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TBC: SW9 Speculation

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John_P said:
Something like Arthur (Europa Park) could be perfect for Alton with the right theme (preferably their own) giving the park a new dark ride for families that's also a coaster.
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Could use the old Charlie building once Dungeons is (finally) executed and theme it to TWoDW, with the track coming out of the building and going around the area. Would be ace!

Though even if it had an original theme, A Mack Suspended Powered Coaster would be a fantastic addition to towers. If I'm right, the trains usually have 3 cars seating 4 riders, for a total of 12 riders per train, plus a continuously moving (conveyor) station. Would be a very high capacity attraction. :)
 
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Benjsh said:
I'd love a world class Dark Ride to be added. I really would.

I'm just saying what i think they will do. I don't think Merlin see Dark Rides as a big draw for punters and especially after DBGT fiasco I think that we're very unlikely to ever see a Dark Ride on that scale and budget again.

Also the Secret Weapon tag does seem to be Coaster specific. It would be a shame to see them use that tag for a Dark Ride.
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Oh yes I don't think a dark ride would be a "SW" ride. But I imagine going for a decent size one would have a similar budget.

It's a shame that DBGT isn't actually a dark ride. If it was it would probably be significantly better. We wanted a dark ride and got a walk through with a VR section. I do wonder what the same budget would have got with a non-VR tracked dark ride.
 
jon81uk said:
Oh yes I don't think a dark ride would be a "SW" ride. But I imagine going for a decent size one would have a similar budget.

It's a shame that DBGT isn't actually a dark ride. If it was it would probably be significantly better. We wanted a dark ride and got a walk through with a VR section. I do wonder what the same budget would have got with a non-VR tracked dark ride.
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I think it does technically still count as a Dark ride though even if it's not an orthodox one.

And it is a really poorly thought out attraction. Such a shame really. Don't see it lasting more than a few more years.
 
I certainly wouldn't be against a new coaster but like many have said on here Towers isn't in desperate need of a new coaster as it's current line up ticks many boxes. However it does lack in world class indoor attractions, yes Hex is still incredible but unfortunately you can't say the same for Duel anymore, although I might be talking out of turn lets see what it's like upon its reopening on the 17 May and Gangster Granny isn't aimed at the majority on here I guess. Personally I would love to see something along the lines of Arthur from Europa Park or a Pirates of the Caribbean maybe in place of the Dungeons. Still whatever SW9 brings I for one can't wait.
 
coastinginlife said:
I certainly wouldn't be against a new coaster but like many have said on here Towers isn't in desperate need of a new coaster as it's current line up ticks many boxes. However it does lack in world class indoor attractions, yes Hex is still incredible but unfortunately you can't say the same for Duel anymore, although I might be talking out of turn lets see what it's like upon its reopening on the 17 May and Gangster Granny isn't aimed at the majority on here I guess. Personally I would love to see something along the lines of Arthur from Europa Park or a Pirates of the Caribbean maybe in place of the Dungeons. Still whatever SW9 brings I for one can't wait.
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A few new permanent flats and a new water ride are needed as well I think.
 
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I think if David Walliams land goes well over the next 2 years they will want to add another IP to keep the 'winning formula'. Cbeebies land reinvention from story book land went down a treat with families with small children
 
Tibble said:
I think if David Walliams land goes well over the next 2 years they will want to add another IP to keep the 'winning formula'. Cbeebies land reinvention from story book land went down a treat with families with small children
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I seriously doubt it. They won't want too many IP's. It would ruin what is great about Towers.

The next big development will surely be the extension to Forbidden Valley on the Air Car Park.
 
Benjsh said:
I seriously doubt it. They won't want too many IP's. It would ruin what is great about Towers.
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I agree. I hate IP's and with TWoDW and Cbeebies Land, Towers is really starting to get over crowded with them. Personally I would love an indoor or a water ride for SW9, and with the latest additions to the park being Wicker Man, which has broad appeal, and TWoDW which is suited for kids, surely an intense, thrill coaster wouldn't be unheard of?
 
Whilst I am sure covid will be out the way by 2023/2024, it doesn’t make sense to me to plan a large indoor attraction at this time due to the social distance / infection risk indoors.

My betting is it will be a coaster, or a water ride

I agree though, desperate need of a new dark ride to compliment the current lineup
 
In terms of a dark ride, I think that there are numerous ways they could get in “new” dark rides without utilising a major investment year. They already have two potential dark ride systems in situ that could both function as new dark rides and really add to the lineup without needing to break the bank.

As for the ride systems (or should I say potential plots) I’m referring to, I’m talking about the site currently housing the Dungeons and the Mack boat ride system and elevators, and the site currently housing Sub-Terra and the ABC drop towers.

Personally, I think it would be really good if the park could take out the Dungeons and put a free-with-entry, family dark ride back into that space, utilising the same boat ride system. I know that the ride system is getting on a bit now, having first been built in 1981, but it’s not a particularly complex system in terms of running costs and has quite a high capability in throughput terms (I believe it can get over 1000pph, correct me if I’m wrong?), so if that were to be turned back into a family dark ride included in park admission, even if it were included as part of TWODW, I think that would provide a major bolster to the dark ride lineup for relatively little money. We shouldn’t forget that they also have the elevators in situ, which might come in handy. They already have the Walliams IP ready to use, so that effectively only means they need to invest in new theming. So in essence, this would give the park another family dark ride without necessitating a major investment year, and it would also give another ride that’s more suitable for a wide demographic within TWODW.

There’s also Sub-Terra. If the park was to either reopen Sub-Terra in some form with the ABC tower systems or do something else filler-y with that space, then that would provide a big bolster to the dark ride lineup. Yes, this would be more of a supporting dark ride than a major dark ride, but it would still provide a welcome boost to the lineup, and if they were to possibly make it more family-orientated than Sub-Terra is/was, then that would still provide a decent new family dark ride experience for the park, again for very little money. They could still keep the FV/military theme, but maybe put something in that appeals more to kids and younger families as opposed to the very teen and adult-orientated ride that Sub-Terra was. It would probably be possible to do this even using the current ABC tower rides, as don’t they only have a 1m height restriction in the Dungeons attractions? (Correct me if I’m wrong there)

If the park did something low-cost utilising both the current Dungeons area and the building formerly occupied by Sub-Terra, then that would give them a total of 5 dark rides, which I personally think is a fair tally. They probably wouldn’t need any more than 5, in my view, especially given that at least 2 of them would have throughputs of 1000+pph.
 
An SW would surely be a coaster or something else of pretty high investment. So rather than thinking a new SW should be a new dark ride like DBGT or something like that, I'm advocating thet there shouldn't be another SW until they've sorted the rest of the park out first.

World class coasters is all well and good but if you don't have the park to back it up then it falls flat after the first few years. Towers seems to have got itself into a rediculous cycle of buying an expensive headline coaster every few years, marketing the hell out of it to boost attendance then going back to the drawing board when attendance declines again. They then rinse and repeat.

It's insane when you think about it. All parks use headliners to boost attendance but they're usually part and parcel of the way they continue to evolve. Merlin seem to use them to keep their rotting parks heads above the water line every few years. Imagine visiting towers a couple of years ago for wicker Man after many years of visiting, only to find that behind the the shiny new coaster the park around it is even worse that it was the last time you visited - oh and it shuts at 4pm now too.

As has already been mentioned, it's the whole family experience that the park needs. Not a pre school area or 1.2mtr coasters, but rides your 2 year old and your grandad can all go on and enjoy together and still have a great time. That, plus the opening of some food experiences and a bloody good cleanup.

Put the money a new SW would cost into making Alton Towers a good park again rather than installing some headline attraction that only gives the park a temporary shot in the arm twice a decade. They need to stop throwing millions at gold plating the cracks.

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk
 
Matt N said:
In terms of a dark ride, I think that there are numerous ways they could get in “new” dark rides without utilising a major investment year. They already have two potential dark ride systems in situ that could both function as new dark rides and really add to the lineup without needing to break the bank.

As for the ride systems (or should I say potential plots) I’m referring to, I’m talking about the site currently housing the Dungeons and the Mack boat ride system and elevators, and the site currently housing Sub-Terra and the ABC drop towers.

Personally, I think it would be really good if the park could take out the Dungeons and put a free-with-entry, family dark ride back into that space, utilising the same boat ride system. I know that the ride system is getting on a bit now, having first been built in 1981, but it’s not a particularly complex system in terms of running costs and has quite a high capability in throughput terms (I believe it can get over 1000pph, correct me if I’m wrong?), so if that were to be turned back into a family dark ride included in park admission, even if it were included as part of TWODW, I think that would provide a major bolster to the dark ride lineup for relatively little money. We shouldn’t forget that they also have the elevators in situ, which might come in handy. They already have the Walliams IP ready to use, so that effectively only means they need to invest in new theming. So in essence, this would give the park another family dark ride without necessitating a major investment year, and it would also give another ride that’s more suitable for a wide demographic within TWODW.

There’s also Sub-Terra. If the park was to either reopen Sub-Terra in some form with the ABC tower systems or do something else filler-y with that space, then that would provide a big bolster to the dark ride lineup. Yes, this would be more of a supporting dark ride than a major dark ride, but it would still provide a welcome boost to the lineup, and if they were to possibly make it more family-orientated than Sub-Terra is/was, then that would still provide a decent new family dark ride experience for the park, again for very little money. They could still keep the FV/military theme, but maybe put something in that appeals more to kids and younger families as opposed to the very teen and adult-orientated ride that Sub-Terra was. It would probably be possible to do this even using the current ABC tower rides, as don’t they only have a 1m height restriction in the Dungeons attractions? (Correct me if I’m wrong there)

If the park did something low-cost utilising both the current Dungeons area and the building formerly occupied by Sub-Terra, then that would give them a total of 5 dark rides, which I personally think is a fair tally. They probably wouldn’t need any more than 5, in my view, especially given that at least 2 of them would have throughputs of 1000+pph.
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I agree on the dark ride front - I think a Sub Terra reopening and Dungeon retheme would bring the dark ride count to a good level for the park.
 
How much longer are we going to be going around in circles about what we want Towers to get next? Cause that's all that seems to be happening at this point, similar suggestions being repeated over and over again.
 
I find it bizarre that people are disregarding the idea of another big coasters and would rather have a dark ride or flat. Who cares about those sort attractions. It's a theme park, if you want to go on flats and dark rides go to a fair. Roller coasters are and have always been the main attraction. There's a reason why cedar point is the best park in the world, stacked full of class coasters
 
Ethan said:
I find it bizarre that people are disregarding the idea of another big coasters and would rather have a dark ride or flat. Who cares about those sort attractions. It's a theme park, if you want to go on flats and dark rides go to a fair. Roller coasters are and have always been the main attraction. There's a reason why cedar point is the best park in the world, stacked full of class coasters
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Parks need dark rides, water rides and flat rides to spread the crowds out. ;)
 
Ethan said:
I find it bizarre that people are disregarding the idea of another big coasters and would rather have a dark ride or flat. Who cares about those sort attractions. It's a theme park, if you want to go on flats and dark rides go to a fair. Roller coasters are and have always been the main attraction. There's a reason why cedar point is the best park in the world, stacked full of class coasters
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People are entitled to want whatever they want, for example some of the best “themed” parks in the world still have flats and they are a crucial part of all parks in the world, look at Talocan at Phantasialand for the prime example! A well integrated flat ride can be a great addition, and so can a dark ride. Yes coasters will more than likely always be the headline attractions, but without support from other rides, your day out can seem repetitive and lacking variation. If towers announce a new coaster, then I will still be very excited! but on the other hand with 10 coasters on the park, is it really what they need?...
 
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