RITA Tunnel.

[in2ob1ivion]

According to Justin Garanovich on the ECC mailing list, he says that there is to be one tunnel section. I hope its a decent sized tunnel and not just a fly in and out one.
This coaster gets more impressive as time goes by.

[Graeme]

I really hope this tunnel houses the launch. If you imagine the highest point (2m lower than Corkscrew) and work backwards 60mph from that, then surely the ride must start from significantly below the current ground level? Otherwise, we're going to have a ride that uses 60mph to go 70ft high. It just doesn't make sense to me.

If you look at this link:
ugland.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=Ugland-October&id=acm

...I was initially disappointed, as it's a straight line, and it looks like the footers for the runway are already there. However, according to this graphic released by Dan at ATA:

forums.towersalmanac.com/index.php?showtopic=4765&st=180&#entry78352

...It's actually the home run, as it returns to the station, not the launch. So the launch could still be underground, or at least well below ground level!

[Stu]

Have to say personally i'm not impressed with RITA [Ruddy Intamin Tunneled Accelerator?] so far but then again i wasn't too impressed with Nemesis Inferno . . and i freeking love that now!

Rides Alton Towers should be building:

B&M floorless coaster in style of dorney park's terrain Hydra, using land to rear of ugland site with station area on corkscrew site

GCI terrain "all rounder" like the fobia with best twister and out n back track elements built in gloomy wood where the "booster bike" was supposed to be going between haunted house and log flume

Thrilling dark ride for Cred Street - in style of count disney down to extinction / indy with the bumpy jeep cars

Dragon / magic spell themed suspended dark ride for Merrie England

[Graeme]

stu said:

Have to say personally i'm not impressed with RITA [Ruddy Intamin Tunneled Accelerator?] so far

From a purely personal point of view, it might be better for me if RITA is very modest and underwhelming. That way, there must be more chance of them following it up with a B&M floorless! If RITA is some mega coaster with inversions all over the place, it might be a better coaster for me, but I think it's very unlikely Alton would get a floorless after it.

Perhaps the very best form for the coaster to take would be a mini, non-looping mega coaster with loads of airtime hills. After all, it's 60mph, so doesn't really sound like a family coaster to me. Personally though, I do think it's a new product by Intamin called Family Launched Coaster, like Vekoma also do (a different product to the Booster Bikes).

I'm sorry to say I have become fixated with B&M floorlesses over the years! This is simply because I think we should have got one. If Alton doesn't get one now, I don't think the UK will ever get one at all. What a coaster to miss out on! I mean, the rest of the world enjoys them and has had no problem putting them up.

[Graeme]

We now know a lot more about the Rita tunnel.

It launches into the tunnel, which is housed in a new building that also houses various games. It comes out and starts curving to the right, then it looks like it goes under a small ledge. Then, continuing the large curve, it goes under a walkway (entrance to Ug Land from the Gardens).

Then the coaster does the left turn.

When it comes round to the building again to do the 2nd right turn, it either goes over it or goes through it again (hopefully the latter), this time completely on a curve. It comes out and goes under the walkway from the Gardens again.

[Stu]

As the finer details about RITA filter in, i'm thinking it is going to be a much better well rounded ride experience than Thorpe Park's mini Kingda-Ka

The thorpe park coaster will just be about the height (which will be over shadowed 12 months down the line by bpb) so it's more or less pointless before it's been built! It's a shame they didn't stick with the xcelerator clone and had some highly banked turns for something more exciting

[Liam]

Pitty it didn't materialise .

Don't believe all that you are told!

[Stu]

it might be better for me if RITA is very modest and underwhelming. That way, there must be more chance of them following it up with a B&M floorless!

Sadly it is under-whelming yet is a “major ride” I don’t think they could realistically get a major attraction in that part of the park now, the layout of the area, particularly accessing the corkscrew is quite a mess and not particularly well organised, to me it seems this project has been rushed without any real thought

Its more likely the case of, they felt the accelerator or launched coaster was important to have in the collection at Alton Towers but couldn’t go for the traditional height like this genre of coaster is accustomed too, therefore they experimented with non-height launch coasters, hence plans for a Vekoma booster bike were considered, but ultimately plumped for Rita, and installed it a.s.a.p. before they opened Thorpe’s

It is a shame, I think the layout would have worked well to have a twin track racing design, as the throughput is a bit weak, and the ride experience although too short, isn’t too bad but is greatly spoiled by the restraint system used making it a little uncomfortable

Also they’ve ruined the flow around the park, the ugland site should have been used for a coaster the scale of Oblivion, Nemesis/Air to make a “triangle of delight” between the biggest rides in the park, I think with Spinball’s random placement and Rita’s weak throughput and corkscrew & rita’s confusing access we have a “pentagon of despair”