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2017/18: SW8 Speculation

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The first thing I noticed about the Smiler is how intimidating it looks up close. There's so much twisted steel packed so close together, that's what impressed me. It does feel a bit like riding in a tumble drier but I remember describing my first ride being like Nemesis on crack. :D
You don't really count how many inversions you're doing, it's the overall experience that people remember. Instead of world firsts, they should market the unique experience of the ride.
They should fit the innovation into the experience, not just do innovation for innovation's sake. That's the problem with the Smiler, the main objective was to cram as many loops as possible first, then the theming and experience came second.
 
Do you think that ground "ground breaking ride" may mean ground breaking for Alton Towers for not being a gimmick driven ride and more about quality? That would be ground breaking.
 
delta79 said:
Are they looking into it :D
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*Rimshot* :p

PeteB said:
*routine excavation ;)

Always routine! I don't know why anyone would routinely dig a hole, but still... tradition etc.
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What if in the park's backstory that the park is built on a collection of strange and mysterious things that just happen to be all in the same area...just one big huge coincidence from a giant alien monster to a strange evil forest thing just to name a few!;)
 
It would be nice for them to start putting some big rides that have lower height restrictions. Quite a few rides out there now that are quite intense but carry a much lower height restriction than the 1.4m Alton Towers norm.

Quite a few looping roller coasters and intense water rides with family type height restrictions at lots of parks now. 1.2 meters is a sweet spot to aim for.

I think Alton Towers needs to avoid becoming a Thorpe Park and remember its roots in offering a day out for the whole family. Specially given its this section who seemed to be losing out most at the moment with the ride closures.

My daughter turns six at the weekend and would happily ride the likes of Oblivion / Galactica / Nemesis if it had a lower height restriction :D She is 1.28m tall (tall for her age) :)
 
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TowerTigger said:
It would be nice for them to start putting some big rides that have lower height restrictions. Quite a few rides out there now that are quite intense but carry a much lower height restriction than the 1.4m Alton Towers norm.

Quite a few looping roller coasters and intense water rides with family type height restrictions at lots of parks now. 1.2 meters is a sweet spot to aim for.

I think Alton Towers needs to avoid becoming a Thorpe Park and remember its roots in offering a day out for the whole family. Specially given its this section who seemed to be losing out most at the moment with the ride closures.

My daughter turns six at the weekend and would happily ride the likes of Oblivion / Galactica / Nemesis if it had a lower height restriction :D She is 1.28m tall (tall for her age) :)
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Really small for my age, so had to suffer until I was 12/13 only going on thirteen and spinball. As much as I love high thrill coasters, the park desperately needs more rides for people too small/not brave enough for nemesis, but want a thrill. Agree with the marketing of not, thirteen does this well.
 
Leah said:
Really small for my age, so had to suffer until I was 12/13 only going on thirteen and spinball. As much as I love high thrill coasters, the park desperately needs more rides for people too small/not brave enough for nemesis, but want a thrill. Agree with the marketing of not, thirteen does this well.
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how tall are you, if you don't mind me asking?
 
A 1.2 height restriction or not, we need something heavily themed, immersive and story-led.

It's time for us to start expecting rides that won't be about a "world first"...we're running out of gimmicks and things to draw us in now so it's time to jump the ship before it causes problems.

We need to tap in to something new, something that's captured via our imaginations and we'll start realising that the UK parks can have some amazing experiences as well - if only we take the plunge and invest as much or even more in the back-story, experience, interaction and aesthetics as we invest in the ride design/hardware itself.

A ride will succeed to be a classic only if it is memorable and innovative. I don't mean memorable in terms of inversions or firsts but within the universe it is set in and how this is portrayed. Rides should exist in their own or shared universes, the ride name, the music, the buildings, the foliage - everything needs to convince and strengthen the ride package.

Nemesis, (yes known as an intense experience and was a European first as well buuuut) is still remembered for its location, design and the monster. The entire ride is still regarded as one of the most memorable and that's not just down to the ride track. The ride was very innovative in many ways but one of the ways this innovation brought memorability was the design of the entire experience. There may not be much apart from the monster and waterfalls but the interaction of the coaster, the pit, the story and the entire experience from queue to exit was thought about and woven in to the universe Nemesis exists in.

The UK is seriously behind other parks in the world in terms of design of the surroundings, back-story and quality of its aesthetics. This really should be what SW8 focuses on...bring back our interaction, an experience that starts before you've even seen the ride and viewing pleasure for the spectator as well as the rider.

Smiler had this great pre-experience, it was a great marketing drive and also the interaction of the marmaliser is lovely for the queuers and spectator's but the back story of the Ministry of Joy; the links to Oblivion etc weren't even thought about, implemented or conjured up by Magic Making - why? Sadly MMM don't seem to quite grasp the UK audience and their wants...they've got us very wrong.

We actually care for a full-round experience yet the company become their own worst enemy by trying to go for record breakers and rides of new technology. They've set up the UK visitor to expect something new, something different and something that has a physical draw and this can't continue, the park general areas and the story telling is suffering at the hands of gimmicks. The MMM and own park teams struggle to use the correct marketing for their non-world first experiences. They've relied too much on the ride selling itself in years gone by but it should be the park who is proud to sell the whole area/ride experience (rather than a single element) appropriately.

We've had some rides that have failed to deliver the experience that they were marketed as or that have scenes/themes looking unfinished or bare, causing the UK public to not care for the ride story, theme or design - because we have nothing here to wow us, to make us sit up and realise that we can compete with parks overseas.

Thorpe got rid of themed areas, only to bring them back this season..what? Sadly this shows us just how thought out and considered areas, experiences and attractions need to be in order to complete the overall experience and displays how theme parks have failed to see this. If we wanted something basic we'd go to the local fair, but we go to a theme park to escape, get caught up in the experiences and find ourselves in stories unfolding around us - so start working with it!

A theme park is interactive storytelling/theatre so why can't we tell it well in the UK? That question needs to be answered with the whole of project SW8.
 
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