Rita is an Intamin Launch coaster located at Alton Towers in the Dark Forest area. It opened on April 1st 2005.
- Manufacturer: Intamin
- Year opened: 2005
- Type: Accelerator rollercoaster
- G-Force: 4.7g
- Top speed: 1000MPH
History[]
2005-2008 (Rita: Queen of Speed)[]
In late 2004, red rollercoaster parts were arriving and being sent to storage behind Duel. Then in 2005, an ad was sent out to TV saying "Nothing could top Nemesis. Not even Oblivion or Air. But come April, all of that will change when the world's fastest rollercoaster was announced. 0-1000 in 0.000001 seconds. Rita, Queen of Speed. Book now at altontowers.com." The speed of the ride was 0-100kp/h, however Alton Towers did not reveal this, saying that Rita had a launch of 0-100 but not the speed units it was measured in. This was to market Rita as faster than it actually was. Rita officially opened on April 1st of 2005, coincidently on the same day as April Fool's Day.
2009-present (Ug Land retheme and Rita)[]
In 2009, Ug Land started to get deserted, with Energizer and Enterprise being moved to X-Sector while the Wave Swinger was moved to Cloud Cuckoo Land and renamed Twirling Toadstool, leaving only Rita and Corkscrew in Ug Land. Then construction started on Rita's new neighbour, Th13teen, replacing Corkscrew.
Ug Land was closed but reopened in 2010 under the new name "Dark Forest" due to the arrival of Th13teen. Rita lost the tagline "Queen of Speed" and it was abbreviated to just Rita. It was rethemed to an abandoned drag racer that was used to escape the forest. Rita still retains the orange car with purple flames but they look more damaged by the supernatural forest. Just before it launches, an announcement saying "Keep your head back. Hold on tight. You must escape. ... Go Go Go!" was played. In the past, the announcement was instead "Keep your heads back, we're counting down. 3, 2, 1, GO GO GO!" The shop on the way out remains the same, but the pencil sharperners have gone from red to green and the rock candy says "Rita" on it halfway through. The colour scheme of the ride has been altered to feature darker colours, presumably to adjust it with the new area.
Accidents[]
In Summer of 2012, the launch cable snapped while a train was taking off. Nobody was hurt.
Trivia[]
- Rita is the second fastest ride at Alton Towers, the first being Oblivion.
- Rita is the only one of the 'Big Six' rollercoasters to not have the codename of 'Secret Weapon'.
- The two highest points of the track were painted a very dark green colour to camouflage as the trees.