The Interpreter Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 ...The resort is determined to keep suspense high by refusing to disclose any detail but has told fans it will be a world first. The theme park has increased security staff at the building site, banning cameras and mobile phones, issuing non-disclosure agreements to staff and has even approached Google Earth to black out the building site to ensure the much-anticipated project remains top secret. Morwenna Angove, sales and marketing director at the Alton Towers Resort, said: “In the build-up to previous rides, significant details were leaked and this time we are taking no chances. Our new attraction is totally unique and scarier than ever – it’s unlike anything the world has seen before. “Fans do not have to wait too long to enjoy the ride, as they will be given the chance to ride SW6 early in 2010. I would suggest those who dare prepare themselves, they will be in for a ride they will never forget.”... http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/burtonmail/dis...e.asp?id=463709 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast1979 Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 As usual as it is, I have to say, it's working! I can't wait to see more on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coney Islander Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I don't understand how this will work. Tomb Raider: the Ride worked fine, due to the building, but an outdoor coaster? I'm sure photos will be leaked sooner, if not later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast1979 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 2010 - Thirteen / SW6 - (12/11/09) Alton Towers has confirmed that their new coaster will be named… THIRTEEN. Yes… Thirteen… I’ll pause to let that sink in as perhaps the most uninspired ride name of the year. Wait… it gets better… well, no, not really… so get your wading boots because it’s going to get DEEP before it gets any better. Opening in March 2010, they’re billing it as the world’s first “Psychoaster”. The story of the ride is based around an ancient burial site that was uncovered in the Dark Forest, where riders will come face to face with the horror that has been unleashed from the ancient crypt. Unfortunately the good details stop there, as they don’t even mention who is making the ride (Intamin) or that the new world’s first technology / surprise will be a section of track that drops to give a freefall sensation, which has all been rumored for some time. Instead the press release claims (start the over-hype machine!), “The new technology will be the first of its kind in the world and will potentially make the ride so frightening that the Resort is considering introducing a controversial age-rating. Only visitors between the ages of 16-55 will be allowed on the ride due to concerns about emotional maturity and physical health. Visitors may also be limited to one ride per day and be required to sign a waiver which assures the Resort of their physical and mental health to avoid any resulting lawsuits.” Yeah… they went there… sigh… First the military style guards to protect the trucks, then the body guard story, and now this. I think someone at Alton needs to tone back the crazy promotional style a bit otherwise riders may come off quite disappointed if the ride doesn’t deliver. -Screamscape Uhmm...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 ...making the ride (Intamin) or that the new world’s first technology / surprise will be a section of track that drops to give a freefall sensation, which has all been rumored for some time... Uhh. There is going to be new technology used that will most likely have problems because of what it is supposed to do (drop down?!). AND Intamin is making this? I can see there being some delays. It sounds fun, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 I must ask, and some will understand this, has Jeff Seibert begun consulting for Alton Towers? Terpy, just wondering... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Did this Jeff Seibert you speak of over-hype rides for Paramount (or Cedar Fair)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 And now for a waterpark type place? Yeah, that might be a Jeff Seibert of a certain reputation... Son of Beast will have SunCor wood, pneumatic wheels and be among the smoothest coasters ever built. Racer, for one of its then upcoming anniversaries, will be restored to much like it was in 1972. The park will become, in essence, the Universal of the Midwest. Winterfest will be so busy, you better buy your specific night tickets now, as it will sell out each night. By the near end of his time at Kings Island, he was at IAAPA promoting "cheap and cheerful" attractions. To be fair, much of what Jeff said was true when said. And then the beancounters began their counting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahank Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 http://www.altontowers.com/2010/theming/ Here's the TH13TEEN website. The photo on the left hand side intrigues me, with the tree and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback96 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 ... "The new technology will be the first of its kind in the world and will potentially make the ride so frightening that the Resort is considering introducing a controversial age-rating. Only visitors between the ages of 16-55 will be allowed on the ride due to concerns about emotional maturity and physical health. Visitors may also be limited to one ride per day and be required to sign a waiver which assures the Resort of their physical and mental health to avoid any resulting lawsuits." ... (emphasis added) This ride is certain to fail. If someone dies because of the ride, isn't the park still liable for the death? I wouldn't think a waiver would protect a park from a lawsuit for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 You do realize that they're doing that simply to generate hype, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 It is not in the United States of America. Things are different in the United Kingdom. Courts there may very well uphold that waiver. In Britain, roller coasters in general are seen as dangerous contraptions, and riders are often assumed to have assumed the risk of riding such a thing, absent intentional negligence on the part of the park operator or ride manufacturer. Besides, not unlike the nurse on the loading station in the 30's, this is a great marketing stunt, and will greatly cut down on lines, if re-rides are truly not allowed. If memory serves, this is the same park that intended to measure kids' shoes and not allow them to ride if they had thick shoes that allowed them to meet height limits they otherwise would not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coney Islander Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Does anyone really think they'll keep the age limit for more than a month? Seriously... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyMan98 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I don't even know what this ride is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 No one besides some people at Alton Towers knows what this ride is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyMan98 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 It just seems so weird, there's no information about it on RCDB.com, the only pictures are just one piece of track, and what the heck is "Thirteen" supposed to mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 No one besides some people at Alton Towers knows what this ride is. Well, hopefully the designers, builders and insurers know! Terpy, who just HAD to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 ^^Actually, right here you can see a picture with the completed lift hill in the background. Edit: No one besides some people at Alton Towers knows what this ride is. Well, hopefully the designers, builders and insurers know! Terpy, who just HAD to Maybe Alton Towers designed the ride and is building it, and they are self insuring it. But yes, what you said is hopefully true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahank Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 It just seems so weird, there's no information about it on RCDB.com, the only pictures are just one piece of track, and what the heck is "Thirteen" supposed to mean? Thirteen is a reference to unluckiness and bad things. You can see the 'full summary' of the ride here at the TH13TEEN website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast1979 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Age limits? Wavier forms? No re-rides? What in the hell do they think they're doing?!?!?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyMan98 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 They think they're making it scarier, that's what I think. It also is more fun. I doubt it really is a dangerous ride. If it was, I don't think they'd be allowed to make it. It's not something like SOB - they didn't know it will hurt people. But this......it seems like the waivers, age limit - no re-rides - is just an advertising thing. Maybe, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TombraiderTy Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Age limits? Wavier forms? No re-rides? What in the hell do they think they're doing?!?!?!?! Generating hype with exaggerated facts- just like Kings Island has done. A recent example can be found on the park's Haunt Twitter: Those who make it through Slaughter House are too terrified by what they've seen to speak of it again. Of course, a park promoting a new ride before it opens with exaggerated facts, especially ones like these, is much more foolish than exaggerating a simple haunted house a couple weeks after it opened. It seems almost guaranteed that Alton Tower's will be facing several thousand disappointed park guests once Thirteen opens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 Don't forget: Diamondback: Your First Ride May Be Your Last Terpy (come and smell the funnel cakes!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyMan98 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Age limits? Wavier forms? No re-rides? What in the hell do they think they're doing?!?!?!?! Generating hype with exaggerated facts- just like Kings Island has done. A recent example can be found on the park's Haunt Twitter: I already said that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast1979 Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2010/03/11/alton-towers-resort-introduces-health-insurance-ticket-for-new-rollercoaster-66331-26011053/ And now, for an extra Euro, you can buy Health Insurance for any physical or emotional trauma experienced on the ride. Really? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 12, 2010 Author Share Posted March 12, 2010 Probably a marketing stunt. What happens, though, if the ride does experience a traumatic accident? This marketing would be used as proof positive that the park knew or should have known it was running an attraction that was unusually dangerous and created a more than usual risk for its riders. What the result of that under British law may be is for others to speculate, but it would not surprise me if it removed the park from the usual protection in Britain that one who is foolish enough to step foot on an amusement device does so at one's own peril, absent willful acts by the park directly causing the injuries (not unlike the law protecting ski resorts in some U.S. states). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbfan Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 The only answer is waiting 8 days for some POVS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 As far as my understand of the ride (limited) it will be a nice combination of dark ride & surprisingly intense "family" roller coaster, a la Revenge of the Mummy, or Backlot Stunt Coaster. I think it will be a fun, storyline-and-effects-intense little ride! My fear is that this will be another Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. Of its own merits, an exciting, even a stand-out, ride. But when the resort needs to draw in visitors (in Universal's case, visitors who might otherwise put the trip off until Harry Potter opens) and the ride is not operating the way it's supposed to even as opening day draws near (see, THIR13EN), they just have to continue slapping it with promotions and hype... The problem is, too much of that and the ride ends up being... Less-than-desired. See, for an example of how to do it properly, The Italian Job: Stunt Track. It was marketed from the beginning as a family coaster. A launched coaster, yes - but a family coaster. Videos were released beforehand showing it from realistic angles, showing kids and families riding it. Thank God. Imagine the backlash had it been touted as Kings Island's newest E-Ticket, one of the world's wildest coasters with a crazy-out-of-control Hollywood spirit and multi-million dollar special effects and over-banked turns and an unexpected splashdown, and it was so large and so intense one needed to sign a waiver beforehand and no re-rides allowed because it was just too stressful and you really felt like you were on the run from the police, and the darkness was so mind-boggling that the entire ride was likely to cause emotional breakdowns....! Pretty soon, enough hype piled on promotion in a sandwich of emotional language can cause even the most fun little ride to be a tremendous let-down. I consider BLSC to be one of my top five coasters. That being said, if the wait is over 10 minutes, I won't ride it. It's fun for what it is. Luckily, that's also what it claimed to be. The Mummy, on the other hand (which I assume will share many aspects with THIR13EN), billed itself as the "world's first psychological thrill ride." Lucky for it, it did live up to that in many ways, because it's a fantastic dark ride and a fantastic roller coaster. I'm not sure THIR13EN can accomplish the same thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingMaster Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 [...]and the darkness was so mind-boggling that the entire ride was likely to cause emotional breakdowns....! The fact that the ride had physical breakdowns during most of its inaugural season notwithstanding... From what I can recall, THIRT3EN is also rumored to have a dropping mechanism at some point on the ride, much like what the Tower of Terror has, to simulate plummeting into a catacomb, or something of that nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 See, for an example of how to do it properly, The Italian Job: Stunt Track. It was marketed from the beginning as a family coaster. A launched coaster, yes - but a family coaster. Videos were released beforehand showing it from realistic angles, showing kids and families riding it. Thank God. Imagine the backlash had it been touted as Kings Island's newest E-Ticket, one of the world's wildest coasters with a crazy-out-of-control Hollywood spirit and multi-million dollar special effects and over-banked turns and an unexpected splashdown, and it was so large and so intense one needed to sign a waiver beforehand and no re-rides allowed because it was just too stressful and you really felt like you were on the run from the police, and the darkness was so mind-boggling that the entire ride was likely to cause emotional breakdowns....! Pretty soon, enough hype piled on promotion in a sandwich of emotional language can cause even the most fun little ride to be a tremendous let-down. I consider BLSC to be one of my top five coasters. That being said, if the wait is over 10 minutes, I won't ride it. It's fun for what it is. Luckily, that's also what it claimed to be. Actually, before the ride openeds, the park was fairly heavy on the promotion of the special effects of this ride. Splash down ending, working headlights, on board audio system, rumbling seats to sens going down the subway stairs, real fire at the helicopter scene. All these effects because Kings Island had "the best of Hollywood entertainment: Now Playing." And of course their marketing guru at the time liked to build up anticipation for the park`s new additions, even if they did not merit all the hype. That particular person now works for a water park company down south in Texas, but he still makes visits from time to time. Remember, he had his start in the amusement industry at a now defunct, SBNO park up in Middletown. And Backlot didn`t have that much down time its first season. Not moreso than a ride like Firehawk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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