Rita (roller coaster)

Rita
As Rita: Queen of Speed (2005-2010)
Location	Alton Towers
Park section	Dark Forest
Coordinates	52.985022°N 1.890515°W / 52.985022; -1.890515
Status	Operating
Opened	April 1, 2005
Cost	£8,000,000
Type	Steel - Launched
Manufacturer	Intamin
Designer	Werner Stengel
Model	Accelerator Coaster
Track layout	Steel twister
Lift/launch system	Hydraulic Launch
Height	69 ft (21 m)
Drop	52 ft (16 m)
Length	2,122 ft (647 m)
Max speed	62.14 mph (100.00 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	0:49
Max vertical angle	53°
Capacity	1150 riders per hour
Acceleration	0 − 67mph in 2.5 seconds, maximum 1.5 g (12.6ms-2)
Max G force	4.7
Height restriction	4 ft 6 in (137 cm)
Single rider line available
Rita at RCDB
Pictures of Rita at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

Rita (formerly known as Rita: Queen of Speed) is an Intamin accelerator coaster located in the Dark Forest area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. It accelerates to 100 km/h (62 mph) in approximately 2.2 seconds (previously 2.5 seconds). The ride is loosely based on drag racing. It is similar to Stealth at Thorpe Park which opened in 2006, though this partly changed with the retheming of Ug Land into the Dark Forest for 2010. It now stands as an abandoned drag racer that is used as the escape cart to escape the Dark Forest. Riders must be over 1.4 m (55 in) tall to experience this ride.

The ride was temporarily renamed "Camilla - Queen of Speed" on 9 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.

The reason for the ride's name has never been explained by Alton Towers.

Ride experience

Rita was Alton Towers' new attraction for the 2005 season. The ride starts with the train racing forward from the station area. The train is then accelerated from 0–100 km/h / 67 mp/h in 2.5 seconds, and negotiates high speed corners and hills before then reaching the brake run parallel with the station. The ride has since been partly rethemed to support the theme of nearby Thirteen which opened in March 2010. The ride control cabin and entrance have been refurbished to look 'engulfed' by the branches of the Dark Forest area, and the name was shortened to simply 'Rita'; eliminating its 'Queen of Speed title and the ride's race theme. As well as the control cabin and Rita tyres being rethemed to suit the Dark Forest, the cars have been rethemed with a darker grey tint to the bottom of the cars with forest stains over the flames to make it fit. It still has the blue and purple cars with flames but with a tint of grey to make Rita look damaged by the supernatural forest.

The voiceover heard before the ride launches is also changed to incorporate a more spooky theme. As opposed to an American-accented voice counting down to the start of a drag race, it is now a dark, foreboding voice ordering passengers to "Hold on tight. You must escape", presumably meaning that Rita is being used to evacuate people from the haunted Dark Forest area.

External links

• Rita at the RollerCoasterDataBase
• Rita info and pictures at the Alton Towers Guide