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The 'flat ride' future

If Alton a towers wants to be a world class destination they need to look a lot more into immersive experiences, things like Mr Bloom and Sub Terra are a good start but they need to look at Spiderman type dark rides, or well scripted experiences like poisidins fury. Flat rides might deliver quick thrills, but good quality experiences make for a theme park and not just an amusement park.

At the big theme parks I've been to (Disney, Universal, Busch Tampa, Six Flags MM) I didn't ride any flat rides, and other than drop towers I can't even think of any thrilling flat rides in those parks.
 
jon81uk said:
or well scripted experiences like poisidins fury.
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In a way, Hex has many similarities to Posiedon's Fury, except the actor is a voiceover and the epic finale is in the form of a ride rather than a bombardment of incredible effects. I think if Towers were actually up to the bar of putting in an attraction like it, they'd be silly as they already have their own unique take on it.

Anything on that level of theming however would certainly not got amiss.
 
What Dan says. Here in the UK we have a mad obsession with thrill flat rides with many believing that all parks should have lots of them. This is probably because Thorpe have tonnes of them. Very few major parks worldwide at thrill flats these days though, they are not the future of the theme park industry. Flats will largely thrive at fairs and amusment parks rather than theme parks.

:)
 
AstroDan said:
Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth?

And I thought Rita was an iffy name.
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It's one of the better "Six Flags tenuous link to a DC Comics superhero that actually has very little to do with the ride" names. I still don't understand what Green Lantern has to do with that ride!
 
I know a lot of people don't care for spin rides, but those of us who enjoy them want to see more of them.
 
For me its not just the park needs flats / spinners it just needs some support rides.

Have you been in 'Dark' Forest when either 13 or Rita go down, and the entire queueline joins the other ride queue. Its awful. There is nothing to absorb any of that interest or people, not to mention there are some people who dont want to go on coasters and might enjoy other attractions with shorter queues while friends/family are off doing other things.

For the awkard age when children arent big enough (or brave enough) for coasters and want to tackle other rides.

Basically: I want variety.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
I know a lot of people don't care for spin rides, but those of us who enjoy them want to see more of them.
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I don't dispute that people many enjoy them - but in all honesty, if you want decent flat rides - go to a fun fair (which I know you do).

These sorts of rides simply are not designed to be run day after day from 10 in the morning till 6 at night on a constant cycle of guests.

Just look at how Thorpe Park have suffered with Samurai, Slammer and Rush!

There is a good reason why the biggest theme parks do not buy many thrill flat rides.
 
AstroDan said:
These sorts of rides simply are not designed to be run day after day from 10 in the morning till 6 at night on a constant cycle of guests.
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They could buy a few moblie flats and rotate them in and out of service and call it 'ride of the week'
 
The only area I reckon that seriously needs a flat would be Dark Forest, It has two coasters one of which isn't exactly the most reliable, the other isn't so bad really. That whole area needs a touch up though.
 
With the amount of time Samurai has been closed so far this season I'd be very wary about Towers getting one. If they decide to add another flat ride (something Dark Forest really needs, and X Sector would benefit from), then I'd hope they get something more capable of withstanding the heavy usage it would be getting.
 
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In terms of flats, Towers doesn't necessarily need more, but could do with a further selection of supporting rides, things like more dark rides, water rides and smaller coasters really.

They could add the ocassional flat in, but unfortunately they are more at home in fairs and as many have mentioned most struggle with the 10-6 March to November operating schedule.

They could maybe do with a new pirate ship & something false, but that would be about it I think.
 
Trouble with the flats designed for static parks is they are often taller than Towers can build. Look at Huss park models.
 
Maybe Merlin could bring back the traveling fairground to Alton Towers with a few selected flat rides making a guest appearance for a few months - all included in the ticket price ( as the other main attractions )
 
Someone else suggested that, however these days with planning restrictions being so difficult the majority of the park would be off limits to something being placed even on a temporary basis.
Not to mention the health and safety stuff, the park technical team would need to take control of it and possibly change aspects of it (Im not sure the rides owner would be pleased) and then theres the whole theming issue.

So I think its probably a no....
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again. A Gerstlauer Polyp would seem to me like the obvious way to go for Dark Forest. High capacity, comparatively easy to install and theme, and loads of fun to ride if operated at its potential! For X-Sector however I've no idea what I'd choose. Perhaps we'll eventually see Enterprise leave the park and a replacement flat taking over both its site and the Submission Memorial Garden.
 
I think it will be a sad day when there are no thrilling flat rides left in the park (which seems to be on the cards in the very near future).

Flat rides have been an integral part of Alton Towers success, and I feel the park needs more of them to ease congestion at the busiest periods of the day.

I understand that flat rides can't be worked as hard as coasters and run for the same periods of time, but I don't think people would be too fussed if a flat ride had a late opening and early closing to compensate for this.

The park needs flat rides, whether it be a high octane thrill machine or something more family friendly.
 
I think it’s very difficult to make flat rides work in a park with an attendance approaching 3 million. Thorpe Park really suffer with their collection, it’s pretty inevitable really though.

Alton Towers was built on flat rides, but I’m not sure that’s a valid argument for continuing to build them.
 
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