Alton Towers | The Smiler | Gerstlauer Infinity
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Martyn B
CF Legend
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
To be fair, to us, most parks aren't 'full day' parks, especially the ones we visit often, so its not really a valid opinion on our part. The GP would be the ones to determin whether its a 'full day' park, and I'm pretty confident they would say it is.
To be fair, to us, most parks aren't 'full day' parks, especially the ones we visit often, so its not really a valid opinion on our part. The GP would be the ones to determin whether its a 'full day' park, and I'm pretty confident they would say it is.
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
Will you get off telling people their opinion is not valid!
That is the park for me, that is my view on it not yours but mine, OK! Get over yourself.
Anyway sent you a pm as I've just about had enough now and I don't want to spam up another topic with people saying peoples opinions are not valid!
Will you get off telling people their opinion is not valid!
That is the park for me, that is my view on it not yours but mine, OK! Get over yourself.
Anyway sent you a pm as I've just about had enough now and I don't want to spam up another topic with people saying peoples opinions are not valid!
Martyn B
CF Legend
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
What I said was a very valid point, the parks WE (not just you) visit many times aren't going to be full day parks, as we know what we want to ride in advance, and we'll leave out the stuff that we dont want to ride.
I cant remember the last time I went on either Ripsaw, Enterprise, Teacups (whatever they're called now), The Blade or Submission, yet most of the GP will go on them.
On our visit in March this year, we didn't even bother with Ice Age 4D, and probably never will, yet we still didn't rack up much of a ride count, with the only re-rides being Oblivion, Rapids and Duel.
What I said was a very valid point, the parks WE (not just you) visit many times aren't going to be full day parks, as we know what we want to ride in advance, and we'll leave out the stuff that we dont want to ride.
I cant remember the last time I went on either Ripsaw, Enterprise, Teacups (whatever they're called now), The Blade or Submission, yet most of the GP will go on them.
On our visit in March this year, we didn't even bother with Ice Age 4D, and probably never will, yet we still didn't rack up much of a ride count, with the only re-rides being Oblivion, Rapids and Duel.
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
I agree with Marc. Alton is loosing it's feel as a premiere park, that's the problem. It's done very little to continue to provide a full, well rounded offering. And for a park which boasts a hotel, which suggests there's too much for one day, there really isn't a lot there. I think Alton's main problem is the lack of mid range rides, which make a park feel full and complete, and then when they do build one they market it for Adults. Whaaaat?
That said, Chessington couldn't be further from being too much for one day.
I don't know. But something, some essential feeling about Alton which makes it an exciting experience you are eager to return to because you couldn't get enough, is gone now. I'm pretty sure that isn't due to my over visiting, since I don't get the feeling with Chessington or Thorpe.
Martyn, you leaving those rides out isn't because you didn't get time for them, it's because you chose not to ride them. I've not been on Tidal Wave since 2005. It's not because I never get time for it.
I agree with Marc. Alton is loosing it's feel as a premiere park, that's the problem. It's done very little to continue to provide a full, well rounded offering. And for a park which boasts a hotel, which suggests there's too much for one day, there really isn't a lot there. I think Alton's main problem is the lack of mid range rides, which make a park feel full and complete, and then when they do build one they market it for Adults. Whaaaat?
That said, Chessington couldn't be further from being too much for one day.
I don't know. But something, some essential feeling about Alton which makes it an exciting experience you are eager to return to because you couldn't get enough, is gone now. I'm pretty sure that isn't due to my over visiting, since I don't get the feeling with Chessington or Thorpe.
Martyn, you leaving those rides out isn't because you didn't get time for them, it's because you chose not to ride them. I've not been on Tidal Wave since 2005. It's not because I never get time for it.
Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
Read how different that is with the full quote. It says the word "we". I am not talking about the public I'm talking about how we see it and how we found the day.
We even had time to do the farm area something I had never bothered with before. We even spent ages taking pictures and walking round nemesis.
Yes the public and others stay all day, thats great but for us we had enough and left.
marc said:
Read how different that is with the full quote. It says the word "we". I am not talking about the public I'm talking about how we see it and how we found the day.
We even had time to do the farm area something I had never bothered with before. We even spent ages taking pictures and walking round nemesis.
Yes the public and others stay all day, thats great but for us we had enough and left.
Martyn B
CF Legend
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
Yeah, I know, but I was using them as an example of something that us enthusiats probably avoid, but the public dont.
Like I said, parks we visit on a regular basis aren't going to be full day parks.
And I totally agree about Alton loosing its magic etc, it definitely doesn't 'feel' as good as it used to.
Yeah, I know, but I was using them as an example of something that us enthusiats probably avoid, but the public dont.
Like I said, parks we visit on a regular basis aren't going to be full day parks.
And I totally agree about Alton loosing its magic etc, it definitely doesn't 'feel' as good as it used to.
Gazza
Giga Poster
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
Also, I found Alton to be a full day park ( I did 2 days actually) but it's the case that any park you regularly visit becomes quicker to do because you get sick of the lesser rides, and know how to avoid queues and be efficient and not come on busy days.
Alton is huge with lots of rides, if we can't say that is a full day then that rules out say 95% of parks in the world,
Because the NL construction kit only supports 3DS export of the original track types, nothing from v1.6 so no Eurofighters.NickkyG said:
Also, I found Alton to be a full day park ( I did 2 days actually) but it's the case that any park you regularly visit becomes quicker to do because you get sick of the lesser rides, and know how to avoid queues and be efficient and not come on busy days.
Alton is huge with lots of rides, if we can't say that is a full day then that rules out say 95% of parks in the world,
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
Nah, most guests would rather reride the coasters. They aren't stupid, they can see from looking at the ride what they'd enjoy as much as we can. Those attractions are filler rides, if they weren't then the parks would not bother with expencive coasters, flumes and river rapids, which take up lots of space.
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Nah, most guests would rather reride the coasters. They aren't stupid, they can see from looking at the ride what they'd enjoy as much as we can. Those attractions are filler rides, if they weren't then the parks would not bother with expencive coasters, flumes and river rapids, which take up lots of space.
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Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
See, I completely disagree with this (surprise surprise).
Alton for me, with the family, has too much. We never get everything we want to get done in a day no matter how many times we go. We do a lot though.
Chessington with the family is the same, there's far too much to do.
Alton with "regular friends" is the same, as is Thorpe. Too much so you struggle to manage to do everything in a single day.
With enthusiast friends though, neither Alton or Thorpe are good. As has been pointed out, you spend a lot of time skipping the rides you've done over and over. The day with Marc and Mark may have been a little more full if we'd queued the half an hour for Rita (the longest queue I think) - but we also skipped Hex (which is a half hour ride and one of those good "mid-range" rides Joey talks about).
There are a lack of decent flat rides which makes a difference too. Though I don't ride the flats at Thorpe (but I do ride the ones at Drayton - they make my day there - odd). For irregular visitors though, they do them.
I think Alton's problem, with enthusiasts, IS simply going too much, but not quite how you think. Thorpe is a good example. You go on Inferno and then you say "what next?" Well, you could go one way to Stealth and Swarm, the Other for Colossus or Saw. Or you could faff for ten minutes. It doesn't matter because whichever way you go, your next ride is less than five minutes away. Finish Stealth and fancy another go on Inferno? Why not? You pass it on the way to Colossus anyway. Everything is so close that you can just fall from ride to ride. You can't do that at Alton (which is what makes it a great park for GP, but bad for enthusiasts). You're at Oblivion and half the people want to hit up Nemesis and the other half Rita. You've got a ten minute walk before you even hit the areas, and each one leaves you 10-15 minutes (at least) away from the other. Want to get back to Oblivion afterwards? Well, you're now another 10-15 minutes away. So you tend to get into a "one ride, move on, one ride, move on" mentality. "We'll skip Hex because it's half an hour and that's the difference between traversing the park for a second go on Oblivion or not" (not that you will actually traverse the park for a second go on Oblivion - it's too much effort). I reckon, on a quiet day as it was when we went, you easily spend one minute walking to a ride for every minute you spend queueing. So it's a poor park for riding. You don't nab that second go on Nemesis because you feel it's wasting time you need to be getting somewhere else.
GP and family_furie don't have that as we amble and enjoy the ambling. The rides are there in the end, but it's the being at the park which is important (we get this as a family at Chessington). Enthusiasts no longer slowly walk through Katanga Canyon drinking in the lovely feel of the area - it's just another bloody hill in the way of getting to Nemesis!
Anyway, Chessington with "regular friends" I find dire. It's such a boring park. It's got lacklustre rides and the entire "worthwhile" rides can be finished off in an hour or two (if it's busy). Inversely, it's a superb park for enthusiast friends. It's a park that appeals to the enthusiast with the attention to detail and "quirky" rides that you can have fun on with similarly minded friends.
To the point Marc was making. This new ride will hopefully fit in somewhere in the middle. With luck, it'll be a 1.3M(ish) height limit and a good "starter thrill" coaster for those not quite tall enough for the big rides. Alton really do need to invest in some good flats too, but this coaster will add to an area lacking in rides and hopefully fit that middle bracket to help pad out the day.
Joey said:I agree with Marc. Alton is loosing it's feel as a premiere park, that's the problem. It's done very little to continue to provide a full, well rounded offering. And for a park which boasts a hotel, which suggests there's too much for one day, there really isn't a lot there. I think Alton's main problem is the lack of mid range rides, which make a park feel full and complete, and then when they do build one they market it for Adults. Whaaaat?
That said, Chessington couldn't be further from being too much for one day.
I don't know. But something, some essential feeling about Alton which makes it an exciting experience you are eager to return to because you couldn't get enough, is gone now. I'm pretty sure that isn't due to my over visiting, since I don't get the feeling with Chessington or Thorpe.
Martyn, you leaving those rides out isn't because you didn't get time for them, it's because you chose not to ride them. I've not been on Tidal Wave since 2005. It's not because I never get time for it.
See, I completely disagree with this (surprise surprise).
Alton for me, with the family, has too much. We never get everything we want to get done in a day no matter how many times we go. We do a lot though.
Chessington with the family is the same, there's far too much to do.
Alton with "regular friends" is the same, as is Thorpe. Too much so you struggle to manage to do everything in a single day.
With enthusiast friends though, neither Alton or Thorpe are good. As has been pointed out, you spend a lot of time skipping the rides you've done over and over. The day with Marc and Mark may have been a little more full if we'd queued the half an hour for Rita (the longest queue I think) - but we also skipped Hex (which is a half hour ride and one of those good "mid-range" rides Joey talks about).
There are a lack of decent flat rides which makes a difference too. Though I don't ride the flats at Thorpe (but I do ride the ones at Drayton - they make my day there - odd). For irregular visitors though, they do them.
I think Alton's problem, with enthusiasts, IS simply going too much, but not quite how you think. Thorpe is a good example. You go on Inferno and then you say "what next?" Well, you could go one way to Stealth and Swarm, the Other for Colossus or Saw. Or you could faff for ten minutes. It doesn't matter because whichever way you go, your next ride is less than five minutes away. Finish Stealth and fancy another go on Inferno? Why not? You pass it on the way to Colossus anyway. Everything is so close that you can just fall from ride to ride. You can't do that at Alton (which is what makes it a great park for GP, but bad for enthusiasts). You're at Oblivion and half the people want to hit up Nemesis and the other half Rita. You've got a ten minute walk before you even hit the areas, and each one leaves you 10-15 minutes (at least) away from the other. Want to get back to Oblivion afterwards? Well, you're now another 10-15 minutes away. So you tend to get into a "one ride, move on, one ride, move on" mentality. "We'll skip Hex because it's half an hour and that's the difference between traversing the park for a second go on Oblivion or not" (not that you will actually traverse the park for a second go on Oblivion - it's too much effort). I reckon, on a quiet day as it was when we went, you easily spend one minute walking to a ride for every minute you spend queueing. So it's a poor park for riding. You don't nab that second go on Nemesis because you feel it's wasting time you need to be getting somewhere else.
GP and family_furie don't have that as we amble and enjoy the ambling. The rides are there in the end, but it's the being at the park which is important (we get this as a family at Chessington). Enthusiasts no longer slowly walk through Katanga Canyon drinking in the lovely feel of the area - it's just another bloody hill in the way of getting to Nemesis!
Anyway, Chessington with "regular friends" I find dire. It's such a boring park. It's got lacklustre rides and the entire "worthwhile" rides can be finished off in an hour or two (if it's busy). Inversely, it's a superb park for enthusiast friends. It's a park that appeals to the enthusiast with the attention to detail and "quirky" rides that you can have fun on with similarly minded friends.
To the point Marc was making. This new ride will hopefully fit in somewhere in the middle. With luck, it'll be a 1.3M(ish) height limit and a good "starter thrill" coaster for those not quite tall enough for the big rides. Alton really do need to invest in some good flats too, but this coaster will add to an area lacking in rides and hopefully fit that middle bracket to help pad out the day.
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
See, in ways I think you've got it backwards. It certainly seems, from talking to the public, that they don't enjoy the park as a whole. They are more concerned with reriding over and over than exploring the park and taking it in.
Guests, to chessington at least, are happiest when its so quiet you can be done with the park in an hour. That, as far as I'm concerned, is when chessington should suffer most. It exposes the fact that there really is nothing to do there... But they love it, racing round to go again and again. Id even guess that on such a day, they are less likely to ride everything, because they get caught in the "ride as much as possible" frenzy.
Whether they are genuinely enjoying it, I don't know. Is guess they are at least in part deluded into thinking no queues = a good day, and everything else flies out the window.
Chessington is a great park to chill out in, but it lacks substantial attractions and that's why I cannot understand why the public enjoy it, if they even do. For annual pass holders, enthusiasts or not, its awesome because its varied, quirky and silly... But the value for money is terrible.
Granted, I'm no typical enthusiast. But I suspect you're not a typical family either, Phil. See, you visit theme parks a lot. You are the annual pass family, plus some. The typical "visit once a year" crowd is one none if us understand.
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See, in ways I think you've got it backwards. It certainly seems, from talking to the public, that they don't enjoy the park as a whole. They are more concerned with reriding over and over than exploring the park and taking it in.
Guests, to chessington at least, are happiest when its so quiet you can be done with the park in an hour. That, as far as I'm concerned, is when chessington should suffer most. It exposes the fact that there really is nothing to do there... But they love it, racing round to go again and again. Id even guess that on such a day, they are less likely to ride everything, because they get caught in the "ride as much as possible" frenzy.
Whether they are genuinely enjoying it, I don't know. Is guess they are at least in part deluded into thinking no queues = a good day, and everything else flies out the window.
Chessington is a great park to chill out in, but it lacks substantial attractions and that's why I cannot understand why the public enjoy it, if they even do. For annual pass holders, enthusiasts or not, its awesome because its varied, quirky and silly... But the value for money is terrible.
Granted, I'm no typical enthusiast. But I suspect you're not a typical family either, Phil. See, you visit theme parks a lot. You are the annual pass family, plus some. The typical "visit once a year" crowd is one none if us understand.
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Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
Ahhh, but I do... I'd say once a year I will go to a park with the "visit once a year" crowd. Certainyl every couple of years I'll join in a crowd of people making their regular (read - maybe once a year, but often every 2-3 years) visit to Alton (and also Drayton). I just follow the crowd and let them get on with it.
They're not the same people either, so it's not like it's a small group. I do it with families AND general adults. I've done one trip to Chessington like this and a trip to Thorpe. I also did Flamingoland too and that was a complete disaster :lol:
So yeah, I do have experience of it and those trips are often the best because you get a real look into how things actually work down in the queue-lines. Madame_furie also... Talks To People! She's one of those annoying people who will start randomly chatting to a complete stranger in the queue for coffee and get their entire life story out of them before they've put sugar in their drink. Again, you get a really good feel for what people are doing, how they're enjoying their time and what they think of things.
Joey said:
Ahhh, but I do... I'd say once a year I will go to a park with the "visit once a year" crowd. Certainyl every couple of years I'll join in a crowd of people making their regular (read - maybe once a year, but often every 2-3 years) visit to Alton (and also Drayton). I just follow the crowd and let them get on with it.
They're not the same people either, so it's not like it's a small group. I do it with families AND general adults. I've done one trip to Chessington like this and a trip to Thorpe. I also did Flamingoland too and that was a complete disaster :lol:
So yeah, I do have experience of it and those trips are often the best because you get a real look into how things actually work down in the queue-lines. Madame_furie also... Talks To People! She's one of those annoying people who will start randomly chatting to a complete stranger in the queue for coffee and get their entire life story out of them before they've put sugar in their drink. Again, you get a really good feel for what people are doing, how they're enjoying their time and what they think of things.
Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
Tbh though had we done hex and Rita we still would have been done early.
I really enjoyed the day but I felt we had done what we wanted without the need to do stuff for the sake of it.
The rapids for me was one of the highlights of the day. 13 and sub terra were the low points and they are the 2 newest attractions. As for ice age hated the films so im never going to enjoy that.
Tbh though had we done hex and Rita we still would have been done early.
I really enjoyed the day but I felt we had done what we wanted without the need to do stuff for the sake of it.
The rapids for me was one of the highlights of the day. 13 and sub terra were the low points and they are the 2 newest attractions. As for ice age hated the films so im never going to enjoy that.
Treeis
Mega Poster
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
I, err...I found this. http://www.altontowers.com/2013/
I, err...I found this. http://www.altontowers.com/2013/
Uncle Arly
Strata Poster
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
Already been mentioned in this topic
Treeis said:
Already been mentioned in this topic
Coasterfreck
Hyper Poster
Re: Alton Towers | SW7 | Unknown (Gestlauer?) World's 1st
I think all vertical lifts look the same, But I still think this is going to be a Gestlauer Euro-Fighter.
I think all vertical lifts look the same, But I still think this is going to be a Gestlauer Euro-Fighter.
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