When was thirteen built at alton towers

On 22 July , Alton Towers announced on their Facebook page that Thirteen would be closed on Friday 13 August , because of superstitious reasons. Morwenna Angove, Head of Marketing at the Resort, stated: "Our research has revealed that Britons are a seriously superstitious bunch, and as our latest ride is named after the unluckiest of numbers, we've taken the decision to close that ride on Friday 13 to reassure our visitors.

New limited merchandise was available during the day featuring the 'Fourteen' name. Most signage to the ride was temporarily changed to feature the new name. In 's Scarefest event, in addition to the wraiths, the girl from the adverts promoting the ride would also appear.

In 's Scarefest event, a fictional warning was played at the station of Thirteen which told that they had caused disappearances and deaths and told that if "you don't touch them, they will not touch you".

The ride starts with a sharp, unbanked turn out of the station into a foot 18 m lift hill up to the main drop, which sends the train speeding into woodland at up to 41 mph. Thirteen's track layout performs many airtime hills unfortunately limited by the many trim brakes on the layout and banked turns, before entering a second lift hill which leads into a dark crypt where the surprise element takes place.

Sections of the outdoor track have been fitted with speed-reducing devices due to early problems with the ride entering its second lift hill too quickly. The entry door is closed behind the train as it comes to a sudden but smooth halt. The crypt room is illuminated with dim lighting and effects such as air blasters and creaking wood sounds. Then a loud crack of released air pressure accompanies a sudden blackout of the room, with the only illumination coming from small strobes under the section of track on which the train is held which has suddenly dropped around 30 cm.

After a pause of around two seconds, the track and train freefall five metres. A wraith figure the statues with the hoods on is illuminated in front of the train and an air blaster fires towards its front as the carriage is quickly propelled backwards out of the crypt. The train falls down a moderately sharp drop and enters a disorienting backwards helix. It then emerges from the darkness and comes to a halt in front of a section of track which changes to allow the train to be propelled forward several dozen feet back into the station, at which point the ride ends.

Since the project was announced in late , the ride was confirmed to join the growing line of world first rides at Alton Towers. The attendees spent a weekend at the Alton Towers Resort, undertaking activities such as orienteering, archery, tent pitching and riding Air consecutively for one hour in order to become one of the first riders. As guests ran to experience the ride on the day it opened, they were greeted with a brand new rethemed area in the form of Dark Forest, as well as a new look Rita.

In the opening weeks, the ride was subject to various marketing strategies that caused plenty of controversy online. Many guests were angered with the way the ride had been marketed, claiming it had been made out to be a white knuckle thrill ride when in actual fact it was a rollercoaster that most members of the family could enjoy.

Despite the various forms of backlash regarding the marketing that occurred early on, TH13TEEN is now widely accepted as a brilliant family rollercoaster and has cemented itself as part of the wonderful line up of attractions at Alton Towers Resort.

Rider Height: 1. Ride Photography: Yes. Fastrack: Yes. Manufacturer: Intamin. Ride Type: Multi Dimension Coaster. Opened: 20th March Track Length: m. To The Top Version 2. Visit the official site here. Search Site. Park Guide. Th13teen sits where the iconic Corkscrew used to twist thrill seekers round a double loop inversion. Th13teen was designed by John Wardley, the rollercoaster genius behind Nemesis, Oblivion and Galactica.

Th13teen sits in the Dark Forest, beneath the exhilarating airtime hills of Rita. Book a Short Break. Day Tickets.