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

Whatever this is I hope it can link in with a complete redevelopment of the area. It has been a mess for far too long and I would be happy to see the back of the Walliams World IP.

The area still feels very much a mish mash of ideas and we still have a half empty CATCF building, an empty 4D cinema and the empty Nickelodeon building.

If this ends up being a huge new ride and TWODW is left as is, it will be very disappointing.

Excited to see what the plans are. I didn’t realise they had that much space back there!
 
Could it be an sfx coaster from dynamic attractions, as that would seem to match the sort of level that Wardley talked about? And it would also make sense with Merlin going for experiences in the coasters that they build.
 
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Matt N said:
Out of interest, do we think that this could be part of The World of David Walliams? Or do we think that it could be its own separate thing that is simply accessed via The World of David Walliams (similar to Cuckoo Cars)?

My personal hunch is that it will be the former. Putting something unrelated to Walliams there would significantly inhibit TWODW’s future expansion potential, and if the land is anything like CBeebies, I’d imagine it will require a fair amount of expansion and/or change over time.
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I would be almost certain that any development in this area will be unrelated to Walliams, I think you're underestimating the size and shape of the area we are talking about. This plot once contained two separate park areas, which were distinct from Talbot Street (what is now Walliams World), featuring three coasters and a significant children's land. I'm not even sure you'd be able to see any of TWODW from a new ride built back in this location.
 
I suspect this will be a separate new land, with maybe a couple of small supporting flats much like they are doing with Chessington new area and the mythic area at Legoland. Hopefully we will also see some development in the Walliams area utilising those unused buildings in 2024, I suspect this new project will be for 2025.
 
If this is an indoor coaster I hope there’s some kind of Wuze Town style indoor area to go with it, it would be such a shame if the ride was hidden away when most of the other coasters at the park are such great spectator rides.
 
One thing that I am concerned about with this development is IP's. We know Merlin are very hesitant to build indoor attractions and to spend significant money on anything that cannot be seen and used in marketing. The only times they've done so in recent times is with an IP, like Darren Brown's and Jumanji. I think there is a likelihood of this being an IP, which isn't always a bad thing but I would say it's significantly more risky in the quality of the attraction. MMM and Towers are perfectly capable of coming up with there own marketable theme for rides and I see no reason why they couldn't do the same in a dark ride/coaster setting. Look at Wicker Man, I'd say that succeeded because of it's theme not the ride. The ride was good but the marketing was based on the theme of the attraction not the ride itself.
 
George W said:
Out of interest did gangster granny or twodw get the same sort of public consultation
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No. I don’t think Walliams had any planning application filed at all, in fact.

Gangsta Granny was using the existing Wobble World building, and the rest of the changes were merely minor aesthetic changes to the rides and building exteriors. Nothing requiring a planning application happened during the construction of TWODW.
 
This is pure speculation (no harm in that, it's fun!) but I think this might be for an IP-based attraction.

The footprint for the attraction is large (probably as large as the Dungeon and Burger Kitchen combined) but its location is awkward. Realistically, the entrance and queue line need to be situated in what is currently WoDW but thematically, that area is already messy. As others here have pointed out already, WoDW has remnants of CCL theming, the exterior of the Dungeons and also light-touch pieces of theming like the pile of books. Hosting another attraction - especially a major one that will draw in crowds - with another theme will make the area feel really incoherent. And there's no way they'd drop big money on another dark ride themed around David Walliams, the IP just isn't big enough.

To remedy this, they could retheme the entire area - from Burger Kitchen through to the Driving School - and tie it all together with this new attraction. This would be a significant investment, for sure, but not crippling - most attractions there are screen-based or only lightly themed. I always felt that WoDW was done on the cheap precisely because it was a stop-gap that would be overhauled within the short-term future. While AT probably wouldn't tear up the WoDW theme after just 2 years for something they've cooked up in-house, would they do it for a big, lucrative IP? Almost definitely.

My gut says this could be LEGO-themed - tried, tested, already affiliated with Merlin, easily introduced. The new attraction could be some kind of dark ride like their Ninjago or Factory Adventure Ride, with the rest of the land LEGO-fied. It would be straightforward to do this with the 4D cinema, driving school, etc. It would also be cost efficient, because its a recycling of ideas and technologies that have been used in other attractions.

I'm going overboard with the speculation now, but if the above were true, it could even spell the creation of a "second gate" eventually. This area backs onto Farley Lane, and I think it's even quite close to Alton Station, so it would be quite possible to build another, separate entrance for this land. This would make the loss of the upcharge attraction (Dungeons) more palatable for Merlin. A LEGO or "BBC Studios" park, or something to that effect, could be huge for them.
 
Harv said:
This is pure speculation (no harm in that, it's fun!) but I think this might be for an IP-based attraction.

The footprint for the attraction is large (probably as large as the Dungeon and Burger Kitchen combined) but its location is awkward. Realistically, the entrance and queue line need to be situated in what is currently WoDW but thematically, that area is already messy. As others here have pointed out already, WoDW has remnants of CCL theming, the exterior of the Dungeons and also light-touch pieces of theming like the pile of books. Hosting another attraction - especially a major one that will draw in crowds - with another theme will make the area feel really incoherent. And there's no way they'd drop big money on another dark ride themed around David Walliams, the IP just isn't big enough.

To remedy this, they could retheme the entire area - from Burger Kitchen through to the Driving School - and tie it all together with this new attraction. This would be a significant investment, for sure, but not crippling - most attractions there are screen-based or only lightly themed. I always felt that WoDW was done on the cheap precisely because it was a stop-gap that would be overhauled within the short-term future. While AT probably wouldn't tear up the WoDW theme after just 2 years for something they've cooked up in-house, would they do it for a big, lucrative IP? Almost definitely.

My gut says this could be LEGO-themed - tried, tested, already affiliated with Merlin, easily introduced. The new attraction could be some kind of dark ride like their Ninjago or Factory Adventure Ride, with the rest of the land LEGO-fied. It would be straightforward to do this with the 4D cinema, driving school, etc. It would also be cost efficient, because its a recycling of ideas and technologies that have been used in other attractions.

I'm going overboard with the speculation now, but if the above were true, it could even spell the creation of a "second gate" eventually. This area backs onto Farley Lane, and I think it's even quite close to Alton Station, so it would be quite possible to build another, separate entrance for this land. This would make the loss of the upcharge attraction (Dungeons) more palatable for Merlin. A LEGO or "BBC Studios" park, or something to that effect, could be huge for them.
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That is a sound theory, but one challenge I’d make would be; I remember someone saying that any new Lego attraction has to include a Miniland. That is a key stipulation of the contract between Lego and Merlin, apparently. They could well build one, but I’m not sure that area really has the space for it if the one at Windsor is anything to go by.

Also, would the park really scrap TWODW after only a couple of years or so? I’d guess that the IP contract would likely be at least 5 years long, and I’m also unsure what they’d do about Gangsta Granny in the event of the Walliams-themed area going. I’d be very surprised if they rethemed that ride when it’s only a couple of years old; I seem to remember hearing that Merlin requires all new CAPEX to be operating for at least 6 years or something like that (unless there were any major issues, of course), but that could be wrong admittedly.

That is a solid idea, though; TWODW aside from Gangsta Granny would require fairly little change to fit a new theme.
 
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That would explain the mystery why the driving school was never re-themed to match. As it would be so cheaply done, maybe this was there plan for a while. I Feel Alton towers is getting very interesting recently!


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Why are we assuming indoor coaster?

To me this screams Jumanji dark ride.

The consultation must be down to location more than anything.

Let's see what comes out but I don't think we will be seeing SW9. And this will probably be a 2024 attraction
 
You don’t really need to do much to the existing areas of the park. There is enough space in the area to build a dark ride and a small “area” with shops and the queue/ entrance with its own distinct theme. You would likely just need to move Flavios and create an entrance portal to the new area to the left of the theatre.

I highly doubt this will be linked to Walliams and I strongly suspect it will be an IP based attraction.
 
Jb85 said:
Why are we assuming indoor coaster?

To me this screams Jumanji dark ride.

The consultation must be down to location more than anything.

Let's see what comes out but I don't think we will be seeing SW9. And this will probably be a 2024 attraction
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I think people are assuming indoor coaster because of the assertion by TowersTimes that those “in the know” are suggesting that it is SW9, so people naturally leap to coaster. An SW doesn’t have to be a coaster, however… SW could just denote major investment in this case.

It could well be a Jumanji ride, as Merlin did say that Chessington and Gardaland weren’t the full extent of the partnership between themselves and Sony, but I’ll admit that I would be surprised if they built a Jumanji ride at Alton Towers so soon after Chessington open their new land. Surely that would massively detract from the appeal of Chessington’s land, which isn’t what Merlin wants, surely?

Whatever this is, though, I think it will certainly be very exciting, and almost definitely the most substantial thing built in that part of the park for a good 30 years or so!
 
Also does anyone know if the dungeons are still popular? I mean they could easily remove this attraction for an great entrance portal, however you have to ask the question. Why remove a large tin shed for another one? When there is great potential to revamp an old boat/dark ride. At the end of the day DWL is far from Complete and still requires stage 2 no? But I guess advertising a new land with rides is much more marketable to attract more guests, eventually putting money back into there existing areas we would hope! Alton towers is a very complex park with so many areas for regeneration, I do wonder sometimes where do they start?
 
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