against the dark sky.

3) Oblivion - Does one job and does it brilliantly. Good trains, great throughout and ops, just such a pity that the hold at the top is only about 1.5 seconds these days.

2) Galactica - Butter smooth, very underrated in the community, and lots of fun. It’s not the most intense ride but that’s what makes it so good, it’s almost like a chill out coaster. The only slight negative is sometimes waiting there hanging to enter the station at the end if the train in front is taking a bit of time to dispatch.

1) Nemesis - Still the king. Was a brilliant ride in the morning but was a phenomenal ride in the afternoon on a hot day. Fast, intense, and a fantastically fiendish layout, easily the best coaster in the country.
 
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I think it's time to decide my rankings after a couple months of the season and plenty of riding have gone by.
1. Smiler- God tier. Legendary ride
2. Nemesis- Appreciate the ride the more I go on it. Absolute classic and icon for the park
3. Wicker man- top level theming, atmosphere and overall package. Ride itself is good fun too.
4. Rita- my opinion of this ride has changed massively recently. Genuinely really enjoy the adrenaline rush you get from it.
5. Oblivion- drop doesn't have the same kick to it for me anymore. Most likely because of how much I've ridden it.
6. Th13teen- great family fun and thrills. Love the track drop and it's a gentle but pleasant experience
7. Galactica- the most meh ride in the lineup imo. Just doesn't do anything interesting
 
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