Comments on: Alton Towers Could Be Going for Inversion Record with SW7

By: Alex B

Alex B — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:43:08 +0000

Really loving this idea of entering the vortex right way up and leaving upside down – you will have to sell the idea to a coaster designer/builder.

By: ukcoasterfan

ukcoasterfan — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 15:05:16 +0000

For me Alton Towers rides lack rediderablity Oblivion is decent the first time but after that its boring, Rita again is a nice thrill but stealth is better, Thirteen is a kids coaster. I feel the only two rides at Alton Towers which make me want to stand in the queue for an hour are Nemesis and Air, whereas at Thorpe you have Nemesis Inferno, Stealth, The Swarm and Saw.

Maybe its just two perspectives cause its different if you go to a park compared with regular visits or maybe we just look for different things in our coasters.

By: Jonathan Hawkins

Jonathan Hawkins — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 04:14:57 +0000

I was extremely disappointed by Colossus. It was a wonderful looking ride but I found it too rough to be pleasurable. The only rides I really liked at Thorpe were Nemesis Inferno and The Swarm, which were both awesome. Contrast that to Alton, where Nemesis was incredible, Air, Oblivion and Rita (hell even Thirteen) were a lot of fun, and then rides like Hex, Duel, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory were great as well. Maybe part of it is just coming as an American tourist; we've got plenty of places like Thorpe Park, but there is nothing like Alton Towers over here (Busch Gardens Williamsburg being the closest thing).

By: ukcoasterfan

ukcoasterfan — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 03:21:34 +0000

I know ive read about the planned wooden coaster at Alton Towers and keep re reading just to dream, if only ay. I agree Alton Towers as a park is really good but the coasters themselves I feel underwelm and my point about Thorpe being better was just in terms of coasters, if you compare what Thorpe has added since 2000 its not even comparable.

2002 – Colossus
2003 – Nemesis Inferno
2006 – Stealth
2009 – Saw
2012 – The Swarm

Apart from Nemesis which obviously there is no debate about I cant see another ride at Alton Towers which is better, I think Alton Towers recent additions and Thorpes are an indicator of the direction each park is going. but you know what they say about opinions.

And yeah ive read that article was very good but also sad for a woodie fan like me

By: Jonathan Hawkins

Jonathan Hawkins — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 04:19:38 +0000

""John Wardley’s efforts to get a wooden coaster at Alton Towers are well known. It’s rumoured he came up with several different plans that never went through. SW6, also known as the “cross-valley wooden coaster”, could have potentially had the longest drop of any wooden coaster in the world, thanks to the unique landscape at the park. It would have dived over 200ft into the valley and back up the other side. For a park that can’t build much higher than 5 metres in some areas due to strict building regulations in the countryside, that’s one heck of ride."

I want to cry.

By: Mike M.

Mike M. — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 02:19:42 +0000

The coaster looks amazing, although I have to agree that the "vortex" looks especially gimmicky. The technology behind a track rotating on its x-axis does look interesting though. I'd like to see better ways to incorporate it though.

I could totally see a Gerstlauer coaster stopping at a high-altitude midcourse brake run (in the dark even?), then having a "vortex" track spin 1.5 or 2.5 times, leaving them inverted, and then exiting in a half-dive loop or some other similar element. In this sense it would be a nice suspenseful moment without completely killing the pacing of the ride like stopping to spin 3-6 times would.

By: CoasterCritic

CoasterCritic — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 01:49:13 +0000

Speaking of woodies in the U.K., Joey from Theme Park Thoughts wrote a great post called: 3 Reasons Why the UK Hasn't Built a Wooden Coasters in Years for Geekly.

By: Jonathan Hawkins

Jonathan Hawkins — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:36:34 +0000

That's absolute madness to me (Alton is one of the best parks I've ever been to and I didn't think Thorpe stood out at all), but agreed on the woodie comment. With the woods and the terrain Alton could build one of the best wooden coasters in the world if they wanted. It seems that the noise issues with the neighbors will prevent that from ever being an option, though, sadly.

By: Prof.BAM

Prof.BAM — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:10:52 +0000

It would give the towers an advantage yes, but with all the nausea, they'll need a ton of garbage cans. I don't think they'll do it, more of just a haunted house vortex tunnel effect before lift 1

By: Surya

Surya — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 07:45:31 +0000

The ride looks great, that vortex thing I could do without.