The person who makes Alton Towers commercials missed their calling making horror movies, I swear.

The most disturbing part of the ride is the squelching noises played in the queue line. I won’t even describe what it sounds like lol

Alton Towers: We want the scariest coaster you got! Intamin: Alrighty then! What will it be? Ten inversion? Accelerator? Maybe even a bli- Alton Towers: Family coaster. Intamin: Wh- what? You me- Alton Towers: Family. Coaster. *Now.*

Can't really argue. Th13teen is one of the best 'family' coasters in the country. Why they decided to market it as more thrilling than Oblivion i'll never understand. The coaster absolutely proved itself though. It still regularly pulls bigger queues than most rides barring the Smiler and Wicker Man. Towers could do with getting rid of that scaffolding at long last though.

It’s probably called 13 because that’s the age children get scary and your life’s drop just like the ride

When I was 13, I rode Verbolten the year it opened. Luckily, I hadn't done research or anything, so I didn't know drop tracks existed. When the car stoped, I looked over at my dad (who'd been my ride buddy my whole life) as if he knew what was going on. We made eye contact as the track dropped and I screamed because I thought for a split second that the track broke. Dad giggled like a little kid the whole rest of the ride. Drop tracks 4 life.

13 is a great family coaster that was basically advertised as the next Nemesis. Ah well, still a good ride

I was always surprised that they didn’t do a cross theme with Hex with it being so close in location .

I went on this blind last year. Didn't know about the hype, didn't know about the drop. It was very enjoyable then, definitely a good surprise. Still wouldn't call this an ultimate roller coaster though, and I doubt a second round would live up to the first.

the scariest thing about this ride was the obnoxiously loud electric zappy cage in the queue

That moment i realised you've used my POV of Thirteen for you video Woooooo! great video as always and Thanks for the credit :)

Spuce up 13 with a re theme. Lots of water jets and fog machines. Maybe some projected holograms. If you want to be scary you have to keep the level of anticipation high all the time.

I went on this ride when I was five and I remember crying like hell because of the drop at the end, now I literally can’t be bothered to queue for the ride😂

Lol when i first rode it i was s**t scared because they hyped it up so much. I went into the room and was holding onto the lap-bar for dear life. Then it fell and i remember feeling misled and disappointed. I have ridden it since and it is ok but i really feel like that first experience of going on it changed my view of it forever.

...And then Alton Towers decided to go one further and give customers the psychological fear of having arms and legs ripped off on rides.

13 is probably my favourite ride because I love the spooky aesthetic but am an absolute wimp so the “mild” side that people complain about is probably my limit

I can't believe that they used Teddy Bears picnic for the adverts of this ride. That's twice now where I wondered who thought Henry Hall's music was scary.

The problem I had with this ride is that it was really only interesting the first time you ride it. After you know what's going to happen it becomes much more dull and pedestrian.

Its such a shame that alton towers doesn’t understand that there is something other than horror to theme rides around currently, especially as over half the park is now horror themed

Great video thanks. As a US resident I'm always a curious about more UK park content

This feels like the equivalent of a toddler begging you to look at them so they can do half of a backflip and land on their face

Alton towers: "I'm going to make the scariest ride ever" Alton towers: "I'm about to end this man's entier carrier"

I remember being terrified to ride this as the rumours were that it was recommended for over 20s only!! What a load of tosh!

"It'll be the scariest rollercoaster ever," they said, "You need to be brave," they said. :|

Lol I remember going to Alton around the time 13 opened as part of a school trip. I suppose to justify the trip the teachers included an educational element which meant learning about 13's marketing. Watching this and seeing you call it a failure is just funny to me. Anyway, as for the coaster itself, I've always liked the theming and idea behind 13 but I could never get over the big old scaffolding in the entrance to the drop and inside. Always made it look unfinished to me. Great job on the video!

Th13teen's a lovely little family coaster but they definitely missed the mark when it came to marketing it - great documentary! I'm always surprised at the number of first time riders who STILL don't know what happens and I LOVE their reactions.

Th13teen was the first ever rollercoaster I ever went on, this being the year of release and I really enjoyed it. However I went on it again only a few weeks back, its definitely a ride that is thrilling on the first go, but not so much on the second. Still really enjoyed it though

Riders expectations fell faster than the drop track.

I love Th13teen, the marketing didn't disappoint me but I wish the first section was a little longer. Alton really has a nack for rides with a dark theme.

Despite the media hype, I was still pretty impressed with 13. The hype implied that there were going to be spoilers, so the best thing was not to look into it too much on the internet if you were planning to ride it.

I went on Verbolten before, and when the freefall drop came, it suprised me. Needless to say, it's a great rollercoaster.

8:12 all coaster enthusiasts who followed th13teens construction: "oh god its her again lol"

Fast and Furious Supercharged as Universal Orlando is also a marketing disaster. It was advertised to be an intense thrill ride. But when it opened, it was just a underwelming experience compared to Earthquake/Disaster. They should replace it with a Secret Life of Pets 4D shooting dark ride/simulator.

I remember watching the advert on tv, wondering what the hell this was about. It creeped me out tbh

thirteen is definitely not the most scary ride, or the most thrilling, but it’s definitely really enjoyable and still gives a sense of thrill and fear without being too much. it’s one of my faves and i’m into ‘bigger’ rides, which thirteen would not be classed as. it’s almost a perfect mix of a ‘big’ ride and a kid’s ride.

Whoever makes the trailers is a legend.

The first time I went on I’m glad there isn’t loads of those cameras that take photos because my face was probably like 👁 👁 👄

I would love you to do Rita queen of speed

I would absolutely love it if you made a series of videos regarding the build up and marketing of past attractions. It’s absolutely a fascinating field of work and park history.

I remember following the construction and build-up around this coaster when it was announced (mind you, I live in the US and at the time I was still in high school) and I kept thinking to myself "Wow, Alton Towers is truly going to unleash a beast of a coaster). In all honesty, after seeing what Th13teen really was, it was quite disappointing. Other than the free fall aspect of the coaster, the actual layout of it was quite..um, mundane.

I love thirteen and it is on of my must do attractions when I visit Alton Towers. It even takes priority over wickerman

YES! I love this ride so much, it holds so many funny memories

God whoever was marketing this ride was physco

As someone who is terrified of heights and won't go on coasters that go upside down, I really enjoyed this ride. That says it all really 🤣🤣🤣

Does anyone think that Thirteen's theming kind of links with Hex? Because that demon looking branch in Hex seems very suspicious sitting right next to other paranormal trees..

The innovation with John.W and Intamin with the quick moving switch track paved the way for their new swing launch coasters I feel, such as Dualing Dragons and Pantheon and obviously Hagrids in IoA. There's alot of great engineering on this ride if you ever get to tour backstage, it's just a shame that non of it translates to a cohesive complete ride experience on this ride, but it is more important than people realise.

I always liked Thirteen, that drop track part is fun then hurtling out backwards is great. My daughter was terrified to go on it but after one ride we went straight back round for another go.

A good video, well researched. Interesting to see myself in it (I was one of the boot campers) and a good explanation of how they missed with the 'pitch'. The ride was several months behind schedule - Boot camp was rescheduled and ran only a few days before the park opened. They had originally intended to run it nearly a month before and use footage from it in an online campaign. Instead a hastily edited video popped up on the website weeks after it opened almost as an afterthought. When we rode it (which ISTR was Thursday, two days before it opened) they had us wound up and borderline sleep deprived after nearly two days of shenanigans which significantly affected how we felt about the ride. Morwena is a skilled marketeer and knows exactly how to deliver the message she wants. I do still love the ride and met people who are now some of my best friends and got to see some behind the scenes stuff that I'll cherish forever. For an AT fan, it was an amazing experience.

Alton Towers: Th13teen is our scariest ride! The Smiler: *Are you sure about that?*

When I rode for the first time, I was terrified, the buildup had nearly psyched me out from even getting on, but afterwards I realised it was basically the runaway mine train with a bigger drop. It still stands out to me as a ride with really well done theming, with smaller additions in the queue line which I find I may have not noticed the first time round. I enjoy the ride quite a bit, I won’t however ride it if the queue time is above 35 minutes because it’s not really worth the hassle. But I have to say it is one of the secret weapons which since it’s opening has had consistent queue times of around 30-40 minutes + on busier days which I think is a testament to the ride and its enjoyment factor. People might think otherwise though. I definitely saw the flaws in the marketing, but I think that’s something that only adds to the lore of the coaster and is slightly humorous to look back and think about now the ride will be reaching its 10th birthday next year.

Riding this at scarefest in the dark is a must. It's my favourite ride in the dark.

Been waiting for this one!! Really cool to hear about the history of the ride. It's also a great reminder of how much marketing and hype can bother help and hinder a new theme attraction. Great video! Would love to see one on Wicker Man as well!

Yea this ride was massively over hyped. The drop is clever but its nothing special really.

You should start a expedition on other UK theme parks like Thorpe Park , Drayton and Blackpool

My first trip to Alton Towers was just after the release of Thirteen. It was my first trip to any theme park at a height where I was tall enough to ride most to all of the thrill rides. Unfortunately due to the marketing of Thirteen I'd seen on TV I was too afraid to ride any of the thrill rides. In the whole day trip I only went on Hex, the Mine Train and the Log Flume. That subconscious fear has stayed with me for all of my life since then. I have since ridden a few more thrill rides like Raptor twice and another one on trips to Lite Water Valley and Rita twice on successive trips to Alton Towers. However it is only now in this last month or so that I've been exploring ride and theme park videos that I'm wishing things had gone differently and I could have joined my peers on bigger rides if it hadn't been for the marketing of Thirteen and later the Smiler (and it's accidents).

absolutely brilliant video - please keep making alton towers content! :)

The wood creak sound effects just...no xD it scares me quite a lot

The scariest part of this ride was when I went on it in the pelting rain, every drop felt like being stabbed by a pin.

I've Been On 13 The Ride At Alton Towers Back In August 2016. It Was Super Awesome. Thanks Expedition Theme Park Mate. X

Th13teen is genuinely one of my favourite rides and is a solid family coaster. It scared the sh*t out of me when I first went on it when I was younger and still does to this day

Exactly what you said. Not a bad family coaster but due to the hype-a huge letdown.

I think there was definitely a marketing 'hype culture' around that period of Alton's development. They were really aggressive in putting out fabricated PR stories what seemed like every other week, and I think Thirteen was pretty much the last hurrah of their mindset at the time. Enthusiasts at the time will remember things like the Baby coaster, cloud bursting to control the weather and high heel metal detectors as just a few examples of the stories they released back then.

I love these videos so much! Please do more Alton Towers ones. I must go there at least twice a month, maybe more. I love the place.

I went on it once and have never been more disappointed. I don’t even bother queuing for it anymore.

I love how unique the ride is but there needs to be more to it. Currently just feels like a tech demo. Enjoyable but short.

I went for my 13th birthday and I'm going again for my 18th birthday

went to alton with my parents and brother after jubilee weekend, decided to keep 13's gimmick a secret from them and they absolutely loved it, funny how much your experience can differ depending on expectations.

You mentioned something about this ride a while ago, and I've been excited for this video since. Very interesting ride concept. I didn't do any research on it because I like the way you present the rides.

I think it's a brilliant coaster. A great intro ride for someone who is just getting into coasters, but still thrilling enough for adults too. I just love how it's so different to anything else in the park. The theming works great for me too, considering how UK rides tend to underdeliver on theming. Personally, it gets better for me everytime I ride it.

I did really enjoy this ride. But they did go ott with the adverts, but then didn't live up to the expectation of the "scariest ride ever" thing they were going for. Yes the drop is great! But the track leading up to it had no themeing surrounding it. They could have easily made it a thick forest, with smoke effects, even some blue lighting or something. Just to make it dark and scary! The woodland seemed pretty bare and boring when I went on this back in 2010. Great video btw! Love seeing videos on AT and TP

Gosh these videos are so well done!! Getting me through this covid quarantine. Thank you! I need to buy one of those Knott’s shirts soon.

"that ride was a bit timid" sums up the park really, except nemisis and smiler.

It's not the ultimate rollercoaster but I definitely enjoy it when I do ride. It's one that I'd normally save for a quieter day when the queues are much shorter or if I'm bringing someone to the park for the first time

When I went last year I was queuing for enterprise and it was taking a while so we started talking to the people behind us...the said the had just been on 13 and we asked what it was like...they said they could not say and it was a surprise. We later got on 13 and thought it was quite bad to be honest because it was quite slow. We then thought the ride was over and thought the surprise was how bad it was😅 then it dropped and we left the coaster stunned. I now have a hoodie from the gift shop with the 13 logo on....I nearly pissed myself...not bad

We went on this not knowing anything about it beforehand. When we went into the false dock just before the drop, I thought it had finished and that the ride had been a little underwhelming. The drop and backwards part took me completely by surprise, and I remember laughing hysterically. Even though it's not as 'scary', or 'thrilling' as things like nemesis, it was definitely one of the most fun rides that day.

Another incredible video!

Do ToyStoryMania! Also you should do AIR as well

*Ooh! I love this ride so much!* _Tbh Alton Towers is more or less my second home so I love all the rides :)_

love finding underrated gems of youtube channels

This is my favourite coaster at Scarefest. It’s great scuttling through the Forrest in the dark.

I'm gonna have to make a trip to Britain some day just to go to Alton Towers.

You should should do a video about splash landings the hotel ✌️

Great job Sam !!!! God I love all the accents in all the video clips lol keep up the great work almost to 100k can’t believe that

Expedition Alton towers is probably my favorite series of yours 😁😍💕

Th13teen: If you... Go down... To the woods... Today... You'll find me. Hi. I'm Th13teen. Sorry about my appearance, but I'm really not as scary as I look. My ride is basically a family coaster, but the freefall drop is my claim to fame, I guess. Nemesis: To be honest, I have mixed feelings towards Th13teen. She has a great world's first element, but other than that it isn't too special. Oblivion: As much as I want to take her seriously as a proper thrill ride, it can be very difficult for me to do so because of it's lack of big thrills. The freefall drop is fantastic though. Air: I'm glad that Alton Towers wanted to introduce a unique element for Th13teen, but a family coaster just wasn't the type of ride to put it in. Rita: I still can't get over when she killed Corkscrew. I mean, come on! He was my best friend for a long time, and you had to get rid of him just so you could fit! Not cool. Smiler: I actually like Th13teen. Not enough people can say that, but I can. The theming is fantastic, the ride is very smooth, and the freefall drop is probably the most underrated world's first element in the park. I just hope more people are willing to give it a chance. Wicker Man: I think it's because of the theming and promotion of Th13teen that really made her the "art critic" of the Towers. She's always supportive of rides with great themes and backstories, and that's something that I can kinda appreciate her for.

It was a great middleground ride, I visited the park when I was about nine or 10 and I wasn’t tall enough to ride any of the bigger rides, 13 was a fun experience and made me feel fearless for the remainder of my stay 🤣x

I saw all the adverts at the time, but I had never been to a major theme park before and didn't really expect to get to go. The opportunity arrose however, when I sat on the school house council and we were able to arrange it as the end of year trip (as it's about 40 miles away from here). Having seen the teaser adverts but not the ride itself, we chose to ride it first. The wait was 3 and a half hours. The wait was a rollercoaster by itself because as a group of 14 year olds, we had never really had to wait for anything that long. We went through excitement, cooldown, lull, boredom, annoyance, anger, cold frustration, quiet... Then reaching the inside waiting area... Intrigue... Hype... Back to excitement. We didn't know what the ride was but we wanted to be on it. When it was relatively dull and slow, we were a little miffed... Feeling a little conned. Pulling into the station, we were annoyed and completely off guard... So suddenly when the ride was not actually ending, but instead, pulling into a creepy shrine, we were totally got by the fall and the backwards tunnel. ... After getting off the ride, we were finally sure of how we felt about it: That it was completely worth the wait.

Loving these videos mate.

Overselling it is good in the short term but can piss people off long term. Not sure how many people were mad enough not to come back for that reason

Unrelated to the video, but who else thinks that a thrill ride themed around DOOM would be amazing? I think about it a lot

Great vid as always

I live nowhere near Alton Towers, and regional TV rarely shows Alton Towers ads here, but I remember this campaign vividly. It was one of the most aggressive marketing campaigns I can remember, up there with the Crazy Frog back in the day.

#whatsintheshed wait... wrong over-hyped secret building coaster

It's still a great ride eitherway

I like it always gets your tummy when it drops

The station area used to be the thing that freaked me out most! The generater and shock cage made me jump out of my skin. I also remember getting off the ride and skipping off to the shop only to meet a live hooded figure a few steps before the shop (this was at scarefest) and I was like NOPE and turned back on my heels and ran to my mom and dad

Please do one on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride and one on the bubble ride at Chessington and the London Dungeon.

For me I ironically like it. It sucks and I know that but I cant help but like it because of it!

Alton Towers now has "Retro rides" which are basically, fold away, traveling fair ground rides, and some of them are better than some of the roller coasters. And you don't have to spend as long queuing up for them.

Wow. I never rode this coaster (or rode any amusement rides outside of Cali) before and now I have a low key temptation to try it, even if I don't fare well with scary stuff!