• Mood: excited

NEW RIDE!!

Its has been confirmed that 'Rita - The Queen of Speed' will be the official name of Alton Towers' latest rollercoaster, opening in the early part of the 2005 season. Rita is a brand new launched coaster in UG Land - the home of Corkscrew. The ride will launch riders, sitting in 4 seater cars from 0 to 100kph in 2.8 seconds using a hydraulic launch from the station. The ride will be built and manufactured by Intamin. It is believed that the ride will be launched from the station, accelerating up a steep track to it's highest point (18m) and then speed around a 'figure of 8 track', flying through curved twists and helixes at high speed. There is no doubt that although the ride will be relatively short, it will be a high intensity ride at high intensity speeds. The ride has been codenamed 'RITA', but after Alton Towers displayed advertisements using the name 'RITA' - this could be the final name. The pictures below shows just how close 'Rita' will be to Corkscrew, maybe signalling a close end for the 25 year old 'head banger'!



Sad news that the Blackhole will not feature in the 2005 ride line up has also been confirmed. Although the ride is in operation for the Winter Weekends over the 'off season', the ride has required extreme maintenance work over the past few years and the need for new evacuation routes have been discussed as reasons for removal.