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The Future of Skyride

DistortAMG

DistortAMG

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POTC Disneyland Paris
Is there a dedicated Skyride topic. I thought there was but cannot seem to find it, search brings up nothing with the Skyride keyword either.

Anyway, with this attraction being closed all season and the average life of ropeways around the world being around 30 years, could we be seeing this as we know it, leaving soon?

With the Skyride being above the average lifespan, a huge number of mechanical moving parts with a fairly long and consistant service without any major mechanical upgrade to the system itself, the ride is no doubt very maintance heavy and expensive to keep running. Sooner or later the attraction will need major upgrades else it will not be financially viable to operate it any longer.

One of the clever things I find with models like the Skyride is that ALL power for the whole system is provided by the central drive station. All the mechanical movements in both end station are essentially passive. All mechanical power being transfered from the moving cable to make all the mechanical moving parts in both end stations work. Very clever stuff.

Newer models have far fewer moving parts, being newer, would be easier to maintain too. I cannot see the Skyride being around much longer in its current form. It is now up their with the oldest enclosed operating 'modern style' ropeways in the world. Most of the others have been replaced with newer, more effecient and much less maintantence heavy.

It is a shame that both transport options in the park are now very aged and not far off being on their last legs.
 
It isn't just a shame mate, it is a basic sin.
Large numbers of Towers visitors have mobility issues, a simple fact.
An essential provision for those visitors has been removed, without reason or explanation, and it stinks, badly.
I was out with a bunch of right limpers at the weekend at the Beach, we would not have made it round the Towers.
Why are Merlin punishing the less mobile with dodgy transport systems within their resort?
Why have additional mobility aids not been provided?
Simple answer...there is no money in it, so screw 'em.
 
You have to click on the Skyride ride page to know that it's closed. It's just the same copy and paste message that's on Hex's page.
 
I can walk all day so the size of the park has never bothered me and will only usually use the skyride for the views compared to walking, especially over the gardens.

However yesterday I took my 8 year old brother for the first time and although he said he likes Alton towers even more than Legoland or Drayton manor (which is high praise for him) he was worn out and ready to leave by 3pm and if the sky rides were available I really think it would have been different as all the walking I think just got a bit much for him.
 
Some 20 years ago when I worked at Towers they had Poma in to do a "service" on Skyride. The guys from Poma could not believe the readings on the hours-running meter(s).

Think about it, Poma's main speciality is ski-lifts / cable cars. A ski resort will typically operate November-late March & then typical lift hours are often 8am-4pm. Yes, some resorts will have limited "uplift" capacity running in the summer months for hikers / mountain bikers, but compared to the operating hours of Skyride over the years it has - as Poma noted, a lot of hours on the clock.
 
BarryZola said:
Maybe they could pencil in a leaving party for Hex, the Skyride & the Monorail. Shall we say 2025?
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That’s one way to never get my parents to come again, surely that would be a disastrous move for alton towers and there heritage. Yes it’s a real shame there hasn’t been any communication regarding hex or the monorail, this really lets them down to be honest.


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I don’t think they have any intention to remove it.

I imagine both Skyride and Hex are suffering the same import and supply issues a lot of companies are experiencing when trying to get parts from mainland Europe.
 
Out of curiosity, anyone know how much would the cables cost to replace? Quick check on Google Earth shows that each cable run (there and back) is about 0.66 miles, so you're looking at about 1.2-1.3 miles worth of cable; that's not a small amount!!

I know this isn't 2023 related but I sense these past few posts will be moved to a dedicated Skyride topic soon! 🤣
 
The cynic in me would say that they have probably done the maths and worked out that the additional footfall past the sideshows and stands because of the skyride being closed is giving them an extra little bonus income boost. Tired legs need a drink, snack to spur them on etc.

Plus I bet there are people grumbling but few actually converting this to any kind of complaint, either officially or on social media. If no one complains about it missing then in corporate eyes there’s not an issue…
 
I hope they'll replace the relevant parts but the problem is, will it just happen again? Surely it might actually need a full scale refurb, which would be expensive, and not very marketable. Perhaps this might be one good time for a sponsor, with the skyride not being all that heavily themed perhaps a sponsorship could provide the funding for a major overall without many budget issues. Either way I doubt a refurb is going to happen by next year, they'll probably just fix it and then this will happen all over again at some point next season.
 
I'd be all for Fanta sponsorship again, paint all the gondolas orange, vinyls covering the windows etc. I do miss their sponsorship of Oblivion, it really added themeing that rivalled the likes of Disney and Universal.
 
JAperson said:
I hope they'll replace the relevant parts but the problem is, will it just happen again? Surely it might actually need a full scale refurb, which would be expensive, and not very marketable. Perhaps this might be one good time for a sponsor, with the skyride not being all that heavily themed perhaps a sponsorship could provide the funding for a major overall without many budget issues. Either way I doubt a refurb is going to happen by next year, they'll probably just fix it and then this will happen all over again at some point next season.
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Its a bit Triggers Broom, the gondola's have been replaced, the cable has been replaced and I expect many other parts over the years too. Two stations also got rebuilt after a fire. So in a sense the majority of the ride has has a refurb now anyway. I expect the drive motor is the issue but if that is replaced then back to mainly a new ride again.
 
Davezilla said:
I'd be all for Fanta sponsorship again, paint all the gondolas orange, vinyls covering the windows etc. I do miss their sponsorship of Oblivion, it really added themeing that rivalled the likes of Disney and Universal.
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It doesn't have to be something as obnoxious as that, there is plenty of brands that could sponsor something like the skyride without it looking horrible. For example some kind of transportation company or airline.
jon81uk said:
Its a bit Triggers Broom, the gondola's have been replaced, the cable has been replaced and I expect many other parts over the years too. Two stations also got rebuilt after a fire. So in a sense the majority of the ride has has a refurb now anyway. I expect the drive motor is the issue but if that is replaced then back to mainly a new ride again.
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I wasn't aware of quite how much had been replaced, I knew about the station rebuilds but I wasn't aware of the gondala's being replaced. Hopefully if the drive motor is the problem they can get that replaced without too much cost.
 
If it is a part they are waiting for, it could be a case of pre-Brexit you would see it closed for a few weeks to now, where it can be months on end to receive the same part. Usually, we wouldn't notice downtime, but clearly, supply chains are complicated, and what would typically be a quick fix is no longer possible.

Still, given the Skyride is a form of transportation and vital to a lot of guests for navigating the park, it should be on the Alton Towers website homepage stating it's closed, and given it's clear Towers have been aware it won't be opening for a long time, they should seek at implementing a temporary transportation on the park. They could hire a land train or even operate a bus that uses the staff/backstage road network.

I appreciate Bianca releasing a statement confirming the closures. Still, I think Towers need to go a step further and announce this via social media/make it clear on the homepage (who will trawl through the website to find a closed rides page?).
 
The bits replaced in the fires were relatively minor for the central station. The bits in the end station were replaced because of the fire a long time ago now. Nearly as long ago as the age of the system at the time of the fire. Therefor, replacing the drive system would not make the ride like brand new, far from it.

I hope they keep the original system going to be fair, not many left in the world and are technical masterpieces. But they system is old and worn, no matter how you look at it. Even with the 'new' gondolas and fire replacements.
 
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