Merlin Entertainment has unveiled plans for a new Virtual Reality rollercoaster at Alton Towers Resort.
Guests wearing VR headsets will lie face down aboard the new Galactica ride and experience a maximum G-force of 3.5gs, which the park claims is more than an astronaut encounters during a rocket launch.
“Galactica uses ground breaking technology to give riders a breathtaking and completely unique rollercoaster experience, " reports Gill Riley, Marketing Director at Alton Towers Resort.
The new ride, which taps into the current buzz around space travel following Tim Peake's voyage to the International Space Station, combines the thrills of a flying rollercoaster with the visual sensation of hurtling through space.
The specially-created images shown on the riders’ headsets are precisely timed to coincide with the coaster's twists, turns, loops and falls.
.jpg)
“There is nowhere else in the world that people can experience the feeling of a flying rollercoaster combined with soaring through the universe, " claims Riley.
"For two minutes, our guests will be transported into space and we believe Galactica showcases the future for theme parks around the world – it’s a complete game changer!”
Galactica, located in the Forbidden Valley area of the park, is slated to launch in April 2016.
Galactica facts:
- Each train contains 28 passengers with three trains in motion at one time
- The track length is 840m (2, 755ft)
- The height of the biggest drop is 20m (66ft)
- The maximum speed is 75km/h (47mph)
- The ride duration is 189 seconds
- The capacity per hour is 1, 500 passengers
Images kind courtesy Merlin Entertainment.
