MakoMania wrote:

They cannot be expecting to shut the park at 4pm all of this week surely? There are several queues in excess of 45 minutes and the weather is amazing!

The opening times on the website have been updated to show the park closing at 5pm all week now.

lewis97 wrote:

MakoMania wrote:

They cannot be expecting to shut the park at 4pm all of this week surely? There are several queues in excess of 45 minutes and the weather is amazing!

The opening times on the website have been updated to show the park closing at 5pm all week now.

It still says 10am-4pm for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

EDIT: must just be the mobile site, it says 10am-5pm on desktop.

A random 'viewing' area has appeared on the old Ripsaw site in front of the Towers Challenge hang game


(Photo Credit: Parks, Scares & Glitter)

The most pointless addition to Alton Towers! Oh how I miss Ripsaw!

Let's hope it has an additional use.

Weird. Possibly something happening this summer? They wouldn't build that for nothing, they're way too short of cash to go building stuff like that if it doesn't have any purpose.

Probably cost them £250 down B&Q .

I'm more impressed that they tried to fill that area with another hanging bar game. Just leaving it fenced off would have been a better use.

With the entrance at the front, my guess is it will be for guest use rather than actor/show use. Crazy idea would be a VR experience like the one at Thorpe in the Dome. Most boring idea, the hanging game is getting a stage for the summer.

The VR experience at Thorpe is the one from Alton. I did have a go on it when it was at ATH last year and I really enjoyed it!

Justin wrote:

The VR experience at Thorpe is the one from Alton. I did have a go on it when it was at ATH last year and I really enjoyed it!

Well I didn't realise that! Thought it was new, not just Thorpe new...

Where did they used to have that then?

I'm sure it was in the Alton Towers Hotel Emperor Suite, where the Emperor Grill is / used to be. Not sure whether the restaurant ever reopened after the VR left..?

Robert.W wrote:

I'm sure it was in the Alton Towers Hotel Emperor Suite, where the Emperor Grill is / used to be. Not sure whether the restaurant ever reopened after the VR left..?

Thanks!

Haven't been down there or seen the Grill open. It's a shame, as the menu on the TT site for it looked quite good!

What are the operating temperatures of rollercoasters at the park? I assume there is a minimum temperature but I'm not sure there is a maximum?

By maximum, I mean possible by weather conditions and location.  For example in the UK, temps dont hit 40c... so what is the max operating temperature for a roller coaster in the UK? What effects does the weather and temperature have on the rollercoaster (structure, wheels, carts, etc).

I'm open to having a debate, because being on the park yesterday (26/06/2018) a lot of the coasters were not operational, had continuous down time or not running to full capacity.

I assume it's down to weather (heat) and was just wondering what affects the weather has.

BigAlan wrote:

What are the operating temperatures of rollercoasters at the park? I assume there is a minimum temperature but I'm not sure there is a maximum?

I've not come across a maximum operating temperature stated by a park, but minimum operating temperatures are by some. Silver Dollar City lists their B&M having a minimum operating temperature of about 4.5c. 

Minimum temperatures have a greater impact to whether a roller coaster can operate, typically because they will run slower and have a greater chance of not making it around the circuit. The slowness comes from the wheels becoming more brittle and oils not working as effectively. Another issue in the cold weather is that the hydraulic systems operate less efficiently and in the extreme case will cause friction brakes to not operate properly.

At higher temperatures, all of the mechanical systems work much better, with the rides operating faster and the brakes more responsive. In terms of a maximum temperature, polyurethane wheels used in industrial systems that appear somewhat similar to roller coaster wheels, are rated to maximum temperature of around 88c. Of course, the stresses put on roller coaster wheels may reduce this and that figure isn't air temperature but rather the wheel temperature, which will be significantly higher. 

Other technical issues coming from higher temperatures can include rides operating faster than the sensor systems are happy with, increasing the chance a sensor brings the ride to a halt. This can come from either the system being unhappy with the speed the train travels, or the vibrations it causes to the track at those speeds.

Then there is the human side. Higher temperatures mean more chance of guests becoming ill from not drinking enough or standing too long in the sun, causing ride shut downs. The warm weather also brings out greater crowds, with more people increasing the probability someone does something to cause the ride to stop, such as trying to take their phone out and film the ride.

I remember back in 2015, it was the hottest day of the year, and I tried to get on Dragon’s Fury, but it kept shutting and opening throughout the day due to wheels buckling. 

Alton Towers have installed new fences around the park to replace the temporary barriers that were put out to inform guests of the staggered opening times. Having noticed the holes in the ground for these a few weeks ago, I believe they are removable and will be lifted out once the relevant areas of the park open, and will also not be in place during the summer holidays when the staggered openings are not in operation.

Obviously, in an ideal world these fences wouldn’t be needed at all but they’re better than having temporary barriers dragged out.







Credit: TowersStreet

As you say, its a shame this has to be a thing but I do feel like this is one of the best ways of doing it. it does look quite nice

"Looks nice" might be taking it a little far, but it certainly does look better than the temporary barriers they had been using before, and in the case of Dark Forest and Cloud Cuckoo Land, for years.

Speaking of the staggered openings, Towers have confirmed in responses to a post on their Facebook page that, as of this coming Monday July 2nd, all of the major rides & attractions will be open from 10am.

There is no confirmation how long this will be the case for, however I expect it to be until the end of the summer holidays.

Dan wrote:

Speaking of the staggered openings, Towers have confirmed in responses to a post on their Facebook page that, as of this coming Monday July 2nd, all of the major rides & attractions will be open from 10am.

There is no confirmation how long this will be the case for, however I expect it to be until the end of the summer holidays.

Always the plan I'm sure, staggered openings until peak season then all rides open at the same time. 

Alton appear to have backtracked on their plan to reduce the staggered opening times starting today. The Facebook replies appear to have mysteriously vanished and ridetimes.co.uk is still displaying the staggered opening times.

If this is indeed the case, I'll be very disappointed, but not particularly surprised. Things have just been appalling this year, so far... and don't seem like they are improving at all. I fear the damage has already been done to be honest. 2018 was supposed to be Alton's comeback year... and they've gone and absolutely it up big time. 

I really hope this isn't the case, but there's suspiciously no mention of this from them on Twitter either. I'm fairly sure they were replying to people there about this too.

Only reference I can find is an advert suggesting people ride Nemesis first thing to avoid the queues.

Searching for Alton on Twitter now is like looking at Thorpe's Twitter on peak fright night. All the same thing: long day, less than 5 rides ridden and generally terrible operation, never coming back. Very few, great day messages. They're doing the same disaster control as Thorpe, send everyone to the ever increasing guest services queue where they might get a couple of free fast track tickets. But at least the Merlin still has a 98% guest satisfaction rating...