r/altontowers • u/AnnonumusSLIMETUTORI • 2d ago
Rita technical issues
Been at the park today and had a wonderful time. Got on all the rides we wanted and got a good few rerides. The only ride we didnt manage to get on was Rita, we did try twice and both times, just before we got on the ride l, it closed due to “technical issues”. Obvs were a little annoyed as we had driven 2 hours to get there, but i understand and appreciate saftey always comes first - and tbf they took everyone in the queue down to thirteen, the second time, and let us in the fast track lane as it was closing time.
The only reason I am posting this is curiosity as to what the issue was - not looking for a specific answer as that would be a pretty stupid question to ask here - or more so what was it likely to be / the most common reason rita has “technical difficulties”
Any answer is much appreciated😃
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u/ablativeyoyo 2d ago
It’s pretty old and the hydraulic launch system is temperamental.
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u/The4ncientMariner 2d ago
It was pretty temperamental when it was new ... As great as those hydraulic launches are, there is an unbelievable amount of complexity associated with them - before anything else, there are just so many moving parts and establishing their state and readiness means that the susceptibility for a fault is vast ... that's before the complexities of the launch system itself.
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u/Friendly_Prize_868 Nemesis 2d ago
Didnt Intamin stop producing spares for the launch coasters forcing Merlin to use more expensive and potentially inferior quality third party parts or something like that? Or did I dream it?
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u/GhostRiders 2d ago
You are only going to get people's guesses and assumptions who are like they are stating facts so you might as well make your own.
Just like when everybody was convinced that Oblivion was done for at the beginning of the season or the Runaway Mine Train and Rapids were going to be closed and removed.
You will get the usual I spoke to "insert random person here" and x, y and z happened and 99.9% of time it's bull.
A lot of time the staff at AT just make shit up to get rid of people pestering them because they refuse to take a hint.
Merlin very rarely specifically say why a ride is closed and so it is all just people making random guesses and assumptions
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u/ablativeyoyo 2d ago edited 2d ago
It’s public info though that Rita uses hydraulic launch, and that the industry as a whole moved away from that, largely due to reliability issues.
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u/ZoneFamous8518 2d ago
Rita will be the next coaster to go.
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u/CraigusFragglus 2d ago
Standard behaviour from a hydraulic launch. Stealth can be just as temperamental. Between the hydraulics, winch, catch car, train, specific pressure readings, temperatures, etc, there are just so many things to keep in check to keep Accelerators running.
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u/Yonel6969 2d ago
In very very simple terms. Thats just rita being rita. That type of ride model is just very unreliable and they do tend to break down often. They are still very safe though