On my first ride, I was amazed by it since it was the first of its kind i had been on. The launch is good, with the audio commentary building tension before the launch, but really, the launch is the only thing the ride has going for it. Too much time in line, too little time riding.

Sam

A good ride to start off with, but as it says on the main review - don't expect it to inspire you as much a second time. The main part of the ride that stands out to be fantastic is the launch, which thrills me as much every time,-apart from that it all really gets the same after a while and gets less and less interesting.-There are better rides around like Nemesis or air.

As you walk past Hex and look into the distance into Ug Land you will see it, standing surprisingly tall over everything.

But from the front of Ug Land there is just something not right. Rita is in a messy place and now makes Ug Land look out-of-place. Corkscrew is now hidden by Rita and both entrances are quite hard to find for first timers.

Queue Line:

Queue line is well under par for such a coaster at Alton Towers. The main part is positioned under the first turn and then moves away towards the station. The Station is quite plain and nothing really bold stands out as the theme of the ride, main problem is that theming is sparse.

Trains:

Fantastic Trains, I love them. Well themed front and reminds you about the main theme for the ride. Like the restraints as well.

Ride:

The only part of the ride worth talking about is the Launch Because personally I think it is the only part of the ride with and intensity. The Launch is powerful which keeps the speed up throughout the ride.

Overall it is way too short and lacks any major Elements, the brake run is smooth and lowers you down nicely to the station.

I had heard mixed reviews about Rita, but most people I spoke to had said it was a good ride.

You would have thought that with the size of queues Alton Towers gets, they would have had a bit of mercy on those who are faced with the inevitably long wait for Rita - Queen of Speed by having a queue line with at least some form of mild entertainment. No such luck. Instead, Alton have herded it's visitors willing to wait for an extraordinary amount of time into a bog standard cattle pen queue line. Surely the UK's no.1 theme park could afford a better queue line, after all, the way Alton Towers seem to try and steal your money from you at every corner, you would have thought a slightly more bearable queue line would be in order. Oh well, it's the ride that counts, I suppose.

Upon reaching Rita's loading station and boarding your reasonably comfy seats, things seem to be looking up. And at least for now, they are. The lights turn green, and you're off!

The launch feels just as impressive as it looks, and the speed is truly felt as you accelerate down the track at 100kmph.

From then on, there isn't anything else worth mentioning. The rest of Rita's track layout is pretty boring and unoriginal, lacking any real thrill that Launch coasters usually offer. Some call Oblivion a one trick pony - but with such a short layout - most people know that the drop is the only thing to Oblivion. However, with Rita winding it's way around Ug Land, you would have hoped for more than just the launch to this ride.

And with the speed the train hits the brakes, it's obvious that it was capable of doing so much more.

I remember when Rita was first announced the controversy surrounding the issue of it being built in prehistoric Ug Land.

It just doesn't go. At all. Before Rita was built, Ug Land was a nice area of the park - not too busy - but still offering the likes of Corkscrew and Ug Swinger to keep people entertained. Ug Land was a family area of the park, with quite a bit of room. Now, it feels so cramped and small in there, it makes Forbidden Valley feel empty. Even near by X Sector seems big in comparison to this new version of Ug Land. The Rita theme does not fit in with Ug Land's theme one bit.

All in all, Rita is worth riding if the queue isn't too long, however once you've been on it once, queuing for hours on end for Rita - Queen of Speed is just a waste of time which could be spent on some of the park's much better rides.

Caroline

What a let down - I have ridden it once and can find just few words to describe my disappointment afterwards. It's ugly, lacking and a horrible waste of what could have been a spectacular ride. I find this insulting, especially when you consider it's AT. Look at Nemesis etc. they're fantastic!

I stood outside the ride getting my head together. Then the cynical thoughts started to creep forward. I put them to the back of mind and told myself "I have to like this ride."

After a couple more rerides its problems really came to the front of my mind. When you go to Alton Towers you enter another world of fun and adventures from the Flume to Nemesis. When you walk into UG land its theming just seems now tacky out of place, with this red steel thing plonked on top.

It makes you wonder if Alton Towers don't care anymore and are resting on good press from Nemesis and Oblivion, you expect so much more from the park that has Nemesis. Although I like the name Rita Queen of speed and rides music, the queue line is so jumbled up with corkscrew it leaves you lost. All becomes clear however with lots of downtime you need that size of queue line even on a off peak day. Through put is very low on this ride and nearly as bad as Spinball Whizzer. The trains are really nice and look the part, I say trains but since 2 train operation seems to be more of special feature then normal operation.

It is a respectable ride in itself but yet again, Alton Towers have crapped it up with something completely unnecessary. The radio. ARGH. The music really is brilliant, White Wedding, Don't Stop Me Now etc, but by god, that stupid TW*T (the * stands for i) that does the broadcasting, does the voice for the Spinball Whizzer thingy at the end. It is NOT funny and it is as if it is aimed for kids: A ride that does 0-60 faster than any supercar on the market today, with a radio aimed for kids; Why??? The theming does not go with the prehistoric UG land and the onride photo cover is (excuse the inappropriate use of English) is just plain Gay. Buy a keyring, not a photo. 

They should have put RITA in an area behind UG land and make it a thrilling 50's American area that RITA races through the woods and there should be diners. They should have kept UG-land a children's area. Having said that, should is a harsh word so my final moan is that the whole area feels claustrophobic with the Corkscrew crammed into one corner. It has been neglected.

RITA itself takes your breath away, and people complain that it doesn't go high, like stupid Yankees that think that higher is better, and that presentation of rides doesn't matter. These people annoy me because in their ignorance, they do not recognise that RITA can't go high and there is nothing Alton Towers can do about it.

Here is a tip, eat lunch in the queue and buy an Ice cream halfway round, because the queue seems shorter. Also, ride it with friends from school, it is much more enjoyable watching their reactions.

Matt Moo

EXCITING, AMAZING, BRILLIANT, were the words I was thinking of when I was travelling to Rita QOS but my expectations were short lived. Although Rita is brilliant for the first 2.5 seconds of the ride, the rest of the ride is sadly appalling. With no loops or inversions its hardly a roller coaster. I think that Nemesis is still the best ride at Alton Towers as it is fast like Rita, has loops and inversions, and has an element of the worrying anticipation of the Oblivion.

The year is 1994 and Alton Towers has just opened Nemesis, one of the most ground breaking rides of the time- literally. They then stayed a bit quieter over the next few years, just installing the likes of Ripsaw until once more in 1998 they opened the world’s first (almost) vertical drop roller coaster- Oblivion. Once more 4 years later they opened the world’s first flying coaster (at this point in time we’re pretending Stealth was never built) Air. So then it comes to 2004 and all the Alton Fan-boys are

Shocked to hear that yet another ground breaking coaster is coming- but only three years after Air. It was announced as a launched coaster with an acceleration of 0-100 in 2.5 seconds, which really got the Alton Fan-boys excited, until they realised it was 0-100 km/h, which is just over 60mph.

So September comes and Ug-Land is closed to make way for this new coaster, which was being advertised as being called Rita- Queen of Speed on park posters. This worried the Fan-boys, had their precious Towers really made a ride with a girl’s name? Yes, in a word. So construction came and went and theming was added, a very original racing theme, so unlike all the other rockets its unbelievable…… *cough*. Although to be fair to Alton, they have merged the theming with the Stone Age surroundings very well, although most other enthusiasts will have a hissy fit for me saying that.

Entering the Ride:

Coming up in front of the Towers heading to Ug Land, you can barely even notice Rita at all. In fact it wouldn’t take a lot of convincing before you think you have the wrong park. Advertising in the park itself is very low key, with just a tiny sign on the map being all I noticed. For most people their first glimpse of Rita will be either from the side of it, coming from Hex, or from directly above, whilst on the sky ride. For maximum impact I would suggest you take the Sky Ride, the way the ride is revealed to you from above has a lot of visual impact on a first time rider.

Once you are in the area, it is impossible not to be in awe of Rita’s speed. The launch takes place above a busy path, and the rest of the ride sweeps over Ug Land and the queue. While you work your way to the queue you can’t miss some of the ways that they’ve tried to make it fit in with the rest of Ug Land, the brightly coloured hydraulics shed has a Stone Age pattern on it, as well as the normal black-and-white racing strip pattern. The queue entrance is a large half tire with the word “Rita” across the top, shaped to look like a woman.

You enter the queue and are just hit by a huge maze of queues, wood poles surround you and people are everywhere, packed into cattle pens. There is really no way of knowing which way the queue winds round itself, so anyone who wants a good vantage point may not know until that time comes. The queue is OK; it moves quite well and has an opportunity for anyone with a sweet tooth to buy an ice cream. The ride’s first hill leers over most of the queue, and that can really drum up the anticipation for any first time riders. After surviving the horrible cattle pens (which are the reason some people have lovingly nicknamed the area Queue Land) you follow the queue across the front of corkscrew, giving some great views of the ancient bone crusher.

The queue then enters its final moments, and my personal favourite moments. The queue snakes its way under the launch track, so close that if you jumped up you could touch it. You pass some signs which say- “Please deposit gum here” but actually have no bins under, so they’re covered in people’s gum. You follow the queue to a point where you can queue for the front, but for those who want to experience the best seat in the house, the back, you just follow the queue across the length of the station, and then up some final stairs until you reach the station floor. You and 17 others (the front 2 will have already taken their spot) enter the station and get to choose whichever of the remaining 9 rows you please. You can then turn your head to the right and view your now empty train coming down from the unloading station, ready for you to board.

The Ride:

If you’re sitting in the farther of the two seats, you’ll have to attempt a feat of contortion to reach your spot, but you will get the better photo. The restraints are then lowered. I have heard a lot of negativity about the restraints on Rita, but I personally think they are among the best OTSRs around. They consist of a rather cosy bar that fits snugly around the waist, and two rather flimsy bars that move when you lean onto them. The bars are more often then not above you and barely ever touch your shoulder or mid-drift. The belt is clipped into its home and the thumbs up sign is given. You’re ready to go. The sounds change to a countdown and the train rolls forwards a little. A man yells- “The lights are on”, the train rolls back a bit and the fear starts to drum itself up in the pit of your stomach. “We’re counting down”. A lump forms in your throat and you suddenly want to get off. “Get those engines ready”, followed by revving sounds. Hands clasp the bars and start to turn sweaty.

The copper fins drop down either side of the track and you know there is no time left. This is it. Then the voice speaks one last time. “GO, GO, GO!!!” The launch is breathtaking. The train is thrown out of the station with immense power; the whole world instantly becomes a blur. Hands are now firmly placed on the bar and you can’t help but be in awe. You can barely move the g-force is so strong. Your eyes begin to water and your heart feels like it’s going to explode. The camera flashes on the right but you don’t notice it; you’re going too fast, your head is too focused on other things.

Before you can get to terms with what just happened the car severely banks and hits the fast of the large sweeping turns. The g-force pins you down and you can’t move as you navigate your way through what I think is the most intense corner around. The world is a blur of colour, people are below but you don’t notice them and before you know it you are whipped skywards in an awe inspiring hill.

It feels as if the whole world has flipped over, the whole hill is a mess of awesome banking. The airtime at the top is among the best I’ve ever felt and it leads right into another amazing turn. You fly over the queue, corkscrew’s station and corkscrew’s on-ride photo booth. The g-force is once again huge and if your legs aren’t jelly now, they never will be. Once more you hit an airtime hill; once more you are literally ripped out of the seat and sent into the restraint. What follows next is very similar to the first corner, once more you are lost, disorientated and once more the g-force is there by the bucket load.

Another, yet smaller, hill follows once more ripping you skyward from the airtime. Then another massively airtime filled hill into the brakes and you’re done. The brakes are fast and effective, smooth and quick. The buzz is huge; you want nothing more then to ride again and again. A rather slow banked curve takes you gracefully into the unloading station and you’re free to leave.

The Aftermath:

I’ve only been on Rita 4 times, but I have yet to see a single person come off it less then impressed. My Dad, who spent his whole ride on Nemesis bored stiff, demanded that the next time we went together we go on it, despite how long the queue may be. The thoughts of how awesome it is stayed with me for a week before I could get over how good it was. You are left shaking, hungry for more, which is why I think that if it was longer it would lose some of its charm, the fact you crave another go so much is why I think it’s brilliant. It’s my number one coaster after all.

Summary:

Very fast launch and g filled ride through out, with great speed.

Good Points:

1. Launch is incredible
2. Good enough theme
3. Never loses much speed
4. Huge airtime and positive g-force

Bad Points:

1. Some find it rough
2. Some find restraints bad

Theme parks seem to have adopted a similar mentality. Not only is there a continual one-up-manship over who has the tallest/fastest/steepest ride, but if one park has a new ride then the others must have it too. Looking back to 2004 you can see that everyone wanted in on the spinning coaster. Here in the UK, Tussauds ordered two Maurer's for both Alton Towers and Chessington.

More followed suit, Waldameer and Seabreeze both constructed their versions ready for 2004. Xtreme will now remained at Drievliet Family Park after being hired out by Maurer to travelling fairs. Reverchon built Crazy Mouse at Delgrosso's, along with the Ragin' Cajun at SF Great America. Mack's Wild Maus, was from the Busch Gardens in Williamsburg to its sister park in Tampa and renamed Cheetah Chase, Legoland Windsor receives their Jungle Coaster from Mack this year too, although these were regular mice.

Down at World's of Fun, Gerstlauer put up the replacement for the interlocking loops of Orient Express and installed a spinning wild mouse in its place, named Spinning Dragons. Meisho also installed a couple of spinning coasters in the East. All that was in one year. Looking further back there is the S&S tower ride that sprang up at any amusement park you can think of.

Xcelerator dawned the era of the rocket coaster. Since which we have seen a plethora of different sizes and layouts all over the world. As such, it didn't take Alton Tower's new management too long to cotton on to what was the hottest new coaster this season. Initially there had been rumours of immense wooden coasters traversing Churnet Valley, but after these faded away enthusiasts didn't really expect much for 2005.

It came as a surprise then when late in the season Ug Land was closed off and work begun on a new Intamin Accelerator coaster. Compared to other coasters of this type, it didn't really seem like much. It did not have the height of rides like Kingda Ka, Top Thrill Dragster or Xcelerator, neither did have the unique layout and inversions of Storm Runner or Kanonen. Essentially Rita was a figure eight layout with three 'airtime' hills.

Of course, even if this was what appeared to be quite a boring layout, the Alton Tower's publicity machine swung into action and had an over-excitable fan base drooling. So when 1 April rolled around we saw a storm of publicity (although less than normal for a ride of this magnitude at Alton) and queues to match.

There is an underlying problem with Rita. Alton Towers is probably the UK's best themed park. During the installation of Rita, whoever is in charge of theming at the Tussauds park must have either left their job or their senses. Some argue that Ug Land is the worst themed area in the park, I disagree. The theming was consistent and the rides fitted in well, even Corkscrew's track has a skeletal dinosaur-like look about it.

How then were Alton to fit a launched coaster into this theme? Answer: they weren't. In fact, rather than being themed into Ug Land it seems as Ug Land was as much changed to suit Rita.

Its name is no longer Ug Land, but Ug Land WITH Thunder Rock Rally. Thunder Rock Rally seems to be the prehistoric sounding name for a drag race. After all Fred Flintstone is famous for his 'faster than a Ferrari' acceleration. Although Rita's surroundings have been painted with a stone effect and the control booth themed as 'race control', the ride and its cars are pure twenty first century.

Well actually Rita's cars are themed like a 1950s cadillac. So let's review, prehistoric control booth, 1950s cars and music and 21st century bright red track. The themeing is something other than a seemless cohesion. Adding to the already poor themeing, the queue line is Alton Tower's run-of-the-mill picket style fencing. It doesn't seem necessary to tell you this just doesn't tie in. To make matters worse the huge queues that Rita attracts means that the queue is just as big. These picket fences now adorn half of Ug Land leaving little space left. The finishing touch is the addition of prehistoric bunting between the supports.

After waiting for a considerable length of time to be priviledged enough to climb aboard the car in the open air station you'll notice the restraints of Rita are nothing if not unusual. It looks like an over-designed OTSR, why a 420 foot high Top Thrill Dragster only requires lap bars, whilst we are left with a cocoon-like restraint system is probably something to do with paranoia after numerous incidents on Intamin rides.

Once seated, we are played the voice we have heard well over twenty times in the queue. "Go, go ,go" and we are launched directly from the station, pulling considerable G-forces, as the launch finishes the train lunges to the right and around a huge banked turn, which eveolves into the first hill. As you crest the top there is variable amounts of airtime depending where you sit, suffice to say the pretty much every seat will feel some weightlessness. The train dives back down to the left and makes a turnaround over the queue.

The forces here are quite admirable as we are again pulled up into the next hill. lower than the first and as such directly underneath it. The airtime here is a little less, but the OTSRs don't seem to impede your enjoyment that much. Completing the circuit we dive down towards the end of the launch and follow the first corner before being ripped up across the last, considerably smaller hill, this is reflected in the airtime sustained. The train then hits the breaks and meanders, snake-like and at quite a pace back to the station.

The Queen of Speed seems to be quite an appropriate name. The launch took me completely by surprise, having ridden Top Thrill Dragster I was expecting something rather more tame. No such thing, it may have been my imagination, but the acceleration on this baby is not to be sneered at. The airtime hills deliver reasonable amounts of that weightless feeling, although the restraints make you feel somewhat enclosed, rather than being more vulnerable like the T-bars produce.

There are also some pretty decent spells of force in the corners, notabley the second. Unfortunately all this doesn't add up to a star-studded coaster. The layout has no suprises and although being liberal with her G-forces, it just doesn't have anything different about it. If there is anything that this ride does excel on it is the launch and it will probably come as a surprise to most.

Rita's downfalls are in a mediocre ride, that is intolerably short and its 'theming' is something to be seen. It appears as if the ride layout, position and theme has not been thought through at all. Alton is renowned for its original coasters that seem to work so well with their surrounding. Rita has taken the park a step backwards to the days when Corkscrew was built and the land fitted in the ride, rather than the ride embracing and seamlessly integrating with its surroundings. What could have been an excellent coaster if thought through has been rushed and essentially ruined.