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The World of David Walliams: General Discussion

Skyscraper said:
Back from Towers now, and I rode GG today. I thought it was actually very well done, although the main issue is it was so loud! Made our whole (adult) group (including myself) jump. :tearsofjoy:
I wouldn't be surprised if kids got upset, especially after the finale.

Apart from that I actually quite enjoyed it. :)
Capacity/throughput is definitely a problem though. I used the RAP entrance, which was surprisingly busy. That will definitely have made the main queue even longer.
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Great to hear another person’s opinion; thanks for reporting back @Skyscraper!

But my main question about your visit today is; did you finally end up having your much anticipated first ride on Smiler? And if you did, what were your thoughts?
 
Walliams Vinyls and paint job of Burger Kitchen.
Kit out Charlie/Dungeons as a Walliams Dark ride (why has this not been done already?) with a nicely themed façade.
Buy a permanent Sizzler (without the garish lighting package) and put it inside one of the buildings.
Move Frog Hopper and Carousel in front of coaster corner.
Cafe inside another building.
Theme the flat surface façades on the buildings.
Light retheme of Driving School.

Dirt cheap new area themed to a popular IP that can have the hell marketed out of it for less than a fraction of what it cost to implement the similar strategy for CBBL. It seems like a no brainer, low capital easy win to me.

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Matt.GC said:
Walliams Vinyls and paint job of Burger Kitchen.
Kit out Charlie/Dungeons as a Walliams Dark ride (why has this not been done already?) with a nicely themed façade.
Buy a permanent Sizzler (without the garish lighting package) and put it inside one of the buildings.
Move Frog Hopper and Carousel in front of coaster corner.
Cafe inside another building.
Theme the flat surface façades on the buildings.
Light retheme of Driving School.

Dirt cheap new area themed to a popular IP that can have the hell marketed out of it for less than a fraction of what it cost to implement the similar strategy for CBBL. It seems like a no brainer, low capital easy win to me.

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I’m pretty confident this will be the plan
 
Matt N said:
Great to hear another person’s opinion; thanks for reporting back @Skyscraper!

But my main question about your visit today is; did you finally end up having your much anticipated first ride on Smiler? And if you did, what were your thoughts?
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I didn't unfortunately, as it was late in the day when we got to it and I was tired, plus it was raining quite hard. I'll definitely do it once masks are gone and in better weather.
I'll post a thread in the Trip Reports section later. :)
 
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Matt.GC said:
I'm not! It wouldn't surprise me if they're currently patting themselves on the back thinking they've done a bang up job.

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They didn’t do that with CBeebies Land, in fairness; it opened in 2014, and Octonauts came straight after in 2015. That was closely followed by Go Jetters and the Furchester Hotel in 2017, as well as the CBeebies Land Hotel.

If CBeebies Land is anything to go by, they will most probably have an expansion plan drawn up.
 
Matt N said:
They didn’t do that with CBeebies Land, in fairness; it opened in 2014, and Octonauts came straight after in 2015. That was closely followed by Go Jetters and the Furchester Hotel in 2017, as well as the CBeebies Land Hotel.

If CBeebies Land is anything to go by, they will most probably have an expansion plan drawn up.
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Yes but Cbeebies was never left in this state to begin with. It always looked like an acceptable area from open, this doesnt.

It doesn't need an expansion plan, it just needs them to use the assets they already have and do a half decent job of it.

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I actually have an idea for an attraction they could possibly add to Walliams World in the future, and I’d be intrigued to know what you think of it.

I’ve heard many people mention that the only way they could probably get a roller coaster into TWODW is by building an indoor coaster, and that’s often been binned due to the cost of a building and ride system combined. But what if I were to suggest moving Spinball Whizzer into a newly constructed building within The World of David Walliams, perhaps on the Coaster Corner land?

If they did that, it would remove the cost of purchasing a brand new ride system, and it would also please the planners to see Spinball moved from its current location. Furthermore, it would also add another step-up family attraction into Walliams World, and then that space that Spinball currently occupies could be used for further CBeebies expansion or something.

In terms of how you’d theme it; I’m admittedly not sure on that one, but with the theme and the fact that Spinball is quite a rapid experience compared to something like a dark ride, some cardboard cutouts and UV lighting, combined with some audio, would probably work quite well, in my opinion. To see something similar in action on another Maurer spinning coaster, here’s a POV of Laff Trakk at Hersheypark:


I don’t know about you, but I think this would work well as an addition to TWODW, and would keep Spinball at the park, while also removing the issue of Spinball’s current location aggravating the planners.

What are your thoughts?
 
tayspru said:
Spinball is simply far too tall and spread out to fit in a building, and would be too thrilling for the target age of the area.
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I agree on the size part however I think Spinball is probably the right thrill level for David Walliams. His books are aimed roughly at KS2 children (ages 7-11) and usually you hit the 1.2m mark at around 6 or 7 years old.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
I agree on the size part however I think Spinball is probably the right thrill level for David Walliams. His books are aimed roughly at KS2 children (ages 7-11) and usually you hit the 1.2m mark at around 6 or 7 years old.
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Yep I think Spinball in its current state is a perfect "fun" coaster for that sort of age group. Spinning indoors might be a bit more nauseous, but kids often have a higher tolerance than adults. I suppose Crush's Coaster at Disneyland Paris is really just Spinball indoors.

But yes it wouldn't be able to be moved, a customer designed coaster to fit inside a building would be better.
 
Thameslink Rail said:
I agree on the size part however I think Spinball is probably the right thrill level for David Walliams. His books are aimed roughly at KS2 children (ages 7-11) and usually you hit the 1.2m mark at around 6 or 7 years old.
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I guess that’s why we have a carousel and a frog hopper ? God this area is a mess this year
 
After riding Crush's, I've often wondered why they don't put Spinball inside. I don't think having it in Walliams World in a knocked up shed in coaster corner is a problem and it's cheap.

Many children hit 1.2mtrs tall between 6 and 8, so although it doesn't solve the 'whole family' attraction problem it does give thrill seekers who read his books a good ride, gives the park an indoor coaster, gets rid of the ugly fence blocking off the corner, allows for a CBBL expansion and is doesn't break the bank. I'd fully support it.

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I don't think moving Spinball makes any sort of economic sense, it's not designed to be transportable and has a fairly large footprint so finding a suitable spot would be tricky, that's before you even think about enclosing it.

It would be easier and probably no more expensive to get a custom designed indoor coaster, if that was something they really want. Zierer or Gerstlauer would be sensible choices.

Though I'm a fan of Spinball so I'm possibly biased.
 
tayspru said:
I guess that’s why we have a carousel and a frog hopper ? God this area is a mess this year
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The carousel and frog hopper definitely feel out of place next to Flavio's Fandango which is more the right age group. At least with Gangsta Granny the effects (which I've heard are quite intense at points) probably make the ride more appealing to older children.
 
It wouldn’t be cheap at all , although Spinball is only actually 1m taller than Crushes , that has the benefit of being designed to fit on a compact rectangular footprint, meaning it is essentially housed in a basic prefab warehouse structure . Spinball would require something far more complex to accommodate the varied footprint , and that’s without considering the cost of the fact the ride is concreted into the floor rather than having traditional footers . It’s a lot of effort for an 18 year old ride.

As for Gangsta Granny and intense, just no . There’s a bubble machine (which is switched off as the bubbles trigger the sensors and cause a ride stoppage), a few fans and at two points there’s a flash of light and a puff of smoke. I appreciate these may trigger those with sensory needs or a nervous disposition but aren’t in themselves intense effects .
 
I don’t have an issue with the Carousel and Frog Hopper in TWODW, in fact I think Alton Towers should have far more rides for all ages in each area of the park. The way the park has been laid out for the last 25 years or so really splits up families/groups by age. For those not tall enough for GG, they can at least be entertained by going on the Carousel right next door, instead of either being bored waiting or having to schlep across the park for something else to do.

That’s not to say that this area of the park doesn’t need more for the GG target age group. But just saying the existence of those rides is not a bad thing in itself.
 
Yep a custom indoor coaster would be the best option, in addition to re-doing the Dungeons to a family boat ride again and adding more flat rides.
 
Anyone who's been on Frog Hopper knows it's a fun little blast and seems to be on a more lively cycle that those Peter Rabbit ones in Cbeebies. Long may it live. Call me immature (I am) but the farts also make it hilarious...err for kids of course.

Every park has its kids/family and Pre School areas but AT really went to town with separating these out. What, for instance, is there for an under 1.4mtr kid to do in FV or X Sector when parents want to ride the coasters there? There's only so many rides on Blade to keep a kid entertained and Enterprise also needs a plus 1.4 adult to accompany. The temp flats will have helped the situation quite a bit this year, including the sizzler.

Even if it's not Spinball, a more thrilling ride in WW is just what the doctor ordered. But not at the expense of retheming Charlie and adding other whole family attractions of course as that's what the park needs more than anything in almost every themed area.

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