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

I think it's probably a simple case of there being alot of changes Merlin and Alton since the application.

There's probably an awful lot of stuff being revaluated with the change of CEO at Merlin and now Bianca going. The Chessington project was evidently signed off before Horizon had a chance to be.
 
Agreed, the Horizon planning application was lodged in Oct 2022.

Merlin have had three CEOs since then, and Alton Towers are soon to be on their third divisional director.

It’s not too surprising that these changes would have led to re-looking at the investment strategy for Towers (and the wider group) and making potential changes.
 
I wonder if it’s at all possible that they’ve kept the idea of the building, but changed the attraction planned to be inside it?

It would seem nuts to me to let planning permission for such a big building in such a touchy area lapse, but if they didn’t like the details of the exact attraction inside, I guess it’s not too far out of the way that they could put something else in there instead. They did only get permission for the building, after all; they were never specific about what attraction was going inside it.
 
Just a personal theory, but I wonder if they had a 2-coaster deal with Intamin (or possibly Zamperla) for these rides to open at Chessington and Alton in 2027, like their deal with Maurer for Spinball and Dragon's Fury. Chessington's is going ahead, but remember Alton had to lower the ceiling for Project Horizon, thus the manufacturer would have had to redesign the coaster. It's possible Alton eventually decided the smaller, redesigned coaster wasn't good enough to be worth doing.

Personally, I think a building there would be great for a family dark ride.
 
East Coast Mariner said:
Just a personal theory, but I wonder if they had a 2-coaster deal with Intamin (or possibly Zamperla) for these rides to open at Chessington and Alton in 2027, like their deal with Maurer for Spinball and Dragon's Fury. Chessington's is going ahead, but remember Alton had to lower the ceiling for Project Horizon, thus the manufacturer would have had to redesign the coaster. It's possible Alton eventually decided the smaller, redesigned coaster wasn't good enough to be worth doing.

Personally, I think a building there would be great for a family dark ride.
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So long as it isn't a haunted one otherwise my little brother is NEVER going on that!
 
Okay you Whovians. Here's something to discuss.

In 2022, Doctor Who was sold to Disney months after the plans for Project Horizon were approved.

This could explain the delay with PH as the deal with the BBC, which would've been in full swing far before planning was approved, could've fallen apart at the last minute. It lines up and could explain the sudden hold up.
 
People may know about the BBC commissioning a Dr Who animated series for Cbeebies. I originally mentioned it in the Project Sunshine thread but someone suggested it being Project Horizon linking to the main series. Horizon is a spacey word and we could get a dr who area, maybe even replacing TWODW in the future. The BBC could be looking to extend their partnership and a coaster at alton towers would be just right for the park and the show right now. Opinions?
 
MrCoaster said:
People may know about the BBC commissioning a Dr Who animated series for Cbeebies. I originally mentioned it in the Project Sunshine thread but someone suggested it being Project Horizon linking to the main series. Horizon is a spacey word and we could get a dr who area, maybe even replacing TWODW in the future. The BBC could be looking to extend their partnership and a coaster at alton towers would be just right for the park and the show right now. Opinions?
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I threw this comment in here just for you; as a launchpad for such a discussion :)
 
spotweld said:
Okay you Whovians. Here's something to discuss.

In 2022, Doctor Who was sold to Disney months after the plans for Project Horizon were approved.

This could explain the delay with PH as the deal with the BBC, which would've been in full swing far before planning was approved, could've fallen apart at the last minute. It lines up and could explain the sudden hold up.
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Although the international Disney deal is on the rocks as 2024s season did horribly on the whole and the 2025 season is the yes/no point for the deal.
 
spotweld said:
Okay you Whovians. Here's something to discuss.

In 2022, Doctor Who was sold to Disney months after the plans for Project Horizon were approved.

This could explain the delay with PH as the deal with the BBC, which would've been in full swing far before planning was approved, could've fallen apart at the last minute. It lines up and could explain the sudden hold up.
Click to expand...

The BBC didn't sell Dr Who at all, so I think your reasoning falls apart there to be honest.

The deal with Disney was solely a distribution deal, with BBC maintaining full creative control and rights over the property.
 
PhalanaxOperativeA1127 said:
The BBC didn't sell Dr Who at all, so I think your reasoning falls apart there to be honest.

The deal with Disney was solely a distribution deal, with BBC maintaining full creative control and rights over the property.
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Well maybe the show flopping and the ensuing (entirely meaningless) culture war surrounding it could've stopped the project in it's path?

The BBC could've pumped the breaks entirely. Or Merlin. Or Both.
 
As much as I love Doctor Who and would love a Who-themed ride/area, I don't believe it would have any involvement in the delay/scrapping of Project Horizon. More often than not, if an IP falls through, they will move on to something else/a backup plan, which has been the case for some Merlin projects.

I think @MrCoaster's thoughts on the planned Doctor Who animated show on CBeebies leading to characters/an attraction/ride in CBeebies Land are a bit more realistic, even though that will be a number of years away. That's the closest we're likely to see Doctor Who in a theme park anytime soon.
 
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