If you go down to the woods today, you better not go alone…since there’s a roller coaster there celebrating its 10th birthday! Thirteen, often stylised as Th13teen, is quite a marmite kind of coaster, people either love it or hate it. I’m in the first group of people. This ride is a lot of fun with a great theme, a lovely setting amongst the trees and that big surprise as well. Today marks a decade of having this ride at the park, having opened on 20th March 2010. So here’s a little about the last 10 years of Th13teen. If you want to read our review of the ride, then you can here.
Th13rteen took the place of Corkscrew and completely transformed the area, formerly known as Ug Land, into the Dark Forest. Alton Towers tried really hard to keep details of this ride a secret. So to begin with, there was very little information about what the ride was actually going to be. When the marketing really started, it was all very dark and sinister, a far cry from the Ug Land themed area that the Dark Forest once was. It was announced the ride was to be a psycho-coaster, essentially mixing a roller coaster experience with psychological fear. They didn’t stop there though. The marketing campaign ramped up, playing even more into this idea that the ride was going to be terrifying. There were rumours released that they were going to limit guests to one ride a day, that there would be an age restriction of 16 to 55 year olds only, and even that Alton Towers were going to introduce a waiver that needed to be signed before riding! Of course, this was all part of the marketing efforts and none of these things were ever used, the only restriction being the 1.2m height restriction.
The marketing worked well for Thirteen…maybe too well though. The park had bigged up the ride so much that everyone was so excited about what this terrifying coaster would do. When it opened, there were real mixed opinions. The ride itself, an Intamin family coaster, was not what people were really expecting. The coaster comes out the station, takes a sharp turn and then enters a lift hill. From there, riders go down the main drop, through some banked turns and airtime hills, before heading into the crypt indoor area of the ride. This room is dark with some themed pieces around and riders seem to come to a halt, before a few creaky noises are made and the coaster (and track) free fall 5 metres. Riders are then flown backwards down the track for the last section of the ride in complete darkness.
Personally, I love Thirteen. I think it is a great ride with a really brilliant surprise element that still shocks me even now. The feeling when you go into that crypt is incredible, the anxiety and anticipation is insane. It is one that I think lives up the the hype. No, it isn’t the scariest ride in the world. No, it isn’t even the scariest ride at Alton Towers. Maybe they should have gone a little easier on the marketing front in that respect. Does that mean that it is a bad ride? Not at all. All the people who are still, a decade late, going on about Thirteen being a disappointment need to give the ride another chance. Go in with an open mind, and I bet you’ll be surprised how much fun you have.
For 10 years, we’ve had a real treasure of a ride at Alton Towers. It may not be the scariest thing that has ever happened but it is definitely a whole bunch of fun. I hope it is around for years to come. I’ve loved it for a decade and that won’t stop any time soon.
Mission Theme Park 