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West Midlands Safari Park: General Discussion

joshc807

TS Member
I found this in the newspaper today ;D

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012 ... to-bosses/

The expansion of West Midland Safari Park was today moving closer to reality after draft plans for the development were submitted to council bosses.

A number of major developments are in the pipeline for the Bewdley attraction including the creation of a hotel, indoor water park and a link to the Severn Valley Railway. Wyre Forest District Council has been sent draft plans.

The document has been submitted so further talks can take place with the authority and changes made to the scheme before a final version of the brief is formally submitted.

Spokesman Richard Boother, of RPS Planning, said sending the draft brief was an important and necessary step in the planning process.

“Essentially we have included details of all the proposals we are putting forward for the park in this draft plan and have sent it on a more informal basis to the council,” he said.

“This will allow talks to take place with officials from the authority on what we want to do. They will then be able to give us their views on the proposals.

“It will allow any alterations to be made to the brief before the final version of the document is submitted to the council for consideration.

“The scheme is moving in the right direction and work is ongoing.”

Once the final development brief is submitted, a final decision on its contents is not expected until the end of the year due to the scale of the plans.

If it is approved the first formal planning applications for developments at the site would be submitted in early 2013. The proposed 250-bedroom hotel would be built in a safari style and offer visitors views over the attraction.
 
I know these things are all about the corporate market, but who is going to want to stay overnight there, really?

It's hardly a two-day experience, and Kidderminster isn't known particularly as a holiday destination in its own right. ::)
 
Agreed Sam, when i visited earlier this year, the theme park area was actually pretty good, better than i expected anyway, but I did all of the park in 3 hours, with repeat rides.

The safari was pretty good as well but as you mention, it is a 1 day park.

I just hope with this hotel addition, surely this would mean an expansion and addition of new rides to the theme park area?
 
The only way this makes sense is if this waterpark is going to be huge, and I mean like, the best waterpark in the country. A destination waterpark.

Are they trying to position themselves as a Center Parcs-y style activity resort perhaps...?
 
I think they could pull off a resort if further partnerships were made with other successful local attractions like the Severn Valley Railway, and as like suggested, the waterpark was a large, destination waterpark I can see that being incredibly successful with locals. The property is already quite well located near the M5 as well, and I think this is a risk worth taking for them. I'm not sure whether you know, but conferences are already quite popular there in the Spring Grove House behind the rides area.
 
Hello all, i've noticed you have taken an interest in the park's development plan. I live 5 minutes from the park, and visit regularly. I also own my own website & Facebook page dedicated to the park. With this waterpark, it would make it more of a 2 day attraction, especially as the Water-Safari is also in planning and is being considered. The current plan for the Amusement Area is that they revamp it for the next 10 years, however i agree much to everyone's comments that the park need a signature ride, for example a Family Rollercoaster like Sonic, Runaway Mine or something along those lines. Even staff i know have told me (who work in the Amusement Area) they think the park need's more of a signature ride and an expansion to the Amusement bit. I personally think the next 10 years will be big for the park, with lots of refurbishments and revamps going on in Discovery Trail, Amusement Area & the Safari. The location is also confirmed (well for me it is) of where the Hotel & Waterpark will be. If you have been before, you will know there is a round-about leading to Kidderminster, Bewdley Town Centre and Stourport/Leominster, the entrance to the Hotel will be on that round-a-bout rather than a road running from the main entrance. The architects for the project's are RayHole, and I have contacted them today regarding the numbers on the location plan, as there is no key for the numbers. I personally think plans will be submitted for Early 2013, with construction starting late 2013, and it being a complete attraction (Waterpark & Hotel) for the 2015 season. I won't link you to my website or Facebook page on WMSP though, because that's against the rules, but all i'm saying is my website & FB page & twitter page is the ONLY WMSP Fan group, so for all the latest on the park, head over to it, it's called Safari Sundown. =) Merry Christmas to everyone!
 
I also forgot to put the photos! Oops! Here are the impressions of the Waterpark & Hotel if you haven't seen them already!

The waterpark is set to be a glass dome-styled waterpark, giving 360 degree views of the area where the waterpark will be! The waterpark will be FAR BIGGER than this, this is just a section of it. Not sure if there will be more than 2 slides though, but it looks like there will be more than 2 slides!
NkyVF.jpg



This is the Hotel Room Balcony, and it is said animals will roam round the hotel (hopefully) so people can watch the animals in their room!
Cyelv.jpg



This is the outer bit of the Hotel, not sure if it's 1,2 or 3 floors high... yet.. However, it will be 4 star. So similar standard to Gold River at PortAventura, as that is also 4 star.
wPPD7.jpg




This is the location, and the numbers I was talking about!
AsWAF.jpg
 
Visiting in the summer, I agree that for the space the theme park is quite good. However I found the safari.. Boring. If any animals got close, workers would steer them away, so rather than an exciting safari, it was really just sitting in traffic watching a few animals sleeping. Poor. If we were to of payed full price, we'd of complained.
The waterpark sound great though! It will lengthen out a stay, spreading people around meaning less traffic and queues hopefully!
 
I like the idea but effectively it is smaller than Longleat Safari Park with a few depleting rides, are they really going to have the ability to fill their hotel?
 
They see over 1.5m every year, which is surprising for me and indeed you (Hopefully). I believe the rooms will be mostly filled, especially for Fireworks, Halloween and Summer Nights and once this Hotel is it, it might be time for bigger attractions & possibly horror mazes for Halloween. With this hotel comes lots and lots of developments towards the park and safari. For me, it's already better than Longleat. The waterpark looks spectacular (from what I have seen) and so does the hotel. If people start going and paying for hotel rooms, money comes in, bigger rides are made, park gets bigger, and so on.

All i'm saying at the moment is if you want to know MORE on this hotel & waterpark, go to our Facebook page & Website (Safari Sundown) which is currently the UK's only WMSP fan group. I've contacted Rayhole who are giving me more info on this currently, such as what the numbers will stand for in terms of areas, like 1 might equal the conference area, and so on.

The park are ready for this.
 
WOW! I did not realize that the park has such vast visitor numbers, I remember going there a few times in the past few years and enjoying myself, but i just didn't think it could warrant a nights stay. I am sure that they have done their research, and obviously they get a large number of visitors through the door. Go WMSP if they can make it successful! :D
 
I'm sure WMSP will make a good job of it! It should boost numbers up to 2m (hopefully) once this Waterpark & Hotel is in. Lots of news articles have been posted about it going ahead too, such as Express & Star (As you saw before in a earlier post), Safari Sundown have posted the article on the Hotel & Waterpark:

http://www.safarisundown.co.uk/#/news/4560983728/Hotel-and-Waterpark-location-confirmed/1170514

The location of the new WMSP Hotel and Waterpark has been confirmed by a map, overlooking the Hotel and Waterpark. The Waterpark will have a clear glass roof, and will be totally transparent, and from the artist impression, 2 new waterslides. The Hotel appears to have long curved walls, and long corridors, and some other funky designed walls.

The location will be beside the A456, on the roundabout for the turning into Bewdley. There also appears to be a new entrance for the new Hotel/Waterpark, which will be on that roundabout, but appears to be a drop off point/ small car parking area. A bigger car parking area seems to be behind this, but no access routes from the Hotel drop off point/small car park, into that bigger parking area, this is thought to be for guests going to the Amusement and Safari Area, wanting to stay over without heading onto the main road.

The park told us about their great mission to make a Hotel back in December, and since then, everyone has been desperately awaiting more news about both new indoor facilities. The park stated " West Midlands Safari Park is located in the Wyre Forest just outside Kidderminster have ambitions to develop a Hotel and Water Park to broaden its appeal and provide more indoor attractions for year round visitors".

We will be covering the latest news on both the Waterpark and Hotel further into detail over the next few years, while the park construct both the Waterpark and Hotel.

The images show the location, the artist impression of the rooms in the Hotel, and the impression of the new glass waterpark.

The Hotel and Waterpark are being carried out by a company called: Ray Hole Architects


I can see Halloween Events getting bigger with this Hotel too, such as Horror Mazes and stuff like that.
 
Turns out, the development plan was bigger than I thought. I found out all of this today:

The future for WMSP is a bright one, with many new installations of things like the Hotel, Waterpark, new SVR station, monorail link & conference halls!

The park first released that the Hotel & Waterpark were being considered last Christmas, which excited many, including us. It has now come to Safari Sundown's attention that the park are also considering the following:

Over the next 10 years we propose to develop a conference centre for 1,000 delegates, a 250-room hotel, an indoor water park, a new rail halt, a monorail link and a multi-million pound upgrade of the safari drive.”

The park would no longer be a 'One day park' if all this is installed into the park, it would become a Resort, much like Alton Towers Resort.

Although we are very much excited about the new developments here at SS, we are confused as to what will happen with the Amusement Area, as it was NOT mentioned in the development plan. However, 2 years ago in a planning app, it was stated the Amusement Area would be refurbished and revamped in the next 10 years, with new ride installations and themeing.

Not only is the future looking bright for WMSP, it's looking like WMSP could be the next big thing in the zoo department, theme park department and waterpark department.

We will bring you the latest information here at Safari Sundown as soon as we get it. Why not discuss the 10-year development plan on our Forum or Facebook page? www.facebook.com/safarisundownuk

Meaning, it might be turning into a Safari styled Alton Towers, haha. The development plan also includes a 10 year refurb of the Amusement Area, meaning we'll be saying goodbye to quite a few rides I imagine, like Zambezi Water Splash & Twister, to be replaced with much newer models. It also includes new themeing, new restaurants, coffee bar, refurb of Cubs Kingdom, new rides and much more. Over the next 10 years, WMSP could be one of the biggest safari attractions to date, and one of the biggest tourist attractions.

As said before, I think the Hotel & Waterpark are the first things they are doing, along with the conference suite, then the new SVR station & monorail link.
 
Awesome! I can't wait! Living about an hour away I know I'll be visiting a lot more after all this has happened!
I think the rides at the moment are good, but not great. They could do with more theaming! Its a safari park, you could do loads!
The drop towers good, but I do think that the rapid sorta things look very cheap, and plasticy, same with the other water ride. The twisters getting a bit outdated, however still a laugh. They could do with some flat rides, maybe like Ripsaw, or enterprise. Something thrilling!

As with the safari update, about time! We need something interesting to drive through! Themeing! Going into the big predators area's, scary warnings, and sound effects! And through the nice (yet boring) deer area, a sorta happier theme!
I know its a safari, but little things like this could make it a whole lot better!
 
It's great for me too! Living just 5 minutes down the road from it all! I imagine, the Hotel & Conference suite will be ready for 2015, Waterpark 2015/2016, Monorail & New SVR Station 2015-2017 and the Safari+Amusement Update will happen now up to 10 years time.

Funny enough, they use to have a ride like Enterprise called UFO, and they had a Vekoma Boomerang, but they really need the Enterprise styled ride back, and a ride like Ripsaw I agree. The Rapid ride won't be removed for a decade or so, as it's fairly new, Zambezi Water Splash will be replaced with a much larger Mack Model I imagine, and a Flat Ride in it's current place. Twister will be replaced with another compact coaster, and the amusement area will be extended towards the Lake by Zambezi Water Splash and in the field by Cubs Kingdom, which is also being re-vamped and as new coffee hut will go there too.

Safari wise, sound effects & Themeing will be key things they will add. Congestion will also be sorted out, with time slots i imagine, which is a good way of splitting up traffic. Say, every 15 minutes let 150-250 cars through.

One thing I hope they sort out is Lost City Plaza, it's a poor sight to see. Very dated, very old, and falling apart. I hope they update that.

Now, something I would HATE to happen is if Merlin took it over. Although it's a good sized park, and would be a nice theme park size, it would be upsetting to see it change. At the moment, the plans for development are looking good, so for Merlin to come and snatch it and turn it into disaster park, would be terrible for me and I hope you lot to.

I'm there every weekend (pretty much) in Main Season (Feb-Nov) so i'll have some construction updates for the upcoming projects on my own website & page, which is just like TowersStreet but aimed at West Midland Safari Park, rather than Alton Towers Resort.

I'd love to know your thoughts on the upcoming development scheme on here! So share any opinions or thoughts on this Forum, it'd be nice to see what everyone thinks!
 
Thing is - the amusement area does not need another compact style coaster, they need something unique and at least more permanent looking. I don't know what their budgets are, but a small Eurofighter or similar would probably be a good fit. I used to visit twice a year, but haven't this year as nothing new has interested me. :)
 
A compact Eurofighter would be perfect, but Zambezi Water Splash has also seen it's day, and with this development plan, comes some removals, and Zambezi will be one of them. So, once that's gone, we have no log flume or decent water ride. So, i propose a Mack Log Flume, themed to a Safari/African adventure to take it's place, and for the Mack Log Flume to venture of into the woods behind the Ghost Train. Yes, it will look odd with a Mack Log there, but it'd be 1 step to a better Amusement Area. Black Fly, Venom & Wild Water Rapids look more permanent, where as Twister, Rhino, Zambezi Water Splash & a few of the smaller rides are very much out of place, and look like travelling pieces of junk. Yes, they hold a good ride experience, but there a poor sight. Recently, Zambezi was had it's rock façade removed, so is this the end of the tatty log flume?

Another thing which need's sorting out is the Chairswing and the Jumbo Parade. They really need a re-paint. But more recently, many of the new attractions have included minor themeing elements, which is good. With this hotel, waterpark & monorail will come a needed expansion and re-vamp to the amusement area, and much better looking rides.
 
I agree, they are definitely making the effort which is fantastic to see. Wild River Rafting looked even better before it was moved (due to planning issues I believe?) and they do an excellent job of making their rides look permanent. I think the new 'Shark Island' ride and if I am right, there is a new version of Tarantula are their biggest wastes of money yet though. Removing those rather than replacing would have made the area far less cluttered in my opinion.

In terms of infrastructure and food, the toilets over by the wristband office and train are good (and the other toilets need to be updated to this standard) and I liked Explorers which was well themed. The 'Botswana Burger Co.' though, the less said the better! ;)
 
Yeah, Tarantula is now called Hurtling Hippo's and has been moved. It is very cramped. Shark Island is good for the kids, but then again there are WAY to many kids attractions. Another huge waste of space & money is the Ghost Train. Terrible effects, most aren't working too, worst ghost train ever made. Wild River Rafting was moved due to planning issues yes, which means there is another fantastic spot for a ride left to rot. They need more food places, really really badly. Botswana Burger co, now known as just Burger Co, is a disgrace. Worst food place i've ever been to. I've never ate there, it always looks too grotty.

I hope soon (Hopefully next season) one of the buildings is changed to a new restaurant, like a Pizza buffet or something. Height issues is another thing, so they can't build many high rides, which is partly why Venom was not extended to 40m rather than the current 30m.

A new rollercoaster should be on the cards, and hopefully some new flats like Enterprise & Ripsaw, and hopefully a new Mack Log Flume. In my opinion, Spring Grove House should of been removed after it got burned down, rather than it being re-vamped. It would make a much bigger area for the Amusement bit to expand in 3 ways then. But, Spring Grove House won't be on the way anytime soon, it's a piece of history for the park.

Next year is WMSP's 40th Year of operation, and yet there is no planned new attraction, but most new rollercoasters/rides are constructed during Open season (Feb-Nov) then open in the Summer of that year. From what I was told by staff, reps came in to take a look at free spaces for new rides or something like that, so things are starting to get interesting.
 
I went earlier this year after many years of not visiting and was quite impressed. The only nigle I had was the amusement area. It did feel quite cramped and I think the token prices are far to expensive! If I remember for 3 tokens it was £6? Correct me if I'm wrong though! I do know that they wernt cheap so it made sense to buy a wrist band!

I hope the plans do get approved for the park as I live kinda local also! The future looks bright for the park!
 
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