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

I will be amazed if WODW lasts until 2031. My guess is it will close completely for a full makeover after this coming season or at worst case scenario the 2027 one.

Its highly likely more stuff will come out about him too. The more that does, the harder for Merlin it becomes.

Keeping that land as it is until 2031 when Universal is said to be opening will also be a travesty.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Planning permission is granted for the structure and its use class. From a purely planning perspective, the council doesn't care whether the inside of the acoustic shed houses an Intamin multi dimension coaster, a temporary waltzer, or a very large, heavily themed toilet block, provided the exterior matches the approved plans, the use class remains appropriate for a theme park, and the noise emissions don't breach the agreed acoustic envelope.
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Actually in this case the council do care what is inside the structure. One of the planning stipulations essentially says that building has to house an attraction, and must be removed when it ceases to be used in this way.

SMDC Planning Decision said:
When the application site ceases to be in the use approved by this permission, the use
shall cease and the attraction building erected on the land shall be removed within six
calendar months of that date.
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So, unlike most of their planning applications, the park have a lot less leeway on this one, in that they can't just put up and empty building, or put something other than an attraction in there (e.g. a heavily themed toilet). I suspect this is partially to prevent Merlin with ending up with a very handy warehouse, where they said they wanted to build a ride. But as the decision notice stated, it also relates to the council statutory duty to protect that heritage and the surrounding landscape:

SMDC Planning Decision said:
Reason:- To limit the long term landscape visual impact and long term impact on the setting of nearby heritage assets.
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Which makes sense, as Project Horizon is in no way ideal when it comes to the site's heritage, as it interferes with the seeing on the Flag Tower in multiple ways.

I suspect this stipulation would also prevent them from pulling the 'half-finished' building approach to preventing the planning permission from lapsing. I think if they ceased construction part way through they would trigger the six-month timer. So even at best they might be able to draw thing out by an extra half year, but would struggle beyond this.
 
Bowser said:
Also as i believe the ride will be a near clone of the Minecraft coaster, i wonder if they will need to wait for some of that team to finish before they begin, meaning construction won’t start till at least 2027.
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If they pursue the current plans, we know that Project Horizon can't be a near clone of the Minecraft coaster. From the planning docs, we know that the two attractions have significantly different dimensions and the Alton Towers permission would not allow for any outdoor coaster track.

If they went down this route then I can’t see how they would approach it without resubmitting the application, to seek permission for a material change in the planning permission.
 
Squiggs said:
If they pursue the current plans, we know that Project Horizon can't be a near clone of the Minecraft coaster. From the planning docs, we know that the two attractions have significantly different dimensions and the Alton Towers permission would not allow for any outdoor coaster track.
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Near clone in the sense it will be an indoor Intamin multi directional family coaster, not that they will both feature a small section of outdoor track.
 
Bowser said:
Near clone in the sense it will be an indoor Intamin multi directional family coaster, not that they will both feature a small section of outdoor track.
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I see what your saying but I don't see what the point in this would be? Not very marketable imo, it has to be something different surely. Alton needs to have a selling factor for its rides.

Otherwise no one would visit (GP) when they've been on the minecraft one. Unless again, its another IP.

May still be an Intamin though, double deal? (Launch coaster please)
 
I can easily foresee Merlin having planned to build two Intamin MDF (?) coasters, at least at one time. If they were impressed with the ride system and its potential storytelling abilities, then the IP and potentially even their individual profile - Chessington's smaller and more akin to the recent Legoland addition, Alton's more on the scale of Uncharted at PortAventua - would arguably be enough to differentiate them for the general public.
 
Plastic Person said:
I can easily foresee Merlin having planned to build two Intamin MDF (?) coasters, at least at one time. If they were impressed with the ride system and its potential storytelling abilities, then the IP and potentially even their individual profile - Chessington's smaller and more akin to the recent Legoland addition, Alton's more on the scale of Uncharted at PortAventua - would arguably be enough to differentiate them for the general public.
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I could also see it being an Art Engineering similar to the two “Galacticoasters” recently installed
 
BennyBoy said:
I see what your saying but I don't see what the point in this would be? Not very marketable imo, it has to be something different surely. Alton needs to have a selling factor for its rides.

Otherwise no one would visit (GP) when they've been on the minecraft one. Unless again, its another IP.

May still be an Intamin though, double deal? (Launch coaster please)
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Merlin can market anything.... World's first unthemed multi-dimensional coaster etc. Stick in an inversion or something.

They built two spinning coasters at the same parks that opened in the same year in 2004 so i don't think the argument that nobody would visit holds much weight. And as @Plastic Person says, there are enough ways to differentiate two otherwise similar coasters.

If it's a great coaster then i don't think people would object to there being two of them... there are two B&M inverts with the same name at Merlins parks as well remember, i can't imagine people refused to visit Thorpe Park because one already existed up north.
 
Bowser said:
Merlin can market anything.... World's first unthemed multi-dimensional coaster etc. Stick in an inversion or something.

They built two spinning coasters at the same parks that opened in the same year in 2004 so i don't think the argument that nobody would visit holds much weight. And as @Plastic Person says, there are enough ways to differentiate two otherwise similar coasters.

If it's a great coaster then i don't think people would object to there being two of them... there are two B&M inverts with the same name at Merlins parks as well remember, i can't imagine people refused to visit Thorpe Park because one already existed up north.
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Both examples were 20+ years ago.

Agree they could do something very different but do the GP see that? Interesting how they've gone for 2 indoor coasters at a similar ish time. Unless they are holding out and making it slow so there is more of a gap between these opening.
 
The multi dimension coaster is more of a hybrid between a dark ride and coaster, if 2 were built at the same time I am sure that the differnt themes would be the thing that sets the rides apart in the eyes of the public, we are all ebthusiasts and know what a multi dimension coaster is, the public don't.

I also think that horizon would come in 2028, and they would let chessington have most of the attention, because minecraft is probably going to be extremely popular and talked about, essentially drowning out any other additions in the uk.

Edit: they are also building 4 (ish) of the same type of rides this and last year at legoland, alton and chessington.
 
If they do go ahead with a coaster on this site, I can see the layout being a clone of something existing. They’ve gone with a boxy box of a warehouse, meaning it would fit a standard layout. They can make it stand out with spending money on a) theming and b) unique trains

… or they could save the coaster money and build a flying theatre in there
 
I think a family thrill ride in the dark would be perfect with minor theming similar to Rock n Rollercoaster and Can Can Coaster.

A launched duel circuit indoor coaster with an inversion.

 
BSwiss said:
Ozzy Osbourne theme? He’s relatively local to the park, very strong brand, and Sharon is famed for leveraging the brand.
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Ozzy Osbourne isn't family friendly. He's also currently permanently 100 miles away in Buckingham, which isn't exactly very local either.

I also can't imagine that he's particularly amenable to meet and greets, opening ceremonies or generally anything that involves being alive.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Ozzy Osbourne isn't family friendly. He's also currently permanently 100 miles away in Buckingham, which isn't exactly very local either.

I also can't imagine that he's particularly amenable to meet and greets, opening ceremonies or generally anything that involves being alive.
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I’m actually stuck as to what IP towers could now use in the UK that is aimed at family that hasn’t already been used….bar….. Roblox.

Only issue I have with this is it’s somewhat similar to Minecraft, but would be good as an around family theme.

Personally much prefer in house IP’s and would love Alton to do something based around Port Discovery and Sir Algenon
 
Jb85 said:
Roblox.

Only issue I have with this is it’s somewhat similar to Minecraft, but would be good as an around family theme.
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Erm... yeah, about that...

"My chilling week on Roblox: sexually assaulted and shat on as a child avatar roaming the online world" - https://www.theguardian.com/games/2...-children-child-kids-safety-parental-controls

"Roblox sued by Los Angeles over claims platform ‘makes children easy prey for pedophiles'" - https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/feb/20/los-angeles-sues-roblox-la-county

Child safety on Roblox - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

I think you may now have some more issues, other than it being similar to Minecraft.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Erm... yeah, about that...

"My chilling week on Roblox: sexually assaulted and shat on as a child avatar roaming the online world" - https://www.theguardian.com/games/2...-children-child-kids-safety-parental-controls

"Roblox sued by Los Angeles over claims platform ‘makes children easy prey for pedophiles'" - https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/feb/20/los-angeles-sues-roblox-la-county

Child safety on Roblox - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

I think you may now have some more issues, other than it being similar to Minecraft.
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Meh. Moving on ;-)
 
Bowser said:
Near clone in the sense it will be an indoor Intamin multi directional family coaster, not that they will both feature a small section of outdoor track.
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Then in no way a clone?

Unless we are suggesting Hyperia is a clone of Icon
 
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