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

Benjsh said:
I still think it will be a coaster.

However if they were to 'do the dirty' on Blackpool and open a Valhalla type ride it could well be the final nail for Amanda and the PB as we know it.

Towers like their coasters though. They know how immensely popular they are and how they drive footfall. Just check Scarefest this year. Roundly criticized event yet packed to the rafters every day. Why? Rollercoasters, longer hours and night rides.
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Oh, I totally agree; my personal prediction definitely lies with coaster. My point was more that quite a lot is possible at this stage, and an indoor water ride would certainly fill some gaps in the park's lineup. I do think an indoor water ride would negate many of the positives of building an indoor ride in the first place, though, which makes the idea less likely, in my eyes...

In terms of what I'm predicting; I'm definitely thinking indoor coaster. Or more specifically, I'm thinking some kind of indoor family or family thrill coaster; something for all ages, that strikes a middle ground between CBeebies and the big 7.

I think that's the only type of coaster that the park lacks at present (the only one is RMT, really), and I think that an indoor coaster would provide a brilliant opportunity for a middle-ground family coaster that would fill that void.

Also, I'm not expecting anything overly thrilling in a 4,000m2, 20m high building with no digging involved.
 
If this was to be a Mack Spinner as some are thinking, then I can bet my bottom dollar in which that'll be the time in which Spinball is removed as not only as they wouldn't want two similar spinning rides on the park but that the throughput on this version should put Spinball to shame as well as hopefully a good layout and that's not including that the ride has often been said to be the most likely to leave the park and this'll will likely be the moment. So yeah, kind of all fits together when you think about it all and given how Towers got into hot water over Spinball's location, I have no doubt that it being removed might help heal over some of those feelings.
 
QTXAdsy said:
If this was to be a Mack Spinner as some are thinking, then I can bet my bottom dollar in which that'll be the time in which Spinball is removed as not only as they wouldn't want two similar spinning rides on the park but that the throughput on this version should put Spinball to shame as well as hopefully a good layout and that's not including that the ride has often been said to be the most likely to leave the park and this'll will likely be the moment. So yeah, kind of all fits together when you think about it all and given how Towers got into hot water over Spinball's location, I have no doubt that it being removed might help heal over some of those feelings.
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Yeah that was my thinking too.

With Storm Chaser at Paulton’s having just a 1metre height restriction, a Mack spinner could easily fill that gap of “too big for CBeebies but not big enough for the big 7” whilst still having wide appeal to people who fall outside of that bracket. Having it indoors would allow for some interesting theming and effects as well.
 
BigShadowtinytree said:
Yeah that was my thinking too.

With Storm Chaser at Paulton’s having just a 1metre height restriction, a Mack spinner could easily fill that gap of “too big for CBeebies but not big enough for the big 7” whilst still having wide appeal to people who fall outside of that bracket. Having it indoors would allow for some interesting theming and effects as well.
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If it is a Storm Chaser clone or somewhere along those lines, which I'd honestly no problem with it. However, would we have to then call this new enclosed ride as being the lovechild of Black Hole and Spinball? :p
 
I'm still convinced that it will be something new to the market / world's first.

I'd be astonished if it's just a bog standard indoor coaster without some kind of USP. John Wardley definitely hinted that it could be something new and innovative at that event recently and I 100% believe him.
 
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Benjsh said:
I'm still convinced that it will be something new to the market / world's first.

I'd be astonished if it's just a bog standard indoor coaster without some kind of USP. John Wardley definitely hinted that it could be something new and innovative at that event recently and I 100% believe him.
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Yes but making it a worlds first or something innovative doesn't always mean it's good, thirteen for example is an average ride saved by it's "worlds first" element.

You'd be surprised how good a "bog standard" coaster in the dark can be with minimal theming. Black Hole is testament to that.
 
RIPCorky said:
Yes but making it a worlds first or something innovative doesn't always mean it's good, thirteen for example is an average ride saved by it's "worlds first" element.

You'd be surprised how good a "bog standard" coaster in the dark can be with minimal theming. Black Hole is testament to that.
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Why would I be surprised? Ridden dozens of them and loved most.

I'd welcome an off the shelf indoor coaster tbh. I'm just giving my opinion of what I think THEY will do not what I'd do..
 
For what it's worth, Wicker Man was said by the park to be a move away from the SWs targeting world's firsts and more towards the SWs targeting world class experiences. With this in mind, maybe Horizon could be a more bog-standard coaster done really well?

That's if Horizon is a coaster in the first place, of course...
 
They eeked out a "world first" on Wicker Man with the wood and fire combination but didn't make a big deal out of it. The claims are increasingly farfetched but aren't likely to go away due to the marketing appeal.
 
Tom said:
They eeked out a "world first" on Wicker Man with the wood and fire combination but didn't make a big deal out of it. The claims are increasingly farfetched but aren't likely to go away due to the marketing appeal.
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It could be argued, though, that Wicker Man gravitating around a far more tenuous world’s first is quite a telling sign that the USP isn’t necessarily at the centre of the design process for major rides at Alton Towers anymore.

It should be acknowledged that Wicker Man’s world’s first never actually featured in any of the adverts or marketing for the ride, and I don’t believe it ever actually made it that far past the initial reveal following the ASA scandal.

With that in mind, I could certainly see Horizon being a more “conventional” coaster (if it is a coaster), with a slightly more spurious world’s first being its USP a la Wicker Man. With it being rumoured by some to be IP-centred, in fact, the world’s first is probably going to revolve around the choice of IP rather than the ride hardware.
 
Matt N said:
It could be argued, though, that Wicker Man gravitating around a far more tenuous world’s first is quite a telling sign that the USP isn’t necessarily at the centre of the design process for major rides at Alton Towers anymore.

It should be acknowledged that Wicker Man’s world’s first never actually featured in any of the adverts or marketing for the ride, and I don’t believe it ever actually made it that far past the initial reveal following the ASA scandal.

With that in mind, I could certainly see Horizon being a more “conventional” coaster (if it is a coaster), with a slightly more spurious world’s first being its USP a la Wicker Man. With it being rumoured by some to be IP-centred, in fact, the world’s first is probably going to revolve around the choice of IP rather than the ride hardware.
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It was in the initial press releases and media briefings. It may have been quietly dropped due to a) its inaccuracy and b) its slightly blundering nature from a safety standpoint.

I think it's safe to say that Horizon will has a USP/UK/world first claim, with it being enclosed that is a little easier to pull off legitimately.
 
It's a big IF that this is a coaster (but I suspect it probably will be). The building is certainly big enough to house an OK indoor coaster, which certainly wouldn't be a bad thing but it's not big enough to build something draw dropping.

I hope it does use the Wickerman formula of just being a well themed experience. This can be done far more easily (in theory) with an indoor coaster than an outdoor one so it could tick both the boxes of being a unique experience and a much needed indoor attraction within a park than is sparse in that regard and located in a country where it rains so much.

The marketing department will still use something silly to claim a world's first. When you've got to the stage where they're claiming a world's first Cbeebies themed hotel and using phrasing such as "infuse wood with fire" and "fully dedicated" then you know the barrel has been scraped. But maybe that's a good thing? Maybe we'll see decent attractions at the expense of the marketing department rather than substandard ones at the behest of it?
 
Maybe they can say the UK's most visual effect heavy coaster if its indoors which has all the potential to have various crazy effects in the building or even the on board soundtrack system for the ride which certainly in terms of a UK first could be a USP and I'm surprised this hasn't been done much by many parks outside Disney.
 
Sorry to double post but regarding for all major rides have a USP for the Merlin parks but wasn't it always Nick Varney the one who was hellbent on keeping this up of getting world's firsts over the years and the reason we never got a so-called 'standard' coaster mostly a woodie after all these years, not including Rita or Spinball in which IIRC Varney was not there during the final years of Tussauds?

With him leaving, you think that that this might allow for the Merlin parks to loosen up in the desperate attempt to find some USP which with hindsight could be more trouble than it's worth with Wicker Man being perhaps a hint to that sort of future that any new coaster will likely be some tried and tested model yet have some special effect like on board sound or something or go for a UK height record as what Project Exodus which actually on paper looks a little more easier than some fancy one trick pony to work such as Thirteen?
 
QTXAdsy said:
Sorry to double post but regarding for all major rides have a USP for the Merlin parks but wasn't it always Nick Varney the one who was hellbent on keeping this up of getting world's firsts over the years and the reason we never got a so-called 'standard' coaster mostly a woodie after all these years, not including Rita or Spinball in which IIRC Varney was not there during the final years of Tussauds?

With him leaving, you think that that this might allow for the Merlin parks to loosen up in the desperate attempt to find some USP which with hindsight could be more trouble than it's worth with Wicker Man being perhaps a hint to that sort of future that any new coaster will likely be some tried and tested model yet have some special effect like on board sound or something or go for a UK height record as what Project Exodus which actually on paper looks a little more easier than some fancy one trick pony to work such as Thirteen?
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I think it was possibly to do with the pressures associated with having to provide a constant return on investment for shareholders year on year, rather than Varney just doing it off his own back.

The company worked their way slowly but surely into a hole with those, starting out good. But then using anything to market it as a world's first, there were 'quick wins' if you like to pull guests into the parks, regardless of the long-term appeal or sustainability of said attraction.
 
It really looks like an airport terminal, I’m still not ruling out a pair of flying theatres. I expect the arc structure extending out of the building above the entrance will be an LED screen too to give an impact on what could be a bland facade
 
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