Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Rita + Stealth = true?

andrus

andrus

Giga Poster
I read over at wikipedia (english version) that Alton Towers originally planned to build an intamin accelerator with a top hat and then the following Rita layout. But the intended ride got stopped because it turned out too big so the park chopped the ride in two and kept the Rita part and build the top hat (Stealth) at Thorpe Park instead.

Is this true? I mean sure Alton realized that the top hat element would never get a permission from the locals. If the ride would have been built though, it would've been a really awesome ride! :--D:--D
 
Inverse

Inverse

Hyper Poster
I suspect strongly that this isn't true. Alton are well aware of their restrictions and wouldn't have ever looked at a 205ft ride.

They might have looked at the Accelerator layout and thought: "we could have something like the flatter part", but never the top hat.

I have heard before that Stealth was initially intended to be an Accelerator clone, but I can't verify the truth of that either...
 
furie

furie

SBOPD
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
I can't remember the exact tale...

It's something like this.

Originally, the Xcellerator layout was used in the preliminary plans submitted for Stealth. this owuld look (a bit) like "Rita with a Tophat".

I don't think anyone knows for sure if this was the original plan for Stealth, or just a convenient layout for testing the planning. They may have originally though tabout that layout, but gone for the cheaper option. I don't know.

Rita I think was slightly different and a tale in itself. Something like Intamin had the coaster ready and Alton had the space and they "made it fit to both their benefits". Again, somebody will know the exact details.

I've never heard the "mixup" rumour though...
 
A-Kid

A-Kid

Giga Poster
I've heard off a particular engineer at Thorpe that Stealth was intended to have Rita's layout on the end of it... it gets a bit hazzy after this, but I remember something about the Rita layout being a squashed version of whatever it was ment to be at Thorpe... Which would probally explain why Rita's trackwork banking is so dam poor. Kinda a last minute 2 for 1 deal at a guess.

I don't believe Alton would even concider drawing up a 200ft ride when they know they can't add it though.
 
A-Kid

A-Kid

Giga Poster
Christ you go overboard...

That was a small sarcastic comment about Rita's one dodgy banked corner past the bit that was built around Corkscrew, where you can see the track physically bump laterally... nothing more! Jesus fu*king christ. Humor.

I know the difference between an idea and actual design... thats not hard to grasp. I'm not as thick as your making us look. I even come up with my own concepts, full well knowing that if they were in reality that they would be drasticly different. If any of it is true, Rita wouldn't actually fit on the end of Stealth without a bit of tweeking anyway. It was probally something that resembled Rita if anything.

It doesn't sound that rediculous to scale a bit of track down with a few tweeks anyway knowning that it would, in theory, work if you scaled the speed down too.
 
M

Matt

Roller Poster
I heard that they were supposed to build one of rita each side of stealth and call them the stingers
 
rickydoodle

rickydoodle

Roller Poster
Regardless of whether this is true or not, it's worth mentioning that 'Superman Escape' at Movie World, Aus has a top hat followed by a (much improved) Rita-esque layout.
 
corkscrew

corkscrew

Roller Poster
This is true I heard it from a ride operator on stealth that the planning permission for stealth at alton towers was turned down so tussauds now Merlin stuffed it in Thorpe Park.
 
furie

furie

SBOPD
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
corkscrew said:
This is true I heard it from a ride operator on stealth that the planning permission for stealth at alton towers was turned down so tussauds now Merlin stuffed it in Thorpe Park.
Click to expand...

Well, I heard it from my dog, whose auntie is very close to a feral stray in the Thorpe area that Alton would never have even looked to build a ride as high as Stealth at Alton, due to the fact their absolute ceiling is around 70 feet and this is a known, unmovable object in the way of any build at Alton Towers.

The dog then went on to reiterate that Xcellerator mirrored was used to define the planning area of Stealth and in the initial design phases to make the choice of what to have. That this would indeed look like Stealth mixed with Rita and anyone who has seen these very early plans would think think this.

I say "my dog", of course I actually mean "me, third post in this topic but certainly much more accurate than "some bloke who obviously doesn't know what he's talking about; at Thorpe"" ;)
 
Martyn B

Martyn B

CF Legend
Well from what I can remember, Alton were actually planning on building a Vekoma Motorbike Coaster (themed to witches broomsticks) in the Gloomy Wood.

Somehow something went wrong, so they quickly came up with Rita...

Thats what I remember.
 
U

Uncle Arly

Strata Poster
Martyn B said:
Well from what I can remember, Alton were actually planning on building a Vekoma Motorbike Coaster (themed to witches broomsticks) in the Gloomy Wood.

Somehow something went wrong, so they quickly came up with Rita...

Thats what I remember.
Click to expand...

I remember that too, when I was on TTF, but I think it was more rumours than anything?
 
furie

furie

SBOPD
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
It made me smile :)
zingers.jpg


Back onto dull topicness, I also read that the "Booster Brooms" were actually faked by somebody on one of the Towers sites...
 
Nemesis Inferno

Nemesis Inferno

Strata Poster
Tbh the most amusing thing this topic has brought up is the old Stingers thing...

Please tell me someone can find a link to that... I wish to laugh at it...
 
Nemesis Inferno

Nemesis Inferno

Strata Poster
CMonster said:
I don't get the stingers... what was the story behind them?
Click to expand...

Back when Stealth was being constructed someone came on stating that it would firstly be called EDGE (which actually wasn't too far from the truth) and secondly would be followed by two "Stinger Towers" either side of the top hat...

Naturally he was proved wrong and he hasn't been seen since...

Probs funnier if we can find the actual posts...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top