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[202X] Project Horizon (SW9?): Planning Approved

Oxo said:
First time posting here so hello all.

But I’ve just seen John Burton is appearing on Sunday Brunch this weekend. Has this ever happened before? Only reason I can see him going on is to talk about an announcement.

Unless it’s Exodus related.
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That's exciting. I think that it will be related to Exodus.
 
Blimey this topic has gone mad since John Burton's video. I have a few comments on some of the points raised over the last few pages.
  1. We do NOT know the budget for the ride. Disclosure of the budget is not required to be truthful or accurate in planning permission. The planners don't give a toss within reason how much or little it cost to build, so long is it follows permission and is soundly built. The permission was only for the building, queue, surrounding landscaping and demolition/ clearance on current site. They could easily and legally state £12.5 million, and that only be the cost of site prep and the erection of the external building. It could just be the cost of the building itself. As has been mentioned, steel is expensive. Contractors are expensive. Site prep is expensive. The entire budget, from site clearance to opening day and marketing will exceed £12.5 million or we are getting a wacky worm in an unpainted tin shed.
  2. John Wardley has been mentioned as the designer for this a couple of times now. Where has this come from? He has not as far as I am aware confirmed any involvement in the attraction. He has retired. He worked on TCAAM as an ADVISOR only, as he created the original. This is an effectively new site. I have seen no evidence other than desperate thoosie vapours that he is in any way involved with this project other than the ocasional bit of marketing. John Burton will be the man behind this project.
  3. Lets deal with the big new tech claim. Merlin's latest record is "The worlds first Jumanji themed rollercoaster." It doesn't have to be spectacular to be a big new thing. The new tech does not have to be, and has not been claimed to be in the ride system. It could be any kind of effect or tech involved in the showbuilding and ride theming.
  4. Finally the video. I do not know if Horizon will or won't be an RMC. No-one outside of Merlin and RMC do. But, this video and the scene were shot professionally, and released on an official Merlin (Not Alton Towers) channel. That scene will have been planned, and checked and cleared through all levels of marketing and stratergy, too ensure that this is compatible with the Merlin's overall target direction. The fact that the word Horizon has been used in conjunction with RMC, and the furore it would cause was planned, approved, checked and approvedd again at multiple levels. What it means is up for debate. But its inclusion was deliberate and planned.
TL;DR
We haven't got a clue what the ride is, how much it will cost, who is designing it, or what the "Next big thing" that Wardley hinted is going to be. The only thing we do know is that the mention of RMC, and the linking of the word horizon was a deliberate and concious choice by Merlin, although they have deliberately left what it means up for interpretation. And that it will be in a shed.

Edit,
Any particular reason why T C A A M auto corrects to Alty Mans?
 
Highly doubt this is Horizon related now but it makes you think doesn’t it that Horizon is on the old Alton Mouse site. Clutching at straws here 😂

IMG_0293.jpeg
 
dazza4783 said:
So Project Horizon will be called "The Alton Moose" ;)

Chessington should replace Rattlesnake with one of these.
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Totally agree rattlesnake is a bone shaker for me.

Tbh this coaster would fit within the dimensions of the building from the measurements they have given. I guess we gotta wait to find out.
 
From the announcement we know nothing more about whether it will be for Project Horizon but in my mind it still doesn't rule it out. The dimensions of the ride at 150ftx80ftx50ft means it would comfortably fit inside the planned building. And just because the model is called Wild Moose, doesn't mean it cannot be themed to something else.


From: https://twitter.com/ThemeParkWW/status/1692582968307359764?s=20
 
Just thinking about this, in the video John Burton was asked about working with RMC one day and his reply suggested something along the lines of “well I might already be”. But I think because the video was filmed at Towers we just assumed that this meant in relation to Project Horizon.

However I do wonder if it could have been a hint about a potential upcoming project elsewhere in the park for further down the line or even for a Chessington project, because that wild Mouse Coaster looks like it could fit the bill as a replacement for Rattlesnake & Scorpion Express, or for Spinball. Obviously I know that you should never take these things as gospel but didn’t Jared imply that a UK would be getting an RMC in the next few years? Sorry if this is moving the chat away from Horizon, but then again could an indoor Wild Moose be a possibility?
 
Just a reminder before this gets a bit (more) allover the place. Please keep this topic to Alton Towers and Project Horizon only. We have dedicated topics for other parks where the likes of Chessington can be discussed.

As a reminder, we're happy for sensible speculation about Horizon for the time being and if that includes RMC that's fine.

However, on a personal note I'd ask people to seriously consider the scale of the ride in this announcement in comparison to the throughput which would be required for what is very likely to be a secret weapon at Towers.
 
I wouldn't be against seeing this in the project horizon building with some good theming and lighting especially if it meant Merlin obtained a relationship with RMC.
However I don't think we will be this is a clone layout that will be accustomed to fit in wild mouse locations (although it may fit in the building) the main reason I don't see it is that Merlin would be going for a unique custom layout not one we're going to see pop up at a few locations in the next few years.

Again I think horizon will be an intamin although seeing an RMC coaster along these lines would be a welcome addition at Alton towers but I would definitely like to see a full blown thrill coaster after this though since it's been 10 years since the smiler.
 
Craig said:
Just a reminder before this gets a bit (more) allover the place. Please keep this topic to Alton Towers and Project Horizon only. We have dedicated topics for other parks where the likes of Chessington can be discussed.

As a reminder, we're happy for sensible speculation about Horizon for the time being and if that includes RMC that's fine.

However, on a personal note I'd ask people to seriously consider the scale of the ride in this announcement in comparison to the throughput which would be required for what is very likely to be a secret weapon at Towers.
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when do projects usually get their SW tag. with the smiler and wickerman at what phase were they anounced as a SW?
 
Just a question and sorry if this has been discussed before earlier in the thread, but where did the connection between Project Horizon likely being a SW come from initially? Was it something that was said by John Wardly to that effect, or was it more from a similarity with the Horizon plans compared to the development of previous Secret Weapons? I wasn’t a user here in the lead up to SW8 so this I missed out on the evolution of that one and at what point it was named as a Secret Weapon so I don’t have any reference point with regards to Project Horizon.
 
Shaggy_Dog_ said:
Just a question and sorry if this has been discussed before earlier in the thread, but where did the connection between Project Horizon likely being a SW come from initially? Was it something that was said by John Wardly to that effect, or was it more from a similarity with the Horizon plans compared to the development of previous Secret Weapons? I wasn’t a user here in the lead up to SW8 so this I missed out on the evolution of that one and at what point it was named as a Secret Weapon so I don’t have any reference point with regards to Project Horizon.
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John Wardley does say SW9 when asked about Project Horizon in this video


But I think at this point SW is no more than a marketing gimmick to hype up enthusiasts and get them talking about the ride, rather than the actual project name used behind the scenes.
 
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