Rita (roller coaster)

Steel launched roller coaster

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Rita

Previously known as Rita: Queen of Speed (2005–2009)

Rita in 2012

Alton Towers
Location| Alton Towers
Park section| Dark Forest
Coordinates| 52°59′06″N 1°53′26″W﻿ / ﻿52.9850°N 1.8905°W﻿ / 52.9850; -1.8905
Status| Operating
Opening date| 1 April 2005 (2005-04-01)
Cost| £8,000,000
Replaced| Boneshaker
General statistics
Type| Steel – Launched
Manufacturer| Intamin
Designer| Werner Stengel
Model| Accelerator Coaster
Track layout| Twister
Lift/launch system| Hydraulic Launch
Height| 18.4 m (60 ft)
Length| 640 m (2,100 ft)
Speed| 98.3 km/h (61.1 mph)
Inversions| 0
Duration| 0:25
Capacity| 1,150[1] riders per hour
Acceleration| 0 to 98.3 km/h (0 to 61 mph) in 2.5 seconds
G-force| 4.7
Height restriction| 140–195[2] cm (4 ft 7 in – 6 ft 5 in)
Trains| 2 trains with 5 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 20 riders per train.
Website| Official website

Fastrack available

Rita at RCDB

Rita, formerly known as Rita: Queen of Speed, is a launched roller coaster located in the Dark Forest section of Alton Towers amusement park in Staffordshire Moorlands, England. Designed by Intamin, the Accelerator Coaster model opened to the public on 1 April 2005. It features an acceleration from 0 to 98.3 km/h (61.1 mph) in 2.5 seconds.[3] The ride is loosely-themed to a drag racing concept, which partly changed when the section of the park transformed from "Ug Land" into the "Dark Forest" in 2010, when the ride TH13TEEN was added into that section. It is now themed as an abandoned drag racer that is used as the escape cart to escape the Dark Forest.

In 2006, a similar launched roller coaster opened at Thorpe Park, called Stealth. It is also manufactured by Intamin and is faster than Rita, reaching speeds at 80 mph (130 km/h).

The ride was temporarily renamed "Camilla - Queen of Speed" on 8 April 2005 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker Bowles. This simply involved banner signage to notify guests of the name change.[4]

## Ride experience

[edit]

The catch-car of the Rita Roller Coaster at Alton Towers

Rita was Alton Towers' new attraction for the 2005 season, where it was marketed as "Your best Alton Towers ride ever". The ride starts with the train racing forward from the station area, accelerating from 0 to 98.3 km/h (61.1 mph) in 2.5 seconds,[3] and negotiates high speed corners and air-time hills (the layout is a figure-of-8) before then reaching the brake run parallel with the station. Most of the track is painted red, but the highest parts of the track are painted dark green due to a rule which states that no roller coaster should be visible above the tree line. The original pre-launch voice was delivered in a motor racing commentary-style, counting down to the start of a drag race.

In 2010, the ride was subtly re-themed to align with the new Dark Forest area of Alton Towers, and theme of nearby Thirteen which opened in March that year. The ride control cabin and entrance were refurbished to look partially consumed by the branches of the supernatural Dark Forest. As well as the control cabin and Rita tyres being rethemed to suit the Dark Forest, the ride's trains have been rethemed with a darker grey tint to the bottom of the cars with forest stains over the flames. The trains still have the blue and purple cars with flames but with a tint of grey-brown to make Rita look damaged by the supernatural forest. The voiceover heard before the ride launches was also changed to match the more sinister theme. The message before launch is "Keep your head back! Hold on tight! You MUST escape! Go, go, go!".

According to Alton Towers, the ride's maximum capacity is 1,150 riders per hour.[5]

## History

[edit]

In September 2004 UG Land was stripped of almost all of its attractions including The UG Bugs, The Bone Shaker and Lava Lump preparing for a major new ride. The only rides that remained were the Corkscrew and the UG Swinger.

On 1 April 2005 Rita Queen of Speed opened to the public and 'UG Land and the Thunder Rock Rally' was formed, incorporating the new ride, Corkscrew, and a number of other rides which would be removed in the following years.

* Rita as Rita Queen of Speed:  2005-2009

* Rita launching with Corkscrew 1980-2008  in background.

* Rita Queen of Speed from the queue line

In March 2010, following a change of the area to the Dark Forest, the "Queen of Speed" suffix was dropped from the ride's name, and Rita (as it is now known) received a retheme, with a redecorated entrance, queue line, station, control room and cars.

* Th13teen entrance with Rita above.

* Rita  2009–present in Dark Forest

## Incidents

[edit]

On the morning of 24 July 2012, the ride's launch cable snapped during testing while attached to an empty train.[6] A similar incident also happened in 2005. No injuries were reported, but the incidents were similar to the 2009 failure of the Xcelerator rollercoaster's launch cable in the United States.[7] Rita re-opened on 26 July 2012.[citation needed]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Rita AltonTowers.com. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
2. ^ "Theme Park Height Restrictions". Retrieved 18 November 2024.
3. ^ a b Marden, Duane. "Rita (Alton Towers)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
4. ^ "A Right Royal Roller Coaster! Alton Towers Renames Coaster 'Camilla'". 9 April 2005. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
5. ^ Rita AltonTowers.com. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
6. ^ Rita launch cable snaps during operation RideRater. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
7. ^ MacDonald, Brady (26 August 2011). "Knott's settles with family over Xcelerator coaster accident". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 November 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rita (roller coaster).

* Rita at the Roller Coaster DataBase

* v
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Alton Towers Resort

Alton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, ST10 4DB

Rollercoasters|

* Runaway Mine Train (1992)
* Nemesis Reborn (1994)
* Oblivion (1998)
* Galactica (2002–2015 as Air) (2016)
* Spinball Whizzer (2004)
* Rita (2005)
* TH13TEEN (2010)
* The Smiler (2013)
* Octonauts Rollercoaster Adventure (2015)
* Wicker Man (2018)

Other rides|

* Congo River Rapids (1986)
* Hex – The Legend of the Towers (2000)
* Cuckoo Cars Driving School (2006)
* Battle Galleons (2008)
* Marauder's Mayhem (2008)
* Nemesis: Sub-Terra (2012–2015, 2023)
* Curse at Alton Manor (2023)
* Toxicator (2025)

Former
rides|

* Corkscrew (1980–2008)
* The Blade (1980–2024)
* Doom & Sons (1981–1991)
* Around The World In 80 Days (1981–1993)
* The Flume (1981–2015)
* Beastie (1983–2010)
* Black Hole (1983–2005)
* Twirling Toadstool (1984–2016)
* Enterprise (1984–2022)
* Beast (1988–1997)
* Thunder Looper (1990–1996)
* The Haunted House (1992–2002)
* Dynamo (1993–2005)
* Toyland Tours (1994–2005)
* Boneshaker (1995–2003)
* Nickelodeon: Outta Control (1997–1998)
* Ripsaw (1997–2015)
* Submission (2001–2013)
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride (2006–2015)
* Duel - The Haunted House Strikes Back! (2003–2022)

Theme park
areas|

* Adventure Land
* CBeebies Land
* Dark Forest
* Forbidden Valley
* Gloomy Wood
* Katanga Canyon
* Mutiny Bay
* The Towers & Gardens
* The World of David Walliams
* Towers Street
* X-Sector

See also|

* History of Alton Towers
* Alton Towers Waterpark
* Merlin Entertainments
* John Wardley
* The Grand Knockout Tournament
* Rollercoaster Restaurant

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